Meeting Mrs. World

Thank you to Evelyn McCleod and Susan Huntley for organizing a fundraiser for Mrs. World - April Lufrui.  She was so warm and genuine!  We gathered together to raise funds for the Foundation Fighting Blindness.

Thanks to Richard Krauss for some of the really great photos and for teaching me some photo tips!

Playing in the Snow

Last weekend, we were really lucky to finally get a nice snow fall!  Hubby is a weather guru and he reports that we are not likely to get snow like we did last year (boo!).  But, we enjoyed the few inches that we did receive.

What I Wore

I did not get a chance to post the last few weeks, so here are more than several outfits that I wore over recently, including some Sundays.

WEEKDAY:
Sweater: Adrienne Vittadini
Shirt - VIVIENNE TAM Ribbons Mesh Rosette Tank
Jeans - Not Your Daughter's Jeans 
All Items purchased from Ideeli.com

Jewelry in this photo from www.elenamaratos.com

SUNDAY:
Dress: Muse - purchased from ideeli.com
(Ideeli is the reason that I rarely go to the mall - I get such great stuff from their website and usually pay less than $50 per dress!).  This dress was altered and this leather thing was removed from the collar (why MUSE felt the need to put it there in the first place confuses me, but I promptly had my seamstress get rid of it, right after she added the darts, but the skirt needs to be tailored even more...)

Shoes: I can't remember, but they are from Macy's and they are one of two pairs that I own with a platform (most of the time, I feel that platform shoes aren't designed well (too clunky).....so unless the pair is designed well, I won't buy them).

 Jewelry from Lisa Jones

I love this shirt when I want to be casual, yet still look cute with yoga pants.  I purchased this several years ago from Bessies Boutique

Me with makeup and jewelry wearing this shirt back in 2010

WEEKDAY:
Sweater: Banana Republic
Tank: White House Black Market
Pants: Eddie Bauer after many alterations (Eddie Bauer size 2 is equal to most others' size 4).  I won't bother with their clothing for the most part because their smallest size requires substantial alterations.
Jewelry: my sabika necklace (I just ordered more Sabika jewelry - I cannot wait!!)
Earrings were a red rhinestone tear drop style that I bought at the Christmas Tree Shop for $1.

WEEKDAY: (I would wear this to church too)

Round 2 of 3 - I was in Delaware 3 times this week.  This is what I wore to meet with Ja'Lexis and go to the Catholic church for her confirmation class.
Sweater: Boston Proper
Tank: White House Black Market
Pants: White House Black Market
Shoes: Michael Kors from Macys - they are black patent loafer with a heel.
Jewelry: Lia Sophia

 Friday - after three days of driving back and forth to Delaware, there was no way I was going to dress up!  This was my clean the house and errand outfit.  Don't you love the crowns?
This yoga suit is by Christine Alexander.  I purchased from my friend Heidi Scheer (www.pageantcouture.com)

This track suit is SO COMFORTABLE.  I wore it with my shape-up slip-ons (so the shoe isn't flattering, but supposedly it is helping to shape my butt).

What I Wore Wednesday

On Sunday, I was judging the Miss New Castle County Pageant in Middletown, Delaware.  I wore a David Meister dress that I found on sale (thanks Susan for the hard core King of Prussia trip).  I swear in person this dress makes me look thin, but I am not happy with the photos - oh well.

For jewelry, I am wearing David Yurman necklace and earrings (that are so small you can't see them in the photos) that my mom purchased as a college or law school graduation gift (can't remember which).

The dress needs some alterations, which I will get in the future.

Wearing my staple black heels - I think they are by Enzo.  I have purchased this heel twice now because they are comfortable so I tend to wear them with everything that I wear to Court.

Pants - White House Black Market - they are skin tight black jeans/stretch pants
Sweater - White House Black Market (still in stores)
Jewelry - Sabika - Garden Party Choker; earrings are sold out

Miss New Castle County Pageant

Tonight I judged the Miss New Castle County Pageant.  It was a great pageant with five terrific contestants.  It was also a very competitive pageant and I will expect to learn that at least some of the other contestants will end up on the Miss Delaware stage (seriously - it was a very competitive local pageant!).

There was a terrific professional photographer there - so there are much better photos than mine available!  I didn't start snapping until the pageant was over ;-)

ENJOY the photos!

Christmas Ornament Organization

When I first moved to Newtown (and before I moved), I started reading all these blogs on how to organize, clean, etc.  Basically, I was trying to educate myself how to be a housewife (because at our old house, when it came to cleaning and organizing, my mother-in-law did it for me - and she was good at it - so I figured...why bother!).

She doesn't live so close now, so I really needed to learn to do it on my own (and I still very much struggle!).  Nonetheless, I am proud of how I learned to organize my Christmas decorations!!

