New Mark Downs

I was in Nordstrom Tuesday and found a scarf I had been eyeing but it was so similar to one I already have I didn't buy it. (even though it was already pretty cheap). I was online yesterday...imagine that, and it along with quite a few other things have been put on sale. YIPPEE!!!

Here's a quick round up of some super affordable gifts if you are still looking or need just one more little thing.

Choker / Scarf / Set of 2 pair of stud earrings / Plaid infinity scarf

Plaid infinity / Initial necklace /  Beanie / Fringe Infinity

DIY Beanie Knitting Kit / Bling ring / Poncho / Cable Infinity Scarf

Cable Infinity

Mother of Pearl Pendant 

Any or all of these would make perfect stocking stuffers or maybe you are participating in a Secret Santa gift exchange. Who wouldn't be thrilled to open one of these?

Update: My kids are home, my heart is full and now I'm off to bible study...hate to leave them on the first day they're here, but I'm pretty sure they'll survive.😉

One more day til' Friday. Hang in there my friends!

Lisa

XOXO

Stranded - Christmas Movie Edition

Erika and Shay are hosting STRANDED again today and I'm linking up to join the fun.

With it being less than 2 weeks until Christmas naturally if we were going to be STRANDED on a deserted island we'd want to have Christmas movies to watch. (since we'd obviousely have a big screen tv to watch them on😂😂😂)

If this post some how seems familiar to you it just might be because last month I participated in another link up where we discussed our favorite Christmas movies so all I had to do was transfer that post to today.

#whatatimesaverthatwas

These are some of our all time favorites and it just wouldn't be Christmas without watching each of them at least once. We will likely watch Christmas Vacation once my parents get here because they enjoy it as much as we do and it's somewhat of a tradition that we watch it together.

Christmas Vacation

We watch this every year and every single time we watch it we laugh just like it's the first time we've seen it. It's truly a family favorite.

#gohomecousineddie

The Holiday

If you like romance, comedy and Christmas then this is the movie for you. I love all the characters but Jack Black and Jude Law are easily my favorites. The character Jack Black plays is a departure from most of the characters he plays and shows a more sensitive yet still funny side making him very endearing. Jude Law is just so darn cute and plays such a sweet, lovable guy, you can't help but fall in love with him.

Elf

I doubt I even need to tell you about this one. I probably only need to say the name Will Ferrell and you can figure out the rest. 

#didyouhearthat 

Now it's your turn. What are your go to holiday movies? Leave them in the comments so we can try something new this year. Who knows, maybe they'll become favorites for our family too.

If you've missed the previous Stranded posts you can find them by clicking on the links below.

Books

Netflix

Famous People

Footwear

Movies

Halloween Candy

Today I get to pick my kids up at the airport in time to take them to lunch. Let the holiday season officially begin people!

Lisa

XOXO

Christmas Bucket List

Last week a friend at bible study read this to us and we all loved it. What a great reminder of the things that are really important during this busy time of the year. It's so easy to get caught up in all that's on our "to do" list and forget to enjoy the sweet things that come with the Christmas season.

I spent yesterday afternoon wrapping presents so I could get that off my "list". I'll still have a few more to do since they haven't been purchased yet, but the majority is done.
#whatahugemess

It's a messy job, but someone's gotta' do it!😉 I like wrapping presents, it's just that I get so stiff sitting on the floor with my legs all criss-cross applesauce. I look like I'm 100 years old when I stand up instead of less than half of that.
#stayyoungmyfriends

If you are still looking for a good present for a daughter, mother or some other female have you considered a blanket scarf?

I love mine and yesterday I ordered a new one from Amazon.

blanket scarf

I think this will look so cute with a little black swing dress I purchased at Old Navy recently.

swing dress

I've been wearing quite a few of these style dresses. They are so incredibly comfortable and cute. The material is soft and slightly stretchy and you are in no way constricted. The perfect dress if you are planning on eating a lot. LOL These little dresses also pack really well. They fold up so small and don't take much space and once they've been hung up the wrinkles fall out pretty easily. A real winner in my book.

set of 2 scarves

When I was looking for the black plaid scarf I noticed this set of TWO. I wish I'd seen this before I bought my other one that is this pattern. These are only $22.99 for BOTH. What a deal! While I love my blanket scarf sometimes I would love to have it in infinity form with a little less fabric. You could also buy these and divide them up into two gifts.

