Pocketful of Joules

Last night my family had the opportunity to go to a screening of the new Wreck-it Ralph movie, Ralph Breaks the Internet. Besides the fact that someone thought it would be appropriate to bring an infant to the screening (and didn’t take the child outside when it was crying…), we had an amazing time!

We are HUGE Wreck-it Ralph fans at our house and we even dressed up like Ralph, Fix-it Felix and Venellope for Halloween a couple years ago:

Here’s the premise: Ralph Breaks the Internet ventures into the uncharted and thrilling world of the world wide web. Video game bad guy Ralph (voice of John C. Reilly) and misfit Vanellope von Schweetz (voice of Sarah Silverman) must risk it all by traveling to the world wide web in search of a replacement part to save Vanellope’s video game, Sugar Rush. In way over their heads, Ralph and Vanellope rely on the citizens of the internet to help navigate their way.

Check out the trailer:

We absolutely LOVED the new movie and it had tons and tons of laughs throughout. Ralph and Vanellope were as endearing as ever and I just love their relationship. There was even a quick cartoon Stan Lee cameo and everyone in the theater let out a collective “aww” when they saw it.

Favorite parts
For me it was the inclusion of the Disney princesses. It has been teased for months and those parts were some of my absolute favorite bits of the movie. There was SO MUCH to unpack there that I’m going to need to see the movie a few more times to get all of the quick jokes and references. For Jack it was the first scene after the credits (there are two, so be sure to stay in the theater when the credits start rolling). He laughed so hard and this morning on the way to school he brought it up again and started giggling.

This movie is absolutely great for all ages, so if you are looking for something to see over the long weekend, add this to your list!

Ralph Breaks the Internet opens in theaters tonight, Wednesday, November 21, 2018 and is rated PG.

Disclosure: I was invited to attend the screening at no cost to me.  

With the weather suddenly turning cold, it looks like it’s time for my fall favorites post. I resurrected the My Style posts in August when I did My Style: Summer Favorites and have decided to do them on a seasonal basis.

Much like my summer post, I went through all my posted outfits from September, October and November and picked my 4 favorite fall looks!

Outfit #1: Minnie Mouse Chic

How cute is this Girls from Savoy corduroy halter dress?! It’s an Anthropologie brand (now discontinued) and I love its retro look. The dress is a super soft corduroy and the halter strap is buttoned in, so you can detach it for a strapless look. There is even a built in petticoat! I found it secondhand for $39 and wore it to Disneyland for my Netflix DVD trip as a Minnie-inspired look. I did a quick search on Poshmark for Girls from Savoy dresses and this one popped up in a variety of colors – so if you like it, the chances are high that you can find one pre-loved. After falling in love with my red version, I found it in another colorway for just $28.  I’m packing that one for my upcoming cruise, so you’ll be seeing it soon!

For shoes I knew I’d be walking a ton through Disneyland, so I went with my leopard spotted Rothy’s loafers. They are super comfortable and I thought the spotted look went well with my spotted Minnie ears! These are currently my only pair of loafers, but I’ve been debating on whether I need a solid red version… (If you want to read ALL my thoughts on Rothy’s and whether I think they are worth the price tag, you can find my post here.)

Outfit #2: Fall hippie chic

This maxi dress got mixed reviews when I shared it in my Trunk Club post but I love the way it fits and the swish-swish-swish of the skirt as I walk. It’s the Maggy London Smock Shoulder Midi Dress, and it is currently on sale for 40% off at Nordstrom. I topped it with a black cardigan for work – I thrifted this one ages ago and wear it all the time. Since the dress pattern has so much going on, I kept the look simple with my dark green pointed Rothy’s flats.

Outfit #3: Pattern-mixing chic

I did a bit of subtle pattern mixing with this outfit – the beaded sweater, brushstroke skirt and sparkly chevron flats could have clashed horribly, but I feel like it worked! I found this beaded Nice Things by Paloma S sweater at a consignment store in September and I love how versatile it is! This skirt was a Nordstrom Rack find a couple years ago and I love it because it has a stretchy waistband and POCKETS! The amber metallic herringbone pointed Rothy’s were a recent purchase with some saved up referral credits and they are so sparkly in person. I have started calling them my princess shoes and plan to wear them a ton over the holidays!

