Friday Favorites #76: New Year's Eve Wish List

Happy Friday!  I hope your holidays were magical!  I'm getting a slightly later start on today's post because of yesterday's festivities, and it's a shorter post than usual... but I wanted to share my picks for New Year's Eve finery!  I tend to go for luxe items for NYE -- faux furs, deep jewel tones, velvet, satin and sparkle.  Here are a few of my favorite items that I wish I were wearing to ring in the new year:

a   //   b   //   c   //   d   //   e 

f   //   g   //   h   //   i

There are lots of good sales going on today, too!  Pinup Girl Clothing is having a 20% off site-wide sale (use the code CC20NYE), and so is Lindy Bop (no code required).  Sourpuss Clothing is having a 35% off sale (use the code BLOWOUT), and Unique Vintage is offering 25% off all full-priced items with the code COUNTDOWN25.  

Happy shopping & have a wonderful day!

xox Sammi

Winter Wonderland

Merry Christmas Eve!  For most people, Christmas Day is probably more exciting... but in my family, Christmas Eve has always been the main event.  We make a ton of yummy hors d'oeuvres, gather around the fireplace and open presents.  (We do save silly stocking stuffers for Christmas morning, though.)  Even though I'm Jewish, I've celebrated both Chanukah and Christmas my entire life, and because Christmas Eve holds a special place in my heart, I just had to wear the most special, beautiful Bernie Dexter dress ever made for the occasion.

This dress was an early Christmas present from my mom.  I'd been lusting over it for over a year!  It's actually on sale right now on Bernie's website, but since I know some sizes have sold out, she also makes it in a Veronique style and in a separate top + skirt (which would be perfect for Aussie gals, who are currently experiencing a hot summer).  I hemmed and hawed over how to style this dress; I've loved seeing this print styled with furs and brooches, but in the end, it's such a gorgeous piece on its own that I didn't want to detract from it.  I decided to go with a simple snowflake necklace, my new hair flower from Stardust Dames Boutique, and my silver Mary Janes from ASOS.

My mom has been baking and cooking up a storm, and I finally finished wrapping presents last night.  Although I love receiving gifts (I am an only child, after all!), I really love giving gifts just as much.  Coming up with just the right gift for someone is a really fun process for me -- though I always worry the recipient won't love it as much as I'd hoped!  I think I have proven myself to be a pretty formidable gift-giver, though.  I know most of what I'm getting this year anyway, so being able to surprise my family and friends with presents is even more exciting than opening my own.

What are some of your holiday traditions?  What's your favorite gift that you've given (or received) this year?  And what are you wearing for the holidays?

Outfit Details

Jubilee Winter Print Pin Up Dress: Bernie Dexter

American Apparel pettislip: Amazon

Hair flower: Stardust Dames

Necklace: Forever Bella

Heels: ASOS

Have a very Merry Christmas!  <3 

xox Sammi

Mistletoe

This is the second out of four Christmas-themed outfit posts that I've planned.  (If you missed Saturday's post, it contains a great novelty print holiday dress + clutch!).  I really love vintage square dance dresses.  I think they're so charming and unique.  I certainly can't wear them for every occasion, but I'd had my eye on this one from The Braided Bandit forever, and I knew it'd be perfect for Christmastime festivities.  I feel like a storybook character in this dress!  Hannah has so many gems in her store, and I'm always impressed with the amount of care and thought she puts into both her curation and packaging.

While trying to come up with a name for this post, I started thinking about the holidays -- specifically, what it's like to celebrate them alone.  Well, I'm not really alone; I'm incredibly lucky to have great parents with whom I can celebrate.  But the fact is that I spent quite a few holidays with someone who I thought was the love of my life.  And even though it's been more than a year since we broke up, I'm still adjusting to celebrating sans boyfriend.  It's still weird to not be buying him presents or to be making plans for New Year's Eve.  And even though kissing is something I miss during the rest of the year too, it seems like those holiday kisses are a little more important, somehow.  When you're faced with constant reminders -- whether they be sprigs of mistletoe or the ball drop -- it's hard to forget that you're single.  I came to the realization recently that the issues that plagued my ex during our relationship will probably follow him for his entire life (it's a long story, but if you feel like googling "Pure OCD," you might get the gist), and I know that I deserve to be with someone whose mind doesn't make him question whether or not he loves me or is attracted to me.  But there is still a significant part of me that misses what we shared, and it hits me especially hard around this time of year.  This is not to say that I think I need to be with someone for the holidays.  I don't want to be with someone for the sake of not being alone.  I am fortunate enough to be surrounded by people who love and care about me.  All that I'm trying to say, really, is that I wouldn't mind being kissed this Christmas -- with or without the presence of mistletoe.

Outfit Details

Dress: The Braided Bandit Vintage

Hair bow: American Apparel
Shoes: estate sale store

Petticoat: eBay
Bracelet: old

Have a marvelous Monday!
xox Sammi

Autumnal Round-Up (+ giveaway winner!)

