[Beauty] Giveaway Winner and Manicures

My giveaway ended at midnight last night and the winner is.....

MOLLY! 

of Still Being Molly

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Congratulations to you!! I will be emailing you today so I can get your prizes to you asap. Thanks to everyone who participated in my first giveaway!!

Now, onto today's post.

I had a bunch of manicure pics stashed on my phone, and there's a manicure linkup going around, so....here are my latest manis!

Mani #1: Essie? I have no idea the name of this polish. I bought it at Ulta on clearance, and the sticker with the name on it had fallen off. All I know is that it's an Essie polish. Anyone have any ideas?

It looked brighter and shinier in the light....

And more muted away from the bright light.

Mani #2: Wet N Wild Eggplant Frost. I love this color. It has this awesome shimmer, especially in the sun. The last picture was taken in direct sunlight so you can see how it shines! I love this polish, especially since it was 99 cents!!!

Mani #3: Sinful Colors Mint Apple. I love mint, period. I've had this polish forever and completely forgot about it! This nail polish is quickly becoming a fave once again.

Mani #4: Wet N Wild Wet Cement with Ulta Bam-blue-zled as an accent. I have been loving the grays that were out and about in nail color this summer, and Wet Cement was one of my 3-4 gray shades that I picked up. The Ulta polish is old enough that it's in a different bottle than their current polishes. I actually really liked these two together!

Mani #5: Pure Ice Purple Reign with Sinful Colors Mint Apple on tips. I wanted to do a twist on the French manicure and I really liked the contrast of these two colors. I was going to do a less contrasting tip but I had the Sinful Colors out from the previous manicure and decided to give it a shot. This crappy picture doesn't really do it justice!

What polish are you currently sporting?

[Fashion] Fall Wishlist/Weekend Shopping

One last reminder...my giveaway ends tonight at midnight!!

I got to do a little bit of shopping this past weekend and just wanted to do a quick update:

(remember last week's list?)

#4. I tried on the mint shirt at Target. It was too tight in the chest in a medium and too big in the waist as a large. I also tried on a similar mint shirt at Old Navy and just didn't love it. I'm questioning keeping this one on my list because so far I haven't really loved one I've tried on.

Mint shirt at Target - entirely too tight in the chest - I couldn't comfortably move my arms.

Mint shirt at Old Navy - I'm not sure how I feel about this one - I didn't love it at the time but looking at the pic in real size it doesn't look half bad...what do you think?

#6. Bought this at Old Navy this weekend. It was $30 and I had a 20% off coupon, so got it for $24. It was the last medium at the second store, and the first store I went to didn't have it any more. Still thinking about getting the ModCloth scarf, too. :)

#12. Found a great grey shirt on sale at the Gap for $9!! So I could cross that one off the list.

Making some progress.... still can't find that cream shirt, and I really want to scoop up the polka dots and burgundy pants next!!

[Beauty] Polish Swap!!

{Don't forget to enter my giveaway at the end of this post!! Only 2 days left!!!}

I've been super excited for this post ever since I got my polishes, so I'm pretty psyched the day has arrived. :)

Carly of Lipgloss and Crayons and Rachel of Lala Lists put together this fun little polish swap a few weeks back and I immediately joined in. As with many swaps, each of us was matched with a swap partner whom we would buy for - this time it was nail polish!

I am a nail polish fiend. I probably have near to 100 bottles. Yes. It's true. I get on these kicks where I'll buy about 10 new polishes in a 2 week time span and then forget about buying any for a month or two. It was super fun to this time go out and get polishes for someone else and to be surprised with their picks for me!!

I was partnered with Angela from Please Mommy No More Daddies. The swap was simple: each person would buy their partner two polishes - as part of the entry we had to give a little blurb about what we like to help guide our swap partner. The polishes could be any brand, any price - as long as there were two.

I had one simple guideline for Angela: nothing sparkly!! Don't get me wrong, I like sparkles as much as the next girl, and occasionally I'll wear a fun sparkly polish - but man, those things are hard to get off your nails!

So with my simple guide, Angela picked out two awesome polishes for me. (Unfortunately, I didn't get to try them since I was traveling for work when they arrived).

