Chocolate, Curves, & Cocktail Dresses: December 2011

Dec 31, 2011

2012 Inspiration

Happy New Year!

I wanted to share my 2012 inspiration board with you. It's a collection of my goals and aspirations for myself and CC&CD for 2012.

1. Be more creative and take on a few more DIY projects.

2. More tea, less coffee.

3. Shannon Martin of Snazzy Dollface. Always value your reader and be true to yourself.

4. Law school graduation is right around the corner, keep your eyes on the prize.

5. Eat better.

6. Love more.

7. Erika Marie of Fashion Chalet. Be positive; when you do, you inspire yourself.

8. Nikon D90 (camera crush)

9. Nadia Aboulhosn. Never, never, never give up.

10. Take better care of your skin.

11. Adele. Laughter is infectious.

12. Try new things with your hair.

13. Remember where you came from and where you'll go.

14. Wear more dresses.

15. Never be afraid to sparkle.

16. Smile more.

What would your inspiration board look like?

xoxo

Shayne Renee

2012 Inspiration by xoxoshaynerenee.

Dec 30, 2011

Fashionably Fabulous Friday -- French Connection

It's Friday! That means it's Fashionably Fabulous Friday! This week's piece is in honor of New Year's Eve weekend.

French Connection $298

Why is it that New Year's Eve bring out the sparkle in everyone? Is it because the symbol of New Year's Eve is a disco ball? Probably. I love wearing sequin/glitter/sparkly anything on New Year's Eve. This dress would be amazing for tomorrow night!

Have you decided on your New Year's Eve outfit yet? I know I have!

xoxo

Shayne Renee

Dec 29, 2011

Goodbye 2011

Can you believe it's almost 2012? I can't either! Since Chocolate, Curves, & Cocktail Dresses (CC&CD for short) debuted this year, I thought it would be nice to reflect on what CC&CD has accomplished this year.

1) 120 posts!

Including 3 of my favorite:

- How To Clean Your Closet

- Fashion Rules You Should Break

- My 5 Minute Make-Up Routine

... and 3 of my favorite outfits:

- What I Wore... When I Was Lazy

- My Husband's Shirt

- Chunky Sweaters Are The Best

2) Our first feature: Fashionably Fabulous Friday. My two favorite so far:

- Steve Madden

- Glitterings

3) The addition of a Facebook Page and a Twitter Page

All-in-all, this year has been great to me and I hope it's been great to you. Thank you so much for loyally supporting CC&CD. I have read each one of your comments, emails, and posts and they all mean so much to me. I look forward to seeing how CC&CD grows and develops in 2012.

Happy (almost) New Year!

xoxo

Shayne Renee

Dec 28, 2011

High/Low -- New Year's Eve

Since Christmas is officially a thing of the past (for now), it's time to start planning those New Year's Eve outfits. Have you picked yours out yet? If not, I've put some inspiration for you :)

The "High" look costs more than $5,000. The "Low" look costs just $160. Want either the look? Find the outfit details here.

Until tomorrow...

xoxo

Shayne Renee

Dec 27, 2011

My Holiday DIY Projects

Before the Christmas I did this post about DIY projects I aspired to do over my Christmas break. I did two out of three of them. Not bad, right?

First: Make Your Own Holiday Bows

Yeah, that tag says "To: Muscles" because that's what I call my father-in-law. You'd have to meet him to understand :)

Next year, I'd really like to do DIY name tags. Those stick on tags really cheapen the look of the gift and if I'm going to spend all the time on the bow I might as well go all out :)

Second: Candy Cane Nails

I got so many compliments on these and they were so easy. Here is the tutorial. Looking forward to doing more holiday themed nails next year :)

I'm working on two other DIY projects now. I gave you a sneak peak of one on Twitter the other day. Did you see it? If not, join our Twitter page, so you don't miss out on any more sneak peaks :) Can't wait to show you the end results!

