And the winner is...

Hello, Darlings! I do apologize for the mini hiatus. The internet was down at my parents' house thus the frustrating delay in announcing the Kate Spade giveaway winner. So without further adieu! With the help of a random number generator (it was entirely too hard to choose on my own!), the winner is...

Kristen of a Kapple a Day! Kristen's Cup of Te is her new hubby, pup, and lots of vino!

Thanks y'all so much for making my very first giveaway so terribly fun! It was such a delight and truly inspiring to read about everyone's Cup of Te :) I hope y'all had a marvelous Christmas full of love, laughter, and lots of sparkle! And for tonight, don't forget to put the champagne on ice!! Cheers to a New Year!

p.s. Just for fun here are a few Cups of Te, I thought you might enjoy!

In my cup of Te, my family, a sequin cocktail skirt, and tons and tons of the Bing Crosby holiday station on Pandora!

My cup of Te is a fresh can of tennis balls, the gulf of Mexico, airport lights at night, my amazing husband, my retired greyhound and warm chocolate chip cookies! :)

In my cup of Te it's a two fold surprise,
Either champagne or vodka
To my mother's despise
A plate full of French macaroons and a golden spoon
The Harry Winston box beside this would make any girl swoon

With Polly Anna on my lap (she's my King Charles)
And big Cooper to my left (so cute he would make any dog snarl)
A handsome husband to my right
Who loves me with all of his might
Is the perfect completion to My Cup of Te
(Oh do send me on a Kate Spade shopping spree!)

My cup of Te would currently be anything embroidered...I'm secretly a 75 year old lady :)

It came without ribbons! It came without tags!

Every Who down in Who-ville, the tall and the small,

Was singing! Without any presents at all!

He HADN'T stopped Christmas from coming! IT CAME!

Somehow or other, it came just the same!

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling...How could it be so?

It came without ribbons! It came without tags!

It came without packages boxes, or bags!

And he puzzled and puzzed, till his puzzler was sore.

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!

Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store.

What if Christmas,perhaps, means a little bit more?

I hope love is all around you! Merry Christmas, my darlings!

Cheers,

Roxy

{Quote inspired by Truly Smitten. Image via Books, Paper, Scissors}

Jane Austen is no good for gift wrapping

I could not get from point A "Austen Dresses" to point B "Her Christmas Tree Dress was the Highlight of the Party"

Yesterday as I was wrapping some last minute prezzies, I decided to put on one of my most favorite movies Pride and Prejudice- oh, Elizabeth! And dashing Mr.Darcy! It truly makes the hopeless romantic in me "incandescently happy" and after about two hours I had all of one gift successfully wrapped!  The point of the story is it reminded me of these paintings turned prints by Janet Hill Studios with which I'm beyond smitten.

To learn more about Janet and her beautiful work, see here.

And on that note, I'm sending warm wishes your way!

Merry Christmas Eve, darlings!

A Color Me Katie Kinda Day

The mulling spices were a simmer and the hot toddies toasty! Unwrapped prezzies awaited a glittery glam makeover! Bon appetit to brunch on my pretty Kate Spade china, in our pajamas we feasted and crafted to our hearts desire! We baked sugary treats to dole out to the neighbors and delighted in a day for two inspired by Color Me Katie!

We cut a Christmas tree out of craft paper and topped it with a star!

Then came ornaments galore!

And hearts too!

My best friend K and I on our Christmas "playday!"

Have you heard of Color Me Katie? She believes in cupcake sandwiches for breakfast and that life should be chock full of marvelous magic and frivolous fun! Don't you agree my lovelies? One sleep 'til Christmas Eve! Eeek!

Dallas Lives Sparkly!

Today I have not a second to dilly nor dally so I thought I'd let Dilly Dallas do all the inspiring! I stumbled upon a snippet of her magical holiday photo shoot here and couldn't help but to dig for more!

To see the rest of her super fun and sparkly shoot with Alison Conklin, click here.

The Seoul Style Files of an American Expat. Sneakers and Sportcoats.

I recently told my brother that I think it is absolutely fantastic when men pair fun kicks with a would be basic or too serious ensemble. He took to the challenge and came back with an inventive look involving a hoodie, a button-up, a sport coat, a scarf, and some sneaks! Check it out...

Holy moley, have you ever seen so many layers look so not like Ralphie's little brother? For more on our series, The Seoul Style Files of an American Expat, click here. For tips on how to buy a blazer including a run down on distinguishing a blazer from a sport coat and a jacket, see here.

Interested in seeing more menswear looks? Let me know and my international style accomplice will scour the streets of Seoul to put together a look just for you!

p.s. Save the date with a Kate Spade giveaway!

Her lip gloss be poppin!

The fabulous ladies over at BellaSugar voted Kate Bosworth "Best Wearer of Lipstick" for 2010, and I absolutely concur! I love how Kate plays with everything from fiery reds to pretty in pinks, perfect peaches and barely there nudes. She seems to never go wrong! When I'm doing it up I always reach for my NARS Schiaparelli or Dragon Girl! What's your fave lip look?

