What we've been up to lately...

To fill everyone in on what's been going on with the Cannon's lately, here's a little run-down: 

My dad turned 50 on January 30th, but we celebrated his birthday with him this past weekend when he came in town and stayed with us for the weekend. I wanted to surprise him with something really awesome for his gift since turning 50 is a pretty big deal, so we ended up getting him a Sony Tablet (he saw one at the Sony Store a few months ago and went on and on about it)! My Grandma Dottie (my dad's mom) contributed to the cost of the Tablet, which made this gift possible-- thank you, Grandma! My dad was totally shocked when he opened his gift, which made me really happy! After opening presents, we went to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. It was SO yummy, as always! 

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I have been studying like crazy for my grad classes-- and it's paying off! I've received a 100% on every single assignment! I had my first exam about a week and a half ago, but the grades aren't final yet-- so I'll be anxious to find out how I did!! :) 

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I was a guest speaker at the TCU Merchandising Matters Symposium! I had a great time because I always love visiting the TCU campus, and I also got to see several former classmates. The Merchandising Matters Symposium is basically a series of round table discussions organized by the Design, Merchandising and Textiles department at TCU for Junior and Senior level students to meet and ask questions to industry professionals. I remember going to this symposium when I was in school, and it was kind of amazing to be there again, but on the other side of the table!! I've already received several emails from students that I spoke with at the Symposium, thanking me for my advice and for taking the time to speak with them about my career and Louis Vuitton as a company. 

...Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside :)

{I didn't take any pictures of my look for the symposium, which is so sad because it was a SUPER fab look... oh well, maybe I'll wear it again sometime!} 

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Eric and I went to the season opener TCU Baseball game against Ole Miss! Although the Frogs lost, it was super fun to see our friends! After the game, we went to dinner with everyone-- Jim, Sean, Bobby, Chelsea, and Wade! But have no fear, the Frogs beat Ole Miss during the next game that next Sunday ;) 

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Today is GO PURPLE Tuesday! I'm wearing my purple and white oxford Polo-- GO FROGS!!!

XO,

B.CANNON

Happy Valentine's Day!

Eric and I had a lovely Valentine's day. It was super low key, but we enjoyed it. I was off work for the day (thanks, boss!) so I spent my morning visiting with my mom at her work. I took her flowers, a card, and some chocolate covered strawberries! She was so excited by my surprise visit and it was nice to catch up with her in person. She looked so cute, as always!

After visiting with my mom, I stopped by Chic-fil-A to get lunch for Eric and I, and then I took it to him at work. He is super swamped right now at work, so he didn't even have time to take a lunch break! I sat in his office with him and ate while he worked and kind of ate-- haha. Then I did a few errands and things before Eric got home that evening.

When I heard Eric's truck pulling into our driveway, I raced to get Louis (our little Maltese) in his bumblebee costume. Why was I putting Louis in his bee costume, you might ask? Well because it was part of my card delivery presentation, of course! (haha!) I got a card for Eric that was "from the dogs", which had a bulldog on the front dressed in a bumblebee costume. When you open the card, it says "Will you BEE my Valentine?" So naturally, I taped the card to the wings of Louis' bee costume so he could run to the front door to greet his dad and give the valentine's day card himself! (Genius, I know.) The card delivery presentation for the card I gave to Eric from myself was much less entertaining-- I just handed it to him. But it was a sweet card, so I know he liked it :)

After the card exchange, we went to the AMC Cinema Suites to watch The Vow and have dinner. It was an absolutely fantastic movie, by the way!

So... in the spirit of Valentine's Day and all things lovey-dovey, I feel compelled to share just how lucky I am to be in the relationship that I'm in. And for those of you out there who are not in relationships, or who are questioning whether your relationship is right for you, maybe this can help guide you. I'm certainly not saying that our relationship is perfect, but it's perfect for us.

