Tuesday, May 15, 2012

I've been a bad blogger.

I haven't had much time at my computer these past few days to give a blog update between trying to work a lot, looking for a new apartment, and running around town. So, here I am giving an update before I get back to all of that! Next Sunday I turn 26 and I will be in Chicago, so by then I'll have lots of things to write about while in the Windy City!

Last Saturday there was a Jonathan Adler Warehouse sale in New York City. If there's one interior designer I LOVE it's Jonathan Adler. My sister was nice enough to go to go to it for me and pick up some goodies for me. I have been dying to have this white ceramic horse for over a year, but at a price tag of $295 and no where to put it, I've hesitated on purchasing it. I was hoping it would be at the sale this year, but it wasn't. I did end up with other goodies though!


Instead of finding the white ceramic horse I've dreamed of, my sister got the white ceramic lion instead! With it she got me the elephant top candle, a beautiful vase, and 5x7 picture frame. Not pictured is also a reed diffuser snagged from the Jonathan Adler warehouse sale. All for under $200 - I was quite pleased with the outcome! Also this past week at Off the 5th, a lot of their Jonathan Adler goodies were on sale at 70% off so I snagged another white 4x6 white ceramic picture frame and another candle. The Off the 5th sale wasn't as good as what was at the warehouse sale in New York City, but I couldn't help but add to my Jonathan Adler collection!


Another splurge over the past week was this big face Michael Kors White Ceramic watch! I have been dying to have this watch for a few months now, but the $395 price tag has kept me away from it. Saks Fifth Avenue had a 1 day sale of 40% off certain items online at the beginning of the month and this watch was on it. To my surprise I was also able to combine a 10% off code for signing up for their mailing list bringing this watch to 50% off. I went for it and bought it knowing there would never been another opportunity to buy it under $200 again! I've only worn it a couple of times and I've gotten so many compliments! I'm so happy with my purchase of it!

Since next week is my birthday in Chicago and their are so many shops there, I'm almost afraid to see what damage is to be done there! But at lease a little adventure will give me something to update about!

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Mama's Got a Brand New Bag.

I purchased my first of two handbags I wanted to get this month. I saw this beautiful leather python print Michael Kors Sloan clutch at Macy's about a month ago and wanted it. I was in desperate need of a new clutch, I've been using a Marc Jacobs wristlet for way too long! Fortunately, Zappos.com had the very same clutch as Macy's and Neiman's at the same price, but without tax and free shipping. I loved this clutch because the chain makes the purse versatile and easy to wear as a shoulder bag or tuck the chain and use as a clutch.

 Zappos.com has become my go to website for handbags and shoes now, I'm obsessed! After purchasing this purse on Friday (received it yesterday!), I was upgraded to "VIP" status on the website. If you spend a certain amount on the website in a year, they upgrade your account to give you more perks- most noticeably is free next day shipping if ordered before 1pm PST. I read it's even easier to become a "VIP" member to Zappos by just contacting customer service about it. I took advantage of this offer yesterday by ordering a new pair of Sam Edelman sandals I saw at Nordstrom. I haven't been able to track the shipping, so we'll see if it makes it here today!

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Mr. Porter!

I browse Net-a-Porter every week, mostly just to dream about owning any of the Mulberry shoulder bags. I came across Mr. Porter, the men's store that sells brands like Lanvin, Burberry, YSL, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton.



The man of my dreams wears clothes like this, but the Henry Cavills and Brad Pitts are far and few in Texas!!!

Another great website for designer digs on clearance is The Outnet! You can purchase designer clothes from past seasons for up to 70% off! The only bad thing is the sizes and quantities are limited, but if you check regularly you can always find something good!


Saturday, April 21, 2012

Blessing in Disguise


Last week I lost my favorite mascara, Benefit's - They're Real! I looked EVERYWHERE and text my friends in hopes that our stuff had gotten mixed up together at the cabin. With no luck, I gave up looking for it and decided to buy a new tube. That new tube ended up being my blessing in disguise! After my first use, I immediately noticed the difference from my old tube of mascara...I've had that tube for way too long and it was time for me to re-buy!

They're Real! is described by Benefit as a lengthening, defining, curling and volumizing mascara, and it does a good job delivering on most of those promises. It doesn't appear to do any curling on its own, but it does hold curl well which is good enough for me since I always use an eyelash curler anyway. It also adds some fairly impressive volume and length to my lashes. Now do they look like I'm wearing falsies? No not quite, though this mascara delivers better for me on this promise than any other mascara I've tried before it that promised the same. It's not a lack of length or volume that really separates my mascaraed lashes from faux lashes, but the noticeable texture of mascara. Mascaraed lashes just never look as smooth as bare lashes or faux lashes, and They're Real! is no different in that respect. But it does still give me drag queen worthy length and thickness in two coats, which it does without smudging, clumping or flaking. What else I can really ask for?

The brush is pretty awesome. It's a standard rubber bristled brush you see on lots of mascaras these days, but has the added bonus of a few long spiky bristles protruding from the pointy end. These are great for getting at the lashes in the very inner and outer corners, though they must be used with caution as the end often picks up more product than the rest of the brush. You can wind up with goopy corners if you aren't careful!

