A Fun Holiday Party Outfit

White Shirt// Red Skirt

Heels// Suede Clutch// Bow Earrings

Shop the Look:

I'm doing a fun partnership with Talbots over on Instagram to celebrate their 75th anniversary so I'm over here on my blog sharing the photos and outfit! This blog post is not sponsored but this outfit still deserves the spotlight here because it is SO fun for the holiday season! It gives me major Carolina Herrera vibes. I love a white shirt paired with a fancy skirt- it's so fun, polished, and classic. Talbots has SO may beautiful pieces this year that are cocktail appropriate, which I love! 

I also wanted to round up some more party pieces from other retailers. We certainly went through a dryspell in 2021 and into 2022 with the cocktail attire, but I am SO glad to see so many beautiful options for this holiday season!

*you might have to wait a moment for all of the pieces to load! 

Lately

Mini Wireless Lamp

Our little trick-or-treat setup before I set it out. Surprisingly, the water was a huge hit- I was restocking that all night long!

I hope you are all having a great start to your November! This week was good! 

Halloween was Monday and I was blown away at how many children we had come by for Trick-or-Treat! My husband saved the day by coming home with more candy because we ran out of what I had originally bought! I should have counted how much we went through! It was great to see all of our neighbors out and about. It all felt so lively and festive. My husband and I sat outside with our glasses of wine, chatted with some neighbor friends, and handed out candy. It was actually warm, which is somewhat unusual for Halloween in Pittsburgh, so we soaked it up! I also noticed and appreciated how mannerly almost all of the children were. They greeted us with 'trick or treat' or 'happy Halloween and said please and thank you! It was really sweet and I appreciated their good manners. It's wonderful to see parents still teaching their children to be polite and mannerly! I've said this before but I love our neighborhood- everyone is friendly and welcoming and I think it makes for such a nice atmosphere for holidays like this!

We had dinner with our neighbors at their house this week which was great. We also have dinner plans tomorrow night at one of the best restaurants in Pittsburgh (in my opinion). I can't wait! It's so hard to get a reservation- my husband made it months in advance! It's delicious but it's also just really small inside! 

My parents are in Bermuda for the week so we are watching their dog, Buddy, who I love so much! He is such a goofball. He's just about 2.5 now (they rescued him from Kentucky at age 1) and he is so playful and full of energy. Henry and Buddy get along but I wouldn't really say they are besties. Henry is the alpha/dominant and he doesn't really play with Buddy, he just takes all of the toys and taunts buddy with them. Henry fully knows what he is doing and poor, sweet Buddy just wants to play and be friends with Henry, ha! It is fascinating to see the two of them interact. I feel like it's some sort of animal behavioral science lesson. I keep telling Buddy to stick up for himself- maybe one day he will learn, haha!!!

I made a commitment to myself to row every single day this week. I have the Ergatta water rower which I love soooo much. I haven't gone back to Orange Theory since I burnt my foot in early October. I thought I might this week but my foot needed a bit longer to heal so I am thinking next week it is! I'm thankful that I have the rower to keep me somewhat in shape! 

Sweater// Jeans// Boots

*Vest is the liner to this jacket

Wearing: We went out to dinner to a casual spot in our neighborhood on Saturday night and this is what I wore! We sat outside with a glass of wine for a bit before we were seated at our table which was so nice! This is what I wore! Everything fits TTS.  

Watching: We watched The Watcher which is on Netflix and I would call it suspenseful/mysterious. It wasn't my favorite but worth the watch for the mom's clothes alone. She wears such beautiful, elegant neutral outfits! 

Listening: Someone asked for a link to my Spotify Christmas playlist so I thought I would share it. I am obviously biased but it is a great mix. I typically ease into the Christmas music with more of a Christmas jazz mix and then go full-on Christmas music as we get closer to Thanksgiving! Otherwise, I'll be sick of it by the time Christmas rolls around, ha! 

Loving: Poppi ginger lime is another Poppi drink flavor I am loving! I love how ginger-heavy it is! 

Wanting: This set of 4 ornaments is kind of $$ but oh my goodness they are stunning! I just LOVE ornaments! Ok and this dress?! Perfection for the holiday season and beyond! This sweater is just gorgeous- such a classic. On my wish-list! I also love this one!

Pittsburgh: Light-up night is coming up on Saturday, November 19th! I think we are going downtown for it which will be fun! I haven't been in years. 

Ornaments

Amazon Rec: I'm in full-on Christmas mode over here with decor and all of that. I have to be for my job but I also enjoy it! I just got these colorful pinecone ornaments. They are small but I love that they let the light bounce off of them. They add a nice bit of color and texture. I wish they made them in a larger size, too! You can find more of my Amazon favorites, here!

Traveling: We are going nowhere this month and I am truly thrilled about it! 

Quoting: 'If you live for people's acceptance, then you'll die from their rejection.'- Lecrae // See more of my favorites, here.

Sephora Sale Picks

What I consider a full face of makeup. No filter and no editing.

I say this often but I like makeup and love to discover new products, however, I'm also someone who prefers a more natural look. During the weekdays, I'm often not wearing any makeup, and when I do, I don't like to put a ton on or use something that has a ton of coverage. Even for special occasions, and even my wedding, I want to look like 'normal Sydney' if that makes sense. But I do love watching all of the Tiktoks of people doing their makeup in dramatic ways- contouring their cheekbones and doing sultry smokey eyes! It's fun and it's most definitely an art form! Some people are so incredibly talented. 

