Black Friday Sales

Black Friday is an enjoyable holiday for a lot of people (bloggers especially!) & what kind of blogger would I be if I skipped out on putting together a list of sales for you all to enjoy??

This year, my family decided against going out, but stores have been wonderful with including their Black Friday sales online for all of us homebodies. 

Here are a few awesome deals to shop this weekend: 

Kohl's is always a favorite of mine during the holidays. This year, I need a new pair of riding boots and I adore these Lauren Conrad ones! 

Bath & Body Works is having a Buy 3 Get 3 Free (everything!) sale and why, oh, why would we want to pass this deal up?! 

Nordstrom's sale is 25% off selected items now through Monday. Items included range from so many ferent options. My favorites are the Kendra Scott earrings. 

Other items that are not on sale are still great holiday finds for under $30 including: the white mug with gold heart, initial tray, and  the plaid pj's.

At Anthropology, today only, shop everything for 25% off! My favorite items from there are, of course, the mugs. If you follow me on Instagram, you'll know how much I love my black and white initial mug, so you can imagine how much I love the gold one! I ordered this one this morning (and I wish it was here today! It could be used with this freezing Oklahoma weather..) Best part of this deal? these mugs are less than $8! 

Head to your nearest LOFT store for 50% off of (almost) everything! OR shop here for 40% off of (almost) everything! LOFT is my favorite store to shop at. Every time I step in that beautiful store, my wallet is doomed. I went recently and bought this green vest. It is perfect! I now want this purple one, but may have to wait - I already own so many vests.. (But a girl can never have too many, right?)

J Crew Factory is everything 50% off today. I can't stop looking through all of their pretty items. I love the amount of plaid that they have! I'm eyeing this scarf (& it is under $25!)

BaubleBar is another one of my favorite shops. So many pretty jewelry pieces and I want every single one of them! Today their sale is 30% off. I especially love the monogram pieces and the chunky bracelets. 30% off is an incredible deal for this jewelry! 

This initial necklace is only $10 today! (excluded from the discount, but still a steal!) 

What awesome finds did you buy this Black Friday? I'd love to know! :)

Gifts for the Girly Girl

We all know a girly girl or two and with all of the pretty items out there in the shopping malls, how is a gifter to know what to get their girly friends? Well, lucky for you, most girls who adore all of the girly things are actually very easy to shop for! The colors you will want to look for while shopping for these girls are typically white, gold (or silver), and whatever the favorite color of the girl's is (mine is pink). White, gold, and silver basically scream glam which is what these girls adore. 

Scents might be a bit difficult to choose (especially if you she is sensitive to scents like I am) but usually when a girl really wants a perfume, she'll hint at it often. And if she doesn't, just go for the one with the cute packaging. The girly girls love beauty just as much as fashion (if not more!) so stores like Ulta or Sephora are great places to shop! And girls love just about all of the products there, so just have fun while shopping for some lipsticks or nail polishes (another great tip would be to look for colors that you know she likes). If you buy her something she already has, bonus for her because she'll most likely be glad to have multiple in something she loves!

Scarf: Nordstrom  Candle: Bath & Body Works (Sign up for emails for sales. These often go on sale for 2 for $24!)  Perfumes: Gucci Bamboo, Ralph Lauren Romance, Michael Kors  Lipstick: "Snob"  Necklaces: Forever 21 (here, here)  Gloves: Forever 21  Eyelash Curler & Mascara: Tarte  Blush and Bronzer Duo: NARS ($24!)  Tumbler: Nordstrom  

Christmas Gift Guide

It can get pretty difficult for us women to know what it is exactly that we want for the holidays, especially these days where we see outfit after outfit on Instagram and inwardly wish we had that perfect item that so & so wore and not know which item to add to our lists. That is why I put together a holiday gift guide! Just a little bit of help to know which items to hint at to our mothers, sisters, and girlfriends to gift us for Christmas (or for ourselves to gift ourselves... I'm plenty guilty of that myself!) ;)

These items weren't only picked out for you to put on your Christmas list, but to help direct you in an idea of what you might look out for as you do some preparation shopping. Things to look out for include: colors - do you want the colors in your wardrobe to coordinate or do you prefer a wide range of colors? 

Items - Are you wishing for clothes this Christmas? Or maybe accessories (scarves, jewelry, hats, or purses)? One of my favorite gift item is a coffee mug or tumbler. Most people love their coffee or tea (& it's winter so hot chocolate is common this season - bonus!). My family loves to exchange pajamas (I'm planning a post dedicated to holiday pj's soon!) and blankets/throws are always nice to have as well! 

During the holidays, I especially love the colors red, black, white, green, and definitely GOLD. Throw some gold glitter on just about anything and you've won my heart. Stores get the memo that these colors are beautiful together, so it's not too difficult to find great items. I love J Crew Factory, LOFT, Gap, and New York & Company. These stores usually have sales that help with the high price tags (sign up for emails or download the free app RetailMeNot for amazing discounts!). My ultimate favorite places to shop (the ones that really take all of my money) are Target and TJ Maxx. Those two stores alone are enough to give everyone on my list a gift.. or two! ;) 

Plaid Skirts: J Crew Factory

Red & Black Buffalo PJ's: J Crew Factory

Vest: J Crew Factory

Gold & White Striped Tumbler: Kate Spade

Gold & White Polka Dot Planner: Kate Spade

Gold Glitter Earrings: Kate Spade

Monogrammed Coffee Mug: Starbucks (Mug) 

Brush and Bow etsy (Monogram)

Gold Initial Mug: Anthropologie ($10!)

