Cute and Cozy

Happy Friday! This is the start of another long weekend for me. I only had to work 2 days this week! I've had a lot of time on my hands to relax, read, and play with my new toys. Did you get any new goodies over the holidays?

This is my outfit from last Sunday. Since we had a very low key Christmas this year, I wanted to be cute and cozy for our day at home. Ben's brother joined us for a delicious brunch, then we opened gifts and just relaxed for the rest of the day.






Top: J. Crew (thanks for the recommendation Liz! LOVE this top:)
Pullover: Anthropologie Brushed Lace Pullover (which I now see comes in a couple of new colors/patterns!)
Jeans: Pilcro
Lace Socks: Sock Dreams
Bracelet: Anthropologie

The bracelet I'm wearing is one of the Christmas gifts I received from my mother-in-law. It's Anthropologie's Astrological Maps Bracelet (Virgo). I love it!



I was also lucky enough to get a beautiful new coat! Ben got me this nau down blazer. It fits me like a glove, is super soft, and oh so warm. I am thankful to be married to someone with such great taste.


Also, one of the reasons I have been MIA the last few days is because Santa brought me an iPad! I can't put it down:)

Instagram: Happy Holidays!

I hope you all had a wonderful day! Merry Christmas!

The most adorable wrapping paper around:)

Kaitlyn (my "little sister" through Big Brothers/Big Sisters) and I decorated this gingerbread man last week. She had so much fun!

Cheers!

Follow me on instagram (kristin_fm)!

Sale day and a thank you:)

What did you guys think about the sale today? I'm feeling a bit shopped out right now, but I did come across a few things that I couldn't pass up:) I very conveniently had an appointment right by anthro on my lunch break today. I stopped in and picked up the following:

Bow Topped Coat
I considered this coat during the 50% off outerwear promotion, but decided to pass. Now that it's on sale + an additional 50% off that, I had to give it a try! I initially picked out the ivory color, but ended up taking home the blue. The blue color is just gorgeous IRL.

Oh To Dream Quilt
So beautiful and cozy! I love everything about this quilt. I was so excited to find one left in the sale room.

Yuletide Homage Candle
My house now smells like Christmas:)

I was lucky enough to get 3 blog awards this week!!! THANK YOU Carrie (Gratefully Yours), Sayaka (Happily Ever Anthro), and Sweet Laundry for passing on blog awards to me. You guys are the best:)

Trace the Stars

I hope you all are having a wonderful weekend! I slept in this morning, laid around reading, wrapped the last of the gifts, and am now getting ready to head to a holiday party.

This was yesterdays outfit. I LOVE this top. I was a little bit unsure about ordering because the online reviews are mixed, but it is fabulous. It was definitely a wrinkled mess when it arrived, but after a good ironing and wearing it for a few minutes, it relaxed and sort of fell into place. Isn't the print just lovely? This could definitely make my 'favorite purchases of 2011' list!










Top: Anthropologie Trace the Stars blouse
Jeans: AG Stevie
Cardigan: Loft
Shoes: Chie Mihara Loti
Necklace: Vintage (Christmas gift from Ben 2010)

Camellia

I had a very productive day today. I took the day off work and ended up getting a lot of things checked off my to-do list. I went to the bank, went to goodwill to drop off a huge bag of old clothes, picked up a last minute gift, went to the post office (I was hoping that the line wouldn't be too crazy mid-morning on a workday - it was longer than I expected, but it moved fairly quickly), had lunch with my "little sister" (through the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program) at her school, went grocery shopping, got some laundry done, and walked all 3 dogs. Now, I'm ready for a nice, relaxing weekend filled with naps, books, and Christmas cookies!

I picked up the Camellia Blouse during the black friday sale. This top is so nice. It feels very well-made and luxurious. I love the lace panels, the fit, and the buttons on the back. I highly recommenced this top (large is currently available online, and I'm sure there are some floating around in stores).








Top: Anthropologie Camellia Blouse
Cami: Calvin Klein
Pants: Pilcro cords (from last year)
Shoes: Seychelles
Bracelets: Gift from my mom

Party Time!

