Boots with the Fur

The fall/winter season kinda gets me bummed out because the current trends just aren't applicable where I live. In other states, people are bundled up to keep warm with all their cute scarves, coats and boots...and I live in Florida where we still have 80 degree weather and December is making it's way! I'm still wearing cropped pants, wedges, short sleeves and light cardigans. I should be thankful that we don't have blizzards, but I'm kinda pouting that I can't really buy winter gear.

Since I can only crush on warm and cozy trends, I picked some boots (with the fur) that I would be all over if I lived somewhere cold and chilly!

Steve Madden - $70

Nine West - $109

Piperlime - $200

Victoria's Secret - $75 (on clearance!)

Now you have that song in your head, right? I was singing it too.

Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2011

Tonight is the night!

The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show will air on CBS at 10pm EST. There is sure to be great musical performances (hello, Adam Levine!) and lovely ladies strutting their stuff on the glittery catwalk clad in angel wings and barely-there outfits.

The VS Fashion Show never disappoints.

While the rest of us non-Angels sit back on our couches and mentally kick ourselves for not rocking bods like the supermodels, we can still dress the part with these lovely pieces from Victoria's Secret just in time for the holidays!

Glitter Babydoll - $68

Silk Chiffon Teddy - $98

Silk Slip - $58

Romper - $42

Sexy Little Santa - $98

 

And stop by your local Victoria's Secret store tomorrow, November 30 and pick up your free VS Fashion Show panty! No purchase necessary! Just bring THIS coupon!

Don't forget to tune in at 10pm EST on CBS tonight to see the show!

New Shoes & Baubles via Instagram

I haven't shared Instagram pics in awhile and I was pulling some of them for this post, I realized that the majority of my recent pics were of shoes and jewelry. Makes me wonder how many purchases I haven't taken pictures of!

BaubleBar

(FREE with my referral credits!)

JewelMint

Meghan LA via HauteLook

Monica's Fantabulous Fashions

Michael Michael Kors (thrifted!)

ShoeDazzle

ShoeDazzle

Marco Santi via SoleSociety

Marco Santi

And I found this cute calendar for the new year...it will bring a little girly cheer to my office!

 You can find my pics on Instagram @theprettyfactor

Not a member yet? Sign up here -

BaubleBar

HauteLook
JewelMint

ShoeDazzle

Sole Society

Find Monica's Fantabulous Fashions on Facebook!

Now let's see if Cyber Monday brings anymore shoes or jewels my way!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you and your families a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Hope this day finds you filled with love and joy as you reflect on all of the blessings in your life!

I am Thankful

With the Thanksgiving holiday just around the corner (tomorrow!), it reminds us to stop and think of the things that we are blessed with but I don't think this should just be reserved for one day. I know I am blessed with far too much more than I deserve.

#1 - My faith. My walk with the Lord has strengthened so much in this past year. And while trials and hard times have certainly been present, I have had such peace knowing that I am walking through those seasons for a reason. I have become stronger because of them and I am thankful for that time of growth.

#2 - My Husband. He and I committed ourselves to each other almost five years ago and through all that we have encountered, I am beyond blessed to have him by my side. He is a great sidekick and a hard worker, doing what he can to provide for our home. I know I am not the easiest person to spend life with (I can be a bit grouchy!) but he continues to fill my life with laughter and my heart with love.

#3 - My family. One father, one mother and one brother. Three people who know me to the core and love me unconditionally. They say you cannot pick your family, but I am so thankful that God picked them for me. I couldn't imagine my life without them.

#4 - My friends. I am extremely blessed to have such wonderful people in my life! We have spent countless weekends together, many meals and even vacationed together. They were just what the Hubs and I prayed for in regards to friendships and they mean the world to us.

#5 - The Pretty Factor. Many dreams of mine have fallen by the side for different reasons (too old? too married? ha!) and this one has come to life! I have learned a lot and come to enjoy every minute of it as it breathes life into my passion for all things girly. Plus it has led me to discover and get to know some pretty awesome bloggers!

I hope you take some moments of your own to reflect on the things you are thankful for. With a world filled with people who have far less than we do, giving thanks is so important.

(photo via)

Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 1 Premiere

The highly anticipated Breaking Dawn film has been out in theaters for several days now but I still haven't seen it yet. Shocking yes, because I am a major fan of the Twilight series and I have been counting down till the premiere, but it's for good reason - I prefer to wait a bit after premiere weekend so the Hubs and I can enjoy the movie without the squeals of teenaged girls everytime Taylor Lautner pops up onscreen without his shirt on. Don't get me wrong, I am squealing a bit too...but in my head and not in someone's ear.

