Painted Happiness Giveaway {CLOSED}

Today I'm so excited to be teaming up with some of my absolute favorite bloggers for a holiday giveaway from the Painted Happiness etsy shop.  Painted Happiness is an etsy shop that specializes in hand painted signs and decor. All of them start at only $12. You can choose from the shop listings or have something custom designed just for you. Right now, Painted Happiness Shop has some great hand painted Christmas signs to help you decorate for the holidays.

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For this giveaway, there will be two lucky winners! 

One will receive a 16x20 custom hand-painted sign and another will get to choose an 8x10 sign from the shop. Good luck!

If you can't wait to see if you win the giveaway, use code: HOLIDAY10 for 10% of your order through December 19th

 Elise|Hunters of Happiness                     Rachel|Rachel Sayumi                      Kati|Glitz & Gold

          Marsa|Daylee Journal                    Elise|A Lifetime of Rain                     Kristen|Wild One Forever

         Deidre|Love the Skinnys                        Ariel|Auteur Ariel                     Jessica|North Carolina Grown

Jessi|Haircut & General Attitude                Bri|Breezy Days                              Brooke|Silver Lining

     Jessica|Afternoon Style                        Jess|Golden Swank                       Lily|Blushing Boulevard

We're sorry but this giveaway is only for US and Canada followers

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Turkey Day Thoughts

I'm such a picky holiday person. As much as I enjoy Thanksgiving, for me it doesn't beat out Halloween or Christmas. I'm not talkin' the actual meaning of the holidays, just the hullaballoo of decorations & traditions that come with it. I love turkey and all, but then I end up sleeping the rest of the day because of it. Who wants to sleep half a holiday away?! {Ok, maybe this tired college student wants to.} I could just eat pumpkin pie all day & be perfectly happy!

Although, it hasn't been until the past few years that I've taken full advantage of the discount wonders that come with Black Friday. Discounts on all my favorite stores for a bunch of stuff that I really want but don't necessarily need? I'm on board with that. Thanksgiving week has got it's perks! Plus not working retail during the holidays this year will be such a relief.

{Remixed: Boots}

Speaking of Thanksgiving, we are leaving Monday to get started on our 14 hour trek to Portland and my house looks like a bomb exploded. Mostly because when I'm sick {and feel like death}, I could care less what the house looks like. Laundry? Sprawled everywhere. Are the bathroom/kitchen/rooms clean? A resounding...NOPE. Clothes picked out to pack? Ummm, heck no. All this thinking of cleaning/planning makes me tired...meaning that a bubble bath, good book, and Reese's pizookie must be in order :) 

Friday's Letters

Dear Cold & Ear Infection,

You are so horrible! I've been laid out for a week now with disgusting congestion, clogged ears, sore throat, and a pounding headache. Now that I'm on 3 different medications and with lots of sleep I'm just now starting to feel better. Being sick is such a waste of time, plus a total downer on my fashion blogging. Boo!

Dear BYU,

This semester only has 2 weeks left of school and a few days of finals...I'm almost there! Now that I finally have my official email saying that I can graduate, I can't wait 'till April. Only one more semester of 6 credits, woot woot!

Dear Portland,

The last time I saw you was all the way back in summer of 2011, when Ryan & I lived there for summer sales. Crazy how it feels so long ago. Now we'll be on our way to you this next Tuesday for our first big Rios family Thanksgiving. I'm pretty stoked for some delish food, fun company, and finally trying Voodoo Donuts. 

Dear Hunger Games,

I am SO STOKED to see you tonight. Everyone keeps raving that you are wayyy better than the first movie, which gives me hope that you follow the book better. Any excuse for a date night is an awesome one. 

