I love holiday drinks - and while Christmas has passed, this pomegranate punch would make a great treat for New Year's eve tonight. The best part of this drink - I used Cascade Ice in place of simple syrup and soda water - making the drink both easier to make and a little less heavy on the calories and sugar content. Cascade Ice is quite tasty on its own - it uses some real fruit juice so it's not fakely sweet or tart, just yummy! This was really tasty and was so pretty with the sugared rim.

While I'm dressing up in Harry Potter colors today, I must admit, I have never found myself to fit well to the qualities of the red and gold house of Gryffindor. I loved the Harry Potter books as a kid, and I themed my room as middle schooler in a Harry Potter fashion with a wrought-iron bed and stars. I tried to learn to knit to get myself one of the house scarves - funny enough, I did learn to knit about 10 years later. I always wanted to be a Ravenclaw - smart and reserved - but in reality, every test I ever took that I didn't knowingly cheat my answers a bit, put me in Hufflepuff. The novels has great memories for me - of my sister reading them to me when I visited her, making homemade wands with my neighbors, and going to a local Harry Potter fest with them. Those days feel more distant now - I haven't even seen all of the movies since my disdain for the 4th one overcame any desire to see the rest of the series. That, and my anger towards their inability to give Daniel Radcliffe some green contact lenses.

Some random but pretty good butter beer-like butterscotch beer from a Jungle Jim's trip that day.

Perusing the local libraries bring up just as many memories. Cincinnati has an amazing library system - back in the day we would rent movies, manga, and more on a weekly basis. There are photos of me with stacks of books. Now, I can't remember the last time I touched/read a physical book (unless you count the comic books of Get Fuzzy Jason keeps around the house). It's both nice and strange to be back in these familiar aisles of books I spent so many (like 20) years around.

cardigan :: target remixed

cask party dress :: modcloth

tights :: target remixed

flats :: born remixed

necklace :: c/o uncommon goods remixed

ring :: kate spade remixed

tote :: sass and peril remixed

Beer cheese? When I started writing this description, I had forgotten that beer cheese is not a widespread dish. Beer cheese is a delicious dip of beer and cheddar cheese for dipping. This recipe is an all time favorite. I bring it to everything, it always goes over well, and it's easy to make. It's a family recipe from my aunt - so it's always at family gatherings. It's best when served with rye bread, pretzels, or a thick sourdough. And - it's vegetarian! Oh and kids love it as they totally think they can get drunk off of it. It's hilarious. Oops. I'm that relative.

My love for foxes has been easily satisfied with the 'What Does The Fox Say Craze' seeming to keep fox related items trending and popular - which means all of what I love is easy to find. This Anthropologie tee was similar to a fox print one last year that I didn't love the fit of, but this one is so comfortable and easy to wear I've had trouble taking it off. I was excited for a fox inspired post - and I thought this Robin Hood themed restaurant here in town would just be the perfect place for photos. I'm excited to go back in the spring when the tree house aspect is open and more lively, but even for now, the place is pretty darn adorable!

peacoat :: j crew

creature feature tee :: anthropologie

skirt :: francesca's remixed

flats :: urban outfitters

bag :: ebay remixed

hat :: handmade remixed

ring :: modcloth remixed

earrings :: brainbow via etsy remixed

I'm forgoing this month's photo tip ( it's written, just needs to be timed a bit better ) and instead giving you a more seasonally appropriate dog tip! If this goes well - maybe I will keep them up! My dogs travel a lot - especially with the holidays. We're driving into Akron, Cincinnati, and Philadelphia (for a kennel) with them this month alone! The past two years has been full of long car rides, and I think we have gotten it down. Here are my tips for traveling with dogs.

Start Small
Raynor doesn't love the car. But by going to puppy parks, the pet store, and other small trips around our town, she grew to be better. It takes time - and your dog may never love the car. But starting off with a long trip might not be the best idea - if you know you have a big trip coming up, try making special trips with your pup beforehand.

Make it Comfortable
We use their dog beds they have in their house in the car - not only does it help keep them in one place, but it gives them something familiar and comfortable.

Use Toys
For Teemo, I bring a plastic chew toy (there is a special Durabone stick in my car for him that stays there for him) to keep him entertained. Raynor will have nothing to do with this.

Be Careful with Food
It will take time for you to learn, but at first, definitely don't feed your dog anything but their normal good and water for the day before travel. For Raynor, she cannot eat the day of travel. If your dog has a problem drinking water, we have also used ice cubes and let them lick - it limits them from drinking too much, can be easier if they are not drinking from a bowl, and can also do better with upset stomaches.

Have an 'Emergency' Kit
We ALWAYS carry paper towels and poop bags! Just have them in your car - it's a good thing. Other things to bring are a small bowl or pet water bottle, a small trash bag, and small treats. Paper towels are probably the life saver here though.

My 30 pound lap dog. Teemo is constrained by whoever is the passenger since our cars are so small.

Pit Stops!
Make stops at larger gas stations with grassy areas. Apps like RoadNinja can help you find this - or look for exits that are outside of cities in the suburbs. We often look for Sheetz gas stations - they seem to have good amenities.

