Happy Monday

Morning friends! How was your weekend? Are you as ready as I am to go outdoors? I love spring, it's not too hot and not too cold it's just right. Perfect weather for parks, riding bikes and al fresco dining. And this year for me gardening.

Yes it's true I'm going to see if my thumb turns even the slightest hint of green. Yesterday at my in-laws they made a huge raised bed and the kids helped plant lots of herbs and a few veggies. So even though it's at my in-laws house we are required to go over and help with the gardening duties. I'm totally excited and crossing my fingers that it turns out well. So any gardening tips from you green thumbs? I'm all ears.

{image from Epicurious}

Love it :: Cameras

I found all of these gorgeous images at the Audrey Hepburn Complex. They were certainly lovely on their own but I adore them all grouped together.

{images from adelaiderose flickr, tommaso nervegna and gridlines flickr}

Fashion + Weather = Feather

Still not too late to win a outfit consultation with Melisa from the Feather Report.

Enter HERE

Warm and Toasty

I like painted wood as much as the next girl but I really love it all warm and toasty.

{from top Laurey Glenn photography via Southern Living, Southern Living via Two Ellie, Nathan Turner}

It's not too late!

No worries, you have until the end of the day to enter the giveaway for the Stella & Dot Signature Clover Bangle.

Enter HERE

WIN IT :: Dresssing on the Side Tee

Today the big party favor is a Dressing on the Side Tee of your choice. Yep that's it, you get to decide which one you would like to win! Ever since I spotted these adorably cheeky tees I've been smitten. My only problem is I can't decide which one I like best?

So you wanna win? Well here's the skinny.

There's lots more shirts to choose from so go to Dressing on the Side now and pick your favorite. (I also really like Morning Buzz, perfect for moi). When you choose your fave leave a comment telling me which one you'd like to win. Please leave your email so I can let you know when you've won your super duper prize, not to be a grouch but in order to win I need to be able to notify you. Merci.

The giveaway is through Friday, February 26th.

Thank you Dressing on the Side for the cutest tees ever!

Woot woot, the winner is Faith like Potatoes!

winner chosen by Random.org

Shorty

Sienna's old hair-do makes me miss short hair. Give me a year and I bet I'm back.

WIN IT :: Feather Report

One of my favorite bloggers is Melisa from The Lil Bee, she's hip and hilarious which is a deadly combo. She came up with The Feather Report which comes up with outfits per the daily weather, genius and makes shopping easy. Melisa has generously offered to come up with a customized outfit for the winner of the giveaway. Who wouldn't want one of these chic getups made just for them?

Phoenix: Hot with abundant sunshine, High 104 degrees.

Outfit details here.

LA: Breezy in the morning, bright, and sunny; high 61 degrees.

Outfit details here.

NYC: Some sun, then turning cloudy, high 36 degrees.

Outfit details here.

So you wanna win? Here's the skinny.

In comments leave a comment about your body type (Curvy Cathy, Booby Brenda, Leggy Linda, Petite Patty or Pregnant Paula), occasion and location (for the weather of course) and I will randomly choose a winner. The giveaway is through Thursday, February 25th. Your customized, stylish outfit will be posted on The Feather Report. Just make sure to leave your email address so I can notify you of your winning!

Thanks Melisa!

Yay, we have a winner!! Jeanette LeBlanc you've won a Feather Report!

Winner chosen by Random.org

Seesaw Vintage

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting Angela from Seesaw Designs, I'm sure many of you bloggers will recognize the name from their bada*& calender that was all over blogland. Well the girls from Seesaw decided to open a vintage Etsy shop, which like their calendar doesn't disappoint.

WIN IT :: Stella & Dot Clover Bangle

Today is the first day of my 2nd birthday party week. With that in mind today's party favor is a gorgeous Stella & Dot Signature Silver Clover Bangle. The lovely local blogger Kelly Bird is hosting the giveaway. The best thing about Kelly is she has a great how to wear section for great looks featuring Stella & Dot jewelry. For those of you that don't know Stella & Dot is a fairly new, on trend, celebrity coveted line of jewelry, take a look you won't be disappointed.

So you wanna win? Well here's the skinny.

Go to Kelly's Stella & Dot site to see what is your favorite piece then leave a comment telling us how you would wear it. Please make sure you leave your email address in the comment too, this is very important because I know you want to be notified if you're the winner right? Anyone who comments without an email won't be eligible for the giveaway.

So go look and dish your favorite look.

This giveaway is through Wednesday, February 24th

Thank you Kelly for the fab party favor!

Yippee the winner is #1 Cindy Lou.

Random facts and BIG thanks

Yesterday I had a mini little blurb in the YES Style section of the Arizona Republic with my favorites. Totally flattered to be asked but they wanted me to send a photo of myself, yikes. This might be a problem. If this was going to be for publication and all the world would see it, I had have something better than a snapshot produced by Mr. SFD. Thankfully I enlisted my pal Tina (she also does my hair, she's multi-faceted and awesome) from Live.Love Photography to snap a few shots. So THANK YOU my darling Tina! Voila, here's me and what I had to say

Personal Style: I'm a classic dresser; I usually wear separates and style them to go with how I'm feeling that day. Since most of my day is running kids to and from school and activities, my usual look is jeans, cardigans and cute shoes.

Best fashion advice: Always have a couple of go-to cute day dresses to wear when you're pressed for time and want to look stylish. It's a no-brainer, so less stress.

Favorite places to shop: Local boutiques, plus Anthropologie and J. Crew.