November

November 

Well it is already halfway through November and it definitely has been a better month than October was! November so far has been filled with some really good days. (& now as it goes towards the end, I am preparing for writing papers, a speech, and then finals. Let's hope it goes by fast!) 

Here are some highlights from November thus far: 

Last year I was gifted the Lauren Conrad "Style" book by a sweet girl who got my name in the #instasecretsanta gift exchange over on instagram and this year I finally spotted the "Beauty" book over at my local Half Price Books. I couldn't be more happy that my collection is now complete. These books are perfect for weekend reading and are definitely great gifts for your girlfriends and sisters! 

My Anthropology initial mug is by far the best mug that I own! I bought my sister and me one last year during the holidays, and I haven't regretted it one teeny tiny bit. I'm eyeing the gold and white seasonal one, so maybe for Christmas this year?? ;) 

My sister came home from college over the weekend and of course we had to take a trip to Target (since there is not a Target anywhere close to her college town). Target, Starbucks, and donuts are our thing, so we make sure one of those gets put on our list of to-do's when she comes home. 

Look at all of the gift wrapping! It is a difficult process to wait until after Thanksgiving to decorate for Christmas. 

Cookies were also on our list of to-do's for the weekend. We wanted to try a new tradition of baking sugar cookies for the holidays, so we got our cousin's recipe, made a big (BIG) mess in our kitchen, and completely butchered the decorating part of the process! But we are determined to keep this new tradition up and work on our frosting skills. (Where's the fist pump emoji when you need it?) 

I have been wanting the Naked 2 palette for several months now since I gave mine to my sister to take with her to college, but I have convinced myself plenty of times that I can live without it. 

Clearly, I couldn't. ;)

My last favorites to brag about are the Sophie Harper earrings that I received in my latest Rocksbox set. These gold studs are the perfect go-to accessories for any outfit. Rocksbox can help you up your style with the help of personal stylists who choose three pieces of jewelry a month. It is a very simple process. Sign up for Rocksbox, pay $19 a month, and receive a box full of jewels at your doorstep! Pieces can be Kendra Scott, Sophie Harper, Loren Hope, Gorjana, and more! 

*Use the code simplymissmarissxoxo for a FREE month of Rocksbox*

I hope that this November is bringing you all lots of blessings! Thanksgiving is right around the corner and there are so many reasons to be thankful! I am so thankful for all of you! Happy (early) Thanksgiving & Happy Fall, sweet friends! 

October

I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.

-Anne of Green Gables

Wow, have I slacked in the whole blogging department this past month.. and I am so sad that I did not document October! I have always loved October, being that it is the month of fall. If you haven't figured it out by now, I am a lover of fall and anything associated with it. I anticipate fall from the first day of winter all the way into the last day of summer. 

October wasn't as I hoped it would be this year. The first couple of weeks were great, but the last two dragged on and on and I am so thankful that they are over. There were tests and papers back to back for two weeks straight which kept me running low on sleep. I got into my very first car accident (very minor which means that I was very blessed!) and I have had a cold that has lasted almost two weeks. To say I'm ready for this new month is an understatement and boy am I ever ready for November! It is day three into the month and so far I have had little to complain about. (Let's keep it that way please!) While some people are already pulling out the Christmas decor and wrapping presents, I am enjoying this last month of autumn with all the love I have in me. I may listen to some Christmas music here and there and begin watching the hallmark Christmas movies (is there even a limit to how long we are allowed to watch those? I'd watch them all year long if I could!), but give me all the fall things for as long as I can still sociably embrace them. ;) 

I'm already missing the fall cups at Starbucks. Do I really have to wait another year to see these cute cups again? 

I do have a few favorite things from October that have made the month more beautiful and enjoyable. Last fall, I chose not to buy the plaid blanket scarf that has taken over Instagram and Pinterest, but this year, it was on sale over at Brina Box, so I gave in. And let me tell you all. It is just as wonderful as everyone made it out to be. I highly recommend adding it to your wardrobe! One of my items on my list to buy for the season was a floppy hat. I know that not everyone can pull off a hat, and for the longest time, I was one of those girls. Then, all of a sudden, poof! hats actually looked decent on me. (Mostly because I figured a way to adjust my makeup to advance the look, but hey, if I can wear a hat, I'll do what it takes!) ;) I was sold on this hat as soon as I put it on inside of Francesca's. Bonus: My mom loved it just as much as I did, so I couldn't say no to it. 

My mom used to buy the energy aromatherapy products from Bath and Body Works and I have always loved the smell. I watched a YouTube haul video where a girl showed her favorites and the body wash was featured which brought back my memories of the products, so when I went into Bath and Body Works, I fell in love all over again and purchased the body lotion. Totally worth it. I also purchased two candles (naturally because of their wonderful 2 for $24 deal): Pumpkin Pie and Pumpkin Pecan Waffles. 

Y-U-M. 

I'm loving the idea of smelling pumpkin pie all throughout November. 

The last item I have to share with you is the ultimate fall lipstick - MAC's Rebel. It is the perfect shade of purple that amazingly looks great on everyone. (I may even own two!) 

Although October is said and done, we still have November. Autumn is still here and I am going to embrace this perfect season even if the days get hard. I thank God for the beauty of fall. There is so much to be grateful for this season. I hope that you all enjoy this month as well!