Saturday, December 6, 2014

TWO



a few of my favorite pictures of Fos over the last two years

Yesterday my little nugget baby turned two. In some ways I feel like he's been in our family forever, and in other ways I feel like those two years raced by and it was just a few weeks ago that he was born and we were moving to California! He is the most special, sweet, tender hearted baby, is the biggest mama's boy, and adds so much to our family. I don't know how I ever lived without him.

He talks non-stop and parrots everything and anything that anyone says, loves motorcycles and fire trucks the most, can recognize and name all the capital letters and many of the lower case letters, can count to 14 (and then starts skipping numbers), loves to be outside, loves to sing, is a champion sleeper (and sleeps in til at least 9 every day), is incredibly polite (he always says "yes, please" and "no, please") and wants to do everything that his older brother does.  He also really loves pancakes.

We spent the weekend celebrating with a family trip to Disneyland, a trunk or treat church activity, and an Olaf cake and balloons on his actual birthday (you can see more about the weekend over on my instagram!) It was the funnest weekend. And he spent a lot of it singing Happy Birthday to himself :)

Happy birthday, sweet boy!

Friday, December 5, 2014

BLACK AND BLUE (AND A GIVEAWAY!)








old navy tee (on sale right now for under $10!)
gap jeans (similar)
similar ankle boots
urban outfitter sunglasses
sassy steals dylan bag, c/o

I've been on a cobalt blue kick the last few months, so this bag was an absolute no brainer. And as it turns out, cobalt goes with pretty much everything. Although I wore it with neutral black, white, and denim here, I've also successfully worn it with red, brown, white, pink, olive green, gray....and the list could go on. It's also one of those year round bags that works for any season! 

Want one for yourself? Well, today is your lucky day because Sassy Steals is giving away one of these bags (in the color of your choice -- there are 5 colors to choose from!), and giving you a cute "Sassy" tee! 

Enter to win using the Rafflecopter widget below, and good luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

COLOR BLOCK SWING TEE TUTORIAL





white plum sweater, c/o
swing tee made by me (similar here) 
similar jeans (splurge or save)
steve madden booties
urban outfitters sunglasses
glimmer lane clutch, c/o (on sale!)

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JANA LAURENE

Happy Halloween!! I don't know about you, but the weeks here are flying by and somehow it's already time for another DIY Friday -- I can hardly keep up! But today I'm excited to show you a fun and easy refashion to make a shirt that is perfect for the Fall. The mix of fall colors in this top combined with this big chunky cardigan just screams Autumn to me!

(And if you're looking for some Halloween inspiration for tonight, you can see all my Halloween projects right here!)


Find the full tutorial after the jump! 

READ MORE

Thursday, December 4, 2014

FALL READING (FOR ME AND MY FOUR YEAR OLD)








The problem with working from home is that it's so easy to get consumed by work and do nothing else but work, work, work. Growing up, reading was a big part of my life -- my family is full of readers, and up until the last few years when I became busy with my blog and two babies, I read a lot. I spent the first two years of Benson's life reading a ton of classics (and of course some fluffy novels thrown in there), and I've missed it lately.

So about a month ago I decided I needed to do more than just work all the time, and I needed to make the time to do the things I love, one of which was reading. I currently read aloud short novels to my boys every night, but I also want to read on my own.

We've all started using Oyster, an awesome subscription based app, that's basically like Netflix for books. For $9.95 a month, you get access to unlimited ebooks on iOS, Android, Kindle Fire, Nook HD, and on the web, and with over half a million books to choose from, we've got plenty of reading material over here!

Oyster has both adult and kids books, so I can read in bed at night or while I'm waiting at gymnastics, or Benson can read while we're in the car (which is perfect for him since we would literally have to go to the library every other day to keep up with his crazy reading habits).

They're offering a 30 day free trial so you can try it out too -- just sign up right here!



Here are a few of the books I'm hoping to get through this Fall...



The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin 

7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey 

Still Alice by Lisa Genova 

The Glass Castle  by Jeannette Wells
  • I read this in a book club a few years ago and remember loving it, so I'm excited to read it again!
The Giver by Lois Lowry

Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank B. Gilbreth and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey 
  • My dad read this to us when I was little, and I think it's his all-time favorite book. I haven't read it since then, so it's time I picked it up again. 




