A look back of my favorite outfits of 2012

Starting a blog has been so much fun for me this year and I'm glad I actually decided to go forward and do it. I remember being so nervous posting my first "outfit post" thinking -- why on earth would anyone care what I'm wearing?? -- but you did, because I've come to find that my fellow blogging ladies are some of the most sweet, gracious and creative people I've ever met interacted with -- and I'm truly honored to be a part of such a wonderful and growing community! So thank you all!

Since tonight is New Years Eve and all about the countdowns -- I thought it would be fun to look back at some of my favorite looks of 2012...shall we?

 There will be a second part of this "look back of 2012" in a few days....stay tuned!

Which one of these looks is your favorite of 2012?

Happy New Years eve all!! See you in 2013 : )

-Steph

'tis the season: to celebrate!

Wait, what?? New Year's Eve is this Monday?! Holy shish kabob does that sneak up on us fast -- luckily for me this year I have a friend's wedding to attend which is totally awesome because it is basically a fabulous new years night planned out for you already complete with food, drink, dancing and fabulousness!! All I need to do is get prettied up and show up! For me since I'm still on my shopping ban (not as painful as I thought it would be) I'll be shopping my closet for a dress (and I'll be sure to share that post next week) . But for anyone who needs some inspiration for a New Years look this is what a put together -- 

I think I was channeling my inner black swan here!

Here's where you can find these fabulous New Year's Eve goodies...

What's everyone doing for New Year's this year? 

Are you a stay in kinda gal or are you out and about?

-Steph

back to work {ho-hum}

Isn't it crazy how fast the holidays just come and go like that!? All that preparation and anticipation for one day and then it's all over (sad face) and then you have to go back to work (double sad face). Anyway, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas (I know I definitely did -- and truly blessed with a wonderful family and loved ones). But it's back to work for this girl -- but not without sneaking in another reindeer tee, of course. he he

Outfit Details:

Mustard Cardigan: Target // Reindeer tee: J.Crew Factory // Striped scarf: Target

Black pants: Madewell // Flats: Target

 Anyone else still {proudly} rocking out in holiday mode like me??

-Steph

Shopping with Pretty Little Things {after holiday sale edition}

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, spent it with family and friends, and got all the goodies under the tree your heart desired. If you're like me -- you're family and friends know you well enough to get you gift cards to your favorite stores to support your love of fashion and shopping addiction hobby. The day after Christmas is actually a really great shopping day if you're lucky enough to have off of work or school because the sales are CRAZY! Here are some pics I took just before Christmas of some of my favorite finds at Madewell. Fun fact: Did you know Madewell is the sister company of J.Crew? No wonder I'm so obsessed.....

Kind of obsessed with this sweater....

and this one. Well, really any sweater with fun animal prints on it.

I enjoy this festive sparkly dress for a new years celebration.

Love the idea of pairing my plaid shirt with a black pencil skirt for work. 

I soooo wanted this fox sweatshirt but it was a little out of my price range. But look at the cute detail upclose. This looks so cozy for lounging around the house. Or even out of the house. whatever.

Kinda have an obsession with anything foxes.

Polka dots & leather. perfect!

And this last one is from Abercrombie and Fitch. Not sure the last time I stepped into an A&F store (high school or college maybe) but they have tons of cute plaid button downs -- which I apparently cannot get enough of right now!

Anyone else got some gift cards to burn? What are you looking to score??

-Steph

{Merry Christmas}

Merry Christmas from my little blog to you and yours!

May your Christmas be merry and bright xo

-Steph

Christmas Eve Cozy.

Merry Christmas eve everyone! Today is all about being with family, and to me there is nothing better than staying at home, popping in a good movie (Home Alone or Christmas Vacation anyone?) and getting snuggly by the fire. Here is the perfect comfy outfit with the right amount of cozy that will take you right from Christmas eve night into unwrapping presents and enjoying breakfast Christmas morning.

Where to find these cozy Christmas goodies ---

Hope you all have a magical Christmas eve! xo

-Steph

It's Christmas Eve EVE!

It doesn't get any more Christmassy than these goodies! Here's some fun gift ideas for any festive/Christmas loving person in your life! And seriously, how great do those slippers look?

 philosophy  Christmas shirt / Slip on shoes, $24 / Tech accessory / Lip gloss / philosophy / SteamCream beauty product

Hope you all have a lovely day!

-Steph

What I'd love in my stocking!