My company holiday part was on Friday night. I decided to wear my Spinning Lace dress because it has not gotten any love since my engagement pictures, and the lace is so soft, cozy, and perfect for winter! My company has 3 different offices in Oregon. This year, the party was held near one of the other offices in Eugene, OR, which is over 2 hours away from Portland. That is not a fun drive on a Friday evening (tons of traffic). It was also quite foggy. My company booked hotel rooms for anyone that wanted to stay there and drive back the next day. We decided not to stay because we didn't want to have to get a pet sitter to deal with the dogs and really, I would rather just make the drive and sleep in my own bed. So, other than the 5 hours of driving, we had a great night. The party was fun - well, as much fun as an office party can be:).

I spent the rest of the weekend sleeping in, reading, and finishing up our christmas shopping. I also finally decided to get a polyvore account. I'm still trying to figure it all out, but if you want to follow me, here I am:)













Dress: Anthropologie Spinning Lace Dress (Tracy Reese)
Cardigan: J. Crew Jackie
Tights: Hue
Shoes: Indigo by Clarks
Coat: J. Crew

New Necklace

I have admired this Kate Spade necklace ("hang in there glasses pendant") for quite some time. Seeing it on other bloggers (Carol from In Pursuit of Pretty Things here, Hello Dodo here) made me like it even more. When I heard about the Kate Spade sample sale last week, I hopped on over to the Kate Spade website not really expected much, and there it was, this adorable necklace for a price I could not pass up ($35, down from $148). Thanks for the heads up about the sale Chloe and JG (and see JG wear her necklace here!). The necklace was delivered on Monday and I have worn it since (seriously).










Top: J. Crew
Dress: J. Crew
Tights: J. Crew
Shoes: Indigo by Clarks
Necklace: Kate Spade Hang in there glasses


Did any of you get the 25% coupon code from Anthropologie (for having problems/canceled items on black friday)? If so, what did you pick up? I did - thanks anthro!!! Since I need to be shopping for other people right now, I only picked up a couple of things. The one I am most excited about is the Trace the Stars Blouse. If you have tried this blouse on, let me know what you think. TTS? Flattering? Comfy?

Coin Purse

Clearly, my indoor/low light photography could use some work. During the week, it is pretty much impossible to take OOTD shots because it gets dark here at 4:30pm. Mornings are not an option because I am usually still snoozing away when Ben leaves for work. We tried some shots with the flash, but they were terrible! We experimented for a bit, but ended up mainly using the light from our little Christmas tree. I will have to get something figured out, because our winters are very long here in Oregon:)

This is what I wore on Friday, for "jeans day" at work:






Top: Anthropologie Eastpointe Garden top
Cardigan: Anthropologie Coin Purse Cardigan (Liamolly)
Jeans: Pilcro
Shoes: Anthropologie Bouquet of Roses heels


As you know, we decided to do a few "minor" home improvement projects in our bathroom. We painted a couple of weeks ago, put in a new tile floor last weekend (and yes, after 3 days with no toilet, I really, really appreciate having a toilet again!), and here is the situation as of today:

Ummmm, that's right, an entire wall is now missing! I'm not sure how we got to this point (it started off with trying to install a new sink, which led us to realize that the drain pipe is not really in the right location, which led us to realize that nothing is really in the right location, which led us to realize that whomever installed that last sink did a really poor job and left ugly, crappy "patched up" holes everywhere), but Ben assures me that is is "no big deal" and that we will have a wonderful, beautiful, new bathroom in no time! I'm not quite convinced. I know it will turn out great, but I'm not so sure it will be as easy as Ben thinks. I think he is just trying to keep me from freaking out at this point. Wish us luck!

Instagram: shoes!!! (and an APB)

One of my friends is looking for the Two Wheeler Shirtdress in a size 12. If you have any leads or have one you are willing to sell, please please please email me (lovelyapidae@gmail.com). Thank you!

Here are a few instagram shoe shots from the past week or so. Follow me on instagram (username = kristin_fm)!

I hope your first day of December was wonderful!

