May the Merry Bells Keep Ringing, Happy Holidays...to You

...That particular Christmas song, sung so sweetly by Andy Williams brings me back to my childhood as my sister and I woke up early on Christmas morn and gathered together with my parents in our dining room feasting on my mom's special Christmas french toast with custard and berries off the lovely gold rimmed china and drinking mimosas (non-alcoholic) from the sparkling crystal glasses. After that my dad always read the Christmas story then we opened presents around the tree. Such sweet memories.

To this day, this tradition has carried out as my hubby and I packed our bags and spent Christmas Eve night at my parents house. The Christmas breakfast was delectable and I am truly thankful for the beautiful gifts but there's nothing better than spending this beautiful day with the ones I cherish most.

On that note, I truly hope everyone had a lovely Christmas. Happy Holidays to each and everyone of you.

Unfortunately, I didn't manage to take many pics this year. This was my Christmas Eve dress...same one showed in my previous post. Despite being almost 8 months pregnant and feeling as big as a Macy's parade float, I felt quite festive and lovely in this outfit. The bow headband reminded me of a daintily wrapped Christmas gift and the heart tights were the perfect whimsy little touch to the flowy black dress.

Deck the Tree

Last night we finally got around to putting up our Christmas tree. While Christmas classics played in the background, my husband and I adorned our tree with an eclectic mix of ornaments; some handmade, many collected from our childhood, and my personal favorites - vintage ones handed down from my grandmother. These ornaments are very special to me as they have been in the family for many years and after all, Christmas is all about family. I snapped some pics of some of my favs to share with you. I truly enjoy this time of year, as love and joy and something a bit more magical fills the air.

This one is not vintage but rather it is from my childhood collection. Since I was born, I have collected Hallmark keepsake ornaments. My absolute favorite is my It's A Wonderful Life ornament. I guess that's because it's one of my favorite movies as well.

I thought it would be fun to dress up in my Christmas Eve outfit. I know it's a week too early, but I just couldn't wait to try it on.

Outfit Details:

Dress: Modcloth

Tights: Topshop

Shoes: Urban Outfitters

Headband: Etsy - Hopes & Rainbows

Coat: Alloy

Rain Rain Go Away - Let It Snow Instead

Ugh, it has been rainy and cold this whole week and taking pictures has been next to impossible. I have been chilled to the bone in this gray and dreary weather and wish that it would at least snow so I can enjoy the beauty of the crystal like icicles on the trees and pure white blanket that covers the ground. No such luck though.

Anyways, onto happier things. In lieu of getting into the Christmas spirit (which I have been since Thanksgiving) - my Christmas Day dress recently arrived in the mail and I have been itching to try it on with all the accessories.

PS - I would much rather have taken pics outside, but these indoor ones will have to do for now.

Outfit Details:

Dress: Yesstyle.com

Hair clip & tights: Modcloth

Shoes: Steve Madden via Ebay

The Refined Gypsy

Today I had a lovely lunch with my parents at one of our favorite Greek restaurants. The moussaka, pastichio, and Greek salad were de-lish. This is what I wore:

I recently purchased this top on sale at Anthropologie. I guess you could say I am currently obsessed with bold floral prints, as I seem to be adding more and more of them to my wardrobe. Pairing this top with the large bow headscarf and gold earrings made me feel like a gypsy. Adding the blazer gave it a new twist, making it feel a bit more refined.

Yesterday central PA, received it's first snow of the season. Today was so beautiful as the bright sunshine rays reflected off the remnants of snow left on the ground and on the trees.

Not only do I love the vivid print on this top, the collar is adorable as well.

This onyx ring is from Germany. My grandmother handed it down to me. She has some of the coolest pieces I have ever come across.

Outfit Details:

Top: Anthropologie

Blazer: Forever 21

Headscarf: Urban Outfitters

Leggings: Topshop

Boots: Macy's

Ring: Vintage

Casual Monday

It's Monday and today I have off for the first day of hunting season. Strange, right? But, in this backwards town that I live in, schools and many businesses close for this occasion. I will never understand it, but I am thankful to at least reap the benefit of having this day for myself. The weather is currently yuck - rainy, overcast, and dreary. If I had no motivation whatsoever I would probably have stayed in my pajamas all day. Luckily, I actually got some stuff done including cleaning out my oversized junked up coat closet. Now I am out to run errands - drop all my unwanted stuff off at Goodwill and later on, pick up our crib. Yay! Anyways, this is my go-to rainy day outfit. In comfort, it is next to wearing pjs.

The best thing about this casual little dress is that I can wear it during all seasons. In the summer, I pair it with a cute tee, hair scarf, and flats.

This is my absolute favorite slouchy hat. Blues and greens are my favorite colors. I will probably never get rid of it.

My ever famous owl necklace.

