Where to draw the line

I have always wondered about preppy style. Can you be preppy with out spending $1oo's of dollars, and only buying name brands?

In real life I have a preppy style, but I don't buy clothes from Lilly Pulitzer. I have bought some new things from Lilly Pulitzer on Ebay, and found brand new LP things from yard sales. (With the tags still on.) I really like LP- the colors, and the style, but it tends to be on the expensive side. I dont think you have to buy name brands in order to be preppy. Although it is hard to buy things for the style. I dont consider Aeropostale, A&F, and Hollister to be classic preppy style, although most teenagers do categorize it as that.

I define preppy as-

Classic

Bold, bright colors

Minimalist clothes shapes (The shift dress Etc.)

Monograms

Khakis

Polos

Girly

Natural looking make up

Flats, and high heels

Pearls

My style is mixed with a little bit of nautical. I wear earrings with anchors, starfish, and sea horse's. (small silver of gold sea animals.) I wear lots of solid color shirts and accessorize with jewelry.

I would love to be able to afford clothes like LP, but in this economy it is really hard!! I also realize that most people think that if you buy LP or a lot of other name brands you are considered a snob. People of any style can be snobby. I wish people were not judged by their money. I really hope that you guys do not think I am a snob because I have a LP blog design. I love the style, and love looking at my blog when it has a bright bold print. I am blessed, but not the type of person to toss $300 on a pair of shoes. I would love someone to start a preppy clothes business that made a classic preppy style for an affordable price. (Anyone want to help me with that? ;)

I really hope I have not offend/or stepped on anyones toes.

What do you consider a preppy style? Do you think that you have to buy name brands in order to be categorized as a prep?

Just keeping it real!

xoxo

CCR

P.s- SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!! ahhahahah!!

Top Memories of 2009

Top Discovery of 2009: Ebay.com I have known about it for forever, but this year we actually got an account set up, and bought some things!!

Top/Favorite Song of 2009: I think either Love Story by Taylor Swift (or You belong with me) Fireflies by Owl City, OR Haven't met you yet by Michael Buble

Top Creative Outlet of 2009: Cake Decorating. I took a class one on one with my sisters friends mom

Top Movie of 2009: Julie & Julia. I really want to see the Blind Side but haven't seen it yet.

Top Travel of 2009: Pittsburgh PA. We had such a great time. I also went down to Florida.

Top School Moment of 2009: Playing Apples to Apples at Lunch

Top Excited Moment of 2009: Finding out my Dad got a new job, and this Christmas

Top Nerd Moment of 2009: Passing Drivers Ed, almost the top of my class

Top Overall Thing about 2009: Oh so many to choose from!! I really enjoyed water skiing, and spending time with my family and friends

xoxo

Caroline

2009 Reflections

2009 seemed to come and go really fast here are some things I thought of that has happened(in no order)-

- Went skiing

- My dad got a new job

- My sister went on her first missions trip to C.R

- I took my first trip water skiing

- We moved my grandma into a nursing home

- We went to PA

- We went to Florida

Those are just some things I thought up, but I am sure a lot more has happened!

What are your 2009 reflections?

A new year is coming quickly!! 2 more days until we can officially say '2010.' As the New Year is starting, so is my school. (sigh) I am reading "Born Again" over the break, and let me tell you, that book is long, and all about politics. (the perfect mixture;) So hopefully I can get through it. What do you have planned for the new year?

xoxo

CCR

Christmas Re-cap

Hello all! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas, and I hope you will have a very merry new year!!

Christmas was great at our house. We got a Wii, and a new TV. We are very excited!! Quite an upgrade from a 10 inch TV to a 22 in!! YAY!!

I also got some clothes, gift cards, a monogrammed necklace, boots, and a few other things.

We got the Wii Fit game. Have any of you tried it? I am really liking it a lot. I don't think it is a fantastic work out, but I guess it depends on which games you play, how long you do it, and how much you get 'into' it.

We just got back from going to the mall. Bath & Body Works is having a really great sale. I got several lambs, some cute lamb slippers, and a few other things, all for under $13. They will be great presents! With out the sale I think the total would have been about $54. I saved a ton!! WHHHOOOO HOOO!!! Do you know of any great after Christmas sales??

Today we moved my Grandma into a retirement home. It was a mixture of happy and sad. Happy because I can stop worrying about her, in a big house all alone, and sad because my mom has lived in it since she was my age. You can pray that she is able to sell her old house, and make lots of friends in her new home. Her new home is nice light, and airy. She has a bedroom, two GIANT bathrooms, a kitchen, office, and living room, which is plenty for her. I helped her arrange the furniture, hang up pictures, and organize. I really hope she enjoys it there. She is now about one hour away (instead of 30 minutes) but that isn't that bad. She is about 3 minutes down the road from my Aunt though. I was glad to see my cousins again while we were moving her, because they are usually away at college.