Favorite designer: John Galliano for Christian Dior.

Favorite splurge: I never skimp on hair or face products.

Favorite deal: I have a love affair with Hanes V-neck white T-shirts; I'm always buying a pack.

Favorite bargain shop: I love the hunt at Nordstrom Rack, Target and Forever 21.

Must-have makeup: Lancome Definicils mascara.

Best beauty secret: Keep a small makeup bag in your handbag with the essentials for a polished face. Mine are powder, concealer, blush, mascara and lipstain. I love having it handy if I'm off in a rush and don't have time to do my face.

Signature scent: Vera Wang.

Won't leave home without: A necklace. I always wear at least one.

Least favorite trend: Uggs.

Spring :: Green

While we're on the subject of spring loving this fresh green.

{photography by Laurey Glenn via Southern Living}

Spring Fever!

While I have things to do today I would much rather be prancing in a pretty dress somewhere

or better yet a gingham bikini,

drinking something yummy with stripey paper straws (we'll leave the milk for the kids but you get the idea) by a gorgeous pool.

I know I shouldn't wish this gorgeous weather away quite yet because going to be so hot before I know it.

{images from i.anton flickr, vi.sualize and Sixx Design via New England Home}

It feels pretty springy and there might be a party.

No worries I haven't forgotten about you but I have been out enjoying the gorgeous weather. If any of you readers need an idea of somewhere to vacation during the month of February seriously come to Phoenix. Tuesday I spent the day out doing a little shopping with my sister-in-law and our littles followed by a yummy lunch al fresco then yesterday I had lunch with some lovely local bloggers (post to follow at some point).

{photography by Anna Williams via Desire to Inspire}

Oh and I almost forgot some very important business. Today is my baby girl's birthday, Sarah's Fab Day turned 2. I can't believe it's already been two years! I was trying to plan a party for her but life happened and I don't really have too much to share but some very kind blogger friends have offered to share a couple cool gifts to giveaway and I think I may just host a giveaway myself of one of my favorite things. Think of these things as the party favors!

{PS if you're reading this and have something that you would like me to giveaway as a party favor shoot me an email and we'll talk}

My cookie problem

So my neighborhood Girl Scout delivered my cookies today, 2 boxes of Thin Mints to be exact. This year I decided to be a bit more frugal with my cookie order because I'm the one that eats them (all). Since I only have 2 measly boxes I was very disappointed when they were all melted and stuck together. Now they're all cooled off and still stuck together. Mighty annoying ladies.

Now onto the uni, did you all wear these? I really wanted to find a picture of the t-shirt that I really wanted when I was a Brownie, you know the one that said, "Here comes a Brownie" on the front and, "There goes a Brownie" on the back. No such luck though which is really sad because it was bitchin.

Chalkboards

I'm still not over chalkboards. I love them but still have never used one in my own home. I really like the idea of using one in a place of art. Change out "masterpieces" weekly.

{images from Cottage Living via Lettered Cottage and Style at Home}

Happy Valentine's Day!

Oh and happy weekend too cheries! Hope it's filled with lots of kisses.

{images via Garance Dore, Snippet & Ink and Style Me Pretty}

Wearing it :: Shabby Apple

Sometimes you get an offer that you can't refuse and when Shabby Apple offered to send me a dress I jumped at the chance. They have so many choices in women's dresses that I couldn't decide. Because not only are they pretty but they're also affordable which makes me a happy girl. So it was between this and this, then of course I had to choose this.

Long, glamorous and I have the perfect place to wear it. Really I love it, it's so cute on. Not to mention if had daughters (big or little) I would be snapping up their adorable dresses in a heartbeat.

Shabby Apple was kind enough to include a coupon code for readers for extra savings on their Shabby Apple purchases. Type in Sarahsfabday10off for an extra 10% off (oh and make sure you capitalize the S).

As a side note, I don't normally review products but every now and then something crosses my email that I think is great and I would love to share with you. I just want you to know that everything that I share with you is honestly something that I would wear, use or buy. If I have received a little swag I will always let you know but lets be honest that rarely ever happens. Just want to keep things real and give you the heads up. Thanks friends!

McQueen

I know this may sound completely silly to some of you but when I heard that Alexander McQueen had died I was very sad.

He was truly an artist and when the world loses a creative spirit of such greatness we all are a bit less because of it. Couple that with the fact that he took his own life, it literally broke my heart.

I know that I obviously didn't know him or even wear his clothing for that matter (too pricey for moi) but that didn't stop me from always waiting to see what he would come up with next. His clothing was perfectly tailored and full of fantasy, that combination is heady stuff.

Girls like me who love to pore over the fashion shows online or on streaming video will surely be missing him in the coming seasons.

{images from style.com and Fashionably Independent}

Read it :: Blonde Designs

During a blog surfing sesh I happened upon Blonde Designs (via Design Crush), I was looking for something for Big to give as a Valentine that was unique and fun. These easy Lip & Mustache Lollipop Valentine's fit the bill perfectly. So cute right? Made them and didn't trim the tags yet(which you can download on Blonde Designs) that say, "Happy Valentine's Day Love, Big" but you get the idea. My models found my stash of lollipops so I had to get a few snaps of them in payment for their treat. As you can see my niece is happy as can be with her glittery pink lips and well Little...he's his usual self. He wanted the lollipop sans moustache.

If you want some great party ideas and fun downloads this is your place. Oh yeah, and let's not forget their gorgeous invitations. So go now and check them out!