Outfit Details:

Dress: Ebay

Top: Express

Leggings: Forever 21

Boots: Macy's

Hat: Free People

Necklace: Macy's

Windy Philly Saturday

Another windy day in the city of brotherly love. A piercing chill laced the air. This made it hard to get good pics, but nothing like coming in from the cold to a steaming mug of hot chocolate with marshmellows. Yum!

Anyways, I wanted to do a post about my maternity wardrobe - which I admit is limited even at six months. This whole pregnancy has been quite an experience for me. It's been fun shopping and finding pieces that can double as maternity and non-maternity wear. However, I recently purchased some pieces that are strictly maternity wear and better yet they were on sale and I didn't feel like I was sacrificing my style. So for today, I have put aside my flowy dresses and have decided to throw on a pair pants, which is rare for me.

I've always loved stripes. One would think they would be hard to wear when preggo, but throw a comfy loose cardi over them and you can't go wrong.

I've said it before, but oversized slouchy hats are a staple for me in the winter. This one worked particularly well as the wind blew pretty strong.

My standout piece to spice up this casual outfit.

My rule: When wearing black and gray (or white) always throw a pop of color in whether it be with your shoes or accessories.

Outfit Details:

Top, Cardigan, and Jeans: Gap Maternity

Hat: Urban Outfitters

Necklace: Forever 21

Shoes: Macy's

SIDE NOTE: For anyone who is looking for skinny style maternity jeans, I would highly recommend checking out Gap Maternity online. They have all inseams, a variety of washes, and you don't have to spend an arm and a leg to get them. I am only 5'2 so finding skinny jeans that fit properly (and black ones to boot) that are under $100 was quite a task until I stumbled across these. Gap also offers frequent discount codes which is another plus.

Happy Thanksgiving

After a night spent baking pumpkin pie, sweet potato casserole, and mash potatoes, I am so happy that Thanksgiving has finally arrived. I love Thanksgiving. My husband and I headed off to Philly with all my baked goodies to visit my inlaws and celebrate this glorious holiday. Thanksgiving is a time of reflection, giving thanks for everything we have been blessed with. It is a time spent enjoying the people you love the most and feasting on mouth watering food and delectable desserts. Family, turkey, pumpkin pie, and football - focusing on the positive and leaving the negative behind - feeling content, laughing, loving, truly living. How much better does it get than this?

My mom always made us dress up on holidays. To this day, I still do just that. I think it makes things just a little more special. I purchased this dress for my birthday. Again, it is not a maternity dress, but is still a dress I can wear I as get closer to my due day. It's flowy and comfy and I am in love with the small floral print.

This locket style necklace has a vintage look and feel to it.

What's not to love about these tights? The whimsy but bold design is me to a tee.

Outfit details:

Dress: Modcloth

Belt: Express

Necklace: Modcloth

Tights: Modcloth

Shoes: Urban Outfitters

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things: Tea Tree Oil

I'm sure you have all heard of it by now, but tea tree oil is one of those products that has an endless possibility of uses. I am truly in love with it and do not go a day without using it. It produces amazing results when used on skin, face, and hair. Best yet, it is a natural product and free of all that synthetic junk found in other beauty products that can be harmful to your body and the environment over time.

On my face, I use it as a daily moisturizer after using toner and before applying my makeup. I have combination skin which can be very frustrating, as half way through the day it is either really oily or really dry. TTO really balances out my skin. It keeps it moisturized throughout the day without getting oily. It also brightens the complexion. At night, I use it as a spot treatment if I get any annoying breakouts. Honestly, since using TTO, my breakouts have been very minimal and my skin has been much smoother and even looking. TTO is also great for fading acne scars.

On my hair, I use it as a nighttime treatment to revitalize hair and help maintain a healthy scalp. I wash it out in the morning. My hair is very fine and fragile. Since using TTO on my hair, it has been much stronger and healthy looking.

For skin, put a few drops in your bath water and your skin will be soft and supple. It is also awesome to use on dry cuticles.

These are only the beginning of it's uses though. To learn more about benefits and uses of tea tree oil, click through the link I have provided below.

Tea Tree Oil Health Benefits

My favorite brand of TTO is Wen. Wen TTO also has jojoba oil in it, which makes it even more moisturizing. It has a dropper in the lid which makes for easy application and at only $20 for a 4 oz. bottle (which is larger than most bottles you will find), it is a great deal. You can find Wen TTO at QVC.com

Love in the Afternoon

Hello Lovelies,

It's been awhile and I admit that I find myself a bit spent 27 weeks into pregnancy. I haven't been so inspired to take pics because at the end of the work day, I long to race home and throw on a cozy pair of pjs and switch on the tube in the midst of my exhaustion. I hate to whine as I know this is just par for the course, so I admit that I was stuck in a recent funk of hating to have to adjust to my ever growing tummy. True, it's hard to find clothes that fit and put together outfits that I am pleased with. However, I am starting to love and accept this challenge. I never want to sacrifice my originality and creativity with each challenge I face. So this afternoon was different. Feeling inspired by the once flower filled garden at my mom's house, this is the outfit I came up with.