{Remixed: Jeans // Jacket}

Dear Bijou Market,

I just love meeting up with my blogger friends & hittin' you up! I found some dainty 'lil earrings and some delicious smelling lotion that I can wait to try out. You never disappoint. 

happy friday :)

Weekend Update: Pasodoble + Thor

{Mock Competition for Samba from Oct.}

I know I'm writing this early for a weekend update, but I've already done all the exciting stuff I'm actually going to do for the entire weekend. Now it's just homework and being lazy around the house! Yesterday I competed in the BYU Dancesport competition with my partner Brandon in the Pasodoble. In the mock competition for Samba a while back we placed 3rd, which we were super stoked about. Even though we only made it to Quarterfinals {competing in a higher level} for Paso, it was a fun time & I'm proud that we made it a couple rounds :)

{Dancesport competition in Pasodoble}

Our latin dance teacher trains some of the best latin dancers in the country, so he is pretty intense when it comes to competition. So he instructed us that all the girls are supposed to have their hair slicked back, shiny, and in a tight bun. Ummm ya, that is really difficult. I used Ryan's hair gel and slathered that stuff on like no one's business then used at least 15 bobby pins to keep my bun in place. I also caked on the make-up & sunless tanner {and I'm still white as ever!} It's taken 2 showers & lots of shampoo to get all that gel out. Yuck!

After I competed we made our way over to the Riverwoods Lighting, where we drove into the parking lot then promptly turned around to leave. The traffic was CRAZY. I didn't think it was such a popular event, so I was surprised to see the place swamped with families in their snow coats. We decided to hit up the other side of Provo {to avoid all those people} and see Thor 2 at the Provo Towne Mall {which was actually really good, a lot better than the first movie.} It was a low-key night where we picked up some amazingly discounted sweaters from American Eagle, Panda Express in the food court, and hit up a 10pm showing of the movie. Just love those spur of the moment date nights :) Plus, I soooo want to start decorating for Christmas, but I can't bring myself to do it until after Thanksgiving! Old habits die hard my friends.

My Guilty Pleasure TV Shows

You could say that I love fall tv shows...or at least you will after reading his post! When I'm not avoiding homework by blogging {or cleaning, sleeping, practically anything other than homework}, I'm usually catching up on any of these shows. I love a good story that is light hearted with a dash of romance and mystery, aka I watch at least half the girly tv shows out there. Here are a few of my favorite guilty pleasures that I look forward to each week!

Sunday: Drop Dead Diva
I would say that this show is definitely under the guilty pleasure category because it's probably the most frivolous show ever. I wouldn't say that it's the best acting ever, but I enjoy watching the story unfold regardless. I've watched it from the beginning and can't wait to see if Deb {Jane} and Grayson will finally get together!

Monday: Hart of Dixie
If you don't like Rachel Bilson, I'm not sure we could ever be friends. Not only is she super adorable in this show, but who doesn't love watching some good down south small-town living?? Makes me all the more excited to live in the south one day ;)

Tuesday: 
New Girl, Pretty Little Liars, The Originals
New Girl: Definitely a must-watch in my book. I've always loved Zooey Deschanel {even if some members in my family think she is annoying...cough cough}, but I've even gotten Ryan hooked on this show {mostly because of Schmidt} because it's absolutely hilarious!

Pretty Little Liars: A guilty teenage-pleasure for sure. I love all the creative outfits worn by the main girls, and can't wait to see if Ezra really is A?! {Sorry if that was a spoiler alert, but you oughta be caught up already!}

The Originals: I read The Vampire Diaries books when I was younger and continued on to watch the show, now that is it nearing it's end I just had to jump board with The Originals. Klaus is so mysterious & sexy, and with it being set in New Orleans I couldn't be more excited to watch the story unfold. You notice that I have a thing for the south yet?

Wednesday: Nashville
OMG NASHVILLE. I watched the Friday Night Lights tv show with Connie Britton and loved her in that, then followed her over to Nashville and have thoroughly loved every minute of it. Rayna needs to be reunited with her one true love! Scarlett needs to finally pick someone to be with and relish in her career success! When will Juliette not mess up a relationship she's in?! Then the amazing singing on top of all the southern drama? SOLD.

