Pretty Things #23

Pretty things Im lovin' this week.
#love #prettythings #cheetahprint #printables #handmade #necklaces #linky #sales #yums

Hand Painted Skeleton Key/ /Cheetah Boots (Use code 20OFF0512 for 20% off)/ /Winter Hat Refashion

Statement Necklace ( 20% off with code 20OFF0512)/ /Free Easter Printable/ /Cupcakes!

Rose Necklace/ /Custom Spirit Collection/ /Monster Cookies Recipe

Wonderful Desire to Inspire Link Up!/ /Wandering Heart Necklace/ /Sweetest Proposal Story!

What pretty things are you loving this week?
What blog posts are really inspiring and speaking to you this week?

Much Love & Hugs,

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Linking up to:
 Loving Lately, Current Crush, Rolled Up Pretty, Beautiful Thursdays, loves on a Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Friday Finds & Favorites, Friday Favorite Products Hop,

Fashion Pause

Sometimes I have these silly little thoughts...

The other day, I was thinking about my post on chambray, and how many fashion forward people were on the 'yay' side of chambray. Then that got me thinking of the term 'fashion forward'. I was thinking - "I'm not fashion forward, so would that make me fashion rewind?"

Then I thought, no... That's not accurate. Because really if you think about it fashion "forward" is really fashion REWIND too! Because after all - isn't most fashion just recycled through different decades!?  In style for a period of time, then out, and back in a couple decades later.

Like chambray... My very fashion forward bloggy bestie informed me that chambray is a classic and has been around for years. Another gal I adore, admitted to feeling old because she can say she remembered chambray being 'in' when she was in high school! :-)

So if fashion forward people are also fashion rewind people... Then where do I fit in? I thought a moment more and decided, well then I must be fashion pause. Haha I like my fashion right as it is, right where it is.... And I am sometimes, I guess you could say, fashion pause-forward.... You know what I'm talking about? Where you're at pause but slowly going forward to find the right spot in a movie!? Haha yeah... I guess that's me. Stuck on pause with my fashion... Slowly creeping forward when I see fit.

Anyone else!?!?

Annnnnd.... Those are the silly kind of thoughts that go through my head from time to time. I know, I'm so profound, right. ;) What can I say?

Happy Wednesday friends.

What Im Wearing:

Dress: Ross

Blazer: Ross

Purple Tights: No Nonsense (via Walmart)

Booties: Target

Necklace: c/o Annabell & Louise Designs

Face: c/o My Parents. (Thanks Mom & Dad)

Much Love & Hugs,

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Linking up to Pleated Poppy, Translantic Blonde, Rae Gun Ramblings, Watch What Im Wearing,
Wardrobe Wednesday, Real Girl Glam, Because Shanna Said So, My Style Monday, Real Mom Style,  Desire to Inspire

Spread The Love Re-Pin It Party

Hello friends. ♥ As the month of LOVE is coming towards an end, I wanted to do something fun to end it right! I'm encouraging everyone to spread some pinterest LOVE today, by hosting a very fun kind of linky party... A Pinterest Re-Pin it Party*. I will personally be re-pinning every pin that is linked up, and my co-hosts will be re-pinning at least 10 pins from the link up as well. That's a lot of extra exposure for you! So we would love to have you join in a spread the love, with us! ♥

*Original re-pin party idea from Christine.

Your Host:
Agape Love Designs

Co-Hosts:
 A Royal Daughter
A Proverbs 31 Wife
Penguins, Pasta & Polka Dots

We all know what a wonderful and helpful tool Pinterest can be to bring traffic to our blogs! So today Agape Love Designs and several other awesome ladies have come together to host a Spread the LOVE pinterest re-pin it party! If you have a fabulous blog post or item from your shop pinned to pinterest that you would like re-pinned for more traffic and exposure, then you definitely want to get in on this link up! Each host will be re-pinning from those who link up, to help spread the love. :-)

Before you link up, please abide the following rules:

RULES

1. Re-Pin Each of the Hosts' pins.
(They will be the first 4 link-ups)

2. Link up the PINTEREST url of what you would like to have re-pinned! (limit 2)
(URL of Pin Example: http://pinterest.com/pin/5066618303100852/)

3. Re-pin the 4 link-ups before you!
(You are more than welcome to re-pin more if you would like to spread more love!
Leave a comment on the pin, that you're re-pinning from the party, & I'm sure they'll return the love!)


Much Love & Hugs,

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Disney Princess Inspired Makeup Series - Sleeping Beauty

AHHHH!!!

-That was my excited scream!

Why am I excited? Wellllll... Because is Makeup Monday OF COURSE! And, yano, I'm always excited when Makeup Monday rolls around, but I am extra excited this week, because this is the kick off day of my Disney Princess Inspired Makeup Series. ♥♥♥ Throughout the next few weeks or so I will be sharing different looks inspired by our favorite Disney Princesses! Am I the only one who thinks this is gonna be fun? Tell me I'm not! ;)

Anywho... Today is also another Makeup Monday Challenge day. Which is what actually inspired me to start this series. Today's Makeup Challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to share a Celebrity or Disney Character Inspired look, and link it up. Just so you know, Challenges are not required to link up. They are just a fun prompt that we would love for you all to try participate in. But we would love for you to feel welcome to link up any and all beauty posts you may have. Okie Dokie?

Ok now, to kick off this series I am sharing the Princess that has been my favorite since I was a little girl.... Before Tangled was made, because now Rapunzel And Princess Aurora share the top spot for my favorite Disney Princess. ♥ So here is my Sleeping Beauty inspired Makeup look:

The eye shadow colors I used for this look are from My Beauty Addiction in:
Sand Dollar - A creamy shimmery color, used as a high lighter on my brow bone and inner eyes.
Paparazzi - This is SUCH a magical color! Its two tone, so depending on the light youre in, it can look pink or light purple... Which totally reminds me of Aurora, because her fairies try to change her dress back and forth from pink to blue...
Rampage - A Gorgeous Hot Pink Color, that reminded me of the darker pink in Aurora's dress.
Golden Tiara - The perfect gold for a Princess themed look, of course!

What do you think?
Does this look and these colors remind you of Sleeping Beauty?
Leave a comment with what Disney Princess is your favorite, or what Princess you think should inspire my next look! :) And if you like this look, I'd love for you to pin, tweet or share it! ♥

Now its your turn, if you're doing this challenge, show me your celeb or Disney character inspired looks! ♥

Please be kind and visit/comment one or two (or more) other links.

This link up is for makeup/beauty related posts only!

This includes but not limited to beauty reviews, how-to's, hauls, giveaways, mani's, and look inspirations.

If you do not have a blog, but showcase beauty elsewhere like instagram or flicker,

you are still welcome to link up as well, please just link to a specific photo, though, not your whole account! :)

Also, be sure to Subscribe to the Makeup Monday newsletter if you want to stay up to date about the link up, features, challenges and giveaways!

RULES:

1. Link to a specific Blog Post, not your entire blog

If you do not have a blog, feel free to link to an instagram or flicker photo!

2. Please grab a button or link back to Andrea or I

3.* Follow Agape Love Designs & Shabby Kitteh

4.* Tweet about this linky using hashtag #MakeupMonday 

Tag @mariagridley & @shabbykitteh

*Not Mandatory but appreciated

<a href="http://www.agapelovedesigns.com/search/label/Makeup%20Monday%20Linky" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l539/AgapeLoveDesigns/makeupmondayagape_zps4df9972a.png" border="0" alt="Makeup Monday"/></a>

Much Love & Hugs,

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Shipwrecked on Fabulous Island - Giveaway

Hello sweet friends. :) I'd like to introduce to you a fabulous woman today, who has a fabulous giveaway for you! But we will get to the giveaway later. First you MUST meet Tabby. 

