links + loves

I know we’re all over New Years Eve at this point but I have to tell you what Justin and I did to ring in the New Year! Our friends invited us to the Mayton Inn, a hotel downtown Cary. Cary is a suburb of Raleigh, essentially. Do they call them suburbs? I’m actually not sure. I grew up in the ‘burbs of Chicago so that term feels like an adequate description to me.

Anyway, it was a Masquerade Ball with dinner, dancing, and a champagne toast at midnight. I really had no idea what to expect and assumed it would be like a wedding reception without the ceremony. As it turns out, that was exactly what it was like. The age group leaned more towards the 50’s/60’s but we were there with a fun group of other 30-somethings. It was a lot of fun and a great excuse to dress up more than usual! There were masks available to wear but that didn’t end up being a major component of the evening.

If you remember, we did a masquerade murder mystery party this year and I have to laugh at the fact that somehow in 2018 I had two masquerade events in the span of about 2 months.

During dancing, I asked Justin to request Despacito, which he did, and the DJ played it so I call that night a success!

We went to bed at about 12:45a, roughly 3 1/2 hours after we typically go to bed, and despite hoping Emily would sleep in a touch, she was ready for the day at 5:50am! I paid for staying up too late the entire next day, but would do it again because it was so much fun.

I love the fresh start of January 1st. Just like I love Monday’s and the beginning of any month frankly. I have to wrap up organizing my office with Jenna from The Arranged Abode, this month and have a few other to do’s. The boys are back in preschool and I’m looking forward to getting into the groove for the month.

My mom wore these shoes to my house last week and I thought they were so cool. It’s a perfect shoe to wear with athleisure outfits, which is pretty much what I wear constantly. I was tempted by the white for spring, but ultimately went with the black color! If you prefer leather, there is a great black leather option as well!

I’ve worn some Kate Spade Outlet earrings recently on IG stories and found a very similar dupe for under $15! If you are into hoops instead of studs, these are beautiful!

Loved reading this Q&A with Merrick.

She has such a cute haircut!

Great shoes for warmer weather, if you’ve got that on the mind or a trip coming up soon!

If you’ve got home design/decorating in mind, this is a great round up post from Sarah who has beautiful taste.

We’ve got sunshine on tap after a long week of rain and overcast skies so I’ll be welcoming that with open arms!