Black and Blue

No, not bruises...fashion!  This is the subject of many ongoing debates in the Franklin household.  I am a huge fan of mixing these two neutrals...the husband, not so much.  He thinks they don't go and I try to explain that they do in fact look god together.  On this morning as I was getting ready for work, luckily the debate did not come up.  He was in a rush to get out the door and I was feeling too proud of my creativity.  You see, this belt I am wearing is not just any belt.  It is the belt I wore as maid of honor in my older brother Steve's wedding!  No joke!  I put on the black sweater and blue pants and just thought it needed a little something.  And then I saw the belt hanging in  my closet.  One of my favorite things about fashion is finding ways to rework items.  Shop your own closet!

P.S.  Check out our new rug!

Sweater - The Limited, Similar Style

Pants - Chelsea28

Heels - Nine West 

Jewelry - Darakjian Jewelers 

American Sniper and a New Boots

I know, the whole American Sniper phenomenon was a couple months ago.  But I'm just a little late getting this blog out.  Jon and I had a date night for the opening weekend of American Sniper.  It was a rare date night during busy season, before things got crazy.  I am so glad we decided to see this movie opening weekend because it was such an intense experience seeing it with a packed theater. Instead of the usual clapping and cheering and talking at the end of a movie, it was intensely quiet.  Those that weren't crying (like me) were in a shocked kind of silence.  If you have not made it out to see this movie, I strongly suggest you do.  Chris Kyle was an amazing man and we should all be grateful for his bravery.  I can't wait to get the book so we can read that too.

Now, on to the clothes.  You ever get ready for something and think you look so fly, only to realize later that you do not in fact, look so fly.  This was one of those nights.  When I got dressed and Jon took pics for the blog, I thought I hit a home run.  But as the night went on, I started to realize how much I hated this outfit! This shirt is cool in theory, but I don't like the longer back so I always tuck it in and am always uncomfortable.  And these new boots were so cute but so uncomfortable!  So although I hate this outfit, I thought I would share anyways so you can see that even I have fashion fails!

Top - Lush 

Jeans - Guess

Boots - ShoeDazzle, Much Cooler Pair

Happy Birthday Maisie

Today's post is going to be a short one. Its February 5th, Grandma Maisie's birthday.  She would have been 93 today.  Its been 5 years since she passed and I just can't believe its been so long.  I think of her always, but especially on her birthday.  She so loved her birthday!  I found myself really missing her tonight and decided to look through some old pictures.  She was such an amazing lady.  The void she left will never be filled, but I know she is in an amazing place celebrating with Grandpa and Aunt Lisa today.  I just wanted to take a moment and celebrate her and all that she was to me.  Here are just a few of my favorite photos. Happy Birthday Grandma!  I love you always! 

New Shirt & New Shoes

Quite possibly one of my favorite quotes of all time!  Marilyn Monroe was one amazing woman!  And that is exactly how I feel whenever I get a fabulous pair of new shoes.  Which is exactly how I felt last week when I wore my new Ivanka Trump heels!  I was unstoppable all day, rocking my new heels.  And to top it all off, I had a fancy new shirt too!  New clothes are the best, aren't they? 

Top - Chelsea 28 from Nordstrom

Blouse - BCBG, Similar  

Pants - Gap

Shoes - Ivanka Trump 

My Healthy Recipes

Happy New Year everyone!!!  Can you believe it is 2015 already? I don't know about you all but last year just flew by.  One minute it was summer and the next its Christmas.  I hope you all said goodbye to 2014 in peace and that you look forward to this new year with excitement.  I am sending you all my best wishes!

And speaking of the New Year, this seems to be the time of year that everyone starts talking about diet and exercise more.  I do not believe in resolutions personally, I just don't like the idea of waiting until a year is up to change a bad habit or make myself better.  But if you are one of those who do better with the resolutions, then I wish you success!  Those of you who know me, know that I am pretty healthy and strict with my diet.  Don't get me wrong, I love me some pizza and burritos.  But my digestive system doesn't always love those things back.  Thus my healthy ways!  I really believe in the Paleo way of life and try my best to eat that way as much as possible.  I mean anything that lets you eat bacon all the time is definitely worth looking into!  The only downside is the lack of bread...which let's be honest we all love.  But that bread and gluten can be very inflammatory and thus better to avoid.  So I have went on the hunt and found me some amazing Paleo recipes that help with all my carb cravings!  And I thought I would share with you all!

First up...Paleo Spaghetti Squah Carbonara.  O.M.G. this might be my new favorite recipe!  We just ate this last night again and it was so so good!  I promise you will not even miss the pasta.

Next up...Paleo French Toast!  That's right kids, you can still enjoy french toast!  First step is the paleo bread.  I have tried a few different recipes and these are my favorite. This one from blogger PaleOMG is a coffee cake recipe so its sweeter and oh so perfect for some syrup.  This one from site 'Against All Grain' is more similar to sandwich bread and can be altered for different nut preferences.  I used sunflower seed butter instead of cashew.  (Side note: when sunflower butter is baked it can turn green so don't be scared.) Then just use your paleo bread and make your french toast like normal.  Its just as good as regular bread!  

And last but not least...for your sweet tooth!  These are my favorite Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies.  They are so easy to make and they don't taste healthy...they taste like delicious cookies!  

Let me know if you try any of these recipes and what you think!  And I promise to share more yummy recipes as I discover them! XOXO 

Carrie Bradshaw at the Holiday Party

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas with all your loved ones!  Once again, our family went overboard and I was reminded how blessed we are to be able to do that.  And even more blessed that we have each other to spoil!  It was a wonderful day.  I hope you all felt the love this year too.

Each year, the holiday season kicks off with Jon's work holiday party.  PwC goes all out every year, and this year was no different!  We spent the night partying at the Sound Board at Motor City Casino.  I decided not to go the typical dress route this year, but instead was inspired by Carrie Bradshaw and her risk taking fabulousness!  I saw a picture online of a great outfit with a tulle skirt and immediately knew what I was going to wear!  It was my most fun holiday outfit to date.  And I have plans to rework this for New Years Eve so stay tuned! 

Top - Anne Klein 

Skirt - Windsor

Belt - Similar Style

Shoes - Steve Madden 

Earrings - c/o Darakjian Jewelers

Hair by Gjoni at Elle Studio in Novi 

Peplum and New Eyeshadow

Some days you walk in your closet, pick out an outfit, and it works exactly how you envisioned it! (Those happy moments are not very often for this picky blogger...but that just makes them all the more amazing when they do!) This past Sunday was one of those days.  Jon and I were headed out to spend some time with Laura and the rest of her family to celebrate her 30th birthday!  Happy Birthday dude!!!  We had a great time visiting and catching up.

It was a casual dinner so I knew jeans were in order.  And I have been dying to find the perfect way to wear this new peplum shirt I bought earlier in the summer.  It needed these high-waisted Paige jeans because it sits a bit shorter on my torso than most of my shirts.  (And I am so not into the crop top thing!)  And to top it all off, I decided to try one of the new colors in my Udban Decay Naked palette.  It was a good choice because the hubby kept the compliments coming :-) Its nice after almost 6 years to still wow him!

Top - Forever 21, Similar Style

Jeans - Paige Denim

Shoes- Target, Similar Style

Have a great week everyone!!!