I Know 2012 is Over

I was going to get started on my birthday recap but then, while going through pictures, I realized I never even wrote about the days [and New Year] leading up to my birthday. Here it is in pictures:

For Christmas, I asked for Lola by Marc Jacobs as it has been at the top of my "I want this perfume" list for a couple years. I must say, it sure looks nice alongside the rest of my collection!

When I ventured back to the East Coast for Christmas, I left Stella at my house and had my neighbors take care of her. I hated being without her and knowing she was alone for so long. I'll most likely be taking her with me next time. However, the joy in her eyes as she heard my voice the night I got home was unlike anything I've ever seen :)

Stella also has a handsome admirer, Charlie... He's in love. She's skeptical.

Upon returning back to San Diego, I really started to settle in and get acquainted with my new home. Naturally, sushi and chocolate were both involved. If you haven't tried Extraordinary Desserts, it's a must. I mean, look at the flower petals. San Diegans are such romantics...

Also, I clearly cannot get enough of the SD skyline.

I experienced my first San Diego Farmers' Market AND Swap Meet in the same day. While at the Farmers' Market, we got some delicious paninis and fresh juice. I went with the watermelon cucumber. Yum!

 I remember visiting my brother here years ago and we passed the huge swap meet on Sports Arena Blvd. It was the first time I heard the term "swap meet." Now, here I was actually going to it years later.

While at the swap meet, I was surprised to find Dave Hester standing next to me. Some of you may know Dave from the show Storage Wars ["Yuuup!"] He has a little spot set up where you can buy many of the miscellaneous finds he brings from storage units. Pretty cool stuff!

The NYE Party I went to was a NEON party. I waited until Saturday, December 29th to decide that I was going and had to throw together a NEON outfit in the middle of Winter. Lucky for me, I love bright colors. I found the below jewels at H&M. My date wore an awesome Kelly Kapowski shirt with neon pink. We looked fabulous and had a wonderful time :)

Seeing the San Diego skyline as the year went from one into the next was magical. I even hashtagged a shirt #NYE :) Cutting pink tape is not an easy task, my friends.

Woof. That post was all over the place and so were the pictures. I have taken SO many pictures thus far in California and, I must say, the pictures that are coming up in my birthday recap, are some of the best ;)

See ya later, 2012...

Throw Some Glitter

…make it rain. I don’t know about you all, but I was practically Ke$ha this weekend, rolling around in glitter. How, you ask? Trying on outfits for New Year’s Eve, that’s how!

Of course I didn’t mind. In fact, I LOVED it!

Sequins and sparkles are so in this holiday season and I just knew, whatever I’d be wearing for NYE, it’d have to be full of glitter! So, naturally, after hopping from store to store, trying on dresses and skirts, I started to look like this…

{via}

and this…

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then this…

{via}

At the end of the day, as I mentioned, I just looked like Ke$ha:

{via/via}

P.S. did you know how much I love Ke$ha?
My future wedding invitations will look a little something like thiiiiis:

{via}

Now, back to NYE outfit shopping. I’m pretty sure that by the end of my shopping sesh, people thought I had either a) just finished crafting or b) just finished trying on NYE dresses. I guess it was in my favor that sparkles are in this season! Well, knowing little miss indecisive me, I tried on about 15 different dresses/outfits, took pictures in each, and then left the mall.
You didn’t think I could just decide that quickly, did you?

So, I thought about it. Pondered. Referred back to my pictures. Slept on it. Consulted with Whit. Then, I went back to the mall.
It was time to buy.
I get back to the store two days later thinking, oh sure, they’ll still have my size.

I march on over to the outfit. Gone.
”Uhhhhhhhhhhhh… Santa?”
Naturally, I start digging like every girl would. Bam! Buried beneath all the holiday mess, I find one more, sitting there ever-so-patiently waiting for me.

So, it didn’t have a tag on it. Or a size. As I approached the fitting rooms, I started to get nervous. This could pretty much make or break my entire New Year’s Eve.
It must be my lucky week because {not only have I won an amazing giveaway or two} but it fit me perfectly.

I can now be even more excited about my NYE plans! :)
And that, my friends, is how it’s done.

Are you doing the whole glitter, sequin, sparkle thing this year?