Things I've bought over the last couple of months

Hello lovelies,

So in my absence from this blog I've done some shopping.  Ok, some shopping is an understatement... I've done tons of shopping.  I'm pretty good at knowing when I've bought something but honestly this post would go on and on if I included everything I've bought in the last six months.  So to keep this post relatively short I'm including the stuff I've bought most recently.  I've been going crazy for shoes, I need shoes that are comfortable standing in for 8+ hours so I've been on the hunt for cute yet comfortable shoes!

So without further ado let's get on to the good stuff:

The Shoes:

 I've been obsessing over these J.Crew glitter loafers that go for over $250.  They are these gorgeous midnight blue color but I truthfully can't justify paying that much money for something I'm going to wear once in awhile.  After realizing that those shoes aren't in my immediate future, I began looking for a cheaper alternative.  While flipping through the Lands End catalogue I stumbled across these beauties.  They are the Vivian Venetian Flat in Slate Frost Sparkle.

 So I'll admit that I'm slightly obsessed with the smoking slipper/ loafer trend.  I may have bought a few styles and have loved all of them.  Next are these adorable cheetah Uggs that my mom scored at Marshalls.  Unfortunately for her they were too small and I quickly swooped in and stole them!  Her loss is my gain!!!! Now I've worn these shoes several times and I will say they were slightly uncomfortable to break in.  I have very sensitive skin on the heels of my feet and often get blisters when I break shoes in.  To hopefully clear up this problem I bought a little Dr. Scholl's foam tape dispenser to help pad the back of the shoes.

 My last pair of loafers is these adorable yet edgy Dolce Vita black suede smoking slippers.  What's amazing about these shoes is all the little details.  The leopard tassels and the little gold plated studs help make a classic male style shoes become a little more girlie! They look a little worse for wear because I've been wearing these with absolutely everything because they are just too cute for words!

Now, here in Jersey it's been unseasonably warm which makes it kind of difficult to wear boots.  But when the weather finally does decide to catch up with the season I can't wait to wear these little boots.  Both of these shoes as well as the Dolce Vita loafers were purchased at Nordstroms, my favorite place to buy shoes!  The boots below are the Steve Madden Tennassee Boot.  What I love about these shoes are they a like my other Steve Madden Troopa combat boot but they are slightly cropped.  Again, I'm a sucker for details so the gold hardware made these pretty hard to avoid.  I can't wait to wear these with a chunky sweater and some skinny jeans.

 These next shoes were a bit of a splurge.  These are the Sam Edelman Lucca boots.  I've worn these a few times and have received so many compliments on them.

 Accessories

 Now I'm sure I've mentioned previously that I am obsessed with owls.  While decorating my room I've struggled with the fact that not everything can be chevron or an owl (although truthfully that would make everything better!).  With Halloween right around the corner, I've found some great little accents for my room.  This adorable owl is on my nightstand and is currently resting on my next book (which is Love in the Time of Cholera).

 Another splurge item, the Rebecca Minkoff Mini M.A.C bag.  I was hesitant to purchase this bag at first but I've used this as an everyday bag when I was convinced that I could downsize from my normal suitcase of a purse and as a dressier night bag.  I love this bag and think this may be the first but not my last rebecca minkoff bag!

Clothes
I've bought a few pieces that I'm not sure if I'm keeping (which are the first two items here).  Just to clarify, I'm in the process of switching out my summer wardrobe with my fall/winter one, hence why the little bit you see of my closet looks like it exploded.  

 This first shirt was recently purchased at The Loft, and it's a burgundy blouse with little butterfly/birds. It photographed a little redder than it actually is.

 I've been obsessed with puffer vest for awhile but I've always been hesitant to purchase one for myself for awhile.  The reason for that is simple, I have a very large chest and I'm afraid a puffer vest will make my chest look bigger than it actually is.  I found this adorable wool puffer vest from Gap that is heather gray with little black polka dots all over.  I'm not entirely sure if I'm going to keep this vest because I really don't know if I can get past my hesitations about puffer vests.

 Moving on from one polka dot piece to another, I recently scored these adorable toothpick polka dot jeans from J.Crew.  I've been eyeing these pants for awhile but couldn't justify buying them at full price.  When I discovered that these were on clearance I happily picked these up and can't wait to wear them.

 I'm pretty certain in a previous post I wrote about my obsession with Gap's Broken-in khakis.  Well they recently launched the broken-in skinny mini which is a feminine version of the boyfriend chino.  These have a skinnier leg and look adorable with boots.  I've bought these in this adorable burgundy color and have them in a Forrest green that you can kinda see in the background of the picture.

