Join the Gossip is 5 Today!

Today Join the Gossip turns 5! It's really hard to believe that I've been at it that long. What keeps me going is all of you - each person who reads this blog makes blogging wort it. I've met SO many incredible people who have become in real life friends. That's amazing to me. I would have never imagined how much joy this blog would bring. OK, I'm done being all mushy.

To celebrate I held a giveaway and the winner is Miranda of Aimless Transition! Congrats!!

And since we're celebrating, I've created an outfit for Friday's Fancies that's party perfect. Maybe for NYE? The best part about this look is that ALL of these items are from Target!

Trench coat / Women's Scoop Neck Taffeta Dress w/Removable Sash Assorted Colors / Marc Jacobs zipper bag / Chain necklace / Essie nailpolish / cluster earrings / Red Pumps

Have a great weekend! Just a reminder, Weekend Update is taking a break Monday. Enjoy your New Year's Eve and join us for Weekend Update on Monday, January 7!

Thanks for a great year, 2012!

2012 was a pretty good year for me. Some downs, but nothing too significant. It was a year of mosoly ups. One of my favorite things is travel. If I could find a way to travel professionally, I would. The last 12 months have included some pretty great trips.

February - Laughlin, Nevada

This isn't a far or fancy trip but it's always a nice getaway. It's a gambling town on the Colorado River - a mini Vegas essentially. I went with Tiffany of Polka Dotted Cats to celebrate her twin sisters' 21st birthday.

April - New Orleans, Louisiana

Again, me and Tiffany traveled together. This time to the Big Easy. Unfortunately we found the cool stuff right before the trip ended. I hope to visit again in 2013 to see a Saints game with Claire of Bicoastally!

August - San Diego, California

Headed to with Kathrin of Shop.School.Sleep. to Tiffany's for a birthday weekend! Highlights included Sea World, playing tourists in the city, and celebrating my 29th with great friends.

August - Las Vegas, Nevada

Back to Nevada with Kathrin. This time it was to Vegas for her little sister's 21st birthday. Hands down one of the best Sin City trips I've ever been on. Shopping, great food, and celebrating in style all weekend.

October - Perth, Melbourne, and Sydney, Australia

This trip was for work and although it was a lot of work and little sightseeing I am lucky to have had the opportunity. Three full weeks working Down Under and seeing what sights I could - including beautiful beaches and adorable animals.

November - Chicago, Illinois

The Ultimate Weekend Update! I had an amazing time and made IRL, life-long friends with Dana of five30three, Sami of Sami's Shenanigans, and Chris of Chubbette Tales. We literally group text on a daily basis and these girls are my fav.

Pretty good, eh?! I hope 2013 is even a fraction as amazing as 2012 was. Here's to a year of health, happiness, and lots of travel!

A Bottle For Me, a Bottle For You

Have you entered my blogiversary giveaway? Five great sponsors with five wonderful gifts to celebrate my five years of blogging! Enter here!

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Merry Christmas Eve! With New Years Eve next week, we'll be skipping Weekend Update next week (January 1) and resuming in two weeks on Monday, January 7. Feel free to use that week as a recap Christmas, your weekend, or both - whatever you prefer!

As for this weekend, my highlight was wine tasting in Temecula. Located just over an hour east of LA, and not too far north from San Diego, it's a great place to get away for a day. This weekend I treated my friend to a few tastings and a bottle of wine from our favorite local winery, Baily.

I used to be strictly a red wine drinker, until I tried Baily's Riesling-Dry. Now whenever I go to Temecula I go there to buy that wine. If you live in the area or visit Temecula you must try this wine!

Then we went to another winery, Frangipani, for another tasting to end our afternoon.

In other news - I need your help! This weekend I also entered in a Model of the Month contest hosted by Brooke Louise Photography. Brooke is a talented photographer, and also my IRL friend and blogger over at Chelsea Grey, and she hosts a monthly contest where one winner gets a photo shoot. To vote for me, please leave a comment on my photo here. And I get two votes if you like the Facebook page. I'm way behind so it's a long shot. Thanks so much in advance!!

