Fab Find of the Week: Riding Boots

One of my brothers got me a Forever 21 gift card for Christmas (how did he know?) and I browsed the website recently and came across these amazing black buckled riding boots. 

I love my boots in fall/winter and since Forever 21 was having a sale, I took a risk. (Forever 21's policy on sale items makes them FINAL sale, so unless you are in the store, it's a risk to purchase!) I was glad I made the risk because I love these boots! They look super nice, and I love all the buckle details. I sprayed the faux leather with some rain protectant and wore them the next chance I got. The only complaint I have about them is the tight fit. If you have large calves these will not work for you, which means the only thing I can wear them with are leggings or tight skinny jeans. For the amazing deal I got, they are so worth it! 

The 50% sale online at Forever 21 is going on until 1/21. 

Golden Globes Fashion

I know I am a few days behind in posting this, and by now you are probably on Golden Globe fashion overload. But I am committed to posting all the fashion from all the big shows, so sorry about yet another post about the Golden Globes. And unlike the People's Choice where everyone was a bit dull, so many stars looked great on Sunday! I really had to edit my choices down. Here are a sample of my best, worst, and a little something extra. :)

 These ladies looked stunning, and for all different reasons. I would tweak a few things on each, but I have serious dress envy for all six of these gals! Thumbs up! 

 Blush tones took over the red carpet this year, and that's why it made my honorable mentions list. All 4 of these ladies looked elegant and tasteful, but since they clearly weren't originals, I couldn't put them in the top category. 

 This is my least favorite part. These six picked some God-awful dresses for one of the most glamorous nights, and I can't forgive them for it!

Ben and Jen win couple of the night. Jennifer looked STUNNING (no one else had a dress like that) and Ben had a great night winning for best director and best picture. His acceptance speeches were so sweet too. Love them!

People's Choice Awards Red Carpet

Yay! Awards Season is officially in full force. Last night was the People's Choice Awards, the grown up version of the MTV Awards (in my mind). The Red Carpet was a bore to tell you the truth, and I wanted to put virtually everyone in the "worst" category, but I managed to narrow it down. It was hard work. 

The Best:

Of course I'm going to start off the list with my favorite girl, Emma Watson. She's been into this geometric phase lately, she wore a similar bold print at the MTV Movie Awards last year. I put Emma on the list mainly because she stood out. Everyone else was in solid prints, and Emma made a statement in her futuristic frock. 

Let's get this straight right now. I don't care for Lea Michelle in the slightest. Which is why putting her in my "best" category makes me squirm, but I just have to! This Elie Saab dress is amaze! Elie Saab is the epitome of elegance, and this girly pink color is so cute. I even like her matchy-matchy shoes. I would just change the hairstyle. Maybe a messy bun, a sleek pony, or a fish tail braid? 

Casey Wilson from SNL on the "best dressed" list? Yep. I love this bright blue with her hair color and skin tone, and the details along the bust and waist. It's not just a plain blue dress, and I bet in person it looks more expensive than in photographs. I like how simple it is but very pretty.
 
 Honorable Mentions:

I hate doing this. I really do. Jennifer Lawrence is reaching Emma Watson status in my world. I love her. I also want to be her best friend. I think she's fab. On the other hand, this dress just isn't up to par, yet. I like her shoes, the cute slit, the black sparkle, a long sleeve on a shorter dress, but the gold/sheer/v-neck top is a mess. If this was edited down a bit it could have been great. Fingers crossed for the Golden Globes. 

I can't help it, I love my color! Chloe Grace Moretz works the neon trend in a fun yellow lace dress. For her age I think the choice is spot on. However, I think she missed the mark on hairstyle and shoe choice. Because of the high neck on the dress, I would have preferred to see her hair out of her face. As for the shoes, black makes the look to "bumble-bee", and I don't particularly like the style of the shoe either. 

The Worst:

Yikes. Satin. I hate satin. This looks like a wedding dress that shrunk in the dryer. An ugly wedding dress none the less. Her pose is awkward too. I don't really have anything else to say. Yuck.

If you held your hand over the bust of this dress, then over the waist/bottom you would see the issue I have with this dress. There are two different dresses here! And they do not belong together. I imagine the top dress as a huge Oscars like dress with a long train and the bottom as a tight fitting sexy number. Not to mention that turquoise clutch isn't helping the situation. But I'm just splitting hairs here. 

Let's hope that Sunday's Golden Globes is a more daunting task, I'd rather have more "best dressed" to sort through! I'm so excited for the show, and even more so than Tina and Amy are hosting! Look for my picks later next week. 
 