Have you tried any new DIY projects lately?

xoxo

Shayne Renee

Dec 26, 2011

My Christmas in 7 Pictures

They say a picture is worth 1,000 words... well, here is my Christmas in 7,000 words :)

Holiday Inspired Nails

Stocking Stuff Gift

Christmas Tree

Gifts

Buddy's Christmas Gift

Harley's Christmas Gift

My Mom and I at dinner

Christmas was pretty low-key this year. That's just the way I like it. We woke up late, had breakfast, opened gifts, and then went to visit family. After that we went to dinner because no one felt like cooking this year. Who could blame them? It was nice not to worry about dinner deals. Everyone just showed up and ate! Afterwards, we had a family game night and played Battle of the Sexes. Who won? The girls! Did you even have to ask?

It was a perfect Christmas! I am blessed in so many ways.

How was your holiday?

xoxo

Shayne Renee

P.S. I promise I will share the rest of my Christmas gifts soon :)

Dec 23, 2011

Fashionably Fabulous Friday -- Glitterings

Happy Friday!

It's that time of week again! Every Friday I share one really special piece that I'm in love with at the moment. The only requirement is that it is absolutely fabulous. Here's today's:

Glittering's Forever Love Ring $145

I love how romantic this ring is. It's so pretty and feminine. Perfect for a first date or a wedding :)

What do you think?

Well, that's all from me until after Christmas. I hope your Christmas is merry!

Until then...

xoxo

Shayne Renee

Dec 22, 2011

Holiday Wish List

Hey all!

By now, most of the holiday parties have passed and all you're waiting for is the big day -- CHRISTMAS! However, I still have two more. One on Christmas Eve and one on the 27th. I haven't decided what I wanted to wear yet so I went on Polyvore to come up with some outfit inspiration. I've decided that this is my dream Christmas party outfit :)

xoxo

Shayne Renee

The Details:

Rare Opulence dress, $230 - theoutnet.com;
YSL heels, $795 - net-a-porter.com;
Milly clutch, $330 - nordstrom.com;
Dsquared bracelet, $288 - dsquared2.com;
Heart ring, $9.99 - modcloth.com;
Kate Spade bow earrings, $68 - katespade.com

Add some black patterned tights and you're good to go! What's your dream holiday party outfit? Have you already worn it? Do you still have a few Christmas parties to go to? Or am I the only one?

xoxo
Shayne Renee

Still In Love With Leopard Print

Weeks ago I did a post about my love of all thing leopard print. Basically, I treat leopard print like a neutral and wear it with whatever I want :)

(I'm not the only one though. Check out one of my favorite fashion bloggers, Alicia of Cheetah is the New Black)

I wanted to take this opportunity to let you know that I'm still in love with leopard print (as if there was any doubt).

Here are some fabulous leopard print pieces I've been looking at lately:

Found anything fabulously leopard print lately? Please do share!

Don't forget to follow CC&CD on Twitter and Facebook!

xoxo

Shayne Renee

(1) Swimsuit, (2) Skirt, (3) Dress, (4) Jacket, (5) Louboutins, (6) Prada Wedges, (7) Purse

Dec 21, 2011

Small Town Shopping

As many of you know I'm visiting my parents for the holidays. They live in a small town in northern Michigan. Because it's a small town it's often difficult to find good places to shop. However, recently, I discovered the cutest boutique and thought I would share it with you.

The name of the boutique is Suvi and the owner's name is Karen. She is adorable and so is her boutique :) Here are some of the pieces she has in store right now:

My favorite! The leather was so soft and I love all the little details.

Perfect weekend outfit.

Karen had this top on when we visited her store. It looked so cute on her. I love comfortable clothes that are chic! Who doesn't?

Classic riding boots.

Clutch.

Boho necklace.

Pendant necklaces.

Trendy bracelets.

Edgy earrings. These were my favorite accessory! Love!

Everything she buys is well made and truly unique. I bought my mom a pair of earrings for Christmas and she bought a great pair of jeans.

If you're interested in seeing more you can check Suvi out on Facebook (here) or at their website (here). I promise you won't be disappointed!

xoxo

Shayne Renee

(Disclosure: This is not a sponsered post. I just really enjoyed Karen's boutique and thought you would too)

Dec 20, 2011

New Additions To My Closet

Hey Everyone!

Since I arrived in Michigan, I have done a lot of shopping... Christmas and otherwise :) It's because my mom is my favorite shopping buddy. She's a bargain hunter and brutally honest... my two favorite qualities in a shopping buddy.

Since being here, she's also let me raid her closet/jewelry box and take a few thing. Here are some of the things I've pick up since arriving: