December Photo-A-Day Week 2

I don't have many words this weekend after what happened Friday. Here are some pictures instead:

 December 9th "Something You're Reading"

I haven't gotten very far...

December 10th "Wrapping Paper"

I love my reindeer with scarves paper: )

December 11th "Green"

The elevators at work have protective stuff in them because construction is going on, and someone made a monster out of the rip! So awesome.

December 12th "A Beautiful Sight"

I was inside all day so I made do.

December 13th "Family"

Me and Stevie!

December 14th "Christmas Tree"

A few presents under there!

December 15th "Favorite Holiday Song" 

If you say you don't like this song, you are lying.

Just a few days until we get a break from work. I'm excited to spend time with friends and family. Keep saying prayers for those in Sandy Hook. Andrew and I have been struggling all weekend with the fact that something so horrible could ever happen.

End of the Year List // Embarrassing Music

This is a super fun time of year because for those of us who like lists, we get to rank things like music, movies, news, and events from the past year! Andrew and I love all the top album and songs lists and he always forces encourages me to make one. I'm still working on that list, but I've been focusing on all the embarrassing pop songs from the year that made me sing, smile, dance, and sometimes pretend that I wasn't listening. Here are my top 5!

5.Calvin Harris feat. Neyo "Let's Go"
This isn't really an embarrassing one, in my opinion, but very feel-good and fun to listen and dance to!

4. Bruno Mars "Locked Out of Heaven"
This song is so so catchy. I don't really like any other Bruno Mars songs, but I always dance to this when I hear it!

3. Carly Rae Jepsen "Call Me Maybe"
I thought this song was so stupid the first few times I heard it. It had like five words and made zero sense. And oddly enough, the first few times I heard it we were in Croatia! I remember trashing it with Andrew's sister Tory. But then it was overwhelmingly catchy and I gave in. Plus it always puts a smile on Andrew's face, so it was hard not to like!

2. Justin Bieber feat. Nicki Minaj "Beauty and the Beat"
This song definitely has the beat going for it. And it's in Just Dance 4, so I love to dance to it!

1. Taylor Swift "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"
This one is really embarrassing. But have you seen the video? Don't you love hearing the weeeEEEE? Ugh, I listened to this so many times this year it's sick. And it's the only Taylor Swift song I even know the name of! She sucked me in!

So what were your favorite pop tunes this year? A little Katy Perry or Rihanna maybe? Please don't say Chris Brown, I still don't care for him, ugh. But let me know! I'd love to hear: )

Tuesday Treasures #10 // Brooches

Kaylah over at The Dainty Squid sure makes brooches look like a must-have fashion accessory! She definitely wears them well and creates an urge inside of me to buy lots. I went a little favorite-crazy on etsy the other day and found a bunch of awesome ones. Oddly enough, only one or two of the sellers were from the U.S. I guess brooches haven't really migrated to the states yet! It makes sense; Sophie over at Oh My Clumsy Heart shipped my lovely fox brooch from across the pond. Thank you, England. This reinforces my wish that I was British! Here are some of my favorites:

This pi brooch from GeekModish is perfect for math lovers!

This deer brooch by ennashop in Germany is so darling!

Hello! From Delilah devine in Australia. So friendly!

Aw, I love this sleeping fox from goldenspleen, also in Germany.

SketchInc in the UK has some of the neatest brooches I've ever laid eyes on!

NewellsJewels also in the UK makes these gorgeous Russian doll pieces.

laylaamber in the UK makes one heck of an owl!

And Elizabeth Pawle makes the sweetest little kitty cat asleepin'. 

Sweet dreams!

Liebster Award!

Lovely Llorys was nominated for the Liebster Award! Thank you to studiomaison for the nomination! 

So, here's the deal: Bloggers nominate other bloggers with 200 or less followers. Liebster means "favorite" in German so everyone can promote their favorite blogs... or maybe find new ones! If you are nominated, you just have to follow the rules (below) and nominate 11 more blogs to keep the fun going!

Rules for nominees:

1. List 11 facts about yourself.

2. Answer the 11 questions given to you.

3. Create 11 new questions for the bloggers you nominate for the award.

4. Choose 11 bloggers with 200 or less followers to nominate.

5. Go to each bloggers page and let them know about the award.

6. Thank the person who nominated you and link back to their blog.

11 Facts About Me:

1. I am a barista

2. I love cats!

3. I could eat pizza and Greek salad everyday

4. I once touched the Stanley Cup

5. I have been to Disney World 4 times

6. I like the smell of skunks

7. I rarely burp

8. I love themed parties, like a certain decade or sequins and bowties

9. The Beatles are my favorite band

10. I am a pescatarian

11. I have been to 4 *NSYNC concerts (rip, single Justin Timberlake)

Questions from Saralyn at studiomaison

1. Where are you most excited to travel?

I love to travel and want to see as much as I can, but my top choice is still Europe because I love it so much. We are looking at Iceland or Turkey next. I also really want to see Prague! And I wouldn't mind just going back to Croatia.

2. What is your favorite book?

The Lords of Discipline, by Pat Conroy. I always recommend this, but no one ever reads it! I couldn't say exactly what it is about it, but I just love this book.

3. What inspires your blog?

Travel, photography, style, fashion, neat things that I want to buy... I am a mixed bag when it comes to this blog. I always think I want to have a clear direction, but so many ideas pop into my head it's hard to take the straight road!

4. What is one of your guilty pleasures?

...Keeping Up With the Kardashians. And the Michael Buble Christmas Album!

