What kind of perfume do you wear?

Yesterday Toby and I stopped into Sephora to smell perfumes. Toby had a stuffy nose, so he wasn't much help, but I fell in love with Clean. You smell like you just stepped out of the shower, all fresh and sexy and kissable. What perfume are you wearing these days?

P.S. Six other quirky perfumes.

(Top photo by Sweet Eventide)

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My parents

A few weeks ago, I linked to this hilarious ad for Canadian whisky...
Shortly afterward, my mom sent me this photo of my parents in college in Virginia. They had been dating for a year. It's basically the same photo! (Did everyone sit like that in 1972?) It's so funny to see your parents when they were young, before a bunch of rowdy kids came along. My dad had a thick English accent and my mom was from Alabama.

P.S. My Parents Were Awesome and Dads Are the Original Hipsters.

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Beautiful tattoo

Love. Everyone should remember this.

P.S. More amazing women and their tattoos.

(Via Pinterest)

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Tuesday giveaway!

Today's giveaway is from Terrain, the beautiful home and garden lifestyle shop based in Pennsylvania. Their store is all about simple pleasures, from cooking to entertaining to gardening--plus, they now have a fabulous holiday collection. Today, Terrain is offering one lucky reader a whopping $200 gift certificate. What would you pick? (I'd go for these apple cider caramels!)

For a chance to win, please visit Terrain and leave a comment telling us your favorite things from the store. A winner will be chosen at random tomorrow. Good luck! Update: Morgan P. is our winner.

Bonus for all readers: Enter the code CUPOFJO for free shipping through December 5th.

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Perfect winter lunch

Every December, when we're in California, we go to our friends' house for lunch. And every year they make the same meal: Cauliflower soup, a green salad, gruyere and crusty French bread. They put avocados in the salad, since they live in LA and have an avocado tree in their backyard, but a plain green salad would be just as delicious. Can't wait to have it again this year!

(Photos by Rene, Esquire and Chef's Kitchen)

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Would you wear sparkles?

This season, sparkles seem to be everywhere! I adore this understated long dress, with a peek of a sequined skirt. Have you ever seen anything like it? Elegant and glamorous; you'd be the beautiful yet mysterious girl at the party. :)
And these miniskirts are adorable for parties or even the office, since you could pair them with a wool sweater, like the model on the left.

What do you think? Will you wear sparkles this holiday?

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Motherhood Mondays: Would you hyphenate your baby's last name?

Want to hear Toby's full name?
Read More >

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Our holiday cards

My darlings, it's officially the holiday season! Whoot whoot! We've never sent out family holiday cards before (have you?), but this year, we were really excited about it. We went with our favorite vacation photo, along with two different simple layouts from Pinhole Press, and we added red heart stickers to the envelopes. I'm looking forward to sending them to our friends and relatives, especially those who live an ocean away.
In other news: As we were taking these photos at my friend's house, Toby got his first kiss. He cried.

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Happy Thanksgiving weekend!

What are your Thanksgiving plans? We're heading to Brooklyn to have dinner with our friends, who have a working fireplace (score). Hope you have a delicious day with lots of pumpkin pie and loose pants. :) Meanwhile, here are a few great posts from around the web... xoxo

Smitten Kitchen knows her Thanksgiving foods.

Flirty bow heels.

YAY!!!! Best movie news ever.

A genius eyeliner trick--with scotch tape.

Give your fridge a makeover.

This wedding dress makes me want to get married again.

Awesome little boy's room.

Oooh, salty brownies.

What a funny slimming sweater--your waist would look teeny.

Secret passageway switch.

What? These are pajamas!

Fabric wrapping paper.

Holiday stamps.

And for holiday shopping, here are three big tips, just through Monday:
* J.Crew is 25% off with code SURPRISE.
* Shopbop is 20% off with code BIG EVENT.
* ASOS is 20% off with code HAPPYBLACKFRIDAY.

Have a good one! xoxo

(Taxi photo by Irene Suchocki)

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Wednesday giveaway!

Today's giveaway is from TENOVERSIX, an amazing LA-based boutique that focuses on creative, fashion-forward accessories from independent designers. Today, they're giving away a pair of these Vena Cava suede pumps ($325). They definitely feel like something that would a cool downtown girl would wear:) The winner can choose either the black or caramel color--which would you choose?

For a chance to win, please visit TENOVERSIX and leave a comment below. A winner will be chosen at random on Monday, so you have five days to enter. Good luck! Update: Kate Ashlen is our lucky winner. Thanks for playing.

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First steps

So....guess who walks??? Yesterday afternoon, Toby finally put it all together and took his first steps! (Since he's almost 18 months old, we've secretly been on the edge of our seats and are now breathing a sigh of relief.) Now he is a walking machine and cannot be stopped.


(Thanks to our babysitter Ashley for helping film this morning:) Also, I realized that our hallway looks straight out of The Shining.)

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Which of the Beatles would you kiss?

A timeless quandary. I'm a John kind of girl, although I really love this song by George.

(Via Julia, via Abbey)

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A secret of Grand Central

Pssst, want to hear a secret? Grand Central has an AMAZING whispering gallery. Here's how it works...
You walk to the corridor outside the famous Oyster Bar & Restaurant. You'll see four low arches, built by a father and son back in 1913...
If you and a friend stand at diagonal corners of the arches (so you're the farthest apart you can be), and whisper softly, you'll be able to HEAR each other--as clearly as if you were whispering into each other's ears!
It's like magic!
"The voice actually follows the curvature of the ceiling," says urban historian Justin Ferate. It's called "telegraphing."
Of course, on our way to dinner last weekend, Alex and I had to try it...
And it worked! Such a rad (and romantic) little trick.

Fun fact--My friend's husband proposed here! How cute is that?!