Here is a photo of the tree that my mother gave us for Christmas (and my mother did most of the decorating - because I am not good at that either!).

Gotta love the pillow my mom needlepointed for me while I was in college - it is a purple pansy - to represent my favorite color and my sorority flower (Kappa Alpha Theta from Lehigh University).

When my mother gifted me the furniture from her old house, she sent along MANY plastic bins filled with stuff....and more stuff.  So, after unpacking all of it (thanks to my mother and mother-in-law who helped), I had lots of empty bins - perfect and FREE storage for my new "nice room" Christmas tree decorations.

The problem was that you cannot see inside the bins - and I have a bad memory.

 So, I used my Christmas Gift (Nikon D5100 camera) and took some nice photos (really, I snapped them as quickly as possible, didn't bother with photoshop and just hit print) of the inside of each bin.
Then, I taped the pictures to the top and side of each bin.  All I need to do is look at a photo to know what is inside!

 

This was our family room tree - not nearly as nice, but it contained our "fun" Hallmark Ornaments (I am a Hallmarkoholic - I buy at least six new ornaments per year!).  This room also has all the "fun" decorations (many of our ornaments play music and move).

  

For those "fun" decorations, I used my clear bins.  I hate taking ornaments in and out of hallmark boxes year after year - too much work!  So I lined clear bins with foam and separated the ornaments by either year and/or series.  Ornaments went into the right bin, labels were put onto the bins (even though I can see what is inside, labels are quite helpful, especially when I am seeking a specific ornament).  Likewise, these are stored in the basement and are extremely easy to access for next year's decorating!

I believe that Costco is still selling these bins.  In comparison to what is offered at other stores, these were relatively inexpensive, quite sturdy, and stack nicely.  I also like the black "hooks" on the tops because they snap into place quite nicely.

Makeup and Beauty - New and Old Favorites

I LOVE makeup.  I love when my hair looks good, although I am not a good stylist (so those days are few and far between).

My newest favorite makeup item was the result of 1) a 20% discount to Ulta and 2) recommendations from www.makeupgeek.com - my favorite website for makeup knowledge and ideas).

So, what did I buy:

Urban Decay Naked Palette - some of the best eyeshadows in great neutral tones that I have ever used!

My other favorite that I always re-buy year (recommendation from www.beautypedia.com):
Matte Collection Eyeshadow Quad - an inexpensive but fantastic product - especially for aging eyes!!!

St. Andrew's Choir Party

Thank you to Marguerite for opening her home for a Christmas party gathering.  Unlike our last party, I remembered the camera this time!

Choir Members - feel free to save photos right from this blog or email me for higher quality photos.

What I Wore Wednesdays

I found several blogs that had posts about "what they wore" during the week with pictures and details posted on Wednesday.


So I thought I would give it a try.

Here goes with a few photos from over the Christmas Holidays:

Christmas Day Mass

 

Muse Purple Dress - www.ideeli.com - this brand is available at high end department stores; or you could buy from ideeli.com for a nice discount!

Shoes by Steve Madden - picked up for $30 (love sales!!)

Jewelry by Lia Sophia - Pretty Please Necklace and matching earrings

 After Christmas Mass, my husband and I headed to Washington Crossing for the annual re-enactment of the crossing of the river!

 

Shoes - Eurostep (these are great, they were less than $100 and they are fur lined + they have a wedge heel - so you get a warm fashionable boot all in one!  Thank you Famous Footwear)

Coat - purchased when I was in college (12 years ago)

Jeans - Victoria's Secret boot cut (when you are five feet tall, boot cut is always the best way to go)

Gloves - whatever was cheap and black at Walmart

Scarf - cashmere from Bloomingdales (an Xmas gift from hubby)

Ear Muffs - those round the back of your head things - Macy's (open a store card, always pay it off, and never shop without a 15% or 20% coupon - they send them in the mail all the time).

 

Christmas Day - Washington Crossing, PA

We had so much fun in our new home creating a new Christmas tradition - watching Washington cross the Delaware River.  The crowd was quite large - and we are guessing that is due in part to the great weather.  What a great day to remember our blessings and be reminded of our country's forefathers.

I LOVE CHRISTMAS

Christmas Card Photo:

Kappa Alpha Theta Sisters

Christmas Dog Fun:

December 23 - John, Lisa, and Lauren come to visit our home for the first time!  We had a terrific dinner at Florentinos (becoming our go to restaurant in Newtown because the food is just awesome!)


We did dessert at the Zebra Striped Whale.  We bought chocolate covered pretzels for Christmas Eve at Aunt Kay's house.  I had to fight with my husband to get them out of the car at Kay's house (he did not wanted to eat them himself).....then I tasted those pretzels...yep, should have listened to hubby.

 

 Christmas Eve Gathering in Wilmington, Delaware