Outfit Idea {Thanksgiving}

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I am so excited.  It is definitely my favorite holiday and I can not wait to pack my bags and head to Pennsylvania for a family-filled Thanksgiving with my aunts, uncles and cousins (and the newest adorable little member of the family).  Now PA’s weather is a bit cooler so I am planning on packing some cozy layers.  As I start my packing list with my favorite blanket scarf I thought a little outfit planning couldn’t hurt…

Thanksgiving Outfit Idea 2015

Shop this Outfit Idea

Loving Lately – Fall Décor

While it is so tempting, I am strict on my “no Christmas before Thanksgiving” rule.  Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and think it deserves to have it’s time in the sun too.  So I must admit I am pinning Christmas décor and mentally planning my holiday season, I am still fully basking in fall!   And while other’s Christmas trees may be gracing their living rooms, we still have our fall pumpkins proudly on display.  So I thought I would share a few of our new home décor pieces and a few inspirations I have come across this fall.

SImply Styled Emily - pumpkin kisses

Pumpkin Kisses Sign (snagged this after season last year and was so excited to put it out, and that I actually remembered I had it!)

SImply Styled Emily - pumpkin and sign

Gobble Til You Wobble – Michaels Arts & Crafts | Pumpkins – Joann’s Fabrics

SImply Styled Emily - pumpkin

Twig Pumpkin – Home Goods (From our Pennsylvania trip to see my grandmother.  She loved it but said she had too many decorations so it needed to come home with us)

And some great inspirational fall home looks.  I am loving the neutrals and simple styles.

Fall Decor

link

Fall Decor

link

easy-fall-decor

link

Fall Decor

link

Fall Decor

link

What are your favorite fall inpirations? Or have you wiped out fall and dove head first into the magic of Christmas!?

Sweater Weather

Sweater Weather_2015

The unseasonably warm weather has transformed into the perfect fall temps!  These days are amazing!  And while it is nice that crummy weather doesn’t stick around long around here, the nice days don’t stay nice for to long either (we like to keep the weathermen on their toes around here).  So I am taking full advantage of this sweater weather and heading outside.

Sweater Weather_2015

outfit details: Sweater – Old Navy | Jeans – New York & CO | Pumps – Target | Bag – Phillip Lim for Target

Vegas Vacation

As a little birthday get-a-way, Brandon and I headed back to Dover Downs Hotel and Casino for a day date. The morning of the trip we woke up early, got right on the road and swung by the first Starbucks we came to on the way. We listened to podcasts, chatted and jammed out to music on the long drive to Delaware. Once there we played blackjack together, lost a few dollars in the penny slots, grabbed a big lunch and when Brandon went back to the game tables, I headed over to the mall to do a little birthday shopping. We ended the night with a delicious meal of oysters and champagne and a few more hands of blackjack (where I won back the money I spent on the new sweater and shoes I bought… winning!).

The ride home had me thinking that while Dover is a great casino option close-by (well… within driving distance) a trip out to real-deal in Las Vegas may need to be on our travel list! Brandon and I have been to Las Vegas in the past and had such a great time. It was a long drive home from Dover so a little planning started happening. And of course, when planning any big trip, mentally outfit planning is completely necessary too!

So here is the dream day plan (and coordinating outfits… obviously) for our next trip to Vegas!

Morning: Breakfast together at a local café to start the day of right.

Dream Day in Vegas - day oufit

Afternoon: While Brandon heads in to the casino I would head to the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian (The Palazzo) because I would rather lose my money to a new dress than to the card table! We would meet up for lunch to grab a bite and do a little of our favorite Las Vegas pastime, people-watching. Then we’d take a stroll through the casino lobbies to see the amazing displays.

Dream Day in Vegas - night outfit

Evening: We would head to our dinner reservations at the Top of the World at the Stratosphere to take in the breathtaking view. After dessert we would catch the Bellagio Light Show which is one of my favorite things. Lastly, the night would end with a few more dollars on the card tables before we headed to our hotel suite at the Bellagio Hotel.

While Brandon had some eye rolls as I planned our itinerary down to the 15 minute mark we would hit the Bellagio Light Show I found the Vegas.com site to be the greatest tool for my over-planning self. Not only did it have all the detailed information you would need, like “what time can you see the Bellagio Light Show”, but also things such as the dress code for all the local restaurants (now I know there is a strict business casual code for the Startosphere) and of course all the tools you need for reservations for dining, sleeping and activities all over the city.

Now back to planning the rest of our trip to City that Never Sleeps!  How would you spend the day in Vegas?

