friday favs [sparkle while you shop]

with the holiday shopping season officially just around the corner, i thought i'd throw together my recipe for a perfect shopping outfit. 

start with a sparkly sweater, add some awesome leather pants [or if that's too pricey, it is for me, go with a coated denim pair], some comfy boots, a cute bag you can tuck under your arm or throw in a shopping cart, add some sparkly earrings & bracelet, and finish off with a pair of cool sunnies. all  that put together you're sure to sparkle while you shop!

[michael michael kors michael kors sweater, joe's jeans skinny jeans, balenciaga leather boots, 3.1 phillip lim crystal clutch purse, dorothy perkins sparkly bracelet, dogeared jewels earrings / ray-ban ray ban sunglasses]

the "it" list

EVERYONE! I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT! [didn't you totally read that like ron burgundy? cannon ball!!!!! no? just me? ok then...] 

i am so very excited to present to you [drum roll please] the "it" list! for at least the next 3 fridays i'll be sharing with you these awesome, fashionable ladies and what they've got going on on their blogs. hope you get a chance to check them out! [oh, look who that is in the lower right-hand corner, she looks pretty plaid].

• Laura Wears dresses up her cozy fair aisle sweater with a blazer for a chic, winter-ready look! Pop over to check out her cute stocking cap, too! (find Laura Wears on Twitter!)
• Peach Gingham pairs polka dots with a fur vest - what an amazing combination! The perfect casual back-to-work outfit! (find Peach Gingham on Twitter!)
• A Devine Life is mad for plaid this season and pairs it with heels and pearls - a beautiful classic look! (find a Devine Life on Twitter!)
• Rach.E. Cakes is jumping on the animal trend in an outfit that is cute and comfortable enough for a long day of traveling at the airport! Pop over to see what furry friend she is sporting! (find Rach.E.Cakes on Twitter!)
• Behind The Dressing Room Door gives us the scoop on a mini sale going on at Anthropologie! Definitely a good time to stock up on dresses and sweaters! (find Behind the Dressing Room Door on Twitter!)
• Living After Midnite found a gem of a bag at a recent sample sale and she hasn't put it down since! Head over to see her fabulous new bag! (find Living After Midnite on Twitter!)
• Fancy Francy shows us how to incorporate tights and leggings into our winter wardrobe! Pop over for some style tips and to check out these two looks! (find Fancy Francy on Twitter!)
• The Second Best is rocking her favorite winter staple that we all have - even men! Head over to see what it is and where she found it! (find Second Best on Twitter!)
• Ishi is all puffed up in her favorite winter coat and it extremely warm, but still chic! Go check it out - such a great price point, too!
• Fleurani shows us that black and blue really do go together! A sophisticated look with a fun, unexpected twist!
• Rachels Look Book proves that neon isn't going anywhere soon with this festive but comfy look! Her sweater is to die for - a must see! (find Rachel's Look Book on Twitter!)
• See Mo Go is finally pulling out her favorite Christmas dress now that Thanksgiving is over - perfect for the holidays! So cute! (find See Mo Go on Twitter!)
• My Thrifty Chic is rocking some fun printed pallazo pants she found while thrifting - such a great find at an even better price! (find My Thrifty Chic on Twitter!)
• Second Street East is dreaming of spring even though winter is just beginning. Head over to check out the fresh and bright dining room she loving this week! (find Second Street East on Twitter!)
• Sweetie Pie Style recreates an outfit that would be perfect for a holiday party with friends in gorgeous winter whites! She also gives some great tips for dressing in monochromatic tones!! (find Sweetie Pie Style on Twitter!)

the IT list is brought to you weekly by Jill of Good Life and edited by Michelle of Second Street East.

For more information on how you can be involved - click here

oh and one more thing [i put up our tree all by myself]

the title says it all. 

sunday, we i decided that we were putting up a tree. so, after molesting half of the trees at our local lowes store, we settled on this lovely fraiser fir beauty. that i proceeded to decorate all by myself because my two supposed helpers decided to make themselves comfy on the couch. [jerks].

documented in black & white for coolness purposes:

 [the tree fit in my car. not on, in]

 [fluffing]

  ["whatcha doin' mom?"]

  [inspecting the lights]

  [a little bow topper]

  [isn't she a beaut?]

 [tada!]