• I'm lucky to have a husband that ALWAYS puts my wants and needs before his own.
• I'm lucky to be in a relationship that is BALANCED. Neither one of us "wears the pants". Sure, there are certain issues where one of us can "pull rank", but we have a mutual respect for eachother.
• I'm lucky to be in a relationship where I can be myself and my husband absolutely loves me for that, and vice versa. We don't have to sugar coat our opinions, try not to hurt eachother's feelings, or hide how we really feel about something.
• I'm lucky to be in a relationship where we really do "get" eachother. If I randomly start crying (which is rare-- but it has happened) Eric knows exactly what to do to make me smile. Likewise, if Eric is in a mood (he doesn't cry --ever-- for the record) I always make him talk about it (even if he doesn't want to) because it always makes him feel better.
• I'm lucky to be in a relationship where we have the same priorities and goals. One of us isn't the "hard worker"-- we both work our butts off. Additionally, we have the same views on when we want to raise a family, where we want to be in life by a certain age, how we want to live our life, the kind of people we want to be, etc. etc. etc...
• I'm lucky that my husband really is my best friend. I've heard so many people in relationships (even un-married couples) that say they just need a "break" or time with the guys/girls. While we both certainly have our own friends, we really do love to be together. Neither of us have ever said that we need our "space" or time away with our friends. Not that spending time with friends is unhealthy or bad-- we just genuinely would rather spend time with eachother! Even when I travel to amazing places for work, I miss him constantly. 
• I'm lucky to be in a relationship where we are each proud to be each other's spouse. We don't "poke fun" at one another. If we were ever in a situation where someone was giving one of us a hard time, we are always ready to defend our other half-- even if it's not really necessary. There are some relationships where the wife is always joking about her husband being lazy or not thoughtful... or the husband jokes about how the wife has the key to his ball and chain... or whatever. But I'm glad that in my relationship, we don't like to put each other down-- even if it is "just a joke". 
• I'm lucky to be in a relationship where fighting is not an issue. This doesn't mean we don't fight-- because we definitely do. Eric and I are both super passionate, hot-headed people who are both aggressive and confrontational... so this usually leads to a "fight" about something totally not important. However, the difference between our relationship and all others that I've observed is that our "fights" don't last longer than 10 minutes. Literally. We just can't stay mad at each other. We don't like how it feels, and one of us always feels bad (either for getting mad or for making the other mad). It usually ends with Eric making me laugh, and one of us apologizing for losing our cool. 
• I'm lucky to be in a relationship where acts of kindness are random, and not reserved just for holidays. Maybe this is why Valentine's day is not a big deal to me. If there is something I really want, Eric will get it for me-- no occasion needed. Likewise, if there is something Eric wants, I always encourage him to get it regardless of whether or not there is an occasion for the purchase (I don't go buy things for him randomly because he is the keeper of the finances! haha). It's fun to live a life where exciting things can happen at any time, and not just when it's a holiday.

Well, I'm sure I could go on forever... but that's all I've got for now. If you're not in a relationship, I recommend using those bullets as a guide for what you should look for. If you are in a relationship, hopefully this already applies to you.

I hope you had a Happy Valentine's Day filled with LOVE! But more than anything, I hope you find (or are already in) a relationship where every day feels like Valentine's Day! :)

XO,

B.CANNON

Words Per Minute

HI Everyone! So while I was just taking a break from writing my horribly long exam review, I was thinking to myself how I am kind of impressed with how fast I have been typing my notes as I read my text book-- and with relatively few errors! It made me want to find a Words Per Minute test online to see what my actual WPM count is and how accurate I am. Well it only took about 2 seconds to find this easy WPM test!

A "good" score is around 45 words per minute, although professional typists usually type around 100 WPM!

Here's my score after my first attempt... maybe after all of this review typing, my WPM will improve even more! :) Haha.

Words Per Minute Test

Your Typing Speed is 50 Words Per Minute.
You typed 1 incorrect words.
Your gross typing speed is 51 words per minute.
Your accuracy is 98%.

B.Cannon Look Book

Yesterday I spent most of the day working on my review for my first exam in grad school. So far my review is 6 pages long, and I'm not even through all of the power-point presentations OR the 7 chapters of text. I have to finish my review today because it's my last day off before my test. I have a feeling it's going to be a looooooooong day!

