Currently Lusting: Gold Watches

I tend to wear the same jewelry pieces/accessories repeatedly. Same diamond studs from college graduation, same Calladagh ring from Ireland, an "A" necklace, and maybe a bracelet or a bangle of some sort. I love buying jewelry and trying new pieces, but at the end of the day I'm a routine person. I've just learned to accept it, but at the same time pushing myself outside of my comfort zone. Whether that's what I'm wearing, trying a new food, visiting somewhere new, or doing something new at work.

I used to wear a really old Swatch watch that I got when I was living in Madrid (but I definitely saw it in a U.S. store 3 years later), and I wore it to its death. Now, it's been a few years and I still haven't purchased a new watch, which is quite problem when you're running around the office from meeting to meeting, and have no idea what time it is or if you're late or early. Needless to say, I'm in the market for a new watch, and I think I want something gold, chunky, and slightly more girlie.

I love this Kate Spade one

Every time I go into the mall and walk past the watches, I always want to buy every single Michael Kors watch. Every.Single.One (well, gold ones). I'm hoping sometime in the near future, I can invest in one of these. A few of my favorites:

What are some of your favorite accessories? Do you have a "standard" piece that everyone associates with you?

Sequin Envy

Lately, I've been having some major sequin envy. It's a trend I'm noticing that is popping up every story I walk into, but not one that I think I could pull off very easily. For me, I think I'd love to try and find some accessories, such as shoes, bags, or jewelery, to dress up an otherwise dull outfit. Would you wear this look?

Golden Globes Fashion roundup

Three-day weekends are the best, leaving me feeling like I have enough time to actually accomplish everything I'd like to get done in a weekend, but still having time to just relax. This was the perfect weekend for an awards show.

I love watching awards shows, mostly for the fashion. I enjoy the Golden Globes because they are a great mix of movies and television, and not as serious as the Oscars are (I mean, do you really think the movies The Tourist will be up for an Oscar? I really hope not). As always, Ryan and Giuliana never fail to make me laugh with their very awkward/sometimes inappropriate questions. Ricky Gervais' jokes were shocking to me, because at times I felt he was a bit harsh, however, it was still hilarious. I loved the Robert De Niro segment, I guess I never realized how many movies he's been in (and I found it interesting they left Meet the Parents/Meet the Fockers/Little Fockers out of the clips montage- which De Niro himself mentioned). I was happy to see Glee win awards, but when it came down to Best Television (Comedy), Glee didn't deserve to win. It should have been Modern Family, in my opinion one of the best shows on television.

I loved a LOT of dresses last night, and hated a few too. (Don't hate me, but I wasn't a huge fan of Natalie Portman's dress - it didnt look bad on her, but I never would choose that). Continue on for a few of my favorites!

I had a tie for my favorites of the evening. Between Carrie Underwood, Amy Adams and Anne Hathaway (below). All three of them are just.. classy, on screen (or in their music) and off. I love Carrie and Anne's sparkles, and Amy's one shoulder dress in such a pretty dark blue. I can't wait to see what Anne will wear when hosting the Oscars with James Franco!

Ryan Gosling- again, nothing else to say, I just love him :)

 Eva Longoria -I love how this dress is simple and elegant. Clearly, I love all the sparkles, glitz and glam (as showcased in my other favorite looks of the night) but I think this is a great look for Eva!

Hailee Steinfeld  - How is she only 14? This is a beautiful, age appropriate dress. AND I heard rumors she will be playing Katniss in the movie version of Hunger Games. Could be interesting!                                    

Jake Gyllenhaal - nothing else is needed :)

I adore Jason Segal, and the fact he was singing Meatloaf with Jimmy Fallon makes me love him more.

Who were your favorites of the night?

Favorite Accessories: The Headband

Long before Blair Waldorf on Gossip Girl, my go-to accessory has been the headband. Basically, I wear one one almost every day. When you have a crazy curly hair, like me, they make me feel more put together despite my mess of hair. I easily have 20-30+ of them in my bathroom right now. They are my signature go-to accessory, and have been for years. While I'm trying to experiment with new hair styles and leave the head bands at home, I still love ones that have fun patterns or are sparkly. Through Christmases and Birthday's have accumulated a few beautiful sparkly ones that are fit for a princess. 

How gorgeous are these ones from Anthropology? I actually have the bottom two. They boost up any bland outfit!

What's your go-to accessory?