Tabby is the blogger behind Shipwrecked on Fabulous Island. She truly has such a beautiful giving heart (just read in the image below how she describes what and why she picks the things she does for giveaways such as this!). Not only is she just the sweetest thing, she is also super talented! Whether she is planning a sweet birthday party, a ruffles & bows baby shower, or hilariously FUN baby shower games (that even the MEN enjoy), she is doing it fabulously with her generous heart! I also just love how she can find praise and joy, even in hard times.

You can find out more about Fabulous Island here, and connect with Tabby on Twitter & Instagram!

Tabby, in her own words  
"Hi, I'm Tabby!  A little about me?  Well, I love my glue gun more than I like most people and I think about chocolate more often than I remember to drink water.  In addition to my 9-5 job, I co-own a succesful event planning company, teach a youth Sunday school class, feel like I'm constantly behind on my laundry, contemplate burning my husband's gym shoes (yes, the smell is THAT bad) and, in my free time, I open my laptop to visit Fabulous Island!  Fabulous Island is *like* my sanctuary. It's a living document of a normal nerds bumps, bruises, crafts, recipes and mommy moments I'd like to think we (myself and my imaginary friends) all have!  Please feel free to stop by! I'd love to e-meet you."

For your chance to enter to win, simply fill out the rafflecopter widget below!
Good Luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Much Love & Hugs,

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Mini Women Of Faith Event - With Lisa Harper

Recently I had the pleasure of attending a mini Women of Faith event that was in the area here. The speaker was Lisa Harper, who is just so funny, so sweet and just an over all beautiful women with a big heart for God! Plus I just LOVE her southern accent! She had me laughing, she had me crying, and I really got something amazing out of what she spoke about. Before I get to that, I want to share some photos from the event.

I went with my older sister Mona (who recently started her own blog, click her name to go check it out! It still needs to be spruced up... But I'm gonna help her with that soon. ♥) We decided to dress up all cute to go. :) Mona and I firmly believe in dressing up for any reason! I love my sister so much!

The main theme of the event was Joy. How cute is this display!? It all looked amazing. ♥

The food was ridiculous, in a good way!
It was all displayed so beautifully, and there was so much to choose from. ♥

It was an all day event, so a Subway box lunch was also included! YUM!

♥♥♥

The worship was wonderful, an all women band, which was so cool!

And here is Lisa Harper. :)

Listen ladies, if you ever get the chance to go to a Women of Faith event or even some place that Lisa Harper is speaking at, DO IT. You wont regret it. Let me tell you, I grew up in Church. I don't know it all, but I know a lot, I am very familiar with the Bible. Yet the way she told some of the stories or the bible, and explained several bible verses, made me hear them in a NEW light. Understand them in a NEW way. And I felt like just about everything she said was God speaking right to my heart, telling me everything I needed to hear for this time in my life!

I have so much to tell you all about just what God was speaking to me through Lisa, but I want to save that for another post, because it will most likely be a long one. And I just don't have the time to write it all out this week. But I will leave you with a couple things....

1. She shared this bible verse that I just find SO MUCH comfort in, and I know you will too:

2. She shared this story with us, its hilarious... But I love how she sums it up at the end... 

This wasnt video from our event, but its the same story. (If the video doesn't show up for you, click here to watch it on youtube)

Ladies I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
And that this post and video brings a smile to your sweet faces. ♥

Much Love & Hugs,

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ABC's Of Me {Pink Week - Day #4}

Hello and welcome back to day 4 of PINK WEEK! Tuesday through Friday, I will be sharing how I styled my pink skinnies... Since today's the last day of Pink week you can check out Day #1 here, Day #2 here, and Day #3 here. And if you like what you see, pin it, tweet it or share it!

With today's outfit, I thought it would be fun to share the ABC's Of me! I first saw this "ABC's of me" post over at Lena's blog! So be sure to stop by her post and get to know her, she is pretty rad. :) 

Age: 28 - feeling great!

Bed size: King - Its awesome, it vibrates (yes it really does) and reclines too!

Chore you hate: Putting away laundry... it never ends!

Drink of choice: Ice Water (I know, I'm just so adventurous right!?)

Essential start to your day item: My phone... it has my alarm on it!  ;)

Favorite color: Green

Gold or silver: Silver (or white gold)

Height: 5'4''

Instrument(s) you play:  Vocal Chords (I'm a singer! But I SO wish I could play piano!)

