Happy WaaaaY Late Halloween!

I'm probably the only person on the planet blogging about Halloween this late.... but "Procrastination" is my middle name and I really wanted to share this with everyone!

So this year we had a party for the kids at our place on the Saturday before Halloween and went Trick-or-Treating on the day of (this year being a Wednesday).  We love decorating for Halloween and go all out so I've shared a few of our decorations.  I also like to take the Halloween theme into the kitchen and make all sorts of dishes from appetizers to desserts to feast the eyes and then the tummies...  This year I opted not to bake a cake but buy one already made and just doctor it up with the Halloween theme.

I love dressing up for Halloween!  This year as I was cleaning out the closets for our end of summer Yard-Sale I came upon this dress from an old Cleopatra costume I wore to a party.  I thought this would make a great Bride of Frankenstein dress with a long sleeve tee underneath! (sorry the pic showing the whole dress came out all blurry because of the laser lights - It was a party!)  The make-up was so much fun to do and I just teased my hair and put in these flower pins from H&M.

...bought the cake from Costco and just did the lettering myself with frosting and added the pre-made pumpkins and crumbled Oreo cookies on top.... the kids added the gummy worms and ghost marshmallows.

 My Alexander McQueen ring (a present from my B'day earlier in the month) made for perfect decoration!

 The "Mad Laboratory"....

The Point of It: Peplum and Camouflage

So sad the weekend is over and my week-long celebration of my birthday has come to an end.  This is what I wore to go out for some shopping and lunch with hubby last Thursday.  I was a bit worried about mixing the two trends of peplum and camo but I was so super comfortable I really didn't worry to much about it.
While the weather was great in the morning the clouds quickly rolled in and by mid-day we found ourselves "trapped" by the pouring rain at Sephora where we dulled our sense of smell by sniffing every perfume and cologne on display.  We spent an inordinate amount of time perusing the make-up isles and I can truly say that my make-up bag has not been so replenished in quite a while!  Thank you Rainy Day!
I do have to mention that it was very entertaining seeing everyone scurry about as the rain started and gained momentum.  A couple was struggling to cover their stroller with the baby in it, a lady ducked into Sephora just in time for her laptop to be saved from drowning, two girls were trying to protect their Louis Vuitton's under too short cardigans while running for shelter, and then there was the little old lady with blue/green hair that was slowly strolling towards her destination wearing boots, a parka and holding the cutest duck-print umbrella.

Top:  H&M
Jeans:  Zara TRF
Pumps:  Carlos Santana
Clutch:   F21
Necklace:  F21
Bracelets:  F21
Rings:  Charlotte Russe, Alexander McQueen
Sunglasses:  Chanel

  

 

Happy Birthday to Me!

Me - one year old!

I have the ultimate Libra birthday (10/10) and I love it!!  To top it off I was also born at 10 o'clock!

I have never been one to shy away from celebrating my birthday so I am off to celebrate with my friends and family, do a lot of shopping, do a lot of eating out (no dishes for me!) and most of all enjoy being alive, healthy and happy!

I will definitely post on all the shopping I will do (and have done -heehee) so stay tuned!

Enjoy every day (especially your birthday)!!

Me and Mrs. C

This weekend the fabulous Mrs. C (mrsjackofalltradesdaily) and I finally had the chance to meet and had a great time getting to know each other.

When I started this blog I wanted to connect with ladies with similar interests and be able to share/discuss about our passions for fashion, make-up, food, etc...  Actually forming a friendship with another blogger and actually meeting face to face was not something I thought about.  Never mind someone as far as Dubai!

We spent a great many hours talking over dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, walking around the beautiful Grove (thegrovela), and doing some shopping.

Mrs. C:  It was a pleasure meeting  you and your handsome husband!  Thank you for a great time!  I look forward to our next meeting!

Copy Cat Files - Rachel Bilson

In the words of George Hamilton playing Zorro:  "Here I Jam"!  Huge Thank You's to all my blogger-friends that sent me such wonderful words of strength and encouragement!  When I started this blog part of me wished to develop the kind of relationships I have developed and I am so happy.  Again THANK YOU.  

Starting a blog (interject BIG sigh here) and maintaining it was more work than I imagined.  This was party because I love to make people happy and try to please everybody (visiting blogs and commenting on all) but I just crashed and burned trying to stretch myself thin in achieving this.  So I am taking it slow from now on... to save my sanity...and get some sleep.

So on to the good stuff....

