It happened!

So, some big news....

I'm ENGAGED!

I'm so excited to start the real planning process.  Enough with this "future" wedding business.  It's HERE!

Darryl and myself celebrating at Libertine in Hollywood with some of our friends.

I can't wait to start my life with this man. He's my favorite person in the world :)

I'm also in love with that sequin top -- I have to wear it a lot to get my money's worth, haha!

Tank: Ladakh "Burlesque" sequin tank
Skirt: H&M (you can't see it, but it's hot pink)
Bra: Victoria's Secret
 

Favorites

I do love my cold weather clothing....

...But bye-bye cold weather clothes!  It appears that Spring may finally be here!

Looking forward to getting a tan and wearing shorts, skirts, and dresses!

Surprise surprise.

 Who knew leather leggings and tartan plaid could look SO CUTE?

I mean, separately they could be horrendous, so together you would think, "Yuck," but wow.

Major kudos to Emmy Rossum's stylist (or to herself?)  Cute booties as well.

Re-entering the world.

Finally uploaded pictures from my camera.  Here's an outfit from a couple weeks ago (when it was still HOT outside!)

Top: Renn - Nordstrom TBD dept. - circa 2006?

Skirt: Ann Taylor LOFT - on sale for <$10!

Shoes: Steve Madden "Melrow" - got 'em for like $50!

I need a mental (almost done with one of my papers!) and emotional break, and blogging is one of my escapes, so FUCK IT.  I'm back!

Pretty sure that my life is going to remain in its current state for a long time so I've been getting used to it.  It's actually pretty easy acting like I don't know anybody, but some people are nice and actually initiate interactions with me.  5 more draining days of school/tests, and then I get to be free for 3 weeks!

Some plans:
- Reading all 20 million magazines I've been ignoring for the past 2-3 months.

- So. Many. Movies!  Inception, Eclipse (yikes..), Easy A, The Town, and anything else I can get my hands on.  I just watched Avatar and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button--loved both!

- Staying away from shopping, except in VEGAS!

- Going to Vegas once during break.  Darryl and I are finally splurging on a luxury hotel after all of our free rooms at random casinos.  Encore King Suite, here we come!

- Helping Darryl clean up his room at home--he's moving back for a year before his job starts.  That's going to be a very dusty challenge....

- Oh whoops, outlet shopping in Cabazon with some high school girlfriends.  I guess Vegas is not the only time.

- ...and hopefully LOTS of cooking and baking since I haven't really had time to (these are some of the recipes I'll try to tackle: spiced applesauce cake, cranberry orange scones, and scalloped tomatoes with croutons.)

Outfit

Scarf: Echo Design, French stripe knit scarf ring. 
Shirt: Madewell - similar here

Jeans: Madewell "Rail Straight" jean

Boots: DV by Dolce Vita "Ted" in Marrone

This outfit is from my trip up north to Napa, and as you can see, it's also in my banner!

In my banner I'm wearing a leather jacket by MM Couture that I got highly discounted from Piperlime.  I absolutely love Piperlime!  

My purse in the banner is by Rebecca Minkoff and is the Morning After Mini.

Blazing saddles

I've always had the most difficult time finding a blazer that I like, and I finally found one that fit me well!

I guess my issues were always my broad shoulders and small chest, haha.  Either my shoulders felt like they were going to bust out of the size that fit my small chest and waist, or my boobs and waist were too small for the size that fit my broad shoulders!  Since this one is not your typical blazer, it worked well with my body type.

Gap "Band blazer" - Navy, $98.

I would have preferred the gray-ish herringbone color better, but they were sold out online AND in my local store.  Despite that, navy is still a very versatile color.

Although this won't go great over a girly dress (... or will it?), I have a preppy-equestrian style in mind after buying a $12 khaki skirt from Nordstrom.  It involves a nautical or plain creamy shirt, boots or black flats, a high waisted, A-line khaki skirt and my blazer.

Longsleeve Tops by Lands' End Canvas
Boots by Dolce Vita

Or... I'd use my new khaki skirt, my chambray top, and a woven Nordstrom belt I have to re-recreate this look from http://kendieveryday.blogspot.com/:

I don't get how these ladies with "What I Wore"-type blogs look cute EVERY DAY!  I look like a bum 4 out of 7 days a week--typically on UCLA football game days, days that I'm late to class, or days in which I don't have class, thus I stay in my pajamas.

My outfit.

So this is pre-haircut.

I got a haircut a few hours after these pictures were taken, but that post won't be for a day or so.

This is my first outfit post.  Eek.  Be kind.  I was my own photographer (with self-timer of course).  My brother is a great photographer but he's busy with his own stuff.  I'm so jealous of the bloggers with pro-photog boyfriends!  My boyfriend is amazing, but not with photography.

Gap dolman-sleeved top, H&M skirt, Target shoes (seen here), and Nordstrom Rack necklace.

Emo picture.

So, here is my "before" hair.  Very long and straggly.

Inspiration.

Such cute outfits... my most desired item is a silky, flowy button down like in the 1st, 3rd, and 4th pictures.  Second most desired item is a pair of black wedges that would look adorable with tights.

"The only exception"

Lately I've been wanting to invest in a watch, but all of the ones I like are kind of trendy.  Trendy being oversized, gold, and flashy, haha.  Oh, and super expensive!

Case in point:

Michael Kors Men's Oversized Watch, $250.

But how gorgeous is that?  It's the perfect accessory for any outfit.  If I could do the hipster look I'd definitely wear the watch with Matt Bernson gladiator sandals, ripped jean shorts, a slouchy racerback tank, and a fedora/panama hat.  The hotness.  Too bad I don't do hipster.  I can do the watch, though! :)

Tanks by Alexander Wang
Sandals by Matt Bernson

I've been trying to take advantage of the Amazon Prime free trial for college students, but it's been tough finding clothing and shoes I like on such a vast website.  I decided to look for very specific items, and found another Michael Kors watch I've tried on for $50 cheaper than retail!

