top 5 favorite fashion pins of 2013

time to wrap up 2013! i am looking forward to 2014...it's already feeling like a good year.

looking back, here are my top 5 favorite fashion pins from pinterest of 2013, as well as the reasons why i love them!

denim on denim is nothing new, but i love the 70s vibe of this outfit. as much as i love skinny jeans, i also have a soft spot for flares. i think they'll be coming back in an even bigger way next fall! regardless, this girl gets it right with the tucked in shirt, and the brown belt breaking up the denim. love it.

paloma81.blogspot.com

[faux] fur vests are awesome. i have one that i got a year or 2 ago from american eagle that i love, and i'm always looking for new ways to wear it. i love this outfit because it's simple (basic white tee, plain denim) but it's also special. the shoes are cute, and i like that she's wearing a light wash slightly flared jean. i typically default to dark denim, but i think light denim is making a comeback right along with the flares!

seamsforadesire.com

olivia palermo gets it right pretty much 99.995% of the time. this romper/shorts suit is so classy and put-together, but still looks really cool and original. and with those shoes! i die.

brooklynblonde.com

brooklyn blonde is one of my favorite fashion blogs to follow, and the below picture inspired me to go buy deep purple tights the same day i saw it. the stripes, the leather, the little bit of color...she knows how it's done!

brooklynblonde.com

sequins + plaid = unexpected and so pretty. flannel shirts have been a huge trend this year, and pinterest has pretty much been a constant competition for who can layer with flannels the best. my award goes to this lady. the navy sequined shirt is so cute on its own, as are the plaid shirt and the jacket, but put together it's near-about perfect.

thesweetestthingblog.com

simple homemade tomato sauce

happy monday everyone!

we had such a great weekend! we got to hang out with lots of our friends and had plenty of time to relax at home (my perfect combo).

i also got to do a little cooking this weekend, which i enjoy so much more now that i do it in my free time instead of rushing to cook dinner after work every night. (thanks again, chef michael!)

one thing i've been wanting to try for awhile is a homemade tomato sauce that i can make, freeze, and use instead of store-bought tomato/pasta sauce. even though lots of stores have healthier versions of pasta sauces these days, they're typically still loaded with sodium, artificial colorings, etc.

my parents bought me gwenyth paltrow's cookbook it's all good for Christmas, and i love it! she is fairly famous in the food world now for her lifestyle/cooking blogs and books, and this one in particular has a lot of great recipes, as well as some articles talking about why she chooses to eat the way she does. while it would be hard for "normal" people like me to eat this way all the time, i think it is great to try to cut out as many processed, artificial foods as possible.

anyway, it just so happens that this book has a homemade tomato sauce recipe in it that's so easy! as soon as i read it, i put the ingredients on my shopping list to make this weekend. it turned out really well and made the house smell awesome!

here's what you need:
-2 tbsp olive oil
-6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
-4 large fresh basil leaves (or 2 tbsp dried basil)
-2 28-oz cans whole peeled tomatoes, with their juice
-salt & pepper

directions:

1. heat olive oil in a large saucepan on low heat.
2. add garlic and cook for 5 minutes

3. add basil and cook for 1 minute

4. add both cans of tomatoes and their juice, and bring to a boil.
5. turn heat down to low and let simmer for 45 minutes, covered. stir occasionally and break up tomatoes with a wooden spoon.
**note: i had a hard time breaking up the tomatoes, even after they cooked for 45 minutes. i took out my handy potato masher, and it worked like a charm!
6. let sauce cool before packing. this recipe made roughly 4 cups, which i packed in 2 mason jars. it will keep in the fridge for a week and in the freezer for up to 6 months.

enjoy!

