A Little Goodsie For You

Spring cleaning has officially started in our home and with our master bathroom repair, a total overhaul and sorting of my closet is underway. I have decided to resell some of my slightly used costume jewelry and accessories and I'm planning to add more gently used clothes and shoes in the near future. 

They are all priced to sell, so if you have any questions - just contact me via my Goodsie store! 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Midweek Musings

Well, let me just start this post by sharing some unforeseen events in our little home. right before the new year, my husband discovered a leak in his closet from our masterbath shower and needless to say, we are in the midst of having this fixed right now.

It's not what i wished our 2013 to kick off with but i know there are other people with far more problems than us, so i can't help but still feel blessed that we have found out about this issue at an early stage. It's just such a hassle and as you can see (pic below) there is no way we are hanging around ~ we have relocated upstairs in the meantime. 

In other lighter news, our friends and blog sponsors, skincare rx sent me a few goodies last week. these are definite 2 must-haves : oscar blandi dry shampoo spray and nars super orgasm blush (highly pigmented and lots of glitter than the regular orgasm blush). These are my new daily products i use before i head out the door!

In yet another recent trip to target, I discovered this really adorable mug and more colorful paper straws (like i really need them....). Oh well, they're cute!

and more target finds, these pretty in pink craft items went home with me in the hopes of starting valentine's day crafting.....

and more paper goodness at the target dollar bins. They are rolls of wrapping paper in these beautiful trellis and tiny hearts pattern! 

People, Valentine's day is just a few weeks away! 

and remember those notebooks i blogged about last week? See how pretty they are together? Not to mention the tempting sprinkles cupcake? Can't resist! 

and finally, it's my birthday month - so I stopped by sephora and picked up a tube of dr.jart bb cream and my birthday gift, a duo set of mini benefit products! 

and that benefit fine one one (another new favorite - a lip and cheek tint) is from birchbox that also came in the mail that same day! What way to kick-off my birthday month! 

So like i said earlier, I still feel lucky despite us having to deal with a major setback due to unexpected house repair. I still can't stop counting my blessings everyday. Our family is healthy, I've got them and my friends and these little treats are just added bonus we get to enjoy! 

Here's hoping your wednesday is off to a good start!

Closet purging and huge sale

Disclaimer : this is NOT my closet. LOL. 

With the advent of the new year, I am planning to scale down and purge my closet (and even the little boy's closet) and get rid of the ones we no longer use. I will be busy this weekend going through everything and see which ones go to goodwill and which ones I can pass along. 

I am planning to do a flash sale of these clothes via twitter sometime soon and maybe even post some here. So if you dont follow me via twitter, you can follow me if you like @swankychicfete. I just find it easier to snap pictures using my iphone and instantly post it via twitter. 

Obviously i would hate to flood your timeline, so I'd do it sporadically. If you see anything you like, tweet me your email and I'll send you a paypal invoice. Prices will be crazy low, so I hope you see something you like! 

Source: brightboldbeautiful.blogspot.com via Andrea on Pinterest

ok, let me go now and sort what we have!

Latest Food Haunts

Restaurant week started the other day and it's a great time to check out dining places you have not visited before in the Houston area. The yearly event is for a good cause and judging from past years success, this one will be too if not better. To see if your favorite restaurant is participating, check out the list here. 

I have a few places that I frequent lately and I couldn't be more pleased with their food and service. Love to hang out here : 

• Sweet Paris - my favorite is their Dulce de leche crepe
• Tiny's (both the Saint and Rice locations) - the best choc chip cookie ever in town! 
• Guru Burgers and Crepes - with an only Sugar Land location, I'm so happy we're so close to this gem! Faves : Ukulele Burger (with egg and pineapple) and Guru Truffle fries. Oh the crepes are fantastic too! 

We also dined last Saturday at Triniti and that was a fabulous place with really high energy crowd and amazingly delicious food. They are pariticipating in HRW too! 

Frametastic Friday

It's friday the13th!

13 has been a lucky number to me and I'm starting my friday sharing the fun past week of my so-called life! 

Have you discovered the frametastic app yet? It allows you to make photo collages straight from your phone. This time I'm gathering a few instagram (@swankychicfete) photos capturing my week.

Last week, I finally came out of my hair rut and decided to get my roots done and added some highlights at albert luiz salon and spa and I think I've finally found my girl, Yvette. She was fantastic! Couldn't be more happier. 

We also took Aston for his 5 year old check-up and didn't share this before but we had a little rash incident about a month ago after he ate a mixed nut pack bought at the airport. He's been eating PBJ since like forever with no reactions, so we thought he might be allergic to a particular nut. And sure enough, we got him tested and he's allergic to half of the variety of nuts out there. Pecans were spared, thank god. Yep, that's him showing off the book his pediatrician gave him on his visit.

My may books planner/agenda came in this week and i am excited to jot down my important notes/reminders/schedule on my fabulous notebook designed and created by me. It came in it's cute packaging and a generous discount code for my next order! LOVE it! 

