The Perfect Pair for a Party - Jeffrey Campbell Noel Tinsel Heel

Do you ever see something totally outrageous and think "Dammit, that has 'Me' written all over it!" and know that it had to be yours?

 No?   Just me?

Well, the other day on Instagram I saw that Refinery 29 had reposted this image from Rockie Nolan of amazing, out-of-this-world, who-would-buy-these, silver tinsel slingback heels and was immediately smitten.

I mean, how could you not be???

I had to have them!  Luckily Rockie posted who made them and the style name - Jeffrey Campbell Noel Tinsel heels.

How fun are they?!?

They're actually even better in person.  I do love a subtle, conservative heel...

I joke, but don't put this past me to just wear to work or out for dinner or something.  I mean, why not?

You have to have fun with your fashion and if these aren't fun, I don't know what is.

Holiday Sparkle 2014

Last night was my work holiday party.

And, always looking for an excuse to dress up, I had purchased this gold sequin dress from Lulu's a little while back.  The husband looked dashing in his JCrew and Banana Republic ensemble in grey and burgundy.

When I finally got the Sophia Webster Mila's a new they would be the perfect edgy combination to pair with the sparkly dress.

They're graphic and just so cool.  Now that they've had their "debut" I plan on wearing them with tons of other skirts, cuffed jeans and cropped pants.

For a clutch, I'd had my eye on a Charlotte Olympia Pandora for a while but haven't found the perfect one.  In the interim, I got this great customized version from Estoite on Etsy.

I love the details of his combo too. They're a bit hard to see here but the burgundy shirt has white and blue dots which are picked up in the blue bow tie with white equations.  The cool tones of the blue work with the grey heathered jacket fabric and contrast with the dark burgundy.   Snazzy!

We had a fun time at the party seeing everyone's outfits and then the two of us went to our favorite taco restaurant for a delicious meal!

Rough Week

People, it's been a rough week.

Work has been crazy and we've been busy, busy, busy.  And then this happened...

I was kind of hoping for the apocalypse.   I'm a sad panda.

Holiday Sparkle

Work is insane and we have a million things to do every night.  So I'm sorry for being so sporadic with the posting.

Just wanted to share a quick Party Outfit snap.  I wore a light aqua cardigan embellished with crystals over a tulle skirted dress.  Curly hair and a tiny crown matched with sparkly glitter Miu Miu heels helped me to feel festive.

I hope everyone is having a fun holiday season.  I know this is a tough and busy time of year for many, especially in light of the recent tragedies.  But I'm hoping that sending good thoughts out to the world will help.

Jingle All The Way

Charlotte Olympia is a woman after my own heart.  I love a good themed shoe.

And how adorable are these Christmas Pudding-tastic flats.  I would wear the heck out of these and even pair them up with a red and white reindeer sweater.

But even better are these sexy mistletoe platform pumps.  Simple, elegant but just a wee bit quirky.  Too pretty to be tacky but almost wanting to be.   I love them.

Her Christmas collection even includes a Christmas Pudding clutch, Jingle Bell ankle strap heels and glitter kitty flats.  It's too much goodness!

Now I must talk myself out of a bow-adorned Pandora clutch!

Instant Access - 12/4 - 1/22

I can't believe that it has been more than a month since I've done an Instant Access recap.  But given all the craziness of the last few weeks, I feel like (except for the last two weeks of the year), I've been running from one thing to another.   From my grandmother passing away and having to travel for that, to ending at one job, starting another, traveling for work and then for fun, it's been a whirlwind!

There were, of course, plenty of polish changes including...

Essie's Luxeffects Set In Stones

China Glaze's Mistletoe Kisses

China Glaze's Party Hearty over Essie's Marshmallow

Sally Hansen's Salon Effects in Peppermint Twist

OPI's Russian Navy (suede)

OPI's Warm & Fozzie

A half-moon manicure with Zoya's Pasha over OPI's Designer... De Better!

And my favorite red, China Glaze's Phat Santa.

Christmas was fun and quiet. The dogs were excited for their gifts.

And, among other things, I got the Miu Miu glasses I'd been pining for.

Picked up more Salon Effects - Love Letter, Brattlesnake and Sweet Tart-an

I'm ready for the time to change and more sun, so I'm already putting out my Valentine's Day centerpiece.

And did I mention we brought home Briar the goat.  You have to check out all the pictures!

My new job and been going well.  Busy but good. I've used my little Lunch-Crock nearly every day.  This is the best thing if you hate planning for lunch.  I just plug it in and lunch is all warm and ready when I am.

I have an actual office with a door, so I'm very excited. Walls!  I've brought in some pictures and met some people.  I have a Twin Star at work who loves a lot of the same things and happens to have the funniest blog ever!  You have to go read some of her hilarious day to day life (she actually talked about me on there too.  Ha!)

I hope your weeks have been going well too!  It's a new year and there's lots to do.

Pretty Much Sums It Up

I've been off of work this past week and on through the New Year.  This is pretty much my goal for every one of those days.  Movies, books, baking and napping are going to sum up my to do list.

I hope you all are having a happy holiday season too!

Seasonally Spectacular - Sally Hansen Salon Effects Holiday 2011

As much as I was excited for the Halloween Sally Hansen Salon Effects, I'm even MORE SO about the Holiday 2011 designs.

I went into Target over the weekend and, as I turned the corner, I found they had them out and I knew instantly that I would have to get them.  There is no waiting on these limited edition designs.  If you see them, get them for yourself!

