Memorial Day Weekend 2015

Every year I spend Memorial weekend at my dad's house in Beaufort, NC. The older I get, the more I love Beaufort and the more I appreciate having such a great vacation spot. I had a great weekend. I got to spend some quality time with my family that I don't get to see often enough and I got some much needed  R & R. 

Mother's Day 2015

Our yearly family tradition is to spend Mother's Day at my Granny's house in Sims, NC.

Crisp & Clean

Easter Sunday was absolutely beautiful here. I spent the day with family in Wilson. I wanted to wear something crisp, clean, and refreshing on one of the nicest days we've had so far this year. It really feels like spring has finally come to North Carolina. I was going for a simple, down-to-earth yet up-to-date look. I actually picked up these shoes from Target yesterday for $27.99, but they are unfortunately not available online. This style of sandal is going to be everywhere this season. When I first saw them, I didn't like them so much, but they have definitely grown on me. They go with everything, and I like how they make a basic outfit look on-trend. I got this top from Mainstream Boutique in Holly Springs, and it is available in-store only also, but it's worth it to take the drive out there since they have so many great things in the store. I love the embroidery detailing on the front. I hope everyone had a great Easter weekend!

DIY: Easter Village

I have always had a fascination with miniature villages. I could just look at them for hours. The firm I used to work for puts up a snow village at the holidays, and I was excited to get involved my first year working there. Over the years, even though I don't work there anymore, we have remained friends and I have kept doing the village, and each year we keep doing it bigger and better. It's gotten to the point now where I get so involved in it that I basically takeover the whole project and everyone else just lets me work! Ha! After a few years of doing it, we found that we couldn't wait until December to do a village, so we started doing a Halloween village in the fall. Eventually, when the holidays were over, we got so depressed having to take down the Christmas village that we decided that we needed to have an Easter village! It's now to the point that there is a village up almost year round, and if there isn't one on the table, it looks empty. For me it's an addiction! When we did the Halloween and Christmas villages this year, I was strictly blogging about fashion, but rest assured that this year all the villages that I do will make the blog! Although this is my first time doing an Easter village, I have done villages a lot of times now, so I have learned some great tips for easy things you can do to make  your village really stand out from the rest! But first, enjoy the "after" pictures:

Valentine's Day Sophisticate

Christmas Party/ Fiesta Navideña

Stone Thanksgiving in Pictures

Halloween Haute

This Halloween, I went goth-glam!

I don't really "dress up" for Halloween anymore, but I do enjoy being a little festive. 

Halloween is a once-a-year free pass to push the limits on fashion! How could I resist that?

I've been inspired recently by the 19th Century English Gothic era. As everyone knows, I LOVE statement necklaces! My entire outfit is centered around this necklace, from Betsey Johnson's Dark Forest Collection. It is a retired collection, but if you search for it on eBay, you should be able to find plenty of pieces for sale at a reasonable price.

My other "fun" piece was these stockings! They were about $3.00 on eBay. Let me just say that their quality is reflective of their price! If you try these, make sure you only need to wear them one time!

I know I will basically complain about the weather no matter what, but it was FREEZING outside this morning! I could barely relax enough to get any decent shots, so the whole operation had to move inside. I don't know how professional models deal with swim suit photo shoots in the cold. I am a total wimp.

I used to think Gothic fashion was just for angsty teenagers, but now I think it can be so glamorous when done right!

Also, everyone who knows me knows I am TERRIFIED of spiders. Like, it is full-fledged arachnophobia. So this necklace is an example of me facing my fear.

I wanted to wear "witchy" looking boots too. I found these at the back of my closet. Sometimes looking for something specific in your closet for a special occasion reminds you that you have some great pieces you forgot you had and should be wearing more!

These stockings must be forever memorialized in these pictures, because at the end of the day, they are going to the place where hosiery goes to die.

I hope everyone has a safe and Happy Halloween!