Summer Superlatives

I know I've been gone for another obscene amount of time. I'm sorry. My sister went back to school which cut off my supply of viable Internet source, but enough excuses! I'm back now so that's really all that matters!

My birthday was on September 22nd so I finally got my beloved iPad, which I am loving so far and explains my sudden appearance back in this wonderful community. So I hope you will all accept my apology! I've missed my lovely little blog and all of you!

Summer is now officially over and despite what the weather might be here (my car said 92 this morning!) I know it is getting colder in most parts of the country. So I thought today I would do Summer Superlatives, my favorite and must have items from the past few months. Feel free to do your own version of this if you'd like, I think it's a fun and different alternative to monthly favorites!

I will add more on and photos a little later. I'm still trying to get a hang of everything on my iPad!

Must have beach/pool reads: Dangerous Angels by Francesca Lia Block I want to wear feather headdresses and name my daughter Cherokee and believe there is magic everywhere like Weetzie and her friends. You'll love this book if you like sort of out there realities. It's really bohemian, set in LA, and one of those stories that I would love my life to be like!

Favorite Stores and brands: I've said before that I frequent different places based on the seasons. This was the summer of PacSun and American Eagle for sure. Crop tops and excessively large tanks were my uniform for the summer. As for brands, I fell in love with Wildfox this summer and I don't see that changing anytime soon!

Must have skincare product: I have never been one for having tons of skincare items, but this summer my sister introduced me to astringent and I've been using it like it's going out of style! And the best part is it has kept my oily skin clear all summer!

Ridiculous obsession: TV on DVD. Enough said. My sister and I watched without a doubt more tv shows on DVD this summer than is necessary for anyone in 3 years. I think it's safe to say that I can tell you exactly what episode of Season 1 of The Vampire Dairies is on within the first thirty seconds of the show. Some would call it a sickness, I would say it's more of a Stefan and Damon obsession.

The other obsession was without a doubt Harry Potter. I don't think I even need to explain that one. Thankfully I think I'm beginning to recover.

Necessary makeup: I am pleased to say I had a summer of drugstore makeup. Partly because I didn't want to waste the expensive stuff since it was just going to sweat off anyway, and partly because I actually enjoyed the products, but I haven't used a majority of drugstore products in a while and it felt really good.

Weird Obsession: Talon Earrings

So. . .what do you think? My sister flat out told me she absolutely hates them and I totally understand how a lot of people will, but I find them so interesting and I am beyond in love with them! They are from Topshop and called the Oval Claw Stud Earrings, if by chance there is any other crazy lady like me out there who wants to find them! I saw them in the September issue of People Style Watch last night and haven't been able to stop thinking about them since. The color is really pretty for the upcoming fall months as well.

Have you done any shopping on the Topshop website before? When I first started looking I was on the UK site and was told I had to switch over to the American site to buy anything. When I got to the American site however, the prices weren't comparable. In pounds the price on the UK site would work out to about $20, but they are $28 on the US site. I don't care I'm still buying them, but I found that kind of annoying.

Any fashion or beauty items you've found lately that are a bit out there like my earrings? I would probably like those too, let me know!

Photo from Topshop.com

Birthday week! (And yes still more Harry Potter!)

My sister's birthday was yesterday July 22nd, so these are just a few photos from the week we've had so far!

The cupcakes I made for her. This photo was taken on my phone so the colors aren't coming out at all!

Her stack of gifts. . .it ended up being a pink theme without even trying to!

As you all know we have a huge Harry Potter obsession. A few days ago Alana (my sister) decided she wanted to go to Universal Citywalk to get some Harry Potter candy and some other stuff. We did go to Citywalk, but we ended up going into the park, Islands of Adventure also. The beauty of living in Central Florida. . .this is my backyard!

Alana by the Hogwarts Express

Me in front of Zonko's shop and the Puking Pastilles. This was deemed the best photo of the night!

my OOTD: crop top is Lucie Rose, shorts are Abercrombie and Fitch

Alana with her Peppermint Toads outside of Honeydukes.

Alana's OOTD: all Gilly Hicks tank, crochet crop, and shorts

Us in our Slytherin robes. Alana has always liked Slytherin just because she likes Draco Malfoy, but I kept telling her you can't choose which house you're in. So I found a sorter and we both actually did get Slytherin. Alana is holding Voldemort's wand, I have Hermione's.

