中国 China 中国

For my first post of the new year, I've decided to share with you my biggest adventure of last year.  In November, I was blessed with the opportunity to travel to Beijing, China!

You see, for Spring Break this year, I'm taking a group of students to Europe.  We're traveling to Italy, Switzerland and France, to be exact!  While this is amazing in and of itself, this travel opportunity lead me right to China!  When we go, we will be traveling with an educational travel company called E.F. Tours, and if you are a first time group leader (like me) the company will provide you with a free training tour.  Training tours are offered in a handful of countries, one of them being China!  I thought to myself that I may never get another opportunity to travel to Beijing, so why the heck not?!

So, one early morning in November, I found myself on the way to the airport preparing for a fifteen hour plane ride to China on my own.  I was quite nervous but I 'm so glad that I pushed myself out of my comfort zone because I had an amazing trip!

I took about a million pictures while I was there but I will only share a few of my favorites here.  Despite that, this will be a longer post than usual.  But let's jump right in with the most amazing part of the trip: visiting the Great Wall of China!

Best of 2016

For my last post of the year, I've scrolled through each post of 2016 and have chosen my favorite outfit from each month.  Not only is it fun to revisit what I've worn all year, but each outfit reminds me of something fun that I did or someone with whom I spent time.  It's funny how a style blog can turn into a bit of a diary, a place to store my memories.  For each outfit I've chosen, you can find the link to the original post right above the picture.

And after reading my friend Carrie's review of 2016, I'm adding my thoughts on each month so that I can always look back and find memories of this year.

January: Winter Parties

The year began calmly and quietly for me.  I honestly don't remember too much that happened in January...but considering how the rest of the year would turn-out, that is fine by me!  I do know that I celebrated the baby shower of my dear friend since second grade, Lisa, because that was the occasion for this outfit.

February: Create28: Faire Isle Sweater

In February I co-hosted the Create28 Challenge with my friend Carrie.  We invited other blogging friends to join us this time and had a blast!  Personally, February proved to be a really difficult month.  My vibrant, generous and loving Aunt Ninie suffered a ruptured aneurysm.  My family and I spent many hours with her at the hospital only to find that she wouldn't really recover.  She is still alive but now spends her days laying in a bed at a nursing home.  We still visit and pray that there is some sort of recovery in her future.

March: Little Changes

With March came the end of (cheer) coaching season and a little bit more free time!  I took advantage and flew to North Carolina for a weekend with my above-mentioned friend Lisa, her husband Ryan and their brand new baby girl, Charlotte!  I expected a weekend in snuggling with the little one, but my travel-loving friends took me to Asheville to visit the Biltmore and to eat delicious southern food.  A little perk of heading south was that I got to meet my long-time blogging buddy, Selah, and her adorable kiddos!

April: Style Perspectives: Plaid

In April, I was invited to join an amazing group of women as a contributor for The Blended Blog.  Joining these ladies has been the biggest blogging blessing (say that three times fast).  They are so very loving and supportive during all of life's ups and downs.  They each have a unique blogging voice so I definitely recommend getting to know them!

May: Style Perspectives: A Graduation Style for Teachers

Oh man was May a great month!  I celebrated my 30th birthday in the company of some of my closest friends and family in Orlando!   We spent my actual birthday at the Magic Kingdom but also got to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and drink around the world at Epcot.  I'm still blown away by how many of my loved ones made the effort to be there with me.  I am a lucky lucky girl!  On a sad note, we lost my beloved Grandpa Emery in May after a long and happy life.  I have one heck of a guardian angel up there!

June: Take Me Out to the Ballgame

June was a month of healing for me.  I said goodbye to a man that I cared for deeply and began to rebuild myself.  Lots of yoga and iced coffee had me feeling a bit better by the end of the month.

July: Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed and Something Red, White and Blue

In July my family and I traveled to the Pittsburgh area to celebrate the wedding of my cousin Eric to the hilarious and amazing Mandy!  They were married during Fourth of July weekend so I got to wear this fun red, white and blue outfit to the event.  After Pennsylvania, my mom and I headed to Nashville to spend time with my niece!  I got lots of Eloise snuggles and my mom and I had a fun night out in the city.  At the end of the month, I got to spend more time with my favorite people.  I took a trip to the Washington D.C. area (where I used to live) to be with my friends and eat at my favorite restaurants.

August:  Styled by Someone Else

In August I had one last summer hurrah at the beach with some lovely friends before heading back to my classroom to prepare for the school year.  I also started another season coaching cheerleading with some wonderful girls!

September: Should I Splurge on Pink Converse?

With school and cheerleading in full swing, I don't think much else happened during the month of September.  Oh yeah, there was Michigan State Football.  But let's not talk about the Spartans this year.  At least the tailgating was fun!

October: Fall Chic

October was full of fun!  At the beginning of the month I traveled to San Antonio to be in the wedding of my friend since middle school, Michelle!  I loved spending time with her and her family and enjoyed the warm Texas weather.  I also got to meet Carrie!  Talk about hitting it off!  I feel like I've known her my whole life and I'm so blessed to be her friend.  At the end of the month, two of my closest friends from D.C. came to visit!  We had tons of fun going to the MSU vs. UofM game (even though we lost) and celebrating Halloween together.  Wow, I'm just so lucky to have such wonderful people in my life!

November: Velvet Glamour

Along with getting into the holiday season, in November I went to CHINA!  It still seems so surreal!  I mean, I got to walk along the Great Wall of China, reflect at the Summer Palace and eat a scorpion.  Truly a once in a lifetime experience!  I realize that I still haven't written a post about my trip.  You can expect that in the next couple of weeks.