I got four out of the five designs.

The reds - Plaid About You, Peppermint Twist and Snow Bunny - go with everything I'm wearing, from pleated skirts and velvet blazers to Fair Isle Sweaters and tights.

I loved the black and metallic silver Prep's Cool but held off on the Winter Fun-derland as I have so many glitter polishes I should use.

These colors and designs are perfect with my Fall-Winter 2011 Themes but would go great for anyone.  Who isn't wearing a bit of red or some snuggly tights during the season?




UPDATED: Images 1, 3 and 4 are via Nouveau Cheap and her reader Christina of "and all things girly".

Are we having fun yet?

Thanks to Sheryl and Wendy for keeping me up with current events.

I had no idea it was National De-Lurking Week!

I can only blame myself for not spending more time goofing around on the Internet. I've tried to limit my sleep time to 3 - 4 hours so I can flit around to all my favorite blogs and obsessively check for new posts. I don't get to do this for a living (yet) which really cuts into my reading and posting time. And then there's all that spending time taking care of the pets, brushing my teeth and getting dressed.

I must be more committed!

Anyhoo... if you have thoughts or comments, I'd love to hear from you.

The Christmas Recap

As everyone knows, the days after the holidays are all about doing the "Present Recap" (also known as the "Present Scorecard" in some circles).

We have tons of lovely friends who gave us delicious treats and sent some beautiful cards. Our gifts out were one of our favorite cookies - Lavender Sables - which are kind of a French shortbread and so so yummy. If you want the recipe, just drop me a line.

We have out gifts to other co-workers and family members, most of which we had to ship because they all live far away. As for the husband and I, we don't do a huge bunch of gifts for each other usually because we get stuff all year long. Plus we just had our amazing trip to the Grove Park Inn, so it was pretty sparse beneath the tree this year.

We also don't like to buy a lot of "stuff", so we try to get consumable or services. In his stocking this year he got a grapefruit knife,



and spoons (four of them).



He also got 2lbs of thick cut peppered gourmet bacon from Nueskes. (Who the heck gives someone bacon for Christmas??? I mean, seriously? Yeah, we do. We're weird like that)





He also got these amazing organic really sweet grapefruits from South Tex Organics. Now the knife and spoons make sense, right?

We had some delicious bruleed grapefruits when we stayed at our friends' bed & breakfast (the Adora Inn) in Mount Dora for the wedding we were both in. They were so delicious, I wanted to recreate the meal. And they are really good. And I don't even typically like grapefruit.

I also bought some Meyer's lemons, which I'm going to make into delicious lemon gelato and lemon curd.



The hubby also wears a lot of t-shirts since he works from home and he also loves funky fun shirts. Threadless is a wonderful resource for unique shirts, and they aren't that much either.

I got him this shirt which is per-fect for him. He kind of likes the creepy stuff. This one is called "Ad Noctum" You can click on the images to see them bigger.



He also got this shirt which I think is weird yet adorable. It's called "Star Men in Moon's Milk". How cute is that????



His "big" gift was this book. It's the iconic Albertus Seba "Cabinet of Natural Curiosities".



This is, yes, a reproduction but it's still amazing and filled with the best illustrations. We have some actual vintage illustrations like these throughout our house, so this is perfect. It's also a book you will see in many professionally decorated homes because the colors are just so great. It's a perfect book for us and our house.

Here's a little bit about the book:
Albertus Seba's "Cabinet of Curiosities" is one of the 18th century's greatest natural history achievements and remains one of the most prized natural history books of all time.

Though it was common for men of his profession to collect natural specimens for research purposes, Amsterdam-based pharmacist Albertus Seba (1665-1736) had a passion that led him far beyond the call of duty. His amazing, unprecedented collection of animals, plants and insects from all around the world gained international fame during his lifetime. In 1731, after decades of collecting, Seba commissioned illustrations of each and every specimen and arranged the publication of a four-volume catalog detailing his entire collection - from strange and exotic plants to snakes, frogs, crocodiles, shellfish, corals, insects, butterflies and more, as well as fantastic beasts, such as a hydra and a dragon.



So that was kind of it. I got lovely and fun things as well. My parents gave some $$$, which I've totally spent already, and a new picture of them which I need for my office. One of my co-workers gave me this adorable mushroom timer from FredFlare (you have to see my office to know why this fits in - I have a ton of pink in there to liven up the boring grey cube).



hello!

My in-laws gave me a big 'ol Target gift card, because, ya know I love the Tar-get!



In my stocking from the hubby I got some treats - single serve Nutellas!


Yummy!

I also got an iTunes gift card - furthering my iPod library investment.



My "big" gift was a necklace from Ananda Khalsa necklace. When we were at Grove Park Inn, they have a store featuring all kinds of goods from local artists. Ananda does these amazing jewelry pieces which are made from little paintings that are then set in silver or 22kt gold with hand-ground glass. My three-strand necklace is in the "Bluebirds with Plum Blossoms" series and has aquamarine briolettes under the pendant and at the clasp.



It's so lovely and perfect because I love unique jewelry, as well as supporting local artists. It will be perfect to wear in the Spring.

As you can see, we all do a lot of shopping online but we also supported a lot of artists and artesianal companies. Not only do we get unique gifts but we support the hand-made, small scale movement.

I can't wait to see what gifts other folks got and what they gave.