Did You Make a Wish?

Last Friday was November 11, 2011 also known as 11/11/11. My roommate Meg is the musical director for the all-girls A-Capella group on campus, the Harper Harpeggios, or, in shortened form, The Pegs. They had their end-of-the-semester show last Friday night and the theme was Make A Wish with all proceeds of their show going to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. They sang a whole bunch of songs that was from Lady Gaga to Adele to Jason Mraz. Meg had a solo and sang A Fine Frenzy's Almost Lover. She and all of the girls in the group were amazing!

I am wearing: Jacket: (TJ Maxx); Tank: (Old Navy); Lace Tank: (Mossimo); 

Jeans: (Sevens); Boots: (Unlabeled); Earrings: (Forever 21)

After the show we went to the after party at one of the friend's basement and hung out until we walked over to one of the Bars where we danced the night away. The next morning I made pancakes and snuggled to watch TLC reruns of Say Yes to the Dress.

 

My outfit was a pretty simple yet fun one. I bought this lace top last year and while the quality is slowly deteriorating, I love it to much to get rid of it without a replacement. I paired it with my trusty mid-calf boots and threw on a frilly light jacket. then I was off to enjoy the show!

Re-Focus

I can't count how long it has been since I have featured an outfit post. I'm pretty annoyed with myself, especially because that was the initial point of this blog - to document my daily outfits, experiment with different looks, note the current different trends and to ultimately see how my personal style has evolved over time. While I love the fact that my blog has essentially become a life and style blog, the style part is greatly lacking. So, while I will continue to document any kind of recipe I make in the kitchen and all the fun activities that go on from being a college student, I am making a promise to myself, right here and right now, to blog more about my personal style. Starting....now.

 I am wearing: Shirt: (TJ Maxx); Vest: (BCBG Max Azria); Jeans: (Calvin Klein); Sneakers: (Converse)

A special feature on my camera that I was playing around with

So while my next post is going to be on food (desert in particular...my favorite!) and my room, I am focusing on getting back to my blog roots and featuring more of my personal style!

Sole Mates

I'm all moved into my house and am super excited to have started classes as a SENIOR! I still can't believe this is my final year, but I am loving all of my classes so far and am having an awesome time living with all of my friends. The only problem is that I don't have internet yet and so I'm posting from a tiny corner in the library, so I apologize for the lack of replies! I'm supposed to get internet on Friday so I should be back in form then. Once I'm all done decorating my room, I'm going to do a before and after post, so I'm really excited to see how w it all turns out! Until then, lets talk about shoes, shall we?

When I was younger, my mom used to go to Payless to buy my sister's ballet slippers, and some fun cute sandals for us for the summer. She even got some shoes herself. However, we haven't shopped in the store for many, many years due to declining styles and quality. I would still go in to get some cute sandals that would last me throughout the summer, but discovered cuter and more practical shoes at other stores available in my area.

On a whim, one day, I went into Payless and spotted these babies: Christian Siriano for Payless peep-toe pumps and with a 50% of price tag, I couldn't leave the store without them. They are the perfect color to add as a nuetral to any outfit, and help elongate my legs. I've only worn them a few times into work but have brought them up with me to school to maybe get a wear or two out of them . The high heel is obviously impractical to walk around campus and they are too fancy to wear to a bar, but there might be some formal events that I'll get a chance to break them out. I saw Siriano's work in Payless prior to these, but never found anything that tickled my fancy. With these pumps, however, I have found a new sole mate to share my life with. I can't imagine how excited and over joyed I'll be when I get my first pair of Louboutins (however long that takes!)

Nicole's Style

I have been urging my sister to create her own look book blog due to the fact that she has an awesome taste in clothing and wears everything flawlessly. I'll admit, that I sometimes steal some of her things ranging from shoes to trying to squeeze into a shirt or two. Butttt, in all fairness, she steals some of my stuff too. That's what you get though when sharing a room with your sibling (which makes moving into my off campus house next year with my own room even more exciting.) The other day, Nicole met me in the city and I captured some snapshots of her in order to feature her style on here.

Nicole is wearing: Shorts: (American Eagle); Tank: (Anthropologie); Bag: (Spring *Borrowed from yours truly!) ; Sandals: (Unlabeled); Necklace: (gift from Ireland)

Poolside On The Fourth

Hello Darlings,

This weekend I had some really fun plans to go up to Cape Cod, Massachusetts to reconnect with all of the new friends that I made in Florence and bask in the sun on a sandy beach, preferably with a cocktail in my hand. Unfortunately, plans got canceled (which has been happening quite a lot these past few weeks..grr!!) but luckily we moved them over to next weekend of the 15.