Christmas round-up

as promised, here is how our Christmas went down...picture-style.

babson family Christmas trees

my instagram collage of Christmas Eve. so much love!

my new pjs (thanks hubby!) and hot cocoa
while watching a Christmas story

in love with my new earrings michael gave me.
[from anthropologie]

my sweet nieces & nephews

another shot of my new favorite pjs. i had to use this picture
because it made me laugh. so natural!

the segura clan

i could not get the light right on this one to save my life, but i LOVE it! my parents gave it to us, and it's just like a fish that they have hanging on their garage that says "babsons". i've always wanted one, so this year we got our segura turtle! it's above the back door in our kitchen.

again, i hope everyone had a great Christmas. bring it on 2014!

healthy habits post-Christmas

happy day-after-Christmas everyone!

we had such a great Christmas weekend/week.

we left for my hometown on saturday morning and stayed until tuesday. sunday we spent Christmas with 2 sets of grandparents, and monday night we had a nice dinner and exchanged presents with just the 6 of us (my parents, my brother and his girlfriend, and michael and me).

michael and i celebrate Christmas together on Christmas Eve. we went to our church's candlelight service, which was so great, then did presents and watched movies afterward. it was perfect!

yesterday we celebrated with the seguras, my in-laws. it's always such a fun time with them, especially seeing our nieces and nephew get so excited about gifts.

i'll share a few pictures from our Christmas week later on, but for now i'm focused on healthy eating and fitness! i don't know about you, but after eating what i want and not working out for several days, i'm ready to get back on the wagon.

here's my plan for beating the post-holiday bulge:

• green smoothie overload
• i love green smoothies. my best friend turned me on to these awhile back (see her blog here!) and they are so great for packing in nutrients and not packing on pounds. the recipe i use is very simple: half a banana, half an avocado, half a pear, about 1/4-1/2 cup of plain non-fat greek yogurt, and v8 fusion lite strawberry banana. blend and go! this recipe makes one smoothie. i typically make several at once, put them in mason jars, and keep them in the fridge. they're  good for a few days like that. i'm planning on having one for breakfast and lunch today and tomorrow to get my system back in fighting shape. :)
  
  
• workout consistency



• i am a huge fan of jillian michaels' workout videos, and i got a new one for Christmas! i've done her 30 day shred video series a couple of times in the past and loved it, so i asked for the ripped in 30 dvd. it's a similar idea as 30 day shred (3 minutes strength training, 2 minutes cardio, 1 minute abs), which i love, but she incorporates different moves, which is nice. i'm pretty sure i could do the entire 30 day shred video by memory, so it's great to switch it up a little. i did level 1 this morning and loved it!
  
• i alternate days for my early morning workouts...meaning, today i did a fairly intense cardio-based workout, and tomorrow i'll do a more low-impact (less sweaty) workout like yoga, pilates, or my favorite tracy anderson mat workout video. that combination works well for me and helps build and maintain my endurance while also increasing flexibility and sculpting lean muscles.

that's my plan, simple as it may be. i believe that being healthy is about 20% exercise, 80% diet, so i challenge everyone to clean up their food for the next week or 2 especially! this is a great time to make over your meals and start incorporating some sort of daily exercise into your life.

merry Christmas!

hey everyone!

Today was my work Christmas party, and tomorrow michael, the dogs, and i are heading to my parents' house until tuesday.

i'll be taking a blog break until the end of next week, but i hope you all have a fun, safe, very merry Christmas.

printed leggings

one fashion trend that i'm jumping into headfirst lately is the rise of printed leggings. they're pretty much the red-headed stepchildren of colored denim and black leggings (no offense, gingers), and i love them!

so far i have 2 pairs. the first, and funniest, i bought myself several weeks ago. i wore them on my flight to italy paired with this sweatshirt tunic from h&m. it was pretty much a more socially-acceptable form of pajamas, and it was awesome.

yep, those are reindeer. although, after Christmas,
i will refer to them only as deer.

the 2nd pair were (was? i never know.) a surprise early Christmas present from my sweet hubby. he gave them to me in advance because he knew i'd want to wear them now! he was so right. i wore them the day after he gave them to me!

cute, right??

i styled those with some slouchy green boot socks and my combat boots from target (see more in this post). by the way, i was at work when i took this picture. can you tell?

both leggings of mine are from forever 21 (surprise surprise). i love looking at asos online for fashion inspiration (although i rarely buy from there), and sure enough i found a ton of cute printed leggings i love.

the winner of the asos search? these:

sandwich leggings. 

yes those are real. the description on the website says "all-over sandwich print". what?!

while i won't be wearing sandwiches on my legs anytime soon, i hope printed leggings are here to stay, at least for a year or 2. wearing reindeer on your legs just makes you happy people!

