It ends tonight

The Academy Awards were on last night, the last show of the award season. Even though I'm sad to see the season come to a close, the Oscars always hold some of the greatest fashions. I had my eye on a few dresses last night, as seen below:

 Natalie Portman looked like a blushing mom-to-be in this gorgeous raspberry colored dress. She finally got the right look for the Oscars after some not so great looks the past award shows this year. And to top it all off, she won for best actress for her work in Black Swan (I admit it, I cried during her acceptance speech).

 At first I wasn't sold on Cate Blanchett's architectural gown, but the more I look at it the more I love it. It's definitely more of a high fashion look, but for who she is, it works. I love the pop of yellow on the shoulders.

 I'm obsessed with Hailee Steinfeld's look. It is so youthful and fun, yet she doesn't look like a little girl. How could you not want to wear that dress and spin around?

My favorite look of the night would definitely be that of Mila Kunis. For one thing, the dress is gorgeous, with the lace detailing and delightful lavender shade. Also, her hair was beautiful, although you can't see the detail in the back in this picture. The entire look was simply flawless.

Beach side

I leave for Naples on Tuesday, so I got my packing done today because I don't want to worry about it tomorrow. Pulling out my new purchases and my warm weather clothes that were packed away just made me even more excited to get to the beach! I probably over packed a little, but I'm pretty sure every girl always does that. Here's what I'm bringing on my beach trip:

 I packed a generous amount of cardigans and summer weight sweaters for at night when it gets a little chilly

 My stack of newly purchased shirts has an overwhelming blue theme to it, but it's spiced up with a one cream and one lavender lace shirt

 I actually didn't pack a ton of sundresses like I normally do, this time opting for three of my favorites, also in the blue tones

 I brought a few pairs of shorts, in jean, white and khaki.

 I added in a stack of tanks, obviously necesary

 For during the day, I plan on throwing on a shirt from this stack of t-shirts. I especially can't wait to wear the bright pink one(from J.Crew)!

 I brought my favorite few bathing suits for tanning on the beach and by the pool

 For evening bags, I brought a black patent purse and a yellow wristlet to add some pizzaz to an outfit.

The clothes all fit nicely in my suitcase, leaving plenty of room for my accesories, toiletries and other extras. I packed lots of jewelry, from my favorite turquoise bracelet to my beloved vintage white clip on earrings. Now all I need is to zip my suitcase up Tuesday morning!

See you at the beach!

My love affair with water

A beach inspired photo from This is NOT new

For every vacation that I go on, I always have to make myself a playlist. For my upcoming trip next week, I need the playlist for lots of laying on the beach and relaxing. The mix needs to be part tropical, part oldies and part new favorites, all to enhance the wonderful aspect of being in the glorious sunshine. I made it tonight, and here are my favorites from the list:

Out Loud (Live), Dispatch
Orange Blossons, JJ Grey & Mofro
Mexico, James Taylor
Water, Brad Paisley
Satellite, Dave Matthews Band
Birthday, Kings of Leon
American Honey, Lady Antebellum
The Great Defector, Bell X1
California, Phantom Planet
Toes, Zac Brown Band
Stir It Up, Bob Marley
Dame Lo Que Quiero, R.KM. & Ken-Y
Caravan, Van Morrison

I only wanted to see you laughing in the purple rain

As most everyone might know, I am obsessed with the color purple. I surround myself with everything purple, from my room, to my purse, to my running shoes. My sheets for my college dorm have already been purchased, and of course, I'm going with a wonderful lavender shade. I particularly love to wear purple, although I usually have to limit myself from buying new items in the hue because my closet is filled with it. I find that purple looks great through all seasons, and for all occasions. If I were allowing myself to go on a purple spending spree, I would buy the following:

