January Favorites

This month I have had many loves and I thought I would share with you what has inspired me, made me look beautiful, and everything in between. This month has been chalk full of birthday celebrations so a lot of my favorites are things that I picked up during my travels for all these birthday. While I was up in Santa Rosa and San Francisco I did quite a bit of shopping, and if we were honest to much.


1. My first purchase what at this adorable knit shop I found in down town Santa Rosa and if you are ever in the are you should defiantly stop by its called Castaway Knits. I came across this yarn by Schulana and I think it may now be discontinued but I bought four skeins of it there and it is just so so so yummy. It is a silk, wool, and cashmere blend and the color and texture is surreal.

 2. I loved the yarn so much I was inspired to come up with a new hat pattern that has a chevron, color blocked look.
 

3. You will soon learn I have this weird obsession with animal sweaters and so I came across this fox one on the sale rack at Kohls. I love it's sequined bow in her ear and it looks so cute in my closet next to my penguin sweater.

4. Which leads me to my fourth love which is my penguin sweater. Please note the bow tie.

5. While in San Francisco I was on the hunt for the perfect hat and found this one at Anthropologie. Its is such an interesting woven texture and I am so happy that I happened upon it.

6. Sense I have had an annoying red bump in my T-zone all month and hate using cover up, I have discovered my lazy solution: fake glasses. Plus I look smarter no?

7. And I fell so in love with this style of booties with the gold buckle that I had to have two different pairs. They are different enough right to have purchased both... or am I just ridiculous?

8. I have been really into winged eyeliner and I have been rocking it during any big events I have had to go to this month. Like say to the Justin Timberlake concert in LA for my friends birthday!

Textured Fun

Although I normally like to play with color sometimes its fun to play around with texture too. Using a combination of different fibers and weight of yarn it can be fun discovering the different fabrics you can come up with. As every year for Christmas I do all my Christmas knitting in September but there is always one person that wants something in December. This year it was my aunt and she told me she wanted a hat. Obviously I couldn't say no. That being said I was not in the mood to put a lot of effort in and wanted this hat to go fast. We luckily had just gotten in this new yarn Bulky by Blue Sky Alpaca, and I thought to myself "its fate, I just have to make this hat now. I have no excuse". The down side was that it did not come in purple which is my aunts favorite color. So I thought how can I get purple into this hat and started looking for a yarn to strand with it, because I do not know if you have met me yet, but I seem to not be able to get through a project without using at least two yarns. So I picked up the shibui silk cloud in the color UV which is a very bright purple silk mohair blend. I had to double it in the stranding to make it show up against the white of the Bulky. Being that it was large yarn on large needles, it knit up quite quickly. But of course no simple hat is aloud to be simple. I had originally tried to make a normal 'shaggy' beret-ish beanie with a two inch rib at the bottom. I mean the very straight forward simple hat type. I hated it, it was not what I wanted. I needed something more fun because my aunt is more fun.
So of course I ripped it all out and started from the beginning, because I knew that she has always been into to different texture I thought that I would play that up. Then this idea of allowing too just have the silk cloud by itself for some areas came to me. I was really happen in the end with how it turned out and have even been thinking of making me one for myself...but of course in pink.

After blocking it became much more beret styled

Once I folded up the brim

Lushie Review: Quaker Face

As you guys know I have very dry skin so when I was in Lush getting some facials I had to get their Oatfix. It smells so good. When I smell it all I want to do is eat it, its has this sweet yet cinnamony smell to it... I do not think I am doing it justice but you all will just have to go to Lush and smell it. But now on to the actual use of it. I do not know if I am a big fan of it, I have not totally decided. When the facial was on I was getting that stinging feeling across my whole face, but for anyone who has dry skin they know this is a good thing because its giving back all the moisture and then usually results in some stinging. So during the facial I was like "oh this is going to be good for my skin," but once I washed it of my skin did not look good and did not feel any better, if anything it seemed a little worse.
 I did the facial again last night and my conclusion is that its one of those do it before you go to bed facials. Pretty much make sure no one sees you until the morning kind of facial. Because when I woke up in the morning my skin felt amazing, super soft and moisturized. That being said I am unsure if I will get this again, I think I will try a few others and see if I can find one that I like immediately after and the morning after.

Lushie Review: Rudolph Redness

Now I do not know about any of you that use that use Lush products are like me but I am always looking for a deal. When I discovered that if I save up five black tins I can return them for a free facial, I was like sure that can't be to hard. I mean it's just five not that many and for how many lush gifts I got for Christmas in 2012 I thought I was going to be getting free facials all year long. How wrong I was. It has been over year and I only have three saved up and that being said I am not sure if I could find all three even if I tried.

So I finally bit the bullet and bought myself  some facials to try out. The first was their festive one that I believe is only in for the holidays called Rudolph, but maybe for next year you guys can get a hold of it. Now I have to admit that I am not a big facial user. I love the idea of them and always want to do them but I don't know what it is I just don't seem to like them. That being said I am unsure if I just have matured in some sense that has to do with facials or I just really liked this one. I honestly enjoyed every bit of the process. From the cooling feeling when it first touches my skin, to the constancy of it on my face, and finally the obnoxious green color it is that makes me feel like I am in a chick flick. It's not only the chick flick aspect but it is super easy to get off and my skin looks noticeable better in the end, which sadly most facials I have used I do not see a difference.

