Who loves ornaments??

I do!  I do!  Pick me!  For me, ornaments tell a story and help me remember the years gone by.  I did a guest post for Allie at A Day in a Joyful Life.  You definitely need to go and check it out here!

Here is a sneak peak of one of my favorites!!

 xoxo,

Which dress? Help me pick!

I got an email the other day from an online clothing company requesting me to do a fashion review on some of their merchandise.  I was floored and totally excited.  I have been looking for opportunities to review anything for a while.  (If you know of any other opportunities, let me in on your secret!)



So, I need to pick an an item to pick for my review and I am struggling, so here are my top three picks.  Tell me which one you like best,

#1   I love the color of this one!  It has pockets and fake large buttons in the back.  I will probably add straps, so I will feel more comfortable in it.

#2  This is a cute pattern, I think it will accent all the right places.  Pockets also on this one.

#3  This dress is so unique.  It has pockets as well and a scrunched waist in the back.  

Winter Fashion Must-Haves -Guest Post

Last guest post for the week, but this is a great one to wrap up on.  Hey maybe you can use it as your shopping list for Black Friday!  Jess is a sweet girl with a fun blog--go check her out!  You won't be sorry!

I'm so excited to be guest posting for Angela today.I just love her blog, don't you?

I recently blogged about fall accessories you can buy at great values. I picked my favorite J.Crew jewelry pieces and found similar pieces at lower prices. I got such a great response that I knew I wanted to do something similar for winter accessories. When Angela put out the call for guest bloggers I knew you guys would love this. If you haven't read that post you can do so by clicking here.

This winter, it's all about having a luxe look. Anything textured, with fur (faux, of course!), sequins, or sheen is where it's at. I don't know about you, but there's something about being a sparkly snow bunny that appeals to me.

Here are a few of favorite winter luxe  items. The best part...you won't have to break the bank to get them. All these items are under $50!  So, you'll be able to buy gifts for your loved ones and have a little left over for yourself! My personal fave is the colorblocked heel or maybe the fur scarf! Who am I kidding? I love them all! Which ones do you love?

Faux Fur Keyhole Scarf

Chevron Sequin Tank

Frost Embellished Top

Wild Sparkle A-Line Skirt

Posh Life Sequined Cardigan

Evening Wishes Sequin Detail Skirt

Catching Snowflakes Faux Fur Mittens

Mint Perfection Textured Dress

Holiday Kisses Colorblocked Heels

If you haven’t already, feel free to stop by The Only Ten I See. I love new friends! The Only Ten I See/ Facebook / Twitter/ Instragram @jessicamanninggarner

 

Prince Charming-Guest Post

Karla was so gracious to volunteer to guest post for me while I was gone over Thanksgiving break.  She has got a great thing going on over at her blog, and you should definitely swing by sometimes and say hello.  Ladies and Gentlemen, here is Karla:



Hello Living Pretty readers!!

My name is Karla, and I write over at Forever Newly Wedded!

First of all, I want to thank Angela so much for having me do a guest post on her blog today! I know that a lot of people in the blog world are not big fans of guest posts. I’ll be honest and say that sometimes I don’t like when I come to a blog expecting to read something awesome from the blog’s author and then find that it’s just a guest post!! Although… sometimes I find really amazing bloggers from guest posts! Regardless, I promise to make this short, sweet, and hopefully, entertaining!



Okay. So, as some of you may have guessed from the name of my blog, I write about married life and how I am learning the ropes of being someone’s wife!



I was totally that 13 year old girl who had dreams of a huge wedding, and a happily ever after which of course included riding off into the sunset on a white horse with my Prince Charming.



Though I am blessed with my own Prince Charming of sorts… there was no white horse. Bummer. And though I am very happily married, and would not trade my marriage for the world… sometimes my marriage just isn’t “happily ever after” material. Sometimes it’s ugly. Sometimes, it’s the stuff that you don’t see in the Disney princess movies!



Marriage takes a lot of hard work!



While we were dating, I used to rely on my cute outfits & sweet smelling perfumes to make my now husband happy. Now that we’re married and living together, he sees the good, bad, and the ugly. I mean, the poor guy sees the sweatshirt & sweatpants, no make-up, haven’t-shaved-my-legs-in-a-week girl. And he sees that girl A LOT. Probably too much.