The only downside I find on this mascara is that it doesn't build very well. If you try to use more than two coats, your lashes are likely to start looking kind of crusty. I imagine this would be a real problem for girl with short or sparse lashes.

I also picked up Urban Decay's De Slick Spray and a Benefits Eyebrow pencil during my makeup store run. I've heard mix reviews about the make-up setting spray, but decided it was worth to try out. I haven't gotten around to using it yet, but after today will be my first time so I'm hoping for the best!

While making my purchase, the cashier threw in a few free goodies in my bag too! I got a travel size bottle of Urban Decay's De Slick, travel size bottle of the All Nighter Make-up setting. I debated between the two full size bottles of both make-up settings and went with De-Slick because All Nighter contains dimethicone, a conditioning silicone, that mixed with oily skin makes it glisten. I'll try it out at least once. The last free goodie was Urban Decay's Eyeshadow primer.

After today's use on most of the new makeup products just bought, I will have good things to report back! Do you use any of these products? Any thoughts?

Monday, April 16, 2012

Weekend on the Guadalupe!

Had a fun weekend on the Guadalupe River with my friends for my brother's 27th birthday!!! We rented a cute little red barn and I had the opportunity to wear my Kardashian Kollection dress and hat from Saks 5th Avenue. I'm still unsure if I like the dress, the part is a little bit more loose than I'd like, but it was a fun dress to wear to hang out on the patio! Lots of alcohol, food, and even cake was had over the weekend...we even had little visitors rummaging through our trash! Here are a few pictures I managed to take over the weekend!









Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Here We Are.

I've forgotten how stressful Ticketmaster can be! I just purchased tickets to Jason Mraz shows in New Orleans, Louisiana and Houston, Texas for August 9th and August 12th!! For 4th and 5th row, I'm still not as close as I would like to me, but I'm very excited to be seeing Jason Mraz perform live again.

I'm spending the weekend in a cabin on the river with my friends! I'm excited mainly because I get the opportunity to wear the new dresses I bought and also my new hat. Unfortunately, I did not end up with the Kenway hat from Reiss. My sister went to buy the hat for me in their New York location and had nothing nice to say about it in person, so I decided not to use my gift card on that. Instead, I went to Saks Fifth Avenue and bought a hat that is just as nice!


I also bought a new bathing suit off of ModCloth! Everyone knows how much I HATE bathing suits! But who doesn't love a 50s pinup style bathing suit? I love all the vintage style clothes on ModCloth and finally came around to making my first purchase! Ever since I saw the Sex and the City movie (because of their cute vintage bathing suits in Mexico!) I wanted one myself! The picture I took doesn't do the suit justice until it's on, but it can be found here!


Hope everyone is having a fabulous Tuesday!

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Happy Easter + Weekend Roundup.

I hope everyone is having a fabulous Easter weekend! I just had lunch with my mom after spending my entire day Saturday inside waiting on my new bed to arrive. Even after wasting a beautiful day inside, my bed has been totally worth it! Since my Saturday was uneventful, I'll just share some pictures from Friday's trip to Lupe Tortilla and my first week on Instagram!



  

Instagram Dump!

 

Friday, April 6, 2012

First Attempt!





Dress: Charlotte Ronson Sunglasses: Tory Burch Jewelry: Marc Jacobs, Mango Shoes: Michael Kors

This is my first real "Outfit of the day" post! I'm not a natural poser and my friends know how I hate most pictures, but for my first attempt at this I'm pretty pleased! This is also the first time I wore my Ronson dress and I absolutely LOVED it!! The high low cut was a perfect flow-y. This dress is already one of my favorites for the season. I could have done without the Marc Jacobs bangle, but I can't help but still love it!

Thursday, April 5, 2012

One Day Without Shoes

I love my Toms. I own two pairs and could own so many more. They are the most comfortable pair of shoes I own and can wear them with just about anything. As many of y'all know Toms is a "One for one company." For every pair you buy, they donate a pair to a child in need. That's reason enough to buy them!


 This April 10th is Toms One Day Without Shoes! Go a day without your shoes so kids don't have to. For more information visit www.onedaywithoutshoes.com

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Things & Places I Love.

I have no basis for a post today, so here's a picture place of things & places I love! Hopefully I can give something of value to write about tomorrow!


Bikes! I don't own one myself, but I love adorable bikes like this one!


North End in Boston! Such a charming little neighborhood!



New York City! The center of the world...need I say more?



Cannoli!!! I suddenly got hungry just thinking about it...


 Hats! (As previously posted about)

Meneki  Neko cats!

Doughnut Plant! The BEST doughnuts you will ever have in your life.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Love is a Four Letter Word

I tried out my Urban Decay Naked 2 palette this morning for the first time and absolutely love it! The picture I took with my webcam doesn't do it justice since you can't actually see it, but I received my first compliment at the mall this morning on the color! The entire palette is filled with natural colors, so I can finally wear my eyeshadows on "lazy" days without feeling like I dolled up in the middle of the day.

