Holiday Gift Guide

Christmas time is knocking at our back door, and it’s a full barreled sprint to the holiday season since Thanksgiving came so late this year!

I already finished up my Christmas shopping last week, because I had a bad experience procrastinating on gifts last year and pulling my hair out because I didn’t think they’d make it in time. However, that doesn’t mean I can’t give the rest of you filthy animals some suggestions on how to give a great gift!

…………………………………………

For the Roommates:

Since no 2 roommates are a like, I have 3 different guides for your favorite rent sharer’s.

The first board features beautiful kitchen pieces that are easy to use for the newbie in the kitchen, my personal favorite is the Rosemary salt which is great for sweet and savory dishes!

 1. Dapper Animal Plates 2. Rosemary Flake Sea Salt 3. Cheese Board 4. Twisted Branch Measuring Spoons 5. Copper Mule Mug

Get down and dirty with your earthy friends using this next board! The fish farm is probably the coolest and most versatile gift – the plants clean the water while providing food for the fish!

1. Reusable Market Tote 2. Fish Farm 3. Lavender and Cocoa Dry Shampoo 4. Edible Flower Garden Kit   5. Heifer International Donation

This final board features luxurious treats for friends who like the finer things in life. The Silky Underwear dusting powder is my personal favorite, you can use it for literally anything!

1. DuWop Seashell Compact 2. Dusting Powder 3. Acrylic Organizer 4. Petal Perfume Roll On 5. Henri Bendel Candle

For the Sister/Best Friend:

For the number one lady in your life – who get’s your inside jokes and appreciates your antics!

1. DIY Collage Frame (inspiration) 2. Boo You Whore Cross Stitch 3. Partners in Crime 4. I Think I Am In Friend Love With You 5. POP Mini Champagne

For the Boyfriend/Brother:

These gifts are great for any charming gent in your life! The Adidas x Pharell shoes are absolutely fantastic, and perfect for any cool dude in your life.

1. Adidas x Pharell 2. Herschel Laptop Case 3. Kalamazoo Beard and Face Wash 4.Happy Socks  5. Homemade Monster Cookies

For the Parents:

Give the best gifts ever to the people who gifted you LIFE! (And make your siblings look bad with your awesome presents!)

1. Whiskey Stones 2. Boswell Pipe 3. Wallet Clip 4. Statement Necklace 5. Silk Pajamas 6. The ULTIMATE Lush Bath Collection

Happy Christmas shopping friends!

xoxo,

Emily

Up and Coming Trend; The Fem Bun

The man bun (n): A questionably sexy hairstyle in which a man with hair of the medium to long (and usually greasy) variety secures said hair into a firmly rounded bun.

This has been one of the hottest hair trends to emerge in 2014 since the notorious images of Leonardo DiCaprio rocking the aforementioned bun (love you Leo).

We’ve seen this look all over street style and the celeb fashion world, all of todays hotties have rocked this look. From grimy hipsters to equally grimy models, the man bun has become something to lust after.

However, a new adaptation to the notorious Man Bun has emerged in the opposite sex, I’m affectionately dubbing it the “Fem Bun”. From the boroughs of Brooklyn a new wave of bun has begun to creep into day-to-day styling.

…………………………………………………………………..

The Fem Bun is a combination of a lot of positive aspects. A cute, perky bun on top of flowing hair gives a very dressed down and casual vibe, plus it’s very simple to style. It’s also easy to do with short or long hair with little to no effort.

The down sides are that in the wrong hands, this look can look… sloppy at best. This is literally how my hair looks when I wake up in the morning after putting my hair in a bun, and I know sloppy!

Here are some examples of the Fem Bun done RIGHT!

Why do I deem this to be a trend?

Well first of all more than half of my friends from Williamsburg are wearing this on the daily, and we all know street fashion starts in Brooklyn. My roommate has dubbed this, “The Rise of the Bun” for ladies everywhere!

The second indicator is the fact that while searching this look, literally thousands of results came up featuring this look.

The third and final straw that proves this trend is about to blow up – a single model featured on the Forever 21 website.