Another gem of a photo. It's sad that I'm better at taking weird photos than normal ones.

Our photo shoot before we found the nice Universal shop keeper to take our picture together.

I bought Pumpkin Juice and Peppermint Toads. The Pumpkin Juice is amazing, sort of Apple Cider with pumpkin pie spice in it or something. Tastes like fall. The Peppermint Toads are just mint chocolate which is always good! We've tried a lot of the other candy as well, the chocolate frogs are really good, The Bertie Botts Beans are gross, and the frozen Butterbeer is one of the best things I've ever had. I did have it in December when it was freezing out though, so it would probably be even better now!

And the Fizzing Whizbees were our favorite so we don't have anything left but the tag! We've been to Harry Potter World a few times now and this was the first time we've seen these. They're bee shaped chocolates with pop rocks in them. They were delicious!

Jewelmint jewelry haul and review!

I honestly don't think I've ever been so excited about jewelry before! I'm not sure why all of a sudden I became so obsessed with Jewelmint, but all of my favorite things are of some sort of obsessive nature so it's totally normal, right? I've always been a big necklace person, but I'm trying really hard to get into bracelets as well. So I picked out a necklace, bracelet and a pair of earrings. I've had them for about a week now and have worn them all multiple times. I can honestly say they are all of great quality and seem really sturdy. Here's what I think. . .

The Encore Necklaces I was the most excited about. I have a weird obsession with going to Coachella some year soon and I saw pictures of Kate Bosworth wearing these necklaces at the festival so naturally I had to have them. They are amazing I have to say. I love the coral tassel and the gold chain tassel even more, but I do have a problem with this necklace. The chain tassel isn't secured down to the necklace so every time I wear it the knot comes undone more and more. It's to the point where I'm losing individual chains because the knot is coming undone. I've emailed customer care about it and am hoping to exchange it for a new one as I haven't heard of anyone else having this problem with the necklace. This necklace is probably the least sturdy one, but only because it's supposed to be. The necklace is made out of wrapped thread almost like a friendship bracelet. These necklaces are still available and you can see the professional photos here.
This is the For Keeps bracelet and this one is my favorite piece I have right now. I read on the website that the colored rows were metal and I really was unsure of how that was going to be put together. They are long metal beads with a hole on each end where the thread goes through. I love that this bracelet looks like a homemade friendship bracelet but when you get up close it's a lot more substantial than you think. The colors they chose are perfect as well. The blue shades and orange together make it summery, but some of the blues and the gray are dark enough that it will work all year round. The gold beads dress it up as well which I love. The only bad thing I can say about this bracelet is that one of my gold beads was poured funny and it has a little bit extra on one end like a seam. . .if that makes sense. It's nothing I would send it back for though and I don't even really mind it. This bracelet is also still available. Check it out here.
I wasn't wearing the Sea Breeze Earrings today so I just took a flat picture of them. Excuse my leg and hair, I used the Macbook to take the photo so I was trying to see if it was even in the shot. I've never worn dangly earrings but to fancy events before. Partly because of the ease of studs, partly because different jobs I've had won't allow them, partly because they sometimes just annoy me. I thought these would be light enough for my first casual pair though and I do really love them. I probably should have taken a photo with them on anyway, but they're super long, like past my shoulder. I've wanted feather extensions all summer but can't have those at work either so I thought maybe I would fake it with earrings. Kind of like how Aria in Pretty Little Liars wears one statement earring, usually of feathers. So that was my inspiration for these, and they really just make me want to commandeer a boat and go sailing or something. Probably a bad idea. These earrings sadly aren't available anymore, but if you like them Jewelmint has re-stocks pretty often so check back!

outfit: bandeau-Victoria's Secret Pink, tank-Urban Outfitters, skirt-Old Navy

These are 100% my own opinions and I paid for these items with my own money. Jewelmint is not giving me anything for this review.

Weekend Review

Just a little bit of a weekend update. . .

I found these amazing works of art just browsing on Hautelook by a woman named Lisa Weedn. The event is called Hippie Chic and that's pretty much all you need to say to draw me in! They're wood panel signs with all kind of inspirational quotes and sayings on them. Some of way more boho/hippie than others, but I just find them all to be really beautiful and they're affordable too, the smallest size is just $18. You can check them out on Hautelook here if you're interested!

