Co-Wrapping Gifts or... When you have a Huge Family

I have three sisters and one brother. Christmas is the only time every year we get to see each other. In fact, just this morning our brother flew in from Washington DC -- and shortly after he woke me up, I asked him to pose with our Christmas gifts. 

Why? Because this year we came up with a great idea: co-wrapping. This is how it works: each of our family members picked a wrapping paper. Then, we wrapped each of our gifts for our siblings in that paper. BUT, as a truly millennial clan, we've been emailing and online shopping for weeks, and many of our gifts were joint purchases. For example:

• Jack, Colleen and I bought a gift together for our sisters Katie and Claire.
• Claire and Katie bought a gift for me.
• Jack, Claire and I bought a gift for our mom.
• And we all went in on a gift for our dad. 

So for those purchases: we co-wrapped. The epic wrapping job below is our masterpiece. It's like our dad is receiving two gifts.... because the wrapped package is a gift in itself, don't you think? ;D

Anyway, I'm signing off to pop open a bottle of wine with my sisters and sit by the fireplace. I wish you all the most wonderful, warm and lovely Christmas and I hope you are spending it with the ones you love most. xox

---

Photography: Annie Butler / Model: Jack Butler / Creative Director: Claire Butler
^^^ It's a family affair 😂

Badlands Photos + Earth Day Deals

In honor of Earth Day (today! wohoo!!) I wanted to share a few photos from a recent trip to the South Dakota Badlands. Round trip, we took a ten hour detour to see this legendary space - smack dab in the middle of the Prairie States. We were there for about 45 minutes of Magic Hour. It did not disappoint.

Seriously, Mother Nature. Show off, much? This world. I swear. It can take your breath away.

Gush.

Anyway, hi guys! How's it going? Man last week was busy! I took a red eye home Saturday night/Sunday morning & have spent the last 72 hours recovering hard core. Part of that recovery included spiced vegan chickpea wraps (yum!) & while we were picking up ingredients at Fresh Thyme I noticed some Earth Day Deals on the schedule. So here's a little run down, be sure you take advantage! Let me know if I missed anything. xoxo

Fresh Thyme Bulk Sampling + Sale (Oakley)

The rest of these aren't really on sale. But I do love them & they're kinda earthy.
Star & Moon Necklace (etsy)
Hydrangea Petal Earrings (etsy)
Antler Necklace (Jane Divine) 
Zodiac Zing Top (modcloth)
Take a Hike Tee 
Klean Kanteen Water Bottles

HIS VALENTINE'S GIFT GUIDE

a | $85

d | $18.50

 b | $30

e | $109

c | $12

F | $5 

g | $35

H | $20

I love Valentine's Day. So much. I always dress up in bright pink (or red) & spend the entire day telling people how much I love them. & usually, there are baked goods. 

& precisely because I love Valentine's so much,  I thought it would be really fun to help brainstorm gifts for the fellas in your life. (It was fun.) (Really, really fun.)  All the photos are hyperlinks, but I've also pasted them below. Because, you know. Convenience. 

a | Canvas & Tweed Backpack via Penguin: $85 >>> Because he's too old for ugly backpacks & weekend road trips don't require a lot of clothes. Also, so cute. You can borrow it. 
b | Bodum Travel Press: $30 >>> I mean I know I love coffee more than the average person. But this. This is amazing. A travel mug & a french press IN ONE. & it's dishwasher safe?!   Also, perfect for romantic road trips. I bet.
c | Human Heart Vintage Illustration iPhone Case via Etsy: $12 >>> Because medical illustration hearts are more manly <3
d | XO Boxers via J.Crew: $18.50 >>> I mean. I will probably buy these for myself. So adorable.
e | Bean Boots by L.L. Bean: $109 >>> Because now you can go on an adventure. Also, it's still winter here in Cincy people... Keep his toes warm.
F | 64 oz Growler/Howler via MadTree: $5 >>> I would probably add the beer too, but  is there a more awesome addition to his bar? #shoplocal
g | legen-dary cufflinks via Etsy: $35 >>> Woah, is that Barney Stinson? This one definitely warrants a high five. 
H | Sabertooth Tiger Tee Shirt via Rhinegeist: $20 >>> He probably already has the original Rhinegeist tee & this one has a massive saber toothed tiger on it. #shoplocal

& if none of these strike your fancy, the homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookie is always a winner in my book ;D 

ANNIE'S SIX FAVORITE POSTS OF 2014

Wow. I'm heading to the Dollar Store to look for glasses that say 2015. What on earth?! (& side note: don't you miss the days of the two double zero thousands? They made for such great glasses!) But before we all dawn our sparkles & cheers our way into the New Year, I wanted to share my top six favorite posts out of the almost 100(!) that made 2014.