Happy Sunday!  It's become a bit of a tradition for me to do a round-up post of all my outfits from the past season.  We're officially heading into winter today, but here are some of my favorite ensembles from this past fall:

September

Fairground & Flowers  //  Daffa down dilly  //  Bad in Plaid

Junebug Wedding  //  Eden  //  In Apple Blossom Time

October

Tudor Rose  //  Cake and presents  //  Think happy thoughts

Doodlebug  //  Baby's in Black  //  Daisy Bell

November

...About this pie  //  What's New, Pussycat?  //  Schoolyard Crush

Autumn  //  Woodland  //  Edelweiss

Which of these outfits was your favorite?

Oh, and thank you so much to everyone who entered my giveaway!  The lucky winner is...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations, Angel!  I'll be sending your prizes out to you tomorrow!

Have a wonderful Sunday!

xox Sammi

chocolate with nut(cracker)s

How adorable is this nutcracker print dress from Silly Old Sea Dog?  I'm so smitten with this UK-based shop!  They have tons of amazing novelty print dresses and skirts, and best of all, they carry to women of lots of different sizes (many of their dresses are available in UK sizes 6-28)!  And considering the dress came from overseas, the shipping was incredibly fast; it even arrived in time for me to wear it for The Nutcracker performances I had to work at the box office!  I've gotten lots of compliments on it every time I've worn it, and it's such a great holiday dress.

I can't be the only one who goes a little sugar-crazy during the holidays, right?  It's very difficult not to indulge when there are so many yummy treats around.  Luckily, this clutch from New Look satisfies my sweet tooth (at least a little bit!).  Unlike some of my other novelty clutches, this one is actually big enough to hold the necessities, and I love the little bite detail!

I'm starting to get really excited for Christmas -- especially because we were given next week off from work!  My next paycheck will be sort of sad, but I've been feeling kind of burned out lately, so I'll gladly take a little financial hit in favor of some peace of mind.  I'll be great to be able to spend time with friends and get some much-needed rest.

Outfit Details

Nutcracker Dress: Silly Old Sea Dog

Chocolate bar clutch: New Look

Cropped cardigan: ModCloth

Heels: ModCloth (similar)

Pin: c/o I'm Your Present

My Wintery Wonders Giveaway is now closed, and I'll be announcing the winner on my blog in tomorrow's seasonal round-up post.  Check back then to see if you're the winner!  

Have a wonderful Saturday!

xox Sammi

Friday Favorites #75: Holiday Wish List Edition

Happy Friday!  Can you believe that Christmas is less than a week away?!  Maybe it was because Thanksgiving was so late this year, but the holidays creeped up so quickly!  I ended up doing nearly all of my gift shopping way in advance (thanks, Internet!), but there are lots of things currently on my own wish list... Santa, if you're reading this, take note.  :)

a  //  That Polonius Guy Necklace

b  //  Royal Apothic Perfume in Balmoral Rain

c  //  Lindy Bop "Cindy" Dress

d  //  Scatter Necklace Jumper

e  //  Sail Away Heels

f  //  Kate Spade Agenda  

g  //  Out Of Print Library Stamp Top

h  //  As You Wish by Cary Elwes  

i  //  Irregular Choice Unicorn Heels  

j  //  Erstwilder Trixie Bunny Honey Brooch  

k  //  Bear Ears Wool Cape

l  //  Dear Creatures Starlight Dress

m  //  Hare-est of Them All Sweater

n  //  Pink Cupcake Purse

o  //  Ida Spectators in Black

p  //  White Photography Background  

And here are some of my favorite stocking stuffers:

1  //  Make Up Eraser

2  //  Hollywood Fashion Tape 

(this stuff is the BEST - my secret weapon for belts!)

3  //  Music Note Cosmetic Case

4  //  Licorice Allsorts

What about you?  What are you wishing for this holiday?

That's all for this post!  And don't forget: today is your last day to enter my Etsy Wintery Wonders Giveaway!  One lucky reader will receive 4 adorable wintertime accessories.  You have until midnight (EST) to enter, so hop to it & enter here!

Have a great Friday!

xox Sammi

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Thought I was a donut

There is definitely a donut obsession happening in our culture these days, and I am in no way immune.  I think the cupcake craze gave way to rounder, flatter cakes at some point, and even though the shape, frying and lack of frosting makes up for most of the difference, I'd definitely rather treat myself with a donut than a cupcake.  I guess this trend is true in my clothing, too; I have pieces with cupcakes on them, but I love the ones with donuts even more.

This pink donut "skirt" is actually a dress by Nishe, and although you can't really tell in these photos, the material is boiled wool, which makes it super warm and cozy.  I decided to try layering this fun sweater from Target over the top and tucking it into a belt.  It doesn't totally work, because the sweater is just a little too long and the belt isn't thick enough, but I liked the look of it in the photos.  Amazingly, I don't own any donut jewelry(!?), but I had to incorporate my New Look donut clutch!

Outfit Details

Donut dress (worn as a skirt): ASOS (on sale!)

Donut clutch: available at ASOS

Donut sweater: Target (on sale!)

Flats: ModCloth (similar)

Belt: ASOS

Don't forget: you still have time to enter my Etsy Wintery Wonders giveaway!  One lucky winner will receive an adorable accessory set of wintertime goodies.  The giveaway is open through Friday at midnight, and you can enter right here!  :)

Have a great day!

xox Sammi