Job: Wife, Mommy, Blogger.

Kids: Kiah (pronounced K-EYE-Uh), 10 years old,  Bruce, 6 years old, & Zander, 3 years old.

Living arrangements: We (my hubby, the kids & I) own a 3 bed-room home on 2.5 acres of land.

Mom's name: Deanna

Nicknames: Scunny (hubs name for me), Momma (Kids name for me), Aunty Ria (What my nieces/nephews & some of my sisters/cousins call me), Izzy (various friends call me this)

Overnight hospital stay other than birth:  Ive only been in the hospital over night when I had a c-section with Zander... That lil stinker! ;)

Pet Peeve:  Loud noises

Quote from a movie:  I just watched this recently, and its one of my FAVORITE Movies... 
"What we do in life echoes in eternity. " - Gladiator
And I like this one too:
"I knew a man once who said, "Death smiles at us all. All a man can do is smile back." - Gladiator (Oh how I love that movie, and Russel Crowe... But that's cause he reminds me of The Hubs)

Right or left handed: Righty

Siblings: 1 Older Sister, 2 Younger sisters

Time you wake up: Between 6:00-6:20 a.m.

Underwear: Yes? lol

Vegetable you hate: Onions. Ew.

What makes you run late: My kids, or lack of help with them! :/

Xrays you've had: Hmmm.... I cannot recall.

Yummy food you make: Enchiladas

Zoo favorite: Giraffes, Tigers, Zebras.... You know, the ones with the cutest prints! ;)

Your turn! Share your ABC's of Me posts either in the comments below, OR write up your own blog post, and share the link with me. I'd love to get to know more about you! :)

Now, since this is the last day of Pink Week, I must say that I think out of all the outfits I posted this week with my pink skinnies, this one is my favorite! :) Which one was YOUR favorite outfit?

I had so much fun sharing all the different outfits with you and I DO hope you enjoyed seeing them as much as I enjoyed sharing them. I also hope they inspired you to step out of your color box and rock some fun colored jeans too!

What Im Wearing:

Sequin Tank Top: Old Navy
Striped Blazer: Khols

Pink Skinny Jeans: Walmart (l.e.i. brand)

Peep Toe Booties: Payless

Necklace: c/o When Shutter Click Gifts

Earrings: c/o Annabell & Louise Designs
Glasses: {FAKE} Gifted to me

Much Love & Hugs,

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Linking up to Pleated Poppy, Translantic Blonde, Rae Gun Ramblings, Watch What Im Wearing,
Wardrobe Wednesday, Real Girl Glam, Because Shanna Said So, My Style Monday,  Desire to Inspire

Would You Rather? {Pink Week - Day #3}

Hello and welcome back to day 3 of PINK WEEK! Tuesday through Friday, I will be sharing how I styled my pink skinnies... So be sure to come back and check them out. And if you like what you see, pin it, tweet it or share it! {See Day #1 here and day #2 here}

Today I thought it would be fun to play the "Would you rather?" game with a beauty/fashion theme, along with my outfit... I'll be sharing the "would you rather questions", and my answers, BUT I would LOVE for you to also play along! Either leave your answers in a comment below, or feel free to create your own posts with your answers and leave the link in the comment section for me to come visit you! ♥

Would you rather have a small wardrobe of designer pieces or a large wardrobe with no designer pieces?

Though I would LOVE to own designer pieces, my wardrobe is already without "designer" pieces and Im getting along just fine. ;) I'd definitely rather have a lot more clothes, and more options.

Would you rather leave the house with messy hair and nice makeup or with nice hair and no makeup?

Definitely messy hair and nice makeup. I do that anyways! LOL My face is more important than my hair. And messy hair is so 'in' right now. ;)

Would you rather have an orange-y spray tan or really weird tan lines that can't be covered?