Other than studying, I went to The Container Store and Hobby Lobby to pick up a few things for the store. Then, when Eric got home, we went to Sushi Zen and rented Drive from Red Box. We didn't know much about this movie, but it seemed like it would be a good action flick that would be worth the $1.12 charge. Well, this movie was DIFFERENT, to say the least. It was soooooo sllloooowwwww for most of the movie, then when things finally did get exciting it was overly graphic and pretty gross. I like all of the Kill Bill movies, and those are really graphic, but this movie had me looking away and nearly gagging. As a whole, it was OK. I'm not mad that we spent $1.12 on it... but I might be upset if we paid $5.00 to rent it through AT&T U-Verse. Haha.

With all that being said, here was my look yesterday... 

Vintage {my late great-grandma's} Ballantyne of Peebles mustard yellow cardigan

Anthropologie paisley a-line top

Zara chocolate brown leggings

Gianni Bini tan slouchy boots

Ann Taylor LOFT burgundy necklace

David Yurman cuff bracelets

Louis Vuitton bow bracelet in Rouge Fauviste

Here's a close up picture. 

This cardigan is super special.

Here's the old-timey label in the sweater. So cool.

Why it Works: 

This look is perfect for a day like yesterday-- studying, running errands, going to a casual dinner, etc. It's extremely comfortable and easy. The color palette is what I love most about this look. Mustard yellow, burgundy, brown, navy... all of these colors are super rich and bold-- they look amazing together. As with the last look I wrote about, this look plays with proportion nicely. The loose fitting top and cardigan balance well with the slim fitting skinnies. This cardigan is truly unique, and every time I wear it I get tons of compliments. It's so fun to incorporate something vintage that was passed down from a family member. To make it even better, this sweater really is on trend. The color, shape, and Peter-Pan style collar are all being reflected in several designer collections right now. As a whole, this look is fun and playful while still maintaining an on-trend appearance.

Style Challenge: 

If you have something vintage in your wardrobe, do some surfing around on the websites of designer collections to see if your item is similar to something currently being shown. For instance, here is a picture I found on Google of an item from the Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer 2012 Ready To Wear collection...

It's similar to the color of my cardigan, and it features a similar neckline and collar shape. It's fun to wear sentimental or vintage pieces while still making them look current and fresh!

XO,

B.CANNON

B.Cannon Look Book

I can't believe January is OVER and it's almost Eric's birthday and Valentine's day! 

This year is going to fly by... 

I can already tell. 

To give you an update on Grad School, things are going very well! I'm getting the hang of online classes and so far I've had to write 3 papers, participate in a couple online discussions, and take a couple quizzes. Best news yet-- I have a 100% in one class and a 97% in the other class. WOO!! I have my first exam this week, so I'll spend most of the day today creating my review for the test. Wish me luck!!

In other news, my dad turned 50 on January 30th, 

and Eric turns 28 on February 9th! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY 

to both of you wonderful men!

Last night, Eric and I went to the city manager's house to watch the Superbowl. I loved the halftime show-- Madonna throwback songs will win me over anytime any place. Haha! She's so fabulous. And what's more impressive-- she's old enough to be a mother to any player on that football field, but she still looks absolutely fabulous. Her thigh-high boots were making me drool. Although I was not happy about the Giant's victory, it was a fun evening anyway.

Here's one of my looks from a couple weeks ago. It was actually what I wore to my follow up appointment for my LASIK surgery. That explains why I'm wearing glasses in my picture-- I wasn't allowed to wear eye makeup yet! 

 BCBG Maxazria black, long sleeve shirt

Ann Taylor black cowl neck, sleeveless tunic

Ann Taylor LOFT gray skinny jeans

Louis Vuitton lurex shawl monogram in Amarante 

Nine West over-the-knee black leather boots

David Yurman jewelry

Anthropologie glasses

Why it Works: 

I love this look!! It's super chic but still casual enough for running errands, lunching, etc. The key here, as I've mentioned before, is the proportion. The long tunic with the tall boots gives excellent balance to this look. The monochromatic color palette also helps to make the look feel sophisticated. The pop of color with the deep purple scarf is perfect because it's not too much color, but just enough to give the look a little extra something. The silver lurex threading in the scarf compliments the gray skinny jeans nicely, adding a hint of glam!

Style Challenge:
Try using a single pop of color on a monochromatic palette for a super sophisticated yet very fashionable look! Also, remember to layer and use proper proportion! :)

XO,
B.CANNON