Friday's Fancies: A Beach Day in Chambray

Chambray sounds like it would be some fancy beach destination in the south of France (in which case, totally count us in for an upcoming vacay), but really it's just a fabric that looks a whole lot like broken-in denim. When {av} told us to let our chambray flag fly for this week's Friday's Fancies, we decided to make ours a beach cover-up. So pardon the interruption from your previously scheduled day and take a moment to pretend you're sitting on an unknown Chambray beach in the south of France with us. (Gotta love an active imagination.)

A Beach Day in Chambray by herlatenightcravings

1 Helen Kaminski Nala Raffia Fedora with Ribbon  //  2 Madewell Perfect Chambray Ex-Boyfriend Shirt in Ferrous Wash  //  3 J Brand Cut-Off Shorts  //  4 Kate Spade New York Mom's The Word Daffodil Stud Earrings  //  5 MICHAEL Michael Kors ML2788S Sunglasses  //  6 J Crew Ruched Bandeau Top  //  7 J Crew Side-Notch Bikini Bottom  //  8 Ash Lips Demi Wedge Sandals  //  9 Essie Summer 2012 Collection  //  10 MARC by Marc Jacobs Jacobsen Tote  //  11 Origins Cover Your Mouth Lip Protector with SPF 8  //  12 Clarins Sunscreen for Face Wrinkle Control Cream SPF 50+  //  13 Sun Bum SPF 50+ Sunscreen Lotion  //  14 Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray

And PS ~ If you'd like to join in on future Friday's Fancies, hop on over to Long Distance Loving and sign up to receive {av}'s weekly e-mails for themes in advance, so that you can make your own Polyvore inspiration board. It's so much fun and a great way to meet new bloggers!

Mendi's May Photos: Days 1-16

Photo-a-Day is back!! We took the month of April off, but after having so much fun with March's Photo-a-Day challenge (which you can see here and here), we were excited to get back on this bandwagon for May. We're going to split it up again this month, so today you'll see my pictures from days 1 through 16 and at the end of the month you'll see Jayme's days 17 through 31. So, here's a little sneak peek into the world through my eyes (via Instagram)...

day 1 -- peace

My "me" time.

day 2 -- skyline

Crossing the James River on my way home after work.

day 3 -- something you wore today

One of my favorite new scarves. Check your Target.

day 4 -- fun!

Still loving this album. Favorite songs: 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10. See...lots to love.

day 5 -- bird

This is Charles Dickens. He watches over and protects our den. Don't mess with Charles...he's ferocious.

day 6 -- you

I snuck the hubz in the shot with me.

day 7 -- someone that inspires you

One particular blogger that I admire for her creativity, her writing & her style is {av} from Long Distance Loving. Jayme & I are stoked that we're meeting her June 3rd @ Blogger Blitz DC.

day 8 -- a smell you adore

My new Dreams Unlimited Sun Fresh from The Body Shop. Summer in a bottle.

day 9 -- something you do everyday

Blog.  :)

day 10 -- a favorite word

Live for 'em!!

day 11 -- kitchen

I love all of the plants (that I haven't managed to kill) residing in the corner behind my kitchen sink. My itty bitty greenhouse.

day 12 -- something that makes you happy

Shoes. OMG. Shoes.

day 13 -- mum

An early morning Mother's Day phone call to my mom who was in Charlotte visiting my sister & her family. We'll be celebrating this weekend once she & my dad are back home here in Richmond.

day 14 -- grass

All of the credit for our pretty green grass goes to my hubz. I'm not much of a yardwork kind of gal.

day 15 -- love

Seriously. What's not to love?!? (left: Nugget; right: Zoey)

day 16 -- what you're reading

I'm obsessed with my magazine subscriptions. This is only some of the ones that I get.

Are you participating in Fat Mum Slim's May Photo-a-Day?? Or do you get down with some other Instagram link-up party?? Pretty, pretty please let us know if you are, because we want to snoop through your pictures too.

Mendi

POTM...May Edition

As most of you probably know, we started our Polish Of The Month posts back in August as seen here and we love showcasing a special polish or polishes (because sometimes two is better than one) every single month. There are so many awesome polishes out there that they really do deserve their own post! So without further adieu, we bring you...

May Polish Of The Month

Jayme's Pick - Sally Hansen Insta-Dry in Lively Lilac and Essie's Kisses and Bises

Normally Lively Lilac lives on my toes as I think it's such a gorgeous color on my piggies, however I thought I'd show her some love this month and I'm so happy that I did. It's the perfect shade of purple and has the most subtle sheen. But I wanted just a tad more so I added Kisses & Bises which is extremely sheer and is iridescent so it's a perfect layering polish. It just amps up this purple a tad which I love. I keep finding myself staring at my nails!

Mendi's Pick - Color Club in Clambake Coral (via my May Birchbox)

My pick this month is courtesy of Birchbox. You guys know how easily pleased I am when it comes to nail polish, so when I tore into my May box, I was thrilled to see this bright coral-y orange number. It's just the right shade to sport on my nails as we begin transitioning from the spring months to the hotter summer months. And did I mention that it makes me want to host a clambake? I've been dying to try this Shrimp Boil Kebabs recipe from Cook Au Vin. Soon...definitely soon!

Now it's your turn! Drop us a comment to let us know what polish(es) have been residing on your digits and piggies this month!

The Body Haul!

We swear that today marks the end of our May shopping frenzy!! We have frozen our debit cards in blocks of ice in our freezers so that there is no way that we are shopping anymore...this month! To be fair, we reigned it in the first few months of the year, so we had to make up for lost time.  :-) And it helped that we bought the Groupon for The Body Shop so that our purchases didn't add up to much.

Items Purchased
The Body Shop Vitamin C Energising Face Spritz (spelled correctly, we promise)
The Body Shop Sweet Lemon Body Scrub and Lip Butter
The Body Shop Honey Bronze Shimmering Dry Oil
The Body Shop Dreams Unlimited Sun Fresh Eau de Toilette
The Body Shop Dreams Unlimited Body Butter
LOVE PINK Makeup Bag
Bath & Body Works Slatkin & Co. Candles in Oceanside, White Sand, Beach Cabana, Coconut Water and Coconut Water

Have you gotten any of the new summer scented candles at Bath & Body Works? You just can't beat the 2 for $20 deal. And what about The Body Shop? Did anyone else get that Groupon?

May Birchbox(es) Arrived!

Our May Birchboxes (emphasis on the plural) arrived in the mail a couple of nights ago featuring products suited for the Hampton's elite. Far be it from us to deny ourselves a little bit of high society beauty products. So, yes please. And thank you. This month, to our shock, we received very different boxes (the last time this happened was last August). Let's take a peek inside...

Mendi's Birchbox:

Jayme's Birchbox:

Overall we're really pleased with our boxes. You guys know how we feel about Fresh Sugar Lip Treatments, so getting a mini version of the Rose in Jayme's box was a total score. And the fine ladies over at Birchbox must have Mendi's number since they dropped in a nail polish. The only things in common that we received were the Miracle Skin Transformer and of course, the cute XOXO notecard.

If you've been on the fence about signing up for Birchbox and you missed our year-end recap a couple of weeks ago, then be sure to check it out here. For $10 a month, it's nice to get something in the mail other than bills and junk. To sign up to receive this monthly box of beauty goodies, just click here. If you already receive Birchbox, drop us a comment to let us know what you received!

Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend and Happy Mother's Day to all of the moms out there!