This little momma shows that the Fem Bun has broken through to main-stream fashion, it’s only a matter of months before every girl you see starts using this as their go to look.

My suggestions for those ready to try this style – be sure to baby powder those roots before you whip up your bun!

xoxo,

Emily

DIY: C. Wonder Novelty Smoking Slippers

Hello world! Long time, no post!

I (Emily) have finally, officially, moved to NYC and have been living here for one whole month! It feels so much longer, but it’s been amazing being reunited with my BFF Chelsea, and the most exciting city on earth!

However, as you readers know, I’ll always be a “Southern Belle”, that’s why when I saw these C. Wonder slippers I knew they HAD to be mine!

Chelsea was also completely enamored with the sister pair of “City Girl” slippers, perfect for her Manhattan-loving personality!

However, once we found these shoes online, we quickly discovered that 1.) they were hella expensive for twenty-somethings budgets, and 2.) they had already run out of size nines (a tragedy for myself).

We then decided to take matters into our own hands, and make our own DIY version of these must have flats. The total cost of the DIY came out to about $17, a far cry from the original $148 cost!

Here’s what you need to make your own:

• One pair of solid colored flats, we got ours at H&M for $14.95!
• One metallic paint pen, we got the gold one from Michaels Arts & Crafts
• Scratch paper and a ball-point pin that matches your flats

Step 1: Practice, practice, practice!!

The first thing I did was study the font shape of the original shoes, and practice writing it about a billion times. I did this first with the ball-point pin, then went over it with the paint pen once I felt more comfortable!

The hardest part is figuring out where each loop should be so that the words actually fit on the shoe…

Step 2: Clean Your Shoes, and Get Ready to Rumble!

The next step was making sure the tops of the shoes were totally fluff free. There’s nothing worse when working with a paint pen than hitting a dirty spot that either makes you leave a non-painted area, or causes smearing!

After that, use the ball-point pen to lightly trace out the calligraphy you’ve been practicing onto the top of the shoe. Keep in mind the spacing you want on either side of the shoes center, and the angle that you want each word.

Step 3: INK!

This is obviously the most exciting, and nerve-wrecking part of this project. My advise, slow and steady wins the sweet shoes! Go over the tracing you just did with the paint pen VERY slowly.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Make sure to apply multiple layers of paint pen, letting them dry in between. A note here, the hardest word for me was “Southern”, just because it’s the longest. Just be confident with your writing and be sure to really practice before going in with pen! It also helps to have your best friend there to cheer for you while you write..

Viola! you get your very own, custom made flats representing wherever it is you came from!

Hopefully you’ll all go out an make your own sweet flats, thanks for reading and keep on checking in on us two crazy belles!

xoxo,

Emily

A Long Awaited Update…

So it’s been about 8 weeks since I came home to Dallas from NYC, and I’ve been extremely neglectful of this blog!

(so embarrassed..)

After my internship, I was made a full time offer with Ross to come back and work in the same role I interned in, which is amazing and exciting! The only hard thing is that I will be moving back in late October, which doesn’t allow for as much time off after graduating as I expected. That’s why I’ve been trying to spend as much time with friends and family as possible, and less time on the computer.

However my time back in Dallas has been full of new experiences, and lots of fun! From going and seeing my middle school dream band Death Cab for Cutie at the KTX Summer Cut, playing Top Golf for the first time ever, starting an eBay account for my 70 year old grandparents (shameless plug here), to taking a couch surfing road trip to Austin – this break has been anything but boring.

I’m so grateful to have had some time to spend at home with all the people I love, but I’m also ridiculously excited for what’s to come at the end of this month! I’m moving back to Brooklyn, and starting my dream career in the greatest city on earth – pretty cool right?

xoxo,

Emily

New York: The Final Chapter (maybe..)

So I’ll admit it, I’ve done an AWFUL job of letting everyone know what’s been going on in NYC. But with a busy internship, new friends, and a whole lot of getting lost to do – you don’t always have time to post!

