Friday Favorites

It’s Friday, so y’all know what that means! It’s time to link up with Erika, Andrea, and Narci to let everybody know what some of my favorite things are right now!

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SALE ALERTS are always a favorite, and I’ve got a couple for you today!

SALE ALERT #1:

First of all, MY LUGGAGE IS ON SUPER SALE!

I rarely travel, so until last year, my luggage was realllllllly old and verrrrrrrrrry  sad.  I had two trips planned at the end of the year (to L.A. and to New York), so I knew I needed to invest in some new luggage.

WELL.  I’d seen just about every blogger I follow talking about a certain set, so I decided it was the set I needed.  #allthebloggerstoldmeto

The bloggers were right.  The luggage is awesome, and right now most pieces are over 50% OFF and then an extra 15% OFF with the code WKND. It’s high quality and an excellent price. The wheels spin, it glides thru an airport terminal with ease, and BOTH SIDES ZIP CLOSE which is an absolute game changer. The handle goes up and down easily, you can lock the brakes, and it looks great too.

The luggage is A-FREAKING-MAZING.  If you want to see the interior and a video of how it works, click through the link and click the prompt that says “watch video” under the picture!

knot front tee / denim jacket / earrings / Sims stone necklace / black jeans /similar wedge sneakers / leather Barrington tote

The trip recaps were two of my favorite posts from last year, so you might want to hop over to see them if you haven’t already!

In October, I  went to L.A, with a group of bloggers and shot the Gibson Glam Holiday collection.  It was such a great collaboration to be a part of, and I was honored to be included.  Click HERE for the post!

In November, I went to New York City with some of my best girlfriends.  It was an absolute blast.  Click HERE for the post.

SALE ALERT #2

This set just went 40% OFF, and it’s crazy comfy and super cute!  I’ll be lounging around the house all Fall and Winter long in this….and I’ll also be wearing it to run around town. I LOVE IT.

terry sweatshirt / terry joggers/ sunglasses / earrings/ reversible cognac tote / bandana /  Birk dupe option

Just like the top, the terry joggers are a nice soft blue. And once again, Lou and Grey knocks it out of the park with the cute factor AND the comfy factor.  #wellplayed

I’m wearing a medium in the top and a small in the joggers.

If you don’t love a matching set, these joggers would be great with a white tee and denim jacket!

Colleen Rothschild is having a BACK TO SCHOOL SALE!  You get $25 off of a $100 purchase with the code BACK25, or you can get $50 off of a $200 purchase with the code BACK50.  Click HERE to shop the entire site.  And if you are interested in taking advantage of the sale but don’t know what to buy, click HERE to get to my post where I share my favorites!

I’ve received tons of amazing feedback this week from readers who bought the cleansing balm (my favorite of all the CR products) last week.  And don’t forget, you can grab the jumbo size HERE. I’m telling you…if you try it, you love it!  In fact, I even have women saying that their daughters, husbands, and teenage sons are using and loving it too!  I always refer to the cleansing balm as a gateway product….people who try it always love it so much that they almost always end up being devoted to several different products from the brand.

I did have a lot of questions asking if I use the balm to remove eye makeup and the answer is HECK YES.  I take my dry fingertips, scoop up some of the balm, rub it all over my face and gently sweep it back and forth over my eyes.  It’s so gentle that I can even open my eyes before I rinse and wipe it off.  It melts my eye make up away and leaves my skin feeling SO SOFT, SO CLEAN, and SO HYDRATED!

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Did you see my Target post last week?  I had so much fun creating the outfits for that post, and it’s where I first showed the below sandals that are super comfy and just under $20.  In that post I also mentioned that I had grabbed additional Target items I hadn’t yet shown…well I couldn’t wait any longer to show this puff sleeve tee!  (I also just ordered this lounge sleep sweat shirt with fantastic reviews.  It’s DARLING with the colorful stripes, and I can’t wait to get it!)

The fab mustard color is what initially drew me to the top, but there’s SO MUCH I love about it.  The puff sleeves (that aren’t overwhelming), the gathered neckline, the relaxed fit, the length.  It’s all so good and I highly recommend it!  The color is great now, but it’s going to transition perfectly to Fall. I’m wearing a small.

I wore the top twice this week and styled it just a little bit differently each time.

I wore it to dinner with wedges and a tassel necklace (on the left) and to the mall with flat sandals (on the right).

LEFT:  mustard top /tortoise shell and hoop earrings/ necklace / boyfriend jeans ON SALE / must have wedges/ bracelet

RIGHT:  mustard top / drop earrings/ ankle jeans sold out / brown sandals/ bracelet

Click HERE for the bracelet!  I love the white, the gold, and all of the different textures.

