Love it . . .Keep it

Welcome to the first round of "Love it...Keep it" where I'll chat about a few things I'm lovin' and keepin' this week. Why call it "Love it...Keep it" you ask? Well, when I was in college I was in a sorority and every semester we would review our guidelines and we would say "love it keep it" if we liked that guideline. Well the phrase sort of stuck and I use it all the time. So why not use it on my blog ya know? So here we go....

First up, Yes to Carrots Shampoo and Conditioner.
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My friend Holly recommended their products to me about a month ago and I immediately went out to Target and picked some up. I use the Pampering Carrot Juice Shampoo and the Pampering Hair Mud Conditioner. It was love at first smell. And no, they do not smell like carrots! It leaves my hair feeling clean and smelling yummy! Plus the products are made with real ingredients like pumpkin and honey...you can't beat that!

Next, let's talk about Stash Chai Spice Black Tea.

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This is one of my favorite teas that I just discovered last week. I am not a coffee drinker so I'm always on the hunt for a good tea. Seriously so good. I have a cup of this tea with a dash of honey every morning at work...and it smells divine. I've also had the double spice chai tea and it is good too!

Number three this week is Bath and Body Works Winter Candle.(photo source)

This candle is left over from Christmas. It smells so good, I couldn't put it away! It smells like, well, winter....and Christmas. It makes my house feel warm and cozy, and I love it! This sent is available every winter, but they sell out quickly, so grab one when you see one!

My next love it keep it item is Old Navy's Women's Belted Boyfriend Cardigan.

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I picked this up last week in brown but they also have it in bright pink and light grey. Totally lovin' and keepin' this light and comfy sweater. And it is the perfect length.

And last for this week is Target's Merona Solid Wrap.

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Did I mention that Target is one of my favorite stores? I love these wraps. I have one in green and one in white (that I'm wearing today!). They are so soft and pretty...and only $12.99! They look way more expensive and I get a compliment every time I wear one.

Thanks for stopping by and reading "Love it...Keep it"! And stop by navy blue and i do for some really cute and personalized love it keep its.

What are you lovin' and keepin' this week?

State of the Blog

Welcome to my new blog! "Julie and Jon" has officially been retired and I am happy to introduce you to "The Girl in the Red Shoes"! I feel like I've had a mental block about blogging lately, and it was really starting to wear on me. For about a month I have been thinking about changing things up a bit around here. After a serious discussion with the husband last night about my blog and the purpose of blogging, I've decided to take this little blog a little more seriously. And thanks to my friend Erin at Navy Blue and I Do (check her out, she's got new stuff too!) I finally got the jump start I needed to make some changes. First, the name.....I think it suits me well, don't you? I am working on a new design and layout, so stay tuned for that.

Here are some of the goals I came up with for myself:

1. Post more often!
2. Comment more on other blogs....stop lurking and say hello!
3. Make more bloggy friends.
4. Create a weekly segment called "Love it Keep it" where I talk about things I'm currently lovin' and keepin' (stay tuned for the first installment, coming tomorrow!)
5. Share more personal views and opinions.
6. Find a blog design that I love.

Thanks for being patient with me as I change things up! I look forward to hearing what you guys think.

From now on you can find me at http://www.girlintheredshoes.com/ so please update your bookmarks. And leave a comment letting me know you made it over!

xoxo,
Julie

New Toy

This weekend my mom sent us a package in the mail full of goodies (thanks Mom!). One of the presents inside was a laser pointer toy for Pancake to play with. Pancake LOVES lasers and flashlights, and apparently so does Wrigley! Enjoy!

All Together Now...

This was the scene at our house the other day....

I was sitting on the couch with the blanket....and Wrigley was keeping warm underneath.

Pancake to my left.

And Henry to my right.

It's almost like they love each other....almost. (Thank you for ignoring the dirty dishes on the table).