Harry Potter was absolutely amazing. I highly suggest seeing it if you follow the series. It was definitely a lot of war so I wasn't sure I was going to like it, but I couldn't believe how fast the movie went by. Everyone around me was crying for pretty much the entire movie and I cry at the drop of a hat so there were a few parts when I was like why am I not sad right now? I didn't cry through the whole movie but as soon as the end of the epilogue started to pan out I burst into tears because it was all over. I have to say though it's really inspiring how well all of the actors have grown up. They've been in the spotlight for so many years and seasoned actors have crumbled under less pressure.

Weird topic switching I know. . .Florida has become a dark and dreary place to call home. It's that time of year when it rains every single day for at least part of the day, sometimes all of it. Having come to Florida from Arizona I am not accustomed to rain and in fact really despise it. Here's to hoping that this rainy season comes to a quick end. We've gotten new costumes (uniforms) at work and trying to get used to them plus being soaked for at least half the day and spending most of that time in 60 degree air conditioning does nothing for mood improvement.

Last but not least, has anyone ever had to experience what life is like without a computer? It's becoming more and more apparent to me how disgustingly addicted to it that I and everyone around me is. At this point I'm kind of just stalling buying my new one so it's my own fault I don't have one, but seriously I need to remember to stop and take a walk in the fresh air once in a while when I get my new one. The growing downside to your computer exploding is realizing everything you've lost. Pretty much daily I think of something that I won't easily be able to get back. This weekend's loss: all of my resumes. I'm beginning to apply for some new jobs and I have to re-write as many as I'm going to need for the different jobs I'm applying for. This is actually a pretty good thing though because I wrote most of mine when I was younger and re-formatting was never the most interesting thing to me over the years so with all the additions they were becoming sort of messy, but it's kind of annoying still to lose them. So I'll be spending my days off this week surrounded by piles of resume books that I carted home from the library today. Great fun!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend, and I hope it's sunny where you are!

Easy, Breezy, Potter, Weasley

Easy, Breezy Summery Knits by LaurenL0vesL0ve featuring a cropped vest

Maybe it's my love for everything bohemian or my wish to have been in my teens or twenties during the 60s, but I am obsessed with crocheted vests this summer! I love all of these designs, but I sadly haven't found the perfect one in real life yet. Summer isn't even half over for me yet, so I'm desperately hoping that by my birthday (September) there will be a haul containing one of these awesome outfit sprucer-uppers!

I am impressed by how many stores do have these vests, even if I can't find one I like. At least there are choices out there! How cute would one of these be with a fedora and cut off shorts or a maxi dress! I love how versatile it can be! Bonus points for fringe!

My sister and I are going to see midnight Harry Potter tonight. Neither one of us can believe it's over, I honestly can't really remember a time when Harry Potter wasn't a big part of my life. It's very strange how entertainment media becomes so very real these days. This is so completely nerdy but I would say that 75% of our conversations within the last few days have been Harry Potter related. . .remembering which character did what, when people got killed and who's controlling who. There has also of course been a lot of spell casting going on and mediocre British, Irish and Scottish accents along with trip planning to Universal within the next few weeks to go to Harry Potter World. We've watched movies 4-7.1 in the last 2 days and I guess you could say we're a bit obsessed, but my mom gave me the first book when I was probably in 5th grade, which would have made me 11. That's 13 years of my life. . .more than half! That's a huge amount of time to invest in a series! Probably strange midnight photos to come. . .

I heart Wildfox!

For the last few years I have been obsessed with a little t-shirt company called Wildfox Couture. Apparently in LA you can find Wildfox in abundance in stores and boutiques because the Celeb Ladies sure do love it too, but as for me in my little Floridian peninsula I'm stuck buying these amazing shirts online, which is actually probably better for my wallet anyway! I love how these shirts are just a little off the beaten path, obviously following trends but with an interesting uniqueness that makes my brain say buy me! I also love the foundation of the company, two bohemian, blonde girls: Emily Faulstitch and Kimberley Gordon. If a shirt could define my life, I'm positive it would be Wildfox!

These are some of my favorite designs, past and present:

And some of my favorite Celebs in Wildfox (although I think a lot of them choose some of the most boring designs!):

Ashley Tisdale

Vanessa Hudgens

Audrina Patridge

Taylor Swift

Kristin Cavallari

What do you ladies think? Anyone as in love with Wildfox as I am?