 

Available at Nordstrom.com for $225.  Available at Amazon.com for $175. 

Since it's a midsized watch it's much more universally flattering than the trendier oversized watches.  I've tried on the oversized and midsized MKs at Nordstrom and I thought the midsized looked better.  The only problem is that I prefer having numbers on the face of my watch!  Sigh.

Um, hello cold weather.

So I was visiting Fullerton since I had a long weekend, and it was FREEZING today!  Not a ray of sunshine hit my face until 4 pm, and I wanted to bundle up in a sweater, jeans, boots, and a scarf for the first time in months.  I'd guess that it was 65 degrees for half of the day (Californians would agree that that is cold, hehe).

I complain about the heat, but when it's gone, boy do I miss it!

This outfit would have been perfect for today:

This woman can do no wrong in my eyes.  She makes the simplest outfits look glam, and most of her expensive pieces have cheap counterparts that look just as good.  Where can you NOT find a black scarf, leggings/skinny jeans, or a gray sweater for cheap?  Those boots may be hard to find... but any rugged pair would do.

Madewell love.

 L: Madewell "Floaty Floral" dress, $158.   R: Madewell jumper - SOLD OUT online, obvs.

So many celebrities are wearing Madewell these days!  Jessica Alba has been my favorite so far.  She keeps everything so simple yet looks so chic.  I think it helps that she's also super gorgeous...!  Can I please look like that after having a baby?

My favorite is definitely the jumper.  I saw it at the Glendale store, if anyone wants to spend lots of money on a jumper!  I'll stick with my Target jumpers :)

June Gloom

Lately the weather has been kind of weird.  Morning gloom, afternoon heat, freezing nights (a perk and a burden of getting out of class at 9:30 pm!)  But I do love gray skies, and I'm especially loving gray skirts!

I've also been on a big neon kick, and I love this J.Crew tee I just got in neon pink.  Sadly it's not available online, but I've been wearing the crap out of this AMAZING neon lime shirt from Nordstrom that is now $9.90!!!  Buy it, you won't regret it.  Super soft, comfy, and versatile!

I'm glad that my love of neon goes with my love of gray, so here are a few gray skirts I've been eye-ing.  Madewell, please put the Mariposa skirt on sale?  Pretty please?

 Adorable "Rah-rah-rumba" skirt from Anthropologie for $78.

My beloved "Mariposa" skirt from Madewell for $88.

 On a more budget friendly note, this mixed media dress by ELLE from Kohl's fits SO well ($37.99).  Sadly I still do not believe in spending more than $30 on something from Kohl's so I refuse to buy it until I get a coupon!

 

 On a sexier note, this body-con mini skirt from Express is budget friendly ($59.50, compared to Pleasure Doing Business and Herve Leger) and great for a night out with the girls!

The purse that started it all...

I'm really bored and I can't go to sleep so I decided to make this post.... you may ignore it.


I don't remember how I learned about Rebecca Minkoff, but it was all downhill from there. This is me with my faaavorite purse in the whole wide world: Morning After Bag Mini in Wine. I'm literally praying that the Nikki in Mint that I ordered will be hideous in person so that I'll actually want to return it, thus saving myself lots of money.

KORS Michael Kors "Bleeker" Wedges

I wanted these shoes 2 years ago when they were at full price, but I decided against it because the cost wasn't worth how often I would wear them. I recently rediscovered them because one of my favorite fashion bloggers wore them in a picture. They looked so adorable on her that I had to search for them, mostly to see if they were even available still. I found them for 51% off but still wasn't convinced, so I looked at some reviews and so many people said they are their favorite pair of shoes/they are really comfortable! I decided to buy them just to try them on (I can return them for a full refund,) and if I love them, I will keep them. I've always wanted a pair of espadrille style wedges!!

I also have an outfit and event I want to wear the shoes with/to. My anniversary dinner with Darryl! Katsuya's dress code is "smart casual," whatever the fuck that means. I'm assuming my shirt-dress with a belt and espadrilles works?

Dress: H&M, Belt: AE from like 6 years ago.

Twelfth St. by Cynthia Vincent

image courtesy of shopbop.com

I absolutely adore everything by 12th St. by Cynthia Vincent...

I guess it's a good thing I got my neon sweater. Neon seems to be one of the trends this Spring, and I love the bright pop of pink inside the neutral yet unique cardigan. Sadly this whole outfit costs a cool $1,161, but I'm going to be on the lookout so I can recreate it!

High-waisted skirt

I recently made one of my smarter purchases and bought a really cute black, high-waisted skirt at Gap for $20. It was on sale!

I also bought a highly discounted neon yellow 3/4 sleeved sweater from J.Crew. It looked pale yellow online, but since it was final sale I couldn't return it... I think it might have also been around $20.

Anyway, what I'm trying to get at is that I think they'd go really well together. Neon is a bit strong for my look, but when tucked into a neutral high-waisted skirt it becomes bearable. The only thing I'm unsure about is what kind of accessories do I wear with this outfit?



Please excuse my dusty, dirty mirror.

Basically I went for "casual" with my pink American Apparel top, and a little more business-like with the other three outfits. I wish my skirt was a little shorter, but meh, that is unimportant at the moment, and I can always fix that later. The first yellow picture is with my H&M scarf and Express satin belt. Second yellow is with my Forever 21 belt. Third is with only my Express belt. I am horrible at accessorizing, especially because I rarely buy accessories. What would you wear with these outfits? A black, chunky necklace? A great statement belt?