Happy Friday afternoon, dahlinks!  This holiday post is all Bam, all the time.  Nothing but Bam.  So just a heads up there, if you hate puppies.  (Some people actually hate puppies.)

So!  Since it’s the holiday season, I think it’s safe to assume that quite a few of you, or your friends, or your relatives or random people you’ve met on the street and don’t know anymore (I’m trying to cover my bases here) might be getting engaged over the next week or two.  Eh?  Eh?  That’s one of the great things about the holiday season, amirite?  Well- at least I think so.  But yeah, so if any of that nonsense happens over the weekend, I SOOOO wanna hear about it next week!

By the way, Honey and I made a fun ‘wall tree’ last week (which is fully decorated now but when we took this photo we were still figuring out the structure, so pardon the bareness and hideous red masking tape!) and we wanted to document the process in photos.  Anyway there were some funny outtakes involving Bambino that I thought I’d share with you guys.  You tend to get some weird shots when you position your puppy’s food and drink bowls right under your tree.

Christmas tree on a wall and a puppy’s ballsac. ballsack?  Balzac?

Alison, you are nothing if you are not Dr. Mrs. Classy McClasserson, D.D.S.

Aaaaaaand finally… A (Holi-)Day in the Life of Bambino McPuppyPants…

Happy Merry Everything, friendlies!  Looking forward to seeing you all next week!  Have a lovely holiday weekend!

And always remember… TKB loves ya, babe.  Loves ya right in tha FACE.  So much it hurts.

xoxo!  - Alison

P.S. – I’m curious; what are your holiday plans?  Are you traveling to visit relatives you love/hate/love to hate/hate but love/can’t wait to see/like seeing but everything in moderation?  Anybody still scrambling for gifts LIKE ME?

P.P.S. – Holy mother.  I spent an insane amount of time getting that tinsel text outline just right.  An insane amount.  Like, all day… if I’m honest with you.  Who does that?  Seriously who does that?  Just when I thought I couldn’t get any more ridiculous…

Well hello and welcome to your Tuesday evening posticle.  We have much to explorrrrre…

But first:

Well played, Jonathan Adler store in my neighborhood.  Well played.

So this blog post concept was born the moment I bought a certain sequin gold frock and I just wanted to mention how frustrating it is to see this…

… whenever I check on the status of my order.  Because I’m pretty sure I didn’t order in any Chinese food.  “On its way” does not help me.  I would like my order tracker to help me deduce the need to determine a different ensemble situation for a holiday party on Thursday night.  I am thinking yes?  My dear readers, do you have any outfit suggestions/advice for me?  I live in nyc so I can always walk to the flagship store of whatever online brand you may suggest.  Thanks in advance for your suggestions, I super needs thems.

Ok so you guys know how I feel about Ryan “Hey Girl” Gosling.  He’s legitimately my only crush, outside of my Honey.  Yes, for reals.  I don’t crush easily.  I also don’t know if *crush* still means what I think it means, which is what I knew it to mean when I was in middle school.  Because as I wrote that I started singing “I ain’t a playa I just crush a lot” and that is most certainly a reference to casual P in V action.  So.  I don’t–I don’t really know what–what does it mean these days, does it mean P in V?  I hate how everything always ends up meaning a sex act.  I really do.  It makes writing that much harder.  [← case in point.]

Here’s where I was going with this.  Honey understands the Gosling crush, so he indulges me.  Because I challenge any real man with a heart to see Crazy, Stupid Love and not be taken with Gosling’s charm.  Still, whenever I talk about Gosling on the blog it’s very dramatic between the time I’ve posted the blog and the moment I actually see or speak with Honey.  It’s been fine so far but I never really know how he’ll react.  I mean, I am a bit much.

Ok so here’s the thing.  (I hope you weren’t expecting a transition, because you’re not getting one.)  I love sparkles, and I love gold.  It is my truth.  What does this mean for you?  This means that I collect a lot of sparkle/gold/glittering inspiration on the internet, often from Pinterest pins I love, and then I curate it the f**k up and ultimately blog it, for example like right here right now.

