fall nails.

those over at beautylish have decided these are what's hot for nails this fall.

and i can get behind almost every single one of them.

i have an oxblood from last past 2 years when i was (still am) obsessed with wine and magenta, and lucky for me, it's still cool.

and just the other day, when i was buying my new DOMINO!!!!!!, i also bought a dark hunter green polish on a whim. which i thought would be pretty for christmas.

lucky for me, they say that's also cool.

(cheap brand you can buy at walgreens... sorry i don't remember the name or the maker.)

and remember that holographic chanel polish from last week... still cool.

and glitter.

also pretty for the upcoming holidays, no?

what colors are you picking this season?

JILL

happy.

i really needed this little vacation away.

i hope you are soaking up today and everything that it stands for.

see you tomorrow.

JILL

{image by onegoodthingbyjillee}

2 turtledoves...

and a

partridge in a pear tree

holiday party need a holiday drink?

i found this recipe for a

'partridge in a pear tree'

from a fab house wife.

lots of holiday drinks, including my white russian with cinnamon, seem a little too heavy and creamy to have more than one. or even one. sometimes a weighty cocktail just won't do.

this one seems like it would be light and refreshing yet still get you feeling festive.

1.5 oz pear vodka

.5 oz lemon juice

.5 oz simple syrup

champagne to top it off

rosemary for garnish

i'm tempted to throw some rosemary into my simple syrup to get a little of that flavor into the drink, i love herbs in cocktails. and i love rosemary.

and i love you.

there you have it.

JILL

various things

this is a series of random various things that i'm unloading from my brain.

first, my sewing machine was indeed broken.

you never realize all the sewing projects you had in the wings until you can't do anything about it. looks like my tree garland will be made right in time for christmas day. wah wah. and not only does this sewing machine repair place take like 2+ weeks, they cost half of what my machine actually cost!

i'm no sewer. i use the manual settings. i get my machine out, use it how it came, and put it back, occasionally changing the thread color... somewhere in there it broke.

but on a happier note,

i don't know what about this time of year brings out the tartan in all of us

but it does and i'm hooked all over again.

so is j.crew.

and speaking of j.crew, have you seen their sparkly etta pumps?

those would some happy holiday parties make, my friends.

i love the fat heel on them, and they come in a million colors.

unfortunately they are more than i spend on shoes.

maybe i'll ask santa.

har har.

santa husband prob wouldn't go for that.

we still get each other things we need/want for our house.

unless we kept these on the mantel...................

next week i have a few budget holiday gift guides to share with you!

i've been out shopping for my list and realized there

are some really great little gifts to give this year.

happy friday.

JILL

a festive white russian with a twist.

hey jill. what's your favorite cocktail for this holiday season?

so glad you asked.

that would be a white russian, of course.

with cinnamon!!

usually you make em with vodka, cream (or milk in my case, and lots of other people's cases), and kahlua.

but i recently made one with kahlua's cinnamon spice flavor and

holy moly.

so damn good.

it's my official 2012 holiday cocktail.

don't you always have an official holiday cocktail?

me neither. but this year i do.

and it's this:

i do equal parts of all 3.

but there are lots of differing recipes. i know when i was a bartender

i did equal parts for ease and they always tasted delish.

make your own.

spice em up.

drink em up.

{responsibly of course.}

they're like dessert.

or the perfect night cap.

i bet if you just had plain kahlua, you could just sprinkle a little cinnamon on top.

and then go watch the big lebowski.

he prefers them, as well.

JILL

easy as pie.

har har.

famous last words.

but i just found 8 different ways to top your pie and make

it taste just that much better.

and make you look that much more like martha stew.

chevron and herringbone are kinda fun.

but i think my fave is the plaid.

i'm so excited for this upcoming holiday.

all my favorite food, and plenty of it.

JILL

this holiday....

i'm adding these to the festivities.

because the holidays, they're here!!

i cannot even believe thanksgiving is next week.

NEXT WEEK!

must be why i'm singing christmas music already :)

JILL

{dressings via the katie ermillio, pillows on one kings lane, ribbon at the hob lob.}

bohemian holiday

i look forward to the anthropologie catalog arriving in my mailbox

just like any of the other magazines i get.

it's always fresh.

always creative.

always a little edgy and daring.

and it makes me wish i could afford to shop there for my entire wardrobe.

i am running the risk of sounding like a type-a hoarder,

but i keep them. all.

stacked in my bookcase. next to my dominos.

they are so inspiring.

and this past one, for november does not disappoint.

(minus the creepy kids in woodland masks.)

don't really love these.

don't like them at all in fact.

especially seeing how they're nearly $300 a piece

but they used the cutest little taxidermy animals i ever did see through the whole thing.

look at that fluff bunny!

want the clothes.

want the feel.

i don't even mind the hair.

(but the best part was the goose on her golden eggs)

happy tuesday.

JILL

party sequins

it always happens this time of year.

i get crazy about glitter and sparkles and gold and sequins.

it's really easy to dress up the festive party sparkles, but what to do with them when the parties are over at the end of the season?

usually the things sit in my closet until next holiday season rolls back around.

but i've found lots of people who show us how they can be dressed down and worn more often. (long after all the eggnog and champagne have been downed.)

t-shirts and jeans.

sounds good to me.

i have been playing around on polyvore. another good place to waste good time.

and i came up with these:

casual sequin 2 by thebluehouse featuring ballet shoes

Free People baseball t shirt, $198
Short top, $178
American Eagle Outfitters slim leg jeans, $30
Steve Madden ballet shoes, $90

casual sequins 1 by thebluehouse featuring miu miu shoes

Cable knit cardigan, £129
T shirt, $75
7 For All Mankind low rise skinny jeans, $126
Miu miu shoes, $495
Gathering Eye stone necklace, $20

those sparkling miu miu tennies... i die.

those could certainly become my everyday sequins.

and of course, my lipstick made it. i am quite possibly obsessed.

go buy some more sparkle!!

JILL

{images via: tumblr, fashion salade, saucy glossy, lookbook, j.crew, the beauty file, note to sarah, middle child complex, and polyvore}



hello holiday season

seriously. i am obsessing over the wine+magenta color combo.

tis the holiday season... starting with thanksgiving straight on through new years.

which means tis the season of parties.

its officially become my coloring for the whole thing. so festive. like cranberry sauce!

gathered an entire head to toe for you below featuring my new fave colors.

{if only i could fit some of those items into my budget... ever.}

plus, a little sparkle has never been a stranger to this time of year :)

hello holiday season by thebluehouse featuring leather shoes

T shirt dress, $142
LISKA cape coat, £5,699
Tall hosiery, $15
Leather shoes, $185
Alexander McQueen leather clutch, £845
Pave earrings, $24

loooove it.

magenta tights are a must. ordering some TO.DAY.

happy monday.

JILL

making things sparkle...

now that we have halloween out of the way it is time to start thinking about the holidays, and what better way than with a few sequins...

via rebecca taylor

via j.crew

via anthropologie

via snippet and ink

via intermix

via apartment therapy

via j.crew

via intermix

via club monaco

i needed three days of weekend...never enough time to get everything done.

xoxo

elle.