Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Valentine's Day

 Here's a better picture of the H&M dress that I posted about (picture taken from their website). I wore it yesterday for Valentine's Day. I'll do an outfit post with it soon, but for now, enjoy this pretty model!




Also, in case you were wondering, here's how the cupcakes for my boyfriend turned out. (Dark chocolate with peanut butter frosting and peanut butter balls in the middle; I also put peanut butter M&M's and Reeses on top. Recipe here.)


And as for my romantic surprise, he made me my favorite: chicken pot pie! (Notice the little dough hearts he cut out? Aww.)


Like I said, I'm not usually much of a Valentine's Day person, but I have to admit that I'm starting to come around. Now I have to go eat the expensive chocolate that my boyfriend got me. Hope your Valentine Day was awesome!

Weekend Pictures

 This weekend I went to West Chester to visit my friend Hannah. I snapped some shots on my Instagram app and thought I would share them here. On Sunday we went to Longwood Gardens, which is gorgeous (and warm, and smells like flowers!).


 And the day before, on Saturday, we walked around the King of Prussia Mall, which is HUGE. I only got four things, and the most expensive was the polka dot dress (below) for only $15, so I'm pretty proud of my restraint. The dress and folded up scarf were from H&M and the book and lacy bra were from Urban Outfitters. Everything but the dress was five bucks. Score!


Sorry for the bad picture of the book; it's Sophie Blackall's Missed Connections, and it's gorgeous. I've wanted it for ages and it does not disappoint.


And this is what I wore: Jason Wu for Target cat scarf, an Old Navy jacket, black jeans from Gap and a red cardigan from Target. I also have my sunglasses from Urban Outfitters and a thrifted white clutch in the picture. Oh, and the hoop earrings were a loan from my sister. I should get a pair of my own.


Hope you had a fun weekend too! 

Monday, February 13, 2012

Valentine's Day Cupcakes


My boyfriend loves peanut butter and chocolate cupcakes (well, who doesn't?) so I'm planning to make these for him tomorrow as a special treat. I was probably going to do it anyway, but now I absolutely have to since he's been hinting about some romantic surprise that he has planned. We're not huge Valentine's Day people, so you can imagine my surprise when he let that one drop. He's also not one to do romantic surprises, in all the three years we've been dating. I'm insanely curious, and I figured I better have something for him in return... thus, cupcakes! I got the recipe and the photo here

Bag Lust

I saw an awesome green and black bag at Urban Outfitters this weekend. I couldn't buy it then, so I looked for it online. So far, no luck. However, I am loving these other three bags on Urban Outfitters:


So sturdy and minimal--but also so pricey... 




This one is just fun, and goes with the current neon mania.


Deena & Ozzy Chain Tote, on sale for $49
This would fit everything and go with everything.

I really do need a new, sturdy bag that I can use every day. I may not get one of these (although I am dying for that leather tote), but I'll be sure to post The One when I find it!

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Thrift Finds


I found these three bags at a local thrift store basically for free: an embroidered handbag that I couldn't resist (very old lady-chic, right?), a black and tan fold over clutch and an oversized white faux leather clutch that reminded me of these. I've wanted one of those American Apparel bags forever, but didn't want to fork over $46. Problem solved! Just proves my motto: you can be chic and cheap.

Recent Reads


I recently joined paperbackswap.com and I'm really enjoying it so far. I mailed out some requested books that I no longer want (i.e. my fourth copy of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) and in return, I've gotten I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith and Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides--for free! I already finished the former and absolutely loved it--if you haven't read it, you must. Now I'm going to start Middlesex, which is by the author of The Virgin Suicides and The Marriage Plot (I'll be reading those next, I think). 

Also, my boyfriend got me Diane Keaton's memoir, Then Again, for Christmas. I just finished it and found it unexpectedly sad--she writes about her mother, who had Alzheimer's, and includes excerpts of her journals. I love reading memoirs; by the end of them I always feel like I've become fast friends with the writer. We watched Manhattan Murder Mystery last night (which I definitely recommend; I might like it more than Annie Hall even) and I felt compelled to root for her through the whole movie.


What about you? Read (or watch) anything good lately?

Monday, February 6, 2012

DIY: Jason Wu for Target Lace Clutch

I almost bought this Sunday, but realized I have a black clutch of the same size that is dying for a little makeover. Check back soon for the full DIY post; I'm off to find some black lace!

Jason Wu for Target

As I mentioned in my previous post, I got up early on Sunday morning to head over to Target and check out the Jason Wu collection. After seeing these pictures, I was pretty excited:


Mostly I wanted to get my hands on one of the adorable dresses. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a disappointment. My Target didn't have all of the dresses. I tried on two of the pictured dresses, the middle and the one on the right, along with one of the navy and red striped dresses. I had high hopes, because it's exactly my style: prints and stripes, short, and fitted (or so i thought). When I actually tried them on, they fit me like sacks. The middle one looked okay, but in the end it just wasn't worth the $40. I brought my sister with me, and ended up buying her this blouse ($35):


It looks great with her blue eyes. I would have bought it for myself but she's going to college next year, and with a wardrobe of mostly baggy T-shirts, I felt that she needed it more. She'll get a lot of mileage out of this top (and I'm going to borrow it... like, a LOT). 

I didn't leave empty handed, though. In the end I was trying to decide between the black lace clutch ($35) and the cat scarf ($20). Naturally, I went with the cheaper option.


I like it so much, I don't even think I'm going to try to resell it on eBay for triple the price. 

Anyway, although I was pretty sad about the dresses, I might go back and try again some other week when I have more money and a belt. That's the nice thing about living in the middle of nowhere; when we showed up extra early on Sunday to beat the crowd, we realized that the crowd was still in bed, blissfully ignorant of "Jason who?"

The Perfect Orange-Red Lipstick


I have long admired the coral lips of the J. Crew lookbook models, and always wanted to try the color myself. I can see why most people would shy away from orange-tinted lips, but I'll try anything. I have tried anything--and that includes purple lip stain from the Dollar Tree.

Also relevant is the fact that I love Emma Stone (who doesn't?). When I saw her in the ad for Revlon's new lip butter, I was a goner. When I was at Target the other day to check out the Jason Wu collection (more on that later today) I stopped to pick up the almost-$7 chapstick/lipstick hybrid in Tutti Frutti. Check out the result below while ignoring my bedhead, please:


Not the best picture ever, granted; the color is slightly more vibrant in person. It still manages not to look clownish or overdone, I swear, despite the fact that this is what it looks like in the tube:


 I only put on a little bit, which does the trick. When I asked my dad what color my lipstick was, he replied with, "Hmm... Glowing?" Not technically a color, but it works for me! Bonus: it really does go on like butter, and feels lovely.Well worth the rather ridiculous price. Has anyone else tried this out, or any of the other lip butter colors?