What did you do this weekend? Link up with me and my co-host Sami of Sami's Shenanigans and tell us all about it. We just ask that you follow these rules:

1. Blog about your weekend
2. Add the badge (above) to your post.
3. Add the blog post link to the linkup below.

 

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Winter Warmth

Have you entered my blogiversary? Five great sponsors with five wonderful gifts to celebrate my five years of blogging! Enter here!

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Winter Warmth by leeannm

It's been cold in SoCal. And by cold I mean as low as the 40s at night. Now that might sound mild for most but last year it was 85 degrees on Christmas Day. So with daytime temps in the low 60s, that's basically freezing by LA standards. To keep me warm, I need layers, like this look.

Our church isn't too formal, and I sure am not going to freeze in a dress, so this would be a perfect outfit for Christmas Mass!

Be sure to come back on Monday to link up for Weekend Update!

Fiery

Have you entered my blogiversary? Five great sponsors with five wonderful gifts to celebrate my five years of blogging! Enter here!

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Thanks to Kathrin of Shop.School.Sleep. I have a new obsession - Tarte LipSurgence Natural Matte Lip Tint in the shade Fiery. Last week she let me use hers for my company holiday party and I loved the way it looked on me and received lots of compliments. So last weekend I headed to Ulta to buy the lipstick for myself.

I am a bit shy wearing such a bold color but decided to go all in and paired the lipstick with a finger wave hairdo for a '20s look. 

If you're looking for a nice red lip color, I highly suggest this one. Both Kathrin and I wore it (hers is mixed with a similar pink shade) and as you can see we're two very different skin tones but it still works for both of us. Which means it has mass appeal for wearers!

This lip tint stays on for hours! This is Kathrin and I after wearing it for quite some time. Grated the lighting isn't the brightest but you can see it's still on.

I bought my Tarte Lip Tint at Ulta because I had a 20% off coupon but you can get it at most places that carry mid-level cosmetics brands and it retails for about $25 everywhere.

Blogiversary Giveaway!

December 29th marks five years - FIVE YEARS - of Join the Gossip. Thank you to all of my old followers, new friends, and everyone who has been a part of me and this blog's "life" over that span of time! Just for fun, here's my first post.

To celebrate my blogiversary I have five wonderful sponsors giving away five great items and one lucky winner gets them all! Let's get to it.

Allie of Tales From a Twenty-Something

$20 Target Gift Card

Tiffany of Polka Dotted Cats

$25 Credit to Etsy (as in the site, not a specific shop)

Sami of Sami's Shenanigans

Two Handmade Skull Bracelets in the Color of Your Choice

Angie of My So-Called Chaos

Handmade Bow Headband in the Color of Your Choice

Claire of Bicoastally

Free People Earrings

There are a bunch of giveaway opportunities - do as many or as little as you like! The only mandatory entry is that you follow me via GFC. And I will verify all entries so no cheating! Winner announced Friday, December 28. Good luck :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Penthouse Party

Friday was my company work party, hosted in the penthouse suite of the Roosevelt Hotel. This place was pretty amazing. We had to have a key made to get to the room, which was three stories, with the top story being the rooftop of the hotel. I wish I'd taken pictures of the inside because I can't even describe how awesome it was.

Kathrin and Me

Overlooking a movie premiere at The Chinese Theater | Room Key | Top of the hotel

I took Kathrin of Shop.School.Sleep. with me as my "date" for the second year in a row. She's a trooper. Poor thing tried to make me pace myself but there were two open bars and I may have gotten a bit drunk. Luckily I only made an ass of myself in front of a few people instead of the whole company.

Not the best outfit pic

Here are a few more shots taken by the photographer. Their camera was much better than my iPhone.

What did you do this weekend? Link up with me and my co-host Sami of Sami's Shenanigans and tell us all about it. We just ask that you follow these rules:

1. Blog about your weekend
2. Add the badge (above) to your post.
3. Add the blog post link to the linkup below.

 

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Party Ready Under $30

Sequin Love From Forever 21 by leeannm featuring:

Forever 21 cap sleeve cocktail dress / Forever 21 short sequin cocktail dress / Dress / 

Forever 21 a line top / Forever 21 top / Mini skirt / Forever 21 skirt

If you're in need of a holiday outfit - be it a company party or New Years Eve bash - there's one place that'll never let you down: Forever 21. Maybe it's just me, but I can always find something at the wonderfully affordable store. Yeah, it's not made of the best materials. And it'd definitely not designer. But let's be real. It gets the job done and you'll get compliments. Two wins in my book.