The bright florals of summertime and the vivid leaves at the start of fall are long gone, but that doesn't mean that I have to erase those beautiful shades from my wardrobe.

Oversized, babydoll tunics are currently my best friend. I have purchased some pregnancy pieces, but I much rather prefer tops like this that I can wear once the baby bump is gone.

I am really loving headbands with big bows right now. When I was little, my mom used to make and sell girls hair accessories similar to this at a local children's boutique. Needless to say, my lil sis and I were never without a bow in our hair thus came my obsession with headbands.

It's hard to see, but the little gold charm in front of the heart is a honey bee. I adore this necklace because of that.

Outfit Details:

Top: Topshop

Shorts: Express

Headband, Tights, and Necklace: Urban Outfitters

Ring: A gift from my aunt in Spain

Boots: Target

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things: Coconut Oil

I'm kind of a nut for natural/organic products. Probably about 85% of the beauty products I use are just that. Natural and/or organic products are good for the body and the environment. One of my favorite things to use is Coconut Oil. Yes, the same coconut oil that you can cook with. Coconut oil has numerous uses and a plethora of benefits, but in particular, I like to use it on my skin and hair. It's an interesting oil because it comes in solid form, so it must be warmed up prior to application.

On my face: I use a small amount at night as a moisturizer. It clears blemishes, reduces acne scars, and gives you a healthy glow without being greasy. On my body: Upon getting out of the shower, I slather all over. Your skin will never be dry. I find that it's great for preventing stretch marks during pregnancy. On my hair: I use it on the nights before I was my hair. I rub my hands together and massage into my scalp. I take the excess and put it on my ends. Your hair will be shiny and healthy. It's the best conditioner out there and it's great for all hair types.

Another great benefit of coconut oil is that it is easy on the wallet. You'll find that you will save lots of money on lotions, conditioning treatments, and moisturizers once you start using it.

I like Nutiva brand. You can purchase it at Vitacost.com -

http://www.vitacost.com/Nutiva-Organic-Extra-Virgin-Coconut-Oil-15-oz

Check out this great You Tube demonstration-

It's a Beautiful Day

Finally, a beautiful day. For the past two weeks, the weather in central PA has been very wet and dreary. I was beginning to wonder if the rain would ever let up. Regretfully I haven't blogged a bit in the last couple weeks. I guess the weather had me in a bit of a funk, not to mention that I have been under the weather. This day was perfect though. The leaves were burning up shades of fire red and lemon yellow, the air was crisp and smelled of hickory, and the sky was blue with a touch of sunshine. Autumn doesn't get better than this.

As my tummy grows bigger an bigger, it's getting harder to find clothes I still fit into. I was very thankful that I purchased this whimsy little bird dress that has a very comfy elastic waist but is so cute. I love pairing navy and red together. The dark tights under this summer dress make it transition perfectly from summer to fall.

Outfit Details:

Dress: Urban Outfitters

Cardigan: Urban Outfitters

Bracelet: Lucky Brand - Gift from Mom

Necklace: Urban Outfitters

Tights: Urban Outfitters

Boots: Target

Sunday Dinner

Today we went to my parent's house for Sunday dinner. My mom makes the best sauce ever (a staple if you are Italian, like we are). This is what I wore: feeling comfy-cas on this chilly autumn day, I paired my 70s inspired trippy scene tunic top with boots and a slouchy hat. Once the weather changes, slouchy hats are one of my favorite accessories.

Outfit Details:

Tunic Top: Ebay

Opague Tights: Target

Boots: Delias

Hat: Forever 21

I'd Like to Know, Where Did Summer Go?

Summer, probably my favorite season. I love the hot weather, the weekend road trips, vacationing, and yes weddings galore. Looking back on this summer it seemed to fly by faster than usual. Maybe because I'm getting older, maybe because I getting busier. But whatever the reason may be, one memory that stands out is my cousin David's wedding up in Erie, PA in a lovely little vineyard.

It's fall now, so I'd like to reminisce back and share some pics of me and my hubby from this beautiful day. I was feeling oh so pretty in my as I'd like to call it, "Alice in Wonderland" dress. It rained earlier that day, but then the sun came out and painted a beautiful sunset. The air was fresh, the wine was divine, but best of all was the time spent catching up with family and friends.

One of my favorite pairs of booties.

It's hard to see, but these tights have little polka dots all over them.

Outfit Details:

Dress: BB Dakota at Modcloth.com

Cardi: Target

Headband: Forever 21

Tights: Forever 21

Shoes: Urban Outfitters