the best boots you'll ever wear and free ad space

sweater: urban outfitters, shirt: cotton on, scarf: h&m, leggings: ae, boots: sorel

ok, first up: this is not a sponsored post. just a little honest promotion for a company that has really surprised me this season. the sorel conquest carly boots I am wearing here, are seriously my most favorite pair of boots to date! not only are they comfy (if you order a size up!) and keep my toes toasty but they also look amazing :) i absolutely love the lace up detail and the contrast of the leather with the rubber shoe. 

ever since they arrived at my house I've been pretty much wearing them nonstop. i'm pretty sure they will come to germany with me as well. don't you hate traveling in the winter when you want to pack all of your heavy coats and boots only to end up with a bag that's way too heavy?

sorel has really surprised me with their selection of crazy fashionable yet useful footwear this season. 

i wish I could afford a few more pairs such as these, these and these. 

something else that is completely off topic: did you notice a few new faces over there to your right in the sidebar? please go check out a few of these wonderful blogs and say hi!

i decided to swap all of my december ads and there are definitely still a few more spots open. so if you think we would be a good match, send me an email (askforge@gmail.com) and let's talk about a swap :) you can also find my sponsor page right here. 

the two top spots (200x300px) are available to businesses only, contact me for more info on that. 

and lastly, I've added a ton of clothing to my @theforgeshop instagram account. check it out and follow along because I'll be adding more. 

salt dough ornaments

a few weeks ago right before thanksgiving, logan and I cut out some salt dough ornaments together. he's still pretty young for most crafts but this was a fun tactile experience for him and he loved playing with the dough. you can find lots of easy salt dough recipes by simply googling or searching on pinterest. i added cinnamon to my dough for the scent and brown color. we cut out some christmas and thanksgiving shapes to hang from gifts, a bag of freshly baked cookies and to stick into a some of my planters. 

out of those skinny jeans

jeans: f21, shirt: american eagle, sweater: aerie, necklace: c/o outfit additions, bracelet: fossil, booties: bought in germany

i've been wearing almost exclusively skinny jeans lately and when i realized it, I felt like such a bore. i mean, i love my skinnies and I think that they definitely work to my advantage considering my body type. plus, with the colder weather I tend to wear boots a lot which kind of requires some really tight pants. there is nothing worse than jeans that bunch up at your knees when tucked into boots. 

so, in order to get out of my skinny jean rut and also because, let's admit it, some days I really don't feel like squeezing into anything tighter than my husbands sweat pants, I pulled out the "almost as comfy as your husband's sweatpants" version of wide leg denim. 

i am also totally loving all of the comfy high-lo sweaters right now because they allow you to have a great shirt peeking through underneath but keep your back covered. i am so picky when it comes to how sweaters fit that i honestly don't have very many at all. 

oh, and i'm also trying to figure out the deep side part hair thing... it's definitely something I need to get used to but I think I kind of like it. it hides some of that extra forehead space i was blessed with ;) 

what do you think? 

ps: head on over to pink on the cheek today where I am giving away a nautical inspired necklace :)) 

pittsburgh i love you

as many of you who've been reading this blog for a while may already know, I am definitely a transplant to the city of pittsburgh. i moved to the area in 2006 from germany, to be with my husband who grew up here. in so many ways i have grown to feel like a true pittsburgher and that is mostly due to the people that live here. when visiting the burgh you will quickly find that its residents are some of the nicest folks you'll ever meet. and if that's not enough the beauty of the city will surely make you want to spend a lot of time here.

when my best friend melanie came in for a short visit last week we obviously had to show her what this beautiful city has to offer and while a day is definitely not long enough to see it all, it still allows you to get a little taste for what pittsburgh is all about. 

the typical touristy thing to do (as are most of these suggestions) is to take the duquesne incline up mt.washington and get the best view of the city, 3 rivers and of course the many bridges. we do this every time someone from out of town comes in for a visit and they all love it!

 the incline opened in 1877 and the restored cable cars take you up and down mt.washington 7 days a week, all year around. we had the most awesome weather for a november day so the view was truly incredible. from the incline parking lot it's a short drive down to station square where you'll find restaurants including (if it's your thing) the hard rock cafe and a ton of shops as well as a few clubs to visit at night. 

if you come on the weekend your morning/early afternoon stop should be the historic strip market district with all of its hustle and bustle and amazing food. if you're looking for fresh produce, seafood, meats or ethnic foods you've come to the right place. wholey's lobster rolls are to die for and there is one of the famous primanti brothers restaurants right around the corner. if you want to stay on-the-go, street meat won't disappoint either ;) 

if you're looking for that funky and hip neighborhood, make sure to take a stroll through the south side (east carson street) to shop small boutiques, vintage shops and take a break at one of the many cafes and restaurants. nakama is one of our favorites for sushi and the full hibachi experience. if you're looking for pittsburgh's nightife the south side is also where you want to be. 

