How Sweet of You

Brooke of On the Wings of a Dove deemed me with the Versatile Blogger Award earlier this week (aw shucks, you're making me blush). This totally made my day rock. Seeing that she put a smile on my face, I now want to pass the award on to 7 other lovely ladies.

To accept the Versatile Blogger Award the rules are:

1. Thank and link back to who gave you the award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass it along to 7 blogs you've recently discovered and enjoy
4. Leave your recipients a note, telling them about the award.

Randomness of me x 7

1. I'm terribly goofy - I love making up nonsense songs and singing them all day long (especially to my son).

2. I was afraid of weird things as a child - water fountains (the decorative kind), oversized flags, and mannequins. I have no idea why. I am a strange girl I suppose.

3. I danced with Joey from N'Sync (and we kissed...haha) Long story. No really, this is the truth, I swear, embarrassingly enough.

4. I worked at The Limited (clothing store) as a teen and once caught some girls shoplifting, Needless to say, I was involved in chasing them through the mall with the mall cops. We caught them in the end in the mall parking lot while three cop cars surrounded us (Yay!!!). My mom was parked close by waiting for me to get off work and saw the whole thing go down.

5. I met my hubby during our last semester of college when I was engaged to someone else.

6. I used to have a crush on Kermit the Frog (when I was young). I swore I would marry him. Interestingly enough, my hubby has a kermit-like voice. (He'll be embarrassed that I posted this about him I'm sure).

7. I am currently obsessed with watching Pushing Daisies. I secretly want to work at The Pie Hole.

7 Blogs I have recently discovered and heart!

1. Shy of Chesterfield

2. Polly of The Littlest Polly

3. Nicole of Coco Marie

4. MJ of Yours Truly

5. Michal of North Country Girl

6.Freesia of Freesia Blog

7. Harlow Darling of Elegantly Wasted

So hard narrowing it down, as I read sooooo many.

Have a lovely Sunday!!

An Autumn Greeting

Today was long. I have been up since 4:30 AM and blogging was nowhere to be seen on my agenda for tonight..however, when Al, Keane, and I arrived at my parents house for dinner, I was ever so taken by the beauty of the autumn leaves that I just had to snap a few photos.

Outfit Details:

Jacket: Target

Top, Necklace, Shoes: Urban Outfitters

Jeans: Gap

Headband: Modcloth

Ring: Miss Selfridge

That's about all for now my friends. I am in dire need of sleep. I bid you all a good night!

The Answer My Friend is Blowing in the Wind

Today was just plain insane for me. I don't know what was in the wind, but drama just filled the air at the school I work at. Perhaps this is just the nature of high schoolers?? Attitudes reared their ugly heads and lurked around every corner and I was on the receiving end on several accounts. Oh well, I just have to laugh it off. Here's hoping for happier students tomorrow.

In lieu of all the malarkey, I leave you with this quick pic before announcing my giveaway winner. I took this photo at Valley Forge National Park last Friday. I really wanted to spend time in the park that day, snapping pretty photos of the scenery, but no such luck - the wind was out of control. It nearly knocked me over as I hopped out of our car to snap even this shot. My eyes quickly teared up as it smacked me in the face. Hello Mr. Wind (I thought), thanks for the lovely greeting.

Outfit Details:

Dress: Darling by Asos

Headband & Blazer: Topshop

Tights and Cameo Necklace: Etsy

Shoes: Seychelles

Lastly, on to more important things:

The winner of my Leaf Cluster Headband giveaway is...

Michal of North Country Girl

Congrats!!! I will be emailing you shortly.

Thanks again to all the lovely readers out there who entered.

Have an enchanted evening!

Much love,

Marisa

If You Find Her

On Saturday, Al and I took off for the afternoon and spent some time driving aimlessly around the suburbs of Philly, talking lots, driving some more, and talking some more. Along the way we found a lovely and quaint park with tons of tall trees, crunchy leaves, a bright blue sky, and streams of sunshine. The way the giant trees hovered over us, the birds chirping overhead and the smell of hickory made this forest seem enchanted. One should create a device to bottle days like this and save them for later.