Amazon has a ton of choices in these styles of scarves you can check out by clicking here.

Are you done with your shopping? Have you started wrapping? I'm usually wrapping at the 9th hour so I feel pretty good that I've gotten some of that done. Now if I can just get my cards done! They're ordered but haven't been delivered. I haven't been this late doing them in quite a few years, but we had family pictures made at Thanksgiving and I wanted to use them so it threw a little behind.

Happy Tuesday friends!

Lisa
XOXO

Weekend Review

Who remembers this scene from Friends? 

Well at 5:30 this morning this pretty much sums up how I was feeling. I can't for the life of me figure out why smoke detector batteries only go dead and these things start chirping during the night. I mean seriously, have you ever had one do it during the day???

Then you're up looking in every cabinet and drawer in your house for a blasted 9V battery.

#safetyfirstbutohmyword

Now back to Monday...

How many of you started making the Christmas party circuit this weekend? We had Kent's work party on Saturday which took most of the day, but more about that later.

I'm going to start my "weekend review" by backing up a little to Friday. I got to have a little fun babysitting two of the cutest little guys.

 Hello, my names is James and I love fruit snacks and watching Paw Patrol.

 James and I spent a lot of time playing the Oreo memory game and watching Paw Patrol. He is the cutest, funniest and sweetest little guy. He's warm and energetic and just a joy.

This is baby Hudson and I got to enjoy some sweet snuggles with him. It's been a while since I've had the opportunity to do that with a little one and there's just nothing like it.💙

I've been fancying up my coffee a little this week. I'm not a black coffee drinker.😖 I like a flavored creamer in my coffee and usually you'll find me using Hazelnut. A while back I picked up some Pumpkin Spice creamer and so on this particular morning I used that, added a splash of caramel syrup, topped with whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel.

#delish

I mentioned Kent and I had his work party. It was about 45 minutes away (on a good day), but Saturday it took about an hour and a half to get to the restaurant where it was taking place because it was pouring rain and traffic was AWFUL!

Once we got there though it we were able to relax and enjoy ourselves. We had 2 other couples we were sitting with and found lots of things to talk and laugh about.

similar top / pants / shoes / necklace / earrings 

Since it's a party that takes place during the day the dress is not as dressy as an evening party. I wore my black pants, cold shoulder sweater, lace up shoes, and my current favorite Kendra Scott necklace and matching earrings. 

Sunday afternoon as we were running around it was a chilly California afternoon and nothing goes better with that than a red cup filled with a skinny Peppermint Mocha. Can someone please tell me why coffee somehow tastes better in a red cup?

Time to get to work today and get some things done. Benny and Katie get home Wednesday so I don't have to tell you how happy that makes me.

Happy Monday my friends!

Lisa

XOXO

Friday Favorites #35

Helloooo Friday! 

I'm so happy to see you! Is anyone else having a hard time believing Christmas is just a little over 2 weeks away? I feel like I've made some pretty good progress but when I think about all the things I still want to do it makes my heart race a little.

Let's see what new favorites have shown up on the lists of myself and some of my blogger "friends". I call them friends because I think if we met in real life, that's what we'd be, friends.

I'm linking up with Erika, Narci, and Andrea.

ONE

Have you seen the secret sister type gift exchange on Facebook? You send out one gift and in return you get numerous gifts from friends of friends. I got my first ones this week and it's oh so fun to go to the mailbox and find presents. I also love that you are kind of getting to know your friends friends through this.

So far I've received a personalized toiletries travel bag and Dr. Bronner's soap and loofah along with some lavender oil and Christmas spatulas. (not pictured) I've never tried the Dr. Bronner's before but I'm looking forward to trying something new.

TWO

I've had my eye on the  Urban Decay 'Naked3' eyeshadow palette so I bought it on Black Friday. I love all the neutral shades and having so many choices in one case.

#hadmyeyeontheeyshadow

All of these colors can be used together and mixed and matched. Lots of combinations and looks from a more natural for day to a smokier look for night. Love that.

THREE

I got our tree up and decorated. Now I can really say it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. I love having the lights of the tree on and the warm glow from them in the room.

FOUR

This adorable set of mini-lipsticks by Bare Minerals was something else I ordered on Black Friday.