Speaking of Kate, enter my Kate giveaway, here!

Confetti, Champagne, and J.Crew!

ahh, Holiday windows! Full of sugar, spice, and most everything nice! They sparkle, twinkle, and inspire delight. Have you seen J.Crew's delicious displays? They are masterminded by the talented team of Confetti System and make me want to pop a bottle in celebration of all the eye candy to behold!  The dynamic duo, Nick and Julie, in their studio above are inspired by "communal celebration"- living sparkly if you ask me! A future fête, you say? Find their fabulous creations here!

pssst, don't forget to enter my Kate Spade Giveaway!

{Via Oh Joy!, Dwelling and Design, & Ink and Post}

Have you met the Mrs.?

Mrs. Claus

Mrs. Confection

Mrs. Winter Wondress

My dearest darlings, have you met the daring and dashing Mrs. Lilien? I've raved about her daily delights once before, but lately her Mrs. eye candy edits are especially debonair that keeping them to myself would be nothing short of criminal! She's a champion of taste makers and stylist extraordinaire just oozing inspiration from her head to her toes. If you haven't pleased your peepers by taking a gander at her page, I certainly urge that you do! Even just the teeniest or tiniest drop of her style would make life exceedingly mahh-velous darlings!

p.s. Which Mrs. are you? I'm feeling Mrs. Naughty and Nice!
p.s.s. Don't forget to enter my Kate Spade giveaway...it's full of the whimsy and charm that are Jenny Bowers illustrations!

My First Giveaway! Save the date with Kate Spade!

I've been racking my brain trying to figure out the perfect giveaway for you my darling readers! You see your comments and emails truly make me giddy with excitement, and if I could I would send love to everyone single one of you! I searched high and low for a perfect fit and even turned down a few (you deserve only the best!) then finally decided to take matters into my own hands when I saw the delicious Kate Spade wall calendar! The product description seemed to be reminding me to "Live Sparkly!" and I just knew one of you, my loves, had to have it! Just in time for Christmas!

Here are the rules:
1. The giveaway is intended for one of my fabulous followers so if you're not one yet, join the club! If you are, be sure to let me know, as well as where I can reach you should you happen to have the golden ticket!
2. You must leave a comment telling me what's in your Cup of Te. I'm dying to know! pssst, get creative! I'll share this about you if you win! It can be as simple as all things that sparkle or Ladurée macaroons!
3. This is not necessary, but I'd be thrilled if you spread the love via FB or Twitter. If you do, just leave a comment letting me know, and you'll be good for another entry!

A winner will be chosen the day after Christmas and will receive their calendar just in time for the new year! Good luck, loves! x's and o's! Roxy

My Cup of Te

{I saw these lip-stained teacups by Reiko Kaneko here, and they reminded me of my new lipstick stained blog design! Aren't they incredibly fun?}

Nothing beats waking up super slow in my own bed, no less to huge snowflakes falling outside my window, and reveling in the fact that I have two full weeks to spend time with my family and friends while celebrating the season! Tonight A and I are going to a birthday party for a good friend (Happy Birthday, Chief!) and on Sunday I think I'll brave baking Christmas treats! For now, here are some posts that are just My Cup of Te! Have a wonderful weekend, lovelies!

A sweet little project for Sunday night!

Cozy in capes! What do you think of mine?

The perfect mix of pepper jack and spice

Tips for the hostess with the mostess

I'm so excited to have helped with this!

Pretty polishes from Chanel Spring 2011

New blog love and a shared love for Tim Walker

Make the package as pretty as what's inside!

X's and O's under the Mistletoe!

How stinkin' cute is this Christmas card? Not to mention beyond original! They were conceived by Stephanie from Adventures in Renovating a Brooklyn Limestone. She is a creative genius, and in my opinion, gives Martha a run for her money! Not getting busy under the mistletoe? From cinnamon liquer to apricot brandy, these fresh apple cider cocktails are sure to keep you merry and warm!

Get your Give On {Earrings that make your whole head sparkle}

{Don't have the time to rummage through old jewelry boxes? You can find the Tinley Road and Kate Spade earrings here and here! I know a special someone who will be finding one of these under her tree!}

Did I ever tell you about my major obsession of scouring thrift stores for vintage clip-on earrings? I saw the first photo in Matchbook Mag's tumblr diary and immediately thought of my latest find! They were only 4 dollars and look just like Kate Spade's $55 version in the bottom right hand corner of my edit. They also remind me of that 90's SNL skit- "delta delta delta can I help ya help ya help ya" Remember? "Those earrings, like, make your whole head sparkle!" They totally do, and I love it. :)

{My buddy Chris and I at my birthday tailgate back in November!}

It's Alive! My new look for your viewing pleasure!

So here it is! I'm so excited to be bringing y'all my new look!!! I really wanted something visually clean, yet bright, pretty, and of course just My Cup of Te! What do you think, loves? I'd love to hear!