My first find is not a Pinterest find, so clearly I’m good at sticking with themes, but anyway it’s a gold sequin dress with sleeves which means I will wear it during the winter.  I discovered it via Twitter when Sarah Yates linked to her blog post sharing the dress, and I immediately bought that s**t up like crazy even though it might not look quite as good on me as it does on her tall, model frame.  (This is not Sarah Yates below; Sarah has blonde hair.  That’s essentially the only difference.)

Ok so now I am going to cry you a river, because I just checked back while proofreading this and they are mothereffing sold. out.  Kindly address all hate mail to Asos, not to me.  I woulda stocked up on those b!tches.

PIN – Momma needs this silverware.  Or, goldware.  Flatware?  Flatware.  Momma needs these utensils.

PIN – Chevron drawer liners?  Is this heaven?

PIN – I want many of these Eames chairs.  (Now.)

PIN – Love this bold statement necklace from Rent the Runway.  KILLAH.

PIN – This gold nail polish from Anthropologie is super pretty.  I mean in pictures.  I have no idea what it looks like on nails.  Probably good?  I’d buy it.  Again, this just goes to show that styling is everything.

PIN - These sequin letters from Glitter Guide are somethin’ else, y’all.

PIN – leather mouse pad in gold, from Freshly Picked.  BOOYAKASHA:

I have that keyboard ↴ except mine is way dirtier because I eat over it like a dummy.  Also I rarely turn off my computer, and I hate turning off my keyboard in order to clean it because I am the most impatient person on the face of the Earth and can’t stand to be disconnected for one minute?!!

So here are my feelings about this mouse pad: it is supa fresh and I would totally pick it if life made sense and we could buy ourselves our own gifts for Christmas and just open them together like mature adults… celebrating the holiday of children.  So yes, Freshly Picked is the ideal shop name for the purveyor of this item.  I approve of your branding, sirs/maidens.  Carry on.

It also comes in white, or, Caucasian.  It’s pretty.

GIVE MEE ZAH NIXT PINN!!!!  (Being part German means I have permission to poke fun at Heidi Klum.  It comes in the birth swag bag, along with always playing the villain in feature films.)

PIN – Pretty gold + kraft paper packaging situation that I love, via Brunch at Saks.

Fun fact: actually having brunch at Saks IRL is like putting your money into your mouth and then eating your money, but in a penthouse restaurant with panoramic views.

PIN – I’ve had my eye on this gold chevron tray for EVER.  And it looks like up in the air somewhere has up and made another one!  I do not know why I have not yet purchased it, nor why I’m telling you about it since I want it for myself so badly.  $100 is just a lot of money to me.  But OMGIWANTIT.  Anyway, if you get it, congrats!  Isn’t it gorgeous?  LOVE.

PIN – via Kate Arends; Pretty sure I need this sweater.  Hint hint, person who always gets me sweaters.

Also, these amazeballs gold striped Thank You cards, Hello cards or this one, too, all by Rifle Paper Co.  DeLIGHTful, y’all.

PIN – I like elegant holiday decor that isn’t all holiday-ey about it.  Which means I love this Anthro art installation blogged by Things on My List and captured by Brett Gullborg.

I mentioned the following tip on Twitter earlier today but this image above really puts a face to a name, if that makes sense.  So this is me sharing it again: “To avoid over-Christmas-ifying your holiday wedding, decorate with ornaments and garland in muted or nude/ivory/cream tones.”

I think you’ve hit egomaniacal status when you start quoting yourself from earlier in the day.

In other news, I think there’s something on your tongue.

Sorry, but that is grossness.  Take the picture before she starts drooling uncontrollably due to her inability to swallow.  Gross PIN via here.

So, a couple of questions if you don’t mind!

