receiving sparkle ...

every girl loves a bit of sparkle in her life...

in my case it come by way of a fabulous arrangement, a swap to be exact, by the lovely Kaileen Elise, a fellow blogger and all-around extraordinary woman.

simply put, Kaileen wanted to celebrate her 2-year blogging anniversary in a way that would spread cheer, give other fellow bloggers the opportunity to connect, and share a little bit of, well, sparkle!

{via snail mail ~ which i thought was one of the best parts!}

i was assigned {for lack of a better term} to send a package of goodies to a young woman, Ashley, in virginia, and Danielle, the woman assigned to send me a package, i discovered later, lives in ohio. after we all received a little glimpse of our person {by way of questionaire}, we were to send along 4 things: a bit of sparkle, a treat that soothes, something sweet, and a surprise.

here's what Danielle sent!

everything came in a fabulous Breakfast at Tiffany's tin tote-- j'adore!



coffee and chocolates! yummy...

a Sephora gift card and travel-friendly mirror-- so fabulous!


also included was a gorgeous card from Danielle, with a lovely message, along with a note pad and sticky notes {a girl can never have too many!} ~ she definitely spoiled me! i'm forever thankful for her thoughtfulness and generosity ~ i love it all. :)

i had so much fun picking out goodies for my gal, Ashley, too. when she shares her post, i'll be sure to let you know so you can check it out {in the meantime, you can visit her here}!

and finally, i have to say a *big thank you to Kaileen, who single-handily connected so many fellow bloggers through this fun, sparkling adventure!

pics taken by me:)

monday musings...

the last week was pleasant, full of random goodness. while everyday life continued, i still managed to discover some new blogs, finish a few books, send a new friend a package filled with some fabulous goodies, shop for new nail polishes and was thrilled to test out some new hair and beauty products {all to be shared soon!}.

officially, summer is over, and i gladly welcome the fall season. cool, crisp air fills the mornings, leaves are changing color, and i'm looking forward to all the splendid and fun events that will occur in the coming months; these are only a few reasons why i love this time of year.


i've always been fond of layering, wearing hats and sipping hot coffee or tea next to a glowing fire {candles are always fabulous, too-- loving my new Autumn one from Bath & Body Works, pictured above}. i also love to begin reflecting on the past year while also hoping for the one forthcoming. it's strange how quickly each goes by the older i get, but i truly do try to enjoy each moment, finding and appreciating the smallest pleasures of each day-- i hope you do, too!

here's to a fabulous autumn season...

model, window and teacup images via tumblr.com

today...9.13.11

hello beauties! how was your day?

my day included...

seeing a butterfly hanging out on the sidewalk while out on my morning walk...

a bit of audiobook reading while making breakfast for the fam...

tea sipping...

more reading, post housework and laudry folding...

also answered many emails {lots of spring fashion week info plus more to share!}, cooked a yummy lunch and enjoyed some rare couch time watching a movie with my love before picking up the kids from school...

hope you had a splendid day!

pics taken by me :)

stepping out of my nail color comfort zone...

recently i've found myself craving to wear a nail color i've shied away from most of my life...

red!

don't get me wrong, i love red polish on nails. they're classic. they're uber-feminine. they can even be edgy.

truth be told, the very first nail color i ever wore was red {thanks, mom}.

but...

i've never been a red-nail-polish-wearing gal. i admit it, the color has always been a bit intimidating to me. that, and i love all shades of neutrals, pinks and purples; those are my go-to, safe colors. for fall/winter seasons, i typically go with "deeper" versions of them.

so...

i'm adding the shade that adorned my nails first into my color rotation-- especially for fall. i've gathered my small stash of red lacquers, and plan to rock them like nobody's business {and yes, the number of reds in my collection will be expanding}. Chanel Lotus Rouge {pictured, above}, a gorgeous berry-red, started me on my not-afraid-to-wear-red-nails-anymore path this past week...

and i just changed my polish to nubar's Competition Red this morning. :)

btw, i tore this Piperlime.com ad for my fall ensemble inspiration journal, then noticed a few days later: the model's nails are red!

all pics taken my me :)

bonjour beauties...

hope you've been enjoying your summer! it has been a fabulous one for me, i have to say...



