Blue Nile giveaway! {CLOSED}

Velvet Heart chambray tunic and Beau jeggings, Ross

infinity bracelet, c/o Blue Nile

ribbon earrings, Claire's

    Thanks to a comment on Gracey's recent Blue Nile giveaway, the company contacted me and asked whether I'd like to participate in their "Get One, Give One" campaign. That means one pretty thing for me and one pretty thing for a reader! I chose the infinity chain bracelet in sterling silver.

       It's the little details that make this bracelet special. For instance, I like how the curved infinity symbol allows the bracelet to drape nicely, and the dainty double chains add interest. The one thing I would change about the bracelet? I wish it came in a shorter length! I have a smaller than average wrist, which means this bracelet is rather big. Nonetheless, it makes a subtle, simple addition to my daily bracelet-and-watch stack, and I think it will join my regular rotation. 
      I accessorized with my fun yet delicate ribbon earrings (I'll definitely be sporting the silver glitter ornaments tomorrow, though).  ;)

        Would you like to win the second bracelet? Just leave me a comment with:

• your e-mail
• how do you follow me: bloglovin or GFC?
• and a comment: how would you style this bracelet? 

     Good luck! This giveaway is open worldwide. Entries will be accepted until midnight PST on Christmas Eve.
      If you want to pick out your own sparkle, get 10% off with code BNHH10. :)

**The fine print: This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. This blog does not accept any form of cash advertising, sponsorship, or paid topic insertions. However, I will and do accept and keep free products and other forms of compensation from companies and organizations. The compensation received will never influence the content, topics or posts made in this blog.  I was compensated to provide an opinion on this product. Even though I receive compensation, I always give my honest opinion on the product.. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely my own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

on the rocks

     Velvet Heart chambray tunic and Beau skinnies, Ross

Countess Mara tie, thrifted

     On Saturday I sprained my left ankle. My ankle tends to buckle unexpectedly, but so far I've managed to stumble vs. fall on the sidewalk, which is what happened on Saturday. I can walk on it, but it's swollen and a bit painful.  This is the outfit I wore to see the doctor yesterday (so glad they were able to squeeze me in on short notice). While the sprain was deemed mild, doctor's advice is to elevate it, ice it, and avoid any unnecessary walking - so no exercise. :( 
       I didn't tear anything in my ankle, but she warned me that a similar incident could end in me breaking my ankle or suffering a severe sprain. Yikes. She also said not to wear heels, but since I have yet to figure out how to wear heels gracefully, that's not a problem. ;)

 
      Wearing a tie as a sash/belt with one end hanging down always makes me feel dashing and piratical ... which is nice on a day when I'm feeling gimpy.

take one, pass it on challenge: day 5

Velvet Heart tunic and skinnies, Ross

necklace, eBay

         I normally think of myself as someone with a decent amount of self-discipline. But it turns out that there are some things that just don't work for me. Such as mandating that I spend a set amount of time a day preparing for my oral comprehensive exam.

        I'm using the Pomodoro method of time management and I figured that five 25-minute stints, or about 2 hours of study a day, would be good. 
          First day: Accomplish the goal and proudly mark 5 xs in my calendar.

          Second day: 4 xs. Feel guilty about not getting 5 done, but just don't want to.

          Third day: Make up for second day but only get 3 xs marked for the day. Rather grumpy because motivation is down and stress and pressure is up.
           So, today is the fourth day and I'm not sure whether I should power through with this until I get used to it, or decide it's not working for me and go back to my usual (less organized) ways.
 

   And since Katie was wondering wht the necklace looked like up close: 

     Just realized that I messed up my TOPIO challenge since I wore this necklace on day 3, but didn't carry over anything from day 4 .... oops! 

micro-ruffles and a bow

    

Velvet Heart chambray tunic, Ross

belt, from Tommy Hilfiger dress

Love Fire pants, Nordstrom Rack

bracelets, gifted

adjustable wood and turquoise encrusted bead bracelet, InPink

      Does anyone else use their blog photos like a mirror? Looking at the above picture made me realize how bunchy these pants were around my ankles, and I ended up folding the hems under.
      Chambray again ... and I even doubled up this time, with the belt from the shirtdress I wore here.  I'm either on a roll ... or in a rut. :)

February Freeze, vol. 5: chambray + a splash of animal print

     I'm enjoying this dress-simply kick I've been on for the last few days. While I really love creative pattern mixing, I'm still too new at it and end up looking like a mess instead of marvelous. I don't wear this chambray tunic much, but I'm starting to see its possibilities. :) I was inspired by Linda of Little Tin Soldier's outfit here.

 Velvet Heart tunic, Ross (old)

Beau skinnies, Ross (old)

snake print fabric belt (from dress)

hoop earrings, Old Navy (old)

Micro-ruffles and subtle yet sparkly earrings

     Speaking of simple, the Mr. and I had a quiet Valentine's night. I had planned to pick up some mochi ice cream on the way to his house, but when I drove past the ice cream place, there was a line spilling out the door onto the sidewalk. We have a mutual dislike of crowds, so he's just going to have to wait until the weekend for his treat. ...
     Luckily, he had picked up a chocolate cheesecake. We traded Valentine's Day cards, watched some Stephen Colbert, and spent some quality time with each other (and the cheesecake, of course). :)