Top 20 in 2014

I wanted to share my top 20 favorite looks of 2014. Many of you have stuck around since the beginning of the year, but for new readers, I put together a glimpse of my personal style diary over the past twelve months.

If you are interested in getting more details or want to see additional pictures of any of the outfits below, you can click on the numbers under each collage.

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5

6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10

11 // 12 // 13 // 14 // 15

16 // 17 // 18 // 19 // 20

I had to add one more. This outfit was my favorite out of everything I styled this year.

I was curious as to what posts were voted "most popular" in 2014. In case you missed them, here are five that received the most traffic: Wrapped, Cool Down, Choose Happiness, Poms Pom & Check and Add-Ons. I am still scratching my head as to why these particular posts were clicked on more than others; SEO is a strange creature.

I also wanted to share a few favorite items that I added to my closet or cosmetic routine this year. I recommend and love every single one.

--2014 FAVORITES--

Where my blog is concerned, it's been a year of growth, adjustments, finding balance, pushing through the comparison game and reminding myself over and over that as long as I am doing my personal best I should be proud. Honestly, I am proud of myself for not quitting, working hard, sticking with something I enjoy and growing as a person on so many levels.

I have never considered my site a "fashion blog" because I don't own or wear high end designers, have the means to own most of them or live a lifestyle needing editorial type clothing. I enjoy coming here to share simple and affordable outfits that fit with the life I live and hopefully inspire your own personal style.

I look forward to sharing more of me with you in 2015.

Happy new year, have fun and be safe tonight! See you next year! xoxo

P.S. Here is a collage of all the styles I posted today in case you want to pin for reference.

Quilted with a Side of Plaid & Stripes

I wore an almost identical look last week for our Christmas celebration with Ross's family. I wanted to shoot some photographs, but we were having too much fun and time slipped away from us. Instead, I put together a style inspiration board based on the selfie I posted on Instagram. 

I really love how comfortable and festive all these pieces are and each one, on their own, can be remixed over a dozen ways. I have actually had this same tartan scarf for almost two years and worn it more times than I can count. And can we all keep our fingers crossed that quilted vests stay around for awhile? I swear, they are the best piece to style during the winter months and provide more warmth than I thought possible. 

Sorry to keep it so short today. We are headed out for our very first skiing experience. I am either in ski school or on the slopes killing it! Ha! I doubt it. Send some good juju if you get the chance.

J.Crew Factory Quilted Vest // Kate Spade Bow Earrings // Red Tartan Scarf // ASOS Stripe Collar Shirt // Gap Skinny Denim // Daniel Wellington Watch // Hunter Boots

ACTUAL LOOK VIA INSTAGRAM

Snow Style

I hope you had a Merry Christmas and are still enjoying time with family and friends. We are in our final stretch of celebrating the holidays. Tomorrow morning we leave for our surprise winter wonderland trip to Tahoe. Our girls are beside themselves and can't believe they are actually going to see REAL snow.

I cannot wait to see the looks on their faces when we start driving through the mountains. I am sure I will be posting lots of pictures on Instagram, so if you want to follow along, you can see our adventures here. Say a prayer that we all take to skiing and don't twist anything or break any bones. I am just a tad bit nervous. 

Oh, by the way, thanks for all the recommendations of what to bring last week. You guys helped us pack and prepare.

I thought it was fitting to put together a warm, cute and cozy style idea for the snow. I already own a few of the pieces featured; this plaid toggle coat, gray denim, Bauble Bar set and the best tinted lip balm EVER. The rest of it is all on my wish list, especially the pink Joules wellies, J.Crew factory cheers sweatshirt and Sole Society messenger bag. I wish I had enough time to buy everything and wear this exact outfit while in Tahoe. That's what I get for procrastinating.