Until the next shopping trip! I promise to keep you posted on what I've bought, because in some weird way this is kind of therapeutic for me because it shows me that sometimes my shopping is out of hand.

Until Next Time!!!

A long vacation and short mini one!

I've been very fortunate that over the years my family has been going to Florida for 2 weeks in the late spring/ early summer months to escape the Jersey cold.  Now, for those of you who don't know me you need to understand that I love all things Disney.  As I've grown up I've learned to appreciate all aspects of what the mastermind, Walt Disney created.  Now, with that being said our family trips to Disney aren't for the faint of heart because often times we are there from early morning til late at night!

This trip to Disney was wonderful because we were able to enjoy the parks, which are usually not super crowded at this time, and enjoy the warm Florida weather without the Florida humidity.  Now for some highlights of the trip: We got stuck on the Harry Potter ride for about 10 minutes and got to see most of the ride with the lights on, I caught a lizard at the hotels pool, only to have it run up my arm and cause me to scream like a little girl.  Oh and lets not forget while we were there, there was an infestation of lovebugs, which are pointless bugs that are attached at the butt and resemble lightning bugs.  Here are some photos to document the trip!

Best part of arriving in Disney!!

Every year we try to make it to Disney for the Flower and Garden Festival bc they do such an amazing job with the topiaries.

My brother and I in front of my favorite ride in Disney: Expedition Everest! Excuse the terrible hair, this was right after a rain storm.

At Sea World

I've recently found a quote on pinterest that really spoke to me from the Dalai Lama:

Now, who can argue with the Dalai Lama.... not me.  This year my friend and I decided that we should visit places we've never been to before.  Last year I was able to go to Boston, which remained my favorite city up until recently.  This years trip was to the lovely city known as Chi-town or CHICAGO!!!! What can I say about Chicago: it's beautiful, clean, friendly, expensive, and possibly a place I want to live in the future.

Now to illustrate Chicago in pictures.

 Here I am right outside of navy pier overlooking the beautifully clear Lake Michigan.

 The picture above is from the Skydeck at the Willis Tower (which was previously known as the Sears Tower).    These views were absolutely gorgeous but the amount of time we had to wait to get through security made me feel like I was waiting in line at Disney. The picture below is taking in one of the four clear observation boxes that extend outside the building.  Not going to lie that first step onto the clear Plexiglass is absolutely terrifying.  However once you're out there it's not all that bad, but it's still a little scary.

 One thing everyone told us to do while in Chicago was to go on an architecture tour around the city.  It was absolutely beautiful and it was a great way to get a different perspective of the building from the river down below.  The building below is the famous trump tower that Bill Rancic helped manage after winning the first season of the apprentice!

 Chicago is home to some beautiful modern architecture and home to some interesting buildings.  These buildings below have petal shaped balconies.

 And you can't visit Chicago without visiting Cloudgate, or the Bean as many of you may refer to it as. We were lucky and arrived here around 9am and were able to actually capture the beauty of this monument without having too many people ruin the picture.

 Now, for those of you who have visited Chicago, you know that it is an expensive city.  With ridiculous sales tax, most people are always looking for a way to save some money.  Well, my friend had the brilliant idea of renting these divvy bikes.  For those of you who have been to NY it's the same premise of the Citi Bikes.  Here you pay 7 dollars for 24 hr access to these bikes.  The only negative aspect of this bike share program is you need to drop the bikes off every 30 minutes to avoid the $1 late charge.  Despite that little annoyance I really enjoyed seeing different parts of the city while biking everywhere.  We were able to eat and drink whatever we liked and we hardly felt guilty about it because we had biked so much before that!

 Now here's a little tid bit that I didn't believe and had to actually figure it out for myself.  Now for all my 21+ readers, if you'd like to go to visit the John Hancock building but don't want to go to the observation deck, I have an alternative option for you.  A great way to see the gorgeous Chicago sunset is to visit the Signature Room, which is on the 95th floor of the building.  The Signature Room is home to a swanky restaurant and bar.  Now, the drinks on the menu are pretty pricey, but each one looked absolutely delicious.  I would whole heartedly recommend the Lakeshore Lemonade, it's not too strong but it is definitely delicious! Now, for the interesting fact: all ladies should venture into the women's bathroom with their camera.  Now I'm sure you're thinking why am I bringing my camera into the bathroom? Well, you need to do this because when you walk into the bathroom the first thing you see is absolutely gorgeous floor to ceiling views of the city.  The photo below is from the bathroom.  Now don't be embarrassed to take a bathroom selfie, most of the women in there are doing the same thing!