Here are my highs and lows of the past few weeks, to catch you up

Highs:

• I went to see the stupendous A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, woke up at 6:30am to get tickets at 10:00am – and it was TOTALLY worth it!
• I got to fly home to Dallas to take part of one of my oldest friends weddings as a bridesmaid
  

  
• I got to hang out with wonderful people and eat amazing food – all the time
• I successfully presented my final project to a group of Ross superiors
• I turned in my LAST homework assignment EVER!!!

Lows:

• PACKING, MOVING, ETC.

This weekend I celebrated the NYC experience by crossing a few things off my bucket list. This included going rollerblading on the pier overlooking the entire skyline of New York, walking the Brooklyn Bridge, hitting the town on 2nd street, brunching at Alice’s Teacup, and finally making every Gossip Girl fans pilgrimage to the Met.

Heres a few pictures of the first events mentioned

The biggest highlight of the weekend was getting to visit the Charles James exhibit at the Met. This exhibit was a bold combination of lavishly glamourous dresses from the 40s and 50s juxtaposed with high-tech cameras that broke down the dresses into their core components. The dresses could have stood all on their own, but combined with the witty anecdotes and wisdom of James along with the completely rad x-rays made the exhibit truly inspirational. As usual, I sneakily took pictures in the museum of some of my favorite pieces!

 

After such a fun and inspiring weekend, it has barely sunk in that not only will I be heading back to Dallas this weekend, but also graduating from UNT this Saturday! This past 10 weeks has been a whirlwind, but I can’t wait to head back to the city after grabbing my diploma.

 

xoxo,

Emily

Emily’s Grand Day Out

Today I decided to take a day spending time with one of my favorite people in the world – myself!

New York is the kind of place where even the most social of butterflies can have an incredibly enriching and exciting day all on their own, and today was no exception for me.

I started my day making a list of things I wanted to do, that were cheap if not free. After perusing Free in NYC, I came up with a plan to do 3 major activities.

 

1. Check out the Japanese Artisan Village at Lincoln Center

2. Visit the Belvedere Castle in Central Park

3. Explore the Guggenheim Museum

 

The Japanese Artisan Village was a small row of booths set up at Lincoln Center that featured trained japanese artists creating amazing traditional handicrafts. I got the chance to watch a man make some beautiful fans from scratch, all the way down to the glue that bound the fan to the base.

 

Lincoln Center Train Station

Japanese Artisan Fair

Hand painted postcards

Traditional japanese fans

Creating the elements

It was also pretty exciting to visit the Lincoln Center area for the first time, and I had a blast watching a group of kids playing in the most ridiculously huge fountain I’ve ever seen!

I then worked my way over to Central Park to check out Belvedere Castle, a center point of the park. I had only hung out in the Sheeps Meadow area of the park so far, so it was groovy checking out an entirely different section. I had a nice time laying out and reading (aka taking a nap) before heading over to the Guggenheim.

 

Going to the Guggenheim was one of the biggest highlights of the day. They were primarily featuring Italian Futurism, which showcased all different types of media, including architecture, design, ceramics, fashion, film, photography, advertising, free-form poetry, publications, music, theater, and performance. It was a dynamic blend of metropolitan ideals and, “optimism and all costs”.

 

 

(I wasn’t supposed to take pictures in the museum… but I’m a bad mamma jamma so enjoy my favorite pieces!)

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I ended the day having a delicious dinner at Cafe Lalo, famous for it’s appearance in the classic movie You’ve Got Mail! I had a divine grilled brie sandwich and a cappuccino, the perfect end to the perfect date.

 

It just goes to show, when it comes to exploring New York, sometimes two can be a crowd!

xoxo,

Emily

Lingerie Lovin

Hey Friends,

Recently, Emily and I had the chance to view the exhibit “Exposed: A History of Lingerie” at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). The exhibit featured many European and American lingerie pieces through the years. The collection started at the 18th Century and went to the present. The exhibit  showcased many different designers and brands. Some of the big designers/ brands showcased were Dior, SAKS, Jean Paul Gaultier, Hanky Panky, La Perla, Rudi Gernreich, Agent Provocateur and Claire McCardell.