the segura house: Christmas edition

since Christmas is officially one week away, i thought i'd share a few of my favorite Christmas decorations with yall! the house is so festive at Christmas, which i think is why january is so sad and boring. oh well, we'll enjoy it while it lasts!

here's a picstitch i did on instagram a few weeks back when we first got our tree and decorated the house. michael is 100% the master of outside decorating, so i can take credit for little to none of that. we did a lighted garland with bows on our porch railing, 2 wreaths with bows in the front windows, and lined the inside of the upstairs windows with lights.

as for the tree, it's real, which is a tradition i really wanted to have with our family. we love the angel on top :) we use clear lights and mismatched ornaments that we've collected.

we also started a tradition of having the place where we buy our tree saw off about 1" ring from the bottom of the trunk. we let it dry, write the year on it, drill a hole, and hang it on the tree with a ribbon. i'm hoping to do that every year-how cool would a tree full of just tree trunk ornaments be one day??

these are some sweet little glitter deer that i picked up at target last year. i love them! i also have some Christmas coasters made from cocktail napkins and modpodge (so smart) that i got as a gift forever ago. they've held up really well!

this is our Christmas mantle...excuse the iPad, which is used for blaring music before i get home from work. :) the L and K stockings are for the pups, of course. we have plain brown stocking holders, but when we fill up the stockings they tend to tip over. the "noel" blocks on top of the holders are actually candles that we usually keep in our downstairs bathroom, but they look so cute on the mantle! (thanks hubby) also, the "noel" has actually been living as "leon" thanks to my brother, who for 2 years now, changes it. not gonna lie, it makes me laugh every time.

every house needs mistletoe! this little archway between our downstairs bathroom/closet and dining room is the perfect spot. i just tack it up there with a clear push pin.

i think nutcrackers are really cool Christmas decorations. we only have 2 so far, but i hope to have a whole nutcracker army one day. (by the way, why are they always soldiers?) anyway, they look super cute protecting our wedding photos in the living room.

these little trees sit at the far end of our mantle, and i love how bright they are. our mantle and fireplace are both black, so it needs some color. the stockings plus these trees is perfect! i picked these up last year at black lion.

our staircase gets a simple lighted garland with some neon green glitter bows at each end. 

for our formal dining room table, i keep our usual bamboo placemats down, but i put Christmas-themed ones on top. that saves all the hassle of switching out everything on the table. the bamboo placemats are pier 1, and the Christmas ones are from target. the white table runner is from homegoods.

in the middle of the table, there's a blue tray that usually holds the candles you see below. for Christmas this year, i just took a cute plaid dish towel and put it on top of the tray. along with the usual candles, i added a gold gift box that i've had for a few years. simple but fun!

another shot of the tree (not lit). i went with gold and silver wrapping this year, which turned out really well! (minus the glitter that's covering literally everything in our house)

last but not least, a sweet beachy wreath that my friend jill made me last year. this hangs on the inside of our front door so you can see it from the living room. i love the green color, and it's original! can't beat that.

7 days and counting!

drumroll...life change

hey everyone!

i made a huge change in my life last week...chopped off all of my sadly thin hair.

i've been growing my hair out for a couple of years now, and it finally did get significantly long.

proof.

while i loved having long hair, my hair just so happens to be painfully thin. i mean, i braid it and it disappears kinda thin. it also was really layered, so the back just kind of fizzled out into nothing. long, but not the best hair in the world.

i follow cupcakes and cashmere and saw this picture of her last monday:

SO cute

so, naturally, i got my hair cut the next day. that's one thing about me...once my mind is made up, i want to get it over with! 