Polish 1:

Maybelline ColorShow Tenacious Teal

and polish 2:

Sinful Colors Hazard

I love both of these! I'm super into the bold nail, and the teal is definitely a nice, bold color. And the peach? So stylish right now!! It's almost a muted coral - gorgeous and will look great with so many things! Angela did a great job choosing polishes, and I can't wait to wear them!

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[Fashion] Let's Be Honest

First, let me be a pain in the ass and remind you to enter my giveaway! Enter at the bottom of this post :)

Ok, you guys. I have a few things I need to come clean about.

1. I have zero interest in fashion week. Zero. Zip. Zilch. Nada. I feel like, as a style blogger, I should be soooo invested in the events that transpired through the last 2 weeks. And you know what? I don't give a tiny little sliver of a damn. I mean, great for those who do, but I just don't. Is someone going to take away my Style Blogger title now?  I've been watching you all write these fabulous posts about fabulous fashion week and I just feel like such an outcast. If style blogging were high school, no doubt I would be on the Math Squad or the Debate Team with my non-fashionable nerd glasses. It's just so hard for me personally to figure out how those high fashion styles (that are, for most of us, completely unrealistic for wearing in our normal-person-lives) are going to translate into something that's wearable for the rest of us. So I just let you bloggers out there who are super into it do all the translating for me. :) 
2. I am jealous of about 80% of you right now. Green jelly, guys. And I've been harrumphing to myself about it for the last 2 weeks. You all are getting cooler weather and are able to wear clothes made for my very favorite style season: FALL. It's is too. damn. hot. down here to even think about wearing something fall-like. It's too warm for boots. Too warm for sweaters. Too warm for layers. I'm from the northeast and miss the nip that comes in when September rolls around and it's so painful sitting down here in the firepit of the country that is Georgia. (Ok, so maybe it's not that hot, but average Sept highs here are mid 80s and so far September has not disappointed.) So I'm going to sit here and wallow in the fact that I'll be busting out my fall outfits in, oh, I don't know, 2 months.
3. There are some changes that will be happening soon around here. Right now I'm not nuts with the format of my blog, and I've come up with a few ideas that I'm going to work on over the next few weeks. Bear with me through the growing pains!

Whew. Ok. Now that I got that off my chest, let's talk fall fashion! I'm now off my spending freeze but I am, for the very first time ever, going to be shopping with a wish list. (And trying not to purchase things that are not on it!!!) Ooooooh, aaaaaahh.

I just bought these in the last 2 weeks since my spending freeze ended:

I bought these because I've been thinking about them for months and they were down to the very last pair in my size. If I get them and hate them, I can send them back.

I've been watching these from Nine West for a few months now and they were on sale for $17.90!!

After those, I kind of decided I can't just jump off the spending freeze and run around spending willy nilly. I will allow some wiggle room so if I see something that I love and it's a great deal, I'll pick it up, but for the most part I really want to stick just to this wishlist!

So, what's on this fall's wishlist?

1. Smoker Flats. I'm not partial to color, print, whatever here - I just love this style!
2. Cowboy Boots. Good cowboy boots. I've had a trashed up pair for years and I need a cute, sturdy pair for performances. My goal is to save up and buy a nice pair by October 12th, which is a week before our next dance team performance. It'll give me a week to break them in!
3. Cream 2-Pocket Sheerish Flowy Blouse. Quite obviously I have no idea how to describe this. I tried this exact one on at Marks & Spencer when I was in the UK and fell in love with it. However, I did not fall in love with the price, especially not for a shirt that was polyester (nearly $50 US). So, now I'm on the hunt for as close as I can find over here, both in color and style. PLEASE give me any suggestions if you have any! I thought it would be way easier to find but I've already spent a good amount of time looking to no avail. The mint blouse in #4 is almost exactly it but they don't carry this cream color, which is what I love most about the top. Grr!
4. Mint Blouse. Veronika at Veronika's Blushing showed this one in her haul video and I just loved it. This will probably be the first item that I grab - it's $23 and from Target!
5. Burgundy Pants. I'm not picky about the pants - cropped, skinnies, jeans, dress pants, or otherwise, I just love the rich burgundy color!
6. Something Mustard. I love this color but I have a hard time finding a mustard item that looks good with my pale skin. The above shirt is from Old Navy and the scarf is from ModCloth. Both are definitely realistic options for me as they're both affordable! I might look to try on the Old Navy top when I'm out and about this weekend.
7. Plaid High Heel Loafers. These are just so stinkin cute. This is the exact pair I want - Christian Siriano from Payless. They're on sale for $30 currently, but I think I can get a better deal if I just wait a bit - Payless often does $10 off $25 or more and I have a feeling that deal will pop up again soon.
8. Polka Dot Blouse. Any style or color will do. Polka dots are super sweet and perfect for the fall!
9. Small Hard-sided Box Clutch. I have no idea if this is what you'd call it, but I like the boxy little handhelds that are out right now. 
10. Green Heels. Not picky on the style, just love the color.
11. A Small Red Crossbody/Shoulder Bag. These are really in for the fall.
12. The Perfect Slightly Big Grey Tee. I'm sure you've seen these all over the place. The grey tee is a popular staple right now. However, I have tried on at least 5 different ones and none sit quite right. Suggestions?

