Editor's note: For our last week at Style Lush, I've asked the writers to share both a favorite post by another writer, from over the last three years, and a favorite post of their own. You'll see these posts linked to at the top of their new post for the week. Enjoy a stroll down Lush memory lane! By Jessica I kind of can't believe I am writing my final post for Style Lush right now, I've been here from the beginning, so selecting a favorite post of mine, or anyone else's, through all this time is proving too difficult... Continue reading

Editor's note: For our last week at Style Lush, I've asked the writers to share both a favorite post by another writer, from over the last three years, and a favorite post of their own. You'll see these posts linked to at the top of their new post for the... Continue reading

By Jessica I know the trend right now is "statement necklaces" and I have seen beautiful examples worn beautifully on many of my friends, hanging in shop windows, styled in catalogs and on various fashion blogger-y types. Unfortunately whenever I try to wear one, I feel like a little girl that has been playing in her mother's jewelry and not in a good way. I thought maybe I was just not a necklace person (I love a loud cocktail ring, like whoa) but I have an undying love for a Fossil necklace I own so maybe I'm just a different... Continue reading

By Jessica One of my goals for this year is the complete organization and de-cluttering of my house. I need this for my sanity, NEED IT, and one of the first areas I've been tackling is the entry way by my front door. I had some "big dreams" of finding an entry table at a thrift store and using that as a way to keep the mail from crossing the threshold and continuing to take over the top of our bar. After the reality of my local Goodwill shattered that for me, I decided to rummage through my garage and... Continue reading

By Jessica I have never been a fan of sauerkraut, which is odd given that I love cabbage and most other cabbage preparations but there was always just something about it. Something off and overly strong. I had thought that maybe it was the metal can in combination with the... Continue reading

By Jessica In my opinion, dessert is the one food item that shouldn't be polarizing. It's DESSERT. It's the thing that you were the most excited about ALWAYS as a kid. It's the thing you bargained for and your parents bargained with, the thing that got you through that most... Continue reading

By Jessica My husband and I don't exchange personal gifts at Christmas. We help our son shop for each other on a small, he-could-conceiveably-afford-the-items-himself budget, so that he'll get into the habit of shopping for others at the holidays but other other than that and maybe stockings? Our holiday dollars are always ear-marked for other people. That said, there's nothing wrong with a little holiday (online) window shopping right? Maybe something on my list might help you round out your own list or help you shop for someone you know. Of course the Style Lush Gift Guide probably has most... Continue reading

By Jessica We really do love our tea here at Food Lush. I have one half of an entire cabinet at home devoted to all types and brands of teas and it's my go-to beverage at restaurants. I am an "unsweetened with lemon" person when it comes to standard restaurant... Continue reading

By Jessica This year, I have resolved to work with what I have and refresh my holiday displays without purchasing anything new, as much as possible. I did purchase this GORGEOUS Santa print that makes me smile every single time I look at my mantle, but, so far, nothing else. Which is how I ended up searching for ideas on a new topper for my tree that wouldn't cost me anything. Because while I may be working with what I've got, that doesn't mean I don't also want to change my theme/color scheme again. I'm a complicated woman. I have... Continue reading

By Jessica I've recently canceled my Birchbox subscription (I'm possibly switching to another service on the recommendation of Twitter pals) but one of my last boxes contained the above hair mask. I know quite a few people that balked about this product but I was actually excited to try the Amika Nourishing Hair Mask. I love trying new hair products and this one is free from parabens and safe for color-treated hair. After trying it, I'm pretty meh overall. It smells good so that's always nice. The consistency was creamy and weighty as you'd expect from something with "mask" in... Continue reading

By Jessica Even though Texas hasn't gotten the memo that it's December (yesterday I was sweating in shorts and a tank top while putting up my Christmas tree) it officially is and that means that all manner of peppermint items have hit the stores. As a peppermint fan? This makes... Continue reading

By Jessica It varies by state, but fall in my area of Texas is time for the Texas Renaissance Festival. Running 8 weekends from early October through Thanksgiving weekend, TRF is the largest (55 acres) renaissance festival in the U.S. Each weekend is themed and it's a great opportunity for someone who loves to dress up (aka me) to have more than just Halloween as a reason to wear costumes. (Me this year, final weekend, photo via pygmypony.net) (Me and my son, first weekend this year) (Me and my husband, pirate weekend, last year) There are those who take it... Continue reading

