retail therapy | anthro love

For years and I have been in L-O-V-E with Anthropologie, but who hasn't? What I am not always in love with is the price tag on each and every beautiful item that I fall in head-over-heels for. They have something for everyone, and ever time I walk in that store I find something that I can't live without... even though I usually leave the store without buying anything. 

I am one of those people {maybe it is because I eat, sleep and breath retail} who needs retail therapy when they have had a bad day. The other day was one of those days, and after work I found myself wandering down to Anthropologie with a friend after work. She needed to make an exchange, and I needed... well... nothing. 

There is nothing better than perusing the racks and ending up finding something that you really like, and a price that you really love. Here are a few items that I ran into on my journey that aren't going to break the bank. I picked up the beautiful emerald blazer for $39.95, and the lace peplum top for $29.95! I had to resist the other items, for now, but I am really digging the striped knit blazer.

Under $50:

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Under $40:

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Under $30:

 

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If I could live in Anthropologie, I would, plain and simple. Which one could you not live without?

 

polish please | blu & yummy

I am loving the Zoya minis that I got a few weeks ago. The pastel colors are really working for me right now. With the addition of OPI Nail Envy as my base coat, this mani has lasted for pretty much forever. This is what I was rocking right up until the wedding. Zoya Blu {lighter} and Yummy {darker}.

I need to do something more with these colors later. I love both of them so much, and and so happy that I got all of the minis when I had the chance. The only drawback with these polishes is that they go on a little thick. 

Just love these colors together... what else should I do with these babies?

while i was away

The past few weeks have been quite a whirl wind. There is so much that has happened that I need to share with the blogging world.

As everyone knows, Mike and I got married in a lovely ceremony in my parents backyard. I want to have a dedicated post just for all that went I to our special day... but I also want to include photos. So you all have to wait a little bit longer for that post.

A week after we were married, Mike graduated from medical school. I was so excited for him, and so proud that after all of his hard work, time, and energy he can finally be called a doctor. For him, and a lot of his classmates it seemed as though this day wasn't as exciting as when they received their residency match information, but for family... this was awesome. Like most commencement ceremonies there were some speeches that were a little long winded, and there was lots is waiting. The class president had a wonderful speech, and then the hooding began. Before you knew it, all the students were declared doctors, and the celebrating began.

This past Friday was my birthday, so I decided to have a little shindig to celebrate. Nothing major, just some friends, food, drink, and board games {one of my very favorite things}. I hadn't had a birthday party since I was twelve, and it was so nice to be able to have all of our friends over, without having them surrounded be wedding décor.

The one thing that I have not been doing is PAINTING MY NAILS! Well, that is not 100% accurate. I have painted my nails once since removing the polish from my last post. But I haven't done anything special. So hopefully tomorrow I can get back into the swing of things. And back into blogging.

polish please | mimosas for mr. & mrs.

I have be absent from the blogging world for a little while, but for a great reason. On Saturday, Mike and I got hitched! Everything turned out really nice. It kinda all fell into place, with a LOT of help from family. More details later, for now I want to leave you all with what else, the wedding day polish.

I knew that I wanted to do something neutral, and classic. I saw this OPI color when I was out shopping at Ulta with my Mega Best Friend. 

The color, the day, the man... they were all perfect! Stay tuned for a whole dump of wedding photos, and little pearls of wisdom that I learned throughout the process.

pinspiration | arrows

My latest obsession {which seems to change on a weekly basis} are arrows. Here is what has been my latest pinspiration:

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one week...

One week from today, and Mike and I will be married! I have been having a hard time getting excited, not stressed ... I have got that down pat. But right now, I am finally feeling it. I am in fact excited.

 

polish please | black and blue

I bought my first duo chrome polish the other day! They are a really neat concept {and nothing really new to the world, just to me} The color I bought was Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Black and Blue. When I was at the store, the color change seen in the bottle really stood out to me, but once it was on my nails... not so evident. The color in the polish changes from teal green, to blue to purple {not really black, ever}. But hey, with a name like Black and Blue, at least it didn't look like a bruise. 

What do we think of this polish? Was it worth the dough? I am not going to lie, I am not too thrilled on the purchase. Next purchase will definitely be something with a little more wow factor.

bloglovin

The more I get into the blogging world the more I learn. As of late, I have been following blogs through the blogger interface, but there is so much buzz out there about Bloglovin. So please follow me through bloglovin and let me know what you think!

They also have a mobile app that I am really digging. 

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/7004557/?claim=re5wkb5bwpu">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

wedding update

Are you all keeping an eye on the calendar? If you are you will have noticed that we are already into APRIL! This means that the wedding is fast appoarching, and I think that I may actually have a handle on this thing now {cross fingers, knock on wood, say a little prayer}. The past few weeks have been filled with prep, fittings, shopping and parties. I know, I know, not all bad. 

The great thing about a backyard wedding is the control that you have over everything, the bad thing about a backyard wedding is that YOU have to control everything. Thankfully I am not the only "YOU" in this equation. I know that I have said this before, but it is true. I have the best family ever! My parents, sister and bother are all wonderful people who are always there to help. Sometimes that help includes yard work. Now, I don't mean regular everyday, run of the mill raking, lawn mowing; I'm talking about cactus/plant removal, new planting, and let's not forget moving 35 tons of crushed granite! We were all on clean up duty, and my mom was in charge of planting. The rock, oh the rock! My dad is a power house! For five days he shoveled, wheel barreled, dumped, spread and raked. Whether he had help {my bro, myself, Mike, my uncle, or our family friend} or not, the old guy just kept moving! I knew my dad loved me, but I mean the guy moved 35 tons for me.

The dress fittings are finally complete, and now my dress is safe and sound at my parents house. The fittings weren't a big deal. I feel like they went pretty smoothly with just a minor hiccup {a lining issue}, but I really didn't mind the fittings because every time we were there we got lunch at the Cornish Pasty Co. It had not occurred to me until two weeks ago, but we should have had the Cornish Pasty Company cater the wedding. The light bulb in my head went off way too late. Oh well, that idea is fair game, but if you use it for your upcoming nuptials, just remember where it came from and that the Oggie is my favorite.

So far this what we have accomplished in the wedding world:

• Venue {and newly landscaped to boot!}
• Wedding party
• Officiant
• Dress {including fitting, shoes}
• Cake
• Food
• Rentals
• Photographer
• Music
• License
• Materials for decorations

With a few weeks left, there are still a few things to get done. Hopefully we are not forgetting anything!

polish please | tanzy arizona

The other day I received my Zoya Color Cuties in the mail, and let me tell you, I was SO PUMPED! I had a FedEx note waiting for me on my door, and was super bummed when the only time the apartment office was open was when I was at work. Boo. So I didn't pick these babies up until Wednesday. They were well worth the wait!

The minis are now sold out, but all still available in full sized bottles on the Zoya website. From top left to bottom right: Pippa, Tanzy, Shelby, Lo, Audrina, Zuza, Gilda, Happi, Arizona, Blu, Neely, and Yummy.

I have had Arizona on my wish list for obvious reasons, and immediately wanted to pair the two oranges for a tone-on-tone effect; his is what I came up with:

This was a very simple tape mani, with a very subtle difference {except for in direct light}. All you have to do is paint your base coat, base color Arizona, then quick dry top coat. Once everything is good and dry {make sure it is very dry so the tape doesn't peel up the polish} cover half of your nail with tape pain on your second color Tanzy, peel to reveal, and add top coat. 

I love the color combo and L.O.V.E. the Arizona! 

Which polish should I try next?