Black & Orange

Happy Halloween, friends! I've never been super into this holiday {possibly because my favorite holiday is tomorrow. read: my birthday! ha} Anyways... today, instead of showing off Halloween projects, I thought I'd share images of black and orange done well in the world of design.

one / two / three / four / five / six / seven

via 

How'd that one get in the line up?! Oh yeah...the Giants won the World Series and their colors are black and orange! They totally made it into this Halloween themed post.

Now that's Halloween for ya. 

Have a wonderful day filled with lots of fun, cute outfits and more sweets than you'll know what to do with!

Happy Halloween!
Love,

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Breakfast Nook: Mirror Update

Our little breakfast nook has been undergoing a makeover the last few months.  When I was home last weekend, we took a trip to the new West Elm store in Palo Alto...it didn't disappoint! In fact, we left with a new mirror.  We got this reclaimed wood mirror for 30% off the day we purchased it which made us all very happy {mostly my dad!}  We made some progress in the nook in this post with the table and the new chandelier, but the mirror is the statement piece for the eating area. It warms up the room by bringing texture and takes up just the right amount of space on the wall.

Let's take a look back at the before of this space, so we can get some serious jaw-dropping going on here. We know...it was sort of bad. Out with the old...

And in the new...an updated after with the addition of our new mirror:

West Elm Mirror | Pottery Barn Chandelier {sold out of ours, but this one is similar.}

What do you think?! What updates have you made to your home recently?

 I can hardly believe tomorrow is Halloween! I'm not much of a Halloween celebrator, but I will be back tomorrow with a round up of my favorite fall and Halloween decor from around the blogosphere. If you have something you think I should show off, leave the link below so I can take a peek.

Also, I'll be baking the pumpkin bread mix from Trader Joe's today to bring to class with me tomorrow morning. Excited is an understatement!

Happy Tuesday!
Love,

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{Closed} Charleston Naturally GIVEAWAY

Happy Monday, loves! How was your weekend? Mine was wonderful- I spend a day in Newport Beach with a friend, went to church and finished up a whopper of a project for one of my classes.  I'll share some more on that later this week.  

Also, my San Francisco Giants won the World Series last night (for the second time in three years!) So exciting!!  Moving on...

Anyways, today I'm thrilled to show off an awesome product by Charleston Naturally!  This company is "on a mission to help you discover organic beauty and skin care products that are safe and effective for the whole family."

If there's one thing I've learned from my doctors, facialist and dermatologist it's this: always use sunscreen. I don't care what time of year, time of day, color in the sky...always use it under your make up! It prevents skin damage, wrinkles, lines and sunspots.  Today the girls at Charleston Naturally are giving away this amazing Boscia Vital Daily Moisturizer spf15 sunscreen to one lucky winner.

Things to love about this sunscreen:
• Hydrates and nourishes the skin.
• Helps prevent fine lines and maintain elasticity and tone.
• Absorbs quickly and easily.
• Combine moisturizer and sun protection in one step for added convenience.

I can't wait to get my hands on one of these sunscreens. Thank you to the ladies at Charleston Naturally for giving this product away and for selling products that are genuinely good for our skin-- that's so important to me! I'm thinking I'll do a post on my favorite skin care and beauty products soon. What do you think?

To enter the giveaway, simply use the tool below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have a wonderful start to your week! Use code CN20 for 20% off your purchase!
Love,

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{Weekend} Fall Link Love

{blooms from our front yard}

This is the weekend before Halloween, so I thought I'd pop in quickly to show off some of my favorite links for the season.

- Delicious vanilla bean pound cake.
- Halloween decor spruce up
-DIY bug plates
 - Lovely Fall mantel
- Pumpkin butter sticky buns recipe {get in my tummy right now!}
- Another pretty mantel for the season!
- Thanksgiving table scape that makes me want to dine with this sweet family + thanksgiving download collection! 
-Give Thanks banner 
- Sweetest Autumn wedding
-Natural decor for halloween
- Just because my mom always made chili on Halloween, here's a recipe that looks scrumptious.

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What should I add to my list?! Hope you have a lovely weekend filled with lots of relaxing and a bit of fun! Follow me on instagram {michaelanoelle} to see what I'm up to this weekend.

