You know I love me some sparkle nails, right? But sometimes you need a sparkle that’s a little less, well, sparkle-y. I came across the perfect sparkle top coat that gives just the right amount of sparkle for every day life when it includes work, meetings, and toddler music classes (my days are all vastly different from each other!) – it’s essie’s Luxeffects pure pearlfection.
It’s perfect over a dark gray…
…and even a bright red! Would you try this slight sparkle for your nail polish top coat?
I love Valentine’s Day, always have – even in those years when I didn’t have a special valentine and I would “celebrate” with friends and wine. I think it’s fun to have an excuse to wear red and hearts, an excuse to make cute cards and crafty things, and an excuse to get your sweetie a little something to tell him/her how awesome you think they are. Other than red roses (always an acceptable Valentine’s Day gift in my book), I scoured the internet for a few ideas of sweet, thoughtful gifts you can get your love this Valentine’s Day!
1. Adorable Ban.do Bestie Bobbi set. 2. Picnic for Two Basket from Anthropologie. I know what you’re thinking: “I would never use that!” But it’s one of those things that you buy once and use occasionally for the rest of your days! 3. A fancy candle like this one from Jo Malone. 4. Valentine’s Day tee from Hello Merch – the cutest little heart tee, right? 5. kate spade his and her hiball set. 6. Levtex “Tonight/Not Tonight” Pillow from Nordstrom. Hysterical for those who’d rather have non-verbal communication in their relationship.
Ok, let’s talk about Cookie Butter for a minute. I had never had it until Santa brought me a jar in my Christmas stocking and we opened it a couple weeks ago, remember? According to the Trader Joe’s website (the only place you can buy Speculoos Cookie Butter) it’s the #2 selling item in their store (Triple Ginger Snaps are #1, FYI). It’s made from crushed Belgian speculoos biscuits and is a sweet spread reminiscent of gingerbread with a slightly thicker than peanut butter texture.
Well, it’s awesome. It says on the jar that you can dip things in it or put it on just about anything (dip pretzels, crackers, melt and put it on ice cream, pancakes, waffles). So, we had a thought…what if we put it IN the ice cream? Even better, right? And this past weekend we did just that.
We started with a basic vanilla ice cream recipe and made it in our ice cream maker.
As with making any ice cream with something in it, we added dollops of cookie butter just as the ice cream was getting thick – or, when the machine sounds like it’s working very hard. Someone had to take a peak to see what was making all that noise!
We mixed the dollops of cookie butter in at the very end so they would remain as small chunks and not just mix in the ice cream.
We let it chill for a few hours…then had a couple scoops. DELISH! This is an unbelievable mix of flavors – the sweet vanilla ice cream with the occasional creaminess, molasses flavor of the cookie butter, it’s just perfect.
So good…enjoy!
We played a little go fish with my niece as we sipped s’mores hot chocolate on our ski weekend.
Warm enough for the playground on Monday!
I ordered my husband’s Valentine’s Day gift and it came in the mail this week with this little heart sticker.
The secret to a happy marriage? Ordering 1/2 and 1/2 pizza so everyone is happy (meat for him, broccoli for me).
Nothing better than a husband who comes home with a red rose cupcake for his pregnant wife!!
Everyone in this house is obsessed with Z’s teepee, including the cat!
I’m just going to come out and say it – it’s hard to be super stylish when you’re pregnant and getting bigger by the day. Maternity clothes (generally speaking) define frumpy-ness. A lot of maternity wear is poorly made, cheap quality, and (ironically) overpriced. I learned a lot when pregnant with my Z, so I thought I would take some time to put together a maternity style post to use more as a reference for all you soon-to-be mamas (or repeat mamas, as in my case) out there.
My maternity style consists of variations of this outfit most days: Maternity jeans, maternity tank or basic tee, and a non-maternity cardigan worn open. Some people prefer maternity shirts and aren’t into showing their bump much, but for me, I have narrow shoulders and most dressy maternity tops just make me look bulky. So for me – visible bump it is! And I usually do it up with accessories like a statement necklace if the top is plain.
But where do you find these jeans and tops and occasional maternity tops and sweaters? I’ve put together a list with links to my favorite maternity brands that I find adequate quality, reasonable pricing, and stylish!
GAP and Old Navy Maternity. Both are great for staples like tank tops, tee shirts, and workout wear. Both have pretty good jeans, too. This pregnancy I am wearing a bunch of my sister’s old GAP maternity jeans and I have recently bought some Old Navy maternity jeans. The GAP ones seems true to size, where Old Navy seems to run a little bit big.
ASOS Maternity. I love ASOS for stylish pieces – interesting tops, dresses if you have a wedding to attend while pregnant, and even trendy pants if you want to try a maternity jumpsuit, overalls, or colorful denim. *Tops run large – but free shipping both ways makes it easy to buy a few sizes and return what doesn’t fit.
Topshop Maternity. Somewhat pricey, but super stylish if you have an event to go to during your pregnancy and want to look great in something unique and interesting – like maternity plaid pants, love these!
Boden Maternity. This UK brand is always great for cute preppy looks (we love their mini Boden line too) and they have really cute maternity print dresses for work or maybe your baby shower.
