Faux Fur + Sequins

- outfit details -
top || Forever 21 (scored for $5 at end of season this time last year! also seen here)
vest || Forever 21 (same story as previous! also seen here)
skinnies || Target (old)
booties || Target (also seen here & here)
statement necklace || Francesca's Collection (old)
statement ring || Dillard's (old)
bag || Phillip Lim for Target (no longer available)
watch || Michael Kors
lip color || CoverGirl LipPerfection "Red Hot 305"
nail color || Essie "Forever Yummy"

Well, we're here! The last day of 2013. I don't think a single blog post could contain all that happened this past year. Without a doubt, getting married to my best friend was completely life-changing and the best thing that's ever happened to me next to my relationship with Jesus! The love and support from family and friends has been and continues to be humbling and overwhelming. We feel incredibly blessed and are filled with contentment and joy as we enter 2014! 

Also, I must say I am extremely grateful to each of you who stop by this blog and appreciate your support and feedback! This truly is like a "retreat" for me, and another outlet to express creativity, whether it be through sharing outfit inspiration, home decor or simply what's going on in my life! 

Have a safe New Year's Eve, and I'll see you in 2014! :) 

Christmas Decor Galore {pt. 5 | Christmas Decor '13}

Today concludes my Christmas Decor '13 blog series (pt. 1 | pt. 2 | pt. 3 | pt. 4)! I've enjoyed sharing pieces of my home with you through these posts! I'm already dreading having to put all of our decorations away after Christmas because I've absolutely loved having them up! There's just something magical, comforting, and cozy about having your house decorated for Christmas - and I'll admit I'm probably even more giddy and sentimental about it since it's my first married Christmas :) . I look forward to doing this again next year, hopefully with some new DIY projects! 

Enjoy browsing the rest of our Christmas decor! If you're curious about where a particular item came from, simply leave me a comment and I'll get back with you! 

I hope you and your family have a WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS and feel an abundance of God's peace, hope and love! Thank you to everyone who has been a fan and supporter of this blog! I'm looking forward to bringing you many more posts in 2014! As always, thanks for stopping by!

Christmas Mantle {pt. 4 | Christmas Decor '13}

Part 4 of my Christmas Decor '13 blog series (pt. 1 | pt. 2 | pt. 3 | pt. 4) showcases our Christmas Mantle. I wanted to keep our mantle simple and functional (due to the placement of our TV), yet still tie it into the rest of our home's Christmas decor...

One of the first Christmas decor items I bought from Target this season was their "Noel" pillow (they're not available online, but you MIGHT find some in stores if they haven't already sold out by now). Early on I decided that I wanted a white/gold/red/burlap color scheme, and this pillow definitely fell in line with my vision (I also intentionally wanted to keep any decorative Christmas wording limited to words like "peace", "joy", "noel", etc. versus anything Santa/holiday related - just a personal preference!). I love how it ended up "popping" against our olive green chair that we found at Ross earlier this year. 

Our stockings were about the only Christmas decor item I owned before we got married. They're made by Mud Pie, a brand my church's gift shop often carries. They originally came with a sparkly white snowflake, but I chose to switch it out for a red ornament to give our overall mantle a pop of color. I finished it off with some gold mesh to help fill the stocking and add some sparkle. Next year I'm thinking about personalizing these stockings somehow with either our names or initials. 

Pinecones are such a great vase filler for fall/winter, especially when covered in "snow." These came from Target, and the red berries came from Hobby Lobby. I really love how this arrangement turned out - another great pop of red for the mantle, while the white pinecones pop against our neutral wall and tie in with the white pillow, stockings & chevron ribbon. 

I think of all the ornaments I bought this year, these red disco balls (from Hobby Lobby) were my favorite! I used some on our tree, some for decor filler around the house, and both of our stockings.

Hobby Lobby had the right-sized pre-lit garland for our mantle that I wrapped in burlap/white chevron ribbon (also from Hobby Lobby) to make it look more decorative. This ribbon was also a great way to bring in a pattern to the overall mantle look. 

Part of the reason I wanted to keep our mantle somewhat simple was to avoid competition and overload with our decorative wall. You can see the details of that space here. 

One more post to go in this blog series! It's been fun sharing my Christmas home decor with you! Thanks for stopping by!

"J-O-Y" to the World {pt. 3 | Christmas Decor '13}

In the 3rd installment of my "Christmas Decor '13" blog series (here are pt. 1 & pt. 2), I'm featuring one of my favorite Christmas DIY projects, a "J-O-Y" display. We recently moved my great grandmother's piano into our house, and I remembered something I had pinned on Pinterest that came from this blog that inspired me to make this display for it. 

Target had the perfect wreath to be the "O" and anchor for this display, and thankfully Hobby Lobby had the perfect sized wooden letters for the "J" & "Y". To differentiate the two wooden letters, I wrapped the "J" in cream-colored yarn and stained the "Y" with left-over stain used on the crown-molding of our house. To complete the display, I added a red tablecloth, burlap runner, gold tinsel, and a couple of sparkly red decorative boxes. I was happy with how it turned out and am already thinking of different ways I can display "J-O-Y" in our home for Christmases to come! 

