Casual

Doughnuts?

~ leightonmichele ~ Leave a comment

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Shirt: A New Day Jeans: LC Lauren Conrad JackRogers: Jack Rogers Similar,  Similar, Similar Earrings: Similar

I don’t know about you, but summer Saturday’s were made for morning doughnut runs and picnics.  One of my favorite local doughnut places is Hurt’s Donuts, a fun shop filled with unique doughnut creations!  Here I am eating the “Homer”, but I also picked out: chocolate birthday cake, little timmy, cookie monster, cotton candy and andes.  And the thing is, this is not even scratching the surface of all the options they have!  If you are ever visiting the midwest, it is definitely worth your time to drop by and make a visit.  (And bonus points, they are open 24/7!!!)

Xoxo,

Leighton Michele

 

 

 

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Saturday Morning Farmer’s Markets

~ leightonmichele ~ Leave a comment

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Dress: Neesee’s Dresses, sold out Similar Purse: Target, sold out  Shoes: Target, old similar   Earrings: SugarFix

 

One of the things I love to do in the summer is visit the local farmer’s market on Saturday mornings.   I was so excited to hear ours was opening a few weeks ago and hurried over the first Saturday they opened.  While it is still a little early in the season to be able to buy my fruits and veggies there, I loved getting to walk through and pick out some flowers as well as look at all of the craft booths.  What are some of your favorite things to look for at the farmer’s market?

Xoxo,

Leighton Michele

Fresno… Change in Plans

~ leightonmichele ~ Leave a comment

Today’s post is a little shorter than my last post on my trip to California.  Our second day we were supposed to go to Sequoia National Park, BUT there was a blizzard there that day and none of us were feeling the need to go freeze, lol.   While we were sad we wouldn’t be able to go to Sequoia, we all decided to just roll with it and this day ended up being one of our most favorite ones from the trip!

We started the day hanging out at Megan’s house making breakfast, she made the BEST little egg muffins that we all enjoyed.  Truthfully, I am still craving them several weeks later!

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After breakfast we took our time at the house getting ready for the  day and discussing different options.   The weather was beautiful, so we decided to pack a picnic and just see where the wind took us.  We spent the morning driving through many of the beautiful older neighborhoods that Fresno has to offer and enjoyed dreaming about those beautiful homes.  When we finally decided we were hungry enough we headed to Woodard Park to enjoy our picnic.

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Since at this point the weather was still cool for the most part back home, this was my first picnic of the year and I loved getting to enjoy it with such great friends!

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After this we were off for the only big plan we made on this random, spur of the moment day: an escape room!  Almost all of us had been to escape rooms before, and up to this point we had all managed to be undefeated, so to say the pressure was on is an understatement.  Each of us are competitive, so the second we were “locked” in our room, we were all diving in trying to find our clues!  This escape room was unique from ones I have done in the past due to the fact that instead of many clues being available to be searched out at once in no particular order much of the time, every clue had to be found in a particular order to unlock the next clue.  It made for a very unique experience, but one that we all loved.  If you have never done an escape room before, stop reading this post right now and call up some friends to go do one together, you will not regret it!

Also, needless to say, our winning streak is still intact, we made it out with 11 minutes and 43 seconds to spare.

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After the escape room, we decided to drive around downtown Fresno and do some exploring.  While down there we found some unique wall murals that we could not bear to say no too.  The bright colours were so beautiful and really brightened the area up!

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(L to R: Me, Megan and Lori)

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Megan and her boyfriend Ben

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Megan with a Fresno wall mural

Then we decided to finish the day in the most California way we could think of, a visit to In-N-Out, and of course, you can’t make a visit to this famous burger joint without getting a selfie with one of their famous burgers:

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If you know me, then you know I am not normally a big fast food person, but not gonna lie, In-N-Out has gained a new fan.  Now when can we get one here in the Mid-West???

Xoxo,

Leighton Michele

San Francisco… Take 1

~ leightonmichele ~ Leave a comment

Hi Everyone!

I am so excited for today’s post!  It is going to be part one of three or four sharing my adventures from my spring break trip to California!   If you follow me on Instagram you know that I went to California for spring break with some friends to visit one of our good friends, Megan, who is a travel nurse in California!  It was such an adventure!

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Our plane flew into San Francisco around 9:30 a.m. and we hit the ground running.  We decided to head down to Fisherman’s Wharf and do some sight seeing in that area for the day before we headed back to pick Megan up from work.

