I knew about the J Crew Factory, but I thought it was just an outlet. I didn't realize that they have their own products that you can buy online! My co-worker has the first bracelet in the second row and it's gorgeous. The photo really doesn't give it justice. I am going to order it. Best thing? There is currently a discount for 25% off using the code: MOREPLEASE
Have a great weekend and don't forget to come back on Monday to link up for my weekly bloghop, Monday Morning Gossip. You can blog about anything and join in on the fun!
Ah, the little black dress. A staple that every lady needs in her wardrobe. Yet somehow I don't have one. Pretty sure this Essential Matelasse Skater Dress from Forever 21 would fill my LBD void. And it's only $27.80. I may just need to buy it!
If you look closely, there are ribbed stripes. Such a cute detail!
And now for what you've all been waiting for - my Monday Morning Gossip/1,000 Followers giveaway winner is Jessica of You Are My Color. Congrats!
Aside from finding out my credit card info was stolen and used recently (I won't get into that), it was a pretty low-key but good weekend. I went shopping and picked up goodies from Forever 21 and Bath & Body Works...because nothing relieves the stress of some stranger charging hundreds of dollars fraudulently on your credit card than spending your own money.
Sunday night I went to Kate's (of Nautical By Nature) for her annual Oscar party. Although I live a block from the theater where the Oscars were held, and work on the same street, just buildings away, I've never been to see the red carpet. I should at some point just because I'm so close. One day! But Kate did a great job of making the night special. She's such a great host and had the most adorable decorations. Check out how cute everything was!
Don't forget - today is the last day to enter my giveaway. Remember, if you're linking up for Monday Morning Gossip you get an extra five entries!!
What kind of gossip are you blogging about today? Link up with and tell us about it. Here's how it works:
1. Blog about your gossip - be it the weekend, big news, or anything else
2. Add the badge (below) to your post and/or link back to this blog
3. Add your link to the list below
AND say hello! If your linking up leave me a comment and I'll make sure to stop by your blog. I love meeting other bloggers!
I'm lucky enough to say I've been on a few red carpets. Of course as a blogger/reporter, not a celeb dressed to the nines. The last event I went to was the Young Hollywood Awards and it was pretty great. My spot in the press line was right next to major publications like Cosmo Girl and Glamour!
I saw this dress a few months ago and fell in love. It would make the perfect red carpet dress for this week's Fridays Fancies!
Be sure to come back Monday for my new linkup, Monday Morning Gossip. You can post about anything. So stop by by and make some new friends. To celebrate the bloghop I'm hosting a giveaway. Enter below. And if you join MMG on Monday you'll get extra giveaway entries!
This week is all about giveaways - sorry for the overload, but hey, the prizes are really cool! If you haven't yet, enter my giveaway to win a BaubleBar necklace, coral nail polish, $10 Starbucks gift card, and Baby Lips lip balm. If you link up next week for Monday Morning Gossip you'll get FIVE entries, so be sure to join the fun. Also, you can tweet every day for an entry.
This week in blogland things are good. Make that great! I have 1,000+ followers, am making wonderful new blog friends and strengthening current relationships, started a new linkup called Monday Morning Gossip, and have gotten away from negativity associated with blogging. So what's a girl to do? Celebrate by hosting a giveaway! Happiness is infectious and I hope I can bring some joy to my readers.
So in the spirit of spreading the positivity, one lucky winner will get a BaubleBar necklace, $10 Starbucks gift card, coral nail polish, and Baby Lips lip balm (four of my favorite things)!
In other news, I had a date with blogging bestie Kate of Nautical By Nature last night. We watched Pretty Little Liars (our ritual for the past few years) and tuned into the new CW show, Cult. Kate is a big Matt Davis fan and she's rubbed off on me because I have a crush as well now.
Who watched the premiere? It's creepy good and based on a TV show about a cult that secretly has a cult following. Shady stuff. I can't wait to see it unfold. You should check it out!
I tweeted about the show and, Robert Knepper, the actor who plays the cult leader, Billy Grimm, tweeted back to us! It's always fun when actors interact with fans.
Today is an extra special Monday! Not only am I celebrating the first week of Monday Morning Gossip, but also the milestone of hitting 1,000 followers! So to kick things off I am having a giveaway to show my appreciation. I picked a few of my favorite things that one lucky person will win...
Those who linkup for Monday Morning Gossip will get five entries. The giveaway closes next Tuesday, so that's two opportunities to link up and a possibility of 10 entries just for being a part of the bloghop. Be sure to join the linkup fun!