J.Crew Factory Cheers Sweatshirt // Chicwish Sunglasses // Gap Gray Denim // Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm in Blush Orchid // Old Navy Plaid Top // Glitter Phone Case // Pink Joules Wellies // Vacation Fund Zipper Pouch // Forever 21 Plaid Toggle Coat // Bauble Bar Set // Old Navy Pom Pom Beanie // Sole Society Messenger Bag

Talk to you ladies soon. Thanks so much for stopping by on the day after Christmas.

We can all breathe! The hustle and bustle is officially over! Enjoy the weekend, all the crazy good sales going on and the last moments of 2014. I can't wait to share our trip when we get back. xoxo

We've Been Good for Goodness Sake

This year I wasn't planning on mailing Christmas cards. My original plan was to design one and spread our good cheer via social media. I started feeling overwhelmed early on this holiday season and didn't want to add an extra "to-do" item to my endless list.

When I received this double head sweater during the Target + TOMS collaboration, a few girlfriends insisted that we wear it for our Christmas cards. After throwing together a few props from Dollar Tree, asking my sister-in-law to snap a few pics during Thanksgiving and finding the PERFECT card layout on Shutterfly, I couldn't resist getting a few printed, stamped and delivered.

We typically take traditional family pictures this time of year, but we decided to have a little fun with the "sweater of all sweaters" and let our true personalities shine through. At first, I was NOT a happy wife when Ross didn't change shoes and had his boots tucked in his pants, but honestly, this is him...at the deer lease, in the country, surrounded around what he loves most. And my girls, well the pictures speak for themselves. This is us in all our glory.

From our family to yours, Merry Christmas, happy holidays and many blessings in 2015.

I am not sure how much I will be around in blog land over the next week or so. I am trying to plan a few posts in advance and hopefully stop in to say hi during our ski trip, but if I don't, I wanted to say thank you for an amazing 2014 and all the love and support.

Merry, merry EVERYTHING!! xoxo

P.S. I am skipping the Random Wednesday link up tomorrow to celebrate Christmas Eve with friends and family. 

A Moment

I wore this outfit for the first round of holiday celebrations. First up was the annual reunion for my dad's side of the family. I will get to more of that in a sec. Then we headed to Ross's family's ranch for our traditional camphouse Christmas. The kids played outside all day and Santa spoiled them rotten. The past few days reminded me of all my blessings, resurrected memories and encompassed moments that stopped me in my hustle and bustle tracks.  

Back to Saturday. It marked the 80th year of honoring family and our Savior's birth. Five generations of family members from all over the country came together for an all day celebration. There was even an article written in a local newspaper about our gathering. It is my most treasured holiday celebration and I cringe at the thought of it ending one day. I have never missed and each year it becomes more meaningful, especially since I have been able to pass the experience onto my own children. This year my brother & nephew attended for the first time in eleven years. My aunt and uncle from Colorado finally made it down + all four of their children & their children (my cousins) whom I have not seen since I was a child. The kids participated in a Christmas pageant (mine were angels, of course), we sang happy birthday to Jesus, ate more than our fair share, had a few cocktails, watched videos from 1989, laughed all night and gathered to remember our loved ones that have passed. It was truly remarkable and my favorite year yet.

The most remarkable part? After the evening officially ended, my dad and I sat at the kitchen table and had a spiritual talk for over an hour. He told me things that I never knew about him; how the Lord was working in his life and how he was serving Him. My dad and I are close...my whole family is, but this was different. For the first time, in a long time, it was just the two of us...chatting late night while everyone was fast asleep. He opened his heart to me and in return he opened my eyes to the faith I have taken for granted. I won't go into details because our chat was sacred and special, but I will say it was a moment that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

It really grounded my mind and heart. I have been so busy running like a chicken with my head cut off, focusing on gift buying, holiday hoopla, preparing for endless road trips and the regular daily grind, that I honestly haven't taken more than a few moments to stop and reflect on why, we as Christians, celebrate this season. It made me sad, but at the same time overjoyed that the man I look up to most in this world took time to sit down with me even though it was waaaaaay past his bedtime to share personal stories of how the Lord is working in his life. Tears were shed, stories of testaments were told, scriptures were recited and my heart opened more than it has in along time.