Oh my goodness, look like an oompah loompah or a zebra? This is a hard one! But I think Id go with weird tans lines that cant be covered. At least there is usually a fun story to go with that. Girls with the orange tans freak me out a little. I'm Mexican, I don't need no stinkin' spray tan! haha

Would you rather only be able to wear the color black or never wear high heels again?

Oye, I love heels. But I also LOVE color. Granted the majority of my wardrobe is black... BUT I like to wear it with color... So I guess I'm going with never wear heels again. I love heels, but I just couldn't live without color! ♥

 

Would you rather run a marathon or go to a boot camp class?

I e-hat running. Seriously. I'd rather do boot camp fo' sho'.

Would you rather never wear jeans again or never be able to wear dresses?

Hmm....This is tough, I wear dresses a lot. But I wear jeans a lot more. Im gonna say never be able to wear dresses, cause I'm gonna go on a limb and assume skirts don't count as dresses, so I could wear them if I wanted. Hello loop hole! 

Would you rather have a cloak of invisibility, or an endless closet of stuff you want to wear?

I'm not sure how these two really go together... (found all these questions online, btw).. but I'm definitely gonna say an endless closet of stuff I want to wear. Hello, every outfit I ever pinned on pinterest! :) Invisibility would be awesome-pie. But an endless closet would be supreme!

Would you rather spend a month wearing elastic waist and bottom sweatpants everywhere you go, or a month without internet?

Oh my gracious, this is just a cruel, cruel question! I don't think I'd like to go ANYWHERE in elastic waist/bottom sweats, but would I wanna go a month without internet? This is a hard one, sweats to church, shopping, date nights... Though maybe I can start a new trend.... One everyone hates at first but then grows to love. You know, like Chambray. (bahaha you had to of read yesterdays post to get that one!) You know maybe I can do elastic sweats week and show you all different ways to style them, show you how to look fabulous in elastic waist/bottom sweats. Yeah... I'm definitely sold on the sweats now. Yay, internet FTW.

Would you rather live without Jeans or Mascara?

 Oh no... Jeans won out over dresses... But I'm sorry Mascara is my baby, and NOBODY puts baby in the corner! *what movie* lol (yeah and thats a throw back to this post). Anyways... basically Mascara is my fav. If I had to choose between all other makeup and mascara... Mascara would win. So yeah..... Bye Bye jeans.

Would you rather live without lotion or lip balm?

This is another really tough one. I love lotion, but lip balm is mascara's bestie... Well in MY makeup bag at least...I don't know about yours! I couldn't not be without lip balm. Also gonna create another loop hole and say that there is always moisturizing body wash... So my skin wont suffer. hehe 

Im feeling a little feisty today, can you tell? Maybe its the pig tails, who knows?

Would you rather have to wear Mimi Makeup for a year or give up makeup for the rest of your life?
Oh gosh people.... Ive said this before, but I will say it again. I do not look good in blue eye shadow. I love blue eye shadow, I'm jealous of those who can rock it. But just dont think it suits my eyes! That being said... I would not wanna give up makeup for the rest of my life! So... I guess my choice goes for Mimi Makeup.

Would you rather wear a fanny pack or socks with sandals?
Oh this is awful. Ew. I already dont like socks that much... So to pick wearing them with sandals is just NOT gonna happen. As much as I think fanny packs are just wrong, I will go with fanny packs! LOL But only if I can pick out one of THESE ones. ♥  <-You want a fanny pack now, don't you? You're welcome for that.

Would you rather go without shaving your legs forever or without shaving your under arms forever?
No, no, no, no. Do I go with no tank tops ever, or no shorts/dresses without tights ever? I cant even pick an answer to this one. I mentioned this in an above answer... But I'll say it again, I am MEXICAN... Do you know how fast Mexi hair grows!? No, just no. I'd shave my head before I'd consider never shaving my legs or arm pits again. *arms crossed, tongue out, shaking head* Not gonna make me!

Would you rather wear heels all the time or never wear heels?
This question makes me sad. I love heels! They are so pretty, and make my legs look awesome, but if I had to wear them all the time, I would be pretty limited in what I could do! So I guess I will pick the smart one and say goodbye to heels forever. Ahh... Just thinking about it makes me miss them!