While I am certainly no makeup artist and actually don't think I'm at all talented when it comes to makeup application, I do think that I have perfected a simple, natural makeup look and even a 'glammed up' natural makeup look if that even makes sense, ha! What I do is very easy to achieve day-to-day. 

I thought I would share some of the products that I have been loving that are included in the Sephora sale as well as some items I have my eye on. If you don't know what I am talking about, Sephora does a tiered sale like this a few times a year and this is the one that they do before the holiday season. The other sale with the same structure is usually in the spring, historically around mid-April. 

All Sephora brand items are 30% off for everyone for the duration of the sale which ends on 11/7. 

Based on your Sephora status, you get a certain percentage off of your purchase within the timeframes:

Rouge 10/28-11/7 20% off 

VIB 11/1-11/7 15% off 

Insider 11/3-11/7

These tiered statuses are all bout how much you spend per year at Sephora. I have never made it to Rouge and I am sure my wallet is very pleased about this. But I actually don't shop at Sephora a ton. I really prefer CosBar and Amazon and do a lot of shopping on Nordstrom, too, for makeup/beauty/fragrance/etc. 

Anyway, most of what I use is available at Sephora so it's always nice to get a discount on brand-name makeup products that don't often go on sale. I'm actually about to run out of my Westman Atelier foundation and will snag some during this sale to save a bit of money! 

It's also good to keep in mind that this Sephora sale is not always the best 'sale' on some of these makeup brands. I really love the makeup brand Kosas and they often have sales and offer a larger percentage discount! 

Kosas Rosewater Lipstick// Under Eye Brightener// Lash Curler// Brow Powder

Foundation Stick// Tinted Highlight in Peau du Rose// Tinted Highlight Peau Du Soleil// Bronze Balm

// Blush Stick in Bichette// Flawless Filter// Brow/Lash Serum// Dior Lip Glow// Setting Powder// Concealer

Kosas Rosewater Lipstick// This is my favorite lipstick. It's what I wore on my wedding day and just works so well with my skin tone. It's a rosey pink but not too bright or flashy. Perfect for daily wear or even for special occasions. It's really creamy so it's never drying which I really love and it lasts a long time. 

Under Eye Brightener// This is one of my favorites that I have been using for years. It's something that I don't use every single time that I wear makeup but I use it when I either have bad dark circles or want my makeup to look the absolute best. 

Lash Curler// This is the BEST eyelash curler. It's truly worth all of the hype and if I lost this, I would replace it right away. 

Brow Powder// I waffle back and forth between brow powder and a brow pencil. Sometiems I think a pencil looks more natural but I find it to be much more time consuming. This powder still does the trick and is quick. I also use the darkest side as 'liner' for my eyes when I want a full face look. 

Foundation Stick// I love this foundation. I use shades 2 and 4. It's so easy to apply and blend. The coverage is buildable so you can wear it lightly during the day and amp it up in the evening if you want! 

Tinted Highlight in Peau du Rose// I love to use this as a highlighter as it has a beautiful shimmery glow to it. I can wear it totally as blush because it is decently tinted. 

Tinted Highlight Peau Du Soleil// I love this as broner. It's called a highlight but it has a lot of color and the shimmer gives it the prettiest depth. I love how much it warms up my face, especially in the winter months when I am paler. 

Bronze Balm// This is one of the newer products I have been using. It is similar to Westman Atelier products in that they come in sticks and are cream applications but this bronzer is super smooth and more sheer than most WA products. It's so creamy that it's like applying warm butter to a piece of toast- it just glides right on and kid of melts into my skin. Because of its sheerness, you can build on the color that you want and it is so natural looking. 

Blush Stick in Bichette// I love these blush sticks. A little goes a long way! 

Flawless Filter// This is always sold out for good reason. I use shade 3 and it is the perfect base for makeup for a flawless/glowy look but it is also gorgeous on its own for a 'no makeup' look. 

Brow/Lash Serum// I LOVE this serum. It is prostaglandin-free (please do your own research on this/consult your doctor). This works SO well, it just takes a bit longer than those products with prostaglandin! I use every single night on both my brows or eyelashes. 

Dior Lip Glow// I've been using this lip glow in berry for many years now. It's the prettiest color and just an overall great everyday balm. It's decently pigmented for it being a lip balm! 

Setting Powder// I love this setting powder for when I need a flawless look. It also totally helps to take the shine away in my t-zone when I need it! 

Concealer// I love my cle de peau concealer but I've been using this when I feel that I want more coverage. It's a liquid concealer and blends really nicely! It doesn't sit in my fine lines as long as I blend well! 

Little Black Dress

Dress// Earrings// Bag (full review here)

Shoes (full review here) Use code SARAHFLINT-SYDNEY50 for $50 off

Can you all believe it is November?! I really cannot! We are just about 3 weeks away from Thanksgiving, 54 days to Christmas, and 2 months until 2023! Wild!!!! 

Anyway, 'tis the season for parties and I think this Dress is so versatile. It is one of those dresses you could wear to a few functions and depending on how you style it, it could look totally different! I have it styled pretty simple here but I can also see it dressed down with a vest and flats or doing something glitzy with a statement necklace and super high heels! 

This dress runs true to size, I am wearing a size small! The best part about it is that it looks dressy but it's stretchy so it is BEYOND comfortable! It's under $175!

I snapped these photos while we were in Niagara-On-The-Lake last weekend for my mom's birthday! We went to Hob Nob for her birthday dinner which was delish and I loved dressing up in this dress. It's easily packable, too, because it does not wrinkle much!