This blog has moved to melanieknopke.com

Farewell to blogger!

It is hard to believe I am approaching year 4 of writing this blog!!! I never imagined what this whole journey would have entailed, but it has been a good one. But, sometimes all good things have to come to an end.

 Blogger was a great place to start writing a blog. It was the perfect platform to learn how to manage the whole blog thing. Unfortunately there are a lot of roadblocks with blogger; especially when it comes to design. I also was itching to have my own personal "dot com" as opposed to a blogspot addess.

It has been a very long process trying to decide what to do next. What would I name my new blog? How would I get started? Thankfully I have a very talented friend who was kind enough to design my new site and had a developer friend do the behind the scenes stuff. I can't tell you how in awe I am of people who develop sites, it's like speaking a foreign language. A HUGE shout out to Brad and Jillian for their HARD work. 

So, after many many months, a million emails back and forth to my friend in Miami we are finally here. A sparkly new site with some fun new features. You will find my blog (and all the old posts from blogger have also been exported to the site). You will also see my portfolio and work that I do outside of blogging, and some interesting tidbits in my "about me". 

I am so excited to FINALLY share with you...

melanieknopke.com

Thanks again for all of you who have been with me from the beginning and those of you who have just come along...see you over at the new site! 

Frugal Friday

Here are just some fun finds that definitely need to be added to my closet...all under $25 my friends!

Bauble Necklace $20.80

split back georgette top $19.80

Cutout Cuff $5.80

Marled Cuffed Tee $15.80

Neon Strap Wedge $22.80

Paisley Lace Top $24.80

More love for Julianne...

Ok, so I just discovered that Julianne Hough designed a line of shoes for Sole Society. You guys, they are actually super cute! I am not a person who has a ton of shoes; I like to buy something that can be worn many ways. The Gianna Sandal is the PERFECT summer shoe. I would wear with this with skirts, dresses, skinny jeans...the possibilities are endless.

 I want it in both the nude and the bermuda pink. They are only $59.95!

Have you seen her line of shoes yet? Check out more styles HERE. 

Our Weekend

We had quite a busy weekend! We had 2 fun birthday celebrations. The first was for my best friend Susan. We made it a girls night with a dinner at Cooper's Hawk Winery which recently opened on the Country Club Plaza. I thought the food was good; a highlight being the warm pretzel bread that they bring you to start (I could have eaten that all night). The downside is the wine! Maybe I am just spoiled because my husband buys such good wine. I ordered the bubbly flight and I only finished 2 of the 4. They were really quite sweet, reminiscent of Boone's which made me quite sick in college.

We had 10 girls, and lots of laughter and good conversation. We did a round table discussion about our favorite budget and splurge beauty buys. I loved hearing everyone's answers! One budget item that I will definitely add to my lip gloss collection is Revlon Peach Petal lip gloss; which is said to be the best nude lipgloss out there. And, it will only set you back about $7.

And if I could afford it, I would definitely try my friend Susan's pick, Photodynamic Therapy liquid red light anti-aging SPF by DermaDoctor. This product apparently takes the UV rays we are exposed to and transforms them into an effective wavelength of rejuvenating  red light, which is a proven energy source for eliciting anti-aging effects on the skin. I am not going to share my friend Susan's exact age, but I will tell you she is over 35. Look at her skin...it's unreal.

Sunday we celebrated the 1st birthday of one of my closest friend's little boy. He also happens to be my baby girl's first crush. He is sweet as can be and was such a good boy on his birthday! 

Aren't they so sweet? 

Now we are preparing for snow storm #2!!!! We have not had school for a week; to say that we are stir crazy is a bit of an understatement. Filling 12 hours a day with a 4 year old and a 10 month old is not easy. If you have any great at-home entertainment, please share!!!

A start to Spring with Fibi & Clo

During the summer I pretty much live in flat sandals. While I do of course sport the occasional rubber flip flop, I much prefer something a little bit more interesting. Fibi & Clo sandals are the perfect marriage of comfort and style. I love this sort of sandal to dress up a maxi dress or to pair back to the perfect white dress for summer. Their sandals also have an amazing amount of detail for the price; only $49.50!

I fell in love with the Sea Star which is this gorgeous shade of green mixed with smaller mint green stones set on Gold. I already busted them out for my trip to Arizona last weekend. How pretty do they look against the perfect green grass? The color on my toes is Candlewood Coral from Hoopla Studio in Fairway.

They have other fun styles to choose from, here are just a few of my faves...

The Southampton (only $29.50!)

The Cannes Turqoise

Their bestseller, the Gold Cascade

and to view their entire selection, click HERE

MFAMB does Art

Some of you may follow My Favorite and My Best; a very witty blog about home decor and my personal fave...her Downton Abbey recaps. I just discovered that Jenny (the author) makes gorgeous paintings. I want all of them, they are striking and very unique...

You can find these and her others on her Etsy site HERE