[i pinned a few more inspiration photos if anyone is interested: my pretties board]

here's my version!

i LOVE it. love love love it. i really thought i would miss my long hair and have some sort of regret, but i don't/haven't yet. it's so easy to wear straight or wavy, and since some of my old blonde highlights are still growing out, i sort of have an ombre effect by accident! (should i #trendy here?)

if any of you girls are considering chopping your hair, especially if it's thin, go for it!! my hair hasn't looked so thick and bouncy in...maybe ever. i also love short hair in winter. life changing, i tell ya!

new name!

i've been thinking about changing the name of the blog for awhile...i loved "the segura life", but i really want to make the blog more general and searchable for people looking for topics, not just my name. i doubt people google me too often :)

content won't change much, although i am going to try to focus mostly on the 3 topics in the name: fashion, family, and food! these are a few of my favorite things...

thanks for reading!

sale week

it's the week before Christmas!!! this is seriously the best time of the year. our Christmas shopping is 99% done, everything is wrapped, i just got news that my stocking is full :), and my work Christmas party and secret santa exchange are both this week. what's not to love?

also, i've been blaring as much perry como as my co-workers can stand. check out his weird Christmas album cover though. is that a picture of himself in a picture frame, singing? own it, perry.

another great thing about this week is, if you're brave enough to venture out in the crowd, there are some amazing sales going on. i went shopping for a few last-minute things yesterday, and i was blown away at some of the prices. i wasn't planning on buying anything for myself or michael, but i did...couldn't help myself!

here are a few of my faves. if you're still in need of gifts, check these out!

• gap: 40% off adults' clothing, 30% off kids'

• american eagle: 40% off of everything, all jeans under $30. picked up these awesome pants yesterday in army green 

• old navy: michael and i went to old navy this weekend to get a few gifts and ended up getting a TON of stuff. everything in the store was at least 25% off. 

good luck with your last minute gifts! only 9 days left!

crock pot chicken tortilla soup

once the weather started getting cooler, i tried to find a few crock pot recipes for michael to make on his busy school days. something about crock pot meals screams cold weather to me, and it's so nice to come home to a house that smells like great food. :)

i think our favorite so far of these meals is chicken tortilla soup (original recipe found here).

it's healthy, easy, smells amazing, and is really filling. it also makes a bunch so we usually eat it for days! i highly recommend it on one of these cold fall nights.

• 4 uncooked boneless chicken breasts
• 15-oz can crushed tomatoes, not drained
• 10-oz can red enchilada sauce
• 15-oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 15-oz can diced tomatoes with green chiles
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 package of frozen corn or 1 can of corn, drained
• 29 ounces (2 cans) chicken broth
• spice mix (about 1 tsp each of cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper)

1. place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, black beans, onion, green chiles, corn and garlic into the crock pot.

2. pour in chicken broth and season with spice mix. 

3. cover, and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.

4. once cooking time is up, remove chicken and shred.* put back inside crock pot, mix, and let cook for another 10-15 minutes.

5. serve soup with cheese, avocado, and tortilla chips.

*i find the quickest and easiest way to shred chicken is using 2 forks. i think michael would agree. i did see a post a few days ago on a blog about using a kitchen aid mixer with the paddle attachment to shred chicken. i haven't tried that yet, but if it does work that would be even easier!

enjoy! 

italy/birthday recap

what a week/weekend it's been!

last monday i traveled to milan (by way of nyc) to work for a week in our european office. we didn't do much of anything all that exciting, mostly just worked and ate a lot.

i ate lots of salami and cheese, got to ride in a surprisingly roomy teal fiat all week (thanks frand!) and caught up on global news thanks to 24/7 cnn.

one night we went into downtown milan for dinner, and we walked by the milan duomo (cathedral). it was all lit up for Christmas and so beautiful!

we ate lunch and dinner approximately 714 times at the same little restaurant close to our office. the owner is so cute and happy, and we had a lot of fun with him. he's also an indy car and bmw fan, and said he dreams of visiting spartanburg, sc to go to the bmw plant. first time i've ever heard anyone say they dream of visiting spartanburg.

here we are with him!

sunday was my birthday, so we spent the weekend after i got back relaxing and celebrating. i'm excited about 27!

we went up to asheville on sunday and had a really good mexican dinner before going on a candlelight Christmas tour at the biltmore house. i've been to the biltmore many times but never at night at Christmas. it was really fun and romantic being there with michael.

birthday success!

tomorrow i'm heading up to nyc for work. i'm only there for a day, but i get to hang out with 2 of my best friends from college and i'm SO excited to see them!

boots weather

my love for boots runs deep. that's the most exciting part about fall for me-i finally get to wear my cold-weather boots again!

i wear flats every once in awhile during the winter, but really any shoe without fuzzy socks underneath just doesn't cut it for me when the temperature drops below 60.