Here are some red carpet shots of the film's leading ladies for your viewing pleasure!

Kristen Stewart

Ashley Greene

Nikki Reed

I for one am pleased to see Kristen dressed like a lady without a scowl across her face. Is it just me or does she always look so awkward and petrified at these events?! And thank goodness she wasn't wearing sneakers!

You can see more looks from the premiere here.

Hopefully I will venture out this upcoming weekend to enjoy the film...and Taylor's abs.

*Don't forget to sign up for ShoeMint here!

Harvest Decor

I don't have much when it comes to fall/harvest decor for the Thanksgiving season (one storage bin for Thanksgiving decor vs. six storage bins for Christmas decor...um yeah) but I did want to share the two main components that I actually MADE myself! Last year at this time, I was solo for a week while the Hubs was in Nicaragua on a community service missions trip with our church. With the downtime, I came up with some craft projects as I noticed my fall decor was lacking. I did these both in a matter of two evenings and while I wouldn't consider myself the best DIY'er, I was impressed with what I came up with!

My living room tablescape!

(with the candles lit)

These white pumpkins were marked down on clearance after Halloween, so I grabbed them at $1 a piece. I found rust colored gems and stuck them onto the pumpkins in several lengths and then added the same gems into votive candle holders. I had the leaf tea light holders and then added some acrylic leaves all around.

My front door wreath!

This was another result of an after Halloween clearance sale. I purchased a plain green wreath (the same found on typical Christmas wreaths) and an assortment of fall floral and berry stems. Most of these floral stems were about $1 or so and all complimented each other in similar colors of purples, oranges and reds. I simply removed the stems from the flowers and berries and then used a hot glue gun to attach them to the wreath. I laid out the largest flowers first and then filled in the gaps with the smaller flowers followed by the berry stems. I just love it! Again not professional quality, but pretty nonetheless!


Do you have any fall decor that you made yourself? I would love to see it!

Winning 2

Back in October I discussed how I never considered myself a "lucky" person when it comes to winning prizes or giveaways, but I was stoked when I did win a Jessica Simpson Collection giveaway hosted by Sarah of Raving Fashionista.

I am proud to announce that my winning streak is on a serious climb upwards! In the past few weeks, I have been blessed to win a few more giveaways!

This week I received my second giveaway win that was hosted by Ashley of Sloanbook!

This giveaway was sponsored by Rolled Up Pretty, a fun little blog written by Savannah. The handcrafted bags came in three different sizes and were accented by vintage ribbon in three different colors! These will be especially handy for traveling!


Make sure to check out both blogs! I hope you will enjoy them as much as I do!

Sloanbook
Rolled Up Pretty


Have you heard of Rachel Bilson's new shoe collection with Shoemint?! Sign up now to earn rewards before the debut! Sign up here!!

Angel Love

The annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show took place November 9 in New York City. Unless you were super lucky to be at the event in person, us mere mortals will have to wait till November 29 to see it on our television screens (CBS, 10pm EST).

I did come across some sneak peek pics of the fabulous event that is the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show and I loved seeing the affectionate gazes between some of the Angels and the men in their life...so sweet! 

Anne V. & her boyfriend, Adam Levine of Maroon 5

Miranda Kerr modeling the $2.5 million "Fantasy Treasure Bra" much to the admiration of her hubby, Orlando Bloom

(photos via)

 

 

In the spirit of love (and the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday), the Hubs and I will be delivering an entire Thanksgiving meal to a family that needs the pick-me-up this holiday season. We have talked about doing this in past years but something always deters us from delivering (no pun intended). I am really excited that it's happening this year.

 

We have a million things to be thankful for, but there are many people that have less than we do. And I think if people could be a little more "others-focused" and a little less "me-focused", it would make a world of difference to their life and to our own.

 

Happy Saturday!

Friday's Five

Here are my five favorites this week...

#1 - Dreams. Most people dream in their sleep so rarely, the dreams aren't as vivid or aren't as consistent. For me, the dreams come practically every single night and they are so real. I can almost 'feel' what is happening and when I wake up, the emotion from the dream is on my face whether it be a big smile or tears from my eyes. I am not sure why I dream as often as I do, but this week has been full of good ones!