So that's it for my fall wishlist....so far. I tentatively put on the bottom of my list booties and lace shorts - if I happen to find a great deal on a pair of lacy shorts I'll snag them, and I may try on a couple pairs of winter wedge booties. I've never found a pair of booties I liked on myself but they're so cute on everyone else I may pick up a pair if I can find one I like.

What's on your wishlist this fall? Are there any great items I'm missing?+

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[OOTD] It's Been Awhile, Yeah?

Haven't done an outfit post in ages!!!

That means it's time for one.

However - don't forget to enter my very first giveaway filled with handpicked items from the UK!!  You can enter at the bottom of this post, and you can go here to check out what items are up for grabs!!

Top: Target (last seen here), $12 | Jeans: Juicy Couture (seen here and here), $130 | Shoes: Shoe Carnival (last seen here), $10 | Shrug: Old Navy, $7 | Earrings: Made by me | Necklace: Boutique via Shecky's GNO, $30 | Bracelet: New York & Company, $? | Watch: Target (here), $15

This was a casual Friday look for work. A fun tank top becomes work appropriate with something to cover my shoulders!!

What is that goofy thing over there? said my face

Well don't we look huffy.

C'mon! Enter my first giveaway!! You know you want to!!!


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[Giveaway] The VERY FIRST GIVEAWAY!!!

Ok, everyone - it's that time! My very first giveaway!!!

I'm going to make this post short and sweet. There are four items in this giveaway, all purchased in the UK.

First, let's start with the 2 little novelty items in the giveaway:

Primark nail polish wipes. There's nothing special about these guys, but I love having nail polish remover in a form that is easy to travel with and can be used in a pinch: when you've got that big interview and you realize you're wearing neon nail polish and it may be too loud for the conservative office, or you're headed out the door for a big night out and you realize your polish is chipped. Love these!!!

I thought this wash mitt was SO CUTE. Another Primark find.

Now, onto my favorite items and the real stuff I'm giving away!!!

A black and silver leaf ring from the Limited Collection at Marks & Spencer. I. love. this. ring. I actually bought one for myself, too. :) This ring is a size M/L, which is probably around an 8. My middle finger is a 7-7.5 and my pointer is an 8-8.5, and I can wear this same size on both fingers, though it's a wee bit loose on the middle finger. See below for what it looks like on!

The last item - and my favorite item!! - a pair of geometric earrings from Topshop. Love, love, love these!!! They're super on trend for the fall as geometric jewelry is huge this season, and I love the pop of color in the yellow centers!

The silver part is mirrored, which you can see in the shot below. These are pierced earrings.

GOOD LUCK!


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[Life] A Day of Remembrance

(Quick update on the puppies I wrote about Sunday: of the 9, 7 of them are now on oral medications only, which is fantastic! Continued support is needed for the last 2, though, and I'll update as needed).

Via

I debated blogging about this because I don't doubt that everyone will be blogging about it today: the anniversary of September 11th. I just didn't think it could go by unmentioned, though I'm going to keep this short and to the point.

On September 11th, 2001, I was a junior at the University of Pittsburgh and living in the Delta Zeta sorority house. I was laying on the L couch watching the Wonder Years, procrastinating on getting ready for my 10am class when one of my housemates/sisters, Megan, came in to the living room from her 8am class right before 9am and said "Turn on the news. The Twin Towers were hit by a plane."