with all the fun and busyness going on, i chose to take some time away, as you may have noticed. :)



i realize this is something i've done before-- reevaluating my purpose for blogging and allowing myself time away from it-- and i will be honest: it could quite possibly happen again.



the truth is, sitting down everyday to post isn't the easiest thing for me to do. it was my personal choice to step away and just allow myself to not worry about it. i love sharing beauty reviews, news and goodies with you, please don't get me wrong-- but priorities have to be established, you know?





that said, i am still here! in my hiatus, i've stayed connected, working with fabulous pr darlings, and plan to continue to share my thoughts on this beautiful life with you. i can't say how happy i am to see that you continue to visit here, to check in-- it makes me so happy to see!-- but i encourage you to subscribe via email or feed reader, so when i do post, you'll get it sent right to your inbox.



also, if you're not already, please follow me on twitter to go along with me through my day {i tweet everything from beauty and style to my family, food and fitness lifestyle}, and check out my tumblr {yes, i jumped on that bandwagon, lol} for fun, girly fashion, lifestyle and of course, beauty, goodness that i update very frequently {it's so easy to do from my iphone!}.



thank you for being so incredibly fabulous...stay tuned!





image image

~splendid weekend to-do list~

happy weekend, beauties! here we are, another week behind us-- how was yours?

this past week, my love was off the entire week {something hasn't happened in quite a looong time}, so it was fun having him home and being able to spend some time together while the kids were in school.

this weekend, as you may have guessed, will include reading some books and june mags, as well as giving myself a manicure with Essie's 'Sew Psyched'. also on the splendid list:

go to the movies with the fam
write
use new handbag that i received yesterday from JustFab.com
go for two runs
attend a live power yoga class
bake blueberry-banana muffins with my kids
plan for and set goals for the week


and you? any fun things planned for your weekend?

inspired-style: mixing prints...

when it comes to mixing prints, my daughter is a pro. from a very young age i told her my #1 rule: just make sure to coordinate your colors. she's very good with it now. she loves having fun with her clothes {exhibit a, above}, but manages to stay coordinated, never thinking twice about taking fashion risks! :)

i myself am a huge fan of mixing prints, but to do it right {and in a more, sophisticated, grown-up way}, you should keep these guidelines in mind:

**be sure that at least one color repeats throughout your outfit.
**loose prints work well with structured prints {think swirls with stripes}.
**blending small designs {think plaid} with larger-scale ones {bold flowers} are fun and look great year-round.

for more ideas regarding this inspired trend, check out this article on RealSimple.com

source

~ splendid weekend to-do list ~

hello saturday, so we meet again...

hope you had a gorgeous week, beauties!

as if you didn't already know, it's mother's day tomorrow {happy day to all you fabulous mamas!}, but for my baby girl, her 11th birthday {ugh, it feels like i just had her yesterday}!

having my girl as a daughter is such a gift {my son is, too, of course!}. sure, it's not always fun and fabulous times, but she is truly marvelous. watching her grow up to this point has been quite the experience, to say the least. i'm so excited to celebrate with her tomorrow!

so, this weekend's splendid to-do list is more about her, but still will be rewarding to me just the same.


make a fabulous breakfast for my little lady
read
pen a letter to remember the occasion of celebrating her once-in-a-lifetime-birthday
listen to fun music and dance!
enjoy the gorgeous weather, bbq and swim at my mom's house sunday afternoon
enjoy a pleasant, but challenging run
sip my favorite tea
savor a slice of ice cream cake
set goals for the forthcoming week



what's on your splendid weekend to-do list?

splendid weekend to-do list...monday edition

see what i did there? haha!

yes, i admit, i forgot to post my newly-introduced splendid weekend to-do list on saturday as i had planned. as you can see from the image above, however, i did make my list.

i'm happy to report that my weekend did present many opportunities for me to indulge in all the fabulous tasks i wanted to do.

first on the list was to write. and that i did. journal writing {online and pen to paper} is so dear to me, so making time to do it everyday is important. other items on my list included sipping my recently-purchased 'Paris' tea from Harney & Sons. i could hardly contain myself when my package arrived. i also purchased Royal Wedding (yep, created just for that occasion, but not the reason i bought it) and an old favorite of mine, formally known as Bangkok, "a green tea with a thai twist".