Dog Rose

I know I've made a good purchase when I cannot wait to wear the item(s). That was definitely the case on Saturday, when I wore 3 of my black friday anthropologie finds! The Dog Rose pullover was a surprise. I didn't really pay much attention to it online, but I was intrigued when I saw it in the store. After I tried it on, I knew it needed to come home with me. It is warm, but not too hot, and the details are gorgeous. The jeans were a no-brainer, and I was delighted to find this set of bangles for only $5.00 (originally $48).

We have been working on our bathroom over the weekend. We now have a new tile floor in place - it is so pretty! I love it (and what a huge improvement over the laminate). The downside is that we had to take the toilet out to put the tiles down, and we can't put it back until everything dries. Ummmm, not convenient when you only have 1 bathroom!!!


















Top: Anthropologie Dog Rose Pullover
Tank: Anthropologie Seamless Reversible Tank
Jeans: AG Stevie Ankle Jeans via Anthropologie
Bracelets: Anthropologie
Shoes: Chie Mihara Teco

Black Friday

Although I am not a fan of the black Friday craziness, I could not resist my favorite store, Anthropologie. I woke up at 3:00am to place an online order, then Ben and I headed downtown to our local store at 5:40am.

When the doors opened, there were about 30 people waiting in line to get in. The selection was better than I expected - the sale room was full, there were lots of apparel racks outside the sale room, a few big tables full of home goods, and a couple of tables with jewelry/accessories. It was a little bit overwhelming, but I quickly made my rounds through the sale racks, then headed to the fitting room. I'm glad we got there early because as I was checking out, I noticed that there was a really long line for the fitting rooms and the store was starting to get very crowded.

Here are a few of the items I scored today:

AG Stevie Ankle jeans in green

Sateen Skinny Pants

Checked Crops

Camellia Blouse

Dog Rose Pullover

Accordion Should Bag

I also picked up a quilt, some curtains, and a few gifts. What about you? What did you score? How was your black Friday experience?

Now, I'm planning on being super lazy. I am going to watch movies, snuggle with the dogs, and nap all day!

Instagram: happy hour, pumpkins, and a vet visit

I am getting so excited about the Anthropologie sale this week (check out Effortless Anthropologie for more info)! I despise black friday shopping (can't stand the hype/craziness/crowds), but I am actually planning on making it to my local store first thing friday morning. I will be there when they open, hope that I find a few things to make it worthwhile, then quickly head back home to go back to bed!

Here are a few of my instagram photos from the past week or so. If you use instagram, follow me (kristin_fm)!!!

We decided to check out a new place in our neighborhood called The Old Gold. We went there for happy hour. The beer was good, but I wasn't super impressed overall.

On another evening, we decided to have happy hour at home! I found this book at anthropologie - we have discovered quite a few really great drinks, thanks to this book.

Not too long after these pictures were taken, we had some delicious pumpkin pie to devour:)

Sweet Zander hanging out at the vet's office. It was time for his annual exam and vaccinations. He looks pretty calm in this photo, but in reality, he was anything but calm. He gets SO anxious and worked up when he has to go to the vet. It was a rough day day for him (he was abused at his last home, and as a result, he is anxious and gets really bent out of shape over vet visits and such). He is lounging on the couch right now, dozing and snuggling with Ben, so I think he has fully recovered from his appointment:)

An OOTD from last week.

Ben and I spent a good part of the weekend painting. We are re-doing our bathroom. Next weekends project = new tile floor!

Optimistic

I wore this outfit last Sunday. Ben and I ran errands, went out to lunch, made a trip to the grocery store and then had friends over for dinner. Ben made a homemade pumpkin pie for dessert. It was delicious, from the homemade pie crust to the roasted pumpkin puree, although I think the freshly ground nutmeg was what really did the trick.

I have been really happy with my Sunday outfits recently. Sounds weird, I know. It just seems like on the past few Sundays I have had lots of time to get dressed and come up with new outfits. I also don't have a dress code to contend with (can you believe that "patterned tights" are prohibited at my office?). Do you tend to go more casual on the weekends, or do you take the opportunity to get a little more creative (and I'm jealous if you don't have a work week dress code to deal with:)?













Dress: Anthropologie Optimist Dress
Cardigan: J. Crew Jackie
Jacket: J. Crew
Belt: Anthropologie
Tights: Anthropologie
Shoes: Chie Mihara Loti