here are a few of my current favorites:

these are the boots that have gotten the most wear in my closet. i bought my first pair several years ago, and i'm on pair #2 now. i also have a black pair. they're comfortable, simple, and go with anything. i got mine at rack room, and they're on sale right now for only $40!

dominique boots by x-appeal

michael bought me this pair last year, and i LOVE them! they're perfect for when i want to dress up my usual jeans a little. they're still very comfortable but i love the heel and the 2 cute little buttons. 

self flattery boots by not rated

this next pair was a little out of my comfort zone when i first bought them, but i've gotten a bunch of use out of them already! these are from target (love), and they are great for adding a bit of a tough edge to outfits. most of my clothes and shoes are pretty classic and feminine, so these are a nice contrast to that.

khalea combat boots by mossimo

last but not least are the classic clark's desert boots. i bought this at the end of the summer; i'd been drooling over them for awhile. while the beeswax leather versions are a little tough to break in, they're so worth it! these are so cute with rolled-up skinny jeans. they're also such great quality. although i buy most of my shoes from target, rack room, etc., it is nice to have a few investment pairs of shoes that you know you'll have forever. 

desert boots by clarks

what are your go-to boots for chilly weather?

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's almost here! I love Thanksgiving, and I love having it at my house. We're hosting for the 2nd year in a row and we get to have both of our families here.

The kitchen was busy this afternoon with baking a carrot cake, making deviled eggs, and prepping the turkey. My dad is deep frying it (the only way to go, people) so all I have to do is thaw and season it. Michael took care of the thawing, and the first coat of seasoning went on this afternoon!

If you're in the market for a good fries turkey seasoning blend, here's what we use (straight from the Babson kitchen):

1/2 box of salt

1 oz crushed red pepper

1 oz garlic powder

1 oz chili powder

1 oz black pepper

1/2 oz onion powder

1/8 cup sugar

Make sure the turkey is fully thawed, washed and dried before you put the mix on. It should sit with the seasoning for at least 24 hours if possible before cooking. It's always a good idea to save a little to put on right before you cook the turkey in case you find spots you missed or any fell off.

As my only proof of my hard work in the kitchen today, here's my carrot cake!

It's Paula Deen's recipe. She may not be politically correct, but she makes a heck of a carrot cake.

With Thanksgiving tomorrow and a business trip to Milan next week, there may be a bit of radio silence on my end, but I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!! Let's eat!

cuteness

just a little cuteness to brighten up your day...if it's as rainy and cold where you are as it is here then we all need some cheeriness! here's the latest picture of our newest baby. 3 months old and already bigger than loki! thanks to my hubby for the photo :)

look at that sweet face!

caution: extreme beauty ahead

hello everyone!

of course i missed a birchbox update or 2 while i was on my blogging hiatus, but i did find a couple of products that i am loving at the moment.

number one was a birchbox find and i can't get enough!

this bad boy is the "glycolic glommage" from serious skincare. it's pricey ($38.50 for a 4-oz size), but that's the beauty of the $10 birchbox! maybe one day i'll splurge and buy one.

this is a deep-cleaning combo between a mask and a cleanser. you put it on, leave it for about 10 minutes, then rub into your face while rinsing with warm water. glycolic acid is a great exfoliant, and i can really tell the difference after i use this. my skin gets all glowy!

i warned you already, and i'll warn you again. extreme beauty ahead:

heyyyyyyyy ohhhh! me with the mask.

another product i've surprisingly come to love recently is bodycology lotion in toasted vanilla sugar.

i picked up this lotion at walmart of all places, and i really really like it!

everyone knows i'm hopelessly devoted to vanilla bean noel lotion from bath & body works, but it only comes out at Christmas. i get about 10 bottles at Christmas from my family, so i'm usually stocked up through at least september. that means i typically have to find a stand-in for a couple of months.

hello to my new stand-in! this stuff is super cheap ($4, compared to b&bw $11) and it's almost as good. it's really thick (which i love) and smells like cookies (which i lovex1000). vanilla bean noel is still my all-time favorite and i will loyally use it until they don't make it anymore, but this is the perfect fill-in for those few months when i'm waiting on my new supply.

if you see either of these products out and about while Christmas shopping, i highly recommend them both!