I still had a pretty relaxing, albeit uneventful weekend, that was filled with party planning, babysitting, shopping, and reading. On Monday, for the Fourth of July, my family and I, minus Michael who is busy studying for his Bar exam in Boston, went to visit my aunt and my cousin and took a gander over to the pool she joined. It was a lot of fun! My cousin as adorable as he is, always cries whenever he sees me so I'm determined to make him like me! I played with him for a bit in the kiddie pool and pushed him on the swings, so he warmed up a bit, but still was not the happiest camper.

I am wearing: Shirt: (DKNY); Shorts: (The Gap); Flip Flops: (Old Navy);  

Bag: (Gifted); Hat: (Nine West); Sunglasses: (Betsey Johnson); Necklace: (Swapped)

After swimming with my mom and sister for a bit, we joined my dad and aunt back at the chairs and laid out in the sun for a bit. When we went back to my aunt's house, I took a quick shower to feel clean again and ate a cheeseburger and some fries. Very American of me, I know. After we got back to our house, we went across the street to my OTHER aunt/uncle and my cousins (they're both older than I am and thankfully don't cry when I am near them) and watched some fireworks from their back porch. Sure, fireworks are illegal in the state of New York, but that sure doesn't stop people in our neighborhood from buying them and setting them off. Pure entertainment for me.

I hope you all had a wonderfully fun holiday! 

Tell me, what were your plans on such a festive day?

Eternally yours,

Stephanie

Curioser and Curioser...

Hello Lovelies,

I can't believe how fast this past week has flown! The days literally rushed past me and before I knew it, Friday is here (not that I'm complaining. hehe) But seriously, can anyone really believe that June is almost done with? I always felt like the summers go so quickly but man, time is just slipping on by.

I am wearing: Blazer: (Larry Levine); Tank: (Old Navy); Jeans: (Calvin Klein); 

Shoes: (Burlington); Bag: (Florence Leather Market)

I guess what made this week feel like it went so quickly was that it was jam packed with long days. Monday and Tuesday, I had jury duty and I must admit that it wasn't as bad as everyone was making it out to be. I brought my good old friend, Mr. Harry Potter with me and read the entire time for both days. I'm re-reading the series (you can check out my summer book list here which, I'm proud to say, I'm breezing through) Yes, I did lug the fourth book, which was not only hard cover but just happens to be the largest in the series, all the way to the Court House and back. Wednesday and Thursday are when I have my internship and while Wednesday was a little slow, Thursday was packed to the brim with things that I needed to get done.

This weekend has a lot more fun things stored for me: bowling with some old friends, having my entire extended family over for a summer BBQ and bikram yoga. Next week is even busier with work, babysitting, and planning for a Fourth of July weekend in Cape Cod! I snapped a couple of pictures of the outfits that I wore to my internship the past couple of days, so I will post those, as well as any worthy recaps.

Have an Awesome Weekend!

Eternally yours,

Stephanie

Genuine

Hi Lovelies,

This bag was featured on a previous post, but I realized that I never gave it the attention it fully deserves. I purchased this bag in the San Lorenzo leather market on one of the last couple of days during my stay in Italy and I absolutely love it. It is genuine leather and buttery soft. It's is big enough to hold all of my essential stuff, a book or two (to read on the train going to work,) plus a couple of odds and ends items yet, at times, it's actually too big - it does take me a while to find my keys and phone when I'm in a rush. I have a lot of black bags at home (granted, they aren't real leather) so I wanted to go for a different color. What was most important for me, however, is that the bag should be a classic staple that I would wear season after season. This Italian leather one will see me for many summer's to come as well as helping me transition from summer to fall and spring to summer. 

Wishing you all a very lovely day!

Eternally yours, 

Stephanie

Birthday Lady

Hello Loves,

Well, another birthday has come and gone and it's a whole year's wait until the next one. But this year, I feel, is going to be a good one! One of the things I'm most excited about is moving into a new house for my senior year and living with my best friends (two of whom got engaged in March!) I can't wait to decorate and show you the before and after pictures on here. This summer is also shaping up to be a fun one as I have several get togethers planned and have a pretty awesome internship with really nice people. I'm still working on that whole getting-paid-this-summer deal and panic is slowly starting to set in but if nothing comes my way, I'll just work overtime all of next year. Bad thoughts get me nowhere so I try to remain optimistic and think of potential solutions to any problems. It does have a calming effect.