As you can see I have a slight sequin issue. I understand that the pretty little disc shapes borderline on tacky, but since they're in style for the moment, I'm going to take full advantage of the trend. Who's with me? I mean, and with all of these pieces currently on the F21 site for under $30, how can you go wrong?

For more serious sparkle, link up with Long Distance Loving for Friday's Fancies!

And don't forget to come back Monday to join Sami's Shenanigans (who I think owns that last sequin skirt!) and I for our weekly link up, Weekend Update! We love meet new bloggers so stop by and say hello. 

Unfortunately, to our surprise the colors pink and gold, along with glitter, are property of another blogger. We were sent the blog equivalent of a cease and desist. For the record we didn't copy anyone, by any means, and colors do not belong to anyone. But, instead of dealing with drama, because who wants to fight with bloggers (and frankly, who has time?!) we just decided to move along to a ANOTHER new button, designed yet again by the fabulous Aubrey of The Kinch Life Designs. So if you're linking up with us, here is the most recent Weekend Update button. Sorry for the inconvenience. See ya Monday, friends!

 

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These are a few of my favorite things...

I'm still in pain with these stinkin' root canals so the cure? Happy thoughts!

1. This bitch. She is so spoiled. She takes over every couch, chair, and bed she comes in contact with. But I love her.

2. 311. They've been my favorite band for over 15 years, I've seen them 20+ times, and blogged about them on several occasions. Yesterday they retweeted me!

3. Saints. In other Twitter news, and news in general, the players suspended for bounty accusations fought back and won! This whole scandal played a big role in the losing Saints season. I look forward to next season!

 

4. Sparkles + Polish. Add the two and you've got a hand party going on. I'm kinda obsessed with the look and rocking it hard.

We're halfway there people! Happy Wednesday :)

Christmas Wish List

Old Navy Rockstar Super Skinny Jeans

Xhilaration Juniors Over the Knee Button Sock
COACH Poppy Flower
Sapphire Titanic Drops
BILLABONG Schools Out Womens Tee
iPad

This year for Christmas I already know what I'm getting from my parents - money. Which is A-OK with me. After all of my dental work, and my trips to Australia and Chicago, I have some bills to pay and that money will be a HUGE help!

If I wasn't an adult and could have all of my little heart's desires, I'd load up on the above items. I actually bought myself the pants and went with my mom to pick out the perfume. So I tink I'm in for a pretty great Christmas!

What's on your list this year?

A Weekend Update...Update

Sad news this Monday morning :( Today is the first Weekend Update without our beloved Dana. She's retired from hosting the linkup. Girlfrand is a busy lady and although Sami and I are upset going to miss her not hosting with us, we are happy for her to be able to spend the extra time with her little guy who turns 1 this month! She'll still blog, but just not as frequently.

Since it's just Sami and I, we have a new button, created by the talented Aubrey of Kinch Life Designs! Please be sure to use this button for future linkups.

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Now onto to my oh so exciting weekend! I got a root canal Friday and today go back for the second half of the procedure, the temporary crown. As a result, I didn't do much this weekend. I did get my hair done at least, though. After my blue ombre hair, I was feeling bored with blonde. For a second I considered going dark but decided against it and went with ombre. That satisfied my indecisiveness since my new 'do is brown and blonde.

What did you do this weekend? Link up with me and my co-host Sami of Sami's Shenanigans and tell us all about it. We just ask that you follow these rules:

1. Blog about your weekend
2. Add the badge (above) to your post.
3. Add the blog post link to the linkup below.

Mad for Plaid

If I could put together an ideal outfit right now, it'd look like the one below. I need to pull the trigger already and buy this pair of Old Navy olive skinny jeans for $19. At that price, there's really no excuse not to. I think they'll look perfect with a pair of black ankle boots and I happen to have a very similar pair.

Mad for Plaid by leeannm 

I've been on a plaid kick lately. Probably because it's just starting to feel like fall in So Cal and a nice flannel is perfect for temps in the low 70s. Paired with riding boots, it's a great go-to look. Here are some of my recent plaid outfits:

Linking up for Friday's Fancies!