Trends That Need To Die

In honor of Halloween I have a delightfully frightening post today. Fashion failures. I have witnessed some fashion fads lately that have outlasted their 15 minutes of fame. I outline the scary trends below.  

Crop Tops

Unless it's a beach cover up or you plan on spending all day at the Santa Monica Pier, I don't really care to see your toned abdominals, or the lack thereof.

Flatforms

I admit I almost fell victim to this fad. But not to this picture's extent. These seem like the most damaging shoes to walk in. To make a long story short, to quote my boyfriend: "they look like bricks." Touche. 

Circle Glasses

I've got nothing wrong with aviators, wayfarers or cat-eye glasses. Different style glasses look good on different people. But these plastic, bulky things? They don't look good on anyone. Save the circle lenses for The Boy Who Lived please.

Boxy Jackets

 Every woman likes a structured jacket. It says, "I'm polished." "I'm powerful." A boxy jacket says, "I am trying to hide a baby bump." "I don't know how to dress for my shape." "I think this is what they call fashion." Don't spend "X" amount of dollars on something you saw on the runway that makes you look frumpy. On purpose.

Printed Leggings

 This looks like something Nikki Minaj would wear. The fact that emulating Nikki Minaj's "style" is trendy makes me hurl. I hate Nikki Minaj. That's all I have to say about this. 

Heel-less Heels

 I saved the best for last. Can anyone explain what these are? Because I've seen these online a million times but I have yet to see a person on the street dare to wear them. If I do, I want to follow you, because there is no way you can make it two blocks without face planting. These are dangerous. Wear with caution.

So, do you disagree with any of my choices? What else needs to be added to my list?

Lust List: Movie Trailers

This weekend I was preoccupied by Halloween festivities so I didn't have a chance to watch a film off my "100 Movies" list. However, I wanted this post to be movie related. Luckily, two trailers were released recently that got me lusting over the upcoming movie season.

The first was Iron Man 3. I am not one to watch many super hero movies, but when it comes to Batman or Iron Man, I pay my $10 and enjoy the thrill ride. I loved the first Iron Man. Robert Downey Jr was perfectly comical and heroic. The second Iron Man was somewhat forgettable, so I hope this one amps it up a bit.

Secondly, and most excitedly, was the release of Kathryn Bigelow's trailer for the December release of Zero Dark Thirty. She is the Oscar winning director of The Hurt Locker, an incredible and intense modern war film. I read that this film, about the hunt for Osama bin Laden, was already in production when SEAL Team 6 successfully killed him in May 2011. Fiction becomes non-fiction. The most hair-raising part of the trailer is the last sequence, when it shows the team at night ambushing what we know as the spot where bin Laden is kept. Even though we know the ending, Kathryn Bigelow will make sure to make this a very bumpy ride.

Will you be seeing Iron Man 3 and/or Zero Dark Thirty? Any other movies you can't wait to see?

Russian Tortellini

My boyfriend is Russian and I have been lucky enough to try different Russian dishes when we go to his parents house. But tonight, we made it ourselves. There is a large International Market down the road from us and they have so many interesting things from different cultures. Alex bought these pelmeny, which I still have trouble pronouncing in Russian, so I just call them "Russian Tortellini". 

Unlike traditional Italian tortellini filled with cheese, these are filled with chicken, veal, pork or beef (with spices). You top the pelmeny with butter and/or sour cream, which I thought was interesting, but tasted just fine. Definitely not on the healthier side of the scale, but tasty! 

 After dinner I decided to finally put all my loose recipes together. I rip recipes out of magazines or print them out online so much that I have accumulated a huge pile. So I took a leftover binder from school, clear tabs with labels and hole punched all those suckers! It's nothing fancy, but it beats the chaos I had before. Also, as shown on the picture on the right, I have a tip. :) My parents always taught me to write on my recipes. A lot of the time your appliances need to be adjusted or a few ingredients or amounts need to be tweaked (like the chicken taquito recipe from earlier this month!) Writing it down will help for the future, so you'll get it right every time. :) 

World Series 2012

In honor of the San Francisco Giants making the World Series, (and Game 1 is on as I type!) I must dedicate a post to my excitement for this team, and for our fans. What a crazy year it has been, rather torturous to put it in Giants' terms. I was lucky enough to go to 3 games this year, but I can't tell you how much I wish I was there now! I leave you with a Brian Wilson meme. Because, why not? He can't play, but he will be seen and heard.

My Style: 10.24.12

Today was a typical fall weather outfit day for me: sweater, skinny jeans and boots. (And anorak jacket - not pictured)

Sweater: Nordstrom Rack, Skinny Jeans: Blank NYC, Boots: Steve Madden (OLD), Ring: Forever 21

I bought the sweater a few weeks ago from Nordstrom Rack (hurry up, if you go now they may still have it!) and I LOVE it. It has a hi-low hem and fits like a glove. Before this season, I didn't really own too much fall/winter clothes. Reason being, I would wear sweatshirts over everything to school and had a job that required a uniform. Now that I'm graduated (yay!) and work in a casual work environment (flip flops in the summer? Yep!) I can actually wear what's in my closet outside of the weekends.

Gee, now that I think about it. These boots have been through a lot. I bought them in 2009 before I went on a road trip with my friends. Since then, I've worn them in all seasons. They have their wear and tear, but they've held up pretty well for being $40 at Marshalls. 

 Two guesses where this ring is from? Ol' reliable Forever 21! I have been buying "statement rings" lately. Nothing gigantic, or sharp that could be confused for a weapon. Just stylish, different, and adds a pop. Like this one. For $3, it's a good find.

Crockpot Chicken & Rice

Sunday was the first sign of Fall, so I wanted to make our Sunday dinner be hearty, warm and comforting. So I busted out my crock pot and found this Cheesy Chicken & Rice recipe on Pinterest. It was super easy and only took 3 hours. 

The recipe called for 4 chicken breasts, but mine were pretty hefty, so I could have probably gotten away with using 3. It also says it should take 3-4 hours on high, yet my crock pot managed to cook the chicken within 2 1/2 - 2 3/4 hrs. You are better off checking your own crock pot as to not under or over cook the chicken! 

The chicken was super tender, juicy and shredded easily. It was so delicious. It reminded me of a dish my mom made when I was younger; probably another reason why I liked it so much!

 

Fab Finds of the Week: Fall Fashion

I had to return something at Forever 21 this weekend, and search for some accessories for my Halloween costume. So naturally, that was my chance to search for items on my Forever 21 wish list. But come Sunday they were having a 21% off sale online, so I didn't do too much damage in-store. Here are some of my recent fabulous finds from my weekend:

 I found this polka-dot sweater and fell in love. I got to buy it in-store and see how thick, soft and comfy it is, I got so excited I added the other color to my shopping cart for Sunday's sale. I don't own anything polka-dot so this was a nice change for my wardrobe.

I was so excited when I found out Forever 21 carried the new trendy color for fall, Oxblood in a zippered skinny denim. And wait for it... at a price of under $13 during the sale. I snagged these in Oxblood, Olive and Black.

2 People + 1 Umbrella = Someone's getting soaked! That's how it is in our house. So I took the liberty and purchased this cute umbrella on Forever 21's Sunday Sale. At under $5, staying dry never looked so thrifty. And cute!

What were your Fab Finds of the week?