Noonday Collection Party and Giveaway!!!

I am so excited to share Noonday Collection with you all and give away an AWESOME bracelet from their catalog to one lucky winner! Isn't this bracelet beautiful. I just love it. Read on and learn how it can be yours!

Have you heard of Noonday before? It is based upon the scripture in Isaiah 58 that says, "... then your light will rise in the darkness and your night will become like the noonday." The founder wanted to live this scripture and started the company to open the worlds, lives, and opportunities for communities living in "darkness". You can watch this video to learn more.

Noonday: Kampala, Uganda. from Jessica Honegger on Vimeo.

My friend Judy Maguire is a brand new ambassador with Noonday Collection and I want to support her new adventure and the women she is supporting in Ethiopia, Ecuador and Uganda. Do you want to put girls through university in Uganda, empower women in India and transform communities in Ecuador just by purchasing super cute accessories?

Look at these super cute outfits that Judy put together for football season with Noonday accessories made by women in Ethiopia, Ecuador and Uganda ! I am a little partial to the Texas Tech outfit, but I also love the Nebraska scarf and the Texas A&M belt!

I have been carrying the catalogs in my purse for weeks now and find something new I love each time. Here are my very favorites!

I love the floral belt and yellow and gray Scarf. The belt would be super cute with colored skinny jeans and a white t-shirt. The scarf looks so soft! I would love it with a grey sweater, jeans, and TOMS.

I think I have to own this Tassel bracelet! It is so unique and would be cute with turquoise bracelets stacked with it!  I also love the beaded cuff- I think it would give a great pop of color on a simple outfit.

Noonday has lots of earrings, but these Green and gold earrings and sunset beaded earrings were my favorite! They are such a conversation piece and to imagine women hand beading these in another part of the world! It would be such a prompt for prayer when I wear them.

The Gold Chevron necklace is my other must have! I need a trendy long gold necklace to just throw on and it this will go with everything! I also love the colorful beaded necklace and it is only $32! Hooray for that! 

Noonday also has stuff for the home like this colorful dotted Tea towel and these beautiful salad tongs. I need a good pair of salad tongs for when I entertain and have a big beautiful bowl of greens on the table.

If you want to order something, you can easily do that online and Noonday will ship it right to you! Visit www.judymaguire.noondaycollection.com to place your order! Just put my name Anna Jenkins in the Trunk Show Host field. 

There are lots of ways to enter to win the contest! If you place an order, be sure to come back and add that into the Rafflecopter giveaway! 

I will draw a winner on September 16th and notify them. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Photo Prop Chair

We are having family photos done this weekend and I have the vision in my head of us all looking perfect, smiling big, and the sun shining just enough to create magic and not blind us. 

Part of that vision is an old chair that perfectly matches our outfits as a prop for us to sit on. I hunted Goodwill stores around town and found this "beauty" for $10. It wasn't exactly the shape I had in mind, but the price was right!

I wanted to paint the chair an orange spice color to match a portion of my daughter's dress. I bought a small tub of Annie Sloan Barcelona Orange and added the red and cream I already owned. It started out too pink, so I kept adding red to help. I used all of the orange or I would have added more. I should have started with orange and red first and then added cream if needed.

See what I mean- the first coat scared me. This would be cute in a little girls room, but doesn't match my spicey orange vision!

After two coats I took it outside to see how it would photograph in the sunlight.

It is much closer to my color that the first coat inside. Now, I had a big decision to make- clear wax or dark wax? I painted a small sample on wood and applied dark wax. It made the pink/orange color much more of a rusty brown, so I decided to keep it bold and went with clear wax, after a little sanding of course!

Here is the finished product with the inspiration dress... what do you think?

I think it is going to work well! It is a pop of color among a brown field that will draw your eye into my color scheme. I am wearing peach, ivory and camel and my husband is wearing butter yellow. 

Another big part of my vision was a crazy made to match hair piece for my daughter. Check out who I found on Etsy- her work is amazing and my custom hairpiece is a perfect match!

I Love Me Some Green!

Are you on Polyvore yet? It is fun fantasy shopping! You can sort by
 items, colors, etc. and build outfits without even looking 
at the price :)

I really love all shades of green and there are some great clothes to help prevent pinching today!

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all!

Green- Formal by mrsannajenk featuring an empire dress

green accessories by mrsannajenk featuring shoulder handbags

Show Some Leg!

I have recently lost some weight and am excited to buy some new Spring dresses one size smaller!I have been looking online for my reward dress and there are so many cute options out there this Spring. I love so many of them. I am trying to decide which I will get the most out of... date nights, work, a wedding in September on the beach... but, there are so many options!

Here are a few of my favorites- let me know which ones you like most!

Nordstroms- purple or pink

Garnet Hill- maxi, flowers or big sleeves

Lands End- green or red (these are both in the lead in my eyes!)

I think they'd be light and fun on the hot summer weekends and cute paired with a cardigan and big jewelry during the week. They are under $50 which is also a big plus!

Boden and Macys

Boden has a TON of dresses I love- click here to see all of them. They always have the best prints. Plus, the Macy's dress was recently on sale, so I bought it up! I think it'll make a great summer church dress, especially with the patriotic holidays coming up!

