Cheers to 2014

As 2013 come to a close, now is a time to look back on the year. Everyone grew and tomorrow is full of new beginnings and a fresh start. I want to thank every single person who has read this blog and making this crazy adventure possible. 2014 will hold many new be comings and I couldn't be more excited.

With 2013 coming to a close, I want to share something that I have been doing all year. I set aside one of my many mason jars and decided to put things that made me happy in the jar over the year. I opened the jar tonight a was overjoyed with the small memories I had forgotten. Although very cute, the idea wasn't mine, I found it on Pintrest :) 

I would encourage you all out there to do the same because you'll be surprised what you find and the memoirs that you can re live.

Here is mine:

Have a lovely new year and cheers to 2014! 

xx

Merry Christmas!

This is just a quick post to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! I hope you all have a lovely holiday with your family and enjoy this lovely day!

Gingerbread Men Cookies

I hope everyone is in the Christmas spirit because I sure am! I decided to share one of my favorite recipes for the ultimate Christmas time treat. Gingerbread Men are perfect as a gift or to leave out for Santa, Enjoy!

Ingredients:

3/4 cups light brown sugar

2 tablespoons syrup

1 tablespoon molasses 

1 tablespoon water

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/3 cups un-salted butter

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 cups flour

white icing

Directions:

On a low heat, in a saucepan, combine the light brown sugar, syrup, molasses, water, cinnamon, ginger, butter and then stir well. Then add the baking soda and make sure to keep stirring to avoid any burns at the bottom. Take pan off of heat and slowly add the flour, mixing well throughout. Mix until a ball of dough forms and leave the dough to cool for 30 minutes. After the 30 minuets is up, preheat the oven to 365 degrees Fahrenheit and spread the dough about 3 millimeters thick. Now, use your gingerbread men shapes and cut the cookies out and place them on a baking tray about one inch apart. Place them in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until nice and firm. Let the cookies cool and then it is time to decorate! Fill a squeeze bottle with white icing and create your gingerbread men. Any color icing can be used but I went for the classic white. 

Enjoy xx

http://saklk.com/easy-recipe-gingerbread-men-cookies.html

The Perfect Book

I love books, the only problem I find is when to read them in my hectic schedule! Books are the perfect Christmas present, the holidays are a perfect time to read and so why not give the gift of reading? I recently read a post containing the perfect books for everyone on your Christmas list and I thought i'd pass it on. 

Enjoy!

p.s. thanks to The College Prepster for the books!

The Man in The Pink Tutu

All Bob Carey wants to do is make his wife smile. After his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003, Bob traveled all around the world taking pictures of himself in his pink tutu. He wanted to make his wife smile, and thus came the creation of The Tutu Project. Bob now uses photographs to raise money and awareness for breast cancer research and to lift the spirits of cancer patients. 

You can check out Bob's website here!

Enjoy

x

The Ultimate Gift Guide

One of the hardest things about the holidays is finding that perfect gift. To help you with the process here is my holiday gift guide!

For The Girls:

Color Block Clutch  // Eye Shadow Palette // Scarf

Bow Flats // Socks

Polaroid Camera // Scallop Ring

For The Guys:

Watch // Headphones// GoPro

Shoes// Wallet

Travel Bag// Socks// Hat

Enjoy!

xx

My Music Ep. 3 Christmas Edition

Since Christmas time is in full swing, I think its time to share my favorite Christmas music in another episode of My Music!
Enjoy!

All I Want for Christmas is You- Mariah Carey

Along with the song above, I thought that this dance edition to All I want for Christmas is you, needs to be included in this list!

Merry Christmas Everyone- Shakin Stevens

Michael Bublé- Christmas

What are your favorite Christmas songs?

It's Christmas Time!

Everyone, my favorite time of year is now in full swing. I absolutely LOVE Christmas, the cold weather, Christmas movies the Christmas tree, hot chocolate, peppermint, I love it all! Now that December is here, prepare yourself for wish lists, recipes, favorite products, and a bunch more! Comment below anything else festive-y you would like to see!

To start us off, here is my Christmas Wish list!

Cambridge Satchel

Canon G16

Humans of New York Book

Seriously... I'm Kidding By Ellen Degeneres

J Crew Waffle Infinity Scarf

What do you want for Christmas?