#2 - Pumpkin. From scented candles to coffee creamer to the spice for my pumpkin bread recipe, I am having a love affair with it this week! I don't think it should just be reserved for the holiday season...it's that yum!

#3 - The Target commercials for Black Friday featuring the crazy Christmas Champ lady are back! I love her commercials and they get better every year!

#4 - Buxom's Big & Healthy lip polish in Dolly. This has been my go-to gloss this week. I originally received a sample from Sephora and got hooked, so I went ahead and bought the full sized version. It tingles a bit because it plumps your lips and the color is so pretty!

#5 - Friday night date night with our crew! Tonight the Hubs & I are heading out with some of our favorite couples for an evening of pizza and bowling. It's sure to be a fun night!

Happy Friday!

theBalm - The Muppet Show palette

I placed my first ever purchase from theBalm just about two weeks for the highly anticipated "The Muppet Show: Cast Your Shadow" face palette. This limited edition palette contains 16 eye shadows/liners, 2 lip/cheek stains, 1 lip gloss and an applicator brush. Each color has a Muppet-themed name (such as "Wocka Wocka" & "Great Gonzo") and the packaging is super cute. theBalm's Facebook page noted that a set could be reserved by your email address. Since there was such a limited amount being offered at one per household, I sent my email address and figured if I missed out, it wouldn't be such a big deal. I was one of the lucky ones and based on the superb reviews from makeup bloggers that I follow, I placed my order. Considering the amount of items in this palette, the $44.50 price wasn't so bad.

Great interior packaging surrounds a good sized mirror

Overall look of palette

Eye colors

Eye colors

Lip/cheek stains & gloss

I swatched the colors on my hands to check on the color pay-off and I think they are really nice. They seem to have good pigment and I think they will be long-lasting once I actually do put them to use. It's also a great palette to travel with because you really have all you need in one case and there are enough colors for different looks.

Looks like you can still purchase "The Muppet Show" palette here.

Have you purchased from theBalm before?

Wedding Bells: Loriell & Karl

Here is another "Wedding Bells" post for 2011.

And by another, I mean the last one for 2011. Weddings are such a joyous occasion and we love them, but this year brought them to us one right after the other! Lets hope their future babies don't follow the same pattern! Ha!

Last weekend our sweet friends Loriell and Karl tied the knot! The ceremony was a beautiful one and the decor was just in season - rich fall colors, sunflowers and leaves made you feel like you had stepped right into a harvest celebration!

Ceremony decor

The GORGEOUS bride being escorted by her grandfather & equally gorgeous son :)

Vows

The Kiss!

The Hubs & I

(He persuaded me to wear my lime suede Marco Santi heels with my NY & Co dress...I was afraid it was too 'loud' but I was complimented on them several times! Thanks honey!)

The groom, Mr. C & the guys

The new Mrs. C & the girls

Loriell is an AMAZING vocalist & she surprised her husband with a serenade

of "At Last" by Etta James. INCREDIBLE!

Goofing off with the Hubs in the photo booth

I'm a bit sad to see that wedding season is over for this year! It is always such a great time to celebrate love and have such a fun night with family and friends!

Congratulations Loriell & Karl!

See my other 'Wedding Bells' posts here & here!

Birchbox - November

Birchbox is a monthly subscription that sends you personalized samples every month for just $10. Signing up for this monthly service gets you 4-5 deluxe beauty samples with items ranging from body care, makeup, fragrance and hair care. Each monthly subscription can be cancelled at any time, so I signed up to see what $10 got me.

I received these samples for November:

• Kerastase Elixir Ultime
• Guerlain Shalimar Parfum Initial
• Thymes Eucaluptus & Kimono Rose body lotions
• Anastasia Beverly Hills lip gloss in Sugar Pink
• Monthly Treat: Two Paper Dolls coasters

The enclosed note card has a description of each item listed on the back along with the price points, should I decide to purchase the full sized item.

I can't really say that I am disappointed in what I received. I knew I would be receiving sample sizes so I definitely got what I paid for. Would I ever purchase these items on my own? If I wasn't familiar with them, no. I usually don't spend much on something I have never tried. But I like the concept of having samples sent by different brands and for different purposes. It gives me an opportunity to try them myself and then decide if I want to purchase the item in the future...or not! I think I will keep going with Birchbox and see what future months will bring. I have seen some goodies from other members!

Are you a member of Birchbox? What have you gotten?
If not, give it a try! Only $10 a month :)

Don't forget to comment & vote here! Thanks for your votes!