WIWW #35

The prodigal WIWW daughter has returned home!

Life has slowed down a teeny bit and I'm so glad to be back for WIWW! My life just seemed a little emptier when I wasn't participating and I'm sure you all missed me. {no need to let me know otherwise!}

Here's what I have for this week:

Thanksgiving meal with my family:



sweater: loft
denim shirt: walmart
skirt: kohls
boots: nine west via dsw

I hope you life this outfit. Because it is probably the most comfortable thing to wear, so you will probably be seeing it for the next 8 wiww posts :)

Sunday - Church, Lunch With Friends







other than my jacket and my boots, I'm a walking Loft ad :)
jacket: Klassy Kids, Ruidoso, NM

Monday - Back to Work, {wah wah wahhhh}





I felt like a cute outfit was needed to beat the back to work blues!

denim shirt and belt: walmart
cardi: target
skirt and headband: loft

Tuesday - Work





shirt and cardi: target
pants: j.crew
shoes: gianni bini via dillards
purse: Kate Landry from dillards on major sale black friday!

Y'all. I loved this out. I walked out of the house and was ready to start my own twitter hash tag: #GoBoldOrGoHome. In my mind, I was rockin' all day long. And then, after lunch, I walked through the Sub {Student Union Building at the college I work for} to get a coke and a lot of the students were staring. And in my mind I was like, "psshh, they wish they could have pants this cool." And then people kept looking and finally it hit me. My outfit was not only #GoBigOrGoHome, but it was also #HelloPrimaryColors!

Yeah, it kinda deflated my Go Big bubble :)

Don't forget to check out The Pleated Poppy for more What I Wore Wednesdays!

My last WIWW link up. 

Christmas Fun

1. egg nog or hot chocolate? hot chocolate. even the thought of egg nog makes me want to gag!

2. does santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? santa leaves overflowing stockings and an occasional wrapped gift.

3. colored lights on tree/house or white? white is timeless and classic, but i'm very partial to the blue lights on my parent's house.

4. do you hang mistletoe? nope. cody might enjoy the addition of it though!

5. when do you put your decorations up? usually thanksgiving weekend, depending on how busy we are and when we get home from visiting family

6. what is your favorite holiday dish? McDonalds :) my family has a long standing tradition of going to the Christmas eve service at church followed by a festive meal at micky d's. cody *hates* mcdonalds, so I know he really loves me by joining in with this tradition!

7. favorite holiday memory as a child? A few of my favorites include:
-We had a flexible Santa that we hid all around the house {I like to believe my parent's started the concept of Elf On The Shelf!} and I love remembering the funny places I've seen it. {Cody and I have continued this tradition on}

{this was in my purse earlier this week!}

-We always went to church, then to McDonalds, and then drove around town to look at lights on Christmas Eve, while awarding one house for the least amount of effort to decorate and then finishing up the evening by opening one gift.

-Not being able to go into the living room to see if Santa came up my parents were up, had the fireplace on, the coffee ready and the video camera rolling. It was pure torture as a child!

8. when and how did you learn the truth about santa? this is slightly embarrassing, but I must have been the most naive child ever! I figured it out in the FIFTH GRADE. I can't even pretend like I had an idea before that, because I really don't remember it. I just remember going back to school after the holidays and my teacher {who was also a family friend} commenting on my bracelet, "I knew you were going to get that!" and in my head I thought, "Um... I got it in my stocking." All I know is, I still believe and Santa still comes.. here's hoping that doesn't change any time soon :)

9. do you open a gift on christmas eve? in previous years we have, but we've let this tradition go as we have brought in-laws into the family and aren't always together on Christmas eve

10. how do you decorate your christmas tree? our tree has white lights and lots of colored ornaments on it! My parents used to have the tree with "special" {maybe special looking, ha!} ornaments that my brother and I made growing up, but they've advanced on to a beautifully decorated tree with a few of the sweet memory ornaments still on it {though maybe slightly hidden now!}

11. snow! love it or dread it? love the idea of it, it's really nice to have warm temps on Christmas day!

12. can you ice skate? I have no idea. we don't do much of that in texas!

13. do you remember your favorite gift?