Currently Lusting - Statement Necklaces

Over Christmas, I was constantly raiding my Mom's amazing jewelry stand, and developed a newfound love for statement necklaces. My Mom had so many beautiful pieces of jewelry which all my aunts' and cousins' kept complimenting me on. Of course, I couldnt take the credit, but I loved wearing them all, and am now "shopping" for some necklaces for myself. I love all of the necklaces at Anthropologie, unfortunately not the price tags. For now, I will just continue to lust over them, and hope I can add to my collection when whey are gifts :)

all via

Aren't they all just lovely? 

November Inspirations

A few days into November and it's already shaping up to be a busy month that already is busy as a lead in to the holiday season. I'm moving to a new apartment and packing up my old one, and getting a roommate, work is picking up now that I've been there a month, Thanksgiving/heading home for the holiday, birthday parties for friends, college football heading into the final stretch, cold weather; its just a busy month. I can't even believe how fast October went by and this month seems like it will be just as busy!

Here are few things that are inspiring me this November.

Music: Taylor Swift's "Speak Now" and Darius Rucker's "

I'm constantly listening to both these albums on my iPod at work. Love them both, even if Taylor's bitterness at such  a young age is slightly disturbing. Its funny to listen to the songs and try to figure out which "boyfriend" she's talking about.

Fashion: Warm, cute pea coats.

I recently purchase an amazing Calvin Klein pea coat from Lord & Taylor (the best store for coats, in my opinion). I'm not 100% sure if this is my coat, because mine looks lighter/longer in person, but I LOVE MY PEA COAT. It has pleats in it, which I think is adorable. I took inspiration from watching endless reruns of How I Met Your Mother, where Cobie Smulders wears an amazing trench coat (I just googled it, it was Burberry). I only wish I could have found a coat like this, but my Calvin Klein one suits me very well and I love it. Nothing better than bundling up on a cold morning and walking to the metro to head into the city for work.

The most beautiful coat

Food: Making my own Chili 

So far, I've tried one recipe that my Mom sent me via BBM. And WOW Chili is SO easy to make, and you can make lots of it at once. Its warm, delicious, filling, freezes well, relatively healthy. What more could you want in a meal? I'll be continuing to experiment and try new recipes throughout fall/winter.

Drink: Anything warm and pumpkin flavored.

 

I've NEVER liked pumpkin anything until this year. Now I brew Pumpkin Spice Dunkin Donuts every morning, and am making pumpkin spice muffins. So delicious and comforting with the cooler weather.


These are just a few things "inspiring" me this month! What are some of your inspirations?

I love my... boots!

So, I saw this idea for a blog post recently on A Diary of a Lovely (a wonderful blog to check out!) where she posted pictures of all of her boots, and have decided to use it for inspiration for my own blog post. I think this may become a semi regular post in my blog, an "I love my..." edition!

I love boots; I would wear them year round if I could. I love all different sizes and colors and am always drooling over amazing ones that I find on Piperlime or DSW... usually ones I can't afford (unfortunately). Here are the boots I do have.

So, even in a one bedroom apartment for just me, I somehow lack floor space to store all of my boots. Therefore, I sadly cram them all into this Rubbermaid container stored in my closet. At least I have them all easily available in one space? Yeah, its a little pathetic my storage choice :) Want to see what's shoved in there? Continue on!

First up, a pair of black booties that are old/I've never worn. My Mom gave them to me from her closet, and I never know what to wear them with! The middle pair of my only pair that have a more "cowboy" feel to them; I wear them a lot. They have a nice heel and are cute, and I like wearing them with jeans. The final ones, are my gray suede booties that I LOVE. They are so incredibly comfortable, I got them from Nordstrom last year and get great use out of them.

Next up are my taller boots. Please ignore the fact that they are so dang floppy that I could not get them to stand up straight. The ones on the left are my tallest pair, and super casual black boot that my Mom found for me at Nordstrom Rack, super cheap. They tie in the back and are very comfortable; I wear them a lot on weekends. The middle, are my Hunter rain boots (in black) I got as a Christmas present last year, but the size was wrong and they were SO back-ordered that it took until March before I finally got them! Best pair of rain boots I've had; they're durable, functional and comfortable. The final pair are my Steve Maddens I purchased just a few weeks ago. I know everyone has them, but there's a reason- they look good with dresses, skirts, jeans.. just about anything. And, comfortable!

Just another photo to show they're not the same pair of boots and I'm not a weirdo who purchases boots that are exactly the same! (Steve Maddens on left)

Whats a boot post without my Uggs? I have more pairs back at my parent's home, but these are my classic short brown ones beat up from my college days (but have lasted FOREVER with their reinforced toe) and my gray cardy uggs. I have a pink and black pair at home as well.