Cyber Monday!

Happy Cyber Monday! I hope everyone's Thanksgiving was great and now that the rush for Black Friday is over, Cyber Monday is here!

50% off everything and free shipping at J Crew Factory with code "GOSHOP"

30% off everything at Kate Spade with code "CYBER30"

30% off and free shipping at J Crew with code "MONDAY"

Tons of Nordstrom deals!

Free Shipping at Anthropologie!

Enjoy

xx

Grace A Memoir

I recently read the book Grace A Memoir by Grace Coddington. The Vogue Fashion Director shares her story and how she got to the place she is at. It is a truly good book for any fashion fanatic or just anyone who loves to read life stories. She tells how she began in a small town, started modeling and ended up being where she is now. I recommend checking this book out to give you a little insight on what really goes on behind the scenes of Vogue and how people can come from anywhere and become a major name in the fashion world. 

If you want to see more, check out the movie, The September Issue that features how Vogue puts together the astounding magazine normally containing over 900 pages of fashion. It shows the life of Anna Wintour and Grace Coddington and how Vogue comes together. 

Happy Thanksgving!

I hope everyone out there is enjoying a lovely Thanksgiving! I love Thanksgiving and love everything about it! 

So, Enjoy your turkey and enjoy the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (always one of my favorites on Thanksgiving) and mostly enjoy each other!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade circa 1930

What is your favorite part of Thanksgiving?

Winter Packing

With the upcoming holiday season, everyone will be traveling around spending time together. It is now time to start prepping for the holidays with a perfectly packed suitcase. I always end up over packing and always regret bringing something that I never use, but I'm trying to actually think packing through and packing items that not only are "suitcase friendly" but also are versatile.
Here are some of my favorite picks for winter.

J Crew Hooded Parka

This parka is a winter must, a heavy coat is a necessity for winter. 

Patagonia Fleece

I love this fleece, I got it recently and absolutely love it, it is nice a cozy to wear during winter.

J Crew Camp Socks

Everyone loves a good thick sock and during winter they are a must-have. 

Hunter Rain Boots

Everyone needs a pain of good rain boots that can be worn in the rain or snow and Hunter provides some of the best ones.

Hunter Fair Isle Cuff

A perfect match to your Hunter boots would be a nice Christmasy pair on Hunter socks to give your feet a little extra warmth.

Enjoy xx

Colorful Blondies

One of my friends had surgery recently and to cheer her up and sooth my baking needs, I decided to come up with the colorful blondies to give her a little cheering up with a happy dessert.
You could also substitute any other treat, nut, cookie or anything you would like instead of Oreos and Sprinkles.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of unsalted butter, melted

1 large egg

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

Oreo Cookies

Rainbow Sprinkles 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F and line a 8 by 8 pan with cooking spray, butter, or aluminum foil. Heat butter to melt and add egg afterwards. Wait a minute to add the egg to the melted butter so the egg doesn't cook in the hot butter. Add the brown sugar, vanilla and mix until smooth. Add the flour and stir until combined but don't over mix. Stir in the Oreos and rainbow sprinkles and mix in evenly. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until slightly firm and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from pan and enjoy!

Enjoy xx

Favorite Autumn/ Winter Makeup

I'm not a huge makeup person. Don't get me wrong, I love wearing makeup and I love doing other peoples makeup, but I don't love waking up early to put it on everyday. Recently, I have discovered a couple of new fall makeup pieces that have caused me to fall back in love with makeup. 

The Smokey Warm Palette

I love all of these colors and I love how they all mix so well together to give you the perfect natural eye but with a little shine.

eos Sweet Mint

Defiantly one of my all time favorites, eos is able to give you a lovely smooth feel whilst giving you a burst of sweet mint. 

essie- Miss Fancy Pants

I love this color, it provides a lovely middle color in-between grey and nude and this color will look great on anyone. 

Bobbi Brown- Smokey Eye Kajal Liner

This eyeliner is actually amazing, normally I am terrible at applying eyeliner and end up giving up all together. But this eyeliner is super smooth, really pigmented and easy to apply.

Burberry Brit Sheer Rollerball

This is defiantly one of my favorite fragrances. It is light and fresh and the rollerball is perfect for travel.