Outfit #4: Ringleader chic

I feel like quite the fashionable ringleader in this outfit. I was originally planning to pair this blazer with a pink blouse and black flats, but was encouraged to wear red for a university event… so I switched. I grabbed a gold sparkly Joie sweater out of my closet that I got at Nordstrom Rack last year for a steal (it was $168 on clearance for $25!) and my trusty red Rothy’s. The blazer is by Didier Parakian and I found it at a consignment store when I was in Boston for a conference. This one was also a total steal… similar blazers go for $350 and I got this one for $35! The black pants are from my last Trunk Club trunk, they are the BLANKNYC The Great Jones High Rise Skinny Jeans and I LOVE them. They are super stretchy and comfortable and can be easily dressed up for the office. You’ll be seeing a lot of these this winter!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. This means that clicking on a link may help me earn a small commission. Thank you to anyone who chooses to click through and support my blogging addiction.

Back in May, I published a super full and wordy review of Overtone’s Vibrant Orange conditioners (both the deep conditioner and the daily conditioner). You can find it here. Long story short, I love being a redhead… but hate the upkeep that comes with dying my hair red. I was looking for a way to stay ginger between salon appointments, rather than paying all that money and having my hair fade to brown within a couple of weeks. I decided to try Overtone’s color depositing conditioner.

Okay, we are all caught up now.

Anyways, in the spring when I started using the Vibrant Orange Deep Treatment ($28) and the Vibrant Orange Daily Conditioner ($17) I made some mistakes with timing. First, I used the deep conditioner for too long, which caused my hair to be oversaturated with color and veer towards the fantasy-colored look I wanted to avoid. Then, over the summer I got a little crazy with using the daily conditioner too often and my hair slowly went WAY too orange.

I had my last salon appointment 11 weeks ago and I think I’ve finally perfected my Overtone routine.

Here I am freshly dyed on August 28^th in my professional headshot taken for work:

My colorist has finally figured out the exact shade of bright copper I’ve been wanting.

I have not used the deep conditioner at ALL since my last appointment.

Here is my new color-keeping routine:

• I only use Overtone daily conditioner 1 – 2 times a week. I use a big blob of Vibrant Orange and then I add in a little squeeze of Vibrant Red. This keeps my hair from going TOO orange over time.
• Rather than covering ALL my hair with the color depositing conditioner, I first work it through the ends of my hair and then work my way up to halfway… and stop. I put my regular conditioner on the top half of my hair.
• I only leave the conditioner on while I do the rest of my shower routine – probably about 3 – 4 minutes, then I wash it out.

That’s it. It’s been 11 weeks since my last colorist appointment and I’m still pretty close to the same shade of ginger she dyed me in August. With roots, of course. Unfortunately my hair won’t just start growing in the proper shade of red that I want. But at least I don’t have any grays yet!

And yes, I know that comparing a photo taken with my iphone on my front porch to a professional headshot taken with a super expensive camera is kind of like comparing apples to oranges…

By concentrating the color on the ends of my hair, it helps my roots be a little less noticeable as they grow out. Before, it was SUPER orange/red next to brown. Now it’s much more gradual so I can get to 11 weeks of re-growth before going crazy. As it is, I have a color appointment this afternoon to get my roots touched up so that it’s all fresh and pretty for my sister’s upcoming wedding!

I feel like I’ve finally found the holy grail of being a (fake) copper haired lady all year long!

If you’d like to try Overtone, I have a referral code that will give you $10 off your first order: Click HERE for code.

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. If you choose to use my referral code, you will get $10 off your first order and I will also receive $10 if you make a purchase of $30 or more.

So, I’ve obviously had Christmas on my mind. Last week I did a poll on Facebook to find out everyone’s thoughts on sending out holiday cards.

I feel like over the years I receive less and less cards and was thisclose to not doing it any more. I had 60 of you vote and here are the final counts:

So it looks like I’ll be sticking with sending out holiday cards, at least for another year!

Now  I’m thinking about holiday shopping. It goes without saying that I haven’t started shopping for Christmas yet. I typically don’t start until after Thanksgiving. However, I’ll be on my sister’s wedding cruise for a week in December… which really limits my shopping (and procrastinating) time.

I also have the WORST time figuring out what I even want for Christmas.

So, I’m totally going to cheat and ask you all…

What is the BEST Gift You Have Ever Received?

Tell me the what! Tell me the why! Tell me the when! Tell me all about it in the comments!

Maybe this little exercise can help us all figure out what to add to our shopping lists!