generation gap celebrates the holidays

i see some of my running friends every saturday. others i don't see as often, but when we see each other we are in our running clothes. every so often we get together off the road and actually get ourselves ready for the day. these ladies are beautiful, and i love seeing them all dolled up.

we met at heidi's house for our christmas party. there are so many of us now, and it's a good time to catch up with everyone. we had the most delicious soups and salads and the best conversation.

what would you do...with red lipstick

this is the last official what would you do with kimberly for a while. she's having a baby, and doing other things. it's been a fun thing, and i want to continue. so..i'm looking for another host(s). leave me a comment or email aubreyzaruba@gmail.com if you want more information.

this month we want to know WHAT WOULD YOU DO...with red lipstick?

my lips are super dry so i don't always wear a lot of lipstick. i have been trying to wear more lately so this theme was perfect. i would do 2 things.

1. pick a matchy matchy outfit-red skirt, red nails, red lips

walmart shirt|agnes and dora skirt|nine west booties|hair extensions c/o irresistable me

2. go a little more neutral with the clothes and use red as an accent color for accessories and lips

old navy cardi and dress|dsw booties|scarf swap exchange

i'm wearing clinique matte crimson. red looks different on different people, but my friend meredith recommends these shades for everyone

rimmel provacalips kiss me you fool 

wet n wild cherry on top

we want to know...WHAT WOULD YOU DO...with red lipstick?

An InLinkz Link-up

beauty time tuesday...a sephora update

i posted a while ago about one of the best beauty finds-perfume sampler.

i think i paid about $60 for the set of 7 samples. i already knew i loved 2 of them because i have had them before. i wanted to buy them again which is why i went in sephora in the first place. i was so happy to discover this sample set. i didn't end up loving a couple of the samples so i gave them to someone else.

part of the set included a voucher for a full size perfume. i had a hard time deciding what to get, but i decided on gucci guilty. i love it so much!

i went to sephora over the weekend and got the full size perfume and my birthday lip crayons for being a beauty insider all for zero dollars. it was a happy day day at sephora. 

i asked this last time, and i'm asking again. do you have a favorite perfume? i love good smells.

weekend happs

i was off work on thursday and friday so my weekend technically started a little earlier. i've had a few days off this month due to a change in our paid time off policy at work. as much as i wanted to spend my days relaxing, i've been busy getting ready for christmas. all my christmas cards are done. i need to order one more gift, and then i will be done shopping. i just have a ton of wrapping to do.

after working on christmas all day thursday i met tiffany and sage for dinner at tsunami. we went pretty early so luckily there was no wait. after dinner we drove around and looked at christmas lights. we tried to see the tree of life at draper park. the weather was bad and half the lights were out. we were sad, but ended up finding something else great-a house with tons of light set to music. after driving around looking at lights in the rain for a while we had dessert and called it a night.

i worked on christmas things-cards and gifts all day and night on friday. i got a lot done which made me really happy.

i got up extra early to run on saturday. i had to leave early so i tried to get a few extra miles in with the early crowd. i was totally dragging and not sad to leave. my running lately hasn't been the best. i really need to sign up for a race to get my rear in gear.

i spent most of the day at a high school drill competition. michelle coaches the layton high lancelles so we went to support her. we didn't have a drill team in high school, but i did grow up dancing. i love watching dance, and it was a fun day-besides sitting on hard bleachers all day.

i am trying to do as many christmas activities as possible. my church had a christmas program tonight. i LOVE christmas music! it was a great end to the weekend.

how was your weekend? any exciting happs?

blogger year in review-part 2...blogger fun

one of my favorite things about blogging is the connecting with others. living in utah makes it a lot easier. a lot of my fave bloggers live here, and there are things happening all the time. for this week's year in review post let's look back at the fun i've had with blogger friends this year. build your blog conference cuatro bonitas-not a blogging event but a blogging perk confetti night splash pad

bella ella

crepes at roll up cafe

celebrating jacque's birthday at tsunami

alison's cabana boogie sandy and cecilia's birthday dinner

blogger no sleepover i have had a lot of fun with blogger friends this year and look forward to many more fun times with locals and out of towners. i am grateful for my continued friendships and look forward to meeting new friends in the coming year. we want you to join us. your review posts can be about whatever you want. there are really no rules. grab the button and link up this week and/or next. next week stays open the rest of the month. we want to hear about your year.