We turned the channel just in time to see the second plane hit. As my sisters one by one woke up to the news, the living room became more and more crowded until the 17 of us that lived in the house, plus a smattering of sisters who lived off campus, were all plunked in front of the tv. And many of us stayed there for the duration of the day.

Shanksville, PA, where the last plane came down, is about 60 miles from Pittsburgh. The university shut down for the day by 11am. The city center was evacuated, along with a number of tall buildings in other areas of the city. The phone networks were shot. Most of Pittsburgh's cell coverage falls in the same region as NYC's. We couldn't get ahold of anyone - friends, family. A number of students were from NYC, and an even larger number of us from the 60 mile radius around the city. It was a scary time.

Growing up so close to New York City, I'd come to view the iconic towers as my welcome to the city. The bridge we always took into Manhattan offered the most beautiful view of them, especially in the early hours of the morning. Over the years, I'd gone back - the last time was in 2009. And every time I'd see the memorial posters, I'd cry. It was such an emotional thing to see, especially because for so many years it was just a gaping hole. I'm hoping to get back again soon, and see the area rebuilt and thriving.

This "cross" was left standing after the towers fell - it was part of the structure one of the towers. Gives me chills.

I'd like to take a moment, on the anniversary of this defining moment for our country, to say a prayer for those whose lives were lost, and for the families they left behind; for the policemen and firefighters who responded that day; for those who have fought ever since to protect our rights as Americans and preserve the safety of our home. Each and every sacrifice that has been made has not been made in vain. You are always in our hearts.

Where were you?

(The pictures in this post are from a visit in 2005.)

[Fashion] But Tonight, I'm Cleanin Out My Closet

(If you love doggies and would care to help out some pups in need, please see yesterday's post here.)

As I've mentioned briefly in previous posts, I finally got around to cleaning the closet in our guest room, which is where I keep my shoes, bags, cardis/blazers/etc, and hats. It was such a mess and the biggest problem was shoes.

I'm so excited to have it done!!

Stupid me, I didn't take before pictures. But this is what it looks like now!

The top shelf holds my overnight bag (that gorgeous Vera Bradley duffle....a bridesmaid's gift from one of my best friends when I was in her wedding!!) and a bunch of sweater cardigans that will end up with goofy shoulders if they're on hangars. The second shelf is hats and purses/bags. That shelf still looks a little sloppy but at least everything is there in one place. Hanging on the left side are all my sweatshirts/cardis/blazers, and the rest is shoes. That plastic container holds all my flat sandals - it keeps them together and it's easy enough to sift through. Just yesterday I added some hooks to the back wall behind the bin and have been hanging my statement necklaces there to free up room in my armoire. (Ok, I think that's spelled right but Blogger says it isn't and gives no relevant suggestion, so I'm gonna go with Blogger just doesn't use the word armoire much).

Close up of shelves

Closeup of bottom

Now I'm sure you all remember when I said my problem was shoes. I have lots of shoes. I don't even want to tell you how many. I blame the fact that I have been the same shoe size since I was 11, I love a great deal on shoes, I love picking up trends, and the majority of my shoes aren't worn day in and day out so they keep in really great shape. So...in order to make my closet look like it does above....

I got this for over the door in the guest room. The shoes on the left are angled in and one shoe only for a reason - if I had pairs there the door would sit so that the doorway shrank considerably. Putting those last shoes on like they are lets the door sit at a much better angle.

So - how do you store your shoes, bags, hats, etc? Have you written about it on your blog? If so, leave me a link!!

I'm linking up today with Ms Molly for YOLO Mondays!

[Life] Doggies

I'm baaaaaack! Back in the States and happy to be home. Whew. More on my trip this week.

I don't usually post on Sunday unless it's a Soup, and with my traveling there was no soup made this week. However. Yesterday, I came across a post on Facebook from the rescue group that we adopted our dog from, the Atlanta Boxer Rescue.

You all have heard me ramble on about my sweet little (and I use the term "little" loosely) pooch Lexi.

The group we got her from has now rescued over a hundred boxers in the Southeast US. The Facebook post caught my eye because it had this picture:

Little baby boxers.

But you guys - they're in trouble. They're all very sick. And the rescue group desperately wants to try and save them.

