BUSY HOLIDAZE

Who else has been busier than they've ever been before?  *Raises hand*  I just have to take in and appreciate some of the funnier moments like this when I play with the Snapchat filters that are there for the day.  I hope it puts a smile on your face.

Send me a tweet and let me know what you're up to!

CRANKING UP CHRISTMAS

It's unbelievable day after day how close it feels Christmas is getting. One of my favorite Christmas scenes in the city is Macy's, especially when it's time for the parade.  What do you love most about your area during Christmas?  Tweet me your favorite memories/pictures!

PLAYING WITH PIZZA

I recently went to my family's annual Pizza Making Party.  It is one of the best get togethers that we have all year long because it's just so much and enjoyable for everyone, even the kids.  This year just seemed like so much more fun than normal and I can't quite pinpoint why.  We had a great time just all being together, making the pizzas, making homemade, fresh mozzarella, listening to some live entertainment and it was just all over merriment.  I wore my light-up Christmas necklace (it's bad ass), we drank wine, the fire alarm went off, I watched Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer for the frist time EVER, and it was just the bees knees hanging out with the family.  Check out some of the pictures from our party here:

PIZZA PLEASE

PHO-KING FRIDAY

Oooooh everyone.  There's a new Pho place in town called Pho-Tastic Vietnamese and it is right in Brick.  When I started hearing Cullen talk about pho, I knew I needed to try it and how convenient for something to open up right in Brick just in time.  Everything was so good.  Check out the pics:

DIY CHRISTMAS DECOR BANNER | #HITTIHOLIDAY

Serving you some Christmas realness today with this adorable DIY banner.  Check out more photos and the steps of how to do it below:

SWEETEST PUP MOMENT

I just had to share this sweetest pup moment that I had with my dog.  I mean can you ever get enough happy dog cuddles?  No, no you cannot.  Do you have dogs?  Tweet me what kind!

PINTEREST INTEREST

Friends!  I am dropping in to see if you've been following me on Pinterest?  The reason I ask is because I have been pinning some outfit inspiration for the colder weather that we will be getting sooner than later. It's better to be prepared, especially where I live.  Check out my Pinterest.

  

Tweet me and let me know how you get ready for colder weather.

EARLY CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS | #HITTIHOLIDAY

It is Christmas in the Irvine household everyone and we are so excited about it.  A few things are up here now and I cannot wait until we add a few others.  Take a quick tour and see how were decorating:

BUSIEST SHOPPING DAY OF THE YEAR | #HITTIHOLIDAY

Ad the weekend comes to a close, I hope that all of my HITTI readers had a great time celebrating Thanksgiving!  It is absolutely one of my favorite holidays to celebrate.  As we move on to the busiest shopping season of the year, I want to make sure you've had a chance to check out my great gift guides!  Check them out here:

SPICE VOX BOX | INFLUENSTER

I am so thrilled to be a recipient of the most recent Spice VoxBox from Influenster!  I cannot wait to try all of the products as I know I already will like some of them for sure.  Check out what was in the Spice VoxBox here:

IRVINE THANKSGIVING | #HITTIHOLIDAY

Happiest Thanksgiving to absolutely everyone who reads this blog.  I am so happy and thankful to have everyone in my life that I do.  I couldn't think of living this life without each and every single one of you.  I am so excited to share with you some sweet photos from our Thanksgiving here in the Irvine Residence.  Check out the photos below:

HAPPY THANKSGIVING | #HITTIHOLIDAY

Happiest Thanksgiving ever to all of you!  I am looking so forward to tomorrows post with all the minor details.  I hope you had a great day celebrating with your families and ate lots of great food.  

Who is catching some great deals tonight? Tweet me and let me know and check back tomorrow!

GIFT GUIDE FOR WOMEN | #HITTIHOLIDAY

What to say about this gift guide.  Let me just say that it took me twice as long as the one for the men.  I don't know precisely what that really means.  Does it mean that I want more things or does it mean that I just know what gifts men would like better?  I don't know.  It's a mystery forever unsolved.  This gift guide has a little spice of my own personality in it, as you can see.  With that being said, tweak it for different styles of each thing, but with the same concept.  