I have several, as my parents are really good gift givers! Getting my puppy Maggie in the 9th grade was such a fun day. They wrapped up the tiniest collar you've ever seen and then brought out this ball of fur. Oh my. She was adorable.

{this is not maggie. she was even more adorable. I thought you could use a visual for the cuteness though!}

I spent the summer after my freshman year of college in Australia and bought a special ring while I was there. My parents actually had one of my Australian friends buy one of the matching rings for my Christmas gift. I knew it must have been a lot of work and both rings are still very special to me.

And, the year I got my first piece of Jon Hart still stands out in my mind.I was totally shocked. And still love that piece to this day!

14. what's the most important thing about the holidays for you? being with my family and giving to others

15. what is your favorite holiday dessert? peppermint punch! actually, the only time I like egg nog is when it's hidden with peppermint ice cream and half and half! I'll have to get permission from Bami to share our sacred recipe on the blog :)

16. what is your favorite holiday tradition? see above for our traditions, they're all my favorite!

17. what tops your tree? a sparkly silver star

18. which do you prefer: giving or receiving? growing up, I was always the kid who had their christmas list ready to go in october! the older I've gotten, the more I do love to give to others, not only to family members, but any one in need. The Ronald McDonald House is usually our charity of choice because of our experiences there.

19. candy canes: yuck or yum? best if served in peppermint punch!

20. favorite christmas show? A Christmas Story! we've actually visited the house it was filmed in. it was so great!

21. saddest christmas song?
I really can't think of one...

22. what is your favorite christmas song? oh holy night and all I want for christmas is you by mariah carey. it's pretty much on repeat for the month of december. and now I feel like I need to go change my ringtone too :)

join the fun here!

plus i'm linking up with My Chihuahua Bites! for 2 on Tuesday!



Let me know if you answer the questions too!

Dear Abby - 9

dear abby,
I was always taught that you couldn't wear brown and black together. For example, if you wear a black skirt, you shouldn't wear brown shoes with it. Is this true, because I've seen several breaking this "rule" recently. So is the "rule" I was taught wrong or are people just breaking this "rule"?

C.C.


Great question C.C! Black and brown has become a new trend that I've been seeing more and more of.  It seems like in the past few years, people have thrown the this common rule out of the window and created a whole new one!

Black and brown are both neutrals and are super easy to pair with almost any color, including each other! Here are some of my favorite, go to outfits that actually combine black and brown together.






And here are some examples of combining the colors that I pulled off of Pinterest:

Source: anntaylor.com via C on Pinterest

Source: thehighheeledhostess.com via Megan on Pinterest

Source: kansascouture.com via Lindsay on Pinterest

{side note: why are they only gorgeous, tiny people pinned for fashion on pinterest? that needs to change!}

If you're thinking about breaking the old rule and creating a new one, here are some tips for wearing black and brown together:

1. Make it obvious! If you wear black from head to toe with black toned jewelry and only wear brown shoes, well then, it will probably look like you got dressed in the dark and grabbed the wrong shoe! {Laugh all you want, but I've had coworkers show up in 2 different shoes because of this!} If I'm going to wear black and brown together, I try to wear gold jewelry to tie it together. To me, gold is a really easy accessory that makes the colors flow together.  Leopard print is another easy way to make the two match, as it has both colors in it.  If you wear a black dress, try to include several accessories in brown so that it's known you meant to wear them together.

2. Start out small. If you think you're going to be self conscious wearing the colors, try wearing an outfit with the two colors for a short amount of time: on a date night, to church, grocery shopping one morning. It's better to ease yourself into the combination, rather than wearing it for a full day and worrying about what rule people believe about the colors!

3. Throw the rules out and fake it till you make it! Here's what you need to remember: wearing black and brown together is totally acceptable. So take your favorite pieces in these colors, create a fabulous outfit and wear it knowing you're rockin' it! Believing you look awesome will increase your confidence, thus increasing how great the outfit looks on you!

Thanks for a great question C.C.!

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have a dear abby question? send me an email at abbyneinast{at}gmail dot com to have it answered!

I Feel Your Pain.

