I'm Back!

Bad blogger.... BAD.

*shakes fist*

I apologize for my absence from blogging. Life got in the way, but thankfully it was a very positive way. I've spent the last 6-8 months doing so much and creating so many special memories. I completed a semester of the single-subject teaching credential program at my college, AND received my very first set of straight As in my life, the hubby and I were lucky enough to take an amazing trip to Europe for 10 days together, and then the holidays, and so on and so forth!

So much went on during the end of 2012, that I can't even fathom what 2013 is going to have in store for me, but now I will be back and posting all of those fun things that interest me to share with you all, once again.

Ciao!

Lately on Instagram

My life has been so hectic lately, so I apologize for the lack of posts. I have three more weeks left of school for the semester, and then I am in the home stretch!

using my new Kate Spade colors to have fun with my nails

Studying outside of my local coffee shop. I just love the little water feature!

Buying some new goodies at Sephora

Got my hair cut and colored-I can never get my bangs to lay like this on my own!

My March Birchbox :)

Iced vanilla latte happiness

Kate Spade Brings Something New To The Table

Oh dear, this combo is a dream product come true for me.

 Kate Spade + nail polish? 

Heaven on earth!!

 I love, love, love how Kate Spade released these limited edition polishes for the summer time. Besides the colors being amazing, their names are even cuter: Watermelon Fingers, Sea Foam Swirls, Solar Orange, and Yellow Cockatoo. SO stinking cute!

Kate Spade teamed up with lipstick queen Poppy King to create this adorable set in a fashion that Florence Broadhurst would be proud of, using her fun prints as a foundation for the polishes.

You can pick up these beauties here for $28.00 now.

The Ombre Stain Mani

Via The Beauty Department

Can't sleep...

 Warning: This is a long winded,  "I can't sleep so I am going to rant" rant that will either bore you or annoy you. But then again, maybe you guys will relate and make me feel better. So in that case, read on.

So today was definitely a long one: I had a huge mass of homework, presentations and papers to think about; I witnessed a girl having a seizure at my daily coffee shop and had to step in to help; I am stressing, emphasis on the stressing, about my grammar lesson/ presentation in the afternoon, and I simply can not fall asleep. It's been a pretty long time since I have had a nice like this and I definitely do not miss them. I am pretty much a sleepaholic (is that a word? well now it is! I like how auto-correct keeps trying to change it to "shopaholic" too) so when I can't fall asleep it is annoying. 

So besides my crazy day, I am also "being a female" and am attached to something and I can't just let it go. I am sure men do this all the time but I know for a fact women do, therefore I put "being a female". I apologize in advance for any feminists that are annoyed by that... 

So what is this attachment to? A house. A house that I want my husband and I to rent, that is. We live in a tiny little apartment currently, and although it is pretty much in a perfect area I for some reason just don't feel like it is home. I have become a sloth in this apartment: I am always lazy, I don't clean up after myself, and I feel like I can't even decorate this apartment to make it feel like a home because it has such a weird layout (so maybe that is why I don't clean it like I use to clean our old apartment?) I can't figure out why I have become a slacker) It is cute in its own way, but I'm over it. Done. Finito.

So here is where I am annoyed. I have been on the hunt for a new place for us, and after a good 3-5 other places I have looked at, I have found a home for rent that I absolutely love. It has character, it has a yard that I can plant strawberries in, it has a kitchen that I can bake like a crazy woman in, and it even has a area for the husband to get himself a BBQ and create awesome meals like he has always talked about wanting to do. Only problem is it doesn't have air conditioning and the bedrooms are a bit smaller than what we have now, although the overall square footage is larger than our current apartment. But those things I can live with (although I might end up really regretting the AC thing, but I am choosing to ignore that). 

So what is the problem? The hubs doesn't really want to move. He is fine where we are now and he doesn't want to spend the money on moving. And I DO understand that, truly. But I did that female thing and became attached. I am already picturing how to decorate this place: I am going to plant a morning glory on the outside patio to cover the boring poles; I am going to put awesome pictures on the gorgeously colored wall above the couch, which will also be against the wall and not oddly placed in the middle of the living room like it is now, and so on. It is frustrating me that I can't win him over and get him to just go see it. 

But I also can't tell if I am just frustrated because I am not getting what I want. Isn't that sad? Do you guys ever feel that way? I have pretty much gotten a lot of things that I have wanted in my life, even though I might not have worked all that hard to acquire them. So I feel like this might just be one of those moments where I am angry at myself for being so selfish, but I also keep feeling like a child again and am giddy about the prospect of this new home. And come on, we could have a HOME and not an apartment. Isn't that enough? 

I feel like such a diva for even complaining about this. It just feels so wrong and I should get over it. But I feel like if I keep trying and trying, begging and begging, maybe he will give in and go look at it, fall madly in love, and let us move there. But then I win again, and shouldn't I try to quit winning sometimes and just let someone else win?

Maybe I should just go on and on about this tomorrow during my presentation and not talk about dangling or squinting (yes, squinting) modifiers. I'm sure the class would appreciate that more. 

Okay, thanks for letting me vent my friends :) Sorry there was no pretty polish picture here... but sometimes you just need to vent. Right? Si.