Thursday: The Vampire Diaries
This is on par with Pretty Little Liars, and every time Ryan walks in on me watching these shows he'll ask "Will you always watch trashy teenage shows?" The answer is probably something he doesn't want to hear...but how can you resist Damon?!

Friday: The Carrie Diaries
Although I've only seen a handful of Sex and the City episodes, this show intrigued me with it being the prequel to that whole storyline. Plus it's set in the 1980's & New York...amazing clothes & the city, could you go wrong?

Not Apologizing

{A reese's cheesecake recipe I made this past weekend, yummmm}

I know that some bloggers will apologize for being absent from the blog world for an extended amount of time. In my younger days I saw other bloggers do that and thought "Oh, I guess that's just blogging etiquette?" PSH, lies. Now that I've been around for a while, I feel like I know better.

I'm sure you were able to continue breathing and living without a Breezy Days blog post? Life goes on, and I'm sure as heck not going to apologize for playing N64 Paper Mario with the husband or being busy with school when I "should" have been blogging {according to those posting-everyday-standards.} This is my place of refuge, and I'm more than happy to share a little piece of my life with you. So I'll let you in on a little secret...I've been eating pizza and wearing sweats all weekend and unless you want to hear more about that, I'll more than happily take blogging breaks until I actually put on some real clothes :)

happy monday.

Nordstrom Rack VIP Party

This week I received an invitation to attend the VIP pre-opening party at Nordstrom Rack up in Farmington, UT. Seeing as how I've only ever been to a Nordstrom Rack a handful of times in my life, I figured it would be a fun time to snag one of my best friends and head on up there {Kyla, you were missed!!} We toddled up to the store and it was PACKED. We inched our way inside and I had Alexa show me around the store like a Nordstrom Rack pro would. 

We ended up finding some great deals on comfy sweaters and adorable studded belts through the huge sea of a well-dressed crowd & amazing discounts. After the chaos we made our way over to Ross & Marshall's to see if we could grab any more deals; which is where we ran into Madison & Lauren from the Awkward Girls blog. I went over to say "hi" because I had met them a couple times previous and that was the start of talking each others ears off and eventually dinner at The Habit {a burger place I'd never been to before, which was absolutely delicious!} It's so funny that we all hit it off so well and could not stop talking! Alexa & I had a total blast!! This blogger world is such a crazy fun place to be a part of :)

Nordstrom Rack at Station Park: 380 North Station Parkway Farmington, UT 84025

Best Laid Plans, Not

I'm officially half way through the semester, can I get a hip hip hooray?! I'm taking only 6 credits next semester and will be looking for a new job in the area, so big changes are a comin' {and if you have connections with a rad job, let me know!} I'll be so relieved when I finally have that degree in my hot little hand, and to go make moolah to pay for life/student loans! {Yay? haha}

While avoiding homework today, I decided to "relax" by taking on a Pinterest project I've been meaning to do. Why in the world do I even bother laying out a nice organized plan of action when everything just goes to crap anyways?? {Kinda like my Christmas tree plan…}

I grabbed flowers at Hobby Lobby, but forgot the foam board backing at Lowes. I ruined the picture with black paint, had to go order another one at Staples. Ran out of ribbon, had to head out to sketchy dollar store for more. Ya…I don't really know what delusion I was living in to think this would be an "easy peasy project." Ryan blames my high expectations for a smooth sailing life on all the charming romantic comedies/Disney movies I watch…doesn't he know that I'm secretly a princess? Where my singing birds at?!

{Remixed: Plaid Shirt // Olive Pants}

Well, the project is finally done and I'm pretty happy with myself :) Now I'm off to make Ghiradelli brownies with the husband and to watch another Dateline episode, cause we love watching those intense murder mystery-type shows. Btw, the picture above was my hair from the Frannie's party the other night. All curled up with some clip-in extensions I'm finally making use of after having them for over 2 years! You could say I'm proud that at 22 years old, I'm finally able to do my hair.