 
 

It's Back: The Bachelor

Everyone's favorite reality show is back, not The Biggest Loser. No. The Bachelor. Because watching 25 crazy women in one house compete over one guy as they go on over-the-top dates in order to win his heart, and most importantly, the rose is way more rewarding. Whew. 

If you watched the last Bachelorette, then you know Emily dumped our now Bachelor Sean Lowe in the final 3. I think it's safe to say it was the biggest mistake of her life! (Her loss, our gain, right?) ABC took what seems like FOREVER to announce who would be the new Bachelor, but let's just say America is happy with their choice. Roberto who? 

Let's get to the exciting stuff, the crazy  beautifully poised girls who were chosen to compete for Sean's heart  rose. Obviously I don't remember all of these girls names, in fact I remember them by their level of craziness and their choice in evening wear. Let's just say there was a lot of questionable outfit choices and too much free booze provided. 

I remember when ABC released pictures of the girls, I thought Diana was my favorite just purely based off the snipet I got from her promo shot and info. Turns out she's one of the oldest contestants (if not oldest) and with 2 kids! There is also an Ashley-Greene look-alike, a stunning blonde with one arm, an OCD "professional organizer", an annoying model, and a former Bachelor girl. For a more in depth analysis on the episode and mini profiles on the girls, check out fellow blogger Jen Frase's recap here .

I always look forward to Monday nights. According to the season preview, there is a lot of tears, kissing and one girl who is a plague among the group (think Courtney and Vienna). I won't do a recap each week, only on the important episodes. :) Happy watching!

3 Events for 2013

Usually around this time of the year we start our resolutions we made the month before. But instead of listing some resolutions I may not be too keen about, I want to explore some of the events in 2013 I am looking forward to. It's about looking on the bright side, right? 

 
1.  Going to Europe. I have been planning a trip to visit my friend Laura in England for quite some time (how about 2 years?!) and come May 2013 I hope to cross the pond and travel through England, France and wherever else we land. I hope our plans work out and the plan follows through. I have been saving my pennies and after the rough end of the year I've had, this would be an amazing gift. 

 2. Getting, and loving a new job. I have been searching for a new job for about 2 months now,  and enough applications sent in that I had to make a spreadsheet! Even though I'm not sure where the future will take Alex and I later in our careers, in the mean time, I want to have a job that I love coming to every day. Is that too hard to ask? I spent 6 months last year hoping mine would get better or the people would change, and it never did. Since we spend more time at work than any other place (so it seems) we better like going there! I refuse to end up in a bad situation again. :) 

3. Turning 25.  I can't believe I will be 25 this year! I hate to compare myself to other people my age (I know it's not healthy) but I feel like I am behind in the game! So many people have traveled the world, started amazing jobs, moved to new cities and sometimes I feel like I am stuck. I know that's not the case and things will be worth it when the time comes. I am so excited for the future and I can't wait for what it brings for careers, traveling, family and relocating! 

What big events do you have going on this year? 

Christmas Monkey Bread

Merry Christmas everyone!! I hope you all had a great holiday. I spent 3 straight days with family and while it was hectic, it was nice to enjoy everyone's company, and have good laughs and great food! Speaking of great food, we did something a little different on Christmas morning this year in terms of breakfast. My boyfriend and I volunteered to make a recipe I found on Pinterest (surprise!). 

 I have seen Monkey Bread recipes floating around Pinterest for a while now, and they looked so simple and less time consuming than our normal 4 hour cinnamon roll recipe. This recipe couldn't be any easier. It took about an hour from prep and baking time. What I loved about it was the outside crunch combined with the warm, gooey and sugary inside. Since we had half the pan leftover, I had some the next morning. It was still amazing the next day. This is definitely being added to the 'ol recipe book. 

Recipe Here 

H&M to Start Recycling Program

I recently came across this article from one of my favorite fashion blogs, College Fashion. They stated that H&M is going to initiate an in store recycling program called iCollect starting February 2013. 

The program works as follows: for every bag of clothes you donate, you get a voucher for a discount on your next visit. It is not known what each bag will give you in terms of a discount at this time. 

The purpose of the program is to use the donated clothing and recycle it into new clothing. The retailer hopes to only use sustainable cotton by the year 2020. 

For someone like me who goes through her clothes once a month (or every other month) and just sells to consignment, I may use this only a few times a year. I would probably give the items that consignment wouldn't take. However, if you are a person who totally does a wardrobe re-vamp, this would be perfect. Depending on the voucher cap you can receive, you may be able to get a steep discount on your new wardrobe! 

Will you be donating your clothes to the iCollect program?