I have about two more posts to go in this series, so stay tuned! I wish you the best in your last few days leading up to Christmas! I'm having to remind myself to make time to stop, breathe, and remember the true meaning of Christmas! Have a blessed weekend!

Christmas Table Setting {pt. 2 | Christmas Decor '13}

For pt. 2 of my "Christmas Decor '13" blog series (see pt. 1 here), I'm featuring our Christmas table setting. As with many of my posts of late, you'll be seeing several mentions of Target! When their 2013 Christmas decor starting hitting the shelves I knew I would have to exercise some serious self-control. When I came across their red berry tree and glitter grapevine tree (links below), I was immediately inspired to use them as the centerpiece for our pub-style dining table. A burlap tree from Hobby Lobby completed the "Christmas tree trifecta" I was seeing in my head. From there, I stuck with the red, white and gold color scheme...  

My sister-in-law Lindsey gave us this amazing turquoise pegged board last Christmas, and I love the versatility it brings to the background of our dining area. Stockings, ornaments, and holiday mugs made the perfect accents to this piece for the holiday season! 

I enjoy creating table settings with a variety of textures, patterns, colors, and dimension, finding the delicate balance of avoiding both "matchy-matchy" and "all over the place."

The varying heights (18"/16"/12") of the Christmas trees were key to achieving a balanced centerpiece look. Also, each tree relates to at least one other tree in the group. For example, the berry tree and burlap tree both feature red accents and the berry tree and gold tree are both the "grapevine" style.

- centerpiece details - 
berry tree || Target
glitter grapevine tree || Target
burlap tree || Target 

- place setting details - 
natural/lurex placemat || Target
gold charger plate || Target
zig-zag table runner || Target
red Fiesta dinner plate || Macy's
cloth napkin || Target
napkin holder || Bed, Bath & Beyond

- wall decor details -
ornaments || Hobby Lobby
chevron mug || Hobby Lobby
floral mug || Macy's
stockings || Hobby Lobby
monogram "E" mug || Target

It's hard to believe Christmas is less than 10 days away! Reed and I are just about done with our Christmas shopping (we started way too late!) and have already celebrated one of our family Christmases! Being with family is by far my favorite part of this time of year. As always, thanks for stopping by and sharing your feedback! Have a wonderful day!

Suitcase Surprise {pt. 1 | Christmas Decor '13}

Over the next few days I'll be featuring some of our Christmas home decor! Reed and I are loving our first married Christmas season together. We were so excited to get our first Christmas tree that we bought one and had it decorated before Thanksgiving (I may or may not have teared up in Target when we found the Christmas tree)! After that, I was quickly inspired to decorate the rest of our house, which you'll see in later posts - so stay tuned!

This wall is located to the right of our fireplace.The clock, shelved "E" (a handmade wedding present from one of my best friends, Katie) , mustard vase & black chest stay up year-round at our house. Updating this area for Christmas was actually pretty simple! I swapped out the florals for something  more seasonally appropriate and festive and created a "Christmas suitcase" to take the place of the "robins egg blue" suitcase that we normally have displayed. The chevron runner (one of many from our wedding) was the perfect color combination and pattern to bring this space together!

Both the mustard vase and these florals came from Hobby Lobby. I love the variety of color, texture, and dimension in this Christmas/winter floral arrangement.  Oh, and I'm grateful that Hobby Lobby features their floral stems for 50% off every other week, although these floral stems fell under the "Christmas" category, so they've been 50% off every week recently! 

I was inspired to create this suitcase after doing something similar for our wedding (we used a larger suitcase with wooden letters spelling out "CARDS" displayed on our gift table). The red suitcase is from Hobby Lobby, as are the wooden letters and gold spray paint I used for the letters. I hot-glued the letters to some craft twine and hot-glued the ends of the craft twine to the insides on the suitcase. Even after Christmas is over, I can simply close the suitcase and display it somewhere else in my house instead of storing it away with the other Christmas decorations. 

Filling the suitcase was my favorite part of this creation! The majority of the "filler" came from Target. The red and neutral pieces are used year-round in other bowls/vases throughout the house. The "E" and "wooden/gold sparkly star" are ornaments I bought individually at Target - these pieces helped break up the monotony of the round decorative balls and ornaments, as did the "snow-covered pine cones" which came from Target as well. 

Thanks for stopping by! If this post provided your with any inspiration and/or helped you create something special for your home or a gift for a friend, I'd love to hear about it, see your creation and feature it on my blog! Feel free to email me at laelewing@live.com.

Bring On The Boot Socks

- outfit details - 
denim jacket || JCPenney (on sale!)
sweater || H&M
fleece-lined leggings || Chinese Laundry
boot socks || H&M (last year)
boots || Old Navy (last year, similar)
gloves || Target (last year)
scarf || H&M (last year)
sunglasses || Target
 bag || Phillip Lim for Target

Here in Oklahoma we got our first legit snow of the season over the weekend, which inspired me to pull out all my winter accessories in preparation. I admit that I'm a total wimp when it comes to the cold. Having snow on the ground does seem to help make it a little more worth it though!

Last year I discovered how much I love and appreciate boot socks. They provide both warmth and some extra added style to any given outfit that calls for boots. And I have a feeling I'll be wearing boots a lot over the next few weeks! Although, who knows with Oklahoma - we could just as easily be back to the sixties next week! ;)