Last week I finally purchase Bliss' facial cleasner + toner, No Zit Sherlock. I've read raves and rants over the product...mostly raves!...and decided I wanted to give it a try myself. I finally received the kit in the mail yesterday and began to use it last night. Bliss, in my opinion has the BEST face/body products on the market. The prices on some of their products can be a little steep, but totally worth it.

 This will be my first time with the No Zit Sherlock kit. It comes with the cleanser + toner, moisturizer, and correcting serum. An easy 1-2-3 system of such a cleverly named product! I have troublesome skin with the tendency to break out and I'm a hot mess without makeup on! I read this product is good for sporadic breakouts without leaving redness behind. I've only used it once last night and once this morning so far, but no complaints of dryness yet-like some other reviews have pointed out! So let's hope for the best and that it works well for me!



I walked into Off the 5th today and spent about 20 minutes at their Jonathan Adler kiosk debating whether or not I needed porcelain coaster. I love Jonathan Adler products!!! I received this Muse Blanc candle from my friend Katrina last year on my birthday. She's probably the only other person who loves Jonathan Adler as much as I do and gets the obsession over his home decor. I've only used this candle about twice because I love it so much and don't want to burn it out yet, although it smells of fresh cut flowers and would be perfect to light during the Spring months! I have this candle on my coffee table in my living room alongside Jonathan Adler's Happy Chic Accessorizing book and a Laduree' box and it's probably the cutest thing I've done since moving into my place!

My absolute FAVORITE musical artist, Jason Mraz has announced a world tour today! I'm so ecstatic that Houston is one of his stops on August 12th. I've been following him for over 10 years, when he was doing coffee shop shows and have traveled to various cities to see him perform over the years. His new album, Love is a Four Letter Word, comes out April 17th and I have been anticipating it for years! I took this picture the second to last time I was able to see Jason Mraz perform live in Austin, 2009! I'm so excited for the new album and the new tour!!


 Instagram finally came to Android! Now I can have pretty phone pictures like everyone else!

Monday, April 2, 2012

Reiss Kenway Sun Hat.


I love hats! A lot of times I just try on various hats in stores without the intentions of buying them, but I love seeing hats on my head. I always say my head is too big for a lot of hats, so I'm very picky to owning hats.

As Summer approaches, I wanted to find a beautiful sun hat to wear to the various beach/river trips my friends and I have begun to plan out. Last weekend we spent a day at the beach and I hated being the only one without a hat! Not even for the looks, but that darn Texas sun is nothing to joke about!!

Next weekend, we are spending the weekend in a cabin on the Guadeloupe River and figured now would be the best of time to finally purchase a sun hat!

A few months ago I received a gift card from Reiss. The only problem with it, is that it's only good in store and the only U.S stores happen to be in New York, California, and Florida! And of course it's the one store I see the hat I loved and must have. This beautiful wide brim hat, named Kenway, comes in various colors, but I fell in love with the cappuccino one. It's has a brown, skinny leather trim with gold rings to enclose it. The best part of the Kenway hat at Reiss.. it comes in different sizes, so girls with big heads like me can wear wear it too!

Luckily for me, my sister lives in New York City and has agreed to pick up the hat for me and ship it back to me just in time to have before a weekend on the river with my friends!

I'm so excited to have found a perfect hat, I had to post about it being receiving it!

You can buy the Kenway hat along with other great accessories and clothes at Reiss Online!

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Weekend Buys!



I went to the mall this weekend in search of a new mattress for my bed and ended up walking out with a little something extra for the Spring/Summer!



I know most have or tried the Urban Decay Naked eyeshadow palette. It's been a must have of mine for months and I always use my friend's palette when we are getting ready together. I decided it was finally time to own it myself. I decided to go with the Naked 2 palette because there a few more colors I would use than the original one. Sephora Beauty Insider is having a 15% off coupon right now until April 6th, so it was a great time to buy!


I found this Mango necklace in a bin of lots of jewelry. I thought it was unique and would go great with the dresses I just purchased. To my surprise the price tag on the necklace read $8.00 and I considered it a steal for how great the necklace was. Once I went to the registered the necklace kept ringing up as $48. There was a misprint on the tag and I managed to pick up the only one with it. The sales lady honored the price and I got it literally for a steal!


I walked into Sears for the first time in years to check out mattresses to buy a new one for my bed. On my way to the second level I browsed the clothes in the Kardashian Kollection out of curiousity. To my surprise the clothes are actually really cute, but I felt the prices were a little steep for Sears. I walked up and bought my mattress and with it they gave me a $15 gift card. Since I never shop at Sears I decided to just use it then and walked out with these Red, White, and Blue Maxi dress from the Kardashian Kollection. I actually really love it and can't want to wear it!


I love white lace and have been wanting a pair of white or black lace shorts to wear this Spring, but ended up finding this dress instead by I Heart Ronson. Paired with a belt and wedges I think it will be extremely cute to wear!


Another I Heart Ronson dress, it's the type that's short in the back and long in the back. It's nice and flowy and a lace grey strap. It will be fun to wear over Saturday margaritas with the girls!


I dog sat this weekend too for Katrina's absolutely adorable puppy, Lolita!!! Isn't she just the cutest little dog ever??