thanksgiving

Dress: Ruche, Necklace (remixed): LOFT

Despite the fact that it didn't really feel like Thanksgiving this year because I didn't watch any Thanksgiving Friends episodes, I still have an enormously long list of things to be thankful for. And I also dyed the ends of my hair purple, so check that off the list!

It has been a difficult few months which makes Thanksgiving all the more necessary. It's just a reminder, really. Gratitude and appreciation are daily intentions, but Thanksgiving is a feast to celebrate those good qualities. Actually sitting around with family and friends, declaring the abundance of blessing. I'm personally in favor of instituting more feasts into the year, maybe monthly, but I'm not the one who cooks and prepares them so I should probably tread lightly. Also, monthly feasts would be a terrible idea for my health goals this year. 

We had a marvelous day split between my husband's family and mine, plenty of good food and wonderful people. We were missing a few siblings on both sides, which made us feel a bit incomplete. But one of my favorite things about Thanksgiving is the happy swarm of extended family that we're able to hug and visit with. The families are growing so much, it makes it incredibly difficult to be all together at one time. It's one of those bittersweet tinges of growth. 

This year I was (am) abundantly thankful for:

my faith

my husband

arizona

my parents (and generosity)

coffee

friends, new and old

an incredible family

sisterhood

coffee

dresses

long-distance friendships

mexican food

good books (and my book club!)

a job that i love

cats

the growth found in change

the stamps of life

writing

coffee

making goals and having dreams

the sound of my parents' christmas tree

travel memories

chocolate-covered pretzels

fabulous movies

benedict cumberbatch

beautiful music 

good humor

and so much more...

Gratitude is such a funny thing. It's easily overlooked, isn't it? If we truly sat down and did as Andy Griffith requested and counted our blessings, they would be incredibly overwhelming. The more I sit here, the more things I can think of that I love and appreciate in my life. And yet darkness feels so much denser than the light. We get easily pulled down, easily discouraged, and over time we very easily forget.

Gratitude should be an action. It's a quality that we have to define for ourselves. Perhaps some people are naturally more thankful than others, but I happen to think it takes a lot of hard work for each of us. Gratitude is defined by a readiness. Readiness to be kind. Readiness to show appreciation. Readiness to see the light. It isn't easy but it's a beautiful, contagious kind of alertness. 

We are told to be ready and prepared, and I think part of that is to always be ready to give thanks. Always. Let the words of gratitude be literally on the edge of your lips, saturating your tongue and your eyes and your ears at all times. If gratitude was glitter, I pray to be a dang disco ball. Wouldn't that be lovely? A party of disco balls. I wanna be those people. Don't you?

jamberry nails

distant horizon nails

I've been having a blast with nail art this summer. 

There are so many creative women out there that design custom nail art, meticulously painting their masterpieces on their nails every few days. I've always enjoyed painting my nails, but I usually stick to fairly simple paint jobs -- I'm just not that patient!

Having said that, in May my sister-in-law introduced me to Jamberry nails. I decided to try them out as part of my graduation day ensemble, and I absolutely loved the desert-y ombre design I chose! 

They're basically stickers that eliminate all the hard work of nail art, allowing you to have intricately designed nails without all the work and drying time! 

funky cheetah nails

ditsy floral nails

Nail stickers aren't really a new concept, as stores like Sally's and other beauty departments have carried them for a long time. But lately I've been seeing them a lot more often -- even in stores I love like Modcloth!

I like Jamberry because they're not actually just stickers, they're a special heat-activated wrap that really provides a long-lasting design for your nails. They have hundreds of designs and are really fun to mix and match! They're also really easy to use and remove, and don't cause any damage to your nails, like gel manicures and other treatments often do. 

Check out my sister-in-law's Jamberry Facebook page if you wanna see more, and check out all the designs on her website!

If you're ever in the mood to play with your nails, I'd definitely recommend trying out Jamberry! 

sweet citrus nails

ditsy floral/july exclusive

sweet citrus nails

a little glitz

Happy New Year!

For me, celebrating each new year holds extra special significance. My husband and I were married on 1-1-11, and that glitter-filled sparkling evening of New Year's Eve doubles as an anniversary party for us. 

I treasure the memories of my wedding week, having our wedding party and all of our family in town, gathering together the night before the wedding with great food and cheer. I wore a shirt that declared: "Start the new year with me!"

I absolutely loved everything about that night and the following day.

It's also special because I grew up with New Year's Eve being a special night. It happily extended from the Christmas holiday week and rolled over into sparkling cider, creme brulee, bonfires and fireworks, with family and friends all celebrating in the backyard desert of my parent's house.

It's probably my favorite holiday of the year. 

