Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Weekend in Pictures

It's quite unusual for me to post two days in a row but I have some catching up to do because of the holidays and getting snowed in. So this is my weekend in pictures.

My family celebrates Christmas Eve while my boyfriend's family celebrates Christmas day so we're lucky enough to celebrate two Christmases. =] I'm already obsessed with all things Christmas so having a double dose of it is heaven to me.

First Picture - The boy and I at my aunt's house
Second Picture - A candid shot of the family.
Third Picture - Our umteenth attempt at capturing a girl's shot. This came out sort of decent regardless of Brett's face right smack in the middle of the picture. The other pictures were way worse because the boys kept ruining our pictures and would capture all of us cracking up in the background. My family is predominantly women so we take "Girl's Only" pictures every holiday.

The next day we left to Brett's house where we found out the northeast was going to get hit with 10-13 inches of snow. Figuring the weathermen were lying (because they usually are), we didn't make much of it until we took a look outside the next day and found snow everywhere! His town didn't even get as much as my town did. We got TWO FEET! Now I'm all for snow, but two feet might be a bit excessive. One good thing is that snow makes for a beautiful background.


The first two pictures are the views from my boyfriend's house and the third picture is just so funny. He looks ridiculously silly and a bit like he's scheming something which he probably was. I was later ambushed with snow and I came back into the house soaking wet. His mother even gasped. Haha. All in all, it was an awesome, relaxing weekend. It's weekends like this that make me happy.

And there you have it, my weekend in pictures? How were your holidays lovelies?

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

DC Botanical Gardens

I'm home and back to my oh so lovely laptop. It's amazing how attached one can become to inanimate objects. Don't get me wrong. I'm not in any way ashamed, just impressed. Haha. =] So instead of doing my Ten Things Tuesday, I've decided to post an outfit because I feel like it's been too long. Between holidays and snow, it was hard to blog regularly and I'll definitely do a Ten Things Tuesday next week. And now for the picture that inspired the outfit ...

This picture was taken at the DC Botanical Gardens when I was over there for a semester. I loved it. My friend and I acted like children as we hid behind plants and ran around looking at all the themed rooms. Everyone should check it out if you're ever in the area. =]

I love how casual this look is. My brown boots have become a staple in my closet and make any outfit a little classier in my opinion. I paired that with jeans and a hunter green cardigan as I headed out to get lunch. The hunter green cardigan is from Forever21, the white button down is from H&M, the jeans are from American Eagle and the boots are Michael Antonio. =]

I apologize for how late this post is. I recently got settled into my house after rushing straight to work from my boyfriend's house and finally being able to unpack all my stuff for the three weeks I'm going to be home. I finally have some downtime which will be short lived as I start working 9-5 tomorrow. I need some spending money for Vegas. =] And there you have it, I'm going to watch some TV with my mom now and officially get settled in. I took some pictures this weekend so expect a weekend in pictures post soon!

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Blizzard

Via NikStar
The snow that everyone has been commenting on/talking about has finally hit the north east. I am currently snowed in at my boyfriend's house which is an hour away from my house so I might be here for a while. I meant to do a weekend in pictures today but by the looks of it, I am not entirely sure when I'll be home. I love snow days but I love them a little more when I have my laptop. =] Luckily for me, I'm blogging from my boyfriend's computer while he's fast asleep. His parents have already stocked up on snacks so I know it will be fun just watching movies and eating all day with them. I can't wait until he wakes up so we can play in the snow for a while. Hopefully I'll take some pictures although I'm sure the pictures will all be of me running away from him while he's attacking me with snow.

I wanted to let you guys know about Kristy from the Sunglass Hut Full Time Fabulous Blog event that's going on. Go check her out and leave as many comments as your heart desires on her blog. She has been blessed with an awesome opportunity and I think it's important for other bloggers to support these kinds of things. So go check her out, she's awesome! =] She made a beautiful video for her holiday blog event where she showcased holiday pictures from many bloggers and I was lucky enough to be featured!



My pictures come in at the 1:29 mark so check it out and let's help her win. Rate her blog posts high and comment comment comment! =]

Also, I've noticed that I have gone over the 50 followers mark so there will be a giveaway soon to follow. Thank you for visiting my little corner of cyberspace and Happy Holidays!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

So close yet so far away ...

Hello there lovelies, how are we all doing on this lovely hump day? I, for one, am procrastinating ... as usual. I have one last exam to get through tomorrow morning before I am home for the holidays. I. CANNOT. WAIT. I just want to be done with the semester. Senioritis has officially hit me and it's attacking with a vengeance. I don't want to do anything! And now here I am, blogging and venting. I'm looking forward to the eager faces of my little cousins and the massive amounts of food I will soon be consuming. Until then, I'll just focus on an outfit post. =]

The picture that inspired the outfit ...
This photo was taken during my trip to Dominican Republic in my great grandmother's house. I'm really going to have to dedicate a whole post to that trip because I truly took some beautiful shots. And now for the outfit ...