I want to give a big thank you to the girls of Truly Smitten and Lindsay Nicole Design Studio, Lindsay and Sarah, for being such a delight to work with and for being infinitely patient. Sarah busted out the artsy and illustrated the Te cup herself! Lindsay broke down helpful HTML tips, think of a teacher trying to talk to a clueless 6 year old, to terms that even I can understand!  

I absolutely love the new makeover and to figure out those wily bubbles trying to escape the Te cup, click here ;)

Malibu Photo Recap

Meet my great uncle Landon Strattan who feeds the neighborhood strays out of the good of his heart, hand-built half his house, and escaped to the Filipino hills during the Spanish-American war. Also introducing my hilarious great aunt Aleli who still mourns over the day she gave away her red stilettos with rhinestone heels, is glued to her kindle like I am to books (do we have this backwards?), and sweetly smiled for the picture although she had not had a chance to put on her "face and eyebrows.

This is where Jane treated us to a delicious lunch, Tra Di Noi, after spending the morning in a design meeting in her personal art studio! There was no shortage of inspiration as she has hundreds of paintings like the one below of her last summer at St. Catherine's, and I'm wildly excited about all the fun projects we have planned!! She is an incredibly warm and welcoming person and also gave us a tour of her beachfront home with stunning views of Malibu and my favorite an organic garden the size of a basketball court!

During lunch we somehow got to talking about social media then to my blog! I couldn't conceal my excitement about all the positive things it had brought into my life- I told her I thought it was a great way to connect to people and might be something she would love to do. We had planned on parting ways after lunch and shopping at Malibu Country Mall (we all agreed on the necessity of Chloe flats), but her and Cheri (her awesome and equally artsy right hand!) wanted to create the blog immediately. Back to the house we went where I helped set up Joy and Serenity and the first post! She already has 45 followers after two days! yay!

Mom and I were giddy with excitement after such a productive day and couldn't help but to stop back by Malibu Country Mall for treats and goodies. What else does a girl need besides nail polish, cookies, and a bottle of red? The California sun was shining the whole time and upon disembarking the plane (a frigid east coast does not a welcome make!) my spirits were lifted by a fabulously gay male steward who told me that my face looked as smooth as a baby's bottom and loudly announced to the remaining passengers that had he been more of a man or I less of a woman, him and I...well you get the picture! (Bahah!) All in all a wonderful trip!

Hope y'all enjoyed your Monday and my Malibu recap as much as I did my weekend!! Cheers to another week, lovelies!

Work in Progress!

here.

p.s. Signing off for a day or two and will be back with a darling new look that I can't wait to share!!!

Happy Friday: My Cup of Te!

I know I'm currently hangin' in the bu, but you didn't think I'd leave you hangin' did you? Back at home the weather has been so silly cold, therefore, a steaming cup of tea seemed fitting for today's post! What are your weekend plans, loves? Thanks so much for stopping by to check out My Cup of Te- hope you've found yours ;)

I'd like to season to taste with these!

Turn a frown upside down

An unexpected twist on an old favorite

Always say thank you!

A neat DIY that I'm considering for the showroom...thoughts??

The biggest (residential) bookcase I have ever seen...in my life.

What I think of the blogging community!

Mali-bu-yah!

 {Barbie's Dream House in Malibu by interior designer Jonathan Adler}

Today I'm off to Malibu for the weekend! Perfect timing if you ask me because this wicked cold front has me chilled to the bone! I've been to LAX countless times passing through to the tropics and was in San Diego long enough to rock 'n' roll a marathon, but never have I truly visited the land of barbie dolls and silicon! I'm hoping to see all things "happy chic" just like JA's dream creation for Barbie back in 2009! Do you have any must-see or must-eats? Do share loves!

{Images via laist}

KOCO NY

What a wonderful life we have been given. Let's love it. Season's Greetings

"Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart." - Confucius. Season's Greetings

Have you sent your Christmas cards yet, my dears? Well if you haven't done so, it's not too late to spread the Christmas cheer! I fell in love with KOCO NY greeting cards on my very first wedding anniversary after going through entirely too many cookie cutter, not to mention gag-worthy, cards.  The chosen card immediately won me over with a simple quote from E.E. Cummings' "i carry your heart with me" coupled with original artwork. Their Christmas cards are just as inspiring (they kind of remind me of my college color theory class!) and can be found here if you'd like!

The Seoul Style Files of an American Expat | Elbow Patches & Tweed

 My brother has developed a habit that would make any shop-a-holic proud. He often frequents Dongdaemun, a heaven mall filled with hundreds of boutique like spaces about 20 minutes from Seoul by subway, to pick up sweet deals and wardrobe staples. In the photo above, he's on his way to do it up at a swank hotel (bottoms up!) wearing a two button tweed sport coat with elbow patches, skinny fit dark khakis, and a classic light purple button up with a sleek brown skinny tie. His shoes are seriously cool, but he keeps it laid back with fun argyle socks! For more of his menswear looks, see here.