Bangles: Kate Spade, Polish: OPI (glitzerland + when monkeys fly!), Knuckle Ring (shop!): Sweet Peeps on Etsy

This year was the first year ever that I spent away from my parent's house. We stayed here in Virginia, and I don't think I've ever ached for the Arizona desert so badly. The crisp air, the sky at sunset, the crackle of the bonfire. We were very fortunate that some of our friends (who share our festive anniversary, they were married on Dec. 31st!) wanted to spend the night with us, because otherwise we would have been very sad human beings, probably resigned to spending NYE in our pajamas watching Friends. 

(Alright, so that doesn't really sound like the worst thing ever.)

Having a place to be and a party to have gave me a reason to glitz up my nails, wear something sparkly, dab some glitter on my eyelids and pop confetti poppers. It was worth it to resist the pajamas in order to properly celebrate 2014, our very last (half) year in Lynchburg, Virginia.

P.S. A little Insta-look at our fabulous NYE!

tick tock

 

December is arguably the nation's most favorite month of the year.
It's a month of holidays, winter flavors, cold weather, glitter, comfy sweaters, good cheer, family, magic, gifts, parties, fireworks, well wishes and resolutions.

It's also the month that speeds by the fastest! It all seems to go by in a shimmery blur.
This year is really strange for us. It's the first Christmas ever we'll be spending away from Arizona. Luckily my husband's family is coming to visit us, but we've decided not to exchange presents this year (which has made it a lot easier on us, because we would have to ship them all).
I'm finding myself in a panic because it's so close to Christmas and normally around this time I'm busily shopping and planning and getting ready to fly home.
But this year, it's peaceful. Simple. Strange. 

Dress: Ruche, Jeans: Target, Boots: DSW
Scarf: Gifted, Necklace: Thrifted

We're still stuck in the thick of finals season, but by Friday we'll be home free to enjoy the crispness of holiday festivities. I'm extremely excited! I'm not sure what we'll do when it's finally over -- we only have one semester left here, so it feels like a really big milestone to be done with our very last December finals.
A party is in order, definitely. But whether that "party" means going out for a fancy steak dinner and seeing Frozen again or staying at home in our pajamas for three days straight remains to be seen.

Speaking of pajamas, this dress is basically pajamas.
I bought it on super sale ($10) from Ruche back in September, and it was one of those S/M or M/L sizes that is always a gamble. It's way too big on me, but it feels like going to work on a cloud.
Simultaneously, I feel like a Greek goddess because the sleeves are twice as long as my arms and oh-so-flowy.
A dress with that kind of comfort combo has to be treasured, despite the too-long sleevage.

redhead

Saturday morning I rolled out of bed and threw on one of my comfiest sweaters to head downtown.
I was running late for book club, in fact I almost missed book club, which would have been a shame since I was the one to request the book this time around! (Legion by Brandon Sanderson, my favorite author).

Once a month we have book club downtown, in my once-favorite coffee shop, White Hart. It's still dear to me, but it closed its doors earlier this year and was rather miraculously reopened by a new owner. While it's still a lovely place, it has lost a lot of the charm that made it so magical before...I'm hoping in time they'll really utilize the space to return it to its former glory, but part of me knows those days are gone forever.
It's always a little sad to lose a place you love, but sometimes beautiful things are short-lived. Looking back, some of my favorite memories were in places that only last for a short while -- like my apartments in college, especially junior and senior years, which included my husband and I's first home together. It was a tiny little place that we only lived in for 5 months, but I'll cherish it always.
Maybe having a definitive beginning and end to a beloved place makes it all the more magical. It's not everlasting, but the memories are -- and the ache you feel in its place is just a reminder of its sweetness.

After book club, a friend and I flitted over to a vintage Christmas market happening downtown, perusing the handmade goods and wishing we could buy them all.

After some more coffee and some friendly chatter, I headed back home to get ready for the law wives Christmas Tea. Which is why I'm so dressed up here! Afternoon teas demand fanciness.

Dress (remixed): Modcloth, Necklace: Anthropologie, Coat: New York & Company

I suppose this dress has become my go-to for law school events!
I wore it this past April for Barristers, although I have to say I'm enjoying it much more as a wintry holiday kind of dress. The shimmer in the fabric is gorgeous, and it's that right kind of bright to fit right into the Christmas season.

The hair, of course, is also new!
I had been pondering a new 'do for some time, although exactly what I wanted took a while to figure out.
I knew I wanted to do something a little wild, but not anything I would most likely regret terribly for years (like a pixie cut -- I'm pretty sure I would never recover, despite my occasional musings that I want to pull an Emma Watson).
The good news is, I did it, and I love it.
It has inspired me to curl my hair again on a regular basis, and I love the way it looks in a ponytail. My hair is finally getting long enough to pull off something more interesting, and I'm really excited to have this style for a while!