Latest purcha$es

It's been a while since I've shared some of the new items that I've come to own since the end of the holiday season. A while back I wrote about finding the dream perfect over the knee boots by Kelsi Dagger and I'm thrilled to say I did receive them for Christmas and they are without a doubt the GREATEST pair of boots I have ever had in my life. I've never been so obsessed with any pair of shoes EVER! They look soooooo expensive but were reasonably priced ($219 at endless.com + free overnight shipping! How could you go wrong?!). They are super comfy and look great with leggings, skinny jeans and have the looser look that I love and the best part about them to me is the gold zipper accent running up the back of the leg. I seriously die for these..omg. I also picked up a pair of flat booties from Nine West, they are called the 'Altay'. They are super comfy and look great with pretty much anything, overall I got them for when I'm doing a lot of walking or know I will be on my feet for a while. They were a steal also, originally $79 but half off! Nine West is having massive sales and they have some really great boots/ flats.

The gold bangle set is from Aldo and since I'm obsessed with gold in general and promised myself I would start accessorizing more this year, I figured this was the perfect set. I've gone through a bunch of different bangles from different stores but these grabbed me. The quality is great and they look really cute on. I also love the little pearls they threw in. :)

I also got to stop into Sephora and pick up some much needed refills on my daily beauty must haves. While there I picked up Nars Blush in 'Orgasm' (after reading about it endlessly in magazines and all over the internet I figured I should give it a whirl). I must say considering I've never been much of a blush person (I've been a dedicated Benefit 'Hoola' Bronzer gal for many years), this blush is everything I've read about and more! It's simple and easy to use and it gives my cheeks an added pop of color with a bit of a shimmer which I loveeee! Also wanted to try a new mascara so I scooped up the Lancome Hypnose (another must have I keep reading about). So far so good...not sure it's the best mascara I've ever used but it def. lengthens and looks gorgeous on with just one coat.

Blame it on the rain

So yesterday here in Long Island there were torrential down pours for most of the day. Luckily it was quite a peaceful day, one where I didn't really mind the rain. I sat in this empty house and listened to it pour down for hours last night! It was a great day though because I got to see one of my best friends who I grew up with, and haven't seen since before the summer. Obviously we had much catching up to do which landed us in an empty diner mid day, with a nasty waitress, good food, and amazing life talk. That lasted for about 4 hours (I think the waitress pretty much hated our lives by the time we left, oh well!). I also got to see someone very close to my heart who I like to refer to as my little cuz. She's 16 and amazing. We ordered Chinese, rented a movie, and snuggled up on the couch. Perfect Saturday night if you ask me. It was extra perfect and convenient due to the weather as well as the fact that the previous night I was with my other best friend who I also grew up with and well, we killed one too many cocktails! It was all in good fun though, I'm always saying I wanna be more spontaneous and I think we definitely were on Friday. This best friend (Kim) also happens to be my hairdresser so I was able to get some much needed rootage fixed and a trim as well. I always feel so great after some fresh dye and scissors are put to my head. After our salon session the following events which were highly unexpected (Kimber got some bad news--nothing serious, just disappointing) led us to our latest rendevouz...a trip to the Bronx to see a friend who lives there and was bartending (Bad news + free drinks = slightly better moods :) and many many laughs!) Like I said I obviously I have an extremely low tolerance for any alcohol (I only drank wine, because anything else turns me into a hot mess) which led to a not so nice hangover yesterday. Luckily I had my best friends to keep me company and enjoy this crazy weekend with. :)

Anyway I was inspired by this Ashley Olsen photo that was featured in Bazaar back in '05. I love everything about her, in this pic I'm obsessed with the hair....how does it always look so messy perfect?? Also did lots of errands and finally stopped by Sephora to pick up the lip balm I keep reading about in every magazine...Rosebud Salve (in the little blue tin). Seriously this stuff is freakin amazing! I have the worst addiction to chap stick and this stuff moisturizes like crazy and also lasts! I also spent a solid 20 minutes trying to find the perfect card to give my Dad for his Birthday which is this week! I also started working on his gift (a very special photo op). Considering I'm the worst person on the planet when it comes to remembering birthdays and being prepared with thoughtful cards, I'm ahead of schedule and very proud of myself.

I treated myself to a mani/ pedi this morning and could not wait to try the 2 new colors I got from OPI. Below are the ones I'm currently obsessing over including Lincoln Park After Dark (Very dark purple), and Manicurist of Seville (which is like a Sangria, red wine(ish) ). The other 3 from the left are, Bubble Bath (the light pink), Here Today...Aragon Tomorrow (very dark emerald) and Suzi Skis in the Pyrenees (deep blue-grey). What are some of your favorite fall/ winter go to colors?

Lastly, even though I'm the last person in the world to talk to about any sport....I am most certainly keeping my fingers crossed for those Yanks tonight! Hope you guys are having a splendid weekend! Xx

Summer Love <3

I know I have been neglecting my blog terribly the past week or so and it's time for some making up! ;) I had a crazy week with many fun Birthday festivities on L.I with my bestest friends! I'm 23 years old now and I'm not gonna lie it's quite scary this whole getting older thing! It feels like just yesterday I was gearing up for my 21st bday hoorah and remember distinctly hearing from many people that the bdays "are all down hill from here!"....yeah great! So hopefully 23 will be filled with many better days then 22 did. 22 was filled with much complication and confusion with life in general. I spent the weekend prior in Manhattan with my sister and her hubby. :) They took me to Brooklyn (yes it was my first time!) and I fell in love. Just like NYC in many ways, perhaps that's why I took so well to the whole BK experience. We ate at a lovely little Italian place right off of Bedford Ave and I couldn't help but people watch the entire time. The street style was amazing and very inspirational. It's crazy to think how far behind Long Island (where I grew up) is in fashion compared to NYC! The Birthday festivities ended in LI with my best friend. I had my first Taco Joe's experience (Yummmy!) as well as Fire Island bar hopping (highly overrated and over priced!!!). So yeah hopefully 23 will be filled with many more great adventures and abrupt decisions on my behalf. :)