Shop The Looks:

Weekend Ruminations {November 6 – 8, 2015}

And we are back to Monday!  The weather was unseasonably warm last week, I am talking 80 degrees in November, so I am looking forward to the cooler weather that is coming this week.  Break out the blanket scarfs and boot socks!

But first, a quick look at the past weekend.

Friday I ran into Target and snagged one of the new Sugar Paper Co. for Target planners and I am a little obsessed.  I am very particular about my yearly planner (I could go on and on about planners… total organizer junkie here) and was pleasantly surprised how much I liked the planners this year.  And with a $12.99 price tag, you can’t go wrong.

SugarPaperCoforTarget

Friday night we headed with my in-laws to the local Mexican restaurant for nachos and margaritas, yum!

Saturday morning I was excited to have one of my best friends over to visit with her little ones.  Beth and her husband have been living in Ohio the past few years and now they are moving to Richmond and will be so close now.  I am so happy they will finally be close again, and I know they are happy to be close to family!

HouseWarming Gift

made this little treat for Beth to have when they move in to their new house in two weeks… coffee is always necessary when unpacking!

Saturday night we headed to Brandon’s Aunt and Uncles for a bon voyage party for his uncle who is headed out on deployment with the Navy.  It was so nice to see them and be able to wish Nate well on his cruise.

Sunday I attended a local work conference at the oceanfront (could be worst places for work meetings) which included a social hour with yummy treats and drinks.  I love the work I get to do and meeting people who work in the same field in a social setting was a great end to the weekend.

When a hole in your pants leads to a full shopping bag!

I have been attempting to get in a morning routine to get myself out of the door on time and ready for the day (rather than my normal spastic self running around with wet hair, unable to find the car keys).  I have been picking out my outfit the night before so I can grab it quickly without having to stand and stare at my closet for 10 minutes wishing I had more options.  Tuesday night as I was picking out my outfit I noticed a hole in the butt of my favorite pixie pants from Old Navy and was so sad.  They have been my favorite go to work bottoms and fit so well.  I tossed them in my “get rid of pile” and scoured the closet for something else.

So wasn’t it a fun surprise when I woke up on Wednesday to an e-mail from Old Navy about their new sale, it’s like they knew!

I hopped on-line to grab a new pair of my favorite pants, and scrolled through to find a few more goodies.  I filled my shopping bag, grabbed the discount code and even scored free shipping.  And a good sale is too good not to share so of course here are my picks!

Old Navy Sale Picks

Grab some great pieces while they last! Don’t forget to use coupon code “MORE” at check-out to score even more discounts!

Weekend Ruminations – Halloween Weekend

We are back to Monday after a great weekend spent with family and an endless feed of friend’s little ones in costume filling up Facebook!  But it’s my BIRTHDAY so that makes Monday a little easier to bear, especially when you get to enjoy your free birthday Starbucks too!

Simply Styled Emily_birthday starbucks

red cups…it’s officially Christmas time

Here’s a peek at what we were up to this holiday weekend (though I use holiday loosely… if you don’t get an extra day off work, does it really count?!)

Thursday I kicked off the weekend helping a co-worker put on a “Yappy Hour” social at the local dog park.  What’s Yappy Hour you ask, oh just adorable dog’s (in costume… because it’s a holiday, right) and booze for the owners!  I was excited for a reason to put on a Halloween costume this year and the scarecrow costume I mentioned last week was perfect!

SImply Styled Emily_Scarecrow Costume

We had my family over on Sunday for a little dinner for my birthday, so Friday was spent prepping my cleaning game plan and clearing out the DVR with Brandon.  We cleaned out the fridge by drinking the last of the Coney Island Root Beer we had picked up when friends were staying a few weekends back.  We grabbed these when we couldn’t find Not Your Fathers Root Beer at our local grocery store and think they are pretty delicious!

Simply Styled Emily_Coney Island Beer

Saturday I was in full cleaning mode and then crashed on the couch at night for a Halloween movie with Brandon.  I also took a cleaning break to dress our dog in his best Halloween costume to send a picture over to my nephews who had sent us theirs.

Simply Styled Emily_Hunter Halloween

Mid-yawn but I swear it looks like he is yelling “fire!!!”

And Sunday’s dinner at our house was a perfect way to celebrate the big 2-9.  A big “thank you” to my mom for pre-making the lasagnas… because otherwise it would have been frozen pizzas!  It was so nice having everyone over at our house for a change.

Sunday night I straightened up the house…again, ran the dishwasher, and headed to bed ready to take on a new year!!

