While it lasts

 

tee & skirt: old navy   shoes: target

I've wanted a pair of white sneakers for a long time.  I just got these at Target on sale and with an extra 20% off with thanks to the cartwheel app, they were under $15.  I had no idea you could use your phone as a little scanner to scan barcodes to see if there's a coupon for whatever you're buying.  

This older woman cashier filled me in and was so not amused by my excitement.  As if I didn't already want to spend more time in Target.  

The only problem with white shoes is that I know they won't stay this white for long.  So I may have changed into sandals after this picture because it was supposed to rain later.  I'm pretty sure I need to get over that so I can actually wear them.  

The problem with men

Don't worry. I will tell you the story of this picture in a minute.  And lucky you.  I put it in at the end in case you need to see this lovely face again.  
I have no problem shopping for the ladies in my family.  Most of the time by the time Christmas gets close I've stocked up on cute things like necklaces, scarves, or clothes that I know my sisters or mom would love.  It's easy to shop for them because most things I like, I know they would like. 
The men on the other hand are super hard to shop for.  A few years ago Chris told me that he thought the gifts we got them were boring because they were usually sweaters or something equally "lame."  You can imagine that conversation going when I said the "we" was really "me" since I did all the shopping and he was welcome to take over. 
So Chris is now in charge of the men in our family and it is much nicer for me.  And I'm sure for them too.  Who wants a "lame" sweater anyway? 
I'm pretty sure if you buy guys anything to do with alcohol its a win.  Which is why these flasks at Target may be perfect for a man you need to shop for.  

Plus they have some other gifts in their "Ugly" product line that may humor someone you know, like these mustache glasses or socks.

These gifts would also be great for a white elephant party.  Unless you're Chris and think a good white elephant gift to give is this: 

So tell me.  What do you get the men in your life?  Are they hard to shop for? 

Leave a comment (and your email address) telling me and one of you can win a Target flask to give to a man in your life.  Or keep for yourself of course.   

This post is brought to you by Target, but all opinions and content are my own.  Follow along with #hilariousholiday

LOL

top, pants and shoes: target   necklace: groopdealz

I am clearly desperate for a title, as I resorted to using one of my least favorite terms, if three letters can even be considered a term.  The thought of saying or even writing LOL pretty much makes me cringe, as you know my strong dislike for abbreviations.  However, these things do really make me laugh out loud, especially the last one. 

My evolution of pumpkin carving post from last year.  Maybe one of the best posts I've written.  And we've thankfully upped our game this year and actually carved pumpkins last weekend, which I'll be sharing soon!

My brother in law and his desire to become a fashion blogger. 

These faces.  Her sly look and unimpressed look.

A failed attempt at getting a picture of my parents with their grandkids.  

as if I needed proof

dress: target ($11 recent)  necklace: groopdealz   flats: target

I know I've shared before that there is no doubt that Chris has ADD.  And while I do find it quite annoying sometimes, there are times when I just have to laugh about it.  

Which I did when we were looking through some of our maternity pictures and the multiple pictures we have where Chris is clearly distracted.  

Clearly it didn't bother me at the beginning.  See I do laugh at him once in awhile?

This would be mid sentence most likely telling him to stop doing that. 

There were about four pictures with Chris pointing to things.  A plane, an animal, a fish jumping in the water.

And this one I may look like I'm smiling but was probably more forcefully trying to push his head away, saying we were clearly done with the kissing belly photos.

I definitely do not need proof that Chris is easily distracted but clearly have it. 

Don't forget to enter to win $25 in Starbucks cards, an ulta gift card, design credit and some sweet accessories! Enter here!
Linking up to: Funday Monday

A horse sweater, fake shoes and lots of gift cards

sweatshirt: forever 21   jeans: ross maternity  shoes: tjmaxx

I wanted this horse sweater from Forever 21 for a really long time.  By the time I actually bought it I was already pregnant and felt that tight clothes at the beginning of pregnancy did not work well.  Needless to say I have not gotten much wear out of it.  

I do have some concern that animal prints may not be quite so trendy next year, which would be a shame since I own quite a few things with birds or elephants on them.  So I figured it was time to wear it, even if it barely reached the bottom of my belly.  

