Archives for March 2014

When brands add special elements to their product without it being a blatant logo, it really adds something special to the product’s feel and consumer’s enjoyment. My desire for that product heightens exponentially. The added detail and care is definitely noticed and noted. It makes shoppers who recognize the product feel something special, it’s like a little club. I don’t care if that makes me sound like a style snob, it’s true!

Favorite Examples:

• Louboutin
• BCBG
• Nicole Miller
• Chan Luu

Red. Sole.
Need I say more?
Just a flash of the red sole on a shoe brings a wave of appreciation for Louboutin.

The Dip.
Work pants are about as fun as the term work pants. Therefore, that added something changes the whole pant. I adore how the BCBG pants have that little triangle cut out.

Scrunch It.
Ladies, you know what I’m talking about. The amazing scrunch dress, it looks so stylish but is also secretly quite comfortable! It’s form fitting while it doesn’t cling to every curve of your body. Thanks, Nicole.

Curved Clasp.
Chan Luu’s clasp on their wrap bracelet is much more efficient with curved edges. My

Just adding that extra something that makes a product slightly different makes all the difference. If a style product example doesn’t do it for you, think food. If your favorite smoothie bar always adds a hint of lemon to their strawberry smoothie, then every time you taste that you know where it came from, the brand registers with you. It’s not just an ordinary strawberry smoothie anymore, it’s a special smoothie.

Now, let’s get deep a moment. Let’s relate it to you as a person, what is that something special you have to offer? That added bonus that tells you apart from all the other humans. Find that and embrace it, preferably embrace it in some Louboutin heels 😉

Why fit in when you were born to stand out?

Last night I created the best “Mexican Quinoa Bowl”, almost by a pure genius accident. An accident to be repeated many times. I had been in a cooking rut and having veggies, quinoa, with soy sauce multiple nights in a row because its quick, and healthy. I wanted a similar simple meal, yet slightly different. My pantry then answered my request and revealed some black beans and corn. I decided it should be mexican food-inspired instead of asian food-inspired. And the master piece was created!

Ingredients:
Red Pepper
Green Pepper
Garlic Clove
1/2 Yellow Onion
1 1/2 C Quinoa
Can of Black Beans
Can of Corn
Salsa
Sour Cream
Salt and Pepper

Saute some onions, garlic, green peppers and red peppers, then set aside.

Make some quinoa and heat up the corn and black beans.

Mix the quinoa, black beans, corn, peppers and onions together. Stir in the spices.

Add a dollop of sour cream and some salsa.

One item missing was the avocado. Duh! I would highly recommend slicing a quarter of it to put on top. Muy Delicioso!

The end product was everything I wanted it to be. Also vegetarian friendly! I will have this meal at least 3x this week and that’s saying a lot since I’m never too enthused at the thought of leftovers. But the versatility of this meal is extremely appealing and useful to not give me that gross leftover feel. You know what I’m talking about.

Leftover Options:
#1::Bowl Style
#2::Wrap it all up in a Tortilla
#3::Add Tortilla Chips and Iceberg Lettuce for a Salad

And a new favorite quick recipe was born…

A woman and her makeup is a special thing. Makeup gives a woman the power to enhance her confidence, show her style, and have fun! A life without makeup would be a sad life to live.

It’s incredible what good makeup can do. We obviously can see how powerful it is when we spot celebs out and about before a brush has sweeped across their face. The way that makeup can also change the shape of facial features is shocking. Complete transformation!

The power of a good eye can change your look drastically.I have almond shaped eyes and always like changing up my makeup to see the difference it makes. I have 3 different looks that I wear depending on the event, mood, or time of day.

My 3 different looks

• The Cat Eye (Glam)
• The Rimmed Outer Eye (Classic)
• The Smokey Inner Eye (Dramatic)

The Glam Look is the basic cat eye. I use a liquid liner to do the top. Happy to say I think I have almost mastered it so that I don’t end up like a raccoon. It’s all in the wrist.

The Classic Look is lining the bottom lid and the outer top corner. This is the eye that I typically wear every day for work. It plays up my eye shape and is more casual.

The Dramatic Look is when I line my entire inner eye lids with a brown-black eyeliner pencil. Then, I usually wear some dark shadows and lighten up my inner corner with a wintery white glitter shadow.