I mentioned above that I got boots. They are actually knock off chocolate brown, UGGS. I never actually knew what I thought of them, but I really need some sort of comfy winter shoes. I must admit, they are not nearly as bad as I thought they were, and the inside is so warm and cozy. They have grown on me a lot. I started out hating them and saying I would never buy any, to actually getting a pair. (GASP!) What do you think about them? I couldn't get over the shapelessness of them for a while, but I don't mind it that much any more. I wore them today with a gray cable knit shirt, a brown undershirt, and jeans. It actually ended up looking pretty good. I have also worn them with a pink and brown argyle shirt. I really like my Uggs, but I dont really like the tan/light brown short boots. (Just a personal opinion.)

So what are you doing to bring in the New Year? 2010. I cannot believe it. WOW!
xoxo
CCR

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and goodwill to men."

MERRY CHRISTMAS!! CHRIST IS BORN!!!!!

HALLELUJAH!!!

"In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census

should be taken of the entire Roman world. And everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby

wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told."

Luke 2:1-20

What is really humbling is the fact that Jesus Christ was born in a stable, the lowliest place someone could have been born in.

Lots of Love,

Caroline

Christmas Movies

My very favorite Christmas movies are..................

A Charlie Brown Christmas

Rudolph the Red nosed Reindeer

White Christmas

What are some of your favorite Christmas movies?

xoxo

Caroline

Giveaway

The Pink Calculator is having a suprise giveaway! ;) Go check it out!
xoxo
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
P.S I have several posts scheduled for Christmas Eve, and Christmas

Christmas Story Books

When I was young, my mom was big on reading us tons of books, whether it was at Christmas or not. Here is a list of some of my very favorites.

MR. CRISPY'S STORY OF THE FIRST CANDY CANES

THE YEAR OF THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS TREE

THE INN KEEPERS DAUGHTER (one of the most sweet Christmas Stories EVER!)

CANDLE LOVE FEAST

THE CHRISTMAS MIRACLE OF JONATHAN TOOMEY

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Caroline

P.S. the next two posts will be scheduled.

3 Days?

Tonight we are going over to our friends house for our annual Christmas party. We are having, make your own chicken burritos!! Sounds great! Lauren, made a HOMEMADE raspberry white chocolate cheese cake, and I am VERY excited about trying a slice of it! (I went to the grocery store looking for fresh raspberries and they were $5!! I could not believe it. Actually I kind of could. We got frozen)

I was just thinking about what makes me most in the Christmas mood. Here they are-

THE FIVE CHRISTMAS SENSES

1. Sight- In order for me to feel like it is Christmas, the Christmas tree needs to be up, holly berries on the mantle, and the rest of our Christmas galore

2. Smell- The Christmas tree, baking cookies and goodies, the weather. When it gets to be winter, you can really smell the difference. (at least I can! ;)

3. Hearing- Christmas Carolers, busy streets

4. Touch- Snow, icicles, rolling out cookie dough

5. Taste- Cinnamon, Cloves, Ginger, Paprika, other spices

Those all make me really get into the Christmas mood. What makes you get into the Christmas Spirit?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With these last three days, ticking away, I hope you really realize the true meaning of Christmas.

Have a very Merry Christmas,

Lots of Love,

Caroline

Blog Makeover

I decided it was time to change my blog. I also changed the name, and the blog address. It is now- www.themonogrammedprep.blogspot.com

I hope that it wasn't to confusing!

Have a VERY Merry Christmas.

xoxo

Snow Day

SNOW!!! YAY!! We just got about 5 inches. It was wonderful!! Some of our relatives got 17 in.! Wow! Abby & I made a snow-family! I made a big snowman and the baby, and Abby made a medium sized one. The snow is (sadly) melting a little bit, but it still has a nice wintry glow! It is supposed to snow here on Christmas Eve! I hope that doesn't stop us from getting together with family.

We just got back from my 2nd cousins house. We were there for lunch, (which was Delicious) and got to swim in her pool.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!! 5 more days! Incredible.
xoxo
Caroline

Sweets to the Sweet

Hello all my faithful readers! Emily, over at Vineyard Vogue, let me have a "HAPPY 101" blog award! Thank you so much Emily!