And as a friendly reminder, the jeans on the left in the collage above are my boyfriend jeans that are still available for Anniversary Sale pricing through Sunday.

They are a very dark wash, have some stretch, and the cuff can be customized to your liking with a small cuff or big thick cuffs.  These aren’t huge boyfriend jeans that just hang on you, these are flattering boyfriend jeans!  Thank you, KUT!  I’m wearing my regular size 4s here, but I would suggest sizing down if between sizes.

blouse / boyfriend jeans / tortoise shell hoop earrings/ wrap bracelet / must have wedges ON SALE

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For some reason, it seems that reader questions come in waves.  There will sometimes be stretches where I don’t really feel like I get any questions for a bit…..and then the questions will POUR IN.  Sometimes they are about all different subjects, but sometimes, something will inspire the same question from lots of different people.

When I shared my BEFORE And AFTER Invisalign pictures, I got TONS of questions.  Most of the questions revolved around my experience about Invisalign (which we’ll get to next week), but I also had quite a few questions about my make-up favorites that were sparked because of my lipstick in the pic (it was this lipstick and gloss set still available in the Anniversary Sale).

I’ve done two pretty comprehensive makeup posts this year already, so I thought I would link them here!  I had a lot of fun doing these beauty posts, so I’m actually planning another one later this month where I try out some new products!

Click HERE for my makeup post with Nordstrom.  This post took a sweet forever, but I was very proud of how comprehensive and informative it was. Go take a look!

Click HERE for my beauty post with Sephora.   I did this post after I did the above Nordstrom post, and it’s here where I discovered the Magic Cream and bronzer drop combo.  It’s THE ONLY THING I’ve worn this summer and I love the bit of coverage and the healthy glow the combo gives me!

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream / Drunk Elephant Sunshine Drops

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream – I started using this back in March, and it’s definitely a Top 3 favorite now!  This is one of the new products I added into my routine after reading about it on several blogs and in several “BEST OF” beauty articles.  Lots of users compared it to the much more expensive La Mer line, but said they preferred this product!  That was it, I was convinced I needed to try it.  Officially, it’s a cream that floods skin with moisture for a glowing complexion in a flash.  A little goes a long way with this cream, and it’s not greasy, but it is incredibly hydrating.  There is a very light rose scent to this cream, and I don’t normally care for rose, but it doesn’t bother me at all.

I’m 6 months in, and I still have about 1/4 of the jar left.

Drunk Elephant Sunshine Drops –  This product is awesome.  AWESOME. You can wear it by itself, or you can mix it in with a moisturizer or serum.  I obviously mix it with the magic cream. It gives you a really pretty glow/tan immediately! I will use this when I’m not doing full make up but still want to have color.  Now, it doesn’t give full coverage, but I LOVE IT. This product also has a lot of amazing ingredients in it that are great for your skin.  It’s made of vitamins, antioxidants, platinum peptides, and barrier-supportive fatty acids that defend skin from environmental free radicals.  YES, PLEASE!

Below you can see how I just add a pump to the magic cream and then blend it together before applying it all over my face and neck.  I’m telling you, it just gives your face a wonderfully healthy looking GLOW.  It ends up that it’s the only “foundation” I wore all Summer, and I don’t see myself stopping with this combo anytime soon.

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream/ Drunk Elephant Sunshine Drops

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Family time at the ranch is always a favorite for me.  There’s nothing better than spending dedicated time with my favorite people on earth at my favorite place on earth.

Something that has been really cool for our family this summer is to see the progression of a new sunflower field!  Chris planted 5 acres of sunflowers on the ranch land back on May 24th.  Do you see all of that small green growth?  That’s the start of the sunflowers about 2 weeks after they were planted.

We didn’t get to visit them again until the end of June, and they were about 3 feet tall then!  Chris had never done anything like this before, so we were thrilled that it looked like it was going to work!  He did all sorts of research, ordered some seed online, and hopped on a tractor for almost a full day to prepare the area, till the soil, plant the seeds, etc.

WELL.  Chris and Carter went down again two weekends ago, AND Y’ALL!  LOOK AT THE SUNFLOWER PATCH!  Only a small number of them had popped, but it was still so pretty!

GORGEOUS.

We think in about a week there will be sunflowers as far as the eye can see!!!

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Watching your child reach a goal is always a favorite moment for parents.  We were so excited for our little guy back last month when he signed with a select soccer team!  He has worked very hard, and we are incredibly proud of him.  (And we can’t stop laughing at the eagle’s face.)

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Time with girlfriends is always a favorite.  I cherish the time I spend with these ladies, and my goodness do we laugh.

