in(sta) - spiration

scrolling through my instagram feed makes me happy everytime. i see a ton of inspiration, images that lift my spirits up and seeing bright colors and creative shots bring a huge smile on my face each time. i'm here to share a few of my favorite IG-mmers. 

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// bright colorful feeds //
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BRIGHT BAZAAR

CLASSICALLYQUIRKY

PENCILSHAVINGS

LEMONSTRIPES

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// travel, food, lifestyle feeds  //

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SARA MUELLER

ANDDICTED

THATSOTEE

JAYADORES

i always look forward to seeing images from these IG-mers and my whole feed in general. tell me, who are your favorite IG feeds? do share so i can add them to my subscription! 

have a great week ahead friends! 

weekend report

i hope everyone had a great weekend! 

it was a packed weekend for us - we went to two birthday celebrations, a movie marathon and treating the dads for father's day!  it certainly was a fantastic weekend. weather has been a little better - less rain but lots of clouds. yesterday was officially the first day of summer and yes, the heat does indicate it so. 

i've got our weekend photo album report below. tons of color, lots of balloons and bright sunshine! how was your weekend? 

happy monday friends! 

summer lately

we officially kicked off summer last thursday and we flew to destin, florida the minute school was over. we stayed for the weekend. we get to enjoy the beautiful beach and it's fine white sand. the weather was perfect. there were no dark clouds, only pure warm heat and salty winds.  

for more images, visit here. IG = @ swankychicfete

hope you're having a great summer so far! 

weekend snapshots

it was indeed a beautiful weekend. we took a quick trip to chicago and we were thrilled to see the color of changing leaves and enjoyed the crisp cold weather. the short trip has enabled us to complete a few errands and met with my sister for a brief getaway in the city. 

we are looking forward to this week. halloween is this friday and we can't wait! trick or treating is always fun and aston  loves it!

how was your weekend? 

staycation

we have one last week of summer before school starts and i will surely miss lazy days hanging out with my buddy. but i do know he misses school and have fun new adventures with his classmates.

so with the last few days of summer, we took advantage of it and checked-in at the modern hotel sorella for a little staycation treat this past weekend. the convenient location was perfect to stroll and window shop around as well as pick over a great restaurant list to dine in. i just wished the weather was cooler. 

some of the images from our weekend via my instagram (@swankychicfete)

TGIF

i am stopping by quickly to say that boy am i glad friday and the weekend is here again. it has been a crazy busy week. it's hard to prioritize commitments and work where it seems everything needs to be done and completed all at the same time! 

but when friday is here ~ i get to slow down, take a deep breath and take it all in. soaking up all the weekend and the perfect weather it promises because i know, come monday - it will be crazy busy again! 

above are some images from the week and last halloween (superhero trio photo by ailynne). some minor obsessions and outfits of the day. to get details - hop on to my instagram (@swankychicfete). 

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND everybody! 

insta-life

{follow me on instagram @swankychicfete}

happy monday! 

i hope you all had a wonderful weekend. our's was really nice - we kicked off the weekend by going to a charity event friday night, a birthday party on saturday and a laid back rainy sunday that started off with brunch, window shopping and ended with costco grocery shopping. my kind of weekend with the family.  

can you all believe october is almost over? i am excited for the holidays but seriously in denial of how much the time is flying by fast. i plan to be very strategic with my holiday shopping this year. no more procrastinating, no last minute rush shopping. i plan to achieve that by creating lists along with timelines which i will try to follow. 

there are certainly huge sales going on right now and this is the best time to get started on that holiday gift list. we've got some travel plans in the radar, so i also need to consider that and hopefully it wont get in the way. 

so how was your october? halloween will be in a few days and i think we'll just go around our cul de sac since its a school night. aston finally decided to be spiderman (again!) this year and he's excited to shoot some webs! 