And a few that I'm reading to the boys (or Benson is reading on his own):



The Chocolate Touch by Patrick Skene Catling 
  • we finished this one recently and Benson loved it! 
Franklin's Halloween by Paulette Bourgeois 
  • I'm always on the lookout for shortish series that he can read on his own. I know nothing about the Franklin books, but there are a ton of them and they look cute! 
The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary
  • We also just finished this one and loved it! 
Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard Atwater 

My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
  • This was our most recent read -- we just finished it a few days ago. Both my boys adored it (although Foster didn't follow the story, of course, but he loved all the animal pictures!). 
Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes  



Any other good books we should be reading?? I'd love any recommendations!


Wednesday, December 3, 2014

PRINT MIX MONDAY








h&m tee (old) - similar here and here
asos skirt (on sale!)
bcbg paris heels
urban outfitter sunglasses
similar clutch
stella and dot bracelet
michael kors watch 

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JANA LAURENE

The more I mix prints, the braver I get. When I first started doing it a few years ago, I wore a tiny, almost unnoticeable print, mixed with another only slightly larger print. But now, the bolder the better, I say. If you're going to do it, just go for it. And this Asos floral skirt is just asking to be mixed up with some other big bold print, don't you think? It's one of my new favorites (and it's on sale here)!

Stripes are always my go-to when I print mix, since they go with absolutely everything, but polka dots and plaid are also two super easy patterns that are easy to throw in to any mix (in fact, I'm working on some plaid projects for the holidays, so you can bet there will be lots of plaid print mixing up in here). 

Over the weekend, we celebrated Halloween with my parents in town. We went trick or treating, swam at their hotel pool, visited the Discovery Cube science museum in Santa Ana, and I hosted our traditional frightening feast (all the leftover decor from our spooktacular soiree definitely came in useful!).  It was the funnest weekend, and the 30 degree temperature drop and torrential downpour of rain was the cherry on top. Hope you had a Happy Halloween weekend too!

p.s. I'll be sharing some holiday gift guides very soon, but if you're starting on your holiday shopping already, you can get 25% off at Old Navy with code SAVE through Wednesday, and Gap has 30% off regular priced items through today with code JOY! Go snag some Christmas jammies, or a few sweaters! 

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

ALL ABOUT THE DELICATE







target sweater (under $20!)
keep it close hammered disc necklace, c/o
keep it close gold bar necklace, c/o
glimmer lane ampersand and love rings, c/o
inpink midi rings, c/o
stella and dot triangle ring, c/o
similar bag (under $30!)
michael kors watch
stella dot spike bracelet, c/o
stella dot sparkle bracelet, c/o


PHOTOGRAPHY BY JANA LAURENE

Right now, delicate gold jewelry is my favorite. I've been collecting a bunch of different pieces over the last few months, and it's so fun to try out different combinations every day. There's just something so luxe and chic about a bunch of simple gold jewelry, all stacked and layered, and having that chic sparkle instantly elevates an outfit without ever overdoing it.

Don't know how to wear yours or don't even own any? I've got you covered -- I shared a few ways to layer your delicate jewelry right here, and today I have a great giveaway with Keep It Close jewelry so you can snag a few delicate pieces to start building your collection. Their shop is all gorgeous, simple, modern pieces that are perfect for layering -- I'm totally in love with this wishbone necklace and this state necklace!

Enter with the Rafflecopter widget below to win $50 to Keep It Close! Or, if you can't wait, use coupon code MERRICK2014 for 15% off your order!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, December 1, 2014

MID WEEK STEALS (FALL SHOPPING LIST)

Fall Shopping List

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8


Just a few things that are on my Fall shopping list right now, all under $50 (except those jammies -- they're just a few dollars over). Click the numbers above or the images below to shop each item!

I'm also on the hunt for a pair of leopard booties and the perfect fitted leather jacket...but those are posts for another day (and any recommendations are welcome!)

Happy Wednesday!