Gifts for the Girls

Hi!
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I certainly did! I spent
my vacation in lovely, freezing cold DC.

However, I did make it home in time for Black Friday shopping with
my mama. This has become a ritual for us to make it to Macy's/Lakeside
Mall and do tons of our shopping. We love our Macy's shopping!
While there we found some great gifts and gift ideas for all our gal pals.
These ideas are a little bit of lux without breaking the bank. I'd love to
know what some of your go to gifts are for the holiday season.

1. Kate Spade Wickford Monogram Mug, $15
2. Coach Poppy Eau de Parfum Rollerball, $22
3. Teavana Holiday Favorites Tea Gift Set, $35
4. Bath and Body Works 14.5 oz 3 wick candle, $9 (code HAPPYMONDAY)
5. Julep Mrs. Claus, $9.99

Porch Decor on a Budget

So, I've been itching to do some Christmas decorating since Halloween ended. I've been doing a little here and there, but I still have some more to go. I'll share that when I finish up.

I've been looking for some faux lighted topiaries for my front porch, but every single one I like was way out of my budget. So I figured I would make my own or do a little doctoring to some inexpensive faux trees.

I found a set of 2 from Walmart for $50! They are really nice but not quite as tall as I wanted, so I'd thought I would try to "beef" 'em up with some height from a pedestal planter.

Instead of buying planters, my mom had two identical plastic ones that she was not longer using. So I got them for free! (Yay for family and friends who give away awesome stuff!)

They started out a faded brown color. I wasn't thrilled with the color of them, but it wasn't anything that a $5 can of black satin spray paint couldn't fix. I think the black made them stand out a bit more without being over the top. A more polished look if you would say so.

After letting them dry overnight, I filled them with sand so the trees would sit a just the right height inside the planter. 

And then voila! I got two of these for a grand total of about $55. My porch still isn't finished, I promise to show it all when it's done. Hopefully I'll add some poinsettias, and show you it all lit up!

Stay tuned!

A Little Too Early?

A little too early to be drinking holiday coffee from your favorite Christmas mug? No, no. I think not.

I've been loving Nestle Coffee Mate is Peppermint Mocha. YUM. With just a splash of this and a few drops of stevia, you have a cup of holiday cheer. Plus these are my all time favorite mugs from Williams-Sonoma, they always have the prettiest holiday mugs. Great for gifts!

These are some that are available now at William Sonoma. Similar, Similar

Stay posted guys! This is my favorite time of year, and I'm hoping to share gift giving guides, favorite holiday recipes, holiday decor, and much more holiday fun!

Sneak Peek Into My Home

Hi everyone!

I thought I would post something a little different today. I've recently moved into a new home (6 months ago), and I have been doing a little decorating here and there. I've been trying to be budget conscious which can take time as well! I thought I would share part of my bedroom and the exciting new curtain panels I just put up.

I've been looking through Pinterest for inspiration for a long time. These are two photos that have been my favorite.

I love the simple elegance and style of this room. I also love the furniture, mine is very similar. 

Photo Credit

But this is my favorite, I love the punch of color! Mustard has been a really big favorite of mine recently, and I've seen lots of great fabrics with great mustard patterns. Photo Credit

This is just a little snippet of my bedroom. I still have lots left to do, maybe once done I'll do a whole post on it. Sorry for the crappy photo quality, I'm working on that too! But I had to share these awesome curtain panels from West Elm. I have been searching for the perfect pair of mustard drapes forever and $44 these are definitely affordable. The color is perfect and at 96 inches the length is perfect too. 

Red, Red Wine

It's finally starting to feel like Fall down here in South Louisiana. YAY! I've been keeping all my favorite "wine" colors out for easy grabbing and color inspiration.

With that said, I've been alternating various deep wine/red colors on my nails.  From true reds to almost black berries, I'll be sharing my favorites for Fall!

1. Essie's Bahama Mama

2. Essie's The Lace is On

3. Sally Hansen's Insta-Dry in Cinna-Snap

4. Revlon in Divine

5. OPI Vodka & Caviar (My all time favorite red)

Brand I'm Loving: L’Oréal

L’Oréal products are always been a favorite of mine, best described as affordable luxury. Some are new favorites and others are cult classics that many have loved for years. 

My newest favorite are the Colour Riche La Laque lip sticks. I've gotten two so far, and I'm love! These are super pigmented and extremely long lasting without drying out your lips. These are brand new and not even on their website yet. When I purchased them they were only 4 colors. They also offer a similar lip stick in matte colors which I haven't gotten yet, but I eventually plan on trying those out too. 

Another new favorite is the Total Repair 5 Damage Erasing balm. I've used my fair share of fancy schmancy hair products that promised to repair my color treated and heat damaged hair. Well many have them have done an OK job in the past, but nothing that worked so well that I would spend $20+ on them again. Then I purchased this $7 wonder. Yes, $7. Holy Moly. This product is FANTASTIC. It's not to heavy and it rinses super clean. I can use it 2 or 3 times a week without weighing my hair down. It leaves my hair so smooth and easier to style . It feels almost like I've gotten fresh haircut after I use it. I can totally tell this will become a product that I will repurchase time after time.

My next favorite is the Lineur Intense Felt Tip Liquid Eyeliner. This is a dupe for Lancome Artliners, but I find that these are: 1. Less expensive and 2. Smudge less. This is the only type of applicators I can get a clean line with. I get questions about how I do my winged eyeliner. Well, this is the secret. It's so easy to use and flexible. It's also very easy to remove if you make a boo boo. I've repurchased this many many times and use it almost everyday. 

Last but not least is the cult classic mascara, the Voluminous line. Oh my gosh, of all the expensive mascaras I have tried this drug store one takes the cake. The whole line is amazing, but my favorite is the Carbon Black. This mascara does everything you could want out of a mascara, fuller, longer, more defined lashes. You can achieve a false lash look or a very natural look just depending on the coats. If you haven't tried this yet, go buy it. You won't be disappointed.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!
XOXO

Michael Todd True Organics Pumpkin Mask

Thanks to my monthly subscription with Ipsy I was able to try out an awesome new brand, Michael Todd True Organics.

I received a deluxe sample of the Pumpkin Mask. I'm a girl who really loves to exfoliate, especially because I suffer with a ton of black heads. This does the trick without having to really scrub. You just apply to a clean face and let it do it's magic for about 5 minutes. It does burn/tingle for about a minute, so this may not be the best for those with very sensitive skin (my skin is not sensitive at all). After about 5 minutes wash clean and voila!

You have the smoothest skin after. It has 5% glycolic acid which is what gets rid of all the dead skin. I've always really loved using glycolic acid on my face for getting rid flaky skin, acne, and fine lines. It has a ton of great benefits. I've been using it once a week for about 5 weeks, and I still have more left in my sample. A little goes a long way! My skin is clearer and smoother, this mask does a great job of exfoliating and unclogging pores.

The full size is a bit pricey at $34.00 but like I said a little goes a very very long way. I'll definitely will purchasing this when I run out of my sample. You can find it here.

Did I forget the mention the best part? It smells like pumpkin pie, and can you imagine slathering pumpkin pie all over your face? Mmmmmm. It's a really great scent for this time of year too!