Ok, now its YOUR turn!! Lets hear your answers in the comment section, or write up your own post with these questions and answers, then leave me the link. ♥

What Im Wearing:

Plaid Top: Old Navy
Cami: Old Navy

Pink Skinnies: Walmart (l.e.i. brand)

Peep Toe Booties: Payless

Necklace: Oh Dani Girl Boutique

Earrings: DIY here

Hand Stamped Wrap Bracelet: Jessica N Designs

Much Love & Hugs,

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Linking up to Pleated Poppy, Translantic Blonde, Rae Gun Ramblings, Watch What Im Wearing,
Wardrobe Wednesday, Real Girl Glam, Because Shanna Said So,  Desire to Inspire

Chambray - Yay or Nay? {Pink Week - Day #2}

Hello and welcome back to day 2 of PINK WEEK! Tuesday through Friday, I will be sharing how I styled my pink skinnies... So be sure to come back and check them out. And if you like what you see, pin it, tweet it or share it! {See Day #1 here}Today I bring to you pink skinnies with chambray! Have you jumped aboard the chambray bandwagon yet? I'm not sure if I'm completely loving it yet or not.

I'm usually the type of person who hates a new trend until its been around long enough to either be almost out of style or I see it long enough for it to grow on me. For example... Flats, hated them! Well I thought they were cute, but just not on ME. I have big feet, a size 9, and I thought flats looked awful on me...Made my feet look bigger. It took a long time before I decided to buy a pair, and feel confident in them. Before that I would try them on, feel insecure thinking my feet just looked HUGE in them, and then walk out of the store. But now, they are my go-to shoes!

Another trend - skinny jeans. Being the big girl that I WAS, just the NAME scared me. No way was I gonna wear skinny jeans with my big butt and fat thighs! But I had seen plus size girls wear them and look GREAT! I just wasn't that confident, then. I stayed away from that trend for a while. My flares were my best friends! :) Then a little before I started my weight loss journey, my sisters had talked me into buying a pair. They convinced me I looked great. I was iffy... But got them anyways and ended up loving them. Now as you can tell, that's mostly all I wear.

Now "Chambray" I also instantly hated! My first thoughts... They are JEAN SHIRTS people! Ew. Why is jean so popular right now? And whats this "chambray" everyone keeps calling it? HAHA Yeah I like living under my comfortable rock sometimes. ;) I just didn't GET it. I wasn't liking it at all. However, like I said, as things do... They grow on me. I started seeing more and more outfit posts with people wearing chambray. And my mind went from "ew" to "ah- that's cute". I started really liking the way people were styling chambray. I still thought (and partially still sort of think) the trend is not for me though. Like, its cute and looks great, ON OTHERS, but not me.

But I decided to be on the look out for a chambray shirt that maybe I could try to work into my wardrobe. You know, test it out. Since I was iffy and didn't want to spend a whole lot of money on something I might hate. I found this shirt super cheap at Walmart. I had a few ideas for it, and after trying them I didn't like them. Then tried it with my pink skinny jeans and was pretty pleased. I wouldn't call this my favorite outfit, but I like it enough.

What do you think? Chambray, Yay or Nay? Should I keep this outfit in rotation? And what are your thoughts on chambray? Also, whats your usual reaction to new trends? DO you jump on board right away, or are you more skeptical and wait till the buzz dies down a little before jumping on board? By the way, if you have outfit posts wearing chambray, please do leave a link in the comments! I'd love to have more inspiration on how to wear it. ♥

What Im Wearing:

Chambray Shirt: Walmart

Pink Skinnies: Walmart (l.e.i. brand)

Scarf: Walmart

Flats: Payless

Rosette Necklace: Handmade by me

Earrings: c/o My Life As Mindy

Sun Glasses: Maurices 

Much Love & Hugs,

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Linking up to Pleated Poppy, Translantic Blonde, Rae Gun Ramblings, Watch What Im Wearing,
Wardrobe Wednesday, Real Girl Glam, Because Shanna Said So,  Desire to Inspire