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There was this adorable bakery, Boudin’s, that had the CUTEST breads made into the shapes of animals!  You could stand at the window outside looking in watching them form the bread into all of the animals you can purchase.  I was mesmerized by it and truthfully could have stood there all day watching.  If you are ever in the area I definitely recommend stopping by for lunch or an afternoon stack, the ambiance of this place is perfect.

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*everywhere you look, everywhere you go, there’s a heart, a hand to hold onto. everywhere you look, there’s a face of somebody who needs you…*

I may have been guilty of playing the theme song from Full House like every other minute while we were there…. I am so thankful for friends that are 90’s kids too and were so understanding of my fan-girling about being in San Francisco.

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As a recovering chocoholic, I thought that Ghiradelli Square was the absolute cutest and was head over heals in love with their shop.  I mean, flowers, cute outdoor seating and chocolate, how could you go wrong?

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There are so many cute shops along Fisherman’s Wharf, you could spend days there and still not see all of them.  I loved the fun colours and almost storybook feel in San Francisco.  I have never been to a city so full of colour and life that even on a grey, drizzly day it still feels like sunshine!

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I have dreamed of going to the Golden Gate Bridge for years and am so happy to say that it did not disappoint.  The beauty of that bridge against the backdrop of San Francisco is breathtaking and something that stays with you long after you wish San Francisco goodbye.

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Then, as if our day couldn’t be any more perfect, we wrapped our time up in San Francisco by finding THE Full House house!!!!  Que the Full House theme song all over again, this girl was on cloud nine!

But, the best part was still a nearly three hour drive away, although it is grainy and we are all a little rumpled from a day of travel, the picture below might be my most favorite picture from the whole trip:

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(L-R, Lori, Megan and Me)

FINALLY REUNITED WITH MEGAN!  These two girls are two of my best friends and it has been hard having one of us so far away, so to finally be reunited was INCREDIBLE!  Guys, community is SO important, and getting to have mine reunited for the week was the best gift we could have had and absolutely made this trip to California.  This picture was taken moments after we were reunited and I think the joy in our smiles tells the whole story.

In the next post I’ll share more of our trip, but for now, I hope you’ve enjoyed this post on the first day in California!  I’ll link my outfit details below.

Xoxo,

Leighton Michele

Rain Jacket: Same (my pattern is no longer available, but these other patterns are adorable too!)  Shoes: Similar (these shoes were perfect on the trip) Blush Shirt: Similar

Christmas Recap

~ leightonmichele ~ 1 Comment

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Sweater: Jcrew Old (similar) (similar)  (similar) Necklace: Versona Old (similar) Boots: Old (this years version) Purse: Similar

Christmas began early this year for my family.  My aunts, uncles and cousins all came in town on the 22nd and we celebrated on the 23rd.  It was a little smaller gathering this year than in years past due to scheduling conflicts, but it was still so much fun to spend time with family!  My cousin has been wanting me to make my hot chocolate for her ever since I posted about it, so I promised her that when she came in town for Christmas I would make it then.  We got in the car and braved the grocery store to pickup the ingredients and had fun making hot chocolate.  Afterwards we all gathered around and opened presents.  All too soon the time came for family to head home, but thankfully Christmas weekend was still just beginning!

Christmas Eve I went to a candlelight service in the evening.  I am an old soul at heart, so I loved being at church in a room filled with candlelight singing carols of old and remembering the true reason for Christmas.  Christmas has always been my most favorite time of the year, everyone is a little nicer, the winter evenings are lit by twinkling lights, and there is this wonderful feeling of expectation, knowing that something is coming.  It is the time that we celebrate when God set his biggest and most beautiful miracle of all time into motion, the coming of His son as a baby to grow up and die for our sins to save us all.  The miracle that would be completed thirty three years later on a cross and then in an empty tomb.  It truly does not get better than that!

After the candlelight service my dad read one of our favorite Christmas stories to the family.  It is in this tiny old book called A Budget of Christmas Tales and is maybe three pages long, but it leaves us in stitches of laughter every time.  It is called Billy’s Santa Claus Experience and tells the tale of a young boy named Billy who tries to be Santa Claus to his little brother Tommy, but things quickly get out of hand.  My dad first read the book to my sisters and I when we were quite young, and it is one of my favorite stories to read at Christmas.

