the MINI project --- Ombré

& we're back with 4th Edition of the MINI project! If you have yet to hear about the MINI here's a mini intro - 

Well its allllllll about the mini parts of fashion - the ACCESSORIES...which can also play a huge role in our everyday outfits. Just like clothes, accessories are also worn differently by each person depending on their style, shape, look etc. 

So the MINI project focuses only on accessories....but I don't mean just jewelry - tights, hats, sunglasses, headbands, bows, scarfs, shoes, belts, gloves are alllll accessories as well. 

The Deal
1 Accessory4 Girls4 Different Styles1 Major Blog Day

so I was super excited when I found this item. Its actually a trend that we have been seeing everywhere with literally everything, not just a fashion trend. I have in on my hair already, so why not try it on my legs.....

pink Ombré  tights!! 

so fun right?! I was instantly obsessed. So the first thing I did was cut off the feet to make them into leggings. I was still able to get the ombre effect even with the feet cut off.

I thought I was going to have trouble matching with this tights but it was a lot easier than I thought, which goes to show don't be scared off by something so funky - so after trying a few different outfits - I dressed them up with a grey & white striped tunic & heels.....and then I dressed them down...I decided to go with a more casual look, beach chic look --- 

Poncho: Wildfox 
Tights: Forever 21
Sandals: Nordstrom Rack
Sunglasses: Alexander McQueen
Starfish Necklace: Tiffany & Co

so you can see that cutting off the feet turned them into leggings and you still have the ombre affect. Since the tights are so bright, I wanted to make sure I dressed around the tights and didn't add another type of pattern on top of the ombre. 

SO because the tights are so bright and fun it just made me feel like summer so I paired it with a simple light weight white poncho like shirt and black gladiators....plus I added a flower hippy headband to complete the look. 

 

How would you wear the tights? Do you like them better because the feet are cut off? 

NOW go & check out how the other girls styled the tights -

Amanda at The Pretty Pinhead

Kirsten at The Valeri's

the MINI project is booked through November. There are still spots open in December - email minimessyproject@gmail.com to reserve your spot!

Check out #TheMessyProject HERE

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california love

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i love you California...you're the greatest state of all....sound familiar?! thank you Jeep for the shout out in your latest commercial

SO its defiantly no secret i love where i live....

im a California Girl to the max.....born & raised

i have lived up and down the state of California so Cali & I know each other pretty well

so when I came across The Home T i was instantly obsessed....

a t-shirt representing my home - YES PLEASE.....& then I found out that a portion of profits are donated to Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Research & i was sold! 

when my Home T arrived I was so excited to try it on....I couldn't believe how soft the material of the shirt was. I was in love...& haven't worn anything else to bed since -

and then it got me thinking of why I love California so much....SO

"....you can stand in the sand in a bathing suit at the beach & look at the snow caps in the mountains.... "

one. the weather - we are so blessed to have mostly sunny days year round...there are times im in a bikini in december!

two. the beach - i get to see this every day

i've been in that house on the cliff

three. the diversity of people



four. san francisco - i've walked across the golden gate bridge...a must do for any tourist 

five. the food....any kind of food you want from any part of the world is within 45 minutes

six. hollywood & beverly hills - the land of opportunity, celebrities & make believe

six. surfer boys.....shaggy hair, bleached blonde from the sun, dark tanned skin...need I say more?

seven. big bear & lake tahoe - in a matter of hours you can go from the sand to the snow

the BF is a pretty bad ass skier

eight. we are always in the know.....always current with the trends

nine. wine country...in both the northern & southern California

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ten. there is SO much to do that I couldn't possibly end this list at 10....what can I say, we're a pretty cool state

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The Beach Boys were right when they sang...."i wish they all could be California girls"

purchase your own Home T - HERE 





why do you love your state so much? 

PS. the MINI project is LIVE on Wednesday

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i don't care

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#fat

With all the social media, especially twitter - its very easy for people to get caught up in their emotions & everything & RT something that maybe should not have been said. BUT EVERYONE is guilty of putting their foot in their mouth, we have allllllllllll done it. So please don't act like you have never said anything you regret towards someone else....because thats a lie. We all make mistakes. 


I think a lot of you have REALLY over done the shit talking on MessyDirtyHair today in blogland....& you writing posts or talking about MessyDirtyHair doesn't make YOU any better.

Two wrongs do not make a right. 

BUT it seems we have a handful of women that really get off on this shit & a ton of girls that are just sheep.......


Which brings me to this disturbing email a ton of bloggers got last night ---



I thought I would share it because I see a lot of posts about bullying today  & I just would like to know what category this goes under ---- &  this "clap sisters" started in March with these tweets to certain bloggers ---

and its pretty ironic who the 2 VERY FIRST FOLLOWERS are....