1. Lavender Confetti Tank, Modcloth
2. Gumdrop Stud Earrings, Kate Spade
3. I Adorn You Dress, Modcloth
4. Ava Hanky Hem Henley Tee, dELiA*s
5. Wanda Dress, Topshop
6. Converse Chuck Taylor Frayed Sneaker, Nordstrom
7. Lilac Belted Paperbag Waist Skirt, Topshop
8. Marc by Marc Jacobs 'Totally Turnlock - Percy' Crossbody Bag, Nordstrom

& it's not that I don't want to wait

The snow gods smiled upon me today and gave my school district a snow day! Now my weekend was extended to four days, and the school week is now only three days long. I feel like I have had a long time away from school, and here is how I've been spending that time

1. I bought my prom dress the other day, and I've been looking at it in my closet daily. I know, prom isn't until the end of May, but I saw it and loved it, so I just had to get it. It's exactly what I was looking for, but no, I will not say what it looks like! Now I just need to find shoes and accessories to go with it.

2. I went in the Kate Spade store today and fell in love, in love with a purse. The shade of pink is to die for, it's not too dark and not too bright. It's roomy enough to hold my purse essentials, but not too large that I would fill it with everything and the kitchen sink. Needless to say, I want this bag, very very badly.

3. Continuing on my Kate Spade and pink love affair, I also fell in love with a necklace on my visit to the store today. How could any girl not love pink rhinestones tied with a cream ribbon? The combination is a must have for my wardrobe. It would be perfect to wear for some of the special events that I have coming up in the spring, but seeing as I'm currently unemployed, I will just have to covet it until I go back to work in April.

4. I tried on this dress from Lily Pulitzer about a month ago, and ever since I've been wishing I bought it. I can picture Carrie Bradshaw rocking it through the streets of New York City, so obviously I just have to have it. It's on sale in the store, and they still have my size, but it hasn't been marked down any more since I tried it on the first time. When I saw it today I realized how much I really want it, but I'm going to wait to see if it gets marked down a little more.

5. I went on another Ron Pope song purchasing spree this afternoon. I'm going to his concert in Ann Arbor in April, so I decided that I needed to have more of his songs in my library so I can sing along to every song that he sings. I bought "Summer is Gone", "Home", "Stranded in Los Angeles" and "You're the Reason I Come Home", all of them the live versions from his Live and Unplugged In New York album. All I can say is that I'm pretty much obsessed.

I'd burn up in your atmosphere

I think I might have spoken too soon in my last post saying spring is on its way, seeing as last night we got a huge snow storm, and now it definitely feels like winter. We had the day off for President's Day (even though we would have gotten a snow day), so I used my time to give my nails a new paint job because my last one was looking a little shabby. I was half tempted to paint my nails a nice and bright springy color, but I figured I wouldn't jinx myself again. Perhaps I'll do that next week before I leave for Florida, but for now, this color combination works well.

After about 5,000 combination attempts tonight, I finally decided on Essie's "No Boundaries" and OPI's "Nantucket Mist"

I painted on "No Boundaries" first

I topped it off with "Natucket Mist" and a clear coat for some shine. It's a little muted, but it will look not too bad when it starts to chip, which is inevitable when I go to work on my ceramics.

Happy Monday!

I came to dance dance dance dance

Yesterday, I helped my friend with the decorations for a benefit dance that she planned. It was held in the gym of the senior center in my town, so needless to say we needed to do a little sprucing up. We brainstormed some ideas the week before, and organized the supplies we needed beforehand to make decorating on the day of the dance run a little more smoothly. We had lots of help in putting the decorations up, so we got the gym decorated in a little over an hour. It was quite a success!

We started with one basic gym with the mission to make it look festive and fun.

 We used purple, orange and green crepe paper in spirals along the major wall of the gym to add a little pop of color. Bonus: crepe paper is super inexpensive.

The major focus of the decorating was spent on the other long wall of the gym along the pushed in bleachers. We hung icicle lights along the top of the bleachers, and twisted strands of lights up the poles. Purple, green and orange balloons were staggered along the bleachers to add a nice pop of color. For a final touch, we added large tulle bows on each of the poles. The completed look was perfect for the occasion, and it looked super cute once it got dark and the lights illuminated the gym.

