Today we have an amazing giveaway from my favorite Blowfish Shoes! They have been sweet enough to offer one lucky Tea Talk reader their choice of any shoe in their shop (seriously, how amazing)!
To enter you must:
1. Be a follower of the Tea Talk blog.
2. Check out the Blowfish Shoes website and leave me a comment telling me which pair you would choose if you won!
Recently Scott finished up a few handmade lights he was asked to make for the The Grow-Op. Scott used vintage thread spools and turned them into the most beautiful hanging lights. They turned out so well, and last Friday he put them up for display at The Grow-Op.
Pictured outside in front of the shop (a temporary display).
Scott is selling the vintage spool lights at The Grow-Op. You can by the bundle and have them as a beautiful chandelier, or buy them separately and have a unique, handmade light for your home (or a loved one’s). I really am so proud of Scott for making these! He truly has such a great talent!
With the holidays among us, it’s the perfect time to check out your local shops for unique Christmas presents for your family and friends. If you live locally, check out The Grow-Op, 902 N. 6th Street, Phoenix, for holiday presents. I think a handmade lamp would be an amazing gift for someone sweet (wink, wink).
Are you shopping localy for the holidays? What are you up to today?
This past Friday was the 6th annual Crafeteria! Every year I look forward to this one night, amazing craft event, and every year Scott and I have such a great time. This year we headed down to downtown Phoenix early so we could eat dinner at our favorite food truck (Short Leash Dogs!), and afterward we made our way around all of the booths.
(Us inside Smeeks, checking out all of the sweet goodies and warming up!)
This year we saw so many friends, and were also lucky enough to meet a few sweet bloggers as well. Later on in the evening our good friends Courtney and Sanford met up with us, and we all had a great time checking out the craft booths, looking through Smeeks, Frances Studio, and Frances, and also chatting with more sweet friends.
Recently the Frances Studio was turned in a Christmas wonderland and I had such a good time checking out all of the holiday goodies. I wanted each and every ornament there!
Before the night was over we spent some time hanging out with our friend Katherine, and also the newlyweds Ryan and Kara. It sure was a great event, and the turn out was amazing! The booths this year rocked, and I’m a little sad I didn’t take the plunge and by something pretty. There is always next year though!
A big thank you goes out to the lady of the hour, miss Georganne Bryant. Georganne is always incredibly sweet to Scott and I, and we are so thankful that she puts on such an amazing event every year. Thank you Georganne! We love you!
Did you attend Crafeteria this year? Do you have a favorite craft event you attend every year?
The end of the semester is so near that I can taste it! It tastes like a yummy hot americano with a little bit of soy milk and honey in it. Well, that might have been what I was drinking yesterday while finishing up a final online class. I’m telling you though, it was delicious! If I can just have one of those every day until finals are officially over, I will be a happy lady!
It was extra chilly out yesterday, but under all of my layers (which I took off because the sun poked out from behind the clouds and felt so good on my chilly bones) I wanted to wear something pretty and dainty. I’m absolutely loving the dainty details of this I Heart Ronson blouse from Jcpenney. The collar is darling, and the flowy sleeves just feel like me.
Every student needs a great satchel! Wouldn’t you agree? This one perfectly fits all of my Grad school notebooks and all of my other purse goodies. I just love a classic bag!
This morning I’m warming up with the very last of my Trader Joe’s pumpkin spice coffee. I promised myself I wouldn’t by the new Trader Joe’s gingerbread coffee until I finished this one, so now I can make a quick trip to TJs to pick some up. I swear, amazing grocery stores are my guilty pleasure. I could stay in them for hours checking out all of the yummy food and coffee!
Today is for, you guessed it, more time spent on my final papers. I’m almost there though, so I don’t mind finishing them up! I’m so excited just to say that I finished my first semester in Grad school. For years I thought starting Grad school seemed so far away, and now I’m about to finish up my first semester! Life sure does go by quickly!
What are you up to today? What’s your favorite hot drink currently?
Sometimes outfits just find me. Yesterday was a very lazy Sunday and I was in one of those “put on anything you can find” kind of moods. It has been extra chilly, so I knew I had to layer up, but I also wanted to give my Ugglebo Clogs another go around to break them in a little more. As you can see, I ended up with a black/brown combo. I’ve always been a fan of mixing these two colors, and my “found” outfit ended up being just I what I needed. Casual, but cozy.
Scott and I spent a lot of time working on final papers during the day, but we did find some time to take a little walk around downtown Mesa. It was very chilly out, and we were hoping our favorite local coffee shop, Lo-Fi, would be open so we could get a peppermint mocha. Well, the shop ended up being closed, but I still really enjoyed our walk.
I swear, I really love these Victoria clogs. Awhile back someone mention that if I were a shoe, I would be these exact ones. Is it weird to know what kind of shoe you would be if you were a shoe? Nope, I didn’t think so!
Today I have a final test to take, and also more time to spend working on final papers. I’m also hoping to break out some of the Christmas cheer and do a fun little activity from our advent calendar. I also really want to make a trip to Trader Joe’s, but when don’t I want to make a trip there?
Thanks to the sweet guy above for taking my pictures. He’s always such a good sport!