Catch ya on Monday, friends!
Love,

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Birthday Wish List

My birthday is quickly approaching...November 1st! I can't stomach that I'm nearly 22 years old. I keep telling everyone that 22 feels different than any other birthday-- 18 was the beginning of "adulthood", 21 was fun because I could enjoy a cocktail or two, but 22...it just sounds so serious. It's not really a "fun" age per say, but hey, I love birthdays and celebrating and let's be honest...I sort of love presents and shopping, too!

This post is mostly for my mom as a not-so-subtle birthday wish list, but I'm excited to share with you some fun things on my list, so you can snatch them up yourself!

1. More than anything, I'm dying over this new company I found called Olive Box. If you're familiar with Birch Box, it's the same concept, except instead of subscribing and receiving beauty products every month, you receive stationary and paper goods on your door step every month. Is there anything more perfect out there for me? If you know me, you know written notes and little trinkets are my love language (both giving and receiving), so these paper & lifestyle products will be put to good use each month.

2. I may or may not have already gotten this from my parents for my birthday as an early gift...BUT nonetheless, I asked for the 50mm 1.8 lens for my Canon. Verdict? In love. It takes pretty pictures like this one and all of these:

3. Anthropologie anything.  Specifically, these things:

 

book // candle // shirt // blouse

4. This darling clutch from Design Darling Boutique. It's pink, it's a purse and it has a turquoise and gold zipper. Perfect!

4. And if money was no object here, I'd ask for these Tory Burch flats that I've had my eye for a while now. It will happen one day. One day....far, far away!

Anything I should add to my list?! Comment telling my mama what else to get me...I joke...sort of :)

Have a wonderful weekend!
Love,

14

{October Happenings} A Trip Home

Last weekend I was able to go home {hooray for being in the same state as my parents!} My brother came home from school for the weekend to visit, so I decided to head home to join in on the fun. While there, I captured the weekend fun. And yes, by fun I do mean giving Hope a bath and watching her play in leaves.  

My mom, aunt and I also went to a sweet little tea shop {have I mentioned I love tea before?! ;) } Teapots and cups are always something I find so delicate and pretty.  

All of these pictures are taken with my new lens I received as an early birthday present! It's a canon 50mm 1.8 and I'm in love with it.  Anyways, here's a little bit from around our house!

How cute is our puppy getting?! She's almost a year old! You should have seen her when she saw me walk in the door. Pure joy.

What have you been up to? I'd love to hear about your lives! Has Fall made it to your town? It has in the Bay Area, but not so much in Los Angeles. I've yet to see a tree full of orange and yellow leaves.  Dare I say I miss Seattle... :)

Happy Thursday:)
Love,

20

She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not: Link Up #7!

Today I'm sharing my loves and love-me-nots! It's always fun to participate in this series myself, as normally I have other bloggers guest post. Feel free to link up your post below to share what you're loving this Wednesday!

1. A few weekends ago my best friend and I went to an apple and pumpkin festival. It was so much fun wandering around looking at the pumpkins, tasting lots of different apples and seeing my sweet friend :)

2. Speaking of my best friend, I was in her wedding a few months back and I just got back some of the photos! Here are two of my favorites. I love everything about weddings, and her wedding was no exception- it was stunning, down to every last detail of burlap, lace, and old fashioned soda bottles.

photos by edmund prieto 

3. Fall recipes.  This Harvest Pasta e Fagiole Soup is a must-try, by one of my favorite bloggers, Marina of Yummy Mummy Kitchen.

4. My homework. This sounds weird, but when I get to render furniture and draft floor plans, I'm in heaven.

5.  Two weeks until I head to Texas to visit my brother at college. I can't wait to see him and his school!

ashley slater photography

6. This home tour I saw on Design Sponge had me at first glance. Even better? The couple who lives there made almost everything in their home on their own! Amazing.

design sponge

1. LA Traffic. I think that goes without saying. It took me 45 minutes to get 10 miles yesterday. NOT OKAY!

2. Remember how I said I loved drafting and rendering? I do -- but know what I don't love?? The neck aches that come with it.  Sitting at a table while looking down at your drawings for hours on end is a quick way to get real sore.

Okay friends! It's your turn. What are YOU loving this week? Comment below or link up if you'd like! I visit all the links and can't wait to read your posts.

Happy Wednesday!
Love,

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