On another random note I would love to own a pair of TOMS some day but for now these copy cat $5 pair from TJMaxx will have to work.

And if both of those topics completely bored you, then at least I can offer you the chance to win gift cards to Starbucks, Amazon and three of them to Target.  Along with some other sweet prizes! 

heart necklace from Peace it Altogether

$10 gift card from Everyday with the Jays

$15 gift card to Litva's Jewelry

$15 Target giftcard from Bella Cene

Large ad space from by the porchlight $15 Amazon giftcard from a Heart Full of Frost

$10 Starbucks gift card from This Little Blonde

$10 Target gift card from The Hinton Hook-up

Enter below! Winner will be contacted after the 29th!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I can't believe that April is almost over!  I have a few large ad spots and medium spots available for May! Email me at katiejvale@yahoo.com this week for 10% off ad spaces!

Celebrity Connections

dress: kohls    sweater: old navy   boots: gojane

While Katie Middleton and Kim Kardashian may not dress their pregnant selves in a $3 Kohls dress and $2 Old Navy sweater, all three of us are due in July.  Which gives me some sort of celebrity connection to them.   And if I didn't enjoy celebrity gossip and updates already from PEOPLE magazine, I'm especially interested any time I see articles about these two.  I'm also always interested when there are fashion recaps from awards shows, like the upcoming Oscars.  
While I don't always watch the awards shows, I always look forward to reading blog posts, magazines and tv recaps of what the celebrities wore on the red carpet.   I'll be even more excited to check out the PEOPLE magazine 2013 Oscars Double Issue, as soon as it is available on March 1st. (But only until March 18th.) 
Some of my past favorites that I am excited to see this year are: 

                      Natalie Portman                                  Amy Adams                                   Emma Stone

I'm sure it's no suprise, but if I was going to go run to a store to pick up PEOPLE magazine I would choose Target.  That way I can "quickly" check out the clearance racks and shoes as well.  Lucky for you, you can win a giftcard to Target today where you could buy your own copy of the PEOPLE magazine 2013 Oscars Double Issue, a shirt and maybe even a pair of clearance shoes all for $20. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And if you think you know your celebrity trivia, head on over to PEOPLE trivia for your chance to win one of hundreds of rewards cards! Click the link to play now!    Happy Friday! Hope you have a great weekend!

This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group ™ and PEOPLE Magazine  but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #PEOPLEforOscars http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO 

An early Christmas present

Right now I'm sitting on the couch at my parents' house, enjoying time with my family, including my sister and her family that got in from Vermont yesterday.  I love this time of year and am always reminded how full of blessings our life is.  I'm looking forward to spending Christmas with my family, as well as the rest of the week.

Before I take a few days off of blogging, I thought I'd leave you with a pretty sweet giveaway.  Which will make for a really nice Christmas present for one lucky winner!

Thanks to some great ladies and their generosity, I have lots of great prizes, like Target, Ulta, Bath & Body Works gift cards, jewelry, make up and other great gifts! 

from Stay Blonde Ski Local

from Head to Toe Chic

from Total Basset Case

from Keeping up with the Cyperts

from Heart Shaped Sweat

from Still in St. Louis

from Team Bowen

from Simply Here

from Come What May

from The Lady Okie

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Winner will be contacted after the 30th!  Thanks for entering!
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and enjoy some time with your family the next few days!

High Five for Friday

dress: old navy  boots: kohls  scarf: store in Lake Geneva

1. I believe that I do not need any more scarves, however I keep wanting to buy more!

2. Sisters. Target. Starbucks.
  Those three things make me very, very happy.

3.  Today we are off to cut down our Christmas tree.  This is probably my favorite day of the year and will definitely take up a whole post soon.  Here's a picture from last year:

4. I do have some Christmas presents already, and now that we'll have our tree after today it is time to start wrapping some gifts! I love this idea for making gift tags using paint chips.

source

5. December is drawing near and I have a few large ad spaces for $10 and medium for $5 available! Check out more information here and email me at katiejvale@yahoo.com.
I'd love to help promote your blog or shop!


Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are still getting to spend today with your family!