In Fashion...

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1.) The Rolling Stones Tee: I got more & more comfortable with every fashion post posted in 2014. From the first one way back in May (here) to the Rolling Stones Tee just last week, each one was more & more fun. This was one of my most recents, & a particular favorite :)

2.) The Beanie! One thing I love about blogging is that it challenges me to try new trends. The beanie/pom hat was one of those. I just love the way it looks! & this post also got featured on Midwest Dressed, another reason it makes my favorites list.

In Cincinnati...

Now, I truly, truly loved every single place I visited in Cincinnati this year. Every small business & Cincinnati original. You can read about each & every one of them HERE. But, for the sake of keeping my list....

3.)[Greater] Cincinnati's Carabello Coffee & their coffee for a cause is just such a Cincinnati gem. I can't wait to see how they grow & prosper in the new year!

In collaboration...

4.)Styling with Cincinnati's Curate Boutique: The cutest little boutique asked me to collaborate in 2014. I modeled some of Curate Boutique's winter line for the Holiday Look Book & had ablast running around town with a professional photographer & these stunning clothes!

In life...

5.) The Importance of Treating Yourself:  I love this post for two reasons: the sentiment, of course. It is very important to treat yourself & acknowledge your own accomplishments. (If you don't believe in yourself, who will, right?) The second reason I love it are these awesome pictures! This was the first time that Natalie & I played around with the settings on our new DSLR cameras & it was such a fun shoot :D

In DIY...

6.) Small Space Living: Building a Corner Coffee Bar. Last but not least, in DIY, the corner-coffee bar. Five months later, I still use this coffee bar every single day. It's the perfect place to set up for a morning of work & occasional people watching from the window.

& that is that! Thanks to each & every one of you for one truly amazing year. xoxo & stay tuned for 2015, we're kicking it off with a bang ;)

LATELY....

We wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas, we WISH you a Merry Christmas.. & a Happy New Year! Hi guys! I've been a little mia. I had my very last trip of 2014 last week in Baltimore Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday. The rest of the week I celebrated Christmas with some of my nearest & dearest friends. Here's a little look into my world lately.. I wish you all a Holiday so lucky as mine. xo Annie

^^^ All those many, many times I say I am traveling - these are the goones I am with. We had our company Christmas party on Friday. It was so fun to kick it outside of the office with the people I spend so much time with.

^^^ I am THRILLED to announce 2015 will bring with it the marriage of one of my best friends. Morgan (center) & her college sweet heart Ben (not pictured) are tying the knot next fall. I'm in the wedding (yayyyyyyyyyyyy!) (first one!!) & this weekend we toasted to the happy couple. Random note: I can't even tell you how many of this exact same picture we have from our high school years. 

^^^ The great cookie bake of 2014! This is the first year my friend Kate (who recently  re-debuted on this blog  as "my friend who was as obsessed with Gossip Girl as I am & ate rolos & drank cheap wine with me after our long, hard days of interning" (I jest. I realize now the internship was the perfect amount of long & hard. I was dramatic in my youth)) invited me to her family's cookie bake. Basically, there were like 400 cookies in her garage at the end & I brought a bunch of them home. Heaven. Random note: see that picture above? It's an upside down ginger bread man! Isn't that genius??

^^^ I ended the weekend at a blogger clothing swap (keep your eyes tuned for something extra great coming from this group in 2015). We each brought the clothes from our closet that were headed for the donation bin & thought we'd check with each other before we sent them to Good Will. It was so fun to try on clothes & new styles & I came home with a gold mine.

AH what a phenomenal week. Only to be followed by an even better one. Christmas is my favorite <3 Sending you all love. xoxo