ShopBop and Nordstrom have decent maternity departments that both carry higher end lines if you’re looking for designer denim, in particular. I invested in a pair of Citizens of Humanity maternity jeans when pregnant with my Z and they still look great. Plus, with designer stuff, you can always get a good sell-back price at a second hand store – keep that in mind once you’re done having kiddos!
H&M Mama. Oh H&M Mama line, how I love you. So affordable! Get tons of maternity tanks, fun denim, and even coats here.
Zara Mum. Zara made headlines with their new maternity line a year ago, but it’s sort of disappeared now. They have a few pair of jeans left for sale, I can’t speak to how they fit but I like the concept of their elastic waist denim.
J. Crew Maternity. Excitingly, J. Crew has recently come out with a line of maternity pants that include Minnie pants, Pixie pants, and just last week – denim. I haven’t purchased a pair but I’m sure they’re great, let me know if you’ve tried!
Also, I love these tanks from Target’s Maternity line. A Pea in the Pod has a great sale rack if you have a store near you. Hatch Collection is an interesting concept line where it’s clothes for both maternity and day to day, personally, these baggier pieces aren’t flattering on me, but I love the idea! And don’t forget second hand stores!!
I thought it would be helpful if I started pinning a bunch of style ideas onto a board and now, I share with you – my Maternity Style Pinterest Board! I will be adding pins throughout my pregnancy to keep it updated. Enjoy – and let me know what your maternity style is!
As you read yesterday, we went on a little ski trip over the weekend and I of course had to dress my Z accordingly, even though she wasn’t skiing at all (next winter, though!). Anyway, I had found this great cozy sweater and thought it would be perfect for freezing cold days and on ski trips, right? So cute! I wish they made it in my size…
Sweater – Crewcuts. Pants – Joe’s Jeans in black, TJ Maxx find. Boots – kamik, local second hand store find (similar). Socks – SmartWool (old).
Picture it…you’re a kid, it’s been snowing all night long, and you wake up to the announcement of a snow day, what’s better? Then you go outside to sled for hours and it’s not until you step inside, take off your boots and coat that you realize how freezing you’ve been while outside sledding. Luckily your mom or dad has made the only thing that will defrost you…a giant mug of hot chocolate!
We went up to New Hampshire to ski this past weekend (well I didn’t ski, of course) and instead of hitting the slopes, I hit the kitchen and made everyone a little après ski hot chocolate – S’MORES hot chocolate! It’s a fun twist on hot chocolate without being much extra work at all.
First, get your hot chocolate going. I use unsweetened cocoa powder, sugar, and milk – bring to a simmer stove top.
Then, prepare your mugs but rimming them with crushed graham crackers.
Then, toast your marshmallows. If your mugs are oven safe, pour the hot chocolate into the rimmed mug and place 2 or 3 marshmallows on top. Put in an oven pre-heated to broil and toast the marshmallows for a few minutes, watch them!
If your mugs aren’t oven proof, place the marshmallows in a baking pan and place under the broiler and toast, watch them and when they’re at your desired toasted-ness scoop them out of the plan on top of your hot chocolate. Clearly I like my marshmallows crunchy!
Ennnnnnjoy – this drink is gooey and delish!
New Year = New Planner! I love the momAgenda and this year’s is animal print!
The gilded Paper Source wreath now hangs on our front door (without the Thanksgiving note).
Santa brought nail polish, now her toes are pink.
If you live in my area, have you seen the fish car around? I got gas the other day, saw it in the parking lot, snapped a photo…then saw this link on Twitter explaining the whole thing. Cool!
My little artist.
Have you tried this stuff? Santa brought me a jar in my Christmas stocking….YUM!
Have a great weekend everyone!
I like sending thank you notes. Mostly because how exciting is it to receive real mail these days, right? Other than the many cards received around Christmas there’s not much personal mail anymore. So, since the most gift-giving time of year has just come and gone I thought it was the perfect opportunity to share with you a quick how-to for a thank you note I make a lot. A friend of mine gave me a little pack of cards from Target (I think) and French-themed stamps so of course the first card I made? A thank you note to her! This sweet gift was a couple years ago, but I had a card or 2 left from the pack so I thought I’d create a little how-to video for my favorite homemade thank you note.
https://styledbyjess.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/how-to-make-a-thank-you-note.mov
It’s always fun to see what the Pantone Color of the Year is going to be – have you heard? For 2014 it’s Radiant Orchid which is a fancy name for light purple. I thought I’d scour the internet and find some fun fashion items out there in this bright purple-y/pink that will be great for Spring. The color was announced a little over a month ago so there’s lots out there in Radiant Orchid already…
Zoya PixieDust Nail Polish in Danii // Hersheson Instant Clip-in Highlights from ASOS // Bobbi Brown lip gloss in Ultra Violet // Vineyard Gem Bib necklace from Baublebar, how great is this color with red? I never would’ve thought! // kate spade Hilde sunglasses from Nordstrom // Converse Chuck Taylors from Urban Outfitters // Madewell denim cutoff shorts.
Styled by Jess