Check out the links:

GIFT GUIDE FOR MEN | #HITTIHOLIDAY

I cannot believe that it's this time of year again.  I've never really done a gift guide like this before and I am so thrilled that I decided to do one this year.  After all, who doesn't mind a few extra tips?  The men in my life can be pretty simply to buy for and I know thats the case for most people who really KNOW the men they're buying for.  At the same time, it can be a challenge if they have everything.  That's why I went ahead with the gift guide.

Check out the links:

HARRY'S STYLE

Today I really just want a chance to talk about Harry Styles *heart-eye emoji.*  I mean can we get honest for a second about how gorgeous he looks.  I know he got mocked for it looking seemingly like an IKEA bedspread, but that's a bedspread I'd want to be on, tbh.  The suit was Gucci and I think he made all the right decision.  What do you think about the look?  I'm just going to tell you, it's my new phone background.

SWEET SUNDAY SOMERSET SUNSETS

As another week gets started and Thanksgiving greets us, I am so thrilled for another bout of amazing weather. This sunset that I captured recently reminded me of just that.  How are you planning to spend Thanksgiving?  Tweet me your plans!

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY | #WRAPPED

My friends nephew is turning one and I am so thrilled to be attending the party.  As it is turning into the Christmas season, I figured I would share with you how I wrapped his gift.  It also got me inspired to share with you other ways I wrap gifts throughout the season.  Check out the materials I used and how I did it all.

3 SUPER EASY HACKS FOR SAVING SPACE

I know we've all been there, done that.  Lived in the smallest space ever.  Yeah, that's where I am right now.  Let me tell you something though, I am making the best out of it and doing a great job.  Here are a couple of things I do to make sure I'm getting the most out of my small space, and trust me: I have a lot of shoes.  Let's get started.

4 INGREDIENT, SIMPLE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES | #HITTIHOLIDAY

Oooooooh yes.  Christmas is coming.  I could not be more excited.  I am no different, I always get excited about the holiday but for a plethora of different reasons.  One of those reasons?  Baking.  Today we're talking about a very simple recipe, one that only takes four different ingredients.  Check out these little morsels of deliciousness, these Peanut Butter Cookies.

SIMPLE STUFFED PORK CHOP RECIPE

This is the most simple but delicious fall dinner idea I have ever come up with.  It takes two second to get everything done and everyone in my family really enjoyed the meal.  Pork chops with green beans and homemade mashed potatoes.  Check it out.

3 THINGS THE WORLD NEEDS MORE OF

There are three things that I definitely think the world needs more of and I think they are very reasonable to say.  They are very simple and I want to share them with you. 

UNWINE-D

Sometimes all you need is a little wine and laptop time.  How do you unwind after a long day?  Tweet me your solutions!

DELICIOUS AND SIMPLE CHOCOLATE CHEWS | #HITTIHOLIDAY

Ooooooh, it's November and the closer we get to Thanksgiving, the happier we all get.  These chocolate chews are something that were always made this time of year when I was younger.  I always think about them when November/December rolls around and cant resist making them for the family.  Not only are they the simplest recipe ever, but they're delicious and something different than your everyday Thanksgiving dessert/Christmas cookie.  Check out the ingredients/how they're made:

ALL HAIL QUEEN KALE | KALE CHIPS

Kale chips are everything.  Let's just be honest.  I never thought I would be a fan, but I definitely am and they are so simple to make.  You get almost the same crunch as you do with regular potato chips and it's much healthier.  I've even purchased them already made before and still think that the ones I make are better.  Here's what I do.

FRIDAY IN FLATIRON

It was windy in the city today as you can see.  I stopped in to Exki for a water on my walk to the train and snapped some pics along the way.

SAUSAGE, SPINACH, SALSA

Being that it is still fairly warm here, I am not quite into the whole heavy stew/soup life just yet.  I must admit, I have made some, but not to the highest power that I normally do by this time of year.

