Cheryl Shops

Are Valentine's Day gifts necessary? Probably not, but this blog is called Cheryl Shops, so who am I to judge? As I mentioned last year, I am not a fan of going out to dinner for Valentine's Day—it's one of my least favorite nights of the year to eat out, with maybe only New Year's Eve being worse in terms of poor service and overpriced prix fixe menus. So that's why I prefer to stay home and cook a decadent meal, like steak or spaghetti bolognese. With that in mind, here are some complimentary gifts that you both can enjoy...at home.

Ironically, the day we shot this outfit, it was unseasonably warm in the Bay Area—I was at an outdoor party earlier in the day and had to strip down to my T-shirt because it was so hot in the sun. Of course, by the time I got home, it was getting foggy and windy, and such is life in Northern California. Anyway, if you watch my Instagram stories, you know that I wear this leopard-print midi skirt all the time in real life, so in spite of the fact that I shared it just a few months ago, I wanted to feature it again, this time with a more winter-friendly spin.

I have not always been a red lipstick person. For years, I wore only rose-colored lipstick, which has a my-natural-lips-but-better effect. I still wear shades of rose, but over time, I've come to appreciate the power of a red lipstick. For one, it's so dramatic that you can get away with wearing less makeup overall, because your lips become the focus—this is a particularly great trick if you're hung over or not feeling your best. But overall, I feel like red lipstick lights up your entire face in general. The key is finding the shade that works for you; personally, more of a blue-purple undertone looks better on my (pinky white) skin, but trying a bunch of shades is probably the best way to find the one that works for you. (Hey, it's an excuse to go to Sephora!) While they might not work for everyone, these are my five favorite red lipsticks.

Lately I've been super into neutrals, particularly lighter ones. There's something about the craziness of the holidays that makes me want a minimalist palate-cleanser. There's also something that feels slightly rebellious about wearing winter white in winter—yes, in spite of its name—but thankfully I live somewhere where the worst weather we get in winter is rain, not snow, so I don't need to worry too much about getting my whites all splattered with sludge. Ok, you might be thinking, "But you're not wearing all white." Which, technically, is true. But it's also the key of wearing all white in winter—you need to mix it up with a little camel and/or beige. That's pretty much a spoiler alert for this whole post, but if you want the details of how it all came together, read on. 

This post goes out to all the bargain shoppers—for you, it's truly the most wonderful time of the year. (Well, now and July, but I digress.) If the words "up to 70% off" or "extra 20% off sale" are like music to your ears, then this post should be...like music to your eyes. (Is that a thing? It is now.) I am not a person who believes in buying practical things on sale—now's the time to try a trend, a statement piece, or something flat-out kooky. Here are 16 of my favorite sale finds of the season, from some of my favorite stores and brands. They don't call me Cheryl Shops for nothing. Now, go to town. (And by "town," I mean to your computer. Although if you're reading this, you're probably already there.) Anyway...

A few weeks ago, I realized that a lot of the outfits I wear here and on Instagram qualify as "dressed up" to a lot of people, and while they're what I really wear in real life, I do dress down quite a bit on the weekend. And while I always like to put my best foot forward, I like to keep it real as well. Here's what I've been living in on the weekend—it's comfy, it's cozy, and it's (almost all) on sale.

As I mentioned in Tuesday's post, I go to New York City at least once a year. Even though it's been over five years since I moved away, I miss living there, and I love going back to see what's new. It had been several years since I'd been there around the holidays, and even though Christmas was over by the time we arrived, there's something magical about seeing the city all decorated and lit up. The tradeoff about visiting New York in winter is that sometimes the weather can be terrible, but thankfully we were lucky on this trip, with pretty mild temperatures and only one day of rain. (That said, there's still plenty to do indoors when it rains.) Here's how we filled our days—and nights.

As some of you may know, I used to live in New York City—for 13 years, to be exact—and after moving to San Francisco five years ago, I've been back to visit every year. I almost missed a year, but thankfully squeezed in a trip right after Christmas. We lucked out with amazing weather (sometimes there are major snowstorms in December) and, as always, the trip was a whirlwind. I'll be sharing more photos later this week, but in the meantime, here's my winter uniform for NYC.

I featured a camel coat in one of my outfit posts a few weeks ago, and I've been thinking of so many more ways to wear it. Pinterest seems to be reading my mind—or maybe we're all just on the same page—because this pin featuring one of my favorite bloggers, Aimee Song from Song of Style, has been getting repinned left and right from my Outfit ideas for ageless style board. It's such a classic-with-a-twist kind of look, and I'm obsessed. I'm fairly certain everything Aimee is wearing is on the higher end, so let's re-create it for (a lot) less.

Happy New Year! I meant to get this post up yesterday (so it was actually in 2018), but came back from NYC with a cold, so I spent all of New Year's Eve glamorously sipping Throat Coat tea in sweatpants. The best laid plans...anyway, 2018 was an up-and-down year for me on a personal level, but definitely all ups here on Cheryl Shops. I'm so proud of everything Sean and I have accomplished, and all the growth Cheryl Shops has received, both here and on social media. Thank you so much for reading, shopping, and spreading the word. I don't always know exactly what I'm doing and where I'm going, but I'm definitely having fun doing it. And now, onto the highlights...