keep following carson street to get to the southside works for more shopping and restaurants like the hofbräuhaus - a truly authentic german experience! ok i'm just kidding! 

i also like to frequent the huge goodwill down there for some thrifting. it's ok if that's not your thing.

visit market square in downtown where you can currently find a european inspired christmas market, (can't wait to check that one out for authenticity) and the christmas tree and ice rink at ppg place. 

we had dinner at 6 penn kitchen which was good but we really recommend eating at a place called meat and potatoes. make sure to get a reservation at both places. 

more things to do in pittsburgh: 

visit the andy warhol museum (love that place) 

the children's museum will keep your kiddos busy (see my post here) 

see the birds at the national aviary

the pittsburgh zoo

kennywood amusement park  

the waterfront for shopping, entertainment and movies 

university of pittsburgh campus and the nationality rooms at the cathedral of learning (super interesting and decorated for christmas) 

carnegie museum of natural history

carnegie museum of art

carnegie science center 

pittsburgh steelers at heinz field

pittsburgh pirates at pnc park

pittsburgh penguins at consol energy center 

shop at ikea 

cyber monday deals and 50% off ads!

i'm not a big fan of black friday for various reasons, which I won't go into detail about, but I do love me a good cyber monday deal. shopping right from the comfort of my own couch and delivery right to my door step is what i'm talking about :)

so i thought i'd share a few deals you can get in on this cyber monday from some of my favorite small businesses. don't forget to support small and handmade businesses this christmas season and buy from these wonderfully talented individuals who put so much effort into the creation of their products, real customer service and keeping jobs here at home.

happy shopping :)

first of all, a little shameless self promotion: I am offering 50% off for all ads on this blog.

Just click here to get to the sponsor page and use code CYBERMONDAY50 

this is a cyber monday only deal and won't work tomorrow so get them while they last :)
I would love to have some new faces to promote around here.
If you have any questions about sponsorship just send me an email.

outfit additions is offering a buy more save more deal.
spend $25 and get $5 off, spend $50 and get $15 off, spend $75 and get $30 off (ends 11/26 midnight)
Plus, as always there is free shipping and returns.

i absolutely love my hammered spiked bib necklace from them. it's such great quality, nice and heavy and you can actually make the spikes stick out or lay flat. it works with a casual outfit and I can't wait to wear it with a nice dress during the holidays.

they recently added a lot of new pieces that I just adore like that gold and black statement necklace above with the matching earrings.

brittany at love stitched has a discounted section in her etsy shop and is also offering mustache earrings for $4.25 on groopdealz.

nat at take the cannoli is offering a 15% discount to her shop with code FRUITCAKE.

save 20% site wide at shabby apple by clicking through the ad above and entering code JOYFULSEASON at checkout.

Mandy at Love Squirrels is offering free shipping with code CMFREESHIP.

One of my favorites, Gage Huntley Designs is offering 40% off everything in the store.
All items are discounted already so there is no discount code needed.
They have some super cute and cheap bracelets that would make for wonderful stocking stuffers!

Amy at The Charming Blog is offering 20% off in her shop Charming Life Studio with code CHARMINGHOLIDAY.

She also recently launched the Charming Holiday online mag which can be found here. It features a great collection of gift ideas and shops including a ton of discounts. Make sure to check it out!

happy thanksgiving

oh hey! i cant believe how quickly this week went by. my best friend melanie flew back home on tuesday, I spent 3 days trying to finish our annual photo book and get it ordered which involved a few revisions once I realized ordering 3 books (one for each our families) would cost almost $500! whoops, I guess I get a little carried away sometimes... and then there was of course thanksgiving. 

holy food, family and gorgeous weather. 

I have so much to be thankful for this year, like an amazing husband who works tirelessly to take care of us, amazing family and friends near and far, and of course I am most thankful to be logan's mama. life is pretty amazing right now :) 

thank you so much for reading this blog and your kind comments. i have met so many great people through this blogging community and am amazed by the wonderful talents so many of you are sharing with the world. 

2 nights in paris

photo credit: sherry page 

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paris, paris, now you've finally managed to reel me in. jason and i recently booked a 2 night stay at the le meridien hotel in paris for right before christmas. we'll be in germany for a few weeks visiting my family and they have offered to look after logan while we hop on a 5 am train to take us to the city of love. i have to admit that even though I am terrified of having to make use of any of my (awful) french, i am kind of excited to get away and explore this city for a bit. 

jason has been begging me to go for years and I always turned him down... yeah I know you think I am crazy. 

well, here we are making plans for what to see and do. if you have any great suggestions that don't include the obvious choices, please do share :) 

À bientôt Paris!