              

The exhibit showcased many different kinds of lingerie. There were nightgowns, corsets, bras, chemises, slips, panties, pajamas, tea gowns and bed accessories.

Some pieces from the 18th Century:

                                                     

Pieces from the 19th Century to Present:

*The lingerie started to take on more of a modern form fitting style.

                        

It was very interesting to see how lingerie has evolved over the decades. It went from comfort and protection to trendy, sexual and natural freedom but always keeping the functional purposes. Definitely check out this AMAZING exhibit if you are in NYC. It goes through the summer!

And always remember that every woman needs a little support 😉

Until next time ❤

Chelsea

 

Confessions of a Discount Shopaholic

When you work in the retail industry, you become extremely cynical about buying clothes full-price. Knowing that an item usually has at least a 55% mark up makes even the biggest shopaholic skeptical about making full-priced purchases. That’s why I’m a huge discount shopping junkie; thrift stores and sale sections are my JAM!

After getting paid on Friday (WOOHOO!!), I decided that I needed to treat myself to a little retail therapy after a long 3 weeks of work. Lucky for me, New York retailers are having ridiculous sales to clear out spring and summer inventory in anticipation of fall. I started the weekend off right hitting one of the hottest sales of the season at Zara.

I got this adorable swing dress for only $39.99, which is a crazy steal for anything from Zara. They had a great assortment of different dresses, shoes, coats, and more – so I highly advise checking out the website while this sale goes on.

 

On Sunday after church, I went with a couple of friends to some new and familiar resale shops in Williamsburg. The first place we visited was called Crossroads Trading Co., it’s a great place to find gently used name brand and designer pieces for a fraction of the normal price. I saw pieces from Theory, JCrew, Alice & Olivia, Marc Jacobs and more! It was truly a struggle to narrow down my purchases, but I decided to go for things that could transition well between work and play.

I started off with these awesome cutout booties. I literally wore holes in my last pair of boots, so it was time to pick up a new pair. I got these for only $15, and I love that they’re a simple brown leather with heavy metal accents!

My other purchase from Crossroads was this totally KILLER knee length vest! I have seen a lot of different sleeveless vests popping up in the market, but this one attracted me because of the longer length and the nubby grey material. It’s going to be a great transitional piece for fall, and a perfect neutral!

The striped shirt in this photo came from Buffalo Exchange, which is one of my favorite resellers back in Texas! I was so excited to find out that they had a location in NYC, and obviously I don’t already have way too many striped shirts (only like 4 okay…) so this one was a must.

To wrap up my shopping bonanza, I ended it and none other than my FAVORITE off-price retailer, Ross Dress for Less. My co-workers and I drove all the way to the magical land of New Jersey (a two hour drive) to check out the store, and of course to take advantage of our employee discounts! I found two adorable pieces that I absolutely couldn’t resist.

The first was this ridiculously cool mixed media necklace. The silver chains are both classic and brushed metal, and the beading is SO PERFECT! I have been really into short statement necklaces as of late, and I don’t actually have very many silver necklaces. I’m dubbing this piece my MVP purchase of the week!

My final find from Ross was this overtly Americana sweater. It gave me a very Lana Del Rey vibe, and I feel like it’s the perfect loose knit sweater for me to wear on my early morning kayaking adventure this weekend (more on that next week)!

Being in New York doesn’t mean you have to pay designer prices. I was excited to treat myself to these pieces, and to have saved some money in the process!

xoxo,

Emily

Coney Island Queens

After a long week of work, the weekend is something to relish in. You can lounge in bed watching Netflix, go for a casual stroll around the park, or have one of the most fantastic and magical weekends of all times. (Hard choice, huh?)

This weekend I took the train to what felt like a world outside of NYC, Coney Island. Now, my only prior experience with the area was from snippets mentioned in Lana Del Ray’s music, and the Beyonce XO music video, so I was pretty excited to say the least.

It just so happened that this weekend was also the day of the almost 20 year old Mermaid Parade, which was founded in 1983 with 3 goals; “it brings mythology to life for local residents who live on streets named Mermaid and Neptune ; it creates self-esteem in a district that is often disregarded as “entertainment”; and it lets artistic New Yorkers find self-expression in public.”

