Today's Outfit and Gone Girl Spoiler Sort Of

     TGIF! All of our appliances are back up and working properly, and I can get busy doing laundry all weekend. It's amazing how much you really miss something when it's gone! And I have a new dishwasher to try out.

     Today I wore my pale blue pants from Stein Mart. I cannot remember where I bought my shoes, but they are booties that dip in the front and have a little bead dangle on the zipper. I'm wearing a teal, short sleeve one-piece from Forever 21. My necklace is also from Forever 21. 

     I hope y'all have a wonderful weekend! The boyfriend and I are trying some new traditions this year. We've decided to start having Christmas once a month on the 25th like a sort of 12 days of Christmas concept. He thought it would be fun because he likes to give presents. And we wanted something to plan on every month since we LOVE Christmas. We won't keep up Christmas decorations year round or anything, and the real Christmas is still going to be just as epic, because I love giving presents more than I like receiving. And as weird as it might sound, he was sort of inspired by Gone Girl, because he liked how the two main characters had sweet traditions. Obviously we would not be condoning cutting off heads or anything. And I'm not planning my own fake murder. Lol!

     -xoxo-

         Stephanie

Christmas Outfit and Events

      

     On Christmas morning, the boyfriend woke me early just like a little kid on Christmas. He turned on Christmas music nice and loud on Youtube. I baked blueberry muffins, and then we went to the boyfriend's mom's house to open presents. I really enjoyed the time we spent.

     After all of the presents were open, we separated for a bit, and I made the Pioneer Woman's recipe for balsamic and cranberry brussel sprouts, along with a Marie Callander's Razzle Berry Pie. I also wrapped the last of our presents, and chose the outfit above. We were a little late, but we didn't miss the blessing this time. 

     I chose to wear the houndstooth skirt I found a consignment store, along with a black, long sleeve top, tights and a belt for Christmas. I thought it would look nice with my new double pearl choker from Purple Peridot. I also wore sandals, because I am limited on black shoes right now. The leopard scarf was a gift from the boyfriend's mom. My purse is a vintage Chanel purse my boyfriend found thrifting. 

     We all ate ham and then played the white elephant game. This year Carter and I participated in the presents, since that is usually done by one person as her gift to the family. We wanted to give back and put some Dollar Tree treasures in the game. I love playing together as a family, and this year Carter stole some spa booties back for me, and I stole a Starbuck's giftcard for him (even though he spent it on coffee runs for me). 

     I was really excited for Christmas this year, and really enjoyed myself. My new phone is amazing, and I received many other special blessings. I was so worked up for Christmas this year that when it was all over, I felt exhausted. The next day I felt lethargic and ill, which went on throughout the weekend. I'm feeling slightly better, but I hope this will be the last time I have to plan around a semester of classes, if all goes as planned. I hope you all had a blessed time on Christmas. 

     -xoxo-

         Stephanie

Making My Own White Christmas

     I was randomly inspired yesterday to decorate my house with paper snowflakes, since we don't have any snow yet in Dallas. I'm not exactly complaining, but I like the clean, whiteness of snow. Last year I didn't do as much festive decorating, so this year I'm stepping it up. 

     My first inspiration was to make these 3-D paper snowflakes in the photo above. When I searched for a tutorial in Google, I wasn't very impressed with the first few tutorials, and really struggled with my first few attempts to make a snowflake. I finally found a tutorial on Youtube taught by these two cute little girls who made the craft as simple as I could ask for. I ended up being so pleased with the final result that I made three total snowflakes, and I added two more today. They take a little time, but I think they look so gorgeous. 

     When I made these snowflakes, I had to make a perfect square out of our white printer paper here at home. With the leftover pieces of paper, I created garland snowflakes. You can also make garland gingerbread men, girls, bears, or whatever your heart desires. I'm thinking of making icicles, also. I also made snowflakes the old-fashioned way, where you fold up a square of paper, and then cut little designs, so that when it unfolds, it reveals a magical snowflake. It's looking very festive around here. I hope everyone else is feeling the holiday cheer. 

     -xoxo-

        Stephanie

Dot-Themed Christmas Tree Nails

     I finally tried my own manicure art again. It's been about two weeks, but that seems far too long, because I love trying new things. This design was inspired by some one of the dot-themed Christmas tree nails I saw on Instagram. I wish I could remember the person so I could credit them.

     The first thing I did was apply two coats of white satin finish nail polish from Julep. I applied a coat of fast dry, but it didn't dry as quickly as I hoped. Then I made little lime green dots of Julep nail polish with my dotter I purchased at Urban Outfitters online last Christmas. I then made dark green dots from another Julep nail polish. The red dots were last, and you might want to wait for the greens to dry for a few minutes, or else your red will smear with the green. The star is made with a gold color I used from a Forever 21 polish I bought earlier this year. The base of the tree is a dark brown or black color from Julep. It's hard to tell which color it is. Lastly, apply a coat of fast dry.

     These nails were so fun and easy to do. Making little dots is so easy, and if you make a mistake, it's hard to tell. Let me know what you think about this manicure, and if you have any manicure design suggestions for the future.

