here's an idea: TTFN sign

We're big Winnie the Pooh fans in my family and we each have a character to represent us -- mine is Tigger! I decided to pay homage to my favorite bouncy tiger with this sign above my front door :)

My apartment is on the second floor but you enter at ground level and go up a private staircase to get there, so I thought I'd put a hello sign at the top of the stairs to greet guests when they're arriving (I haven't decided what that one is going to say yet..) and a goodbye sign at the bottom for when they leave.

It was so simple it doesn't even require a DIY post -- I just bought wooden letters at the craft store (already painted white) and attached them with Command strips. The whole project cost like $12. I haven't been super cautious about being renter-friendly (I got a list of how much each thing will cost to replace when I moved in and I'm just planning on owing some money when I move out, lol) but this project is definitely renter-friendly and so fun! :)

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pink and mint christmas

I love how everyone has their own specific color scheme for the holidays -- my mom always goes for the traditional red and green, my grandmom goes with silver and gold, and I prefer pink and mint (or basically any pastel colored decorations) myself.

On Saturday me and my brother went over to our Grandmom's house to help decorate her (mostly silver and gold) tree, and we had so much fun! Kyle stupidly got his hand stuck in the metal crate that the tree was resting on, which resulted in plenty of laughs and a healthy stash of future-blackmail photos. I wore this festive (at least to me) outfit with my new favorite cardigan. This was one of the ones I mentioned in my last outfit post, when I went to Old Navy for pajamas and left with cardigans, tights and some shirts (oops!) But this mint color was just too perfect to pass up. In general I don't find too many things at Old Navy that suit my style but boy am I a sucker for their cardigans. They just have THE best colors, don't they? They also had one in a beautiful peachy orange that I might just have to go back for..

cardigan - old navy | skirt - h&m | hat - handmade gift from casey

shoes - c/o bait footwear | brooch - vintage | tights - h&m

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instagram

In October instagram sent me an email letting me know that they had selected me as a suggested user, and all of a sudden my follower count shot up from 9,000 to 31,000 practically overnight. I was really excited and flattered at first, but then I realized that most of the new followers were trolls -- serious trolls. I started getting bombarded with really rude comments and even though I got my brother to moderate them and block people for me so that I wouldn't have to look, I lost all interest in instagram. I dreaded logging in at all, even to look at my friends' photos. I e-mailed instagram to ask if they could reset my follower count back to what it was in October but they either couldn't or wouldn't.

So I decided to start a new private account. I've been using this one (scathinglybrilliant) for a little over a month and I love the peace of mind. I can log in now and talk to my friends, read my comments and enjoy my favorite app again. I hate that I am losing the 9,000 legitimate followers that I had built up over the last few years but I just couldn't see any other way of using instagram without being harassed. And just a heads up -- if you ever get featured by instagram they do give you the option of opting out. I wish so badly that I did at the time, but I had no idea how much trouble it would cause until it was too late.

Anyway, if you'd like to follow my new account it's scathinglybrilliant. I've only been approving public accounts right now but if you have a private one and you're a nice person just leave a comment here letting me know what your username is before you send your follow request and I'll approve it :)

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dinosaurs and polka dots

I went to Old Navy on Monday to get my Christmas pajamas (every year my mom buys everyone in the family new pajamas to wear on Christmas Eve) and ended up finding these amazing tights (and maybe a couple cardigans, too...) The photo didn't really capture the pretty mocha color but they're lovely in person! They're also pretty thick so I think they'll be getting a lot of traction this winter.



I've been wearing this coat constantly -- it's actually surprisingly warm and toasty. I tend to gravitate towards longer coats (like this one. OMG!) but I like having a shorter one to wear this year so my pretty dresses and skirts aren't always hidden.

On Wednesday I threw a little last-night-of-Hanukkah party. My parties are always goofy and totally amateur but I have so much fun! While I was grocery shopping for party food I came across the matzoh and a lightbulb went off in my brain -- a matzoh-bread house. I had NO idea if it would actually work but I was pretty certain it would make for a fun party activity. So I picked up some icing and gumdrops and crossed my fingers. My family and I had a blast putting it together and -- surprise! -- it actually worked. The icing held it together and it's actually still standing in my kitchen two days later! I sense a new holiday tradition ;)

dress- forever 21 | t-rex necklace - sweet and lovely | coat - c/o oasap

cardigan and tights - old navy | shoes - asos | hat - forever 21

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mirror mirror on the wall

I finally have a full-length mirror in my apartment, yay! I don't think I ever realized how crucial it was to getting dressed until I had to go almost a month without one. I kept getting dressed thinking I looked totally spiffy, then I'd go out and practically shudder if I caught a glimpse of my reflection. There's really something to be said for the art of trying things on, taking things off and fiddling with accessories until you feel like it's *just right.* I wasn't aware of how much I refine each outfit until I started noticing how absolutely horrible they looked without any refining at all, lol!

