winds of change

On this particular day, we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a visit during my art history class. Now, I certainly enjoy art history; it's just my teacher that I'm not very fond of. We won't dwell on that too much though, just in case she reads blogs. I'm going to share some of my favorite shots, especially since I took over a hundred...I went a little photo happy. 

It was really cool. I especially loved the contemporary exhibits. You guys should totally visit it! I didn't take many pictures of me in the park due to the joggers and passing cars, so I hastily set up my time and took one! Originally, my socks started off black, but they weren't too comfy (and they were a bit too short for this dress, especially since the temperature dropped!) so I stopped by American Apparel before class and bought gray thigh-highs. I highly recommend them! They're really warm and comfy. I wonder if it's just me that these socks ride down?

I absolutely love this dress too. The modest neckline, the puff sleeves, and just the general silhouette! 

AND..here's an outtake of me getting really frustrated with my camera not focusing and taking forever! I thought it was pretty funny.

How's everyone's weekend going so far? So far, I've volunteered at a family fair, and tomorrow I'm going to go to a man-geant, which is a man-pageant!

Outfit Details:

floral dress - Forever 21

gray thigh-highs - American Apparel

black thigh highs - ??

black flats - ??

black peacoat - Kristin Blake

bag - Forever 21

blue bow - American Apparel

pearl necklace - grandma's

burgundy velvet hairband

 

FIRST OFF, I'd love to thank Harlow Darling of Elegantly Wasted for giving me a blogger award! I'm extremely honored. I'm a bit too caught up right now to follow the exact instructions, so maybe I'll end up doing that later on. :)

Hi guys! It feels like forever since I've blogged. Truth is, I've got a lot of work to do. As the end of the semester comes near, teachers are constantly piling us with papers and readings and then there's the finals! So...if anyone is good at pre-calculus and applied calculus, I'm in need of a tutor, haha. I can offer you cookies! YUM. So I decided to make a rather long post today! :)

Right, so the story with this outfit post and rather unoriginal title is that my dad and I were cleaning out the basement and I stumbled upon the hairband I'm wearing in the photo. It's from about five years ago and I thought I lost it for good. It's a deep burgundy with a velvet like texture from Versace. My mom and I scored it at Off Saks Fifth for $3.99! It was such a bargain I should make it a point to visit that place quite more.

I always have a hard time trying to pair articles of clothing with this skirt. It's a rather silky fabric and the print is really busy. I've yet to find the perfect combination of patterns and colors, so for now I'll stick to plums and blacks!

As you can tell, I've started on painting my dresser and another canvas piece. The thing with me is that I tend to start projects then get distracted by something else and forget about the other one or lose interest! It's such a bad habit. I'll probably do another art post once I get around to completing these projects, haha.

And I've started to attempt wearing make up again! Well, not like I really wore it to begin with. I always loved collecting make up but never really attempting to wear it. One of my favorite looks so far is really simple! It's just lipstick and a creme eyeliner.

For this look, I used both a drugstore brand and a more quality designer brand! A Wet n Wild creme eyeliner and Chanel lipstick. I really like both of these products. The Wet n Wild creme eyeliner is really easy to apply (though I have to use my own brush since the one they provide is a bit hard to use due to its size) and it stays on without really giving me raccoon eyes. And I really like the Chanel lipstick. It's nice and opaque, but it isn't really a dark color. I don't really think I could pull dark make up off! I'm not brave enough to venture into foundation or anything eyes really. I guess it's best to start off simple!

Do any of you guys have make up tips? I'd love to hear them!

Outfit Details:

black sweater - J. J Basics
red patterned silk skirt - Classique

plum tights - Hue

black canvas sneakers - Vans

velvet headband - Versace from Off Saks Fifth

Makeup Details:

Wet n Wild creme eyeliner (black) - #886

Chanel lipstick - #142, Enigma

lazy sundays + a layout change

Hey Bloggers! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! And for those who still observe Day Light Savings, remember to adjust your clocks! I thought I traveled back in time yesterday as I was up at 2 A.M. I had to recheck everything to make sure I wasn't going crazy!