Here are the rules-

1. List 10 things that make you happy

2. Tag 10 other people to brighten their day!

Okay, heres my list.

1. Christmas foods (see post below)

2. My family & friends

3. Lilly Pulitzer

4. Siamese cats, and weimaraners

5. Cake decorating

6. Spring cleaning

7. Making pulled mints with Gigi (Gran Gran) at Christmas time

8. Reading good books

9. Taking photos

10. Decorating the house

I TAG.......

1. Liz, at Mabels House

2. Lindsey, at Sweet Simplicity

3. Kelly, at Mr. & Mrs. Smith

4. Whitney, at The Glam life of a housewife

5. Summer Wind

6. Muffy, at Muffy Martini

7. Sweet Pea, at Horse, Hound, & Home

8. Katie, from a Hokie & a Wahoo

9. Megan, at Tales of the Trees

10. Tickled Pink & Green

xoxo

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

CCR

Getting into the Christmas Spirit

Some times getting into the 'Christmas Spirit" is hard for me. Once Thanksgiving is over, we have gotten our tree, (might I say that our tree looks fantastic!! Gets better every year! ;) and bake Christmas food, I feel a little bit more ready!! Sooo, here are some of my very favorite Christmas treats!

Ice Cubes Candy

Sparkling Cider

Mary Poppins (or sausage Cheese balls)

Peppermint Chocolate cookies

My Grandmas Punch

My grandmas Chex mix (aka Trash. Have no clue where the name came from!)

Chex

Sugared Pecans

Mini Spinach Quiche

Cheese Straws

Hot Chocolate

Italian Wedding Cookies

I hope I have done my job in getting you into the Christmas spirit, and making you extremely hungry. (I know I made myself hungry!)

What are some of your family food traditions?

xoxo

CCR

Dear Santa.......TIS THE SEASON!!!

I can not believe I just wrote those words in my title. Shocking!?!? Christmas already? I guess 15 weeks of school has gone by but I am still amazed at how quickly everything happened! Well now on to the "Dear Santa" part.

Dear Santa,

I have been good this year and would love to find-

A monogrammed necklace

A Charm bracelet (With a charm)

Some boots

Itunes GiftCard

Manicure

Mascara

Socks

The Wii

A Taylor Swift CD or one by Michael Buble

What do you want for Christmas?

Two days ago while we were trimming the tree, my mom made some delish Mexican wedding cookies. Now if you have not tried those yet- YOU REALLY NEED TO!!!!

They have pecans in them and are rolled in powdered sugar. Sheer bliss!!! YUM~

I hope I have given you some interesting gift ideas~~

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

xoxo

CCR

Christmas Ornaments

Lately Target has had some really cute christmas ornaments.. Like this

Or this (This is not the actual Target Christmas ornament, but it was really similar!)

Sorry for the lack of posting. This week has been kind of crazy. Christmas shopping, drivers ED, ETC.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

xoxo

Caroline

Drivers Ed.

Yes. I am now taking drivers ed. I only have 9 days until I am finished! YAY! Then I can take in-car. I started yesterday. We go everyday from 3:50 until 6:40. I am taking it at a strange school, and I do not know one person in my class. The teacher has been telling us lots of scary stories about people who got into car crashes. That makes it kind of depressing. They all start out something like this- "Brandon was really a good kid. The ideal kid a parent would want......." or "Jennifer always obeyed the law. That was until one crisp January afternoon......"(The part about crisp January afternoon's was actually in there.) You get the picture. The only thing border line funny is the fact that the movie was made in the 80's, (aka big hair and jumpsuits.) and every 'cool' kid in the movie looks really geeky.

You could pray that I pass, meet some one I could talk to, and also pass in-car.

xoxo
CCR

GIVEAWAY!!! Go and check it out!!!

Christmas COUNTDOWN!!!!

How exciting is that? Christmas, right around the corner! I can not believe how fast it came this year

I felt like after Thanksgiving I could actually get into the "Christmas mood." Before that I got stressed out thinking about it, and watching as people stuck huge blow up snow men, Reindeer, & Santa Clause's in their front yard, and put up their Christmas tree. (If you really want to get stressed out, go to Florida, and see Christmas decor everywhere!) But now I think I am ready. So bring on the snow, the Christmas cookies, and hot coco! Bring on the Christmas carols, red & green!

I just hope I will be able to think up some good Christmas presents ideas. (Any thoughts would help a lot!)

Right now we have 24 days until Christmas, and only 23 until Christmas eve! I see a lot of shopping in my future! (HA ;)

CHRIST IS BORN!!!!!!

xoxo

CCR