Before we knew it, Christmas morning was upon us!  We all gathered around the tree where my dad read the Christmas story from Luke before we opened presents.  This year all I asked for was money to buy books for school.  I was sooooo excited when between my Christmas and birthday money I was able to buy a commentary set for the New Testament!  I cannot wait until it arrives in the mail early next week!  We spent the day with some of my grandparents and in the evening we decorated gingerbread houses together.  When it came time for the judging I came in last place, but what can I say, it was my first time and my house kept falling apart while I was decorating it, lol.  Lesson learned, NEVER decorate the house until the icing is dry!

How was your Christmas?  Do you have any special traditions that you enjoy doing each year?

Xoxo,

Leighton Michele

A Very Versona Christmas

~ leightonmichele ~ Leave a comment

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Shirt: Same c/0  Necklace: Versona (not online) c/o  Shoes: Old (similar)

I was so excited when Versona reached out to me asking if I’d be interested in sharing their Christmas collection!  They have the cutest things not just for yourself, but also for the other women in your life.  I literally had so much fun shopping not just for a fun Christmas party look, but also finding presents for my friends!  I’d share with you what I found, but since they haven’t opened them yet I think I better not.  😉  One of my favorite parts about Versona is that when I am shopping I can always count on the wonderful sales associates to help me out if I need some help.  I fell head over heels in love with this shirt, but I couldn’t decide on a necklace.  When I shared my vision with the sales associate, she literally pulled not one or two, but FOUR necklaces that were spot on for what I described.  I know I can always count on them to help me figure out accessories if I need help.

If you follow me on Instagram then you know that I tried on everything from the adorable work office party dress, to Christmas Eve and staying comfy at home with your family look.  In the end I decided upon this beautiful blouse and necklace.  I loved the idea that I could wear it to a more casual party with jeans as shown here, or I could pair it with a cute midi or tutu skirt for a dressier occasion.  Versatility is a key for me when choosing items to add to my wardrobe.

If you have any last minute parties or family get-togethers (or just want a cute festive outfit “just because”) check out Versona’s  holiday collection.  I promise you that you will not be disappointed.  I even found my perfect New Years Eve dress that I can’t wait to share with you after Christmas!

Xoxo,

Leighton Michele

*a special thanks to Versona for sponsoring this post*

Christmas Bucket List

~ leightonmichele ~ Leave a comment

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Shirt: (old) Similar  Vest: Same  Boots: (old) Similar  Necklace: Same

In honor of the Christmas season, I decided to share my Christmas bucket list today.  Christmas is my most favorite season of the year, so is basically goes without saying that I love all of the fun activities and traditions that come with this time of year.  I would love to know what is on your bucket list for this season, so please comment below with what you want to make sure you do this year!

  1. Read Maggie’s Miracle- Maggie’s is my all time favorite Christmas story.  I discovered it when I was thirteen and have read it every Christmas since.  It is the sweetest story and if you haven’t read it I can’t recommend it enough!
  2. Go Look At Christmas Lights- Can you really have celebrated Christmas if you haven’t gone to look at lights?
  3. Go On A Horse Drawn Carriage Ride- We don’t get enough snow where I live to be able to do a ride in a one horse open sleigh, but there is a nearby shopping center that does free carriage rides every Friday and Saturday leading up to Christmas, so I definitely plan on going on one.
  4. Sip Homemade Hot Chocolate While Watching Christmas Movies- No need to explain this one, the title says it all. 😉
  5. Watch White Christmas- This is my most favorite Christmas movie of all time, and if I am being totally honest, probably just my favorite movie period.  It has everything, a sweet story line, hilarious moments that leave you laughing, gives you all the feels (I even sometimes cry during it, and I NEVER cry) and a beautiful love story.  Definitely all the ingredients for a perfect movie.
  6. Go To a Christmas Party- Christmas Parties are so much fun, so I definitely plan on going to as many as I can.  I love the festive spirit and spending time with dear family and friends.
  7. Read the Christmas Story With My Family- every year before we open our Christmas presents my dad gathers the family together and we all read the Christmas story.  I love starting Christmas remembering what it is all truly about.
  8. White Elephant Gift Exchange- I cannot WAIT to go to a white elephant Christmas party.  I figured out the PERFECT gift last year and can’t wait to put the idea to use this year!!!!
  9. Decorate Gingerbread Houses- I have never decorated a gingerbread house before, so I bought a kit this year and can’t wait to do it with my sisters.  Expect a post on that!
  10. Play Christmas Music On The Piano- I enjoy playing the piano, and Christmas music is always my favorite music to play
  11. Make Cinnamon Rolls- I don’t know why, but I always love cinnamon rolls at Christmas.  While they are good anytime during the year, they are always extra good at Christmas.

Xoxo,

Leighton Michele