[LIFE IN PICTURES]

I suppose it's time to play a little bit of catch up on our life lately, and what better way to do that than a quick collection of instagram photos from the last few months. Since we moved back to Texas, life has been a whirlwind. I can't remember the last time we sat at home with nothing to do, and if we were, I'd probably be thinking "something's not right about this".

1:: First things first... Christmas.

2:: See above.

3:: One of the best things about living closer to family is spending time with our nieces and nephews. We love these little pumpkins.

4:: We've gotten to do some fun Christmasy things like seeing the nutcracker and the parade in Boerne.

5:: More time spent with family, including my lovely sister.

6:: We also got to be at/in the wedding of some great friends, and had an awesome time.

Hope you're all having a lovely day!

[TREND ALERT: GRAY CABINETS]

If you're anything like me and spend copious amounts of time on interior design sites, you've probably already started to see gray cabinets popping up in kitchens. We haven't had a chance to start looking at houses yet, but once we do, I know we'll be looking for something that we can overhaul and make our own, so bookmarking house ideas has become a favorite pastime for me. Gray cabinets have caught my eye as a great way to add depth and uniqueness to a kitchen without having to go overboard. I've seen the trend in light grays, dark grays and every gray in between, and the combination of white uppers and gray lowers is my absolute favorite. Add in brass hardware and floating shelves... doesn't get any better than that.

 Have any of you tried an unconventional color on cabinetry? I'd love to hear about it!

(images via)

[GUEST POST & A GREAT FIND]

The lovely and talented Ashley from Calmly Chaotic absolutely made my day when she asked me to come over and contribute to her blog with fun ideas for a holiday party look. She is fun and real, she has great style, and she is kind of my hero right now because she is participating in NaNoWriMo and writing a book! Those who know me well know that writing a book is pretty much my ultimate goal in life, but being disciplined in setting aside the time to do it is much easier said that done, so I love that she is going for it. Putting together a high/low holiday look for her was a blast, so I hope you'll head on over to check it out!

And while I had saving vs. splurging on the brain, I thought I'd share one of my favorite finds of late. While perusing around shopbop one day, I saw a necklace and thought "that needs to be mine". It was a simple, understated, go-with-absolutely-anything kind of necklace. One problem... it was $240. So I gritted my teeth and moved on. But then! A few weeks ago, Kelly over at Fabulous K posted a giveaway that she was doing with The Altered Chain. When I went to check out her shop, I found almost the exact same necklace, and for only $23! I mean, it's like Christmas came early.

Have any of you come across any great finds that saved you some serious cash? Do share.

[BLOG CRUSH: RECENTLY]

I don't know about everyone else, but it feels like fall is finally making an appearance here in Texas! I love it. Just wish I had time to enjoy it more. Am I the only one who's getting sick of hearing myself constantly have to say that life has been so busy? I am ready for some serious, relaxing, sweats-and-hot-cocoa kind of down time soon.

But alas, I am off to Denver for work for a few days, and don't have time to put together a full post this week. So instead! I've decided that it's time I reveal another blog crush. Those of you who have followed this blog for a while (aka my favorite people ever, all two of you) have read about several bloggers that I love to follow and get inspiration from, and today, I am particularly excited to introduce you to one of my newer favorites.... Recently.

Emily is not only one of the bright new rising stars of the blogging world, I also think she is one of the absolute nicest girls. I've had a chance to chat with her a little, and she has so many creative ideas and big plans and I'm so excited to have found her blog and to see where she takes it. So make sure to check her out!

[MADEWELL FAVORITES]

Madewell has become one of my favorite things lately. It's one of the few places that I can say really fits my style across the board, and every time I look through their site (the closest store is in Austin), I fall in love with something new. The clothes are simple, classic American style, and lately, I'm loving what they have to offer aside from clothing, and these are a few of favorites from the other goodies they have.

I've thought forever about getting a pair of blue suede flats, and these are perfect, I love a classic brown leather bag, retro tortoiseshell glasses have become one of my favorite things, and I think mint is a color that's really pretty year-round.

Anyone needing Christmas gift ideas for me, take note.

(flats|iphone case|sunglasses|bag|notebook|belt)