Holiday Sparkle and Shine

The holidays are in the air everywhere you look! Whether it's store front windows, decorated front yards, or the holiday party invites that are rolling in, it is literally the holiday season. And I for one am glad. I love the holidays. Always have. Christmas is by far my favorite holiday! The decorations, the cookie baking, shopping for gifts for your loved ones, and waiting with anticipation for what Santa will bring you are all the things that make this truly the most wonderful time of the year!

We have a couple of holiday parties coming up this weekend and I am putting party looks together. We don't get dressed up that much anymore so it's especially special this time of year. I haven't been shopping for anything new in what feels like ages, so I'm browsing the internet for inspirational pieces that I might find in my own closet. And if I can't recreate them, maybe I can take something away from the color palette. 

I'm obsessed with the accordion pleat trend and love the gold, even though I own the black. I can't wear a crop top like the one below, but love the two piece look. The green dress is stunning and the black Art-Deco dress makes a statement. Each piece brings its own sparkle and shine to any holiday party! Check out my picks.

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Aren't they all simply lovely? Just FYI, the Adriana Papell dress is sold out in green! Everyone must have had the same idea. The color is gorgeous! The perfect Christmas green. Honestly, I would wear each and everyone of these on some occasion outside the holidays. And, even though the Aidan Maddox two piece look has a crop top, I could style the skirt several different ways!

What are you thinking of wearing to your holiday parties this season? Will it be a casual look or something on the dressier side? Let's chat!

Happy Monday, all! 

Packing: My How-To



We fly out on Friday for a family reunion in Virginia and will be gone until Tuesday. I haven't seen most of my family in about two years so I'm really looking forward to the trip! However, it will be McKinley's first flight and I'm terrified. (If you want to follow along with that journey, check out Krasnow Living this week. I will be blogging about how I'm preparing us for the trip!)

 



As usual, I am planning, planning, planning! I'm kind of annal when it comes to packing for a trip, so I thought I would share with all of you some of my tips. Be prepared, I'm a list girl!! First off, I always check the weather before I plan out my looks for the week. Yes, I plan out my looks. It really does help on over-packing! And, looking at the forecast for VA later this week, we may be faced with rain and cooler temps. I love to travel but I hate being away from my closet. It is so hard to prepare for this kind of weather. Scattered and isolated showers are not something I want to see! I don't mind cooler temps, but sometimes with rain comes humidity and you don't really know if that's truly going to happen. So, I've been thinking about my wardrobe and what I can pack to get me through rain or shine or both!

 

From the photo above, you can see that I plan out each day. As I continue to plan my daily looks, I try to play off a couple of pieces that be worn multiple times and won't show visible signs of wear. Jeans are great for this! I plan to wear my skinny jeans out and back. Saturday is already planned for us as my mom has "cousin" t-shirts for everyone to wear. However, if it's going to rain and be a little cool, I've got to figure out something to pair with a short sleeved tee. I'm planning to throw in something to layer underneath and I'm asking my mom (they are driving) to bring my Hunters! Sunday is the family reunion so I'm planning on wearing a dress. Something casual as it's a picnic style gathering and I'm leaning toward cotton. I'll probably bring along two different dresses and style accordingly. Later that day, it will be a smaller gather at my aunt's house so I plan to wear my LOFT boyfriend jeans and a cute top. Oh, did I mention those boyfriend jeans will be worn on Saturday? See what I mean about doubling up their wear?

 

Monday we will be visiting with my dad's side of the family. I plan to wear jeans, but colored this time. Mint jeans and a cute top will make for comfort and keep me looking stylish. Then it's Tuesday and time to fly home. Like I mentioned before, skinnies will be worn again leaving only three pairs of jeans for the week! I have a list of extras that will need to be brought along as well. A hat to shield the sun, a jacket for cool evenings and small handbag for incidentals. I will also throw in shorts and other summery pieces in hopes that the forecast changes. As I start pulling everything together, and adding them to the suitcase, I will take photos so you can see how I've laid out the week. And, since we're planned to pack all three of us in ONE suitcase, I've got to get myself down to the bare neccessities!

 

Stay tuned.....