Do we need another GOMI? I feel like I am in an episode of Pretty Little Liars - read on ----> 






From: Clap Sisters <sisters@theclapsisters.com>
Date: Mon, Apr 8, 2013 at 11:11 PM
Subject: The Clap Sisters
To: 


When you first saw this email in your inbox you probably had no idea
who it was from. That ends now because we are about to get very close.

We’re Reagan and Kennedy. Just like you, we’re two bloggers with our
own blogs full of roses, lilies and Jesus. We’re sick of it. We’re
sick of the front everyone puts up, we’re sick of this so-called
community which fails to hold anyone accountable or accept that maybe
we are, in fact, just a bunch of women who want to gossip over a glass
of wine.

Enter the Clap Sisters. Be it over a cup of coffee, diet coke, or
wine, we’re here to be your bitchy friends who are always up for a
good gossip session.

We’ll talk about blogs, reality television, and even our own personal
drama. But it won’t be like any other blog you’ve seen before. We
aren’t holding back - not anymore.

Let us emphasize something: We are one of you. If you’re getting this
email, it means we have a pretty good relationship with you outside of
the Clap Sisters. We’ve interacted, touched base, maybe even touched
boobs.

We think that you’re a fun, connected blogger. Considering our
history, we know you have some good gossip to share with us. (Or, as
we like to call it, “clap.”) When our site is launched, you’ll have
the opportunity to anonymously submit your dirty, juicy clap with us.
And don’t worry, your identity will never be revealed without your
written permission.

Not only are we inviting you to participate, we’re giving you warning.
We said it before, and we’ll say it again: We aren’t holding back.

The Clap Sisters website is scheduled to go live Saturday, April 13 at
10:00pm Eastern time. Be there or be square. In the meantime we are
taking submissions for future posts. If you’d like your clap to appear
in future posts, please click on the following link. As always, your
anonymity is important to us and we will never reveal the identity of
our sources without your consent.

 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?fromEmail=true&formkey=dGdQdmpISE1fdDZzZVkyYmVWU1pHbEE6MQ

Clap: Dirt, Juice, Gossip, Rant
Example 1: The Clap Sisters aren’t real sisters.
Example 2: Kennedy is a former coke addict that’s been to rehab 3
different times. She always plays up the good girl image, but my best
friend was her live in nurse.
Example 3: Bloggers that claim to hate drama really annoy me. Tweeting
or blogging about how you hate drama, like Blogger A did, perpetuates
drama just as much as the harsh words do. You’re not any better than
us Blogger A. (Included: Link to/screenshot of tweet)

PS Your secret is safe with us.

----------------------- 

You can be the judge of that email.



Think for yourself ladies, don't let certain bloggers drag you into this because you don't know the whole story.



*comments are turned off

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a quickie

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just a little Monday Motivation for you all today! So here we are into the 2nd week of April...hope you all had a great weekend --- My mom & I did some shopping at South Coast Plaza for some summer stuff....to be honest we didn't have as much luck as we thought being that we were at South Coast, but of course yours truly managed to find a few things...but ill show you that tomorrow....the rest of my weekend was pretty low key...however I did have fabulous mail days ---

left to right

one. new pink ombre business cards arrived in the mail....so obsessed

two. shopping in the Free People store

three. the most adorable Louis Vuitton 'Maryjanes' ever

four. California love 'the home tee' arrived in the mail

five. one of 3 new suits arrived from Victoria Secret for summer & Maui in november

six. sunday morning cuddles with dolce 

seven. actually went to Target & left with only what i needed to buy...#winning

eight. my old barbie family i found while cleaning out old boxes

nine. drives with Maxx....its become a routine to take Maxx & Lucy to starbucks with me

what did you guys do this weekend?? 

so today I have another fabulous blogger here....she is like the cutest mom ever...really though, she is so youthful with great style, you would never guess she has a little baby....& even better she makes adorable hair accessories for children as well as other fun accessories for kids. I love following her little life with her baby & hubby...they are the cutest little family...& they love disneyland...plus she's a California Girl { the best }...but there's so much more & I am beyond honored to have her as my Messy Girl of the Month -  so without further ado meet 

Hello Messy readers! My name is Pamela and I am a mommy bloggin, photography buggin, gym ratting, crochet crazy, ice cream eating, homebody girl from Los Angeles. I am a Disney nut, a family girl, and above all, a very happily married wife and one proud mommy!

I blog over at Macdonald's Playland, where we document our adventures, lessons learned, everyday life, and other random Macdonald household shenanigans! We adore each other and our family is quite the trio..life is beautiful because we have each other.