 

I am wearing: Tank and Skirt: (Old Navy); Heels: (Unlabeled)

As soon as I went into the office of my internship, all of my new co-workers were wishing me happy birthday. My supervisor sent out an email to everyone with the day's agenda and wished me a happy birthday on the bottom, so everyone knew that today was the big 2-1. I also got a bunch of birthday text messages from my friends which always makes me smile :) For lunch, all of the interns and a couple of directors went to this restaurant, Perishing Square, right across from Grand Central Terminal and had a fabulous lunch! The best part was at the end when we all picked desserts to share, and the one I picked came out with a candle. Everyone sang Happy Birthday and I couldn't stop blushing!

For dinner that night, my family and I went to Bronxville for a yummy Mexican dinner. I ordered my first alcoholic drink and was expecting to get carded but didn't. So bummed! Haha! I'll admit it was weird to have a drink sitting next to my parents, but now that I'm of age, I can do it at any family gathering and not get the warning death glance from my mother to put it down. This time last year, I was waiting until it was my birthday again, but right now, I'm content with having the year drag by as long as possible.

Wishing you all a lovely day!

Eternally yours,

Stephanie

June Bug

Hello Lovelies,

Ah June, my favorite month of the whole year, not just because it is my birthday month, nor is it that school is out and that summer has just begun. I can't exactly describe what it is about June that makes me tinge with happiness but I always feel like I'm on cloud nine. Maybe it's the fact that we open all of the windows in our house to circulate fresh air into the rooms or that I can go in the backyard and bask in the sunlight on my grassy green yard. All I see within the next couple of weeks leading into the rest of the summer is fresh fruit salads, BBQs, family dinners on the backyard porch, long days to read pages and pages of novels, hanging out with old and new friends, beaches, and even perhaps a small road trip.

 I am wearing: Blouse: (H&M);  Jeans: (Sevens);  Sandals: (Steve Madden);  Bag: (Florence Leather Market); Thumb Ring: (Swapped); Necklaces: (Handmade in Kenya Fair Trade)

I wore this little ensemble the other day when I went to see my sister's a dance competition. It was a warm day but we were in an enclosed auditorium so I tried to balance keeping cool with denim capris and a light blouse. I had a back up jacket tucked in the car, just in case it got too chilly in the auditorium.

I got these three separate necklaces from my dad when he came home from a business trip in upstate Albany. There was a little craft fair outside his hotel where a table was selling fair trade necklaces in which full proceeds go to Jedanda Modern Handicrafts, an "organization that works with individual artisans throughout central Kenya and helps provide a worldwide market for Kenyan crafts people who no longer can rely on the tourist market for sustainable income." These necklaces were all handmade! For those not familiar, fair trade means that "the artisans are paid a fair price in advance for their products and work in safe working conditions." My dad bought three, the two shorter ones for me and my sister and the longer wrapped one for my mom. While my mom appreciated the thought, it was something that she wouldn't wear and so, she gave it to me. I'll admit that if I were to see it lying on a table, I would have easily overlooked it. However, it seems that when an item is gifted to me, even though I wouldn't initially pick it out for myself, it somehow manages to transform into something that I would wear. And so, while each necklace would have worked on their own, I decided to make it a triple threat and pile them on all together for a quirky, fun vibe that clashed with the flouncy frills of my blouse.

Wishing you all a lovely Monday!

Eternally yours,

Stephanie

One Short Day

Ciao Darlings,

I have Mondays off so I decided that I was going to explore the other side of the Arno River which is more local than the touristy side that I live on. My solo exploration was delightfully sidetracked when Christy suggested going to the Boboli Gardens. With great company and beautiful weather, how could I say no? Along with looking at the beautiful scenery and talking about our travel plans after our program ends, we stumbled upon a grassy area that had sunlight pouring in at various spots. A silly photo shoot took place with Christy's Pentax camera (I have to ask her what model.)

I am wearing: Shirt and Necklace: (Charlotte Russe); Jeans: (Calvin Klein Jeans); 

Headband: (Forever 21); Flats: (Unlabeled); Ring: (purchased at a Croatian market)

One of many outtakes

This looks like my high school senior photo!

If I get her permission, I might be able to do a post with the pictures that I took of Christy.

Eternally yours,

Stephanie

Photo Credit: 

Christy B.

A Breezy Holiday

Ciao Darlings,

I originally purchased this dress for my Southern Caribbean cruise last summer, but found it more appropriate when I wore it in on a day trip to the small island, Egina. The dress matched perfectly with the colors associated with the Greek islands, so I knew that I just had to break it out. It was a bit chilly, so it was a good thing that I brought the light gray sweater that I purchased, but for the most part, it was the perfect outfit to quite the perfect day.

I am wearing: Dress: (Speed Control: New York); Sweater: (H&M);
Sandals: (Italian Brand); Hat: (J.C.Penny); Bracelets: (Greek souvenir shop)

 

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

Eternally yours,

Stephanie