I plan to pass on his personal experiences and wise words to my girls one day. We had a moment...a father and daughter moment that you can't put a price tag on. It was the ultimate holiday gift and I will carry it in my heart for the rest of my days. My wish for you is that you are able to gift or be on the receiving end of something so precious and priceless this holiday season. God bless.

Wallis Red Trench Coat c/o (almost sold out: other options here and here) // Forever 21 Black Tunic (option here and here) // Accessory Concierge Scarf c/o // Dittos Denim c/o (option here) // Wallis Gray Ankle Boots c/o (low stock, but love these too) // Sole Society Crossbody c/o // Wrenn Jewelry Druzy Ring c/o

--SHOP THE LOOK--

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Three Years

Tomorrow marks the three year anniversary of Because Shanna Said So. Who in the world starts a blog smack-dab in the middle of holiday craziness? This girl, right here. That gives you some sort of idea of how my mind works...crazy.

My intentions were to plan a fun photo shoot, maybe add some balloons, blow out a few candles, offer a giveaway to everyone as a thank you, jot down ideas for what I wanted to say, think this post through and write something super meaningful, but all these things didn't happen. What actually did happened? It's something called life.

If I can say anything about my blogging experience this year is that real life, real relationships and real obligations took precedence. I am not saying that my blog isn't real or that I don't share who I really am with all of you, I am just saying that when you come here to read, know this is only a tiny portion of my life.

My first two, maybe two-and-a-half years of Because Shanna Said So, I typically posted five days a week...every week. If I missed a day I thought I would lose readers, lose money, my stats would plummet, people would think I was lazy or that I wasn't taking my site seriously. 

This past summer I decided to take my weekly posts down from five to three. I wanted to spend more time with my girls while they were out of school. I was staying up into the early morning hours just to publish a post. I got a mild case of blogger burnout. I knew I didn't want to quit, but also knew that I needed to focus more on my personal life and stop stressing about something that only has a small shelf life in the grand scheme of things.

After the summer ended and my girls were back at school, I intended to start posting five days again...well, if you are a regular reader friend, you are well aware that didn't come to fruition. My intentions were there and I even created more than three posts a few times since August, but mostly I have only shown up Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

I like it like that. I feel that I have been able to offer better content, photographs and engagement with all of you. It's also made my personal life a heck of a lot better, given me the chance to spend extra time with people who mean the most, relax a little more and not be stuck behind a computer hours upon hours every single day.

My advice to all bloggers is to make sure you are doing "this" for the right reasons and that it brings you more joy than stress. I can only hope that you don't sacrifice living life for your blog. Don't miss a celebration, a good night's sleep or the chance to spend time with friends and family for the sake of a blog post. Believe me, I did it and still have to snap myself back to reality on occasion. 

Anyone that says blogging isn't time consuming or hard work hasn't done it or at least taken it seriously. It's a TON of work, commitment, a place where people count on you to show up and share something that interests them, a scary world that can create an immense amount of self doubt, scrutiny and negativity. 

At the same time, it is a beautiful, rewarding community, one that I have thought about leaving a hundred times, but would be lost without.

The extra income and part time career that my blog has provided definitely keeps me going, but without you coming here and reading everyday, once a week, once a month or a few times a year, I would not have made it to three years. Every single one of you are the reason I am here. So, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I may not have the biggest readership, crazy amounts of Instagram followers, the most beautiful Pinterest boards, highest quality photographs or the greatest grammar, but I have YOU and your daily comments. You guys make it all worthwhile. I am so incredibly grateful for the support, you making me laugh, bringing me to tears, words of encouragement, sincere loyalty and friendships that I know will last a lifetime. Much love and humbleness. 

Target Faux Leather Jacket (option here and here) // Forever 21 Stripe Turtleneck // Express Sequin Skirt (option here and here) // Black Ankle Boots (option here and here) // Clare V Leopard Flat Clutch // Forever 21 Earrings (option here and here)

-- SHOP THE LOOK --