Loving: Jewelmint!

I've been hearing about Jewelmint non-stop for the last few months. At first I have to admit I was a little bit skeptical because it seemed like every Youtube beauty guru was being sent free pieces, and I wasn't sure if they really loved the stuff or if they were just saying so because they received the items for free. So finally I gave in and checked it out. I have to say it's pretty much as awesome as everyone says!

When you sign up you take a style quiz that is supposed to tailor your results to you. I've heard some people say it was totally wrong about them, but mine was right on! My top 3 choices were the first three in my list! And they have a really great assortment of jewelry: super boho pieces, really girly and feminine, chunky and delicate. Basically they have something for everyone and the selection changes every single month! Click here to take the style quiz and sign up for free!

All of the pieces are $29.99, but they always have discount codes and especially good ones for first time buyers! In fact, just for the next 24 hours there's a flash sale and if you use the discount code FLASH7 it will take $22.50 off your first piece, which means you pay $7.49 for a piece of jewelry that is regularly $29.99! Awesome!

I just put my first order in yesterday! I had been looking at the pieces for a few weeks and finally decided to do it because I found a Groupon for $25 for 2 pieces of jewelry which is even better than most of the coupon codes out there! That Groupon is over now, but they have them a lot. . .I'll post the link if I find one again soon! I will do a haul as soon as I get my jewels, so I'm not going to show you the pieces I picked out just yet, but you can guess!

Oh and did I mention that Kate Bosworth started the company with her stylist Cher Coulter? If I made videos this would be way easier. There is way more info to be had! Check out the website if you're interested!

http://jmnt.me/mG4vCI

*I'm not receiving anything from Jewelmint, just another company I'm absolutely loving!

My new favorite shirt!

I went to the mall last week with my sister which was an enormously exciting prospect because I moved recently and all of the malls around here are centered in one area which is now FAR from where I live. We were totally excited to buy heaps of semi-useless things, but our spirits quickly fell when we were nearly done and had bought almost nothing. Thank the Mall Gods for H&M! We went in looking for some certain things, quickly couldn't find them and got lost in their summer sale!

Enter my new favorite shirt! These babies were originally $12.95 on sale for $5. . .love! First, they are organic cotton which is awesome, and even cooler, they are a collab with Knot Violence, an educational initiative to teach young people to solve problems peacefully. The company is art based which explains all of the awesome designs at H&M, and 10% of the proceeds from the shirts are donated to the Non-Violence Project Foundation. Click here to check out the Knot Violence website and also some of the other t-shirt designs H&M has!

The top one is my sister's, and I love it because I think the guns in the middle look like a mustache. Sis glares at me when I tell her this, but I think it's really cute. Mine is the bottom one and just says Knot Violence all in a flowery pattern, which makes my hippie soul ecstatic! These shirts send out such an amazing message and I kind of feel like a badass with a gun on my shirt!

*I am not affiliated in any way with H&M or Knot Violence, I just love these shirts and what they stand for!

Best Blog on the Block

I can't quite think of anything better to cheer up a strange day at work, than this little gem of an award I received from Miss MaryElizabeth at Little Ramblings! Thank you a million times girly, you are amazing! I started this blog with zero expectations, I really just wanted a place to write down all the memories I didn't want to forget. I never expected to have followers or commenters, but it has turned into so much more than I ever hoped already! I absolutely love logging in every day to read all of your lovely blogs and it makes me so happy that I'm beginning to recognize certain followers and commenters. I'm really proud of our little blogging community we have going on here. It's so much fun to be able to voice my opinions on topics I love, and I have to stop myself from posting too much because I'm just so into it! I'm so honored to be awarded this, thank you again! And check out Little Ramblings if you haven't, she's amazing!

1. Link back to the person/people who awarded you (above)
2. Share 7 random facts about yourself.

1. I'm a vegetarian and have been since the beginning of High School, which would make that going on 10 years now. Wow, I can't believe it's been that long!

2. I want to move to LA more than anything in the world! And not for some reason like "I just wanna be a star!" No, I have always wanted to live there and I think there would be a million great job opportunities for me and from growing up in a big city nothing quite equals Chicago and I think LA could. I think I kind of owe it to myself to try.