Anyway! Things are finally starting to come together at my apartment -- mirrors and more. Most of my furniture is arranged to my satisfaction (it took a while!) and I haven't one blank wall left in the place, which, to me at least, means it's starting to feel like home. I have a few things left to tweak before I'll be ready to start doing an apartment tour but I'm SO close! If nothing else I think I'll have to share my Christmas decorations soon just because I'm so smitten with them :)

dress- asos | tights - we love colors | shoes - c/o bait footwear

brooch - c/o sugar cookie | belt - from another dress

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cyber monday wishlist

A few years ago my grandmom started giving me and my brother our Christmas money and letting us buy our own presents. I miss the surprise of not knowing what's under the tree, but I have to admit that days like today it's nice to have some money burning a hole in my pocket. No matter what, that money *has* to be spent on frivolous things. I can't use it to pay bills or groceries.. it's strictly for presents. These are some of the things I think my grandmom might get me for Christmas ;)

1. Junk food charm bracelet // Emerging Thoughts
Emerging Thoughts is offering 20% off with code GOBBLEGOBBLE, plus a 20% donation to the charity of your choice with any Cyber Monday purchase. Just let them know what charity you support at checkout. Isn't that awesome?!

2. Clear plastic satchel // Nasty Gal
Nasty Gal has everything marked down 30% off -- discount applied at checkout.

3. Purple and white sunglasses // Lulu's
Take an extra 40% off sale merchandise at Lulu's (like these sunglasses that come out to just over $5 with the discount. I'm dying over them!) with code CYBER40

4. Cat sweater // Dorothy Perkins
25% off everything at Dorothy Perkins with code HOLIDAY25

5. Ron Swanson bust // Urban Outfitters
Urban Outfitters is offering $15 off $75+, $25 off $100+ or $50 off $150+, discount applied in your cart. I've had my eye on a couple apartment items and held out until today to get them -- I'm so glad I did! I placed 2 separate orders for furniture and saved $100 :D

6. My Sweet Art dress // Modcloth
Modcloth is offering 20% off *everything* with code ROBOPUG. This one is really dangerous.

7. Melissa bow ankle boots // ASOS
ASOS is offering 30% off absolutely everything (ahh!) with code GIMMEMORE.

8. Scalloped edge playsuit // Dahlia
Dahlia is offering 20% off everything with code HOORAY20. I think I need to finally snatch up this playsuit.. the scallops are just too perfect to pass up!

ps. Don't forget about the holiday discounts in my gift guide! All of the coupon codes and sales are still active! .. pss. If you order something on Cyber Monday and are worried it won't arrive in time for Christmas, don't be! You can always use this free printable I posted yesterday :D

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Christmas freebie

Last year at Christmastime I got really discouraged by the number of people who were sending me very rude e-mails asking where their etsy orders were, completely out of their minds with worry that their presents might arrive late. As any internet seller can tell you, we do our best to get our orders in the mail as quickly as possible, but once we pass the package into the hands of the post office the delivery date is out of our control. Instead of getting unreasonably upset about snail mail living up to its name, this year how about we all just take a deep breath and enjoy the season of goodwill. Let's be kind towards one another and consider the feelings of everyone we come across during our shopping adventures -- be kind to the cashiers, the clerks, the baristas, the internet sellers, and keep in mind that our loved ones will appreciate the sentiment of our gifts whether they are given on the 25th or beyond.

I made this free printable & I'm including links to it on my invoices -- if you're an etsy seller or blogger I hope you'll consider passing it along, too! Way too many people let themselves get so overwhelmed by the stress of shopping that they forget the reason they're doing it to begin with -- to show love and appreciation for another human being. You don't need to do that on December 25th, you can do it on December 29th or January 2nd. You can do it every day of the year! :)

You can download the freebie on Kitschy Digitals here (they're having a 30% off sale, by the way! Use code "wootwoot" at checkout)

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