Needless to say it was a truly memorable experience. The parade was full of whimsy, fun, and fish tails. Here are some photos from the parade, and some of the amazing costumes I encountered.

But honestly, the parade wasn’t the best part of my trip to Coney Island. There are so many other wonderful things to do there aside from gawking at mermaid dogs! One of the first places we explored after arriving was Luna Park, the giant amusement park just inside the train gates. It reminded me so much of Texas in that it felt like a combination of Six Flags and the State Fair of Texas served with soft serve ice cream and Nathan’s hot dogs!

This time we didn’t end up partaking in any of the rides, because honestly we were 110% blown away by the BEACH! It was a beautiful and sunny day on Saturday, and seeing the beach after a long train ride had me running like a little kid straight to the water! There was a wonderful combination of families, couples and friends having a blast, and it was surprisingly crowd free. The water was cold, the sand was hot, and it was seriously incredible.

(Our friend Tina jumped into a game of volley ball with a group of Europeans;I hit the ball once and was proud)

Whenever you hear about New York, you always picture the concrete jungle. I was enchanted this weekend by how beautiful the natural areas of NYC are, especially in my neck of the woods in Brooklyn. I never expected to take a 35 minute train ride to a gorgeous beach, or that I would see a chicken with painted toenails.

That just goes to show you, you can never judge a city by its tour book!

xo,

Emily

To B, or Not To B (Birkenstocks that is)

Since moving to New York, I’ve realized the importance of a really comfortable pair of shoes. For the first time in my life, I no longer believe that Carrie Bradshaw of Sex And The City pranced around Manhattan in Manolos (fashion gods, please don’t smite me).

Although the comfy shoe is a must to survive walking long blocks, standing on the train, and scampering around the office – you have to get a pair that’s cute, right?

Maybe not so much when it comes to the biggest fad hitting the streets of NYC, Birkenstocks. I first saw the trend on none other than the Olsen twins, and I’ve been fascinated by the storm these “ugly” sandals have created in the street-style world!

(Are the socks really necessary though…)

After surveying a large number of friends and colleagues, the consensus came up inconclusive. Some people said the slip on sandals brought them straight back to middle school summer camp (in a bad way), while some applaud the comfort and simplicity of the shoes. I decided to take it upon myself to get to the bottom of the B – how did these stocky sandals surge to popularity, and how can I apply them to my wardrobe?

Last year, Celine’s spring 2013 had models shuffling in strange, fur lined sandals that could boast being one of the weirdest shoes on the planet. The flat, chunky shoe could be considered universally ugly, but instead fashionistas got inspired by the idea of bringing back the crazy comfortable cork-bottomed Birkenstock.

(Mink lined and looks just like a Hobbits foot!)

Street style fashionistas then started picking up the trend. Everyone knows the 90’s has had a resurgence over the past few years, but normally when you hear the word “Birkenstocks” you think of something like this…

Surprisingly, incorporating this sandal into your summer wardrobe is actually relatively easy! I personally think they look best when mixed in with more masculine pieces like boyfriend jeans and shirt dresses, but they can also really mellow out a girly look. Here are some examples of my favorite street-styled Birki’s.

  

Birkenstocks have now permeated the magazine and retail world with force! You can get original Birkenstocks for $90 – $120 from many hot spot retailers like Urban Outfitters and even luxury shops like Nordstrom. My personal favorite styling of the shoes comes from a combination of JCrew, and Lucky Mag.

Some how they manage to make these sturdy sandals look almost delicate and ethereal. Of all the colors offered, I’m most drawn to the silver pair. I like the metallic shine juxtaposed with the cork, and I really do like the way they make an otherwise dressy outfit look easy.

 

So what’s my final decision on the most controversial fad of the summer?

I’m looking for a knock-off version from H&M… but if anyone wanted to buy me a pair of the silver Arizona’s in a size 9, I wouldn’t be mad!

 

xoxo,

Emily