Today I hit Target with my Mom and was immediately sucked into the cosmetics area. I've always been a makeup junkie and also loved trying new products since working for Benefit Cosmetics a million years ago (okay maybe it was 3?) at Macys. Over the last year or so my love and excitement for it died down a bit...until recently! After reading and following so many amazing blogs on here I have learned about some really great products and tips from some really awesome ladies! I've stuck to the same products for so long now I haven't actually gone out and tried new things. So after reading many great reviews I pick up the Urban Decay Eye Primer which is like a little magic wand that makes your eye shadow stay put with NO creases!! I've also never been a big lipstick person I always stuck with plain old lip gloss. I recently came to realize after having my makeup done for my sisters wedding that I LOVED the way my lips looked with a bare LINER and a NUDE Lipstick with a little smidge of gloss on top. Since I've always been into playing up my eyes I always prefered a very bare lip. After seeing so many celebs in the mags flaunting rosy cheeks I also scooped up some pretty blushes to try out. I always loved makeup so now I'm getting back into the swing of things. I'm just so happy the inspiration came from the amazing blogs I follow here! So thanks ladies!! :) Oh yeah AND since I've been pretty much perfecting giving myself manicures at home I picked up a new Essie nail polish in "Adorable" and yes it is! ;)

Also with summer coming to an end soon :( I just realized I read a ton of books and needed some new ones! Today I got Eat, Pray, Love which I have heard many people ranting and raving about non-stop and I hear the story is pretty inspirational....I'm def. in the mood for a good motivational boost! I also got Crank which is considered a "young adult" book whatever that means...it's supposed to be about a girl with serious addiction issues. So we have hopefully an uplifting spiritual kick and what I'm guessing will be a depressing downward spiral of addiction. Which shall I start first?! <3

Beach Waves

The last 3 days have been crazy but much needed...

1st: I ended up staying at my best friend's house in LI to get a bunch of things done that I had been slacking on lately...Aka: Haircut/ highlights!!!!!!!!! My roots were becoming horrendous and to the point that I couldn't fully enjoy using my new hot rollers w/o noticing the rootage! I became roller savvy after reading that's how Gretchen from The Real Housewives of O.C. gets her gorgeous flowy locks. I'm also so willing to try new things without cutting my hair! I'm trying to grow it but I want to keep it healthy and fun. I started using Bumble & Bumble Surf Spray ...anyway we haven't had many beach days thus far but like I said I keep trying to do different things. The surf spray is fun and gives my now freshly cut/ colored hair that beach texture/ salt wave without actually going to the beach or in any salt water ;) I also read that celebs like Heidi Klum and Blake Lively rely on it for their tousled tresses. I also picked up a T3 blow dryer today. My dryer that I have literally put through hell (I give myself blow-outs roughly every 2-3 days...NO FLAT IRON!) so yeah I used it for the last 3 years and recently it started cracking and making funny noises. I have wanted a T3 forever so I decided to give in and am eager to try it out....!

2nd: I got to see The Hangover today and I was literally hysterical the whole time. I would have no problem seeing it 10 more times...and Bradley Cooper is gorgeeoussssssssss. <3

3rd: I FINALLY treated myself to a fresh mani/ pedi and I literally enjoyed every second of it! I'm really excited that 4th of July is coming up and so far the weather looks sunny and hot all dayy! Lets pray for lots of sun for the beach and no rain for the evening when it comes time for those fire works! :0)

Product Review:

It seems like the sun just doesn't want to come out these days and I find it very upsetting. This past weekend it FINALLY got sunny and warm again, only to wake up today to what looks like some sun (very little), clouds + MORE rain! I can't stand it anymore!!!! Since I haven't had a good beach day since MDW I didn't want to risk loosing what little base color I already had. I have fair skin so the slightest bit of color is wonderful for me, but I also burn if I don't have that slight base going. Well, well, well...

I was browsing through my local Target and came across the Jergens Natural Glow Daily Moisturizer. After reading about the product continuously in Allure and Cosmo I decided to check it out. Rachael Bilson and Kristen Bell are two of the brands spokeswomen and Molly Sims recently told one of the mags that it is her go to when she is looking for a quick glow for a night out or an event.

I picked up the bottle for fair to medium skin tones and decided to give it a whirl. It's GREAT!! After the first three days of use I could see difference. No streaks and no orange. It really just gave my already base tan a darker tint and by day 7 it looked like an all over natural tan. I was never one to use self tanner but I was one up until recently who had a slight "fake-n-bake" obsession. I know, I'm not proud! I decided to rid myself of those harmful UV Rays, not to mention all the money I spent (too much!!). Although I'm 22 I have taken an extreme interest in the welfare of my skin. I use a daily moisturizer on my face with SPF 15 in it and at the beach I take extra precaution. Besides the risk of skin cancer I DO NOT want to have wrinkles by the time I'm 30! The Jergens Natural Glow seems to do the trick for now and it was only 8 bucks! Until the sun and I meet again.....! =0)

my wishlist.