 

latest snapshots

how was your weekend, friends? for us, it came and went so fast that i already feel exhausted thinking it's already monday. we did have a fun saturday. celebrating two birthdays and gathering with friends and enjoying a wonderful feast!

yesterday after church and sunday brunch, we tackled the long list of school supplies for aston  and took advantage of the tax-free weekend shopping. he is going to a new school this year so we are all excited for him and he can't wait to meet new friends and teachers! 

wow, summer is almost over and this month is just flying by so fast. we did watch some pre-season football games on tv but it feels weird when the weather outside is still almost in the 100s. it does not feel right, you know what i mean? oh well. fall will be here before we know it. 

so, let's get on with monday and enjoy the rest of the week! 

and here's our giveaway winner : 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

weekend photo album

i hope everyone had a fantastic long holiday weekend. 

as much as we want it to last, reality bites and i'm back to work today. 

so as you can see, our long weekend was jampacked. we took a short drive to grapevine, texas and drove around dallas as well. the little guy enjoyed visiting the local legoland discovery center and we truly loved the gaylord texan resort. 

we also visited family and relatives in town and spent quite a bit of time reuniting with them. we had a lovely time and it was refreshing to unplug and stay away from the computer for awhile but i still can't resist instagram and shared a few snapshots of the weekend tho! 

i hope everyone's recharged and getting ready back for a full week ahead! 

weekend snapshots

we had a wonderful time celebrating the special men in our lives this weekend. we took my father out saturday for lunch and shopping (nordstrom still have their half-yearly sale!). they had some really great sale at the men's department. ben scored a pair of really inexpensive driving shoes and a couple of shirts at amazing discounted prices. for their gifts, i was lucky to chance upon free engraving at macy's with purchase of any calvin klein scents, so i thought that was really neat. on top of that, the gifts with purchase is always a great plus (in this case, koozies and a canvas duffel bag)! 

earlier in the week was also my father's birthday so we had a nice dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. we are so grateful for his good health and strength. yesterday we also celebrated my niece (and goddaughter) jillian's  high school graduation party. she was our flower girl thirteen years ago and surely it was surreal that she's heading off to college this fall! 

summer camp and activities is wearing out this momma and this boy. the heat is too much to handle and i have the honor of driving him around. i'm already tired just thinking about it. BUT, i wouldn't want it any other way :) 

it's monday again and i hope you all had an amazing father's day weekend celebration! 

early summer updates

we have been enjoying the early days of summer. aston's last day of school was before memorial weekend and since then we've had a short vacay to san diego and we are off again later today for a brief visit to chicago. 

in between the weekends, it's business and work for me as usual. aston will start a language/speech booster summer camp next week for the month of june. he will also work with a summer tutor twice a week to prepare for 1st grade come fall and a few fun projects with me in between. we've got more trips planned but nothing final yet. in the meantime, despite the hot humid weather ~ we are enjoying every bit of summer. here are a few snippets from life lately.......

what are your plans for summer? do share!

hello weekend

hello friday and the weekend! oh, and hello march too! 

february came and left too soon. i feel like the beginning of the year passed by in a blur. we are already making summer camp preparations while spring break is not even here yet. 

life is getting busier (in a good way!) and i feel that the minutes and hours in a day are not enough. that's why i love instagram so much. even for only a few moments, i halt and take lovely random shots of my day, my life. stolen shots of daily images captured so you can hang on to those moments and treasure it. here are a few scenes around here lately.....

and let's kick off march with some favorite links this week : 

• how gorgeous is this cutout linen dress ~ so delicate and gorgeous! 
• so in love with this entire look - perfect for strolling around the city with just enough punch of color! and that crossbody chanel is darling! 
• so smitten with these baby myrtle trees on teacups. lovely as tablecenterpieces bunched up together and at the end of the soiree, guests can take them home as favors!
• how fun is this "stripes" party? i feel like i can add endless stripe partygoods accessories on here just to add to the fun.....!
• this is the ultimate gift for the pregnant mom. filled with the most essential goodies for the new mom as she delivers in the hospital, this can be the only thing they bring with them (as well as the carseat, of course)!
• planning a spring picnic any time soon? check out these adorable gingham line of party favor goody bags and water bottle labels from my blog sponsor bushel & peck paper
• customize your matches with your monogram and a preferred design? of course, why not ~ anything and everything is prettier with a monogram! 