     -xoxo-

        Stephanie

Tuesday's Outfit & Xmas Shopping

     Happy Tuesday y'all! 

     I chose another outfit I couldn't capture every detail of in one picture, so I added a few to this post today. My shoes are the center of attention, again, today. I bought these from Ruche, and wore them last week to the Christmas party. I haven't worn these shoes many times, but the first time I did, I was traveling on a flight from Gunnison, Colorado to Dallas, Texas on Christmas, and they had a beating. Now I try to think of them in outfits like this.

     My pants are gray, pleated, slouchy pants from Forever 21. I bought them online, and they are a bit long (I'm petite), but fit perfectly everywhere else. They have enough room that when it gets cold enough, I can wear another layer underneath.

     My cardigan is from a small retailer online. I cannot remember the name of the company, but my top was about $15. I love it because of the lace detail, and you can easily pair it with a skirt or shorts. I'm also a huge fan of mint, so I had to have this cardigan.

      I'm still working on my Christmas shopping. I would like to plan ahead better next year, and get more shopping done earlier, but sometimes I just love waiting for the sales around Christmas. I don't always have the extra money, but this year I did start a gift box where I gathered little presents throughout the year to hand out at birthdays or Christmas. A few gifts came in yesterday and today from Amazon, which amazed me with their super quick Prime shipping. I love it! It was so hard not giving my boyfriend his presents, but they are now wrapped and sitting under the tree where I will do my best not to think of them for the next week. In the meantime, I'm still looking for the best practical gifts I can. Until tomorrow...

     -xoxo-

        Stephanie

Christmas Party Outfit

     I was invited to a Christmas Party this evening, and am so excited to share what I wore. This isn't the first time I have wore this outfit, but I did change it up with different jewelry and hairstyle, plus I never wore it in front of so many people before, nor shared it online. 

     Everything in the photo was purchased at Ruche about two years ago. I saw the outfit in their lookbook, and basically copied it. It is so adorable. 

     The shoes are green and purple. I wouldn't think to match all of these pieces, but I love how it looks, and I have been given so many compliments on the combination. They are wedge heels, which is also one of my other favorite things to wear. These are so great because they look vintage. 

     My skirt is also the perfect respectable length for gatherings with all age groups. I love the pattern, and how the ivory looks lacy on top of the red. The waist is what is best about this skirt because it has a thick elastic band that doesn't fit too tight, but it feels great compared to some zipper waist skirts. I feel like I could wear it all day. 

     The top is really the center of attention of this outfit, and I am so sad I did not include a photo, but I might wear it again this year. My top has black lace sleeves, and a lace open back with black bows that go up the spine. The black lace material has a gold shimmer thread woven throughout it, which is so pretty in the light. Since I'm taking all of my own fashion photos at this time, it can be difficult with the phone I own to take full outfit shots. In the future I hope to include more angles of my outfits.

     This is my second year attending this particular Christmas party at my boyfriend's mother's home. She has such a gorgeous and inviting home. I love being at her house, especially around Christmas time because she goes all out. This year there were three Christmas trees! I didn't stay as long as last year, but the house was buzzing when I left. She is such a wonderful hostess! I forgot her gift at home, but I will be surprising her with it on Christmas.

     I wore my hair in a slightly messy bun with one of those fun donut hair pieces. I also wore these huge, vintage, gaudy, fake diamond and pearl earrings. I'm about to post a picture of them on Instagram. They were purchased to use in my jewelry designs, but I couldn't bear to take them apart. My make-up was done with white eyeshadow on my water-line and in the corners of my eyes. On my lips I wore a berry lipstick from Forever 21 from my Ipsy bag. 

      I'm going to be stepping it up with blog posts from here until at least January 20th when school starts back up again. I will do my best to keep posting every week, but make sure to follow my Instagram (@dressdynamicdallas), since I do most of my posting there. Anywho, tata for now.

     -xoxo-

        Stephanie

Thursday's Outfit

     I hope everyone is having a lovely week. I'm so excited this is OFFICIALLY the last week of school. One more semester, and this girl will finally be finished with her first bachelor degree. Go me!

     Today's outfit was so much fun. I don't wear these shoes very often because they make such a statement, I like to chose the right moments. I didn't wear them to the Christmas Party like I originally planned, but they were great to wear to work for some festive fun. I bought these shoes last year from H&M. They were on sale, so they were a steal. I saw them in one of the ladies fashion magazines, and I was so happy to score them. 

     I bought my leggings at Marshall's a few months ago. I bought them specifically for Christmas time, so I have been waiting to wear them. I love how warm they are, and they have an adorable print, if you can't really make it out in the photo. And to be honest, I think they were like $10 or $15, so it was meant to be.

     I was also wearing a long sleeve, white, slightly sheer, button-up blouse. I was having a hard time deciding whether to wear it partially tucked in or not. I bought the top from Forever 21. 

     In my next post I will describe the outfit I wore to the Christmas Party. It was so fun! I wish I had a full image of what I wore, but there were so many details. It kept morphing before I walked out the door, so I would have probably needed a photographer following me around. Until then...

     -xoxo-

        Stephanie