(I’m wearing my new Target top, click HERE to see how I styled it 3 ways).

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And speaking of girlfriends…

In addition to blogging, being a mama of 4, and a cookbook author – my friend Shay also runs an awesome travel agency!  Click HERE for their new website that they launched last week!!!

Erika / Shay / Clare

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ANNIVERSARY SALE | LAST CHANCE!

Okay, ladies!  Anniversary Sale pricing ends on Sunday night, so this is your last chance to grab some of these awesome Fall items at these incredible prices!  Surprisingly, some of my favorite Anniversary Sale items are still available…

This is the blardigan that started the blardigan craze.  The OG blardi, if you will. Haha!  This is the one I love wearing at home the most because you can really wrap up in it.  This is the one that Carter has too.  And yes, he has it in my size and he loves how it’s long on him and how it really keeps him cozy and warm.

This is the original blardigan in all of it’s cozy glory. It has pockets and this waterfall type drape. It also comes in a really dark grey (almost black) and pewter.

THIS MAKES AN INCREDIBLE GIFT, so think if there is anybody that you need to give it to for Christmas.  It’s actually my absolute favorite gift to give for all sorts of occasions (Christmas, Mother’s Day, new baby, birthday, etc.).  I’ve also given countless blardigans to friends and family members that are going through a tough time (like a cancer diagnosis or the death of a family member).  I know it sounds cheesy, but giving a blardigan is the closest thing to giving a hug that there is.

These next 3 items are worth every dang penny at full price, but when they go on sale it’s time to stock up and this is your last chance.  YOU’RE WORTH IT!

Click HERE to see my detailed thoughts  about my favorite bras and undies.  And please know it’s not just me that loves these items, many of my readers are 100% obsessed too.  In fact, when I received over 1,200 comments on the post when I asked y’all to tell me what you were most excited about in the anniversary sale, an overwhelming amount of responses mentioned the bra and the undies!  Everybody loves to stock up with the sale prices! And fyi, if you are smaller chested, I hear that this bra is the one you should go for.

bra / undies/ best strapless bra

I can’t wait for Fall temps so I can start wearing my new SPANX distressed skinny jeans.  Listen, nobody is more surprised than me.

If you are somebody that doesn’t enjoy the half tuck, you need to consider these jeans.  And if you are somebody that loves wearing long tunics with jeans, these should be a total no brainer for you.

I know that so many bloggers rave about and swear by the SPANX faux leather leggings and I absolutely love the way they look, but since I rarely dress up enough for those, I thought this denim pair would be fun to try.

I mean, I love jeans….and I love leggings…so this is the perfect marriage for me.

IMPORTANT: Pay no attention to how they are styled on the Nordstrom site because it is ALL SORTS OF WRONG.  I also don’t think the picture on the site is representative of how they actually look. However, if you go to the site and watch the video, I think you will get an accurate picture of the wash and the hem.  But again, pay no attention to how the sales associate in the video says to style them “with a chiffon shirt and mules”.  No m’am.

I’ll be styling them with long sweaters paired with boots and booties.  Let’s remember the rule we learned years ago, ladies:  Cover Your Crotchal Areas.  It’s a rule to live by.

These babies feel like leggings on, but they look like jeans (if styled appropriately with a long top).

This sweater is the perfect style, fit, and length for leggings. I especially love the little side slit and the snap detailing.  However, this oatmeal color was a little too sheer for my liking, and I think you would need a cami with this color specifically.  Just grab another color if you don’t want to deal with a cami.

Sizing Tips: I’m wearing a small in the sweater.  I’m wearing a medium in the leggings, and it took some effort on my part to get them on, but that could be because I was close to having a heat stroke in the dressing room.  Once they were on, they were quite comfortable!  I wear a small in Zella leggings for reference…but needed a medium in these.

tunic sweater  (plus size sweater)/ star earrings /SPANX distressed skinny jeans / wedge bootie

Here’s a lightweight sweater that I’ve actually been wearing for a couple of years now, and I just can’t quit it.  It’s the super soft fleece material that Gibson is known for, and it really is amazing fabric.  It’s hard to see in the black, but it has a great little twist happening up front.  This top is great for those of you that don’t like doing a half tuck, even though you like the look.  This gives the illusion of a half tuck and is very flattering.  It also comes in grey, blue, pink, and a great cheetah print!

Click HERE for all Gibson pieces in the Anniversary Sale.

Sizing Tip:  I’m wearing a small and it’s still a relaxed fit.

cozy twist front pullover / star earrings / pave necklace / jeans / these leopard mules

I love this colorful sweater!  The relaxed turtleneck is appreciated because nothing is worse than a too tight neck, and I love that it can be worn out or with a half tuck.  It comes in several great solid colors too.