So I make up for it by making dinners, doing laundry, and cleaning the house no matter how tired I may be from work… so that he can come home from work and at least be happy that things are done!



He also shows me he loves me by making breakfast every morning (I’m not a morning person), and sometimes making my lunch to bring to work (I’m spoiled). He also puts up with me ignoring him for my blog.



Anyway, my point is… when I was younger… marriage looked a hell of a lot more glamorous. I kind of wish someone told me that marriage is not always going to be as pretty as riding a white horse off into the sunset.



Marriage is no fairytale. Marriage is a real life commitment to a real live person who may or may not look like a Prince Charming but DOES need to treat you like a Princess. Marriage is committing yourself to one person, for your entire life, no matter what. Marriage is accepting a person for who they are, forever. Shaved legs or not.



It’s hard work, but for those that put in the time, there is nothing more rewarding.



=)

Carmello

Everyone likes getting (politely) hit on as the next person.  It is like a compliment.  However, since being married, I don't really know how to respond to these pursuits.

Here is what happened with me the other night:

Hubs and I and my in-laws went out.  Anthony and his dad left to go get drinks.  MIL and I were alone minding our own business, when approached by...Carmello.  This is a little bit of how the conversation went down:

(Leans really close) C:  How are you guys doing this evening?

Me:  Good.  Thanks for asking.

C:  Do you guys live around here?

Me:  Well, I live in Denton, and my mother in law is in town visiting.

MIL:  Yeah, my husband and I are in town visiting my daughter in law and my son. 

C:  So, I should probably leave before I get in trouble, then?

Me:  Probably...(awkward smile)

I know I am forgetting some of the details, but it was just all around awkward.  In fact, I could be being totally selfish.  Maybe he was hitting on my MIL, not me at all.

I had no make-up on either and looked like a totally drag.  Maybe I was just getting hit on because I looked the like an easy target for a one night stand.

Either way, how on earth do you respond to this situations?  I don't dislike getting hit on. (This situation didn't really phase Anthony.  In fact, when I told him about it, he was kind of disappointed there wasn't a fight.)  It takes a lot of guts to hit on people, and he was super polite.  It was just awkward :\

Advice???

It is definitely okay

I blogged about making friends a few weeks ago, and it definitely seemed to strike a cord with several women.  A old teacher friend of mine offered some words of encouragement about this topic at her blog.  You should go check it out!

I haven't done this in a while, but I love this link up with Neely and Amber.

It's a-okay that there is only one girl who consistently comes to my high school student ministry small group.  We have an awesome time!  It's a-okay that I want to turn my desk in my room so that when people open the door they can't see what I am working.  But, I am also getting to the point that I don't even care.  Think what you wanna think.  It's a-okay that I kinda have taken part in the no-shave November.  My participation ended yesterday, though.  It was a good run!  It's a-okay  awesome that otterbox replaces your phone cover if it breaks withing the first year, but you don't even have to have a proof of purchase.  Google it!  It's a-okay awesome that tomorrow is the last day before the break and the day before we leave on vacay.  It's a-okay that my pants, undertank, and tshirt were all different shades of faded black.  It's a-okay that dinner tonight will be at Chuy's happy hour nacho bar.  It's a-okay awesome that I have had more time to blog lately.  I am loving reading up on all my buddies and meeting new ones!  

Have a wonderful weekend!

xoxo

Holy (Holey) Panties!!

Pretty racy topic, right???



This is one of my favorite traditions of Christmas!  After we graduated from high school a group of friends and I switched names to trade gifts for Christmas.  The spending amount was fifteen dollars.  It is really hard to find quality and unique somethings for that much, so we ditched the idea.  I don't know who came up with the idea, but we all enjoy it!

What's your preference?

We swap names, sizes, and preferences (boy cut, lace, thong, bikini, etc).  We then go shopping.  Sometimes we go with other people in the group, but we did make a rule one year that you can't go shopping with the person you are buying for.  It makes the opening part no fun!

Almost every year we have been able to all get together.  That is a pretty big task since none of us live close to each other any more.  Sometimes it is at someone's house.  Last year it was at IHOP.

It is so fun to open the gifts and oh and aww.  I love this tradition, and it is such an easy one to get started, too.

I mean, who doesn't need new underwear always????  If you didn't know, pretty underthings make you feel pretty all day:))

** I would love one or two more guest bloggers for next week.  I have some really great ones lined up already!