SOCIAL MEDIA

Monday, January 17, 2022

New Year's Eve 2021

*This post contains affiliate links. When you click a link, it is no cost to you and I make a small commission (pennies) from it. Thank you for supporting Sparkles and Lattes. 

I can't believe we are already into 2022. I am thankful for a new year and a fresh start as 2021 was pretty rough. We went through some hard times in 2021 and hopeful that they are all behind us now.

I thought I would recap our pretty low-key New Year's Eve.

The day was pretty easy and chill. Rory and I had the day off, though he did a bit of work as someone needed a pre-approval to purchase a house. 

We ran a few errands, watched some football and lazed around the house most of the day. But we all showered, got ready, so we could take some photos and eat our fancy (that's what the girls called it) dinner. I wore my comfy sequin joggers that I posted here.

I made king crab legs, roasted carrots and twice baked potatoes with some crusty bread. Everything turned out really good and the girls ate a ton of crab. They loved the crab with butter drizzled all over it.

King Crab Legs
That is about 2 1/2 pounds.

I had way more crab than the three legs (one already cracked) of crab.

After dinner, the girls had some mint chip ice cream and some sparkling cider. Rory and I had a rose prosecco and some chocolate. 

After cleaning up, we got ready for the girls New Year's celebration. I had picked up some poppers, glasses, horns and sparkling cider from CVS and the dollar store. Nothing too crazy, but I wanted the girls to have a little something. We also broke out our sparklers from our wedding and lit those.
I wore my new Ugg slippers, my cozy A&F shirt that I can't stop wearing and my cozy sequin joggers.








I didn't capture photos when we were outside celebrating with the girls as it was dark, but I got a bunch of videos that I posted to my IG.

The girls went to bed at 9 pm. After they were in bed and asleep, we watched two episodes of Goliath, drank more prosecco and waited for midnight. Close to midnight we turned on the Nashville New Year's Eve show (which is so much better than the one with Ryan Seacrest), rang in the new year with a kiss from Rory and one from Walter. 


Walter had a hard time with all the fireworks that were going off, so we had to give him an anxiety pill and calm him down. We finally went to sleep at 1 am.

And just like that, we are into 2022! Cheers to a great year ahead!
Wednesday, December 22, 2021

Everything Sequins

*This post contains affiliate links. When you click a link, it is no cost to you and I make a small commission (pennies) from it. Thank you for supporting Sparkles and Lattes. 

If you are like them, then you love sequins. I wear them a lot during the holidays and would probably wear them more if I had more things to dress up for. I have sequin pants, shirts, skirts and soon a dress. 

I thought I would share some sequin items that you can wear for New Year's Eve. There is even a pair of my favorite comfy joggers. They are from a local company to me, but they ship and they are so worth it. I have seen reviews online for other joggers that they breakdown if your thighs rub together. Well these don't. My thighs rub together and I have never had a problem with these.

Everything Sequins

Silver Sequin Dress  - This dress is so much fun. I would get it for the holiday party, but it is sleeveless and I will be in freezing Colorado. It is so pretty though!

Black Sequin Blazer  - This is such a fun blazer. I really love it. It would go perfect with the Spanx Faux Leather Pants, a simple pencil skirt or over a dress.

Gold Sequin Duster  - This is on my wishlist. I think it is perfect for a date night. I would put it over one of my simple cotton black dresses and a pair of heels. Or just for a fun addition to jeans and a tee.

Black Sequin Dress  - This is one of the dresses I am considering for the holiday party in Colorado next month. It is on sale for 50% off right now and has great reviews.

Black Sequin Skirt  - This is a fun skirt and similar to the one I wore for Rory's Christmas party. But this one has a beautiful lace end to it.

Black Sequin Pants  - I own these pants. I have had them for a few years now. I have them in size small. They fit well, have stretch to them, have a stretch waist band and are the perfect length.