Our blog posts may include anything from figuring out an awesome way to surprise my gullible husband that I was pregnant, getting his reaction on video, posting it on YouTube & watching it go viral, making confessions as a new mommy, and the times I've gone crazy throwing parties.

Oh..and a lot of photos of our family...

 ..and ESPECIALLY lots of photos of this cute girl right here.

If you want to find out more and join us in our land, you can find us at any of the following:

Blog, Bloglovin , Facebook, Twitter

 


Some randomness for y'all: 

-If you couldn't tell, I absolutely love and adore my husband and daughter.  They are everything to me.

-I blog to document our life, and then print our blog out into books at the end of each year! That way a record of our life moments is kept for us to read in the future. One day we can look back and say, "we did that" or "we made it through that"..and we did it together. As an added bonus, any future wee-little Macdonalds can one day read up on their crazy parents/grandparents/great-grandparents/etc. etc.

-Our blog recently (finally) got its own Facebook page that you can go "like". Am I cool now? No? That's ok...go "like" it anyway! www.facebook.com/macdonaldsplayland

-I graduated with a Bachelors in the Science of Nursing and worked as a Labor & Delivery nurse before having my daughter. When Lilly came into the world, I decided to stay at home with her and have been loving the adventures of mommyhood!!


-Yes, I have delivered a baby on my own. When I worked in labor & delivery, the doctor didn't make it in time, so it was on me to deliver the patient's baby. It was one of the most amazing, rewarding moments in my life! I helped my patient push the whole time, kept her (and her ten million family members) calm, and when she decided to be a rockstar and push that baby out super fast, I delivered her baby. Mommy and baby were healthy and fine, and I managed to keep composure and not pee my pants!


-I own an online shop, Peanut Lilly Creations, where I create handmade accessories for babies, toddlers, and children (and some things in adult sizes too!). You know, stuff like this:

and this:

and this:

You can go "LIKE" our shop's facebook page to see more creations:

www.facebook.com/peanutlillycreations

This or That

Bloggers or Vloggers- Bloggers! I write better than I speak, and I enjoy good reads.

Super Rich but Dumb or Super Smart & Poor- wherever my family can be happiest.

Wine or Vodka - Neither! I don't drink. (gasp! Yet another Mormon blogger here!) :)

Justin Timberlake or Channing Tatum- I went to Justin's concert and danced like a mofo on crack.

Thong or booty shorts: I think my husband can answer this for me ;)

Ellen or Oprah- Whoever gives me a new car or a bunch of cash first.

Taylor Swift or Carrie Underwood- whoever gives me a new car or a bunch of ca-- oops. I mean, Carrie's voice, Taylor's quirky cuteness.

Pierced nose or pierced lip- Why isn't nipple an option?

Sex or foreplay - For the rest of my life or just today?

California or New York- My heart (and home) is in California.

Sleep in PJS or Naked - I am a mom.... I live in pjs all day sometimes.

Flowers or Chocolate- ::nom nom:: Oh, I'm sorry did you ask me something? I was busy eating some chocolate.

Thank you so much to the beautiful Kelly for having me be a part of the awesome mess!!!

Is she not the cutest thing alive?! i just love her....& even better she is giving you messy readers a chance to win a $25 Sephora Gift Card

a Rafflecopter giveaway

and before you go i HAVE to tell you about this amazing new online designer SHOE boutique called The Scarpetta that is coming & how you can be apart of it! 

so heres the deal all you have to do is 'LIKE' their facebook page & enter your email address so you can be entered to win a gift card to their site once it launches in the next few weeks! 

BUT here's the hook -  The Gift Card amount grows as more people sign up - SO

*50 people sign up, everyone will receive a $5 Gift Card

*100 people sign up, everyone will get $10

*1000 people = $25

*5000 people = $50 Gift Cards for everyone

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our thoughts on Blogland....

FRIDAY!!!


SO blogging is tough. Its a crazy world.....really though Blogland is like its own place & you really do not understand it unless you blog. 

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However no matter if you have been blogging for 3 years or 3 months you can ALWAYS learn something new & you can always teach someone something new.



I know when I started out blogging I could have used all the advice I could get because being thrown into this crazy land can be intense....& sometimes a little scary.




SO today some lovely ladies and I have come together to give all you bloggers out there in Blogland our Top 3 BEST blogging advice since we started blogging. 



PLUS we have all come together for an old school group giveaway.....you remember those...a bunch of random prizes allllll to one lucky winner! 




So without further ado - Some blogging advice from some fabulous ladies!!!

The biggest thing I've learned about blogging is to just be yourself. It sounds simple, but it's easy to forget. Stay true to yourself, your beliefs, your likes and dislikes, and find your own personal style of blogging and go with it!