My friends and I had tons of fun dancing, and obviously we love any opportunity to dress up (I wore the dress that I blogged about here). Afterwards I went and got a Shamrock Shake with my friend, because obviously we needed a little sip of March in a cup. It definitely feels like spring is coming!

Before I ever knew you, I dreamed of you

Current song obsession: "1,000 Faces" by Randy Montana. My sister showed it to me the other day, and ever since I have not been able to turn it off. Yesterday when the "heat wave" (around 50 degrees) hit my town, it was the perfect song to listen to as I drove around with my windows rolled down. It has the just the right amount of country twang, mixed with the cutests lyrics. Here's my current favorite song inspired photos (from This is NOT new), matched with my favorite lyrics from the song:

Take you on a trip around the world

Turn your head when the light ain't red, stop traffic kind of pretty

Half caff, two pump, no whip and the coffee bean

Love has 1,000 faces, but I see you

Palm trees danced in my head

In less than two weeks I will be laying on the beach in Naples in the glorious Florida sunshine. Needless to say, I am quite excited. I can't to bring out my warm weather clothes for this trip. The thought of slipping my toes into sandals and tossing my favorite straw fedora on my head literally makes me so excited! In order to be prepared for my trip, I need to gather up my usual beach essentials. For this spring, I'm really into pastel prints and woven straw accessories. I haven't bought much for spring yet, but here are some of my current favorite beach essentials:

1. Tea Party Ruffle Top, Betsey Johnson
2. Tea Party Standard Tie Bottom, Betsey Johnson
3. Metallic Saffiano Rattan Clutch, Tory Burch
4. New Wayfarer Sunglasses, Ray Ban
5. Striped Crinkle Scarf, Forever 21
6. Layered Ruffle Dress, Topshop
7. Tarnish Straw Fedora, Nordstrom
8. Jack Rogers 'Navajo' Sandal, Nordstrom

This night is sparkling

Happy Valentine's Day! The Grammy Awards were on last night, and of course I loved every single minute of it. I love seeing all of my favorite artists come together on this night because through their music I feel like I know them.  They always have the craziest fashions of all the award shows at the Grammys, and the musical performances are always spectacular. I had some favorites from the red carpet, seen here:

 Obviously I would love the dress that Kelly Osborne is wearing, simply because of the lavender color. The dress is so fun and very Grammy appropriate.

 At first I wasn't a fan of John Mayer doing the scruffy and long hair look, but it fits with his eccentric personality. I'm loving his cream and black suit combo!

 Miranda Lambert, my favorite country singer, looked stunning in this gorgeous gold one-shoulder gown

 The guys of Kings of Leon looked very handsome in their suits, all of a different variety.

 Miley's look was perfect for the Grammys, between her tousled waves and animal print gown, it just works

 My favorite pop star, Justin Bieber, looked quite dapper in his cream suit and black bow tie. I loved his performance, as did all the other Bieliebers 

The guys from Lady Antebellum looked perfectly appropriate in their black suits and bow tie/skinny tie. Hilary looked gorgeous in her simple black dress and blunt cut bangs

February, won't you be my Valentine?

From this is NOT new, an adorable photo to say the least

In honor of Valentine's Day tomorrow, although I've already blogged about picking out a romantic outfit for the day (seen here), I made a playlist of my favorite love songs to get me in the spirit of love. It's a mix of some classic oldies, indie favorites, slow jams and guilty pleasures. They all are filled with lyrics of love, which are perfect to fill my ears, and yours, tomorrow on the day of romance.

