Sweet Dreams of Spring

As much as I adore all of this snow, I am dreaming of spring in a major way!  Many of you know light pink is my absolute favorite shade and I can't help but think of wearing this shade on a sweet, sunny 70 degree spring day.  But I don't think you have to wait to wear all of your beautiful pastel shades on a spring or summer day.  Winter whites are gorgeous.  So, I am going to infuse my delicate spring shades into my winter wardrobe.  I'm going to pair ivory winter sweaters with delicate pastel accessories.  An easy combination is jeans and a white crisp shirt with pastels.

My big breath of fresh spring air was the statement necklace below.  I recently bought the Birdie necklace (top left on the graphic) as a stylist sample with Stella & Dot.  I think it may have been made for me.  The ivory and blush pink "petals" were inspired by real flower petals.  (I absolutely love to garden.)  They are light, airy and wonderfully delicate.  The petals are detachable so you can wear the necklace with just the crystals.  As you can see from the photos below, I couldn't wait for a spring day to pull out these petals so a Blizzard is fine with me :)

The Birdie Necklace in My Stella & Dot

The Zinnia Split Ring in My Stella & Dot

Blizzard Beauty

The 2015 Blizzard is bearing down on us.  The snow is swirling and the trees have started blowing.  Since I love the snow and I spent many years doing live news reports out in several feet of snow for hours on end in my previous career, I figured I'd share some of my winter must-have items!  Read more below.

Winter Favorites:

North Face Parka:  Mine is about 5 years old now and I still absolutely love it.  After reporting in sub-zero conditions (think -15, windchill of -25) and covering the Valentine's Day Blizzard in February 2007, I invested in a serious parka and this one has kept me warm and dry time after time.  Sadly, I am at my parents' house right now and I didn't bring this with me :(    To keep seriously warm, I also wear lots of layers:  long underwear, jeans, a wool sweater, snow pants and hand and foot warmers.

Warm Boots:    My husband bought me the North Face's Nuptse Purna Boots for Christmas and I love them.  I wanted a warm and rugged - yet stylish - boot.  My husband knows me well! I fell in love with the faux fur detail and they're perfect because they are waterproof and well insulated.  I love playing in the snow with Charlotte and that demands a warm, rugged boot.  I also need a good grip if it's icy out!

Cashmere Scarf:  I always wear a scarf in the snow.  I absolutely hate getting snow down my neck!  I also use the scarf over my face if the snow is blowing.  And nothing beats cashmere for softness.

Cashmere Socks:  One of my biggest pet peeves is having cold feet (literally and figuratively)!  To eliminate that, I wear heavy cashmere socks (usually two pair) and I also put foot warmers in my boots.  Because I used to stand out in the snow for long intervals during television storm coverage, I had to make sure my feet were warm and this worked well!

Hand Care:  I swear by the Satin Hands Pampering Set set by Mary Kay.  I use the set weekly (sometimes more) and for me, it quickly eliminates painful dry skin and redness.  I use the moisturizer that comes in the set daily.  Having chapped hands is one of my big pet peeves.  I also love that this set comes as fragrance-free.  I also use their Satin Lips set to exfoliate and moisturize my lips.

Lips:  When I am out in harsh conditions, I constantly swipe on Burt's Bees natural beeswax lip balm.   I also use it on Charlotte because it's natural.

Hat and Gloves:  These go without saying.  I can't go without a warm yet stylish hat in the snow.  I often carry a couple with me.  Gloves are an absolute must.  Not wearing them is the quickest way to chap your hands, as most of you probably know all too well.  I wear heavy-duty gloves when I am playing in the snow.  Day-to-day, I wear either leather/cashmere-lined gloves or my favorite Isotoner spandex gloves.

Sunglasses:  I don't like blowing snow getting into my eyes.  I did not wear sunglasses when I was a reporter on the air.  But now, I won't leave the house without my sunglasses in the snow (especially since I wear contacts).

Hope you weather the storm if you're in the path of this blizzard.  Or, if you're in 70 degree weather - enjoy that too!! 

Ladies' Night: Jamberry Nails

I am always searching for new ways to do my nails.  I like options I can use at home while achieving a salon-like look.  Day-to-day, I usually use Butter London nail polish and I absolutely love it.  I like a nail wrap kit, though, if I am going out and would like a french manicure. You wouldn't want to see me try to paint a french manicure.  It's not pretty!

Our Jamberry Nails!

I recently tried a Sally Hansen Salon Effects french manicure at-home nail wrap kit and the finished product looked beautiful but it wasn't easy (at least for me) to achieve.  I was down to the last nail wrap and thought I was going to have one plain nail :)  When my friend Lauren told me about Jamberry nails, I had to try them!  This was my first time using them and Lauren guided me and and my sister, Anne, as we applied the nail wraps.  The white French manicure tip and the entire nail come as one wrap, which is awesome.  It will take me practice to get the french manicure absolutely perfect since you have to be very good about lining up the tip so it's the same size as all of the other nail tips but that will come with time!   

To use Jamberry nails, we cut the nail wraps to the size of our nails with scissors, then we used a blow dryer to heat them up so they would properly adhere to our nails.  Then, we pressed each nail wrap onto each nail with a wooden manicure stick and blow dryed again.  We then filed or cut off the remainder of the wrap.   It sounds like a lot, but once you get used to the process, it's easy.   Jamberry also has very detailed instructions that are good to follow.   In my original package, I still have enough wraps left to do a second manicure!   Removing them wasn't hard either.  I soaked my hands in hot, soapy water and the wraps came off fairly easily and my nails still looked pretty good!

Overall, the Jamberry nails looked salon quality to me and they stayed beautifully for about a week.  I've read some women can get two weeks out of theirs.  I am very hard on my nails though.  I am constantly washing my hands, doing dishes and playing with play dough and all kinds of other things with Charlotte.  I was very impressed with Jamberry!  I think next time, I will live on the edge and try some polka dots or something other than my usual French manicure :)  If you want more information or are interested, here is the link:  Renee Sifferman's Jamberry Website.  Cheers to pretty nails!