Whoever invented the idea of stockings and stocking stuffers is a genius. They are seriously one of my favorite things to open Christmas morning because they are full of small and unsuspecting little goodies. Stuff you would never think of asking for -- but when you get it as a gift it feels like a total score. So I thought I'd share with you some of my stocking stuffer choices.

GAP socks / Brown hat / J.Crew j crew / Fringe scarve / Black umbrella / Madewell / J.Crew buckle belt / Chanel

What do you want to see in your stocking this year?

-Steph

Holiday Details & Ugly Sweaters

As I mentioned before in a previous post here, D and I moved back to Hoboken into this awesome apartment that has so much space and character -- so I couldn't wait to decorate, especially for Christmas. I have to admit though, it has been a little hectic moving in only a few weeks ago, trying to get everything set up and put together -- AND trying to decorate for the holidays. But we made it work. I plan on giving you all an official apartment tour next month when things are less crazy and I can get more done (right now our "office" is more of a "I don't know what to do with this yet so I'll stick the box in here" room. So until that gets all straightened out, I'll just give you a sneak peek of some holiday details -- followed by some ugly sweater pics of a party I went to this weekend.

Enjoy : )

Mantle in the living room. I LOVE the exposed brick here {totally a selling point for me} and with the mantle, I wanted to go with earthy browns, natural pine cones, garland and knit stockings with our initials. We also had an "incident" with a Yankee candle and a certain someone's very expensive and beloved tv which we will not speak of -- which has resulted in battery powered fake candles --much safer let me tell you!!

Winter = furry soft pillows with deer on them. Obviously.

The tree.

Some of my favorite ornaments --NY Giants and a doxie ornament that looks like our little Tiki girl!

More holiday pillows -- which in my opinion could use all year round!

My Christmas chalkboard!

Some festive garland I made with scrapbook paper and baker's twine. easy peasy!

cute vintage salt and pepper shakers my mom gave me to add a little old school charm.

legit mistletoe. Although I do miss the wannabe mistletoe D and I made a few years ago seen here.

Small holiday details in the bathroom. More handmade banners and a jar full of rubber duckies. Side note about the ducks -- D and I have this weird game where we hide these little ducks around the apartment and we have to find them (sooo weird, I know) but it's become a tradition. Not sure how or why it started but it has. So over the years we've collected these little ducks and I thought it would be cute to store them in a little glass jar in the bathroom as decoration.

Even more fun - I found Christmas ducks at Target in those dollar bins so this was the perfect edition for a little holiday cheer in an unlikely spot!

My Christmas ducks representing!

This is the second fireplace/mantle in our bedroom. I added some of my handmade banners, and a collection of other Christmas goodies. Again, I would have liked to have more time and effort in putting together a more polished look -- but since we only moved in 3 weeks ago I'll give myself a break. It's amazing I even decorated for the holidays at all now that I think about it!

More flame-less candles. Best intention ever.

This past weekend D and I went to my friend's annual Ugly Sweater/regift party. Since I've been crazy busy this month, I kinda totally forgot to find or make an ugly sweater so we were scrambling at the last minute. My sweater I found on the clearance rack at Target and D's sweater is from Goodwill for a solid $2. (which by the way, is from Gap and appears to be brand new -- so score, because he likes the sweater on him, and I think I do too!)

Now this my friends, is an ugly sweater. Well actually she's wearing a sweatshirt...but you get the deal!

For the regift portion of the night, the deal is that you are supposed to bring a regift you've gotten over the years or give away something you don't want -- and in return you get someone else's regift. It's definitely really funny to see the crap people give/get and always great for a laugh. And who knows, you might get something you actually like. Like D for example, got this porcelain tree that lit up and he actually liked it. We'll let him put that in his man cave! ; )

Me? I'm keeping my gift a secret because someone in my family might be getting a re-re-re-gift and I don't want him or her to read my blog and find out.

No worries, it's cool -- this is how my family rolls. Re-gifts are a must for our family Christmases because we love to laugh.

Group picture of the whole party. And even though I might look tipsy, I swear I was just blinking! 

But apparently the "ugly Christmas sweater" is back in style -- so you can find really cute ones everywhere. Here are some of my favorites below.

Christmas sweater / Long sleeve shirt / Christmas sweater / Red snowflake sweater / ASOS christmas sweatshirt / Christmas hat

Hope you all have a lovely day : )

-Steph