This simple little dish is something I pulled together recently that I was surprised tastes so good.  It's very simple and it's light, yet a fall dish.  All I did was sauté some sausage and spinach and put both on top of a bed of bow tie pasta.  I added a simple cherry tomato/avocado salsa on top for a little extra, but you don't have to do that.  If you substitute it for something else, tweet me!  

WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD: CHALKBOARD WINE BOTTLE DIY

I recently got inspired by my new neighbors that moved in the across the street.  It got me thinking that when I moved into this neighborhood a couple of years ago, I got a warm welcome.  How could I return that? I decided to make this adorable DIY with a wine bottle.  You are more than welcome to include flowers and make it a vase, or anything else.  I decided to leave it plain with chalkboard paint so that the neighbors could decide to do with it what they please.

Here's the steps in photos:

'THANKSLIVING' | GIVE THANKS #HITTIHOLIDAY

Giving some major thanks to health today.  Especially because I am so sick, more than I have been in a long time.  I got this gorgeous Thanksgiving inspired garland at Target and fell in love right away.  See if you can find it at your Target.

For now, I'm using some oils and drinking tons of tea to see if I can shake this cold.  How do you get through the rough patches of sickness?  Tweet me!

FALL BEVERAGES

It's #RedCup season at Starbucks and you know what that means.  Everyone is losing their ever-loving mind over the holiday, and everyone is also losing their mind over whether people are celebrating too early or not.  Personally, I don't care.  

What gets me more exciting in the fall are the beverages.  I am a huge red wine person, so naturally fall is my favorite wine season.  While this is true, I also enjoy other drinks and if you follow me on Instagram, you'd see that.  Check out some of my recent favorites in the photos below.

HAPPY 55TH BIRTHDAY DAD

Today is my father's 55th birthday.  I cannot possibly explain in this blog post how much he means to me.  The amount of shit that we have been through as a family (him, my brother + I) is absolutely unbelievable.  Of all his 55 years on this earth, I hope that they just continue to get better and better because he deserves nothing but everything and more.  

I don't know if that even makes sense, but my family is everything to me.  I think you get the point!  Cheers to you, Dad! Check out how we celebrated.

WINE AND HONEY BUTTA

Celebrated my dads 55th birthday today!  Tomorrow is the actual birthday, but we celebrated with family today.  Can you guess where we went to eat from the tablecloth? I took some pictures and I look forward to sharing them with you tomorrow.

How was your Saturday?  Tweet me what you were up to!

NOVEMBER ON FLEEK

I've never really been one to use the 'on fleek' phrase, but if there were ever a moment to use it, I feel like this month so far, would be the time to use it.  The weather we've had so far in November feels unprecedented to me.  Seventy degrees everyday makes me so happy.  Everyone has been talking about how annoyed they are because it's not fall temperatures lately and they want it to be cold.  I say EFF THAT.  I want it to be this degree + every single day.  

How has the weather been where you are?  Tweet me and let me know!

'THANKSLIVING' | #HITTIHOLIDAY

It's that time of year again, time to start thinking about Thanksgiving!  I cannot believe how fast this year has gone and once again we find ourselves at the holiday season.  I wanted to show you all a couple of ways to celebrate thankfulness, so I came up with four different activities.  One for each week this month!  Here's how to get started.

MINI FRITTATA IN A CUPCAKE PAN | HEALTHY EATS

Probably every single time I open Pinterest I see a recipe for these.  I always find them and I always want to make them so FINALLY I set out to do just that.  Not only are they absolutely adorable and the perfect serving size, but they're delicious and healthy!  Check out these mini frittatas made in cupcake pans.

SKIN WINS | BEAUTY

It is no secret that I have the most sensitive skin in the entire world.  I have talked about it a plethora of times here on the blog and I wont stop talking about it because it is probably the most annoying problem to have during all seasons of the year.  I basically just feel like I cant keep up.  When it's warm out my skin is excessively oily, when it's cold out it's so dry and cracking.  