So. I thought I would throw this out there in case anyone else would like to donate. I made a donation myself and thought it wouldn't hurt to post. Here is their story from the website:

"On August 29, ABR answered the call to pull Jasmine and her nine five-week old puppies from animal control, where they were scheduled to be euthanized the next day.  All ten were infested with internal parasites (that is the polite way to say “whip worms, round worms, hook worms and tape worms”) and were crawling with fleas.  Jasmine was also diagnosed as being heart-worm positive.  After the vet dewormed everybody and gave Jasmine all the appropriate vaccinations, the large family went to live with a dedicated foster mom. Unbeknownst to us, the whole family was already infected with canine parvovirus (parvo), which manifested itself a week later as diarrhea, vomiting, weight loss and dehydration.  Jasmine and her family are in isolation now to prevent further spread of this highly contagious and often lethal disease.  Parvo is difficult to treat because antibiotics do not combat viruses, so we can only treat symptoms by administering lengthy treatments of fluids, antivirals, anti-nausea and anti-diarrheal medications.  Treating a family of ten for parvo is a daunting prospect, as the time and expense commitment is huge, but ABR is committed to giving Jasmine and her puppies every opportunity to pull through this and become beloved pets for future loving families."

If you feel like donating, you can do so here. 

(Last Christmas, I sponsored the care of a dog who was about to be put down at a shelter so that he could make it through the holiday and came to find out later he was rescued and has a home - so you never know what good your donations can do!}

[Fashion] Closet Garbage

Hi guys. I'm in the air today coming back from England. This post here, he's scheduled.

A week or three ago, She Finds wrote about their book, Wear This Now, that came out last week. As an excerpt, they published a list of "10 Things No Self-Respecting Woman Should Ever Have In Her Closet". Let's have a look, shall we?

(Their original comment is in red. The rest is my commentary).

1.White T-shirts with any holes or stains, including yellowed underarm stains–No, you are not allowed to wear them to the gym or even to sleep in, however, you can use them as rags if you must! I agree with this - they've got to go!!!

Eeew.

2. Anything with polka-dots–Even if they come back in season briefly, they never last, and more often than not, you end up looking like a 5-year old in them. Don’t bother. I'm sorry, but I just can't agree here. We've all seen how big polka dots are going to be for the fall, from Michael Kors to Old Navy. Also, I think the right style of polka dots can be classic!! I mean, Audrey Hepburn had a polka dot bikini. What do you think about polka dots?? Should they stay or go?

Michael Kors

3. Sweatshirts–you are allowed to keep ONE college sweatshirt for the homecoming game. Ditch the rest. I feel this way about regular old sweatshirts, although I do like the fitted zip-up hoodies (and also just hoodies in general, although the only non-zip hoodies I own are team hoodies....)

Cute!

4. Light-Wash jeans–They will always make you look fat—it’s a universal truth. I say this depends on your definition of "light wash jeans"....and even then, there are certain women who will never look fat no matter what wash their jeans are.

Pretty sure Nicky Hilton doesn't look fat...

5. Mom Jeans that are high-wasted and tapered–They may be comfortable, but if you’ve ever seen a makeover show, you know everyone looks like crap in them. YES, YES, and 1,000 more YESSES! These are the reason why I hope to continue blogging as I get older - to show women you do not have to succumb to these jeans of fashiondeath!

Ick.

6. Sweatpants with anything written across your butt. I gotta agree here. Comes across as a bit...juvenile? At least to me.

I love Juicy....but not on my butt.

7. Bridesmaid Dresses–even though she said you could wear it again, you can’t. I actually think it's ok to hold on to one or two, if for nothing else than it comes in handy to wear to a showing of the movie Bridesmaids, or as part of a dead prom queen Halloween costume.

Still can be so pretty....

8. Free employer t-shirts, baseball caps, sweatshirts (see #3) – no one cares that you were on the 2011 super team marketing launch. I agree, unless your employer is really, really cool.

A conference is also not cool.

9. T-shirts that hit above the hip. I soooo agree with this one, but this might be more personal than anything because my hips are so darn high.

(Ok I tried every combination of words imaginable to search for a picture of this and came up with NOTHING.)

10.  Cotton sweaters–They stretch out and fade. Go for cashmere or merino wool. Hmm...I don't know that I have any cotton sweaters, so I can't really speak to this. Maybe my memory is just fading?

Will it stretch out?

So what do you think? Do you agree these need to go or do you think some of them can stay?