So I spent the majority of the day watching the Law and Order: Special Victims Unit marathon and painting! I've decided that my room is much too bare and it needed a bit of an artistic influence. Plus, I've been wanting to explore the medium of acrylic paints for a while now. I need a challenge to keep me motivated through these drab winter months.

So far, this painting isn't finished yet, but I wanted to show you guys my progress. Any artists out there are welcome to critique it!

And I updated the layout of my blog! I'd love to hear some feedback from you guys. I get a little stir crazy and I had the need for change, so if any of you don't like something or it isn't compatible in your browser, please let me know so I can do my best to fix it!

Done with acrylics, a bit of watercolors, and a sharpie pen!

Lazy Sunday Outfit Details (if anyone cares to know!):

my brother's sweatshirt - Billabong from Pacsun

blue leggings - American Apparel
blue slippers - Dearfoams

roll over beethoven

I spent yesterday cleaning my basement with my dad and we stumbled across his old CD and vinyl record collection! I abruptly went through the CD case. I was desperate for new music, honestly. Even though I have over 4,000 songs in my iTunes, I was ravenous for something new. Except new-old, because a lot of the CDs found in the case were of really old bands. Like entire anthologies from the Beatles, the Bee Gees, Alanis Morissette, Ice MC, and even Motown. So...if my blog titles tend to be from any one of these artists (like todays!) you can bet that I've been listening to them, haha.

Now that I've woken up, and catching up on outfit posts (I take them daily throughout the week. I just don't have time until the weekends to update), I suppose I'll have to catch up on cleaning the house. I've been working on some paintings for my room and I'm excited to start a new one today!

On Wednesday, I went to the dentist and although I've been holding onto my money really carefully so I could spend it on Black Friday, I splurged a bit in Forever 21 when I saw this gorgeous dress. In addition, I'm waiting for my awesome order from Urban Outfitters, haha. My friend and I combined our orders together just so we could get free shipping which, in retrospect, is a good idea because then you'd save a lot of money. Or maybe because I'm cheap, haha. You can view what I bought and ordered here, on my Tumblr. It's more of a less formal way of blogging, so you'll probably see some expletives and internet shorthands (such as LOL).

And I think this is one of my favorite outfits photographed so far of myself (besides this one). I think it has something to do with the way the bottom of the dress moves with my movement and in the wind and the way the transparent layer seems so airy. But sometimes I do wish I had more scenic locations to work with! I guess that's what I have to work with being an inner-city child.

Well, since it's Saturday, I hope everyone's having a great day! :) I'm off to make some brunch for myself and take a shower.

♥ Thanks for reading! I honestly appreciate every follower and page visit and comment I get!

Outfit Details:

knit sweater - Hollister Co.

floral dress - Urban Outfitters

plum tights - Hue

lace crochet flats - Urban Outfitters

107 West

Fried calamari.

Fried chicken with double mashed potatoes, because my friend doesn't like 'greens'.

If there's anything I love more than clothes...it's got to be food! A week ago, one of my best friends came back from college to visit my friends and I that didn't go away for college. Only four of us went out to eat, but we've been friends since kindergarten, and went to private school together until eighth grade!

Carmen (the friend that went away for college) and I spent a whole night browsing the web for some new things to try and stumbled upon 107 West! At first, I wasn't too sure if that was the address or the restaurant name, but it turned out to be both, although they have more than one location. The one we went to was on the Upper West Side, which I assume is the original!

The ambiance of the place was absolutely wonderful. It was classy yet low key and casual. Definitely really warm and inviting. There was a small little bar with the Yankees vs. Rangers game going on, but the lighting was dimmed and each table had small candles on it. And the benches had pillows too! Really useful for sinking back after enjoying your food. We had to wait half an hour, but that's understandable for a Friday night.