{we spent thanksgiving day with Cody's family and some of his parents close friends and their kids. the following is a conversation between the 14 and 12 yr old sons. Caleb, 14, is a tall, slim and lanky. Jon, 12, is going through the slightly chubby phase that a lots of us can relate to. enjoy!}

caleb: this one time I was at the pizza inn and I ate 64 pieces of pizza, 4 salads, 12 breadsticks, 8 coke refills. then I went home and had 4 bowls of cereal and I was still hungry.

jon: {dead serious} yeah, it's so unfair - he ate all of that and didn't gain anything..I had 2 slices of pizza and a salad and gained half a pound!


at least there's one man out there who feels our pain ladies!

Black Friday Sale

This is the first year in our married life that Cody and I haven't stayed up late or gotten up really early to hit the Black Friday sales. Even though I've poured over the ads and truly haven't found anything I need to purchase, I'm still getting antsy to head out and enjoy the rush of the day!

Unfortunately, we're a good 45 minute drive away from the major stores, so it looks like I'll have to pass the Black Friday sales on to you. From now until Monday, November 28, use the code BLACKFRIDAY to save 20% off of any item in my Etsy shop! These prints make for an affordable gift for many people, so don't miss out!



Head over there now to get first choice!

So tell me, do you head out and enjoy the hustle and bustle of the sales or do you stay warm and cozy, enjoying the chance to sleep in? :)

Happy Black Friday shopping everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving!

May you be blessed with the company of family and friends, a house of warmth and laughter, and a feast of food and joy this Thanksgiving!

Love,

Cody, Abby & Kota

Calling All Bloggers!

Let There Be Thankfulness - Giveaway

Growing up, I have found memories of my mom leaving out a blessing jar to prompt us to write down things that we were thankful for. It was always a special time for us to go back and read the different things we put in over the course of the year. I'm so thankful that my parents instilled a sense of gratitude in us. Click here to continue reading at the review blog to learn about your chance to win a DaySpring gift card!

Father Of Joy - Flea Market Round 2

Sorry that it was such a quiet week around these parts! As Cody best said, we worked 8 hour days at work, only to come home and work another 8 hours getting ready for our craft show. It was tiring people!  The good news is the show went great! We were very, very happy with how many items we sold. And while we are totally biased, we definitely had the cutest booth at the event! Here's a peek of what out booth looked like and the products we were offering:




We've got a few things in the works to be able to offer one last chance for people to pick up Christmas gifts, stay tuned for more details! Until then, check out the Etsy shop! I've added many of our new print designs. They're very affordable and make great gifts for all people!

Hope you have a great week!

Dear Abby - 8

dear abby,
where have you been? where are all of your normal, fabulous, witty posts? my life is just incomplete without your blog and I need to know when you will be back.*


oh, dear readers. I am sorry that you have been missing out on your daily doses of blog fun over here at Life At It's Finest. Do you remember a long time ago when I posted embarrassing pictures on my blog and talked about a Flea Market? Well, we're back at it!




We're a little consumed with projects right now, but I'm so excited about what all we have to offer! If you're from the area and have some free time this weekend, you should check out the Flea Market at the Abilene Civic Center on Friday night and all day Saturday!

So, dear readers, hang tight and things will get back to normal around here soon!


*this may or may not be a real dear abby question. you decide :) next week we'll be talking about trendiness and age appropriateness!

Jealous.

I know jealousy is wrong, but I think I'm rather justified in this situation.

Yes. My mom got to meet The Pioneer Woman, Marbolo Man and family this weekend!

{she looks rather happy, huh?}

{the friend she made while waiting in line}

 They were all in Amarillo for the rodeo and took the time for the book signing. Both of my parents said they were just the nicest, most down to earth people you've met. Funny enough, while my mom was standing in the long line waiting for autographs, my dad was at the front of the store watching the football game, chatting it up with MM, the boys and Pa-pa the whole tim! Ree even commented that her lips were so dry because of the weather and my dad whipped out his chapstick and offered it to her... and she used it! {I realize some people get grossed out by sharing chapstick. Me, not so much, especially when it comes to a celebrity:)} 

Ree totally told my mom that she was so lovely and that she loved her hair. I think it is obvious that they are clearly BFF. {Which is why I can now call her Ree and not her full title of The Pioneer Woman.} Texting with my mom during the event was so fun and I am so sad that I didn't get to be there. It's certainly on my bucket list now though! 

And one photo she couldn't resist....