New Look for the Front Door

I finally decided to take our front door Christmas wreath down....since it is like a month after Christmas after all. I left it up there because it was a fresh wreath that our neighbor gave us...and it was so pretty. Anyway, it was on it's last leg, so I decided we needed something new and spring-like for the front door. So of course I went to good old Hobby Lobby. (Right about now my mom is getting jealous that she doesn't have a HL by her in California. Well, mom, I feel the need to rub it in, seeing as you have Ikea, Home Goods, Nordstrom, BJ's pizza, Cheesecake Factory, and In n' Out all within a few minutes drive of your house. Hobby Lobby is the one thing I've got that you don't!) Anyway, moving on.

I forgot to take a picture of my supplies until after I had already started. Sorry. But I picked up 3 bunches of this green stuff at HL. They were half price. Oh, and I also forgot to move my water glass and ipod out of the way....just keeping it real around here. Oh and that hot glue gun? Didn't end up even using it, so pretend that's not there either.

I just cut the stems from the bunches and started sticking them in a wreath that I also got from HL for $3.99.

Here it is! I was going to trim her down and make it perfect looking, but then I decided I liked her all fluffy and natural...so I left it as is.

Then I took some ribbon I had and hot glued it to my wreath hanger. Then I tied a wooden "R" (for our last name) to the hanger to complete the look. I love it!

Welcome to our house!

Baby it's cold outside...

It has been sooo cold out here in Michigan. So we've been spending lots of time snuggling together inside, trying to keep warm. Pancake has been snuggling extra close to us these days because he feeling the chill too. Today the weather report is calling for a warming trend...only in Michigan would 30 degrees be considered "warm". Remind me why I live here again?

Dog Park

Since we do not have a fenced in yard, we have been taking Wrigley to a dog park so he can run and play. Our neighbor recommended the park to us....and let's just say that this dog park is like the royal supreme of dog parks. There are four separate areas in the park as well as a sand mountain and a lake! You could be there with other dogs and not even see them, the place is that big! And Wrigley absolutely loves going there to play!

He always manages to find a stick to run around with.

Listening for other dogs approaching....

Typical.


It is so cute to watch them all run and play together.

New Year's Eve

We had a few couples over to our house to celebrate New Year's Eve. It was nice to not have to brave the cold weather and crowds for once. And we all had so much fun!

Me and Ali with our champagne. This was after a few Miami Vice cocktails that tasted really good, but were deadly.....

The husband and Mo.....their faces crack me up.

The food spread before everyone arrived.

I made these yummy bacon wrapped cocktail sausages. It was a last minute decision but I'm so glad I made them because they turned out so good! The recipe can be found here. I made them in the oven then stuck them in the crock pot to keep warm. We will for sure have these again next time we have a party.

I also made this artichoke dip from a recipe I stole from my mom. Yum. We also had some egg rolls from Costco, but I forgot to take a picture of those.

Most of the night we played games and chatted. We had a blast catching up with each other.

And Wrigley had fun too! He loves it when we have people over to visit.

The girls: Sara, Me, Ali, and Karri.

The boys: Ron, Mo, the husband, and Brett. All the boys (plus Ali) went to college together and are still good friends.

Karri loves Wrigley...and he loves her! She was trying to get him to look at the camera....but he wasn't going for it.

2010 is the year Mo and Ali are getting married!

Mo, Ali, Brett, and Karri spent the night at our house. The next day we got up and went out to breakfast, and then we went bowling! Here is a great action shot of Mo taken by yours truly. Mo did great even without his personalized ball and shoes. Ha!

Me! I lost terribly. I'm a horrible bowler....and I had to use a kids ball because the other ones were way too heavy!

The girls....Ali had a kids ball too. Happy 2010!

Pictures from Christmas

We had a great Christmas with my mom in town. Even though it was really cold and her flight home was delayed for 3 days she was still a great sport! We wish we could have her visit more often....(yes mom, that is the truth!)

Me and my mom with Wrigley.

Wrigley loves my mom. He was so excited to see her every morning and he didn't want her to leave!

On Christmas day we went to my in-laws house for some yummy dinner and and presents. And of course Wrigley had to wear the Santa hat!

I love this one. We took a billion pictures of him that day.

The family

Us with my sister-in-law, Erin. Thanks everyone for a great Christmas!