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! 

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? 

colors of spring

i can't deny we are enjoying such beautiful weather lately. and when you look around, gorgeous spring colors abound!

all iphone images by SCF  

to see more of my daily snapshots, you can follow me in 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!

photoshop to-go

i have a fun app to share with you today. my friend nina told us about this makeup app for your iphone that you can use to instantly photoshop faces. it's called perfect365 (its a free app). 

using the app, you can perfect your skin by smoothening, brightening or removing blemish from it. you can even alter image by slimming the face, lifting the cheeks or enhancing the nose (it's like plastic surgery on your phone ~ hahaha!). 

you can also play with different makeup looks, add lashes, enlarge eyes  or change eye color. it is super fun and really, i think it's genius. hurry and get the app and play along with me!

here are a couple of shots from mother's day brunch. i played along and enhanced my features by darkening my makeup, whitened my teeth and trimmed my face - i tell you it's better than a makeover or plastic surgery! 

i'm wearing joie blouse and jewelry from pbc closet. 

aston is wearing a shirt from zara kids. 

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!

insta-week

wow. hours and minutes go fast but the days seem to last longer although the week is almost over. we are looking forward to another weekend and hopefully, getting most things done on my to-do list including a back-to-school tax free weekend shopping that kicks off today! 

before i head on out the door, let me just dump a few iphone photos here from the past week including some shots from the past weekend! 

are you fantasizing fall? i do. i busted out my fall nailpolish colors to get some inspiration! 

oh and pink was the color past weekend! 

our little guy enjoying a ride later in the evening. it's still too hot outside and it's totally brutal. 

we also enjoyed a fantastic sunday brunch at our favorite mexican restaurant, escalante's and we shared a huge plate of french toast cooked the mexican way. i can't say no to caramelized apples! 

after brunch we walked across the street and visited the beautiful showroom of restoration hardware. 

let's just say, i want everything. nuff said. 

i finally joined the bubble necklace cult and they are really cute. they do elevate the look of a simple tshirt. so far i have that green one, a blue bubble pendant and also got a cobalt blue bubble bib necklace and a yellow one that dear friend, nina picked up for me. 

and oh, red velvet sandwich cookies are fixing my sweet cravings lately!  

i am also obsessed with BB creams lately. luckily i found the last one at CVS the other day. it does wonders to my skin so far and you can tell even when you wipe them off after a long day! 

i'm still heavy on metallic nails and this new purple one from essie is divine. it does come out looking like silver but with hints of violet in it. 

just sharing a new hair routine here : moroccan argan oil spray on damp hair adds a bit of shine and relaxes frizz hair. i have naturally wavy hair, so i don't think i need a body wave perm since i wake up with slightly curly hair anyway. so with a spray of oscar blandi dry shampoo and the moroccan argan oil, i'm set! 

lastly, i'm in love with my golden birkin art print by randa of iseenoise prints. it's going to go in my dresser or closet. still undecided. 

OK, i think that's it for the week....you all have a fabulous weekend! 

iphone case dilemma

my kind and generous husband ordered our new iPhone 4Gs the other day and i've since been shopping for iphone cases. i figured if i order now, it gets delivered about the same time the new phones are here. 

here are a few of my picks. and please feel free to chime in on which one you like the most. 

they are all pretty. makes it hard to choose. 

i am in love with this chinoiserie collection from pencil shavings paper

erin condren will be coming out with iPhone cases SOON.

 it'll be cool to match it with my life planner

pretty smitten has tons to choose from. i especially like her rugby stripe accents 

of course, dani notes offers adorable preppy covers with lovely monograms

here's a dotted version from cath kidston

and a chic leopard case from kate spade

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

i'm also searching for a more masculine case, perfect for the husband's iPhone. 

and here's what i found both from jack spade

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE CASE?