By Jessica This was my second Thanksgiving as a vegetarian or possibly even my third? I'm not totally positive, the years seem to just be rolling by in one big blur lately. At any rate, I know that I haven't made myself vegetarian stuffing until this year. I'm not sure... Continue reading

By Jessica Like a fair majority of the writers on this site and I already mentioned over on Food Lush, I was in New Orleans over the weekend for The Blathering. Saturday night dinner is the traditional "dress-up" event and as everyone was discussing their outfits on twitter, it seemed the trend encompassed one word: glitter. Now, I love all things sparkle (I apparently have "parrot syndrome" and can't help myself staring when something is shiny) but actually wearing something like that? Not so much. I am not so much about the flash when it comes to my own self,... Continue reading

By Jessica I just came home from almost a full week away, having left for Arizona on Monday, landing back in Houston on Thursday and getting right back on a plane headed for New Orleans (for The Blathering) that same night. I finally arrived back home yesterday. Whenever I'm away... Continue reading

By Jessica I haven't had a chicken wing in over two years and even before then I really only liked the boneless chicken "wings" with a thick crunchy coating and slick-yet-sticky sauce. To further "dumb down" my chicken wing card, that sauce I refer to, my favorite wing sauce? Honey... Continue reading

By Jessica A little bit ago, I feel in love with a pair of shoes on ShopRuche but was crazy bummed to find they only had one pair left and of course they weren't my size. I decided to take a chance and do a Google search on the name listed for the shoes on the off chance I could find them available somewhere else, like eBay or something. I really loved those shoes. (please excuse the insane amount of dog hair in that pic, my dog blows her coat like mad, furminator or no) And wouldn't you know it,... Continue reading

By Jessica I love eggplant, you can do so many things with it and if I feel like trying something new with an eggplant I might have on hand? I can just do a search for something that I think might sound good, like Sausage Stuffed Eggplant and chances are,... Continue reading

By Jessica I stumbled across these Woodfire candles by Illume the other day at Central Market and was compelled to smell them instantly. I love the smell of a campfire or the smoke in the air when fall finally hits here in Texas (if ever it does) and people start using their fireplaces. I absolutely love the smell of these candles but I wonder how it would be to have this burning in my house. Would I start to get overwhelmed by the smell and fell like my house was burning down around me? Or worse, totally forget that is... Continue reading

By Jessica I know coconut is one of those polarizing food items: people either love it or hate it, not much room for in between. I am a coconut lover, always have been, even the fresh coconut that my brother and I broke open with a hammer and a screwdriver... Continue reading

By Jessica I have been severely lax on getting my Halloween displays going this year, it's kinda sad really, and I promise I will have this year's crazy ideas out here soon but my lassitude is really your gain because it means I am on the lookout for cute and EASY ideas (um, even though I probably won't let myself do them because I HAVE IDEAS). Idea No. 1: Cauldron filled with "goodies" I I found this idea via Pinterest from the blog Let It Shine, she has instructions here including weathering and aging the cauldron but for "easy" you... Continue reading

By Jessica Recently, fellow Lush writer Elsha asked for assistance replacing meat-heavy main dishes with more vegetarian offerings, on twitter: "I would love a @foodlush post about what vegetarian/vegan main dishes you guys make! I rely a lot on meat." The first thing I did in response to that request... Continue reading

By Jessica I've always considered myself to have a shortish torso but I didn't actually know that for sure. I wasn't honestly sure how one would know that your torso was "short" or "long" unless it was obviously so but it's something you can measure (of course). To figure out your torso measurement, have a friend place a measuring tape at the base of your neck and measure down your spine to the base of your back where it meets the top of your hips. Here are some numbers from eHow.com for comparison: female height: " 5'2" to 5'6," torso... Continue reading

By Jessica I am a grocery impulse shopper. I'm not tempted by the end caps close to the registers, no, I'm tempted by interesting packaging, weird names, unusual ingredients or things I've never seen before, buried deep in the regular shelves. Which is how I now have a package of... Continue reading