Lately I've been getting quite good (lucky maybe?) at finding some amazing items at the Thrift Store (like this great blazer).  When I happened upon this particular blazer in today's post I loved the paisley gold embroidery on it and was thinking of going "baroque" with styling it but then at home I saw this picture of Rachel Bilson in a magazine and knew that's the direction its going to go.  I love the simple and basic look of a jeans+tee outfit.  Adding this awesome jacket, clutch and pointy pumps makes it dressy for dinner and some late evening shopping.  And while we're on the subject, I've had these pumps for ages and have been looking for some new "pointy" (but not so much) black pumps.  Do you have any you love and would recommend?

Blazer:  KASPER - Thrifted
Tee:  H&M
Jeans:  DVF
Clutch:  ALDO
Pumps:  BCBG
Watch:  ToyWatch
Bracelet:  Ralph Lauren
Necklace:  Cara from Nordstrom Rack
Goddess Ring:  BCBG (old)
Earrings:  Swarovsky
Bracelet:  H&M  (necklace worn as bracelet)
Sunglasses:  Chanel
Nail Polish:  Nars (I absolutely love this; get yours here)

  My son getting into the act!

 LOVE the embroidery on this blazer!

There I go again thinking I'm Cindy Crawford...

Inspired

First:  Remember when I did this Fingerless Gloves DIY ()?  While I really liked the gloves I thought for sure I would place them in my drawer and maybe bring them out in the winter for a ski trip.  Imagine my surprise as I was flipping through Nordstrom's August catalog, which somehow was in my "throw away" pile of magazines.  So here is my inspired (and WAY cheaper) version.  Thanks Nordie's for the inspiration!!

*Picture taken by me from Nordstrom August 2012 catalog with my iPhone

Second:  Some of you may have noticed that I've been a bit MIA (thanks for checking on me Roni!!)

Without waxing poetic I have decided to just come clean cuz eventually it will all come out anyway.  A few weeks ago I had minor surgery to remove a small sebaceous cyst from my scalp that was infected. (fyi: sebaceous cysts are benign).  Still, it kinda rocked my world (the wrong way) and I fell into a semi depression/insomnia state that was so hard to shake.  After a couple of days, wanting to feel better, I went out make-up shopping, bought a new foundation (super-expensive, like if I spent more $$ it would equate to me feeling much better) and broke out horrendously, which only ended up making me feel worse and making my insomnia worse.  As days went by I didn't post I seriously worried about hurting my fellow blogger friend's feelings that I couldn't respond back in a timely manner, that I didn't visit their blogs, that my comments lacked substance, etc....

So I decided to turn the tables around and ask all of you:

1. Faced with insomnia what home remedies do you suggest?
2. How do you deal with blogging guilt?, responding to comments?, visiting hundreds of blogs?

Thank you in advance for any words of wisdom, advice, etc...

P.S. As you can see by the pics I am bouncing back (...slowly...)

How fun is this picture?

 I have always wanted to take a picture like this..... PEAACEE!

 

 

"take a look at  yourself and then make a change..."  (Michael Jackson)

Feeling French & Mini Ring DIY

Remember when I couldn't decide which color pumps to keep? (here)  If you've been following me for a while you know that deciding between things are just not my strong suit but I've finally made my decision, as you can see, and I couldn't be happier with these gorgeous heels!

Going out for "coffee time" at a French Bakery inspired my outfit today.  I would've preferred to wear my YSL#14 red lipstick but I hate leaving stains on white coffee cups...  So happy that the weather is cooler now in the evenings and I can wear my beloved waxed jeans.

Obsessed with my new chain link bracelet I got from HRH Collection (here).  Ordering was so easy and the package arrived at my door in no time.

Mini Ring DIY:  I loved this H&M ring as soon as I saw it on the rack but being in a hurry to leave just grabbed the first ring and left... At home I realized it fit my ring finger well but not my middle finger where I wanted to wear it.  The next day at H&M, wanting to exchange the ring, realized that I forgot the ring, but ended up getting the bigger size as it was the last one.  Back at home, fiddling around with both rings while on the phone, stacked the two together and realized I really like the way it looks and kept both!  I did a lot of realization those two days (haha).  But for an Armor Knuckle ring under $15 I say it looks pretty good!

Blouse:  H&M (old)

Waxed Jeans:  Zara

Vest:  ? (real old)

Pumps:  Jessica Simpson

Flower pin:  H&M

Necklace:  F21

Bow leather bracelet:  F21

Chain Link bracelet:  HRH Collection

Armor Ring:  H&M (2 rings worn as one)

Beret:  borrowed from my son

Handbag:  Burberry

Sunglasses:  Gucci

Nail Polish:  Illamasqua "Prosperity" (here)