garden and sea giveaway--closed.

Happy Monday, y'all!

Today I am so excited to announce my first-ever giveaway! I decided to host a giveaway when I hit 100 followers, which I passed this weekend--I know it doesn't seem like a huge deal to get 100 followers, but it was my first goal for this blog when I decided to make it into a style blog. It honestly blows my mind to think that a hundred people remotely care about what I think/wear/do, so I want to give something back. Next stop, 500!

Anyway, this giveaway is from the garden and sea etsy. You've heard me rave about Angela's gorgeous scarves, worn here, and here, and here, just to name a few. Now, in preparation for Valentine's Day & spring approaching, I want to give one lucky reader two of garden and sea's adorable accessories. 

1) coffee sleeve in baby pink and purple, perfect for personalizing your morning coffee(s)

2) one bow headband of your choice 

personally, my favorite is this light blue one, but it's up to you!

To enter, you must:

1) be a follower of my blog on GFC or Bloglovin'

2) visit the garden and sea shop and leave a comment telling me your favorite item!

Bonus entries!

1) follow me on twitter 

2) tweet about this giveaway--make sure to mention me in the tweet so I see it.

3) follow the garden and sea twitter 

make sure to leave a separate comment for each--that's four chances to win! Plus, if you see something you really like, Angela is offering 20% off anything in her shop for all my readers! just enter the code cestla100 at checkout. This giveaway will be open until Saturday, February 4th. Good luck! xoxo Charity

Photo Diary: Whistler, Canada

Twelve friends in a 2 bedroom house, playing in the snow and lovin' life. Thank you, Whistler. 

PS: I am very excited to be announcing my first giveaway tomorrow! Stay tuned!

Casual Friday

As you saw from this post, I have been baking nonstop. After a crazy day, making these Nutella cupcakes was the perfect way to relax. My favorite thing to do lately is make some coffee, blast some Beyonce, and get baking--I'll probably gain 10 lbs from Pinterest alone. 

A few people said they liked the Casual Friday feature, so I'll keep it going for a bit. I knew I had a long day ahead of me when I wore this, so I wanted to be comfortable but have a bit of pop to my outfit--and what adds pop better than animal print and neon? Also, you can't really see the boots very well but I got these brown leather boots for 50 cents. 50 CENTS! I've been bragging about them all week, because you can't get anything for 50 cents anymore--unless you're taking first pick at a garage sale. I consider them my reward for being up at 8am with all the pro garage salers. 

ps, I apologize for the dark indoor pictures--having class until four means it's dark when I get home. Anyone else ready for longer days? Any funs plans for the weekend? Do share! 

shirt: H&M, sweater: Old Navy, necklace: Charlotte Russe, boots: garage sale

snow days & beer bread

What do you do when your professor gives you a snow day and all you don't have to be anywhere for at least six hours? You make that beer bread you've been thinking about all month and you watch the snow come down with your roommates. Oh, and wear two pairs of sweater tights. And a pair of socks over those. You know, the usual.

What's your snow day ritual?

skirt (seen here) & coat: Forever 21, top: Urban Outfitters, scarf: garden and sea etsy

what I'm baking

Two things I've been doing a lot of lately: baking and browsing Pinterest. Luckily for me, these things go hand-in-hand. A few things I've made lately, all found on Pinterest: 

 Frozen Peppermint Cheesecake, recipe found here.

 Samoas Cookie Bars, recipe found here.

buttermilk biscuit sticky buns, recipe found here.

Recently I've also made French Dip in crescent rolls, energy bites, crockpot chicken chili, cranberry white chocolate muffins, and turkey lettuce wraps, all from Pinterest and all devoured before I could get a picture in. I recommend them all! The energy bites are perfect with coffee for breakfast on-the-go, and they are great because you can basically put in whatever mixings you have in your pantry. I'm also making these Nutella cupcakes for a get-together tonight--yes please. 

Baking has become something therapeutic for me, something that relaxes me after a stressful or long day. Raleigh and I bake together and/or for each other often too, which is a lovely way to spend time together in our busy lives. I also love being a hostess, part of which is giving away baked goods to people I love. Basically, food boards on Pinterest are my new favorite thing. Come follow me so we can share more recipes! 

What relaxes you after a long day? Also, have any must-try recipes for me? holla at me! xoxo Charity

Casual Friday

I did a "Casual Friday" post two weeks ago and thought I would make it a semi-weekly feature. I think bloggers sometimes feel pressure to only post their fancy/intricate/dressy outfits, but I personally like to see what people wear on the average day. Let me know if you think I should keep doing these kinds of posts! 

This outfit was inspired by this pin--I loved the look of stripes + a floral scarf + a cardigan. I almost did a striped dress instead, but looking out the window at the snow slightly terrified me and I went for jeans (with sweater tights underneath!). I dressed the look up with some red lipstick and was ready to take on the day! Happy Friday, everyone. And hello to my new followers! Welcome. xoxo Charity

scarf, boots, and blazer: thrifted, jeans: AE, shirt & hat: Charlotte Russe, necklace: Urban Outfitters

dressing up denim

The cold, snow and freezing wind has made me much more likely to wear jeans to school lately, but I've been playing with small ways to keep casual outfits interesting. A statement jewelry piece is a easy one, like this bright necklace from Charlotte Russe that I bought for $6. Under a denim color and a gray sweater, it stands out just enough to keep an edge to the ensemble. Just one more way to keep me from shopping!

What are your cheap tricks to spice up a casual outfit?

necklace: Charlotte Russe, sweater and denim shirt: thrifted 

oh, Canada.

Whistler "handwarmers": hot cocoa w. peppermint schnapps & hot cocoa w. fireball. They warm you riiight up.

These photos are quite a jump from the post below--approximately 60 degrees between the two! My 3-day weekend was spent in Whistler with eleven amazing friends and we had so much fun. Luckily for me, I got a snow day today and my weekend has been stretched into four days--and I needed the rest. This outfit is from our first full day there, which was spent relaxing in our cozy house, strolling around the village, drinking hot chocolate (some with an extra kick in it) and ending with a night of dancing. This was my first time in the snow this winter, and I thought it was a perfect chance to wear my BB Dakota cape that Raleigh got me for Christmas. I had been lusting over it for over a month, and was so, so excited when I opened my present and saw it. I decided to add a mix of prints in, because Clinton Kelly told me I should (seriously, I got to ask him a fashion question two years ago and he was very enthusiastic about mixed prints). Two layers of socks, a thick hat, and I was ready to enjoy the snowy afternoon with some of my favorite people in the world. 

Now, I am off to enjoy a lazy snow day. Have you guys had snow yet? Do you love it or hate it?

cape: Urban Outfitters, sweater: Forever 21, booties: Old Navy, hat: Charlotte Russe, bag: thrifted

photo diary: AZ & CA

It feels silly to be looking at these sunny photos now, since I'm currently in Whistler, Canada and the snow has been coming down all weekend with a temperature at 18 degrees. I get a bit of everything this month! On the agenda for today: breakfast, hot tub, ice skating, walking around the village, and one last night out before heading home in the morning. Life's rough. 

I hope you are all enjoying your long weekend! Doing anything fun?