1. Do you have any favorites?

2. If anyone has any suggestions for me as to what I should wear to this holiday party on Thursday, I beg of you to share them with me.  Even if it’s just a scarf.  SCARVES PULL TOGETHER OUTFITS, amirite? :)

xoxo!  - Alison

Hey so real quick first – guess what I just turned to owne tha teeluhhveeshun?  No really, please- please guess.

“Secretly Pregnant.”

I’m watching “Secretly Pregnant,” a show about girls who are secretly handling the task of pregnancy.

There is a show called SECRETLY PREGNANT.  On OUR TELEVISIONS.  This is happening!  WTF????  Aright sorry, it’s just, WTF?

Oh another real quick thing, I need to take a second here for a note to self before I begin – if I force myself to write it down somewhere I’m more likely to do it.  Thanks; ok -

Alison: Look in the mirror by the door before leaving the apartment on poppy seed bagel days.

Ok, let’s start.  Happy Wednesday evening, friendsicles!

Hey so if anyone was wondering what Honey and I discuss during the workday…

I present to you below, the answer, my fair maidens.

*Update: I checked out thingsbearslove.com and – I’m dying.  I’m dying.

In other news, back by popular demand: pinnnnnnnnns I found!  Ohhhh look at us, we’re all excited and everything.  How adorable are we!!!  Oh-it’s just-it’s me?  Just, just me? who’s all excited?  Oh-ohh, ok I see.  Yes, I see.

Pin - pinned by Ez of Creature Comforts, these DIY brass tack baubles by Fellow Fellow are mothereffing AWESOMETOWN.

Pin - another pin by Ez, this sparkly Christmastime styling inspiration gallery over on Style Me Pretty is something I remember seeing last year-ish, and I’m just so truly, deeply glad Ez brought it back into my facial area so I could find it again and share it here with you.  How great is this?

I like how the glittery chipmunk ↑ is warming his hands by the fire.  Nice touch.  Unless I’m just making it up because my mind works like a cartoon.

Yup, I understand – you can go over there and check out all that inspo.  It’s pretty spectacular.  I’ll see you back here in a few, hopefully. ;)  FYI, it’s called the Kate Spade Holiday Shoot, was styled by Styled Creative, and was shot by Alison Conkilin.

Pin - DIY ideas for foil baking cups via Hey Look.  Also a longtime resident of AWESOMETOWN.

I noticed that Fellow Fellow mentioned Hey Look on their blog, too, as I was obsessively scrolling through it.  So yeah, obvs. Hey Look is kind of a big deal.  Good stuff.  Really creative.  You should totally check it out.

Pin – You know, as I look at what isanother great by Lizzie & Isaiah…

… it conjures some beautiful memories of the last time I blogged a Lionel Ritchie related thing.

Well played, Etsy shop who’s selling this.

Then there’s this amazeberries DIY by Fellow Fellow involving pretty strips and mason jars, and makin’ those mothereffers into the prettiest little votives you evah seen IN YO LIFE, SON.  And so, clearly, I couldn’t NOT show it to you guys.

I happened to find it organically, but I saw in my pin stream that my girl Chandra of Oh Lovely Day pinned that ish, too, so I wanted to give her a shout out.  We have very similar taste.  Aka, we have great taste.  Also, Chandra – really dying to know how the Muppet movie goes.  I assume AMAZINGLY?  Probably safe assumption but I still look forward to hearing your take.

Aaaaaaaand now that I just talked about muppets I found this pin.  HAHAAH love it, Bakerella.  Brava.

Beaker was always my favorite for some reason.  I guess I’ll never know.

I’m not sure how I came upon this chalkboard-magnetic-memo-stand-selling shop but the point is I DID, and now there’s a chalkboard magnetic memo stand right in front of your face and you’re happy about it.  I have a tiny feeling that Lizzie might have pinned this, maybe.  Lizzie, did you pin this?

Just so aesthetically pleasing.  Soooo.  Pleasing.  You can own this badboy if you visit the Wanderlust (OMG I LOVE THE NAME, TOO).

