Christmas Favorites

Merry Christmas… A few days late! Jake and I got back from Seattle on New Years Eye {Tuesday} and we are slowly getting into our Charlotte groove after a wonderful trip visiting family and friends on the West Coast. I'm glad we didn't get stuck in any crazy winter weather. All in all, everything was pretty mild in Seattle. A little chillier that we remembered and a couple gray, cloudy days. The usual. And we got to have some really good friends and family time. I think a week is a perfect length for a trip.. towards the end of it, I actually missed my office at work! Can you believe it? 

I have been trying to watch {read: monitor} my materialistic ways lately but wanted to share a few of my very favorite Christmas gifts that I received. 

Granted, I did write out a very specific list for Jake like I do every year - but it's mostly to get him going in the right direction. Although, I wouldn't be disappointed if he got all my gifts off the list. This year, he did follow the list mostly - I got leopard loafers, rayban sunglasses and this gorgeous jcrew necklace.   I have pictures of everything on Instagram if you're curious. 

Jcrew "Crystal Triangles Necklace" on Banksy book, "You are an acceptable level of threat"

But he did "think outside of the box" and got me a scarf he picked out himself {which I have been wearing for about 7 days straight} and a book about Banksy.  

Do you know Banksy? He is a secret street artist that spray paints his work without anyone knowing.  Justin Timberlake once claimed to be Banksy but I think he was making it up. Bansky = The Coolest Thing Ever. Jake even saw a Banksy original while he was in San Fran in 2011. He snapped this photo below.  Pretty cool, huh??? 

If at first you don't succeed - call an airstrike. - Banksy

One of my other favorite gifts was the smorgasbord of items I received from my sister in law.  Technically her husband picked my name for Christmas but I know she did the hard work to pick out my perfected curated selection of items.  A few of my favorites from her:

Ring holder from Anthro, bracelet and tray from etsy

Of course, Christmas isn't about getting gifts -- but it sure makes it a little more fun. Did you get anything fun/cool/exciting???? Please share!

My Skincare Beauty Routine

I have been thinking about all the work that us girls do to keep ourselves looking good. For example, painting your face with products every morning before work, getting manicures and pedicures, hair masks, etc. Don't get me wrong, I love pampering myself but sometimes I feel rushed taking 15-20 minutes to do my makeup every single morning.

Jake always says how "hard" it would be to be a woman. Hair. Nails. Makeup. Boots. Skirts. Blouses. Tees. Statement Necklaces. Delicate gold necklaces. Bracelets. Hair Color. Ombre. You get the drill. It's kind of exhausting to think about all of that stuff. But I kind of love it. I think it's fun to change up your hair, try a new makeup product or spend hours perusing the jcrew sale section {guilty.} Although sometimes I have to draw the line {and reign myself in}. No, you can't buy that $3,600 Celine Bag you have been coveting. Or you don't have to go shopping every single weekend of the month. You get the idea. But - I do love a good trip to Sephora, even if it is just to browse.

Today, I wanted to share my current skincare/beauty routine for anyone that's curious.

Step 1 - Wash face with my Clarisonic Mia brush and facial cleanser. I've written about this before and I will continue to rave about it. It is probably the best thing that's ever happened to my skin. I've been using my Clarisonic about 4-5 times a week since 2011. I am currently using the Philosophy Pure Made Simple facial cleanser. It makes my skin so soft. I do have to change it up occasionally and when I do I usually use Fresh Soy Face Cleanser. It smells heavenly and you cannot go wrong with Fresh. I love that brand!

Step 2 - Since I only wash my face once a day and it's usually at night, I slather on Boots Botanics - Hydrating Night Cream in ALL BRIGHT after I use my Clarisonic.

Step 3 - Place Librow on my eyebrows in the spots where I want the hair to grow. I swear this works.

Step 4 - Pat on a bit of eye cream {I like glotherapeutics vital eye cream} very delicately using my ring finger right under my eyes where the dark circles are. I actually have dry skin and have found that this helps tremendously. Plus, it's never too early to start thinking about wrinkle prevention.

There you have it. Oh - and the last step is to get a good night's rest which means 7-8 hours for me. No exceptions. Do you have a beauty routine? If so, please share in the comments section below. Don't be shy!

Minimalist.

I finally found a word to better describe my style asthetic. Do you hate that word because of its's overuse on Project Runway? Me too! I was browsing some site on the internet - maybe AirBNB or something and one of the postings was described as "Minimalist" and that's when I knew. That is me!

Is it because

....I grew up in a household with a million little porcelin animal figurines?

....I never knew my own sense of style until my life became too cluttered with stuff?

....I freak out when things are messy or unorganized?

....I say I "lost" something although what I mean to say is that I simply "misplaced" it and then I find it approximately 30 seconds later with a HUGE sign of relief?

We'll never know how I came to be this way. All we know is that I am this way.  Sometimes it's just really exciting when you find your place in this gigantic world of ours. You, know?

I think I might want a pre-fab, sort of like this. And Jake is on board. So that is exciting news.

That is all.

ICELAND

So you may have heard that Jake and I are heading to none other than Iceland in early 2014. I have actually been curious about that destination for a long time but usually shy away from colder climates because, let's face it - I am a Hawaii girl at heart. A couple of months ago, I got an email from Travelzoo with an incredible deal that we could just not pass up - literally, a 1/4 of the cost of the Caribbean vacation we were planning for my 30th birthday.  So I thought about it for a couple days and then we booked it! 

Ever since we traveled to Italy in Summer 2012, I have the travel itch. I just want to go out and see the world and these past few months, I/we have traveled more than I ever have in my life. Since we moved to Charlotte in July 2013, I/we have gone on the following trips:

• Chapel Hill, NC
• Washington, DC
• San Francisco, CA
• Greenville, SC
• Topsail Beach, NC
• Asheville, NC (My 29th Birthday Weekend)
• Port Huron and Ann Arbor, MI (Thanksgiving)
• Las Vegas, NV (for work but it still counts)

Back on topic, here are the Iceland details:

• 6 days, 7 nights in Reykjavik, Iceland (CenterHotel Arnahvoll)
• Transportation to/from the hotel and airport (I heard this can be expensive)
• Blue Lagoon entry
• Northern Lights Boat Tour (cue the dramamine)

We are flying out of DC so the only thing we have to arrange is transportation to DC - we're thinking of flying, might be a little easier than the 6 hour drive. And the best part is that two of our friends and making the trip too! They are leaving from the West Coast a day before but we will all be in Iceland virtually the exact same days. How fun, right?!?! We seriously can't wait. I will say that I am lagging in the planning/research department this time partially due to my overkill on the Italy trip - I seriously had all of our days planned out from about 7 am to 6 pm. But it was Italy (!!!) and we had to see everything! I think this trip will be a lot different and more laid back.  I don't have anything booked outside of the activities that came with the package. I have heard about a couple of things we should do. So I think I will start working on that in January 2014.  If anyone has any recomendations, I would love to hear them.

Also, I am posting this from the airplane! Kind of cool, huh?

xoxo, Kim