This Holiday Season Why Don't You

Every day I am reminded of how blessed I am to have such good girl friends. The kind of friends who are all entirely supportive and genuine. The type of friend that is confident and secure enough with herself to share not only your lows but also truly celebrate your highs.  Where would we be without these women in our lives?

This holiday season might we all consider doing something a little extra special to jubilate these friendships. Wouldn't it be fun to plan a cozy holiday pajama party that simply involves good food, good conversation, and comfy clothes?

Make it extra merry and hand deliver your invitations with an early holiday gift. Maybe some new pjs or slippers. I'm really loving Gap's new collection (just loaded up on pjs for the kids and got the striped waffle pjs for myself) and they're having 30% off the whole site through tonight.

So maybe I wouldn't gift that red number, but they sure are cute, right?

Gift Guide: What's She Reading?

Over the next few weeks there will be a smattering of themed gift guides. This may be one of my favorite things to put together. Today is for all of us. Fashion books. The perfect gift-able (or get for yourself) item. Hands down. When in doubt.

I think that all of these books would be loads of fun to flip through. But I also think you could actually learn a thing or two from them, especially Shop Your Closet and What To Wear, Where. And I really want to buy Emily's book - Cupcakes & Cashmere was the first fashion blog I ever read.

Very curious to see which shoe Shoestrology says I am. Gotta be a heel, right? And PS, my friend Reagan gave me the Sleeping Beauty book - such a fun read!!

It Starts Underneath

You all know I'm a Bali Intimates girl. I've written about them here and here, attended their Style Summit in NYC, and just recently again professed my love of their bras here.  Now I'm happy to announce my recent partnership with Bali as their new Brand Ambassador.

What does this partnership mean to you? It basically means that I'll share my experiences with new Bali products. What I love about this is that I'm sharing reviews on products that may not yet be on your radar. And these aren't products that are hard to find or break your intimate apparel budget (which if you're like me you want to keep to a minimum).

Today's product review is a total gimme because it's basically my favorite bra but slightly revamped with extra shaping (and they didn't add padding!). I've religiously worn the Comfort Revolution bra for over a year now. It's just so darn comfortable and easy. Now Bali has introduced a brand new bra named the Comfort Revolution Smart Sizes Shaping Wirefree. It's just as comfortable and easy but has lightly lined foam cups that give a little extra lift. It's my everyday bra that I wear to run errands, have lunch with friends, and hang around the house with my kids. To be honest, I hadn't even noticed that the first Comfort Revolution bra even needed extra shaping. But this new version does have a great seamless look - and it actually looks better under many of my thin knit tops than my other bras! It doesn't give off that top of the bra cup line that I dread.

I took the photos below at the Bali Style Summit in 2011. She's wearing the original Comfort Revolution bra. 

The new Comfort Revolution Smart Sizes Shaping Wirefree bra (I know, the name is long but that doesn't really matter does it?) just launched this week and is in stores now (think Macy's Kohl's, Belks - see full store list here)! It's easy to fit sizing too thanks to it's stretchy, flexible fabric- 16 size options simplified into S-XL. Go try it and tell me what you think. I bet you'll love it too. :)

This post brought to you by Hanesbrands. All opinions expressed are my own.

A Minted Holiday

I have holiday cards on the brain right now. We still need to get a family picture taken (um, Gray, can you help us out?). But I CAN tell you that our card will most definitely come from Minted. I've eyed their glorious designs the past couple of years and this year one will be mine. Now to pick...

The card for the busy family (how fun is this?)...

 For the newlyweds...

 Love this one too!

 My favorite simple design...

 And my favorite non photo picks.

Holiday cards are one of my favorite traditions to give (and receive). Now I need to get a good picture and just decide! You can check out the whole Minted Holiday Collection here.

This post brought to you by Minted. All opinions are, you know, 100% all mine.