I know what you're thinking: that's everyone's problem.  Let me tell you though, I have severe eczema and sensitive skin in general and have had it all my life.  Here are a couple of products I have been using lately that have made it a little easier.

NOTES OF NEIGHBORHOOD 4

Have you ever had a day where the sunset has been just beyond beautiful?  Today was one of those days.  I always take as many photos as I can when this happens because truly not much makes me happier than seeing a gorgeous sunset. Normally they are the best during the summer and through to September, so to have an amazing one in November is just so satisfying.  Check out the other photos!

SHOES ON A SHELF IN BASKETS | DIY

I've been meaning to conquer the gigantic mess that is my closet for the longest time.  I was trying to get inspired to create something I knew I would love, but I just couldn't come up with anything.  To be honest, baskets weren't really on my radar and who knows, I could end up changing it but let me tell you, I really love the way this came out.  Best part?  I got the baskets on mega sale at Marshalls!  Check out how I did it.

THE HALLOQUEEN 2015 | #HALLOWEEN

It's Halloween and you know what that means.  When the clock strikes 12:00 midnight and turn to November 1, the Christmas decorations are going to be up and the carols are going to be playing.  I'm just being honest.  Although it's true, before all that I just wanted to share a couple of photos from last nights Halloween party that my friend Sara threw! 

SUGAR, YES PLEASE | #HALLOWEEN

Getting ready for the party tonight!  Stick with me until tomorrow.  For now check out my costume.

5 THINGS THAT INSTANTLY MAKE ME HAPPY

We all have bad days and we all have good ones.  Whether I'm the happiest I've ever been or I'm really feeling completely horrible, there are a couple of things that never fail to completely cheer me up.  I figured that today, I would share them with you.  Let's get started.

CURRENT CUISINE | HEALTHY DOESN'T HAVE TO BE BORING

Like I said in the title, healthy does not have to be boring!  I have been loving the colors of the food I've been eating lately and the dishes that I've been pulling together.  

HALLOWEEN DREAMS

I wanted to post the first teaser for my Halloween costume for 2015!  I am so excited to actually be dressing up for a costume party, I normally don't dress up at all.  I know this is basically no clue as to what I'll be, but I just want to tease the outfit a little bit.  Any guesses?  Tweet me them!

AMERICAN PHAROAH & THE HASKELL 2015

This is all treat, no trick let me tell you that!  On October 31, American Pharoah is looking to make history once again and I couldn't be more excited.  Although I can't be at the Breeders' Cup, I will still be cheering on Victor Espinoza and American Pharoah as they try to become the all-time earnings leader in Breeders' Cup history.  

In honor of this weeks happenings, I figured I would share some photos from when I went to the Haskell Invitational this summer.  Check out some of these photos when we got a chance to lay our eyes on the Triple Crown champ this summer at Monmouth Park.

5 YEARS OF MARRIAGE | #HILIFE

Life is extremely complicated.  You'll find that for me, it has been no different.  I think it is so important, especially with the things going on in today's world, to stop and think about all that we've conquered.  Whether they're big or small, bad or good.  No life event is less significant than another if it has changed your life or impacted it in some way.  For this reason, I've decided to launch this segment called 'HI Life' on the blog.  

Why HI Life?  Essentially, we're saying hello to life.  The good and the bad, the happy and the sad.  To make it even better?  It's a segment written by the members of the Heard It Community and I, that's what makes me so proud of it.  Sadly, it's not the Hawaiian Life, but it's certainly the high life.  So welcome to the HI Life, where every week, I will feature someones story.  Uninterrupted, the way they want to tell it.

This week, we have Cara Zamorski of Fashion Swain.  We're celebrating the upside of life today with her five year wedding anniversary!

SATURYAY!

Oh did I have the ideal Saturday!  I was so happy to finally spend time with my friend Sara who I hardly ever get a chance to hangout with anymore!  We did a ton of Halloween shopping for her party and picked up a few other things.  Not to mention that amazing meal pictured above from The Committed Pig, one of the local favorites (we call it 'The Pig'). More>