Fall Favorites

I am loving fall here in the country.  The leaves are all turning the most perfect shades of orange, red and purple and the cool nights have us sleeping with the windows open.  I can’t help but get in the fall festival spirit and picked out some of the best items around this fall.

Fall Favorites 2015

Boots, scarfs and pumpkins oh my!

Loving Lately

I am an over sharer.  I love to talk about new things I find and tips and tricks to make a day easier.  I follow up compliments of “oh I love your watch, it’s so nice” with “it’s from target, a great deal, I am sure they have more at the local store, or you can check online it’s the merona brand…”.  People were probably just expecting a cordial “thank you”, but no, if I have found a great deal or found something I must tell, it’s just oversharing word vomit!  So I thought what better place to overshare to the masses than with a little loving lately post.  So scroll below and check out what I just can’t wait to tell you about!

  • Snagged this adorable crocheted coffee sleeve on ETSY and am loving it! Nothing better than Folgers in your cup and pumpkins on the sleeve 😉
coffee sleeve
  • This blog. It started with this post that I stumbled upon through a pinterest link (the rabit hole) and from there I was up to date on her life and drooling over her spiral staircase.
  • Do you have a duvet on your bed? Then stop what you are doing, watch this link and come back.  Got it?! Oh my word, we have an all black dog and I insisted on a white comforter, because I apparently love to clean (note we also have dark hard wood floors… we can save that for another day). This little trick works perfect! It leaves me not completely dreading having to strip the comforter when the dog hair gets out of control.
  • This nail polish – colorstay gel envyRevlon ColorStay
  • Two great ideas for adult Halloween costumes! {Scarecrow | Sheep} Halloween costumes can be fun, but for me, they must also be practical. First, we may live in the south, but October 31 is still the middle of fall and fall like temperatures at night are no joke. No sexy costume locogeoks cute if you are wrapped in a coat. Second, a large costume made of cardboard leaves you leaning against a wall because the act of sitting is simply out of the question. And lastly, no witty costume is less funny than the one no one gets (been there done that, it isn’t funny if you have to explain it). So for the sake of practicality, I have to say these two are looking pretty sweet, scarecrow and sheep.
  • A little DIY decorating idea I found that I can’t wait to recreate with some of my favorite quotes.

Hope you enjoy my little musings of things I am loving lately!

Second Anniversary Gifts

This September Brandon and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary!  We wanted to make this year fun so we scheduled a ‘kick off to fall’ trip.  We started in Pennsylvania to visit my extended family.  My parents are high school sweethearts and grew up in south-eastern PA, the military moved them and while we have lived in Virginia for 29 years, Downingtown, Pennsylvania was what they always called “home”.  My grandmother, and most of my aunts, uncles and cousins all live close-by the same little town.  We spent our time there visiting the apple orchard for their famous apple-cider donuts, shopping around town, grabbing lunch with my sweet grandmother and dinner with my uncles and cousins at the local brewery.  It was the perfect visit!  We then made our way to Dover, Delaware to go to Dover Downs Casino.  My husband is a big fan of blackjack and they had a nice little spa for me so it seemed like a great little overnight spot.  We gambled and enjoyed anniversary massages, Brandon gambled some more and I treated myself to a mani-pedi, marriage is all about compromise, right?!

I never thought we would really make a big ta-do about anniversaries, but I have to admit it was so nice to celebrate with a little get-away from the normal day-to-day routine.  And to finish out the trip I surprised Brandon with my anniversary present.  I wanted to stay traditional and year two is cotton.

The cotton anniversary gift was a hard one for me.  I wanted something special that he would keep for years and actually use.  So while I searched to find the perfect gift for my husband, I thought I would share the ideas I found along the way if you are stuck on traditional gifts for second anniversaries as well!

Second Anniversary Gifts

one|  Wifey & Hubby tees: just too cute and would be a fun gift (I am guessing more for the wife… but still so cute!)

two| Dressy Attire: a perfect couple gift, husband and wife pick out the dressy outfit for the other to wear on a fancy anniversary dinner date

three| Monogrammed Bed Linens: a couples gift to brighten up your bedroom

four| Tie: a gift for your husband to wear to on a nice date or to the office

five| Hammock: this is the gift I picked for Brandon, I look forward to spending lazy afternoons with my favorite guy in our yard cuddled in this hammock

six| Beach Towels: pair these with a beach trip getaway for a sweet surprise

seven| Robe: a special gift for your wife

eight| Monogrammed Towels: a gift more on the practical side but a nice addition to the master bathroom

SHOP THIS STYLE