Hope no one is reading this in a dark room late at night, the eyes are a tad creepy. But I wanted to give you all visuals 🙂

There are so many different options when it comes to makeup and I feel overwhelmed most of the time. However, I have landed on a couple key products when it comes to my eye makeup, usually Lancome and Mac.

I really like the white Mac shadow to use in the inner eye corner and the upper brow line for all my looks. It adds some shimmer and is also subtle. For my Glam/Classic liner, I use the Black Coffee from Lancome. For my Glam liner, I play it cheap with Almay. Mascara is the tricky one. I have still not found one that I have settled on.

Now that I am a working woman I feel it is worth finding some products to always use and count on. I am on the search for the Perfect Mascara, and foundation (but that’s a whole other topic).

Which Mascara do you swear by?

Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions, and more tolerance – Benjamin Franklin

Clauren Ridge is a beautiful winery in Northern Edmond, Oklahoma. My family, Colton and I went on Saturday evening for a wine tasting dinner and it was such a fabulous experience. It was a St Patricks Day celebration so we all wore our green and used our best Irish accents, some strangely resembling Borat. The evening ended up being very rainy, perfect for pretending a night in Ireland. Erin Go Bragh!

The Vineyard
Perhaps a little less green than Ireland.

Mother and I in our Rain Coats

The evening started with a happy hour of wine and hors d’oeuvres. After, we got to view the fermenting room, barrel room and dine in the wine cave. The owner gave us a quick and dirty explanation of growing grapes and fermenting them. There is so much work and time dedicated to producing wine. He said it takes about 5 years for a vine even to yield fruit. Other uncontrollable factors like weather can greatly affect the production, meaning Oklahoma is quite a challenging place to produce wine.

Learning about the process is so interesting and further increases my appreciation of the sweet warming of wine in my belly. Would be such a dream to be able to travel and go wine tasting after I retire. Perhaps in France, rather than Oklahoma.

There was a total of 5 delectable courses, each with its own wine pairing. All of the food was Irish fare consisting of corn beef and kraut on toast, bangers and mash, irish stew, steak and potatoes, and ending with a cupcake with Irish Creme frosting. I had to use every ounce of strength not to consume the cupcake since I gave up dessert for lent. I had planned to take a picture of each course but when you are hungry and hot food is served to you, your first thought is time to eat!

My favorite wine was their Cabernet Sauvignon. The Chardonnay is also worth noting with a buttery taste and smokey after taste.

Entertaining staff that kept our drinks topped off.

Family time in the barrel room.

Got my hair cut.. and it feels dangerously short ! Happily though…shorter hair gives me more of an excuse for the need to buy cute earrings!

The New Locks

 
Here’s to a post solely dedicated to earrings! Earrings are my favorite piece of jewelry. They just add the perfect amount of sparkle. It is a rare occasion that you catch me without earrings on. If I don’t have them on, something has gone terribly wrong.

Having my hair so short now makes them even more noticeable, which I love. Short hair has definite benefits, cute earring show easier and adorable backs of shirts do too!

Kate Spade has my heart when it comes to earrings. They are just so sparkly and stunning. I am completely devastated because I lost my favorite pair and cannot find them. Even the trusty Dear St Anthony prayer has not reached my beautiful earrings’ ears. I refuse to give up looking, months after.

Kate Spade Mod Earring
This earring would be perfect for Spring to wear with your Mod Look .

Can I stop and take a moment and say how thrilled I am that hoops are coming back in style?! Hoops are my absolute favorite and have been my whole life. I put them away after middle school, with a devastated sigh, when the trend ended. Now the time has come, and I absolutely can’t wait to have them gracing my ears once again.

Every time I bring up hoop earrings I can’t help but think of these girls. “You know that I’m not allowed to wear hoop earrings, right? Yeah! Two years ago she told me hoops earrings were *her* thing and I wasn’t allowed to wear them anymore.” So happy that we all have the freedom to wear hoops now since Regina’s tyrant has ended. Gretchen Wieners, feel free!

To celebrate this style properly, I purchased three pairs, a girls gotta have options. I bought them all from Stella and Dot. They have some fabulous hoop earrings, check them out! I also happily got to use hostess credits from last weekend when my friend and I hosted our first Stella and Dot party. Any excuse to peruse jewelry, drink wine, and catch up with friends. So fun!

Which piece of jewelry can you not live without?