Friday Feature

For the horse lover on your Christmas list, how about a Burns Custom Headstall, made especially for them.   

With several combinations of exotic leather inlays and unique concho accents, you can put together an original, one of a kind gift.  This gorgeous headstall features black stingray inlays with black and pink svarwovski crystals on the buckles and antique berry conchos.  You can see other fabulous custom  headstalls made by our leather experts at Burns Saddlery on our website click here.

Survivor

After a tough tribal, it is clearly apparent that not everyone on the Upolu tribe is as on the same page as they want everyone to think.  Brandon's unpredictable nature is catching up to him, which is good for our local Rancher. Stability is a good thing to have in an alliance.

The two returning Survivor alumni each made some interesting and bold moves this week.  Coach's decision to bring out the idol shortly after he and Brandon led prayer to find it, did not impress. It is hard to be impressed by someone that is being dishonest and misleading people, especially when one of them is the one you are rooting for.  Although, Rick is smarter than Coach thinks, so hopefully he was onto him.   Ozzy's decision to sacrifice himself to Redemption Island was  a far more impressive move. It looked as if he may go back on his "worst case scenerio" move, but he held true to his word.  For his sake, we hope it was the right decision. 

If the merge is on the horizon, we are sincerely hoping this will be Rick's time to shine and finally let everyone see the personality that we know & love :)

What to Wear

Today it is cold and wet. Winter is knocking on our door and what every girl needs for winter is a pair of Bogs.  If you are unfamiliar with Bogs, they are the best outdoor boot ever, they keep your feet toasty warm and dry in addition to giving you the traction you need.  They have traditionally been functional with a fun twist with bright colors and patterns, but we just recieved in a shipment including this sweet, fashionable boot.

The Mckenna is as fashionable as it is functional.  It is constructed with leather over a Neo-Tech upper to protect your feet from the elements.  They have a non-slip, non-marking, self cleaning deep lug  outsole for optimum traction. It is rated for temperate to sub-zero making it a great winter boot choice.

PBR

This week finds us on the road again at the PBR Fan Zone & Market Place at the fabulous Mandalay Bay in lovely Las Vegas.  We will be there from Tuesday through Saturday showcasing our collection from Lucchese.  We have boots from the Cowboy/Cowgirl Collection, Charlie One Horse, Resistol Ranch and Classic lines.  We also will have our fit and design center where we can size your foot and put together a boot that is uniquely you.  Plus you can't beat visiting with Braydan and Jake :)

Friday Feature

For the next few Fridays, I will be featuring ideas for custom holiday gifts that you can only get at Burns Saddlery.  We have several different items that we hand make in our saddle shop that would be thoughtful and unique gifts.  This weeks suggestion is a custom filigree belt with initials.

The belt shown features a simple stem filigree on a black distressed Hermann Oak Leather. The end of the belt features a unique and classy personalization of initials.  A stone washed inlay completes the look.  There are 5 colors of leather avaliable and over 20 solid and metallic colors for the inlay, making it easy to find a combination that fits anyone on your Christmas list. 

Survivor

He speaks!!!!!  Not surprisingly enough, he gets the finger for the first thing we've heard from him in a while :).  To say Christine is bitter towards her former tribe mates may be a bit of an understatement.  But the girl is hanging in there defeating Elyse in her 4th Redemption win.

The dissension in the Savaii tribe is short lived, as Ozzy throws a fit, pouts and gets over being blindsided by the last tribal council in a hurry.  Probably a good idea as there is another immunity challenge coming up and going to Tribal Council again might be quite unpleasant.  What a challenge it was, much like my beloved Dallas Cowboys the Upolu tribe has a fantastic start and a huge lead thanks to the great teamwork by Rick and Brandon, but blows it in the second half of the challenge when Coach and Mikayla can't seem to get their coconuts to fly, giving Savaii tribe immunity. 

Strength and loyalty seemed to be the theme of the day dividing, Coach, Brandon and Edna against Albert, Sophie and Mikayla leaving Rick to be the deciding vote. Each side has a strong argument about who should go and why and it is obvious Rick is the swing vote.  As he so eloquently put it "You are damned if you do and you are damned if you don't". Truer words were never spoken, but in the end you have to do what you feel is best for your own survival and loyalty won out over strength sending Mikayla to Redemption Island. 

What to Wear Wednesday

Here are a few of the fun styles that we got in from the Cowgirl Tuff Holiday collection.                         

This great hoodie and tee both come in a soft cotton-poly blend thermal.  They each feature unique screen print and crystal detailing. They would look great together or separate.

More Personal Style Thoughts- Making Good Choices

It has been a while since I have ventured into thoughts on personal style.  Mostly because I am still struggling with mine.  It has been nice with the change of weather to be able to bring out some of the other things hiding in my closet.  Which brought me to a thought on personal style, it is well worth the time it takes to pick good pieces to have in your wardrobe.  While going through my winter wardrobe, I realized that there are just some pieces that were good purchases, while others were quite foolish to be honest.