Outfit details:
Nicole by Nicole Miller faux leather jacket: c/o Jcpenney
Last night at Crafeteria was magical. Scott and I ran into so many familiar faces, and had such an amazing time eating veggie dogs, looking at beautiful crafts, and spending time with sweet friends. This morning I’ve been thinking a lot about last night and the only word that comes to mind is magical. I feel a bit influenced by Elise Blaha’s idea of magic, and really hope to run with it through the rest of December. Hear’s to a magical month!
It is COLD in Phoenix today! This morning when I went outside I could see my breathe! December is really embracing the cold, and I am totally ok with that. I am also completely ready to embrace this month with open arms, and I’m ready to fully enjoying the holiday cheer. I’ve even been thinking about getting the She & Him Christmas album, and I don’t even like Christmas music!
On Tuesday I had a get together with a few girlfriends at my favorite coffee shop in downtown Phoenix. My good friend Courtney (who has a sweet blog called Phoenix is Haute) was wearing this awesome layered look of a cardigan and a jean vest that she picked up at my favorite store (Levi’s, of course). Well I was inspired by Courtney’s look, so I decided to recreate it my own way.
I bought this vest my first year in college on super sale. Throughout the years I have gone back and forth with loving it, and recently rediscovered it in my closet when I went through a cleaning spring to find long forgotten sweaters (it’s finally sweater season). A few years ago I put a The Format (favorite band in high school) button on it and have not taken it off since. I kind of love pieces like this that you can keep around forever. A jean vest is timeless!
Today I am SO excited because Scott and I are going down to Phoenix to check out our friend Sanford’s art on display at Bragg’s Pie Factory, and then heading down to Crafteteria! I look forward to this amazing craft show every year and I’m so excited that it’s finally here!
Over the Thanksgiving holiday Scott and I decided to go on a little lunch date to La Grande Orange. This sweet restaurant is one of our favorites, but sadly we hadn’t been there in so long. The atmosphere is always a bit chaotic, but that’s the beauty of it. They have the most amazing trinkets for sale, sweet treats, and serve up the best mac and cheese I’ve ever had!
Capturing the goodness that is the front counter on Instagram (of course haha).
Scott and I both were really excited for our little lunch date. We were both in need of a break, and settling down with some yummy food was the perfect way to relax and take in the beginning of our mini-holiday break.
I had a delicious veggie sandwich! I was hoping they would have their amazing butternut squash soup, but alas, the soup of the day was white bean chili.
Scott and I shared their famous green chili mac and cheese. I can’t eat the chilis, so I eat around them and Scott gets the spicy bites! He’s a trooper!
Scott got the tuna sandwich and really enjoyed it!
Before we left I had to get a honey latte. They always have the best coffee, and I just couldn’t pass up one of their lattes.
I wish I could describe how delicious this was! It was sweet, but not too sweet. It had the best coffee taste to it, and was just overall perfect (seriously). Over the years I’ve become less of a latte girl (iced coffee forever), but I really loved this one! I wish I lived closer to LGO so I could have one more often.
Today I have a few errands to do (of course), papers to work on (what’s new, right?), and a fun interview to do later this evening with a journalism student from my alma mater.
Don’t forget to check out and say hello to my new December sponsors!
A have a favorite neighborhood in Tempe. I’m pretty sure it’s everyone’s favorite because all of the house are unique, and their trees always have their leaves change to the most beautiful colors around this time of year. Every time I drive down one of their streets I can’t help but just take in all of this emotion that comes along with fall nostalgia (and now onto those winter thoughts).
When I put on this outfit I felt very studious. Like I should be going to school in England and sipping hot tea and eating scones at Harrods for an afternoon snack (I did this once and it was a dream come true! Can I please do it again?). I love this sweet wrap around skirt with the big buttons, my A Beautiful Mess necklace (Elsie did such an amazing job designing it!), and my cute new satchel I got on super sale from Jcpenney! It’s definitely an outfit I would like to repeat!
Now that this semester is winding down I’m in crunch mode. I’m eating, sleeping, breathing homework and worrisome thoughts that I won’t finish every project I need to have overcome me (I know I will, but I always worry). Last night Scott and I took some time to just enjoy some yummy coffee and the company of sweet friends. It felt really good just to breathe for a few, and talk about something that doesn’t involve school work.
Do you see the leaves falling? It’s a miracle! I could have sworn I was in the Pacific Northwest when this was happening!
The leaves in this spot were just truly stunning! Scott and I just couldn’t get enough. I would have stayed here all afternoon! There is a sweet coffee shop down the street that I would have loved to pick up a hot latte from and gone on an extra long walk around the rest of the neighborhood.
Today I have to continue studying for a final test, and attend class later in the evening. I also plan on sipping a lot of tea and coffee because lately I have been so cold. I know it’s not very cold outside, but I’m always cold! I also plan on working on our advent calendar, and wrapping up a few odds and ends I’ve been meaning to get done.
Tonight I’m thankful for sweet lady friends who like to get together and enjoy yummy coffee drinks and talk about exciting plans, and who send out lots of inspiration to float around in my mind. I’m also very thankful for my sweet guy who goes with me to doctors appointments, cares for my wounds (small ones on my feet), and drives me around because it hurts too much to push on the peddles of my car.
I have a lot to be thankful for. Thank you sweet friends and amazing boyfriend for making my night!