Outfit Details:

Dress & Socks: Miss Selfridge

Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell

As we drove the following songs serenaded us. Somehow they were perfectly fitting for this beautiful fall day.

Tomorrow I will be announcing the winner of my giveaway for the Urban Outfitters Leaf Cluster Headband. If you haven't entered yet you can do so by Clicking Here:-)

White Moon

This week was Spirit Week at the school I work at, as everyone geared up for the high school's homecoming. Today in particular was Whiteout day (everyone had to wear white). I was all kinds of ecstatic as it gave me the perfect excuse to wear this white dress I recently purchased for family beach pictures on our trip down to Hilton Head. I didn't think that I would be getting much wear out of it until the spring, so naturally this day found me much excited to break it out one last time before packing it away for the winter season.

Though I felt a little odd taking photos in a white dress when fall colors are all around, I felt it to be appropriate for today's occasion. The wind was wild today (as were the students) - so picture taking was confined to the indoors as I wasn't in the mood to blow away with the autumn leaves.

I found this lovely necklace in my grandmother's closet. She was so kind to let me borrow it. I just love finding pretty trinkets and treasures such as this.

This has been a long work week for me which included a 12 hour day. I am sort of exhausted but happy as a clam to have a personal day off tomorrow to spend the weekend yet again in Philadelphia. Speaking of homecomings, my husband and I will be spending tomorrow at the college we graduated from as it is homecoming weekend and my husband was chosen as one of the recipients of the Young Alumni Award this year. I am so happy for him and so proud of him. Congrats sweetheart - you know I am your biggest fan:-)

On one final note - I wish everyone a happy Friday and a beautiful weekend to follow. I look forward to catching up on all your lovely blogs.

Outfit Details:

Dress: Victoria's Secret

Flower Clip: Steinmart

Necklace: Vintage - Grandmother's

Socks - Urban Outfitters

Shoes: Seychelles

With the ongoing theme of white here...I leave you with White Moon by Beach House

Not a Cloud in the Way of My Sunny Day

This past weekend Al, Keane, and I went to Philadelphia to visit his parents, relax, and do a little window shopping downtown. I went out of my norm - quite comfy, casual, and plaid as it was very windy and a chill laced the Philly air. It was a lovely little weekend - we filled up on lots of delicious home cooking, cheesesteaks, and brownies. Al and I even took a couple hours away and snuck off into the city where I managed to snag up a darling little goody at Zara:-) But that's for a later post.

I simply love weekends like this where the sweet company of family is so enjoyed, R&R becomes a true thing, and I come back refreshed for the week ahead.

Outfit Details:

Shirt: Heritage (Borrowed from sister)

Hat & Socks: Urban Outfitters

Shoes: Modcloth

Necklace: Vintage - from mom

Friday, Saltwater, and Hello Lyndsey

Happy Friday to all! It's 4:30 am here right now and I can't sleep so I thought I'd just pop in and tell you that I was ever so thrilled to find out that I am featured as the October Spotlight on the gorgeous blog Hello Lyndsey, before I eat my chocolate & banana cheerios, drink my coffee, and start my work day.

If your not following this girl yet, I would definitely encourage you to check her blog out as it is fun, witty, creative, and inspirational. I'm sure you'll love it as much as I do, as it's one of those I fell in love with the moment I stumbled across it and became instantly hooked.

Before I go I'm leaving you with several more photos from my trip to Hilton Head. I promise this is the last of them :-)

Have a beautiful weekend! Any good plans in store? Do tell.