  [finishing touches]

 [spray painted pine cones - a spontaneous purchase at lowes]

 [the non-helpers]

 [but beau made it up to me]

i gotta tell ya, hanging out in the livingroom by the light of the tree and some candles sure is purdy. job well done, me. [a nice pat on the back].

have you put your tree up yet?

thursday threads [snow tiger]

[as i'm sure the entire northeast told you via facebook, twitter, and instagram] it snowed on tuesday! it was my second favorite type of snow. the type that covers the grassy areas and leaves the roads completely clear. my absolute favorite type of snow is the type that covers the grassy areas, leaves the roads clear, and [most importantly] hangs on the bare tree branches - making everything into a winter wonderland. [youknowwhati'mtalkin'bout?] 

i took full advantage of it and called an early morning photo sesh [my photographer was super pleased]. i threw on my best snow tiger sweater, and my loft emerald green pants [that have been making quite an appearance in my work wardrobe since their purchase], a pair of booties, and off i went into the snowy surroundings:

 [a little white washed in: gap scarf - similar, target coat, loft pants, h&m booties (in stores, not online)]

 [weirdo face central right here. i can't explain this one, it just came to me]

 [forever 21 tiger sweater - similar, old navy blouse]

 [check out my tiger]

 [tiger's go 'rawr']

 ["oh that looks good" -hubby]

 ["nevermind"]

[check out the tiny faux leather bow detail on my h&m gloves (in stores, not online), and of course my fossil rose gold watch]

anyone else get to take snow pictures? leave a link to your blog in my comments, i'd love to check it out! [snow tiger/weird faces optional]

oh and one more thing [to & from]

when december nears [and the magazines on the news stands start broadcasting gift guides like nobody's business], i start thinking about the gifting season [always with a tiny bit of panic and pressure to get my family members 'the best gift ever']. while i love getting gifts, i secretly [i guess not so secretly now] love giving gifts more. naturally, i buy every single magazine with 'gift guide' anywhere in the title. [you are so welcome, hearst co.] it gets a little pricey so you can imagine my total joy when i stumbled upon this to & from fabulous gift guide last night [via kiley from a sequin dress at breakfast] and it literally took over my evening [like in a good way]. it features gift ideas from different bloggers separated into nicely organizes categories [or in other words, my december heaven]. 

check out the fab gift ideas for yourself!

[not a sponsored post, i just like to share stuff i like with others that may like it]

wear it wednesday [born to be plaid]

ah, the plaid shirt. a major staple in anyone's closet [whether you're a lumberjack or a fashionista], and my newest [and already favorite] score is this blue beauty from the gap. since gap usually runs big [yay, ego, yay!], i opted for the boyfriend shirt in a size small, so that it would hang a little looser than usual [this also helped out a lot when i wore it the saturday after thanksgiving, also known as "i'm-still-stuffterday"] and paired it with gap boyfriend jeans [from forever ago] and my favorite booties. topped off with a navy blue j.crew vest and a grey plaid gap scarf and wham!, i'm [b-b-b-b-b-b-b-]born to be plaid:

[j.crew vest, gap boyfriend fitted plaid shirt, gap plaid scarf - similar, gap boyfriend jeans - similar, coconuts booties (also seen here), rebecca minkoff mini mac]

i guess it was the lumberjack in me [finally in plaid] that noticed there was a giant, gorgeous evergreen right outside our place that makes it look like i'm taking pictures in a forest [of exactly one tree, but nonetheless! more in-front-of-tree-photos-in-the-month-of-december to come!]

oh and one more thing [dogs in sweaters]

because dogs can be fashionistas too [plus it's a crazy week at work and i'm slacking on the outfit posts] i give you this gratuitous picture of beau and his girlfriend bella [baby of the lovely alla of don't judge mommy] in sweaters. [in my defense, beau loves his sweater].

you. are. so. welcome.

[if you follow me on instagram (@natalie_hodak) you would have seen this on saturday. see what you're missing?]

tuesday threads [what i wore to a smorgasbord]

when getting dressed for thanksgiving dinner, i wanted to make sure i was comfy enough [to maybe unbutton the top button of my jeans when full] but also not bum-ish [i.e. no sweatpants]. this h&m oversized sweater was perfect. i threw on my favorite j.brand jeans, a long t-shirt, and some comfy socks with [yes, yet another pair of] booties.

 [pjk patterson j. kincaid jacket, h&m oversized sweater - similar, h&m long tank top (in stores not online), j.brand 811 skinny jeans, h&m knee socks, h&m booties (in stores not online), rebecca minkoff mini mac]

 [remember my trip to the flea market? well i finally found a chain for the agate pendant. tada!]