The outfit, with the exception of the necklace, ring and boots, is all from Forever21. The ring is from ASOS, the boots are from Michael Antonio, and the necklace was a gift from my boyfriend.

You could tell from the last picture that I was freezing. I have goosebumps all over. I still think it's a nice winter outfit, with a scarf and a heavy coat. =] And now, on to more studying. I hope you all have a fantastic day!

Monday, December 20, 2010

Ten Things About The Boy

Our terrible Blue Steel Faces
So I figured out some features I'd like to do for the blog besides my weekend in pictures which I'll try and post as often as possible, or well, the weekends I remember to bring my camera out. I decided to do a "Ten Things Tuesday" just to introduce you all a little more into my life. Technically, I'm cutting it close as it's JUST past midnight but hey, it's officially Tuesday here so it's fair. But yeah, I think that the best part of blogging is actually feeling like you know the people behind the blogs so for my second Ten Things Tuesday, the first being my Guilty Pleasures, I thought I'd share some random facts about the person I spend so much of my time with, my boyfriend. I know it's a little cheesy to dedicate a whole blog post to him but he'll be in and out of my blog through pictures and random posts so why not give you guys a little introduction right? =] So here we go, Ten Things about Brett. =]

1. All M&M's come from his town =]

No matter what M&M's bag you pick up, they will all come from Hackettstown, NJ. I think that's pretty cool. Go check an M&M's bag, I dare ya. =]

2. He named his first guitar Jennifer which is ironically the name people always call me when they don't know/forget my name.
I don't know why people have always called me Jennifer when they don't know/forget my name and I only found out about his guitar's first name when I was with him once and my aunt called me Jennifer by accident. He then told me that Jennifer was the name of his first guitar which is a pretty awesome coincidence. Do I look like a Jennifer? Who knows.

3. I met him in a Men's Bathroom
Now I know what you're thinking. "Why was she in a men's bathroom?" There is actually a totally legitimate reason. Freshman year of college, I lived in a co-ed dorm and the women's bathroom was being cleaned (which means we couldn't use it) and I really had to pee so instead of venturing off to other floors to use the women's bathroom elsewhere, I decided to risk it and use the men's bathroom which, in hindsight, was not a smart decision at all but nonetheless, it offers a funny "How we met" story. He later wrote in a Valentine's card that I'm the perfect fitting puzzle piece he found in the men's bathroom. Haha. As awkward as the situation was at the time, at least it's something funny to look back to now.

4. He swears he doesn't believe in fashion, but LIVES in Banana Republic clothing.
Now, he says he just really likes how soft Banana Republic sweaters are, but I like to think he's some sort of undercover fashionista. =]

5. He paints REALLY well.

For our three year anniversary, we decided to paint pottery together which totally backfired on me because his mug came out 9374973947 times better than mine. He made mine look terrible. Seriously.
Turns out, he had come up with a concept of what he wanted to paint long before we arrived at the place. I struggled to keep in the lines and he managed to paint details like flowers! He made me look bad. Haha. His mug connects the city (where I'm from) and the suburbs (where he's from) with a bridge to symbolize us coming together. My mug isn't even worth posting pictures of because his is just far superior. His mug still remains one of my favorite gifts he's ever given me though. =]

6. He builds really nice sandcastles.

I never did capture a shot of the sandcastles he's done but they come out really well. This picture above shows him in the beginning stages of his sandcastle building. I usually start helping him and then give up because I'm definitely not as detailed as he is nor do I have the patience to do that. I'd rather just lay on the beach and tan. Haha.

7. He always smells like a baby & he doesn't even use Johnson & Johnson products!
Excuse the terrible circle. I obviously suck at painting circles. Haha. But seriously, I don't know how he always manages to smell like a baby. Of course, this has led to me constantly sniffing him in the creepiest way possible. Luckily, he seems to like it. =]

8. He only has one dimple
The picture above was taken in one of our favorite pizza spots where he built his very own little stick figure using his own head and fingers. Haha. He only has one dimple on his right cheek and I think it's adorable. =]

9. He's colorblind (so naturally, I like to poke fun at him =])

10. Last, but certainly not least, he is obsessed with every big city, but especially NYC.

The first picture was taken in Jersey City with a view of NYC, the second picture was taken in Boston Commons in Boston when we went 3 years ago. I think his obsession with big cities might be because he's always lived in a suburban atmosphere but I love seeing him act like a total tourist every time we go to NYC together.