{ Giving Away: $20 to Target & 3 Months Ad Space }

The biggest thing that I've learned since blogging is honestly, more about who I am. Spending time writing posts daily, baring my soul (sometimes) to the unknown internet audience and writing about life experiences have let me get to know myself so much better- all through blogging! A tip that I would give all bloggers (old and new!) is to try to answer as many emails as possible, especially, when someone leaves you a heartfelt & thoughtful comment. The response goes a long way AND it helps create those personal relationships!

{ Giving Away: $20 to Maybooks }

Build relationships, not walls. We all put ourselves out there in blogging, so be open and enjoy the advice or help that you get. It doesn't mean that anyone is better than you... It proves that we are all in this together.

Social Media is about sharing your passions. Blog about what makes YOU passionate. Not everyone is going to like it, but more people will stick around if they can feel the passion in your blog.

If you are just starting out, make friends and join forces with bloggers that have a similar follower base as you. You will want larger bloggers as mentors, but having a group of bloggers that are on your level and have similar content is a perfect setting to feed off each other and grow together. Grow can mean follower numbers, but I think personal and content growth are more important.

{ Giving Away: Bohemian Handmade Bag }

Stay true to yourself. It's easy to get lost in the crowd by trying to be like other bloggers. But be YOU! That's what makes your blog different.

Have a kick ass blog design. A blog design is like a first impression and people will take you and your blog more seriously if you have a professional design.

Be nice! Respond to comments and tweets and help out other bloggers when you can... I believe in karma ;)

{ Giving Away: Medium Ad Space }

 I know it's said time and time again in Blog land but do not be a no-reply blogger. Blogging is about networking and interacting with others. How am I supposed to interact with you when I can't respond to the comment you left me?

Remember why you started. Don't get lost in the link-ups and blog hops. Stay true to yourself and make sure you're posting content that matters to you. It's too easy to only post about the good stuff. Post about the hard stuff as well. We're all real people and we know that life isn't always cupcakes and rainbows.

Be honest. It can be hard to come up with something 100% original in a space that thrives on sharing and re-doing. No one wants their ideas/plans stolen by someone else. If you were inspired by someone, give them a shout out. If you're doing something that was someone else's idea - give them credit. 

{ Giving Away: 1 Month Ad Space & $10 to Bath & Body Works }

*always be yourself...don't be afraid to speak your truth

*take quality pics...people like to look at pretty things

*post often...your followers like to stalk you so give them something to stalk 

{ Giving Away: lil' bows headband-  gray polka dot }

*Blog about what you love and are passionate about

*Be true to YOU

*Network not just to grow in numbers, but to make real connections

{ Giving Away: Your Choice at J & M's Eye Candy }

*Be creative with your post titles 

*Be yourself always

*Have FUN!

{ Giving Away: A Lia Sophia Bracelet }

No matter how many followers you have, don't lose sight of why you are blogging. 

Be humble and help out smaller blogs. 

A clean, eye-catching design will keep the attention of new and old readers!

{ Giving Away: XL Ad Space }

Reach out to bloggers outside of your comfort zone. You'll never know when you will find a new friend! 

Be as honest as possible. Don't be one of those fake "everything is perfect all the time" bloggers…absolutely everyone has ups and downs with life. The ups and downs are what make you accessible to your readers. 

Use common courtesy, people! Be respectful. Don't talk bad about other bloggers because of their religious, political, or other beliefs. Share the love, and it'll come back around to you! 

{ Giving Away: $15 Shop Credit to KO Jewelry }

Do not be scared to reach out to other bloggers for help....even the "big" bloggers....remember they are NOT celebrities, just regular people like you and me

Stand up for what you believe is right, even if it means not everybody in blogland will like you

Don't give a fuck....who cares what everybody else is doing or saying - its YOUR blog, so do what YOU want...if you want to have giveaways every single day - great! If you don't want to do sponsor posts, okay! - always participating in link ups? cool!!...doesn't matter - do what you want! 

{ Giving Away: A Spot on the MINI project {$20 Value} & DIRTY Girl Ad Space }

Prize Round Up:

*A Spot on the MINI project {$20 Value} & DIRTY Girl Ad Space on MessyDirtyHair

*$20 to Target & 3 Months Ad Space on Lulu & Sweet Pea

*$15 Shop Credit to KO Jewelry

*$20 to Maybooks 

*Lia Sophia Bracelet 

* lil' bows headband-  gray polka dot 

*Your Choice at J & M's Eye Candy

*Medium Ad Space on Jessica Who?

*1 Month Ad Space on Crazy Tragic, Almost Magic & $10 to Bath & Body Works

*Bohemian Handmade Bag

*XL Ad Space on WTF

a Rafflecopter giveaway

tgif lovers

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