Black Sequin Joggers   - I have these as well. They come from a local to me store, but they do ship as I said above. I got these in a small, but the medium fit well too. They are comfy, have a drawstring waist and are perfect for lounging in on NYE.

Sequin Bodysuit  - Bodysuits have been pretty amazing lately and I would love to try this one. It would be perfect with the Spanx Faux Leather Leggings, a skirt, jeans, or some black pants.

Do you love sequins? Are you dressing up for NYE? Even the comfy style NYE outfit?

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Girls 5th Birthday and NYE Recap

*This post contains affiliate links. When you click a link, it is no cost to you and I make a small commission (pennies) from it. Thank you for supporting Sparkles and Lattes.

I can't believe I have 5 year olds now. Where has the time gone? The girls have been counting down to their birthday for months. They were so excited when we surprised them with Disneyland as part of their birthday present and then had a day dedicated just to them. Anything and everything they wanted.

The girls turned 5 on December 29th. Since we went to Disneyland as part of their birthday present, we didn't have a big party for them. We went to breakfast at Pine State Biscuits (their choice) to start the day.

After breakfast, we went home and then headed back out again. I had to get stuff to make the girls cupcakes for school and we had to find rings to put on said cupcakes. The girls and I went to Target, Michael's (since Hobby Lobby was closed on Sundays) and a party store before finding the right rings. After we got home, the girls opened up their gifts from Rory and I. Their Columbia Frozen jackets were a huge hit.



I think Frozen 2 was a huge theme for the girls gifts for Christmas and their birthday. They got a ton of stuff.

After gifts, the girls had some lunch, played with their new gifts and then took a short nap. I baked 4 dozen cupcakes (for the girls school the next day) and made guacamole for our dinner that night. 

Once the girls were up, they changed outfits and we headed to my sister's house for the 49ers vs. Seahawks game and to celebrate the girls birthday. We had chips and guacamole and some shrimp cocktail for appetizers. Then my sister and her husband made chili verde on their Trager. It was soooo good. 

The girls opened gifts from my sister and BIL, my parents and my in-laws. They got even more gifts and played with a bunch of them while we were at my sisters house.

Before dinner, my sister and BIL suprised the girls with a pinata that they filled with candy. The girls took turns wacking at the pinata and then Rory and I took a turn. Yes, we are hitting the pinata with an old ski pole. Ha.

Notice the girls outfits...dresses, high heels, their Frozen jackets and tights.

Then we had our delicious dinner!
Homemade chili verde in a cast iron skillet from the Trager.

After dinner, we watched more of the Niners game and had cupcakes that my sister made for the girls. She made them Funfetti.

We watched the Niners pull out a win at the last second and then went home. It was a great birthday for the girls!!

Fast forward to Tuesday, NYE. We had to work, but got off early. My in-laws picked up the girls as they were having a sleep over. We had a small quick dinner and then headed home to relax and get ready. My head piece never showed up, so my costume wasn't complete, but I think it still looked good.

We headed out to the Depot with our friends for all you can eat and drink night of fun. They had all sorts of passed appetizers along with specialty cocktails all night. 

Once we were there, we took a bunch of photos and then enjoyed our evening. We sang, danced, people watched and had a great time.


After midnight hit and the fireworks went off, we grabbed an Uber home and promptly went to bed. I woke up with a flaming throat and a high fever. After going to the doctor, I found out I had strep throat. I haven't had strep since I was a kid. So I spent New Year's Day and the next day on the couch sleeping most of the day. By Friday I was feeling better as my fever was gone and my ears stopped hurting. My throat was still sore, but not as bad as the first two days. Plus I was on antibiotics. Another year started off being sick. Ugh. But it was so much fun on NYE.

How was your New Year's Eve? Can you believe that my girls are already 5? So crazy. They are soo wonderful, sweet, smart, sassy, beautiful little darlings. I can't wait to see where life takes them! Happy Birthday my little lady babies.