Now it wouldn't be a vacation if I didn't find a way to Segway.  If you'd like a great way to see the city in a different way please go check out City Segway Tours of Chicago! I've toured with this company in DC and absolutely loved it there and Chicago was just as fabulous!

 I think this post has gone on long enough!  Next time I hope to update you on the copious amounts of clothing I've bought during my 6 month hiatus.

Until Next Time!!!

Where have I been???? Updates and an apology.

Hello Lovelies,

I'm going to apologize for not posting anything for the last 6 months.  I have no idea why I haven't posted because I've done some great things in that time that I would of loved to share with you.  I'm going to try my best to blog once a week about what's been going on in my life (keyword try).  

Update on my life: Currently, I'm a supervisor at a lovely retail store and am looking to move up within the company.  I'm in the process of redesigning/redecorating my room, which is taking me way longer than I expected.  

So since my last post I talked about getting a haircut.  I've mentioned before I have a weird phobia of getting my haircut.  As a little kid I've had some horrific haircuts (thanks mom!) and that has translated to my adult life.  However, I've found an amazing salon and an amazing stylist who truly understands the texture of my hair and is willing to talk me off the ledge when I go in a say "I want short hair and I want to dye it darker, or maybe lighter?"

So after a brief panic attack and countless pictures later, we decided a lob was definitely the cut for me and in terms of color she told me I should embrace my natural highlights but maybe help speed them up a bit by adding some dimension.

 While at the salon I got a little bored because I didn't realize the process getting "a few" subtle highlights would still take an hour so I decided to whip out the Ipad and take some photo Booth pictures.

The finished product, subtle highlights in the front to add some dimension and shorter hair. I've gotten my haircut a few times after this and I don't think it's even looked as good as this cut has been.  Now, this isn't because my hair stylist isn't talented, I believe I'm to blame for this because I made the mistake of telling her having so few layers has made my hair heavy and less curly (which truthfully is a gift from god because my natural hair isn't pretty).  The color has turned out better than I could of expected, as the summer progressed the color got more natural and looked ahhh-mazing.

Currently my hair looks like this... but as I look at old pictures I'm thinking the winter is calling for longer hair which I can curl and just love and style.

I love my hair this length but the problem with it is I feel like I'm limited in how I can style it.  I straighten it nearly everyday, and that's damaging to my hair.  When it's longer I can curl it and get maybe 2-3 days out of that style or I can put it in a top knot and go about my day.

Here are some old pictures of my long hair that I kind of miss...

I definitely think the shorter style makes me look more my age, since people always seem to think I'm like 12 (I know I should appreciate this now, but it gets annoying after awhile).  I'm slowly growing out my lob but I know once spring rolls around I'll want shorter hair again.  Ugh, the struggles of being a girl.

Moving on from haircuts, I was fortunate enough to go to Florida for 12 days in May and have just gotten back from a weekend trip to Chicago.  I'll write some posts about those trips at a later date (probably right after I finish this one!) because there is just too much to share.

I've mentioned earlier that I've been SLOWLY redecorating my room.  The keyword in that sentence is slowly.  Truthfully I had an image of what I wanted in my head and it's difficult to find those pieces, in my price range, which is basically as close to free as possible.  The room is almost complete but I just need a few more accent pieces to add some color into my room.  I'm going to hold off on pictures until I can do a full post on everything that I've done.

So to wrap up, I'm hoping to update this blog once a week on the progress of my room, what I've been up to, and basically what I've bought because let's face it, once a shopaholic always a shopaholic!!!!
I've bought some great pieces recently and I can't wait to share 6 months worth of shopping!!!!!

Until next time!

Time for a change...

Hello lovelies,

Long time, no blogging.  I know I haven't done the 30x30 challenge, but I found that to be really difficult with work and what not.  I work with some pretty fashionable people who don't ever seem to repeat outfits.  I'm not ruling out doing this challenge, but I think I'm going to push it back until summer, because this summer will be all about bright colors and maxi dresses! So, I think it will be much easier to actually follow and complete this challenge.

Ok, now onto more important matters.  I recently got my hair cut in January but I set up an appointment for April 11, just so I could touch up the haircut I got originally.  The cut was a little below my shoulder and has a lot of layers.  I loved this cut and the reason I scheduled an appointment so soon after was because I was contemplating going even shorter.