Sizing:  I’m wearing a small and there’s still room.

turtleneck sweater / pave hoop earrings / jeans/ perforated booties

THESE WEDGE BOOTIES are still in stock, and I’m so surprised!  They are very comfy, just the right height, and the feminine little cut out on the outer ankle and the stitching makes them the perfect bootie in my mind.  There were other similar booties in the sale, but they just slipped on without a zipper, and I very much prefer a zipper.  It makes getting them on and off so much easier.

I know suede tends to scare some, but these have been weatherized and are waterproof!  NO FEAR NECESSARY!

Sizing tip:  I sized DOWN a 1/2 in these, but most people are saying they sized up a 1/2?!? Read the reviews and see what you think. My color is “Sesame”, but they also come in black, taupe, a darker brown, leopard, and the super popular snake skin!  After the sale is over, they will go up to $130, but right now they are under $88!

I also went for THESE PERFORATED BOOTIES!  What can I say, they spoke to me.  I like how they are a little bit funky and not a super high heel.  I usually go for a flat pair of booties in the sale, but there weren’t any in store that I loved, which gave me just the push I needed to grab these.  The stacked heel is chunky and great, and the geometric perforations are so unique!

Sizing tip:  size down a 1/2 in these.  I got the 37s.  Color:  Light Brown.  They also come in a black, a grey/blue, and an olive.  Regularly $140 and on sale for $90!

BACK IN STOCK ALERT!

These leggings were one of my Top 5 items from the sale.  In fact, they might have even been in the Top 3.  I let y’all know on social media that they were back in stock…but I knew I needed to let all of my blog readers know also.

I ADORE THESE HIGH WAISTED ANKLE LEGGINGS.  They come up above my belly button, and they suck me in like crazy, while somehow still allowing me to breathe and be 100% comfortable.  THEY ARE MAGIC.  Once I tried the high waisted option a couple of years ago, I have never purchased the regular rise again.  And although I own lots of different lengths of Zella leggings, this slightly above the ankle version is my favorite.

And get this, this year’s version has a great little pocket on the side!  So cute and obviously functional!  And they still manage to be super slimming.  If you prefer the longer length, click HERE.

Sizing tip:  I’m wearing my regular size small.

Click HERE for the leggings.

I thought this boxy sweatshirt was fun with them for running around town!  I’m wearing a medium in the sweatshirt (and a small in the leggings).

sweatshirt / high waisted leggings / my favorite no show socks / sneakers

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And last, but certainly not least, I wanted to end today’s post with some Santa Alerts!  Every year during the sale I like to highlight items that make wonderful presents, and today is the day.

I want to start with what I think is perhaps the very best buy of the entire sale:

The best blanket in the history of the whole wide world.   AND IT’S ONLY $25.90.

TRUST ME ON THIS, LADIES.  This blanket is absolutely incredible.  It’s crazy soft, it’s so cute with the fringe, it comes in tons of colors, and it launders like an absolute dream!

And don’t just buy 1, because I can promise you that your family will fight over it.  We have a basket with 5 blankets in it by the couch, but the only blanket anybody ever wants is this blanket.  So, I finally ordered a 2nd one for downstairs at the beginning of the sale (we have another one upstairs), and I just hopped on and ordered a third for downstairs.  Now we will each have our own fringe blanket at the house!

And just like blardigans, these blankets make amazing gifts and they span all ages.

Lots of colors are left!  TRUST ME, click HERE, and buy SEVERAL.

Stock up for Christmas gifts, ladies!  These are definitely a SANTA ALERT.

Want more Santa Alerts?  I’ve got some for you!

Santa Alerts are items that make fantastic gifts for several reasons:  1)  they are ON SALE and an incredible value, 2) they come in cute little gift boxes, 3) you don’t need a person’s size to buy them!  They are fabulous gifts!

I don’t have any experience with this mascara, but this is the eye base that I absolutely raved about back in this post.  I love it and use it every day I put on makeup.

Trish McEvoy Eye Duo Set

This MAC Eye and Face kit comes in either warm tones or cool tones, and the packaging is rose gold and gorgeous.

The NEST grapefruit diffusers are a favorite.  The diffuser set below is a 2 pack with bamboo and grapefruit.  I love keeping them in my guest bathroom and my closet.  They just smell fresh and the smell and the smell lasts for sooooooooooo long!

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Okay, that’s it for today, y’all!  Have a wonderful weekend with your people!

Filed Under: Fashion, Friday Favorites 19 Comments