[check out the waterfall braid hair!]

it was the perfect outfit for such a delicious dinner [and yes, there was top pant button unbuttoning].

monday musings [fish tails]

for some reason, i got it in my head a while ago that i couldn't braid my own hair. [ok, not entirely true, i could do the simple braid, but nothing else]. it was a bummer because a) i finally have long, braid-able hair and b) there were so many awesome ways to do it [and c) my hair sorely needed a new 'do for when it was misbehaving. the ponytail wasn't cutting it anymore]. so when i came across this waterfall braid tutorial that chrisi [met here at the philly fabb bash] put together for vanilla extract and saw how easy it was, i had to give it a shot.

and bam!

it was super simple and took about 1 minute for both sides of my head. [thanks chrisi!]

that got me thinking. what if... i could finally do... the fishtail braid? [i've been enviously looking at them on other people for months]. i thought i'd give it a shot, and, because i like shortcuts to things, i first tried this tutorial:

[image via pinterest. original via ohsopretty]

it uh, it didn't work. my hair is too thin. [so for all of you with thinner hair, this isn't gonna cut it!]. but, not to be discouraged, i looked up a real fishtail tutorial [gulp!]:

and it totally worked!

i'm going to be fishtailing to my heart's desire for the next few weeks [no doubt helping all those who card me at liquor stores and movie theaters think i'm way, way, way under age].

what's an easy hair style tutorial you've found/come up with?

[black] friday favs

so i'm not going all crazy on black friday this year [last year, i got up at 5:00am and scored a tv, but the crowds were something i could have lived without]. i did; however, do my research and have created my plan of attack. it'll go something like this:

7:00am: roll over, bid hubby a good day at work 

7:01am: fall right back to sleep

8:30am: wake up & have a nice relaxing cup of coffee while walking the pup

9:00am: hang out on the couch & watch a dvr'd show [or two!]

10:00am: grab a quick shower & head to my local mall to visit exactly 2 stores: the gap & jcp

why am i only visiting 2 stores? well because the gap is having an up to 60% off event and jcp [although it doesn't have sales anymore] actually has a sale today [!!!!] and there is some really cute stuff i've been eyeing up:

[jcp mng oversized sweater, gap skinny jeans, gap boyfriend flannel shirt, gap utility shirt, jcp vest]

[and of course] 

1:00pm: mani/pedi

whether you're shopping this black friday or avoiding the crowds and hanging at home, hope your holiday weekend is glorious!

[oh and for cyber monday, i think i may be investing in these]:

 

[both from piperlime: bb dakota shawl collar jacket, minkpink cheetah pullover sweater]

thursday tales [thankful]

this isn't exactly a tale, but more of a list. [a thankful, thankful list]. for all the days this month until thanksgiving [today!], i've been keeping a little tally of what i'm thankful for [whether silly or serious, and in no particular order]:

1. my family [they're pretty awesome]
2. my husband ['nuff said]
3. beau [he's brought so much joy to our little family unit]
4. my friends [old, new, i love you guys]
5. coffee [without which i'd not be very nice to anyone in the mornings]
6. salt [weird, i know, but i just love it]
7. being able to take weekend getaways
8. my job [i know i sometimes complain, but i'm really, really lucky to have a great one]
9. yoga [for keeping me leveled and peaceful]
10. pinterest [i don't think i need to explain this one]
11. cheese [yes, cheese]
12. my health
13. my size 7.5 feet [because stores always have a 7.5]
14. finally training my hair to do a middle part [and rockin' it]
15. sleep [goodness am i ever thankful for sleep]
16. memories [especially of my grandmothers]
17. great [unputdownable] books
18. wine [red, red wine]
19. getting dolled up for parties [and sweatpants mornings]
20. a quick morning get-ready routine [because we all have those "omg i look terrible in everything" mornings and change clothes 3 5 times]
21. my new iphone [and instagram filters that i could never get on my blackberry]
22. everyone that reads this blog [and those that leave me your fabulous comments!!]

so thank you, everything i just mentioned. from silly [mmm cheese] to the serious [love you momdadsisterfaceandhubby] you make me thankful all year round.

what are you thankful for?

oh and one more thing [i. am. batman.]

and because the action setting on the camera is way too fun not to play with, i bring you these. [if you're wondering, when i'm not working or blogging, i.am.batman!]:

[while being a weirdo, i'm wearing: frye dorado riding boot, joe's jeans, loft tie-front blouse, loft long cardigan - similar, target wool tie-waist coat]