You Are the Best Thing, Ray LaMontagne
One Less Lonely Girl, Justin Bieber
Birds, Kate Nash
I Hope That's Me, Brad Paisley
Fell In Love Without You (Acoustic), Motion City Soundtrack
That's How Strong My Love Is, Otis Redding
Enchanted, Taylor Swift
Total Eclipse of the Heart, Bonnie Tyler
The Fear You Won't Fall, Joshua Radin
All My Life, K-Ci & JoJo
Beautiful, Akon
Into the Mystic, Van Morrison
Your Body Is A Wonderland, John Mayer
Lovebug, Jonas Brothers
How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You), James Taylor
I Wanna Love Somebody Like You, Keith Urban
St. Patrick's Day, John Mayer
Wonderful Tonight, Eric Clapton
Hands Down, Dashboard Confessional
Faithfully, Journey

This sweetness will not be concerned with me

Being the second semester senior that I am, instead of doing my homework this afternoon I decided to bake my favorite desert ever, chocolate cream cheese filled cupcakes. This was my first time making them myself becuase usually my mom only ever makes them for me. They were so easy to make, and even better to eat!

 I had some adorable leopard print cupcake holders, so obviously I had to use them.

 Prepare a boxed cake via the directs on the back. Use a ladle to ladle into the holders.

 I like to make my cupcakes extra large, so I fill them a little more than 3/4 of the way. Make sure to leave enough room for the cream cheese that will be added.

 For the cream cheese filling, mix 1 box of cream cheese that has been softened, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 cup of chocolate chips.

 Spoon about a tablespoon of the mixture into each cupcake.

 Bake as directed on the box. Allow to cool before making the frosting.

 For frosting, mix 1 stick of softened butter, about 3 cups of powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon vanilla and then gradually add in milk to make it the right consistency (about 1/2 cup, it should be the consistency of toothpaste). I added a few drops of red food coloring to make it a festive pink.

 Generously frost each one

The inside is just simply delightful. Enjoy!

I need you now

My current website addiction: LOOKBOOK. It's a reel of looks posted by inspirational people from around the world. I've spent a little too much time browsing through the posts on here in my lifetime, but it's just so addicting. I always end up finding a new blogger or two from the posts because many of the people who post on the site also have a blog as well. I love finding outfit inspirations from this site, so here are my current inspirations:

Reason one for my love of this look: I miss my bangs (should I get them cut again?). Reason two: that girl looks like such a boss. Reason three: I want to wear a dress with bare legs and not freeze to death.

She's my new favorite blogger seeing as she lives in Spain and has excellent taste. I'm loving that leopard jacket!

That scarf looks so warm, yet it is still the cutest scarf ever. And, paired with that mustard colored long sweater and printed dress, I just want to wear this outfit now. Oh, and not to mention her bangs are making me want bangs again as well.

This looks so Anthropologie meets I-just-rolled-out-of-bed-chic. Once again, my obsession with scarves surfaces, because I would love to have that scarf in my wardrobe, even though I have one too many scarves already.

If this is love, I won't let it go

For a random Tuesday in February, today turned out to be eventful, but not in a good way. I got rear ended on my way out of the parking lot after school (my little Jetta is fine, thankfully), and on my way inside my house this afternoon I slipped and fell majorly giving myself a nice bruise. As way to treat myself for my not so enjoyable afternoon, I decided to take a nice little cat nap on my bed, but that cat nap ended up turning into a three hour nap. During this three hour nap, I had Ron Pope's wonderful voice on a continuous loop to sooth me through my slumber. Now, my obsession with Ron Pope is no new thing (seen here and here), but my current favorite is "Let Me Know". I literally have listened to this song twenty times since I bought it a few days ago. I picture the girl who inspired this song to dress very elegantly with a quirky twist. This girl brought love into his life where it previously wasn't, as he says "She shines on something sad and dark", so her wardrobe would mirror that inspiring vibe she has on others. She would have classic pieces that she would spice up with some fun accessories, as seen below:

1. Mixed Media Necklace, Old Navy
2. What I Really Mint Dress, Modcloth
3.Hand Crochet Flower Kimono, Topshop
4. Silver Ornate Bangles, Aerie
5.Pastel Wing Ring, Topshop
6. Ariel Shell Earrings, Forever 21
7. Report 'Cobb' Flower Sandal, Nordstrom
8. Floral-Print Jersey Scarf, Old Navy