3. I love Chickpeas/Garbanzo Beans however you call them. I eat them by themselves.

4. I add the word nasty onto the end of words and that's my way of showing affection toward them. I can't take credit for this, my sister Alana taught me this and we have lengthy conversations that I'm sure sound very strange if you were listening in. Macbook = Mac-nasty. Disney = Dis-nasty. Those 2 are the most common.

5. I'm applying for Teach For America this fall. Teaching is kind of a new passion for me. I have absolutely no training in teaching, but working at Disney has given me a kind of new appreciation and passion for children.

6. My dream would be to start my own clothing company. More like T-shirt company. I would love to be in competition with a company like Wildfox.

7. I hate cell phones. Not that I'm not grateful they were invented, but when you're at dinner and everyone at the table can't put down their phones there's an issue. You'd rather type to a person through cyberspace than have a real conversation with the people you're actually sitting with? Why didn't you go to dinner with cyber-buddy then?

3. Award other bloggers.

These ladies are gorgeous inside and out, and they are always the first blogs I look for in my reading list! They have great ideas and are fun and interesting to read about! Last but not least, they are of course super stylish and creative!

Beauty Soiree

Lipstick Stars and Killer Heels

Makeup Downlow

4. Answer the following:

Favorite Color: Yellow but some days Purple. Even better if both are together!
Favorite Song: My most favorite song will always be If I Were To Write The Song // Cartel but my favorite song of the moment is Last Friday Night // Katy Perry or anything that even utters the name Ke$ha!
Favorite Dessert: Mint chocolate ice cream. . .it has a weak spot in my heart.
Making You Pissy: People who text on their phone when I'm trying to talk to them.
When you're upset, you: read a book to escape to someplace else for a little while.
Favorite Pet: I only have one, a ridiculous beagle named Sonni. I try to pretend she annoys me, but really I enjoy her.

Sonni loves the Mac-nasty!

Black or White: White without a question!
Biggest Fear: Not finding my place in this world.
Best Feature: My eyes
Everyday Attitude: "Live in Love" We don't have enough time to live in anger at each other. A little love brightens someone's day and causes a chain reaction. A little love goes a long way.
What is Perfection: Perfection to me is having all the elements of your life falling into place. We all know what's it's like when life throws us a bad time, but when it's good it's really good and I wouldn't trade those feelings for anything!
Guilty Pleasure: Buying things I don't need on Amazon. I have to admit I'm a bit obsessed with Amazon.

Thank you so much again to MaryElizabeth and please go check out these girls blogs! They deserve every bit of recognition!

Let The Sun Shine

I know my posts have been pretty simple in nature the last few weeks, but sometimes I think simple can be better. 

My sister and I are working on some projects right now that are style related so I'll be able to show some of that pretty soon hopefully! That combined with a promotion at work have occupied quite a bit of time lately. I've got some great ideas for posts coming up though!

I've been really inspired by just simple pictures lately for my choices in fashion, makeup, music, and just kind of the vibe I want for my life in general. These are some of my favorites right now! 

savor the moments

festival fun

native hippie

cool off

vintage vixen

scorcher

I wish we all could be...

remember when we were young

it's not so serious

sound of summer

jump for joy (and beer)

I've got a small haul coming up and also another DIY project or two. Any other suggestions on what you ladies would like to see from me? Also, what inspires you?

Lo-vely!

Ever since Laguna Beach and continuing onto The Hills, Lo Bosworth has always been one of my favorite reality girls! Besides the initial like for sharing a fabulous name (in my opinion!), over the years I have really grown fond of her for her professional demeanor and the way she handles and carries herself with the media. Her style is also fabulous and I love her California laid back essentials mixed with classy and always appropriate pieces for any occasion!

Even just out and about she looks put together in a nautical inspired outfit.

Again, even just out shopping she looks super cute and comfortable with her flats! Comfort doesn't have to mean gross sweats you inherited from your dad as some celebrities believe.

She dresses up simple jeans with a cute printed top and gives it a little edge with the leather jacket for a night out.

On the red carpet Lo looks classy and fresh in a Tadashi Shoji number. I love her hair!

She still looks cute at the beach without showing too much skin in a denim dress. I like how the open buttons make the dress super casual but still appropriate.

In my opinion Lo is the perfect example of how a reality star should act, and she has used her fame to get to even better places in her life! Who are some of your favorite reality stars? And also which ones do you hate?