Florals, Fountains, and a Giveaway

As I begin this post I just want to say thanks again to everyone out there who has taken time to read my blog. I started this blog with without any expectation that anyone would want to follow or even just read it. Sounds bleak I guess, but at the time I began blogging I was antsy in my 5th month of pregnancy and wanted some kind of creative outlet as I felt somewhat bored in my busy day to day routine. As some of you know, I love writing music and lyrics but at the time my creativity was just stifled in this department so I looked to something else that I had a passion for - fashion. As I silently read so many lovely blogs for months, I finally felt compelled to start my own - my shy self, pregnant and all. I wasn't consistent for a while - not until this past June. But along the way, I can truly say I have enjoyed learning so much, meeting such lovely bloggers, and feeling inspired once again.

Thanks for being so encouraging with your uplifting comments. Thanks for being inspiring with all your creativity. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

In light of reaching 50 followers (yes I realize this is still very small in the blogger world - but exciting to me), I wanted to do a little giveaway.

I love headbands - so I saw it fitting to put one up for grabs, bought personally for you from me.

Urban Outfitters Leaf Cluster Headband

(I love this and wanted to keep it for myself:-)

Image from Urbanoutfitters.com

How to Enter:

1. Be a follower of Shades of Monet. Leave a comment letting me know how you follow - google friend connect or bloglovin. Then let me know how to contact you - blog url or email address.

2. Enter by 10/24/10 and on 10/25, I'll toss your names into my grandmother's straw hat and pull one out. How easy is that? Anyone who follows can enter.

Long post - I do realize, but I wanted to leave you with some more pics of my surroundings at Hilton Head. I was so taken by the beauty and colors of this lovely little island.

ten.ten.ten

Well I finally made it safe and sound back home to central PA. Today I enjoyed some lovely time relaxing, reorganizing, and hanging with family. Tomorrow I'm back to the daily grind - that which is work. Looks like a good night of sleep is in order for me as I dread waking up at 5:00 once again. (I miss vacation already).

Anyways, tomorrow along with my post I will be doing a small giveaway. Before I hit the hay I just want to say a huge thanks to everyone out there who stops by to read, leaves a comment, or even follows my little blog. I didn't expect much when starting this little venture - but I have had so much fun meeting so many lovely and inspiring people along the way. You really do make my day:-)

More to come...tomorrow. Goodnight all!

Outfit Details:

Dress & Necklace: Borrowed from sister

Blazer: Modcloth

Headband: Topshop

Socks: Urban Outfitters

Shoes: Seychelles

When We Rise it's like Strawberry Fields

The south is so beautiful this time of year. Not to0 hot, not too cold - just right. It feels kind of strange to post blog pics in bright summery dresses and shorts when normally I would be posting deeper fall colors and layers. So for now I was able to get one last wear out of my grandmother's straw hat before going back to Pennsylvania and packing it away.

Outfit Details:

Blouse: Modcloth

Cardigan & Shorts: Urban Outfitters

Hat: Vintage from Grandmother

Ring: Miss Selfridge

Shoes: Seychelles

Asleep on a Sunbeam

To my surprise - one thing about being on vacation is that is has given me a little unexpected free time to blog. I just love when things don't move at such a fast pace. Not such the case in my normal day to day life, but here at the beach I have been enjoying every moment I can at a snail's speed. It's just perfect this week.

In lieu of Gee's guest post yesterday, I too wanted to do a post inspired by a song. Asleep on a Sunbeam by Belle & Sebastian just seem to fit perfect as that song evokes quite of feeling of warmth, beauty, yearning, and passion. It makes me think of the beach - the rhythmic crash of the waves, the warm sand, and the clear blue sky. I long to slow down and take in all this beauty.

"Think about a new destination

If you think you need inspiration

Roll out the map and mark it with a pin

I will follow every direction

Just lace up your shoes while I’m fetching a sleeping bag, a tent...

Another summer’s passing by

All I need is somewhere I feel the grass beneath my feet

A walk on sand, a fire I can warm my hands

My joy will be complete"

Outfit Details:

Top: Borrowed from sister

Dress: Darling by Asos

Headband: Modcloth