the best xmas ever...

Do you remember in 4th grade when you got to test out all the string instruments and then pick your fave and poof...you were in orchestra?  And on that magical picking day on my 2 block walk to school I though, I'm totally going to pick the violin.  It was small and cute and always got the good parts in songs...and then when I walked into the room and the music man said violin...i said...cello.  Where that came from I had no idea, but something in my gut told me to pick that huge awkward instrument and I'm so happy I did.

I played the cello for 9 years....all the way through senior year of high school...and I was pretty good. Not amazing, like I wanted to be, but that meant lots of extra scale practice...and who wants to do that.. and with everything else I was doing in high school I didn't have the patience or the drive to really give it 100%.  And since I was renting my cello, when I graduated high school, I stopped playing...and have missed it ever since.


Fast forward to real time where the cello is like the coolest instrument ever, which duh I knew when I was 8, and every time I see a cello or hear a cello I get a little weepy that I don't have one, and that I didn't keep playing.  And every year at bday/xmas time, I ask for a cello.  It's almost become a little joke because when you ask for something for 13 years and you never get it, you kind of just admit defeat and ask anyways like haha, I really want a cello but I know it's not going to happen, so just get me something from my amazon wishlist.

And then it was Xmas morning...and J told me that he was going to get my present and to stay in the bedroom...and in my head I'm thinking it's an iPad because that's what I was hoping for, but I was confused as to why I had to sit in the bedroom for him to surprise me with a little box from Apple.  And then I heard the tv turn on and I'm like um wtf did he forget and just decide to watch a little tv first?   And then I heard a baby elephant noise (because I joked that maybe I got a baby ellie for xmas), and then I was just totally confused, but thought maybe he's just playing around on my iPad that he's about to give me after he's done randomly watching tv while I sit in bed confused.

Then he opens the bedroom door and hands me a note and a hoodie.  He tells me to read the note and put the hoodie over my head...um yeah...I was like is he going to propose again, doesn't he realize we're already married...and then I was like am I being kidnapped, what is going on?  So I read the note which he's hand written the lyrics to John Legend's "All of Me"...and I'm like that's so sweet, but what does that have to do with an iPad, and I throw the hoodie over my head as he opens the bedroom door.  And then I hear a piano playing the opening notes to "All of Me", and then I hear a cello playing and I'm like that is definitely not an iPad, and he takes off the hoodie and there sitting in my living room is the most perfect cello ever and it's all mine!!!  It seriously was such a surprise and the most perfect gift I have ever received and it made me the happiest girl on xmas morning!!  And to see how excited J was to give it to me made me even happier.  The fact that he spent all night planning how he would give me my dream present filled me with such love and joy.  


So I spent all day just randomly dancing and shouting, I got a cello!!  And I can't thank J enough for being the most perfect husband and getting me the one thing I always wanted but never thought I would get.  Now I hope he doesn't regret his decision when he gets to listen to me practicing scales all day long.   

I hope you guys all had a very Merry Xmas and got everything you wanted!  Only a few more days to the new year...who's excited???
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christmas cards and outtakes...

Merry Christmas Eve friends!!  It's going to be a lovely 80 degrees here today and I'm hosting xmas eve dinner so it's going to be a day of cleaning and cooking and drinking to avoid actually cleaning and cooking!  Hooray for the holidays!!  I also wanted to share some fun pics from the day we took our xmas pictures.  J is making a rare appearance on the blog and as you can see we got a little goofy as we normally do when we are both in front of the camera.  Hope you enjoy the picture we used for our xmas card (the one below) and all the funny outtakes from the day!  









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plaid and ponchos...




 Well kids, it's Xmas week, which means I need to wear this amazing plaid poncho basically everyday because once Xmas is over the two or three red clothing items I own go back into hiding in the closet.    And if I'm being honest I bought this amazing kensie poncho to match Henri's sweater...because that's the kind of cray cray I am now.  J thought that we looked ridiculous being twinsies, but I of course loved it...and I'm sure Henri did too!  We also took our Xmas Card pics in these outfits which I'll share later this week and they turned out perfectly!!  Happy Monday loves!


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glasses and berets...

 You guys Christmas is almost here...and it is in the 80s in SA.  I mean come on Mother Nature...work with me here!  I have more than half a closet full of sweaters, and boots, and furs, oh my, but I can't really wear them because I will sweat to death.  My best solution right now it to wear my sweaters with shorts or skirts and throw on a hat.  At least then I get a little bit of winter...at least that's what I'm telling myself.  

And this cute little glasses sweater was just quirky enough to be paired with a little bow beret.  It lets me channel my inner Parisian...oui oui!






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black leather and navy sequins...



Anyone else feeling a little sparkly today??  Well if you read my post on StyleLushTV then you've already seen this too cute outfit from Apricot Lane, but I love it so much that I wanted to share it again!  One of the things I noticed about people in SA is that they love to match.  I'm talking like the exact little swirl pattern that is in their top needs to match the necklace they're wearing, which has to match the earrings that they have, which has to match the purse that they're carrying for the night...it's exhausting.  And one of the biggest colors that people seem to have a problem with is navy.  Like they literally want everything navy, from head to toe...like hi I'm a blueberry...delish!

And since I'm not a huge fan of looking like Violet from Willy Wonka, pairing this amazing navy sequin dress with a black faux leather jacket seemed like the obviously choice.  Black and navy are so classic together and you know I love a good mix of edgy and glam in one.  And if you are planning on stopping by the "Give Sparkle" Holiday Party at AL tomorrow night, then this dress is so perfect to rock while stuffing your face with cupcakes and champs!! 

Also, do you like how I made it extra windy the day I took these pics to give it that rockstar flair.  Yep I'm just good like that.




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flirty skirts and turtlenecks...


 Well kids...this weekend I became another year older...lucky me.  Bad news is I'm now 33, which is almost mid 30s, which is basically 40.  Good news is I don't look 33, so three cheers to that!!  Most of the weekend I spent relaxing which is always nice when you're an old lady like myself.  The best part though was taking xmas pics with J and H!  I can't wait to show you how they turned out.  There are always lots of laughs when J and I take pics together and this time was no exception.  Plus Henri and I had matching outfits which J couldn't stop making fun of, but I thought we were too cute!  We definitely got a few double takes from people walking by, but you know I love a little extra attention! 

And while you'll have to wait a bit longer to see those looks, today I'm sharing another one of my fave holiday looks that was featured on my GFB post for StyleLushTV.  I love this flirty skirt with a chunky turtleneck sweater, and black and white is always a win!  







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project GFB...



Happy December pretties!!  It's the most wonderful month of the year!  Why you ask...well duh, it's my bday month!!  #TeamSagittarius 
But this month is also amazing for another reason!  I'm so excited to announce the I've been chosen to be one of the Guest Fashion Bloggers for StyleLushTV and my first guest post is up and ready to be loved HERE!!!  This is one of the outfits I featured in that post and I'm kinda obsessed with it.  Now if you know me in real life then you know I love a good "theme" outfit...and what better time of the year to be holiday-ish than December?  The best part about this look is that I'm legit wearing red and green, like find me rudolph and get me a sleigh because it's xmas colors, but by wearing olive and maroon it's more, that's kind of a cool color combo to rock, and I can totes get away with it without looking like one of Santa's elves.  Plus no one is really paying any attention to my outfit because this beanie is just the best thing ever...which you already know because I rocked it in my post last week, and you will most likely be seeing much more of it because like I said...best.thing.ever.




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