Another photo of my beloved Hunter boots for good measure :)

That was surprisingly fun to go through and photograph my boots, and then write about them. What would you like to see next in my "I love my.." edition? What are your favorite pair of boots/shoes? I love seeing what other people wear!

The season of booties

Errr.... by booties, I definitely meant shoes! It is officially fall in the district, and I can finally wear my boots again. I was so disappointed waking up Monday morning, to realize that I do not have a pair of boots appropriate to wear with dresses. Yes, I have uggs, and slouchy boots, and short suede booties, a pair that kind of look like cowboy boots. But nothing work appropriate to wear with my ridiculous number of skirts & dresses I'm not going to retire just because its cooler out. (The sad part, is that I came to this conclusion via BBMing with my fashion-forward, trendy Mom, who informed me that my originally planned outfit would just not do.)

After my Mom gave me a very distinct description of what types of boots to look for (a below the knee "tight" black boot, and a "shoe bootie," maybe brown), I went on an after work mission. Finding boots that fit just right is hard work.

While it took forever to find a pair I liked, and a LOT of texts/photos sent to my Mom, I ended up scoring the Steve Madden pair (above). I'll even begrudgingly admit my Mom was right, the boots I had tried to wear with a dress were absolutely terrible/inappropriate, especially comparison to these ones. They're super comfortable and looked great with the dress I wore to work today. I always eye the Steve Madden boots that Nordstorm has every year, so I'm happy to finally own them!

I never found a bootie I liked in the store, and apparently I misinterpreted my Mom's definition of "shoe bootie" after receiving at least 6 emails filled with links and photos of the types of shoe I should find.
I love my boots, so here are a few of my favorite "bootie" style shoes I've found while still searching for myself.  A few of them are still possible contenders.

Piperlime

Anthropologie

Anthropologie

I absolutely LOVE these Anthro ones, but they do not have my size!

Anthropologie

Not my normal style, but I like these Oxfords

Nordstrom

Okay, so these are completely different, but I just really liked them.


So, what boots/shoes are you lusting after? Photos? Links? I need more inspiration!

2010 Emmys Fashion Rundown

As a self-described TV addict, I had to watch the Emmys. I was quite pleased when some of my favorite shows won (Yay, Modern Family!), but considering most of the shows I usually watch don't typically receive Emmy nominations, I choose to watch for the fashion. I watched the pre-show on E, relishing in the total awkwardness that is Ryan Seacrest and Giuliana, laughing when they made comments that clearly make who they were interviewing uncomfortable. While my I have a special place in my heart for last year's host, the amazing Neil Patrick Harris, I'll admit that Jimmy Fallon didn't do all that bad. And, the opening number with Glee and Tina Fey was pretty funny.

Of course, I also watch to analyze the fashion, texting my mother throughout the show with my opinions on whose wearing what, and who deserved to win. I'm choosing to ignore the ones I didn't like this time. (*cough* January Jones.) I'm limiting myself to just a few dresses, because I could go on forever, really.

1. Lea Michelle- Yes, she comes off as a brat when being interviewed, but this birthday girl looks gorgeous head to toe. I  personally love the color and all the ruffles of this dress.

2. Claire Danes - This may be my favorite dress of the night. Just gorgeous.

3. Jamya Mays - Not a huge fan of her hairstyle choice, but I do like this dress. The color (navy seemed to be a trend last night) suits her well. And I like all the ruffles/detail.

4. Emily Blunt - I actually hate this dress, and think she looks about 20 years older than she really is in this photograph. However, I wanted to mention that I thought it was hilarious when Ryan Seacrest asked her husband, the beautiful John Krasinski what she was wearing. His response, "uuuhhhh lavender?" Definitely laughed for a good five minutes. What, you didn't think that was funny?

5. Mark Salling - Yeah, I just added him purely because I have a slight crush on him. Mark, I would never egg your car like your (poorly dressed) co-star allegedly did.

6. Jennifer Carpenter and Michael C. Hall - I don't watch Dexter, never seen a single episode (my brother is mortified somewhere.) However, they get my vote for best dressed couple of the night. They just have so much class, and look amazing. Jennifer's dress is stunning. I think I was in a sequin and sparkles mood last night, as many of those dresses made my favorites.

Some Honorable Mentions:

• Tina Fey
• Sarah Hyland (Modern Family)
• Julie Bowen
• Eva Longoria
• Kim Kardashian
• Sophia Veragara