Golden Globes Glam

Last night the Golden Globes were absolutely amazing! Tina Fey and Amy Poehler did a great job presenting, the presenters and award winners were astounding and the fashion was fabulous! Seeing the fashion on the red carpet was exciting and many of the looks were eye catching and fresh. The biggest trends on the red carpet were cream colored gowns with beautiful details, vibrant reds and softer hair and makeup. The soft waves and lighter makeup was refreshing to see and I felt that the stars looked beautiful. I'm a fan of this anti stiff coif look we typically see on the red carpet.

Best dressed? By far Emily Blunt! I loved her edgy, yet elegant gown and her accessories completely made the outfit.  I also loved all of the off-white gowns. Isla Fisher looked killer and I loved her hair and make-up. Another best? Anne Hathaway in her simple, yet chic Chanel gown. Perfect for a Globe winner!

I also loved Kate Hudson's Alexander McQueen dress, talk about FAB! Jessica Alba's dress was also stunning and you may disagree, but I liked that she paired it with her funky Roger Vivier clutch. Another great dress was Kerry Washington's Miu Miu gown. What a total risk and I think that it paid off.

 Who do you think was the worst dressed? My jaw dropped when I saw Halle Berry's dress. It was awful! I could not believe that she chose to wear that dress. It reminded me of the tube top dress that was popular during college with the brightly colored prints. Definitely my pick for worst dressed!

Who were your favorites and least favorites?

Emerald City

The 2013 Pantone color of the year is Emerald and this trend is already taking on the fashion scene. It has been described as a "lively, radiant, lush green" and I could not agree more. We've seen so many variations of blues and melons over the past couple of years, so it is a nice change of pace to see this elegant color. I personally love the Emerald color because it can be worn for all seasons, which means that you aren't just buying clothes for Spring/Summer and Winter/Fall. The color has a very regale and rich feel, that allows you to incorporate your entire wardrobe without being overly dominant. Try adding it in with accessories along with dressing up and down the pieces. Have fun with this fabulously chic color!

Necklace - BaubleBar

Blouse - Madewell

Dress - Marc by Marc Jacobs

Sunnies - Urban Outfitters

Nail Polish - Essie

Purse - Madewell

Pumps - Steven by Steve Madden

Top - Tory Burch

Emerald on the runway:

Must Have Product for 2013

As silly as it may sound, the Clarisonic Mia has changed my life! Maybe a bit too dramatic, but I have been extremely impressed with the latest rage in skin care. Constantly finding myself reading rave reviews, I decided that this was my big ticket item for Christmas. After the first week, I was astonished by the difference I could already see and feel in my skin. One of the best parts about the Clarisonic is that it only takes approximately 90 seconds from start to finish, which is a big deal for me. I am always looking for ways to cut down my morning routine.

I have dry/oily combo skin, which is always  a pain and with the Clarisonic my skin is not a big slippery mess by the end of the day and my dry patches are gone! I've also noticed that after my skin got used to the new cleanser, I've had fewer breakouts and black heads and my skin is extremely soft! I found that my makeup actually held up for a full day and it looks a lot fresher! Forget all of the other face washes you all use - go and invest in this amazing product! 

Helpful Hints and Tips

After research and my own personal use, I recommend that you just stick with the basic Mia for $119. The only big difference is that the other versions have several speed options. All of the Clarisonics can use the different type of brush heads, so save yourself a buck and get the Mia. The only exception is the Clarisonic Plus, which runs at $225. The Plus comes with the body brush head and is the only one that you can use the body brush with. If you see yourself using it on your body, this may be worth the money!

Another helpful tip? I have to give my mom the credit as she did the research to find where you can get a good deal on this product. After searching many sites, she found that Amazon.com had the best deals. I've even seen some on here for around $100!

The Clarisonic comes with your first cleansing cream to use with the tool; however refills can be a bit pricey. The Small Things blog also covers a review and actually has recommendations for more inexpensive facial products that work very well with the Clarisonic. She recommends using Hope in a Jar for Dry Skin for the night time and Clear as Day by Philosophy. I have yet to experiment with other products, but I am impressed with the Clarisonic's Refreshing Gel Cleanser. 

Image from Clarisonic

I am not affiliated with Clarisonic in any way, I'm just a big fan who has tried many products in the past and felt constantly frustrated until now.

Peppermint Bark

Peppermint Bark is one of my favorite gifts to give during the holiday season. It is absolutely delicious and because it's truly a seasonal treat, it feels extra special to enjoy this classic candy. The past years I've always picked up peppermint bark from stores like William & Sonoma, but this year I decided to try and make it on my own. I was surprised to find that it's very easy and my husband and I even tinkered with a recipe to make it even better! 