It's been raining all week and lazy days and nights are here. One evening, I bust out the yummy kim chi ramen noodles I've been saving for those kinds of nights and voila - instant dinner. I paired it with my latest fave san pellegrino arianciata rossa and i am in perfect dinner heaven!

I have been bombarded by emails, comments and texts on where I got the colorful patterned paper straws I posted in facebook and instagram last week - and yes, it's from target! I looked them up online but looks like it's only available in stores. You can find them by the party supplies next to stationery. Last time i checked, they were out of them. it's by spritz and priced at $ 1.99/20 pcs. Do check your local store from time to time, i'm sure they'll stock up on them again!

I'm not a gym junkie but i sure love going to my barre classes at define. I try to go at least 2-3 times a week and if I just improve on my diet, I'd be losing weight and toning more than where i am now. Ha! Define recently opened their west u studio and it's amazing! If you're in the houston area, do check them out - Hank and the ladies there are awesome!

I've been afraid of polka dots (particularly the big dots) ever since this fashion trend started. I thought they're unflattering on me but I found an adorable inexpensive sheer dotted blouse at marshalls and thought I'd give it a try. Can't wait to wear it with my bright jeans or shorts!

Lastly, our GIVEAWAY is still open today till tomorrow midnight - stop by and join to win one bracelet of your choice! good luck and have a fantastic weekend, friends!

Weekend Reads

There are a few books I've been wanting to read for a few weeks now. But unless I set foot in Barnes and Noble and get my copies (yes, i still want to flip pages), I'd have to settle by reading through mailed magazines and catalogs. Recently, I spotted this chick lit Paris my Sweet at Target and decided i want something lighthearted to read. I have yet to read it. The new special issue Domino magazine consumed all my time last night. So nice to have it back even for just a few issues (another special issue is set for this fall). So this was how my past weekend nights looked like.....

What are you reading now? What's in your nighstand? 

Loving the Barre

I started the year getting my act together and signed up with friends to a pure barre class which I've religiously attended 3 times a week for a little over a month now. It's such a fun exhilirating workout (sorry but I can't say the same thing about my first ever pure barre session) and I feel good after. I love coming in and sweating it out with motivation from friends and the instructors and I just hope I get to keep it up. My aim is to get fit and being healthy and ultimately lose weight, of course. In the meantime, I am working on giving up my soda, cupcakes and tapioca drinks - good luck to me!

Check out the pure barre classes at Define Body And Mind Houston
(I am quietly wishing and praying for a Sugar Land location, Hank !)

Planning My Life

After much anticipation, my package from Erin Condren arrived earlier this week. The life planner is what I've expected and more. 

I've recently just used my iphone for appointment scheduling and keeping track of Aston's school schedule. Using the phone was ok but the life planner not only let's you jot down appointments ~ it let's you document notes, scribble thoughts, mark special dates, keep receipts/calling cards etc on really pretty colorful pages with coordinating stickers and hard-to-miss color coded monthly tabs! 

Thank you for the extra goodies too!
Now here's mine and I can't resist taking a shot with a matching colorful pen found at the dollar bins from Michael's! 

Love this video from their site. You can order your's here.

Enjoy the weekend friends!

Peace out

It's not the best shot BUT it was the best midday treat i had in awhile.

Don't you hate it when your little boy's school is just a few blocks from Sprinkles? I had to stop by before I scoop him up. And yes, it's convenient to blame it on him.

Forgive me but I had to scratch off a few reminders in my list.

Blogger Meet-up

{Photo by meredith of the sweet T family}

 

After Christmas, a group of us local bloggers met up for dinner at Gigi's in the Galleria and seriously had a great time. To check out all the ladies and their blogs, hop on to Meredith's blog (our lovely meet-up hostess) to check out all the links!

Till next time ladies! 

Shutterbug

My most wonderful husband gave me a new camera for Christmas and the past few days I have been playing with it and taking pictures of random things inside the house. Thankfully with the pretty holiday decor still up, they make for interesting non-complaining subjects (unlike our 3 year old). I know I have to learn more (despite re-reading the manual) and I'm so excited to explore what this fancy camera is capable of doing. In the meantime, here are some less than stellar (but better than my old point and shoot) shots I was able to take the last few days......

not bad, eh?

My Christmas Loot

I hope you all had a great time with your loved ones and friends this past holiday break. Our's was full of fun, food, laughter and yes, tons of gifts!

I am so lucky to have generous groovy family and friends and all my christmas presents rocks! Guys, you know who you are and i thank you so much. We sure had a fabulous time sharing good tidings and joy and I am now excited for the new year to come and what it holds for us! 

Holiday Gift Guide

Let's change gear a little bit here and skip a family post to make way for a holiday gift guide. If you are following my other blog, this may not be new to you but I'll share it here anyway. Who knows you may have missed a friend or two and may need last-minute gifts for them. Checking out this gift guide may ease the stress in picking out the perfect gift for a loved one! 

here are the shopping links :

Gifts for Babies

Gifts for Tweens

Gifts for Him

Gifts for Her