Winter Trend: Gray Handbags

I own 2 gray handbags and I love them- perfect with blacks, whites, pinks, reds... so many options! Here are a few out for this season:

Kate Spade Magazine Tote in heather gray

Calvin Klein Exotica Tote at Macy's

Big Buddha Carrie on Zappos

Lucky Brand, Leather Stash Bag

Are you carrying a gray bag this season?

Are we out of Colors?

Really fashion gurus? Really? Are we out of colors and we need to bring back the black acid washed skinny jean? I didn't like this color in 1988 when it came out and I still don't like it. What color shirt goes with this faded out black? My husband owned a long jacket, called a duster, in this color in high school. If it comes back, I am out. I am going middle-aged woman with a smile!

Fashion Trends: Never Say Never

There are a good number of fashion trends I told myself I would not do, i.e. neon colors, leg warmers, body suits, skinny jeans. My thought was that once you see a fashion trend come back from your childhood, you don't participate the second time around. Then it happens.... you don't participate, you are no longer trendy, you are old. I have fought the skinny jean for a long time and then the jegging (jean legging) until today. I gave in and bought a very comfortable pair of jeggings. With all of the tunics out there, I keep passing them by because a long tunic and boot cut jeans on someone 5'3" isn't cute.
Now that I have my own pair of jeggings, I can begin tunic shopping for fall!
I bought this pair from Macys and got them half off!

Do tell, any other jegging girls over 30 out there?

If I Had One Million Dollars...

If I had one million dollars, I would wear Eliza J dresses from Nordstroms all the live long day! My garden party dress is made by her and it just fit really well and makes you feel pretty! Her dresses come in petite, regular and plus size. They are classic, well made, and most have pockets! They are typically $100 - $180, but Nordstroms has them on sale and as low as $46. If you are looking to order one, I think they run a little big. I went down one size for mine!

This royal blue is so pretty with red hair! A favorite color of mine when my hair is freshly colored. I love the colors in this one. Pair it with some pink heels for a business meeting or dinner.
Here is a plus size option- so pretty for a Spring function and with the pops of black, you won't have to find your awful white shoes in the back of the closet.

Love the pockets and the orange!

This is a great church or Easter dress. Perfect even for a more conservative girl.

I am tempted to buy this one- it is on sale and I just love the color! I think the belt would be flattering on almost everyone!

I'm not fond of my upper arms, so this one appeals to me! To have a dress with short sleeves is a tough find!

More sleeves, yea! I've heard navy is a great option for weddings. You are formal, but not in mourning.

And, this one says sexy business which I love! It is only $46!Happy Dress Shopping!

If I Had One Million Dollars- White Watches

If I had One Million Dollars, I'd buy this white Michael Kors watch. I love it! I have a watch of his that was on super clearance at Nordstrom's and it is a good chunky thick watch. He makes good ones!
White watches are super trendy right now. If you need a more affordable option, this one is also super cute. I may or may not be seen wearing it soon ;)

Commander in Chic

Love this new grey brown purple color from Sally Hansen! I read that grey brown shades of polish are the color for this season along with navy blue. I am wearing it now and honestly love it! I am pale and freckly, so I don't normally do dark polish, but made an exception. With three thin coats, it looks great. No basecoat or topcoat needed. Here is a full review and the new color line from a stylish blogger. I want to try PLUM LUCK next!

Get Your Piggies Ready...

It has been in the 70s this week and my piggies need a pedicure! I'll be sporting pretty toes this time tomorrow and will break out the sandals! I love shoes, but I really love flip flops. I have an area in my closet devoted to them and an ottoman full of them at the foot of my bed. I have cheap one, leather ones, plastic ones, and all time favorite ones!

Here are some of my recommendations for this year!

White sandals are hard for me. I know white is big this time of year and the floral dresses all have a white element to them, but white shoes are hard to pull off. I like these white patent sandals from Clarks. The brown leather base really offset the stark crisp white color and don't draw too much attention to your big ol' feet. I do own these in other colors and they are somewhat padded on the bottom- more comfortable than they look!

J. Crew is not a place I normally shop. They like little bitty tall girls. I am not little bitty. I am not tall. But, I put on my best skinny outfit and proudly walk into their store this time of year for shoes! They will have every color, plaid, polka dotted and printed flip flop my heart can imagine each Spring. Plus, they are less than $20. Just my price! Look at these BEAUTIFUL pink ones! I'd have to get a perfectly pink pedi to wear these!

I think a metallic sandal is a must for this Spring and Summer. These are from the Gap and less than $40. With the stone detail, you can mix with silver or gold. I love the pinky-peach addition. I can see so many uses with these sandals- work, church, and play!

Bernardo is my favorite brand of dressy sandals. They are expensive, so I buy one pair each summer. I own 3 pair and they all still look brand new. I have a somewhat wide foot and a big pet peeve of toes hanging off flip flops. These have a really wide base where your foot is the widest. They are all leather! I wear these shoes to church with dresses, to work with slacks, and even with jeans. They are super versatile!

I own three pair of these flip flops and they are by far the most comfortable shoes I own. I wear them around the house, with capri pants or even at the pool. The bottoms are squishy, they have arch support and come in lots of great colors! At only $25, I could not recommend them more.

Another great poolside option from Footpetals. These look more substantial than your Old Navy flip flop and are only $20. Love the metallic!
Happy Spring!