The pieces that I felt were good purchases have attractive styling, a flattering fit (no matter if I have gained a few pounds), quality fabric and are in a flattering color.  The things that I couldn't believe were hanging there were mostly things that once they had been washed, they had lost their shape,  their coloring had faded making them less than attractive or the color was not all that great to begin with.

Since I began working at Burns Saddlery I have become a lot more aware of my choices when it comes to purchasing clothing.  It takes a little more than a "that is cute" for me to buy an item.  I look at how it hangs on the hanger, I feel the fabric, and I try it on.  More often than not, the things hanging in the closet that don't get worn are those things that I didn't take the time to try on.   Not only does trying clothing on give you a sense of the fit, but how the coloring of the item either flatters you or detracts from you. 

It is difficult to tell if something will hold up in the wash, but it pays to do a little research.  Get a feel for quality fabric.  The best way to do this is take the time to search out quality items, even if they are not in your budget, you can get a feel for quality with a little examination. Hold the fabric up to the light and tug the threads in opposite directions (gently of course) Are there a lot of threads per inch, does the fabric "give" and how much light can you see? A thin, cheap cotton will give and let a lot of light through. Run your hand over the fabric and feel for quality and smoothness.  Scratch it with your fingernail to see if it pills or comes up.

Also take a little time to read the tag, natural fibers, such as cotton, wool and cashmere tend to be better quality and hold up better than synthetic fibers, such as nylon, polyester and acrylic.  A good majority of clothing is made in a blend of natural and synthetic, and it is always better to have a higher content of natural fibers in any blend. 

Taking the time to not only develop your style, but to educate yourself on quality will help you fill your closet with pieces that you will find yourself wearing for years to come.

Survivor

I do not know where this week went, but it is over now.  I know I am a day late with my Survivor spill, but here it is.  Stacey's trip to Redemption Island was short lived, but she made sure to not waste any time giving the other tribe an earful on what was going on over at Upolu.  Beaten in the duel by her friend Christine, Stacey said good bye to Survivor.

By far the most disgusting challenge ever, but squeaking by was Upolu, giving our local rancher another week for us to watch.  He did have a little more to say this time and was genuinely thrilled with the challenge. Lucky for him Mikayla picked up the piece of meat that he dropped, it was surely the 2 ounces that put them over the top.

We all agreed the blindside made by the Savaii tribe was classic.  Poor Elyse & Ozzy had no idea what was up. I guess laying in the hammock all day keeps you from catching onto the buzz going around the tribe.  Cochran has become quite the puppet master or so he thinks.  You have to hand it to the kid, he knows how to play the game. 

We are excited to see what happens next week :) it should be good.

Survivor

So Rick does say something, by his own admission it was lame, and unfortunately we have to agree.  But, we are also well aware of strategy, strategy, strategy and insulting your tribe members is not part of a good strategy.  However, it does not help those of us that know Rick and know what a great personality he has look like we know what the heck we are talking about.  But the point of the game is to survive until the end and he is there for another 3 days, so that makes us happy. 

We all agree we would like to see Brandon go, we all get a chuckle out of Cochran, and they made the right decision in tribal council.  It will be interesting seeing Christine and Stacy face off on Redemption Island next week.  Once again, we can only hope that our local rancher's strategy keeps paying off.

What to Wear Wednesday

Utah has some pretty extreme weather, one day it can be a warm and sunny 90 degrees and the next day the bottom drops out to a cold, windy and wet 40 degrees.  Living here we have to be prepared with our wardrobe for the ups and downs. This week we recieved in two Cruel Girl Tops to cover those highs and lows.

Both of these great v-neck tops have the same classic color combination of  black and turquoise .  They each feature unique screen print detailing around the neck and shoulders. The short sleeve tee has accents of gold and the screen print continues on the lower back for an added touch of flair.  The long sleeve tee has clear sequin detailing over the top of the screen print giving it an additional touch of fun. Both of these tees will definately cover the highs and lows of the fall season.

Boot(s) of the Month

I thought it would be fun to have a his & hers boot of the month.  This month I am featuring these great chocolate hippo boots by Lucchese.   Hippo is an absolutely gorgeous leather.  It is so unique and makes a fantastic boot for either casual or dress.  Hippo is one of the most durable leathers avaliable with its natural water resistant properties.  Hippo leather is only avaliable when a hippo dies of natural causes, making it a difficult leather to acquire. We carry hippo boot designs in black, tan and chocolate.

The Ladies boot features a chocolate hippo vamp accented by a  dixie wing tip with a mahogany tool pattern and oakley heel foxxing.  The quarters are a sanded goat with a cream colored rios inlay and a greer collar.  This boot is 10" high making it a great option for boot cut jeans, skinny jeans and skirts or dresses, each item will give the boot a different look.

The mens boot features a chocolate hippo vamp, a tan burnished ranch vamp with a mayela stitch pattern and a chocolate collar.  This boot looks great with jeans and dress pants.

For more views and information you can find these boots on our Burns Cowboy Shop website.