another highlight of my weekend was movie night with my kids. we finished reading the first Harry Potter book and they wanted to see the film. it was a little dark, and sometimes scary {LOL}, but but we enjoyed ourselves; all dressed up in our pjs, with pillows and blankies, it was fun to stay up with them a little later than usual, watching the book in action. other to-do's were easy and always leave me feeling blissful: yoga, buy fresh flowers, take a nap, cuddle with my love and change my nail polish. i found fashion, beauty and fitness inspiration on the pages of my may mag issues, and relished time reading and listening to books.

i love weekends! what did you do?

pic taken by me :)

bathing beauty: Caress Cashmere Luxury Body Wash

back in 2010, as 2011 approached, i really took time to think about what it was i wanted to do and accomplish by year's end. one of the few things i decided to do (among saving money and getting back in touch with my creative self) was to stop spending money on things, especially beauty products and clothing, that didn't make my beyond ecstatic each and every time i used or wore them. my ultimate desire was to spend only on items that were of absolute necessity and of great quality. so, i cleared my beauty stash of items i hadn't used in months and bagged up clothing, bags and shoes that didn't fit or hadn't seen the light of day in over a year.

everything i could donate or give away, i did.

to be honest, i can be a very impulsive buyer, so i thought this new practice would be a hard one, something that i'd have to keep "starting over" with. as it turns out, this "resolution" has been much easier to stick to than any other in my life.

maybe this quality over quantity mentality comes with age, LOL!

in any case, one of my absolute, favorite body washes, Caress Cashmere Luxury, definitely falls into this category, and it also happens to be wallet-friendly. my saving money plan is also being put into practice (btw, i am loving hellowallet.com as a tool for helping me manage and save more moolah)-- yay!

Caress Cashmere Luxury key ingredients include white orchid milk, warm vanilla essence and sunflower oil. the creamy, rich texture lathers up beautifully and feels just as the name suggests, like luxurious cashmere. it leaves skin so incredibly soft and lightly scented. i love it!

next time you're looking to gift yourself a simple, yet luxurious, treat, try this body wash, won't you?

pic taken by me:)

hello monday...and a new lipgloss

do you find that your week just flies by? i do-- here it is monday again! after a busy weekend (and a time change, boo), i am now looking back on last week and thinking, "where did it go?"

well, in a nutshell...

i put some more miles on my running shoes, went on two 4+ mile hikes, began reading some new books, caught up with an old friend, treated myself to a very overdue pedicure (ahhh...), cooked some new recipes and bought myself a new lipgloss.

all of that in addition to the everyday tasks that come along with being a mom and wife.

sigh.

so, back to the lipgloss...


it's Revlon's new ColorBurst gloss that i bought from my local Walgreens while waiting for a prescription to be filled (waiting is so dangerous, i must say-- i always linger in the beauty department, and the longer i'm there, the more money i end up spending!). it just so happened that the beauty advisor had a coupon and the lippie was on sale, so i couldn't resist.

i chose Sunset Peach, a slightly sheer, but oh-so pretty shade (yes, i realize it's a "safe" shade, but in my defense, the color i wanted to initially get was sold out). the soft texture feels fabulous on my lips and it's not sticky in the slightest. i love the tube as well. it reminds me of a Chanel gloss-- wouldn't you agree?? in any case, i will definitely be buying a few more of these.

hope your week was a great one-- here's to another one. ;)

first image via weheartit.com; lipgloss pic taken by me :)

breakfast tea...

i have a bit of an obsession with tea right now. any yum-sounding blend catches my attention (think exotic flavors like coconut and sweet flavorings like caramel...mmm). at this moment you could come over to my home and have most any variety you might like-- green, white, black, chai, herbal, floral, etc.-- in a variety of blends and combinations.

i love the creative way teas are made, don't you?

typically, my mornings begin with a detox tea (filled with many different herbs to keep the body healthy) and i like a green tea mid-morning. currently, i'm in love with my Irish and English breakfast teas from Twinings. they aren't new, but they are delish, and you can find them in most grocery stores. the Irish blend is hearty and robust, making my desire for coffee like a faint memory (well, ok it's not a memory, but i definitely haven't been drinking much coffee lately). i love sipping this with my first meal of the day. the English blend is smooth and elegant, as you might imagine-- fancy a spot of tea?-- and a gorgeous compliment to my breakfasts as well.

i'd love to know, do you enjoy tea? or is coffee more your thing?? any one brand or blend in particular?