Transporting Kibble
We love our Now Fresh dog food - but it comes in 25 pound bags and that is not the best way to transport! I use Ziploc bags with the correct amount of food for each dog in one bag - so one for Raynor and one for Teemo.

Speaking of our Now Fresh dog food - it's been a few months since we have switched! We love the new larger bags (our old food was smaller, requiring us to deal with a lot more bags each month and order more often). We hit the free shipping mark at chewy.com with one bag now too - score! We recently visited my in-laws, where we had 5 dogs running around - and it was SO hard to keep the other pups away from this food. In fact, we didn't always as 10 pound dogs are much sneakier than our 30 and 60 pound versions. Goes to show, good food is loved by all.

If you are looking for some pet food freebies from Petcurean, keep an eye out for another giveaway in the coming days! Hurrary!

This post was sponsored by Petcurean as part of their brand ambassador program. This indicates I received a product in exchange for review, although the opinions and ideas expressed are my purely own (or my dogs). For more information - read the disclosure of this blog.

I think something that style blogs often fail to show are the 'everyday' outfits we sport. I definitely have a favorite 'uniform' so to speak for work every day, especially with the chilly days and wavering office temperatures. It goes something like this.

• Cardigan, probably from J Crew Factory
• Knit dress, most likely one of my 6 Sparkle & Fade skater dresses (love them)
• Tights, perhaps some fun tights since said knit dresses are solid colored
• Flats of some sort
• A ring or two
• A scarf, probably this red/blue/orange/gold/purple pashmina my mother in law got me
• One of the less dressy or long coats I own
• Satchel like purse. This Fossil purse has been a standard since I got it - it's small enough for everyday use and keeps me from carrying way too much.

I was lucky that this day at work was the perfect day for a photo shoot - randomly 60 degrees and strangely foggy for a Thursday in December. It was nice to go outside and take my coat off and not freeze. Harrisburg is appropriately grey for winter - I wonder if I will ever make it somewhere that isn't just 'grey' all over for 3 months of the year, as all the places I have lived fit into that.

Also, I'm not texting in my photos. That's going to be life from here on out as my cell phone is now my camera remote.

cardigan :: c/o august wrinkle remixed

knit skater dress :: sparkle & fade via urban outfitters

belt :: anthropologie remixed

tights :: target

oxfords :: born remixed

ring :: kiel mead remixed

scarf :: gift (similar on ebay) remixed

coat :: loft remixed

memoir flap satchel :: c/o fossil remixed

I adore chocolate cookies - especially thin, crispy ones. I also love mint. So when these mint M&Ms were on sale in the Target Cartwheel app, I got the great idea to create some thin, crispy, yummy cookies. These are perfect for the holidays!

I love getting new jewelry, especially around Christmas. There is something about having giant, sparkly things around the holidays that makes me really happy. This can be evidenced by my increase in purchasing gold, glitter, or otherwise gem like things in December. When JoJo Loves You, an independent jewelry store in Boston, contacted me about a review, I got really excited for something sparkly to come in the mail. I kind of fell in love with all these photos (and as we were shooting with my dad's Nikon over the weekend, really surprised I got them to take this well), I kind of needed to share them all. I LOVE these earrings - they were perfect to wear to a fancy dinner at Jeff Ruby's Precinct with my parents for our birthday. They are inexpensive too - around $30 - so a really great gift. They are running a HUGE holiday sale though right now through the 15th (12.13.2013-12.15.2013). Here's the deals (which are really good, basically 3 for the price of 2)

Blings: 3 pairs for $60

Mini Blings: 3 pairs for $50

Oval Blings: 3 pairs for $50

Navette Blings: 3 pairs for $50

Party Blings: 3 pairs for $60

And you can  Mix & Match...meaning the 3 pairs can be 3 different styles!

Go shop the sale-there is free shipping over $100!

Here are what shots we got at the Precinct. With the light leaving fast, my family waiting inside as they wouldn't seat us without Jason and I coming inside, and the general fact we were using a camera we didn't know well, they turned out alright for what they are! And dinner was delicious :D

coat :: target remixed

cardigan :: halogen via nordstrom rack remixed

skies of ore dress :: anthropologie now on ebay remixed

tights :: old navy remixed

foxfire wedges :: anthropologie remixed

bag :: emma fox remixed

aqua bohem bling earrings :: c/o jojo loves you

I love dogs. I love dog related things. So why not put them all together in one post? This new tee from Anthropologie went perfect with my new custom Teemo necklace from Crave Jewelry design! Plus, it's been awhile since I have had both pups in the photos. While visiting Cincinnati, my pups have the time in my life in my parents yard ( which has some strange strain of grass that turns brown in the winter making it super attractive - kidding - but cushy ) sniffing new scents, barking at every thing that passes, and in general being pups on vacation. See that bay window in my parents house in the background of some of these? Teemo just lounges in it all day. You can see how thrilled he is to be modeling in these photos - stupid momma ruining his relaxation spree.

hat :: handmade remixed

creature feature tee :: anthropologie

astral swing skirt :: anthropologie remixed

tights :: old navy

kate spade x keds :: via zappos remixed

rings :: kate spade & kiel mead remixed

necklace :: c/o crave jewelry design remixed