I have very very very very VERY dry skin and during winter time it is emphasized. That being said this facial sadly did not seem to help me with that issue of mine. What it did do was deal with the redness that is a result of the dry skin, and that is why I love it. Because of the dry skin I do not really get acne which is  a blessing because then I do not have to really care about cover up or foundation very often. With this red skin though I have been using more foundation then I ever have. With using this facial only twice I have toned down my redness and have been able to wear less foundation.

That Sock Lady

On a Saturday a few weeks back I went a little crazy buying some knitting books from my LYS (local yarn shop). After purchasing 5 books I went home snuggled up and started planning some of my new projects... even though I am already making two sweaters (1 & 2) and as many Christmas gifts as possible. As I was sitting there I was in the mood to start a new project and I came across the most simple of sock patterns in the book: Knitting at Home. I had some stashed Lorna's Laces in just the right weight already round into a ball. So that night I whipped out one sock and on the next night I had a pair. I know am obsessed and have just finished another pair. I plan to make at least to more pairs within the month or so hopefully. This is a great quick knit that you can do in front of the TV. Well besides the turning of the heel. Comment below about whats your favorite go to sock pattern. Also if you are not willing to purchase a whole book for one pattern even though some of the other knits are great also this pattern is a great dupe look wise and is just as easy.

New Years Eve Outfit Inspiration

It is time to pull out everything sparkly, glittery, and shiny in our closets ladies. You guessed its New Years and the only way to bring in 2014 is to be looking as similar to a disco ball as possible. I know that as most things in life there is not one outfit that fits all occasions and New Years is no different. With so many different ways to bring in the New Year I came up with three easy outfits that I had in my closet that could go for any party or non-party that you may be at this year...or next?

This first outfit is for the party girl in us all. The one that is going out all night and wants to make sure that the man across the room will take notice before the clock hits twelve. This dress I picked up at Forever 21 years ago but I am sure we all have that one full sequin dress in our closets and this is mine.

This dress is great for the more classy affair that you may be dragged to because of work or family. Or like me, had one to many sweets this holiday season and am thinking that a little bit of a longer dress may be more flattering. I wish I knew where this dress was from but it was given as a gift. I believe that it was bridesmaids dress but it reminds me more of a snowflake. It has a really beautiful silver, metallic satin sheath underneath the lace that shines through and keeps it young and shiny enough for New Years.

Now we all know that the only New Years I want this year is to stay at home, have a few friends over, crack open a bottle of wine...or tequila, and spend the night playing fun games like Dance 4 or apples to apples. To make sure you will win any game that comes your way the need to be comfy is at the top of the list. I paired this studded and rhinestoned sweater (Express) with some pleather pants (Rock & Republic). If you wanted to spice it up a little you can easily through own a bejeweled collared shirt underneath ( LC by Lauren Conrad ).

I got these at Saks Fifth Avenue

These are Steve Madden Wedges that are out of season but I found a new similar pair I want.

Now for the shoes obviously it depends on the outfit and what you have but my thought is comfy. It is a guarantee that we will be out past twelve so if we go heels I would go with wedges, or go lazy yet still festive with the glittered toms.

I would love to see the outfits you guys come up with please tag me in your instagrams or tweets @kokobaelle!

Winter lips

I think that I may have tweeted about this but I have a riddle for you all. Its winter time which means dark lipstick right? its all about those plummy reds and deep purples. The issue with this though is that because its winter it is very very dry. I do not know about you but for me my lips dry up like little shrivled raisins. They are as cracked as the Sahara desert. So I have come up with a lip regiment that seems to be pretty good for me and keeps my lips kissable soft in case I get caught under some mistletoe. But lets be honest I forever single. What I fisrtly like to start with is a lip scrub to get rid off all the dead skin. I have two different scrubs but this one by Lush is by far my favorite.

Then my next step is having a great chapstick. I picked up A Kiss of Moisture by Nivea while I was in CVS getting something else but I love it so much I went back and got two more. It is really soft and wet? I do not know how to describe but it does not feel waxing on my lips like most other chapsticks.

The last step is to choose your favorite lip color. Because I can not choose one I thought I would show you the different winter lips I have been rocking of late.

So my first go to this season is the is Revlon ColorBurst in the shade Raspberry Pie. The reason why I love having this is that I do not have time everyday to do a lip scrub, so for those days my lips are crazy chapped this lipstick hides it. I think it may be because its so soft and buttery so it glides over the extra skin instead of getting caught on in.

This is one of my favorite dark lips that I purchased last January, from Chanel's Rouge Allure Velvet line in the shade L'impatiente. It is very dark so I save it for night time or if I am feeling risqué and wear it during the day I will throw some clear gloss on it to tone it down a wee bit. The one I am using now is from a set I got a Nordstroms, this one is in the shade Noosa. It smells like fresh coconuts and makes me want to lick my lips all day long.

My other favorite dark lip is from Lancome's Color and Design line in the shade Wine (cream). I can actually where this one during the day which is nice. But I have been looking for a bit of a redder lip not as berry as this one, so please comment below if you have found a really good one.

These last two lips are for when I am not feeling as out going or if I really want my eyes to be the focus of my look. My first one is the one you have all seen by far and is my favorite nude look right now.

For when I am feeling like going for the classic soft pink this is my first thought. It is also from Color and Design line in the shade Pink Preview.

Here is  my frosted pink lip combo that I really fits the winter season when your wearing a darker eye look, well at least for me because I am as pale as...something really pale. Oh a Vampire! This looks i s easily my favorite right now and it keeps my lips super moisturized! I start out with another Revlon ColorBurst in the shade sugerplum frosting. Then to top of the look I use another gloss from the set I got a Nordstrom's this one is in the shade Minneapolis , and is a very nice baby pink.