The bread basket was so good. There was this corn muffin thing with some sort of nut in the middle of it. And with extra butter, it was so delicious. I know, I know. Too much butter isn't good for you, but I absolutely LOVE butter. I almost always ask for extra butter!

I couldn't decide what to get, especially since everything looked and smelled so good. But after reading rave reviews on their fried chicken dishes, our entire table decided to get it. Although, the table next to us got the Alaskan halibut and it looked so good. I also ordered some fried calamari, which was SO GOOD. It was perfectly fried and the sauce was equally delicious. My mouth is watering right now.

I got the fried chicken with spinach and roasted potatoes. Unfortunately, the roasted potatoes were really dry and not awesome, so that was one of the downfalls of the dish. Otherwise, it was absolutely wonderful. I got two pieces of chicken breast (I think everyone did, though) and I couldn't finish so I had to doggy bag it and take the rest home. My friend got the bread pudding (and I stole a taste) and it was so wonderful. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures from it.

All in all, I give 107 West an A. Definitely worth visiting if you're in New York anytime soon!

Painting Flowers For You

I decided to go digging around my basement this morning and I found this old seafoam green cardigan lying around in a huge plastic bin filled with my old schools. Curious to see if it still fit, I hastily paired it with my dad's blue button up, and an assortment of pastel/neutral accessories. In retrospect, I probably wouldn't go out in public like this, mainly due to the shirt. It keeps riding up and it's a bit of a hassle to fix. Not to mention that it seems like I'm not wearing any pants! But I am! I always wear shorts/bike shorts underneath my skirts and dresses, even if it's a more modest length. You never know when a wind is going to pick up your skirt and show the world your undies!

But, I'm really into the floral bowtie thing! Originally, I intended it to be around my waist, but I felt that the neck area was too...empty!

Outfit Details:

seafoam green cardigan - Old Navy

floral sash as a bowtie - taken from my American Eagle skirt

blue button up shirt - my father's / Ralph Lauren

brown belt - my brother's / unknown brand

brown shorts - Hollister Co.

socks - ??

beige patent flats - Franco Sarto
white handbag - Louis Vuitton

Drops of Jupiter

Excuse my appearance! And my room. It's such a mess, haha, but I don't think I'm going to clean it any time soon. I usually never put my hair up, unless it was for track practice, but after I looked out the window this morning I hastily decided that a no-fuss updo will have to do the trick. And boy was I right! It was so rainy today and absolutely freezing.

This is basically my rainy day go-to outfit. Vans with thick platforms to prevent my feet from getting soaked, warm socks, jeans, layers, and a nice warm scarf, haha. I bet you guys are sick of seeing this jacket! I definitely wear it way too much.

After classes, my friends and I headed over to the Rubin Museum to fulfill our freshman orientation workshop requirement. If any of you are in New York City anytime soon, I think you guys should definitely check it out! I'm not sure how much admission is, but my college grants me free admission, haha. I think next time, I really want to visit the Guggenheim! It looks so cool, especially since we talked about it in art history class except my teacher is a total bully, so it sort of makes me dread going to the class.

Outfit Details:

green army jacket - DKNY

yellow cardigan - August Silk

gray shirt - Forever 21

gray socks - ??

striped scarf - Hollister Co.

jeans - Bullhead from Pacsun

blue slip on sneakers - Vans

November!

So it's officially November guys! In lieu of finding a new awesome site, Calndrs, a creative community of designers who rethink the typical calendar and bring it right to your desktop, I decided to submit one of my creations!

Everything is handdrawn with my tablet on Photoshop, except for the numbers and the days of the week! The size is rather large, so you guys can download it and resize it to your liking. It'd be nice to link back to me if you're going to be using it for any other purpose besides on your desktop! :)

Download link: here

Happy November, guys! :)