#FundayMonday Link Party CO-HOST

This week I am thrilled to be Co-Hosting Funday Monday with Molly of Still Being Molly and Carly of Lipgloss and Crayons. These are a couple of my fave blogs, so it's quite an honor to be selected  as a co-host this week. And, thank you, ladies for featuring my post on Exceptional Blogging. An honor and a privilege!

Over the weekend I met up with Heather Thacker Photography for a fun photo shoot through Downtown Boone. We had such a great time! Here's a little sneak preview:

Image © Heather Thacker Photography

 

Welcome to Funday Monday! Here are a few of our favorites posts from last week’s link-up:

Layers & Distressed Denim || Best Beauty DIY of 2013 || Robot Cake || Five Steps to an Exceptional Blog

The Rules for #FundayMonday Link-Ups:

1. Follow your hosts Molly @ still being [molly] & Carly @ Lipgloss & Crayons! And, be sure to follow and check out this week’s guest hosts: Whitney @ Whitney 'Nic' James and Stephanie @ Newly Mynted.
2. Grab a button and / or post a link back here in your BLOG POST (NOT your blog’s main page) so your readers know what all the #fundaymonday-ness is about. We love you guys linking up and we do go through and read all your posts… so if you do not give credit, we will have to remove your link. That’s no fun, right? Right. So be nice and share a link! Pretty please?
3. Link your blog post up using the linky tool below! It can be ANYTHING! An outfit post, a giveaway, a story, a recipe, whatever. Why? Cause it’s #fundaymonday!
4. Visit a blog or four that you’ve never been to before and leave a #fundaymonday comment – you never know, you might “meet” someone new that you will lurve!
5. Have fun! Cause it’s Monday!

Want to cohost #FundayMonday? We are currently accepting weekly cohosts! Please email us at mollystillman@gmail.com for more info!

Style Guide: Gold Plated Fashion

I have one of my favorite Tweeps for you today.

Hi all – my name is Sydney and I run the personal style blog, Chic Stripes. Stephanie reached out on twitter earlier this week looking for someone to help fill her blog posts, so I gladly volunteered. I “met” Stephanie through the weekly #BlogTrends Chats on twitter (Mondays at 9 PM; so good!). I don’t even remember what the topic was that week but I do remember being drawn to Stephanie’s comments and of course her blog. She’s an all-around lovely woman!

I wanted to bring you, her readers, something of interest, and loved all of Stephanie’s recent posts on gold foil. So when she requested style inspiration – I knew it had to contain metallics!

Metallics are everywhere right now: on the runways, celebrities, and bloggers; in sweatshirts, jackets, skirts and of course accessories. As we transition from winter to spring, now is a great time to break them out – no need to reserve them just for glittery holidays.

But how do you style these for your every-day life? If you’re like me, you are not jet setting off to islands and needing a bronze metallic bikini or glamming up to receive an Oscar in a silver metallic gown.  I prefer to grunge up my metallic, keeping them ultra-cool and casual. Try these tips:

1.       Tone it down – Wear a metallic top, but throw a blazer over it or loop a huge scarf at your neck. 

2.       Keep it rough – Play with the textures of our your other clothes – wear denim, knit, suede, or wood – that will contract with the slick metallic and help bring it down a notch.

3.       Try just a tad – if you don’t like to go with a trend full force, try just a bit of metallic. Find a shoe or skirt with metallic trim or strip. Look for sweaters or cardigans with metallic thread for a bit of sparkle. Add a metallic bag or flat while keeping the rest of your outfit natural. Don’t forget necklaces, bracelets, rings and even hair accessories – all of these can be great for bringing in a touch of metallic. Remember, a little bit of metallic can go a long way!  

4.       Go all out – If you’re gonna wear metallic, try looking for a statement piece: a coat, blazer, skinny pants/leggings, or sweater.  

If you wear any metallic this week, I’d love to know how you wore it! Email (chicstripes@gmail.com) or tweet (@chicstripes) me a pic!

Thank you, Sydney, for taking the stage for me today. Please show Sydney some link-love this weekend:
Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram

Guest post // Stylings & Stories [FREEBIE]

It's Friday, and my honey's birthday, so we're headed out of town for a fishing trip.

Happy birthday, Snookums!

In the meantime, I asked Stephanie of Stylings and Stories to fill in for me. Stephanie is a writer, editor and designer, and has a cute little blog full of precious smiles.

Image © Stephanie Hall, Stylings & Stories

She was sweet enough to design a desktop wallpaper for you lovelies to enjoy. It comes in various desktop sizes, as well as for your mobile device or tablet.

Desktop 1680x1050 download

 Desktop 2560x1440 download

Desktop 2880x1800 download

 Mobile download

Tablet download

Take a moment and head over to Stephanie's blog, show her a little link love. And I ask that if you download the freebie, please share it. Stephanie put a lot of her time into it.

Have a great weekend!

Steph

Wanna make some pretty paper mache bowls with me?

Head over to Julie Ann Art. I'm sharing this tutorial with her.