5. What is your favorite movie?

...Home Alone, seriously. But I also LOVE Lost In Translation.

6. Do you have any pets?

We just got a cat a week ago! I think his name will be Stevie. He is adorable and soft and cuddly and I love him.

7. What is your favorite scent?

I have so many! But I will go with the perfume Twirl, by Kate Spade.

8. If money was no object, what would you buy?

I would travel everywhere!

9. Who inspires you the most?

My friend Colleen really inspires me! She is such a trendsetter and a great person and I love her!

10. What are you looking forward to the most during the holidays?

Everyone loves Thanksgiving so much, but I prefer Christmas. I just love all the music and seeing friends and family and parties and food and lights! I really like the lights.

11. How did you get started blogging?

Speaking of Colleen, she started a blog a few years back and I decided to as well as a way to keep in touch. We both gave up for a while, but I decided in the spring to try and keep mine going. There is such a great community of bloggers and so many potential opportunities! I love connecting with people, so I've kept it up: )

My Nominees:

Wanderlusted

Running With A Glue Gun

One Delightful

a yank (who was once) in darwin

The Artist's Blog

Horses of Ares

Hey Miss Pickle

ButtonMunch

Kitty Cat Stevens

Tea Tree

Lazarus bell

Questions for my nominees:

1. What is the best vacation you've ever been on?

2. Do you sleep with socks on?

3. What is your standard coffee shop order?

4. Do you like to volunteer? If so, where?!

5. What's the best class you've ever taken?

6. What's at the top of your Christmas list this year?

7. Favorite muppet?

8. Current best show on television?

9. Favorite magazine?

10. Do you have an unusual talent?

11. Why did you begin blogging? 

Thanks again, Saralyn! What a fun way to get the week started. I am looking forward to all my nominees' posts!

December Photo-A-Day Week 1

Boy, have I been busy! Well, part busy, part loving on our new cat that we got exactly one week ago today from a great shelter, Crash's Landing! Definitely look for a post regarding our little bundle of joy soon, but my excuse is that I've been busy being a great pet owner instead of blogging. I have not forgotten, however, to take photos for my first ever Instagram photo-a-day adventure! I found the challenge via Pinterest, from A Content Housewife. It's been fun and somewhat challenging so far! Oh, by the way, I started on the 2nd of December, oops!

December 2nd - Favorite Holiday Movie

(It's Home Alone)

December 3rd - Red

The tag on our new kitty! We still haven't renamed him, but I kind of think Stevie has a ring to it!

December 4th - Joyous

COFFEEEEE. It was so good that morning, too.

December 5th - Today's Temperature

Brrr, wasn't it just 60 the other day?

December 6th - Shopping

Gosh, I love Target...

December 7th - Bright

It was a dark day, so I improvised!

December 8th - Ornament(s)

Speaking of loving Target, I got this one there last year: )

I hope you've all had lovely weekends and are enjoying your Sunday night. I will try and update more this week! Oh, and if you want real time photo updates, follow my new twitter (for the blog, as opposed to my personal account, which you are also more than welcome to follow)! 

What I Wore // Fox Brooch

Can you believe I wore this outfit on December 1st in Michigan? Climate change is...a problem, but I'm not complaining when I don't have to endure freezing temperatures in winter. I'm a huge wimp when it comes to that! Anyway, I wanted to show off my fox brooch that I bought from Sophie over at Oh My Clumsy Heart. She has the prettiest things, and this brooch is the official start to my fox collection that I'm hoping to expand! Eeee! I've been wearing it on my infinity scarf for weeks, so I finally made Andrew take a few pictures. Thanks, Sophie! Everyone should check out her shop and pick out a brooch to match!

What I Wore!

Infinity Scarf: Target

Fox Brooch: Oh My Clumsy Heart on Etsy

Cardigan: Kohl's Apt. 9

Gloves: Authentic Italian Leather! I got these in Venice this summer

Skirt: Also got in Venice, but just from H&M

Tights: Kohl's Apt. 9

Boots: Urban Outfitters

And yes, I know this outfit doesn't really match, but I went thrifting afterwards, so who cares! Freedom!

Private Selections Holiday

My latest BzzCampaign is for Private Selections, which is a brand exclusively available at the Kroger family of stores. They are encouraging us to use their gourmet selections when hosting this holiday season. I tried out a few of the options today, so I wanted to share my thoughts!

I topped the Classic Water Crisp Crackers with some Havarti cheese, cucumber, and tomato with a basil leaf. It was a super fresh and easy appetizer that you could serve while guests are waiting for dinner. The crackers didn't seem like they'd break easily, so that's perfect for preparing an appetizer like this!

I loooove Greek salad, and making this earlier brought me back to all the great salads I enjoyed in Croatia. I used the Authentic Greek Kalamata olives to, well, make it authentic! The only thing I was bummed about was that they are not pitted. They'd probably be less authentic if they were! Still delicious!

I then enjoyed some Costa Rican coffee, yum! It smells and tastes amazing. The perfect ending to a great meal for sure. Private Selections also has a full line of goodies including desserts and ice cream, so preferably I'd include that with the coffee.

This turned out a little dark, oops!

I'd definitely recommend trying out the gourmet Private Selections offerings. I think I will try to utilize the olives and crackers for a holiday party I am providing food for. I have lots of 20% coupons if anyone is interested! It's so fun to make pretty appetizers and a gourmet dinner you can feel proud of, and Private Selections makes it possible. Have you tried anything from the line? I'd sure like to know how the ice cream and the caramel truffle coffee tastes!