December: That Holiday Sparkle

And December has been filled with holiday sparkle, friends and family!  I've loved spending time in my cozy little apartment, all decked out for Christmas!  For the actual holiday, I traveled to Missouri to spend time with my loved ones.  And when I got back, I finally did something that I've been planning for years!  I got my first tattoo and I absolutely love it!

And with that, I'm off to figure-out what to wear for NYE tonight!  What have your highlights of the year been?

Also I would love to know, which of these looks is your favorite?  And what were some things that you loved to wear this year?

And friends, thank you for being a part of my 2016 and happy new year!

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Rose Quartz December

Can you believe there are only two days left this year?!  I don't know about you, but I'm ready to say au revoir to 2016 and will be welcoming the new year with open arms!

But with the end of 2016 comes my last Rose Quartz post of the year!  If you are a few (about twelve) months late, Rose Quartz was one of Pantone's colors of 2016.  Since this blush pink color is one of my favorites, I ran a monthly series showing different ways to wear the hue throughout the year.  You can find all of the posts here!

For my final post, I'm re-featuring a sweater that I posted about in July.  I purchased this sweater during Nordstrom's big yearly sale and am excited to finally be wearing it!  I absolutely adore the color, the polka dots and the silver sequins.

I threw in some very subtle pattern mixing with my grey plaid flats.  If you are interested in trying pattern mixing, I definitely recommend mixing your shoes with your top.  They are far away from each other so the patterns won't be too in your face.

And with that, we can say goodbye to Rose Quartz and hello to Greenery, Pantone's color of 2017!

While I'm not quite as smitten with this color as I am with blush pink, I love the idea of reassurance, rejuvenation and revitalization!  What do you think of Pantone's new choice?

What I'm Wearing:

Sweater: Nordstrom (similar, similar)

Jeans: American Eagle (exact)

Flats: Target (exact)

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'Tis the Season for High Heels

Do you want to know something funny about me?  I actually wore high heels tons more in high school than I do now.  I suppose once I started teaching, my practical (read: boring) side won I started wearing mostly flats.  And wearing high heels is definitely something that requires practice and tolerance.  Now when I try to wear them, I feel like it's way more difficult than it used to be.

But darn it, sometimes I just want to wear a pair of heels!  Especially this time of year for New Year's Eve parties!

Cue Sole Patches!  Sole Patches are cute, flower-shaped stickers that you can place directly on the ball of your foot or heel or permanently in your pair of shoes to make them more comfortable.

When I received a set to review, I placed a pair permanently in a pair of heels that I wore to coach my very first cheer competition.  I was on my feet for four hours straight and was running back and forth across a high school gym.  And you know what, they helped!  Without the Sole Patches, my heels would have been off and my Ugg boots back on within an hour.  Nope!  I kept those shoes on all night!

If you are a sucker for cute but uncomfortable shoes, definitely give Sole Patches a try!
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Merry Christmas

From my family to yours, have a very merry and crazy bright Christmas!

P.S. Izzo the cat really does love me despite the look on his face. 'Tis the season to make your cat wear reindeer antlers, right?

That Holiday Sparkle

Happy Christmas Eve Eve, my lovely friends!  Today's will be a quick post because, as I write this, it's 10:40 p.m. and I still need to finish packing for my trip to Missouri tomorrow.  My parents and I are driving to see my sister, brother-in-law and niece for the holiday.

On Christmas Day I don't actually plan to change out of my plaid pajamas.  But do you know what I'll be sporting under my pajama top?  This glittery reindeer top!  I just love that the holidays give you an excuse to wear festive and sparkly things.  But you know what?  Maybe I should always dress festively and sparkly if that's what I want!  Hmm.  Style thoughts to ponder for the new year...

In any case, when Zaful offered me the opportunity to choose a couple more products to review, I couldn't pass up on this Christmasy top!  I purchased my usual size medium and while it fits perfectly in the torso, the arms are a bit tight.  Still wearable but I definitely feel more comfortable with a cardigan on top.  I would recommend sizing up!  It might seem late to order a Christmas top but for the price, you might want to add it to your closet for next year!

As for this year, safe travels if you are plaining, training or automobiling to visit loved ones and have a great start to your holiday weekend!

What I'm Wearing:
Top: Zaful (exact)
Cardigan: Macy's (similar)
Earrings: Gift (similar)
Watch: c/o Shopbop (similar)
Jeans: American Eagle (exact)
Flats: Target (exact)
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Merry and Bright

The theme of my holiday season this year is most definitely merry and bright!  From my holiday decor and gift wrap to my cozy sweaters, I've been gravitating towards the cheerfullest of hues.  Heck, my Christmas cards even wished my loved ones a "very merry and crazy bright" holiday.

So for this sparkly sweater's first wearing, I wanted to wear an outfit full of color!  My bluest jeans, purple socks and a necklace reminding us all to shine a little brighter made for an outfit full of holiday cheer.

I love this sweater because it's bright and sparkly, but also because it makes me feel nostalgic.  Gap released a very similar sweater that I loved back when I was in middle school and was first noticing trends and fashion.  I even remember Gap's holiday ads that season!

The actual sweater is not featured but those scarves feature the striped print that I remember!  As soon as I saw this sweater, I knew that adult me had to have it!

What I'm Wearing:
Sweater: GAP (similar)
Shine Necklace: c/o Rocks Box
Choker: Stella&Dot (exact)
Jeans: American Eagle (exact)
Socks: L.L.Bean (exact)
Boots: DSW (similar)