Essie Wedding 2012 Collection

Introducing Essie's Wedding 2012 Collection

 

  Instant Hot - a white rose with glistening stardust

 

Like To Be Bad - Semi-sheer reflective pink

Love & Acceptance - an ultra chic creamy, dusty lilac

 Who Is The Boss - freshly-minted cream green

So what do you guys think? I absolutely adore all of these colors and I can't wait to get swatches of them. I can totally see the lilac and green on the bridesmaids with their spring colored dresses, and what I love about these is that they are wearable for everyone: you don't even have to be a bride! Perfect spring manicures for all :)

Messy Bun Love

via pinterest

via pinterest

via mysoulisthesky

Spring Nail Polish Trends

Six nail polish trends for spring: Pale Pink, Mint, Lavender,

Bright Orange, Fuchsia, and a classic Red/Orange

Oh, Chambray!

St. Patrick's Day Nail Art

Hey everyone!

Go on over to That Strikes My Fancy to check out my new post on a fun green St. Patty's Day nail design.

Spoiler: 

It involves these three products

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What I'm Wearing

cardigan, tank, and necklace from Forever 21, 

jeans from American Eagle, 

flats from Target, 

Essie nail polish in Rose Bowl

A Pop Of Green

Lulu's Green Velvet Peep Toe Pumps

 

Lulu's Green Fables and Gold Necklace

Anthropologie Trinket Flats

Anthropologie Cross-Strap Chemise

Anthropologie

Kate Spade High  Falls Sidney

Kate Spade Sonja Dress

A Little Personal Catching Up To Do

So this past week has been pretty crazy: tests in all my classes; opening at work, which requires me waking up at 2:30 am; house hunting, and way too much more. Some weeks just really do you in! I wanted to post some fun photos from my mom's visit at the end of February for her birthday, but I have been so busy with the previously mentioned things that I haven't been able to do so. I just adore my mom, and we have way too much fun when she comes to visit (aka way too much shopping). 

My mom always makes sure I have some form of cake for every birthday I have, including the poor red velvet cake that was unfortunately lost in the mail for my last birthday. Whatever UPS person ended up with that one owes me. So I had to make sure I surprised her with a cute little sugary treat for her arrival.

Here she is showing off her cake. Poor thing had just arrived from her 6+ hour drive from Arizona, so thankfully this helped wake her up. Isn't she cute? :)

The cake was WAY too good.

The next morning we got ourselves our coffee and headed over to my mom's favorite place, 

Rogers Gardens in Newport Beach. This place is our "happy place". Besides being a flower store, they carry food items, stationary, home decor, and so much more.

So for those of you who don't know me, I am an English major, so when I saw these author themed candles I pretty much squealed.

I couldn't stop myself from trying on the quirky hats.

 

Check out these upside down wicker basket lights... AH, I DIE!

And just in case you need a big ol' stone bust in your home, they have those for you too.

Because obviously, we all need one of those.

Having fun with a gold-speckled mirror and my phone

Okay, and here is the best part. 

Are you ready?

The award for the most hilarious shoes (seriously, I can't think of any other word to describe these) I have ever seen in my life goes to the random lady in line.

Welcome, my friends, to Newport Beach:

STRAWBERRY SHOES. If any one of you can figure out what store actually sells these, I will find a way to get you a prize. I wish I could have gotten a picture of this woman's full outfit without looking like a full on creeper because she was rocking a black and white polka dot dress with these shoes. I have no words, but those shoes pretty much made our weekend. 

After our fun at Rogers Gardens we headed over to Fashion Island for some shopping, and then the rest of our weekend included some dinner and drinks in Downtown Disney, a trip up to UCLA to visit my brother, and a bunch of other things. I love my mom, so these weekends always mean a lot to us :)

Hope everyone has had a great week so far! 

I have some new special Essie for Target pictures coming soon too, so check back soon!

Butter London Lippy Lipglosses Steal The Show

Remember that annoying trend back in the day where people would match their lipstick to their nail polishes? I mean, come on, who has time for that? Well something just came along that has somewhat changed my mind on that whole matchy-matchy moment. 

Thanks to the awesome nail polish line Butter, it seems that some gals will be matching their nail polishes to their lip glosses. Butter has decided to launch five lip glosses that are exact color replicas of five of their favorite nail polishes. I was pretty skeptical when I first heard about this, but now that they have been launched, I am actually pretty excited about these!

Introducing: Lippy Lipglosses by Butter London

How much: $17.00 each

Where: available online or at your local Ulta store

Here is a picture of the one that I'm definitely going to check out. I already have the polish and love it, so why not add the lipgloss? The polish is a gorgeous coral pink, but it doesn't feel too pinky (does that make sense? I know you know what I mean). So I am pretty excited about the gloss.

Lippy Lipgloss and Nail Polish in Trout Pout 

 Here are the other glosses:

Left to right: Primrose Hill Picnic, Snog, Yummy Mummy, Trout Pout, and Teddy Girl

Here are the coordinating polishes to match:

Primrose Hill Picnic

Snog

Yummy Mummy

Trout Pout

Teddy Girl

What do you guys think of these? I think that I can get over my whole "matchy-matchy" issue and learn to love these!