what are your plans for the weekend? hope you all have fun!

best of instagram 2012

i joined instagram late of 2011 and it has been a big part of my social media participation in 2012. thought i'd share some of my favorite images of 2012. 

i hope to continue to capture spontaneous beautiful shots as my days go by whether it's of my family, pretty things, lovely friends and yummy bites ~ instagram has made them extra special! 

if you wish to follow me in instagram, i'm @swankychicfete

i hope you are enjoying the first day of 2013! 

insta-lately

is everybody ready for thanksgiving? we are getting busier over here as the holidays start rolling in. here's what we're up to :

~ i always enjoy holiday decorating and we started putting them up last weekend. aston was such an enthusiastic helper and had fun hanging up his ornaments and trimming his own personal little tree we put out every year. more pics on that later.

~ i also kicked off holiday shopping and in the process found some treats for me too that don't need to be wrapped! LOL. these backup iphone chargers are so adorable, i picked up one for me and the hubs. i also spotted some polkadotted boxer shorts i am dying to have!

~ a few weeks ago i shared our backyard project and it's almost complete. the putting green replaced our empty lawn and we've been out playing ever since the weather has been gorgeous! 

~ date nights have been pretty rare around here. so it's always a treat to go out, dress up and we did that last saturday to celebrate a dear friend's birthday!

more christmas decorating, cooking, baking and celebrating will be coming our way this thanksgiving day and long weekend. i am looking forward to spending time with family and friends and i hope you enjoy your celebration too!

lastly, don't forget to join us tonight for a Holiday Entertaining Pinterest party. starts at 9pm EST -  follow along the board here! oh, and you will have a chance to win a $100 credit from Minted!

insta-week

the days and weeks are flying by so fast and soon thanksgiving and christmas is here. before all the holiday frenzy, here's a quick peek at my past week with some halloween preps and lovely goodies to share with you!  

• we are halloween ready at home ~ what's more welcoming than a pumpkin atop an urn! 
• my friend nina is busy packing inventory for her gifts and accessories online store that is set to open soon ~ this beauty (which is sold out here) i am trying hard to resist (contact her at PBCcloset [at] gmail [dot] com for availability & pricing)
• our blog sponsor bushel peck and paper sent me this cute favor bags perfect for halloween. they will be filled with sweet treats for our little friends 
• i literally tore open this package i won from pretty smitten's giveaway ~ thanks elizabeth for the gorgy lucite tray!

i'm also sharing some shots we managed to get before attending a wedding last weekend. we cleaned up good, dressed up nice and snapped a few photos for good measure! have a great saturday, friends!

weekend style : polka dots and chambray

my latest uniform ~ polkadots in any form and chambray shirt.
laid back and casual is my new key to comfort. and if i know its works for me, i'd definitely be doing it over and over again. 

via my instagram (@swankychicfete, if you'd like to follow along)

chambray shirt // skimmers (similar here and here) // bangles (similar here and here)
skirt (similar here) // frame bag

insta-lately

hello all!
 thought i'd share a few favorites lately. last week, it was all about polkadots and bold cocktail rings. my latest favorite that i wear almost everyday is this huge tortoiseshell ring from mackenzie's design darling shop (where i also got those adorable matches) and a blue gem from francesca's, i picked up while window shopping last week. these fun accessories truly add a little pizzazz to my daily uniform of tunics and skinny jeans!

i also happen to find great polkadot deals from target (shirt and pants, which i can't find online) and even a pretty cool polkadot wrapping paper from the dollar bins. and in other exciting news, this month's birchbox (get your subscription here) arrived last saturday and i am doing the happy dance that they included a discount card from madewell! 

i hope you're monday is a great mix of work and a little bit of play!