Pin – DYYYYYING over this glittery teaspoon set and I have NO IDEA WHY.  You can’t use them?!!!  But they’re just so LOOK, PRETTY, WANT and everything.

Omigod you guys I just checked and you CAN, you CAN YOU USE THEM!!!!  For eating and stuff!

Any favorites?  Lemme know, I live for your feedback.  HAHAHAHAHH but seriously.

xoxo!  - Alison

OMFG DO YOU HAVE ANY MONEY LEFT??!!  Because I’m hearing through the grapevine (read: news) that people are fully occupying Cyber Monday with the entire contents of their wallets.  But the important question is: are you getting a good deal?  I hope you’re not dropping your Benjamins on that lawn mower you started eying on Friday for the first time ever because it was going to be 50% off.  Because you live in the city, Alison.  You don’t NEEEEEED a riding lawn mower.  Especially not if you’re going to have to pay Manhattan Storage a monthly fee to store it until you move to the suburbs.  Which if you have your way, won’t be happening for at least 25 more years.

Yeah, so don’t buy the lawn mower, Alison.  I come from a place of love.

OK, ANYWIZZLE, I scrounged up some really stellar deals and discounts for Cyber Monday, and I wanted to make sure y’all know about them.  Because these brands and these prices are insane.  Here, check it out…

First off, Emici Bridal has an awesome Cyber Monday sample sale going on, and it amounts to FREE shipping on everything through today if you use coupon code FREESHIP!

I must say, I’m surprised she’s discounting these things.  She’s so successful without the need for sales, so this must simply be her act of kindness for the day?  Whatever it is, go to there and capitalize.  You’ve seen the Mini Catala Flower Bouquet in Orange Crush up in the lead image of this post, and here’s the Seattle Bouquet and the Lana Gemstone and Rhinestone Beaded Black and Ivory Silk Cuff - all options in Marie’s Sample Sale category, just to show you a taste of what’s to be had:

Next up, LuLu*s has some really great deals going on over in their Cyber Monday category.  I love LuLu*s and always dig their s**t.  Totally affordable and fun.  Capitalize, friends.  Some of these dresses would make the loveliest bridesmaids dresses!

LOVE this simple, modern frock…

And now for a few florals and prints…

And now the block prints…

Valencia Squeeze Orange Dress + Lucille Ball Polka Dot Dress + A+ Navy Blue Dress + Family Reunion Navy Blue Dress + Tulle Hollywood Premiere Black Dress + Historic 101 One Shoulder Floral Dress + Big Sky Country Floral Blue Maxi Dress + Tropical Delicious Coral Dress

And next we have Stella Bella Invitations!  For Cyber Monday, she’s offering customers of her etsy shop 10% off, with the use of promo code CYBER10.  So get buyin’, peoples!  If you’re in the market for paper goods, she’s a DELIGHT to work with.  That’s like SO important in my book.

Oh, and personally, I’m really into this chevron print.  I mean, I guess me and the whole world, at the moment.

Tessa Kim is offering amazeballs savings and all you have to do to receive your discount code is “Like” their Facebook page, and then once you’re on Tessa Kim’s page, visit the “BLACK FRIDAY SALE” tab over to your left and BAM you’ve got the ability to get 35% off the entire store.  HOLY CRAP.  Seriously.

I mean look.  LOOK at this stuff.

Shot by Candice Benjamin, these images are what dreams are made of.  I want to walk around in my underwear with these delicate pieces on my head.  I feel like adding anything from my closet to an ensemble involving a Tessa Kim piece would devalue the overall look.

Not that my naked body would be the best case scenario ensemble.

Umm, alrighty, real wedding coming up, and it’s effing GREATNESS.  But for now, happy smart shopping day! :)

xoxo!  - Alison

Emici Bridal and LuLu*s are both sponsors of TKB.  Stella Bella Invitations, Tessa Kim and Candice Benjamin Photography are members of Vendor Love, TKB’s preferred vendor guide.