And there you have it, ten things about the boy. =]

I apologize for the lack of outfit posts, it's so cold outside! Unless you guys wouldn't mind seeing all my coats. Haha. I will post some soon enough though, no worries. Also, stay tuned for another feature I'm going to have as I post about past memories that I experienced pre-blog like when my friend Lea came to visit me in NYC for 4 days from Michigan, my semester spent in DC, and my trip to Dominican Republic last summer as well as upcoming trips like the one to Vegas in January with my roommates! =] Has anyone been to Vegas and can offer good places to go/eat/shop/party? I'd love to know!

Now, I'm off to study a little more before I sleep and have to take the first of two finals before the end of the semester. Wish me luck and I hope you all have a fantastic day. Thank you for reading my blog, commenting on it, or even following me. I love you all. =]

Stay tuned for my very first giveaway when I reach 50 followers! I promise it will be a good one. =]

Wow. That was quite a lengthy post. Whew.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Weekend in Pictures

Hello there loves! How have your weekends been? I apologize for my small hiatus but I'm back and ready to blog. Haha. First and foremost, I would love to thank Toni from ssssht for featuring me on her Blogloving Friday. You can see the post here as other bloggers and I talked about our Christmas wish lists. My weekend was pretty awesome aside from one hiccup. My mother fell down some stairs and sprained her ankle but thankfully she's alright. She was a trooper though as she went into the city with us anyway and went to Macy's on 34th St. I didn't want to make her walk all the way to Rockefeller Plaza to see the tree as it's quite a walk from 33rd because that would be just cruel but I'm glad she was able to go into the city with us and enjoy the Christmas decor as it adorned the streets and inside Macy's. On Friday, I went to the mall to finish Christmas shopping with Brett and on Saturday, we went into the city with my mom. On our way there, we saw a tree in my town made out of plastic bottles and it looked so cute on display.

I love that they had a picture of John Lennon under the tree. =]

From there, we took the train to see the Macy's windows. It was hard to snap pictures because of all the people that crowded the displays but it was so cute! It told the story of Yes, Virginia as she wanted to know the truth about Santa Claus.

The detail that goes into these windows is just insane. I apologize for the terrible quality of the picture by the way. It was difficult to get a good shot.

We then went into Macy's to see Santa's Land on the 8th floor but the crowds of people made it nearly impossible. I did manage to get a picture of the beautiful decorations in Macy's and some of the stocking stuffers that were on display.
I've always wanted a huge lollipop like the one above but knew I would never be able to finish it. Luckily, I was able to get a picture with it. =] It was from Dylan's Candy Bar.

Due to the ridiculous amounts of people that crowded the streets, we took one last shot and went home to watch a movie and eat homemade pizzas.
I love this picture with Brett even though he was freezing and not really in a mood for pictures but the picture captures how beautiful the lights were near 34th street.

All in all, this weekend turned out to be just what I needed. It ended too quickly and I was unable to see friends from home that I would have liked to see but I'll be home in 3-4 days for three weeks so I'm sure I can make it up to them. =] How were your weekends?

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Because I'm just one of those ghosts, traveling endlessly ...

Hello there darlings, how are we all on this brisk, chilly day? I'm currently procrastinating (as usual) and decided to post an outfit post (does that sound redundant? I literally re-read that at least three times, ah well). Anyway, my lovely friend Jane snapped quick shots of me before she went to work (I love her =]) and I figured I should share them. I'm going on a very small hiatus as I will be going home tomorrow with Brett (the bf) 'til Saturday. I still need to pack for winter break and finish Christmas shopping. Did I mention I'm a procrastinator? I'm excited about this weekend though because Friday the boy and I will go to the mall to start (and hopefully finish) his Christmas shopping and then Saturday, we're going into the city with my mom to see the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Plaza and the Macy's window displays so I will definitely snap some pictures. I'm so obsessed with Christmas. I can literally stay home and watch Christmas movies, or watch people decorate other people's houses for the holidays. It's bad. I'm rambling now, so without further ado, the picture that inspired the outfit.

This photo was taken while Brett and I went to Boston for Spring Break our freshman year of college. To believe that it was almost 4 years ago. Crazy. I loved our trip though. Granted, we went in the middle of March so it was freezing and it rained most of the time but it still remains one of my favorite, if not my favorite, little vacation. This specific spot in Boston is Acorn Street in Beacon Hill which is the most photographed street in the United States (so I've heard) which is pretty awesome. =]

And now for the outfit. Now, I must confess something. My past blog posts have been a little deceiving because in all of the pictures my hair was straight but my hair is actually naturally really curly. =]

At this point, I was freezing! It's so cold outside. All of these pictures are taken in my driveway because I refused to go any further without a coat on. Gahhh, winter. I hate it sometimes. It could be because I was born in Dominican Republic so I naturally dislike cold weather. Haha. Who knows ...