P.S. Cup of Jo Guide to NYC, including a secret playground and secret restaurant.

(My dress is from Anthropologie)

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Do or don't: Knee-pad tights

A couple years ago, I had a pair of knee-pad tights. They looked so cute with a dress or skirt, and I happily wore them to movies, dinners and parties. They made me feel pretty. Don't they remind you of something Zoe Deschanel would wear?

They ended up disappearing into the laundry, but I'm excited to get another pair for this holiday season. Thoughts? Would you wear them?
P.S. Remember these sexy tights?

(Bottom photo by Chictopia)

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Motherhood Mondays: The best book for mothers-to-be

When I was pregnant, I noticed a funny phenomenon...
Read More >

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Diana.

Love this photo. That's all.

(A Motherhood Monday post coming up!)

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Have a cheeky weekend.

What are you doing this weekend? Alex has been working like a dog this week (he's actually still at the office), so I'm excited to get him back in my clutches. Also, our dear friends are moving to New Jersey and having a goodbye party (sniff), but the silver lining is that Toby and I get to bake a cake for them! Hope you have a good one, and here are a few fun posts from around the web...

Yes! It's time for pumpkin pudding.

NASA's flicker set.

Lauren Bush's wedding dress.

Perfect party shoes.

Thanksgiving croissants? Intense!

Funny (and fake) Royal Wedding photos.

Great 70th birthday gift.

A delicious winter meal.

Wouldn't you love these wedding flowers?

What a cutie!

Lovely vintage photos.

And a random tip: Emersonmade grey jeans are seriously the best jeans I've ever had. So flattering. I'd highly recommend them.

Have a good one! xoxo

(Photos of Gene Kelly)

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Do or don't: Orange-red lipstick

We got the J. Crew holiday catalog in the mail last night, and I was struck (once again) by how the models' orange-red lipstick is so adorable. I'm not sure I could pull it off with my pale skin tone, but a Glamour editor found a similar lipstick--Heatwave--that she swears looks good on everyone. (Here's photographic proof!) Would you try it?

P.S. Another similar color is Hot Coral.

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Clouds

German photographer Rüdiger Nehmzow strapped himself into an airplane, put on an oxygen mask and took these cloud photographs four miles above ground, with the airplane doors wide open. BOLD!

(Via Honestly...WTF)

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Thursday giveaway!

Today's giveaway is a big one! Beso is my favorite shopping website, where you can shop thousands of stores and brands, all in one place. And now (just in time for the holidays), Beso has an awesome new collections feature, where you can create wishlists of items you love.

My $500 Winter Wishlist, above, is about staying cozy with a pine wreath, brownie pudding mix, a red blanket, a Parisian candle, Hunter boots and a funnel-neck trench coat for feeling pretty all winter.

Beso is giving away a $500 gift certificate for any items on their site (such as this polka-dot ring!)...or you can just choose to win my entire collection above. Up to you.

To enter, please sign up for Beso, create your own collection and leave a comment below *with a link to your collection*. It takes a minute, but it's fun. A winner will be chosen at random on Monday, so you have four days. Good luck! xoxo Update: Gia J. is our winner. Thanks for playing.

(Layout by Em for Cup of Jo)

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Do or don't: Seeing movies alone

Do you ever go to movies alone? There's something really fun about going to the theatre, buying a ticket, riding up the eight zillion escalators, finding the perfect seat, eating the pizza you snuck in, and watching a movie all by yourself (surrounded by strangers). You can enjoy the movie without wondering what your friend is thinking; and after it's done, you can walk home mulling it all over. I love it. So, I'm curious: Do you like seeing movies alone, or do you prefer to go with friends?

The next movie I'd like to see solo is The Descendants with George Clooney. Critics have been flipping out. "To call The Descendants perfect would be a kind of insult," raved A.O. Scott in his New York Times review, "a betrayal of its commitment to, and celebration of, human imperfection."

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Photo booth proposal

Pete wanted to propose to his girlfriend Shannon, so he went to a Mexican restaurant and spelled out his his proposal in a photo booth. And it was harder than it looks: "He told me he only had the exact change for five strips," says Shannon, "because he didn't realize they were $3 each, so he was really nervous that he was going to mess up the order of the letters. Thus him making a 'Oh my god, I hope I got this right' face in the last photo." Pete then stuck the strips on their fridge, and Shannon discovered it while they were cooking pasta. How sweet is that?

P.S. 10 more genius proposals.

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Wednesday giveaway!

Today's giveaway is from GwenDelicious, a beautiful handmade jewelry shop based on Vancouver Island. One lucky reader will get to choose three letters for a handmade typewriter key necklace (or one letter for three necklaces!). Which letters would you choose?

For a chance to win, please visit GwenDelicious and leave a comment below. (This acorn necklace is really sweet, too.) A winner will be chosen at random tomorrow. Good luck! Update: Amy S. is our winner. Thanks for playing.

Bonus for all readers: Receive 10% off your order with the code CUPOFJO10 for the month of November.

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Twelve throw blankets

Whenever we watch TV at home, my feet are always freezing. I always stretch out on the sofa and want a blanket to cuddle up in. So! I went on a hunt. Pendleton blankets look great but can feel a little scratchy, and I was looking for something super soft. ("Adults, too, deserve a security blanket," says Brahms Mount.) Also, since it's an investment, I looked for all natural materials, like wool, cashmere, linen, cotton--no polyester! Here's what I found...
Pink, clockwise: Marimekko, NuBe Green, Terrain, Brahms Mount.
Yellow, clockwise: Terrain, Hudson Bay, Pappelina, Crate + Barrel.
Blue, clockwise: Newport, Chevron, Pendleton, L.L. Bean.

Which is your favorite?

(Layout by Jennifer Hagler for Cup of Jo)

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