What kind of gossip are you blogging about today? Link up with and tell us about it. Here's how it works:
1. Blog about your gossip - be it the weekend, big news, or anything else 2. Add the badge (above) to your post and/or link back to this blog 3. Add your link to the list below
AND say hello! If your linking up leave me a comment and I'll make sure to stop by your blog. I love meeting other bloggers!
Did you hear the big news? Weekend Update is no more. But don't fret because in it's place I have a brand new linkup called Monday Morning Gossip! Weekend Update was my baby and I adored it but I am really excited for this new adventure. I met so many wonderful bloggers through it and look forward to continuing those and building new relationships as well! I take the time to visit every linkup post, so don't forget to say hi if you're participating!
Here's how Monday Morning Gossip will work: blog about your weekend, what your excited about, or any other gossip that's going on. Be sure to grab the button above to add to your post. The bloghop will be live every Monday morning at midnight PST.
A HUGE shoutout to Melissa of Not So Ordinary Designs for creating my pretty button. I'm obsessed!
Can't wait for your gossip on Monday!
Speaking of linkups, I've been participating in Friday's Fancies hosted by Long Distance Loving for over a year. I highly recommend you check it out if you're not linking up. So much fun! This week's fashion prompt? Red + pink. Here's my look. Totally something I'd wear.
Happy hearts day! Tonight I'll have three Valentine's: my pup Coco, and Damon & Stefan Salvatore. Sounds pretty magical to me. I hope you have a great day whether you celebrate or not!
Congrats to Selma for winning my Valentine's Day giveaway!!
Big announcement: this week was the last installment of Weekend Update. It was a great run and a huge part of this blog for several months. I've met so many wonderful bloggers as a result! I never thought when I came up with the idea, my little linkup would grow to be as big as it did. I decided to open it up to be co-hosted and unfortunately due to creative differences we've decided to part ways. The linkup was designed to make new friends and that is still my goal. So, I'm continuing on my own way with Monday Morning Gossip.
Monday mornings are rough. So like the water cooler chats you have at the start of the work week, this will be a place to gossip. If you want to link up you can blog about what you did over the weekend, what you're looking forward to this week - life lately!
A button is in the works and will be ready Monday. Be sure to stop by and link up!
In other news, Lent is upon us. Exactly what my soul needs now - a 40-day cleanse ha. This year I am giving up bread (thanks for the idea Mree!) and committing to working out three times a week. Wish me luck! To celebrate Fat Tuesday I tried a new local crawfish joint. Although it looks nasty it was delish.
Annd with Valentine's Day upon us, you deserve a little something. Enter my current giveaway for a chance to win a pretty stack bracelet! A winner will be announced tomorrow.
Lastly, I hit 1,000 followers! Such a big deal to me because I truly love blogging and meeting new people. I believe the blogosphere should be a positive place and each of the 1,000 follower matter to me! Thank you for the follow (if you are), if you aren't, get on it! ;)
Last Friday I had the pleasure of seeing Kris Allen live at a tiny venue called The Constellation room in Santa Ana, California (Orange County). Named the Out Alive Tour, after a track on his newest album Thank You Camellia, it eerily also stands for Kris surviving a bad car accident on New Year's Day. While driving with his wife (who is pregnant) they got into a head on collision and Kris broke his arm and required surgery. As a result he's currently unable to use his right hand and thus performing all of his shows acoustically, with his band mate playing the guitar and Kris only playing a tambourine at times - which I really enjoyed.
Before I really get into my review I just want to try to explain what an amazing voice Kris has. Yes, he won American Idol so he has talent. And I certainly love his albums. But seeing him live is really special. He has so much passion and you can tell he feels his lyrics and is genuinely happy performing. I've been to a lot of concerts. Literally somewhere between 75 and 100. I dare to say that Kris has one of the best, if not the best, live voices I've ever heard. Super impressive.
The small club was super intimate. It was really cool to be packed into a tiny venue with maybe 100 fans - tops - in attendance. Luckily we were pretty close, which is always fun. What wasn't fun was the crowd. It was such s strange experience because there were a lot of middle aged women gushing over Kris. Last week I joked that I am a puma because I have a crush on him and he's two years younger than me. But these were real life cougars, no joke.
