I love holiday parties because they gave me an excuse to wear a glittery, shimmery, ultra feminine dress. I hardly ever suggest buying clothes that aren’t versatile, but holiday party dresses do not apply. This is the one time of year where I think it’s totally OK to buy a dress you might only wear once or…
Whatever you call them, snowballs, Russian tea cakes, Italian wedding cookies, or even Italian Wedding Christmas cookies, these powdery nutty cookies are a mainstay on most Christmas cookie platters. Despite their popularity, I had never made them before. My mom didn’t make these at Christmas, and I only had them a few times when we…
Photography by Dane Wallace I’m so excited about our new series: Model Mom Style. I wanted to feature real women to show you how they dress for their busy, everyday lives and still manage to look stylish. I think a lot of women don’t take enough time to look their best. They think they are…
For me, the day after Thanksgiving isn’t just about scoring deals at the mall, it’s about getting out the Christmas decorations. I tend to put up the tree first because it just makes me happy. There’s just something about staring at the white lights and back-lit ornaments that gives me pure joy. So much joy in…
I don’t do my nails that often, but the holidays always entice me to try something a little shiny or sparkly. Last year, I wore this winter sparkle french manicure during the holidays. When I saw this half moon manicure tutorial, I thought it would be fun to try for the holidays this year. What I didn’t like…
Last week, our friends at Toyota invited us to the Phoenix Zoo to get a preview of ZooLights, and also check out a few of their new cars for 2015. During the day, Jade put a ton of miles on a sporty 2015 Camry. The kids and I joined him later to see ZooLights, pretty much…
As a kid, my Thanksgiving plate was basically white — turkey breast, mashed potatoes, and a dinner roll. It’s not that my family didn’t have more choices on the table, it’s that my midwestern palate just never got very developed. I never ate the cranberries, the gravy or the stuffing. Being the baby of the…
With Thanksgiving only a little over a week away, most of us are planning what dish we’re going to bring or who’s going to host this year. I’m sure the last thing on your mind is what you’re going to wear to your Thanksgiving dinner. Rightly, you are thinking about the food and the people….
Every November, I bust out a couple of recipes that I only make once a year—my pumpkin cookies, and my pumpkin pancakes. Jade loves them both so much that he looks forward to me making them all month long. My pumpkin pancakes have evolved over the years, though. I used to make them with whole…
Thanksgiving and Christmas are only weeks away and I’m sure many of you will be traveling to visit family and friends. When we are with our loved-ones we often get comfortable (or not) and sometimes may abuse our host’s kindness. To avoid that pitfall, I wanted to share with you my 8 tips for how…
To be honest, I wasn’t sure I liked the menswear inspired oxford trend for women. At first, I thought they were just too masculine, too clunky. The majority of the oxfords I’d seen in my Pinterest and Instagram fashion feeds were more traditional. They looked like a shoe my husband would actually wear. That just isn’t…
Rocco is obsessed with two things right now—trucks and basketball. He especially loves fire trucks. So for his second birthday, we decided to throw him a DIY fire truck birthday party. I found these free printables to make him a birthday banner. To make the banner, I used red and yellow construction paper, rubber cement…
My baby boy, Rocco, turned two last month. For Rocco’s first birthday, I made him a low sugar smash cake decorated with cheerios. The cheerios were the dangling carrot to get him to try the cake. It worked, sort of. I’ve mentioned before that Rocco is a super picky eater. He doesn’t like overly sweet things….
On Halloween night, our friend invited us over for crockpot chili before we wrangled our toddlers into a wagon to go trick-or-treating. I asked my friend Amy what I should bring, and she said whatever I’d be baking for the blog next week. I didn’t have an idea in mind, so I decided to make the perfect…
Probably my current favorite trend is track pants. You can find them in all sorts of prints, patterns and textures, like those used in this sequin track pants look. I’m so in love with this trend because the track pants I’ve been wearing look lux, are dressy enough for work, but are super comfortable without…