I suggested mini sets like these for the college girl in your life in yesterdays post. Unfortunately this set is no longer available but I did link to 2 very similar sets yesterday that are in shades of pink and red.

#imayhavetogetthosetoo

How stinkin' cute are these little mini's. They fit in your pocket or clutch. I hate to buy a full size lipstick only to put it on the first time and not like the color. These little babies allow you to try 3 different shades with minimal expense. Perfect!

I'm embarrassed to even show this picture because I was in desperate need of a trip to the get my nails done. I finally carved out some time yesterday and so they look much better now. ;)

FIVE

This is another new product for me that came about during my Black Friday shopping.

Check out the cool packaging.

It's even prettier once you open it. This compact combines a bronzer, blush and illuminator all in one sweep of the brush. It's a time saver and space saver. It really is ideal for women of all ages. I love that I can wear it with my Rodan+Fields mineral peptides and have a soft natural look but Katie could wear it alone for a soft color and glow.

SIX

Kent and I ran to the mall the other night and on our way out we saw these AWESOME (and by awesome I mean outrageous) sport coats. They were actually part of a suit that comes in...wait for it...A BOX.

I snapped these and sent them to the kids.

#whatahoot

We have Kent's office Christmas party Saturday and I totally think he should be "sporting" one of these coats. I love that this tall goofball lets me take pictures of him being silly to send to our kids.

#gooddad

SEVEN

I Instagrammed this picture one morning this week. I get up early every morning. I'm usually up by 6:00 but sometimes it's earlier. I really enjoy the quiet and stillness of the house at that time of day and it allows me time to do my email, check social media, do some R+F business and some blogging before I get the rest of my day going. I'm definitely a morning person.

#whatareyou

That's quite a few favorites for this week.

What things made your list?

I'm guessing a lot of you may be attending or hosting holiday gatherings this weekend.

Whatever you're up to I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Lisa

XOXO

Check these other blogs for their Friday Favorites.

High Five for FRIDAY / Five on Friday / Friday Favorites / oh hey FRIDAY

MEET @ THE BARRE

Life in Leggings

Perfect Gifts For The College Girl

The older your kids get the harder it is to shop for them. Oh for the days when I could go to Gap and come out with 2 shopping bags full of adorable clothes for under $50.

#iloveabargain

Now that they are in college you ask what they want and usually you get an answer of gift cards or cash. Okay, okay, I know that's what they want, but it sure isn't much fun for us mama's, aunts and grandmothers.

Here are a few ideas for your college girl or even some of the other "girls" in your life.

These are all a great deal and you could get several or fill her stocking with fun stuff she's bound to like and didn't even know she wanted.

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10 // 11 // 12

Click the corresponding number to be taken right to that item.

My current favorite necklace

This Kate Spade pendant with a  mix of silver and gold is my current favorite and a go to piece. I love how it makes it possible for me to mix metals and feel like it's OK. I also wrap it and wear it with a little pendant for the perfect layered look.

Let me tell you just a little about some of these adorable ideas. 

#3 & #9- The Kendra Scott Dylan necklace is perfect when you just want a little something around your  neck. You can pair it with your tee or with cute little dress and wear it every single day.

#5 - I ordered this MAC compact on Black Friday and it arrived over the weekend. I. am. loving. it.

It adds just a kiss of bronze, a touch of color and brightens your face. Perfect for these young girls who already have gorgeous skin and just want a hint of color, but us older women can also make the most of it. I went out today with just it,  my R+F Mineral Peptides powder,  mascara and lipstick and felt great about how my face looked.

#6 - Stud earrings are perfect to throw on whether you are dressed up for the day or in jeans, a tee and a ball cap. Totally versatile.

#7 & #11- Katie and I  love to add a pop of color, a different pattern or texture to outfits by adding scarves. These fringe infinity scarves are so easy to throw on and head out the door. The plaid infinity scarf is one of my favorites. So cute and cozy looking.

#10 & #12 - Mini lipstick sets. I ordered a mini lipstick set by Bare Minerals (no longer available) and am loving it. These little sets are not only just too cute in their mini sizes but a perfect way to try new colors before investing in a full size tube. They are also just right to stick in your small bag for a night out.

I feel pretty confident in saying any of these items would be a hit and they are all at great price points and most of them are ON SALE!

Make your girl happy and get her something fun. Her friends will be so jealous.😉

One more day til' Friday!!!

Lisa

XOXO