Remember my ASOS rings? =] I love them.

And finally, my beloved owl necklace. =]

The grey sweater is thrifted, the burgundy top is from Victoria's Secret, the leggings, socks, tie up boots, bag, and owl necklace are from Forever21 (I could be their spokesperson with how much I shop there haha) and the rings are from ASOS. Oh, and the little silver necklace that you might see in some of the pictures was a gift from my boyfriend for our one year anniversary. It has my birthstone on it. =] I love him.

Have a great weekend guys! I'll post my weekend in pictures on Sunday so stay tuned for that. The boyfriend is rushing me to go eat now so I guess that's my cue. =]

***EDIT: The blog post title is from the song Misguided Ghosts by Paramore. Whenever you see a title that seems to make no sense or is rather irrelevant, chances are it's from the song that was currently playing while I was blogging. I'm so original, I know. (not).

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

10 Guilty Pleasures

Hello there loves! How have you all been doing? I have a bit of a quirky post to share with you today. With finals approaching, I have a habit of indulging in many guilty pleasures more often than I would if I wasn't so stressed so I figured I'd share them with you guys. Most of the list consists of food as procrastination + stress = me wanting to eat everything.

1) Buying Little Black Dresses
Via Moxieq

Seriously, I must own at least 5 or 6 different types of LBD's. They are just the perfect go-to thing and being stressed causes me to buy a bit impulsively which has resulted in me having 83748374 little black dresses.

2) Au Bon Pain Cappuccino's

I think you all my know of my obsession through this post as it was one of the things I was most thankful for. I love love loveeeeee cappuccino's and I have them even when I truly don't need them but I can't help it at this point. Winter days make it worse because it happens to be all I crave for.

3) Sour Straws/Sour Patch Fruits/Sour Anything!

My entire house is addicted to these things. Whether it's Wine Wednesdays (Yes, we have a dedicated night to drinking wine haha) or we're studying, the first thing we grab is anything sour from the corner store. It doesn't help that our corner store is literally half a block away.

4) Buying Scarves

Via CricketsCreations
I love scarves. I might just own a scarf in every color and let's face it, for those cold winter days, what can be better than a cozy scarf?

5) Buying Chinese Food

Oh Chinese food, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. On a serious note, my boyfriend and I are ADDICTED to Chinese food. Considering our irregular schedules that change day to day, there was even a point where I think we ate Chinese takeout twice a week. It's probably one of the most unhealthy things you can eat but it's so good!

6) Doritos Spicy Sweet Chili

This is a recent guilty pleasure as I recently discovered that these chips exist when one of my roommates got a whole pack of all different types of Doritos chips. It all went downhill from there. I love these! While I normally cannot take any spice, these offer a nice pinch of spice while not being too overwhelmingly spicy.

7) Black Nail Polish

Via Washingtonian

With nail polish, some colors suit specific seasons. However, I think that black nail polish is just right for any occasion. When I want to procrastinate, one of the first things I do (besides eating junk) is paint my nails. It offers me some relaxing time while I get to pamper myself. I also love how funky black nail polish looks.

8) Buying Cool Tights

Via ASOS
This is also a recent guilty pleasure but it's one I can't seem to shake just yet. These two lovely tights are now new additions to my wardrobe and I can't wait to wear them. For now, I'm practically living in sweats as I study. I do occasionally dress up though. With holidays coming around, I know I'll find endless reasons to wear them. (Christmas is in 11 days, just sayin')

9) Wearing Big Sweaters

Via Vinatran
I love comfortable big sweaters! I'm currently wearing one of my boyfriend's hoodies as I type. I don't know why men's clothes are so comfy but I'm pretty sure I've stolen a big chunk of his wardrobe because it is all so comfortable. The sweater above is especially lovely as it looks so comfortable but also looks stylish. I have one similar to this in grey.

Last, but certainly not least,

10) Drinking too much Pepsi

I drink way too much caffeine but it's so easy to indulge when one has irregular sleep schedules and needs caffeine to make it through a semester.

And there you have it, my 10 guilty pleasures. What are yours? =]


FOR YOUR INFORMATION

All pictures and photography belong to ©Inspiration By S unless otherwise stated. Pictures may be used with prior consent from Stefany Ovalles and must be linked back to this blog. Thank you.