An InLinkz Link-up

homemade peppermint oreos updated

'tis the season for all the treats. they are everywhere, and i'm not really helping things much. i like giving gifts and treats so i usually do a christmas treat for my co-workers. everyone LOVED these homemade peppermint oreos. i have made them in the past, but i changed things a little this year.

tips for success

use shortening instead of oil in the cookies

make buttercream frosting instead of buying it in the can

pulse food processor or blender so the crushed peppermints are less fine

cookies

1 chocolate cake mix

1/2 c shortening

2 eggs

mix. bake at 350* for 8 minutes

frosting recipe here + add 1-2 teaspoons mint extract to taste

roll in crushed peppermint

these are great for neighbors, the office, or just to have at home for the holidays.

how we wore it...holiday plaid

with the business of the holiday season, we changed up the schedule around here a little. today is how we wore it. what will you do is coming up next wednesday so get your red lipstick posts ready for next week. here's how it works...brooke sends out the inspiration photo. we all style our own take on the look, take some photos, and post. i love seeing how everyone styles their look. if you want to participate next month, head to silver lining blog to sign up. i was really excited to get the inspiration photo this month. i have basically all the pieces of this look.

 from Because Shanna Said So

photos bonnie scarf exchange|old navy sweater|old navy dress|walmart leggings|dsw booties|michael kors watch|alex and ani bracelets to see how everyone else wore it

Brooke at Silver Lining| Robin at Penn & Quill| Aubrey at Aubrey Zaruba| Maren at Maren and Co| Brielle at Breezy and Co| Eden at We Are Worth Saving| Bekah at These Are The Days| Tayler at The Morrell Tale| Jessica at Mason Jars and Lemon Bars| Sharlee at My New Lines| Berkley at Berkley Anne| Jennifer at The Pepper Express| Alexa at He and I| Hannah at Hannah Rae| Rachel at Rachel Sayumi| Hannah at My Life as a Baseball Bride| Amy at Harris Inc.| Brooklyn at Brooklyn Jolley| Stephanie at The Artist + The Architect| Charlene at From Bisons to Buckeyes| Justine at Little Dove Creations| Jennifer at Jennifer Sikora| Paige at The Happy Flammily| Bonnie at The Life of Bon| Sarah at My For Real Life| Kyla at FordOlogy| Riley at Riley Jo Blog| Shelbie at R+S Brereton| Megan at Diary of This Girl| Sierra at Sierra's View| Emma at Ever Emma| Danica at Danikan Skywalker| Deidre at Deidre Emme

friend holiday celebration

with everyone's busy schedules and my birthday celebration later in the month, we celebrated Christmas over the weekend. we drew names this year which is kind of nice. 

we met for dinner at the mandarin. the restaurant is a little small and a local favorite. the food was delish and we had fun chatting and chatting. 
we went back to Laurann's to exchange gifts. for some reason Michelle was really nervous about giving me my gift. 

i LOVE everything she got! I'm glad we celebrated early. it makes the holiday extend all month long. do you celebrate Christmas with girlfriends? do you draw names or give to everyone?

2015 goal update...focus on...why

i'm starting to think about my word for 2016. i have an idea of what i want to do, but i haven't decided for sure. i want to make sure i finish 2015 still working on my word for 2015. i have one more month to focus.

november was focus on...why

1. spend 5 minutes each day being still/pondering-i started out the month really well. i turned the radio off in the morning on the way to the gym to give myself a little bit of quiet time. the morning is the best time for me to have those few moments of silence.

2. record 3 good things about my day in my journal each night (i have done this in the past and really liked it)-i did really well with this and plan to continue.

3. create mission statement for my blog-um...i didn't get to this one.

December is focus on...the holidays

1. finish Christmas cards early-i am already making good progress. cards are ordered and in the process of completion

2. take advantage of holiday activities-lights, activities, etc.

3. enjoy the holidays rather than stress

we're at the very end of the year. how are your goals going?