Ingredients

-16 oz of semi sweet chocolate chips or bars(you can use different chocolate to render different flavors depending on what you want)

-16 oz white chocolate chips or bars

-12-20 candy canes(miniature work best)

-Peppermint Extract

-Vanilla Extract

Double Broiler Set-up

20 Inch pan

Spatula

Directions

-In a plastic bag, place the candy canes inside, crush up and set aside for later

~In a double broiler, place the semi sweet chocolate chips in the double broiler and set the stove to a LOW setting. If the setting is too high, you will burn the chocolate

- Intermittently stir the chips with the spatula until all the chips are melted and smoothed over

-Place approximately 1 tsp. vanilla extract and 1 tsp peppermint extract in the melted mixture and stir well

-Removing from the broiler, pour the contents onto the pan and smooth over with the spatula so that it is evenly spread 

-Place the pan either in the freezer or outside(if you are somewhere where it gets pretty cold) for about an hour

-After about 30-45 minutes you can start the next phase

-This involves the exact same process only with the white chocolate 

-Once the white chocolate is melted and the vanilla and peppermint extract have been added, bring out/in the pan and pour the white chocolate on top of the other chocolate and spread evenly 

-You can also choose to sprinkle some crushed candy cane inside the melted chocolate and stir it up to add some extra pepperminty-ness!

-Once it has  been poured, sprinkle the crushed candy canes from earlier, place back inside the freezer or set outside for another 3-5 hours for best results

-After done freezing, take out and cut into squares and enjoy!

Christmas Decor

As usual, I found this amazing tree skirt idea on Pinterest and had to make it for our home! It is our first Christmas where we will not be traveling to visit family, so I decided to go all out this year. The tree skirt may look intimidating, but I promise that it is actually not difficult at all! The one thing about it is that it does take time and it requires about 30 hot glue sticks! 

What you need:
Old or inexpensive tree skirt
4 yards of burlap
4 yards of a cream linen fabric (or color of your choice)
Glue Gun and glue sticks 
Rotary board and cutter
Pins

Instructions:
Using the rotary board and cutter, cut 3" strips of the fabric (both the linen and burlap), don't worry about the length. Then take your old tree skirt and remove any emblems or decor that's attached to the skirt, so that you have flat fabric to glue the ruffles onto. You will begin the skirt with the linen fabric and make a small line of glue before beginning to fold the ruffles.

Image from The Johnston's Blog

Once you make your first line of glue, you will take the fabric and begin to pinch a small section of the fabric and press it down into the skirt, so that the pinched portion overlays the previous ruffle. I also thought of it as folding the fabric and overlaying it on the previous ruffle. 

Image from The Johnston's Blog

Image from The Johnston's Blog 

You will do this all the way around the skirt until the first layer is completed. Placing the burlap ruffles is a similar process; however you will want to make the ruffles before you glue them onto the skirt since the glue can be very hot. To do this, you will fold them the same way as you did with the linen and then stick pins in to hold the ruffle. You will not take the pins out until the strip has been glued down and the glue has cooled down.

Image from The Johnston's Blog

You will continue this process until you have covered the entire skirt. What I did with my tree skirt was take twine and make a thick braid to cover the edge of the skirt, which is the area that hugs the tree trunk. To make the braid the perfect thickness, cut 9 pieces of the twine and take three strings per section and begin to braid. I made the braid longer than the area it needed to cover, tied it off both ends, glued it down and then cut off the leftover braid. 

You can also close up the ends of the tree skirt by utilizing the twine. You will need to take a yarn needle and thread the twine through to create ties that can close up the tree skirt. 

Image from The Johnston's Blog

Not committed to creating a tree skirt, but love the look of burlap for Christmas decor? 

I also made this candle holder for our kitchen table, which is very easy to make. You just need to make a trip to Michael's (don't forget to go online for coupons) and pick up a simple glass vase, pine tree leaves with pine cones from the floral section, a candle, burlap and a cute, festive string. I actually found this string at Target recently and liked how the red gave the candle a pop of color.

Warning - I would not recommend that you light the candle as I could see this being a potential fire hazard! 

Tweed

Shirt - JCrew; Skirt - BCBG (old), similar style here; Shoes - Anthropologie; Bracelet - JCrew

Tweed will always be timeless and it's fun to find unique styles that you can dress up or down. I found this skirt and picked it up. To dress it down, I pair it with a tank top and fun sandals. I especially like tweed skirts around November/December because they can be the perfect piece to pair with a nice top and fun jewelry for the holidays!

Cupcake Break!