What are your fall makeup pieces?

Happy Veterans Day!

In honor of Veterans Day, here is a video showing some fabulous home-comings! These always make me cry my eyes out and I hope you enjoy!

Here is another video of actress Madison Pettis's brother coming home and her brother surprising her on a talk show:

                 

Happy Veterans Day!

Humans of New York

For a couple of months now, I have been following Humans of New York (HONY) on Facebook and Tumblr. It is a brillant idea that shows you all of the interesting characters of New York City. 

Meet Brandon Stanton, a New Yorker that had an idea in 2010 to collect the ultimate portfolio. He wanted to collect 10,000 pictures of different New Yorkers and collect their stories. That plan now has turned into the mecca that is HONY. With nearly 1 million followers combined, HONY has become extremely popular and has just released a book that hit the Number 1 spot on The New York Times Best Seller List.

        

HONY shows how everyone has a backstory. It may be a sad or inspirational story but everyone has one. Brandon is able to capture the beauty of the people around him and here are some of my favorite pictures that he has taken.

You can check out the book on

Amazon

or

Barns and Noble

Enjoy xx

  

Banksy

If you already haven't heard of Banksy, I would check out some of his work. British street artist Banksy's identity is still a mystery but his work is certainly not. He is known for his controversial work but then the work that he does sell, goes for thousands. There is something very intriguing about not knowing someones identity. You are not able to tell what type of person they may be or they seem like and something about that is interesting. Banksy has currently been in New York City and everyday of October, he promised a new design. He didn't disappoint but many of his pieces can be very controversial. Whilst in NYC, he set up a booth of original artwork and pretended to sell it as fake. The pieces worth up to $60,000 (some more) went for $50. Only few bought the pieces but you can check out the video here:

Here is some of Banksy's other work:

You can check out his website: 

http://www.banksyny.com/

My Music Ep. 2

I haven't posted some of my favorite music in awhile so here is another set of music that I am currently loving!

xx

Jack Johnson- Better Together

A classic song that I have revisited and fallen in love with again by the amazing Jack Johnson. This song provides a nice chill tune to listen to on a Saturday morning or on the way to school to put you in a good mood.

Sweater Weather- The Neighborhood

One of those songs that is upbeat and catchy and I love to listen to driving or I love to dance around my house to this song... anyone else?

 

My Body- Young the Giant
Another upbeat song that I find it hard not to dance all around whilst listening to it and then also singing all the words when I hear it in the car.

The One That Got Away- The Civil Wars

This song is one of those chill songs that you can become engrossed in and I feel like it is one of those songs that is perfect for long road trips or to play when you have a perfect day by the fire. 

Little Wrecking Ball- Mash up of Mumford and Sons and Miley Cyrus
Now you may be thinking, "What the heck is a mash up of Mumford and Sons and Miley Cyrus doing on this list?!" I understand that, but go with it. It is a pretty interesting mash up that takes two completely different songs and puts them together and makes something very interesting.

Enjoy!

People to follow on Pintrest

I am obsessed with Pintrest and I'm sure many of you lovely readers are too. I love how you can spend hours at a time pinning the most random yet useful things that you possibly can and maybe that's why I have a problem. People will even come up to me and say, "Wow Elizabeth, you really got crazy on Pintrest last night!"... Yeah, yeah I did... oops :)

So, for all of you crazy pinners out there here are some of my favorite Pintrest accounts!

Enjoy xx

nicole song // A Californian grad student whose pins range from adorable puppies to the latest fashion trend... what more can you ask for?

real simple // The magazine comes to life to show you simple tips and tricks from how to decorate a living room to how to properly curl your hair.

SORTED food // This is a group of British men, yes, you heard me right. SORTED food is 4 best friend that have come together in order to provide great food. They have cookbooks and a successful Youtube channel under their belts and here they show you what they are making in the kitchen.

Ellen DeGeneres // Can you ever go wring with Ellen? Ellen's board is full of hilarious pictures and adorable moments not only from her show, but from places that she learns about and her kind heart will make you smile by seeing the amazing things she does. 

While you are looking at these lovely boards, go ahead and check out mine :)

My Pintrest