Well, after much thought I've decided to go even shorter than I originally anticipated.  A few months ago I found a picture on pinterest of this simply stunning lob (a long bob).  I've always envied people who look amazing with short hair, but unfortunately I have a round face that can't pull off super short hair.  I can however, pull off shoulder length hair.  Here are some ideas of the hairstyle I'm thinking of, all the pictures were found on pinterest or boxno216.com.  

I really want a shorter do for the summer and think this will be perfect.  My only issue with my hair is that it is only one blah color.  I have never dyed my hair or lightened it in any sort of way.  I think this haircut needs some added dimension.  So I think I'm going to get subtle highlights.  I've never been a fan of streaky highlights. I want my highlights to look as natural as possible and just give me a beachy look.  I'm thinking of doing something along these lines:

Let me know what you think.... I'll post a blog post about it once I get it done!

Please check out http://www.boxno216.com... they do some amazing work with color!!!

Instagrams as of lately....

SO I haven't been updating this lately, but I will post my instagram pics from the last month to update you on what I've been doing on my life.

Some of the great cards I've recieved this year!! I'm a huge fan of getting people cards so when I get some special ones I always save them.

Work outfit of the day.... heart blouse Loft, Cardigan Banana Republic, Jeans Gap, Shoes JCrew, Alex and Ani bracelets and Fossil watch

Banana Republic Cardigan, JCrew Shirt, Gap Jeans, Alex and Ani Bracelets, and Fossil Watch

Sunday Funday riding around on the scooter

Earle hunting his prey

JCrew Sweater, Gap white oxford, gap pants, JCrew flats, Fossil watch, alex and ani bracelets, and Kate Spade phone case

Tinks through the years.  My little precious angel celebrated her 20th birthday on Valentines Day!!!

Banana republic Sweater, Jcrew Sparkle top, Jcrew pencil skirt, michael kors watch, jcrew necklace, Hue tights, and Toms shoes

Frost on the window this morning

Me and my Tinks da Stinks

Read It: A Beautiful Disaster Review

Hello lovelies long time no blog.

I'm not even going to begin to apologize for my lack of posting but I'm back now so let's forgive me for this long overdue post!

So I just literally finished the book "Beautiful Disaster" by Jamie McGuire.  Holy smokes this book was Ahhhhh---Mazing.  I would easily give it 5/5 stars.  I purchased this book on Amazon for my Kindle for 7.59.  Now you may be thinking that's a bit pricey, and normally I'd agree, but this book is worth every penny! It's 404 pages long so you're getting WAY more than you paid for.  I'm going to run through a few of the things I LOVED about the book and some of the things I wasn't crazy about (I'm also writing this post because my friends and I decided the other day that we wanted to start a book club and this is the first book we'll be reading and i needed a place to jot down my notes).

Things I loved:

1. Abby and Travis's relationship.  Although to many they were a disaster, something about them just made you want to root for them.  It didn't matter if you knew that they physically could not be together, you were still somehow pulling for them.  For example, travis is known on campus for being the raining one-night-stand champ, yet once he meets Abby he's willing to completely change his life for her.  Even though at times Travis is a bit possessive and obsessive of Abby, I still somehow loved him and could only hope for a Travis Maddox of my own.
2. The writing: I loved how Jamie McGuire wrote this book.  I could not put this book down.  I'm normally someone who values their sleep and I was seriously considering pulling an all nighter because I wanted/needed to know how this book was going to end.  Even when I went to work today I couldn't stop talking about this book.  For me any book that you can't put down is easily a  5 star kind of book!
3. Conflict. Spoilers................................................................................. Even though you know every book has a point where something has to go wrong, this book had so many twists and turns you weren't sure what was going to be the breaking point for this relationship.  Just when I thought Travis couldn't do anything else to piss off Abby, he does it.  

Things I didn't love:

1. The typos.  The book had a decent amount of typos, which always annoys me.  I'm not perfect, but if you're charging someone to purchase a book, I would think that the publishers would have been able to pick up on some of those typos.  One of these days I'm going to highlight every typo in a book and send if back to the author, free of charge just to show how an average person can pick up on these mistakes.  I wouldn't mind if some of these authors would send me the manuscripts a head of time, just so I could help them!
2. The violence.  Travis is a bad boy who partakes in an underground fighting ring.  Clearly Travis has anger management issues, but he's always fighting someone and always beating their face into a bloody pulp.  Sometimes the violence seems justified, but other times not so much.

Like I mentioned about I loved this book.  I would definitely recommend it and would re-read it.  In April ,Jamie McGuire will be releasing the same story from Travis's perspective which I'm interested in reading called Walking Disaster.  I think the next book will be reading is 10 years later by Hoda Kotb

Until next time......