Two of the said cougars were COMPLETELY wasted. These ladies bitches were practically knocking me and over because they were so belligerent. I even got my hair pulled twice! Had I not got kicked out I literally would have punched them both. What's worse is they were so obnoxious, loudly talking during the whole show. It was so hard to concentrate with their yelling. Kris was having a hard time too because they were so distracting. At one point one screamed it was her 47th birthday and wanted him to sing to her. When he told her to "sush" they cussed him out. On top of that they thought it was funny to throw stuff at him and even hit him once. What's the point of going to a show and acting like that? Thanks for nearly ruining it for me and everyone else.
If you are able to get to one of the remaining shows of the Out Alive Tour, do it! He plays through May and I promise you'll enjoy yourself. Plus, since he's playing small venues tickets are about $20 after all of the taxes and fees. Check out Kris Allen's site for dates (it's been down for maintenance so you can also see the tour on his Facebook page).
And buy his album, Thank You Camellia! This time around he didn't have to make the album as an American Idol winner, but got to do his own thing and write his own songs. If you want to just try a few songs, my favorites from his newest album are "My Weakness", "Better With You", and "The Vision of Love", and "Alright With Me" and "Live Like We're Dying" from his first, self-titled album.
I'll leave you with a clip of a performance of "Better With You" from Friday night. Enjoy!
Another great weekend in the books! Friday I went to a Kris Allen show (concert review tomorrow), Saturday went to a baptism from my sorority sister's daughter, and spend time with my parents for my dad's birthday. Nothing too wild, but just casual and good for the soul.
What did you do this weekend? Link up with me and my co-host Sami and tell us all about it! We just ask that you follow these rules:
1. Blog about your weekend - please no unrelated posts! 2. Add the badge (below) to your post and/or link back to our blogs 3. Add your link to the list below
AND say hello! If your linking up leave me a comment and I'll make sure to stop by your blog. I love meeting other bloggers!
This week's lovely layers Friday's Fancies theme is perfect because I have a layered bracelet up for grabs right now. Be sure to enter my Valentine's giveaway for your chance to win a pretty stack bracelet!
And now for a little fashion layering. I layer on the regular but I am afraid to mix prints. I think it looks great on others but I never have the guts. This is a tame way to ease into it I think. And the pieces are pretty basic so I think it's pretty do-able with wardrobe. Do you mix patterns?
See that beautiful stack bracelet above? It's up for grabs courtesy of Sara Helene Designs! It'd be a perfect Valentine's Day gift to yourself. Handmade in Sweden and retailing for $62, this super adorable bracelet features wooden, glass, and silver dust beads. Although designed for Valentine's Day it's the perfect accessory all year-round.
One winner will be selected and announced on Valentine's Day next Thursday the 14th. Good luck!
As sated in the ever reliable Urban Dictionary: Puma - An attractive woman in her late 20s or early 30s. She is a pre-cougar.
I may have a problem people. I have a thing for guys who are younger than me. I think that makes me a puma. Granted, it only comes to celebrities. I love me some Kris Allen (American Idol Season 8 winner) who is 27 I'm seeing at a show Friday and Harry Styles (of One Direction) who just turned 19 last Friday...OK maybe non-celebrities, too. Like the guy that I randomly met last week who was 23. But his Boston accent could be a big part of the attraction. And the fact that he looked like a younger, more adorable Joey McIntyre.Hello, the cutest New Kid on the Block! And then the 27-year-old from the bar Saturday...
The puma realization and classification all started with this tweet to my blogging besties Claire, Tiffany, and Kathrin:
Then, Christina, also one of my most favorite people ever, joined the conversation. Since she has a thing for Zac Effron I figured she'd understand my love for the young ones. So then this happened:
Man, I'm outnumbered. Can you believe that Harry and Kris?
OK someone has to be with me. Admit it! Don't be ashamed! Who is your cub crush?
For the record I've only dated one year younger than me. So far ;)
This weekend was full of alcohol. So much alcohol. Started Friday when we had an impromptu happy hour at work that resulted in a trip to Taco Bell. I did not log those calories on MyFitnessPal, for the record. Saturday I had to up the antics. Kathrin and I went to two different birthday parties and although it started off with one beer and was supposed to be low-key, several followed resulting in a very interesting, but fun night. Sunday however, was not so fun.
Your turn! If you're blogging about your weekend, join me and my co-host Sami and tell us all about it. We just ask that you follow these rules:
1. Blog about your weekend - please no unrelated posts! 2. Add the badge (below) to your post and/or link back to our blogs 3. Add your link to the list below
AND say hello! If your linking up leave me a comment and I'll make sure to stop by your blog. I love meeting other bloggers!
