Halloween Party 2015

Halloween Party 2015

Last year was my first year living out on my own - so I hosted my first official 'party', which of course had to be a Halloween party. This year I decided to keep with tradition and host another Halloween party. This one went a lot smoother than last year and it was super fun!

I decided to have a costume/Halloween party on my traditional Taco Tuesdays. Now for those of you who don't know, it's tradition in my house to host a taco tuesday in my apartment every other Tuesday with a few of my sorority sisters. So the party date was easy to decide on, and so was the food - TACOS!

So like I said - it was a halloween party and therefore costumes were a definite must!

Party pictures in 3...2...1... GO! 

Current Netflix Obsessions October 2015

Current Netflix Obsessions

Quick Update from the last post: I've finished both Scooby Doo AND Ghost Whisperer (like that's a surprise!). But I've also managed to watch through 2 seasons of RuPauls Drag Race and am now completely caught up on the TV show Steven Universe. Yes, I have no life.

#UltimateVegasOutfit*

#UltimateVegasOutfit*

Getting to Las Vegas from south Florida is a bit of a haul (like, a 5 hour plane ride). So the first thing I'm going to want to do is wear comfortable enough clothes to sit on a plane for 5 hours and also not drive the TSA (and the people behind me) crazy at the airport.

I'm going to keep it comfy chic by wearing some comfortable broken in boyfriend jeans with an old Fall Out Boy band tank. I'm also going to be keeping the accessories to a minimum with just a watch, bracelet and a cute pair of earrings all while pulling my ridiculously long hair into a cute messy ponytail. I'm keeping makeup to a minimum with just some natural shadows and a cute pink lip. A backpack to hold all of the stuff I'm going to need on the plane is essential. I like to read while I'm on a plane so it's gotta be big enough to hold at least one book and my ipad. Pair all of this with some super cute kitty flats and we're good to go!

That night though, ya girl is gonna turn out.

The dress is a super cute tank floral skater dress from Miss Rebel. Its super short, has spaghetti straps, and has a cool mesh panel on the bottom of the dress. It can however get a little chilly in Vegas at night (I mean it is a desert) so I paired this dress with an awesome leather jacket to give it an edgier vibe. 
For accessories some simple but geometric layered necklaces paired with some cute stud earrings and stackable rings completed this look.  
Shoes make an outfit, so I decided booties was the way to go. Strappy shoes can get very uncomfortable by the end of the night (this is personal experience). So go with a heel you're comfortable with and a shoe you feel like you can wear all night, because you will be out ALL NIGHT.
Makeup wise, I mean, you're in VEGAS. Go smokey, go bold, and go sultry... because you CAN. Grab that Urban Decay Naked Smokey palette that you just spent your hard-earned money on and SMOKE THOSE EYES OUT. Put on a nice dose of winged eyeliner and layer that with some of Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara. Top the whole look off with some berry toned lipstick from NARS and don't forget to paint your nails! Pop everything you're going to need for the night into your cross-body bag (because you're not going to want to carry your bag all night) and head out for whatever you want!

Current Netflix Obsessions June 2015

Current Netflix Obsessions

Okay so, OITNB 3rd season came out early. And I'm dying because I still haven't caught up with the other 2 seasons before it. I guess I know what my weekends look like soon. But here are some of my current Netflix obsessions.

May Instagram Round-Up

May Instagram Round-Up

I love seeing these posts pop up every once in awhile - esp for people who post to Instagram a lot more than I do! But May seemed to be a month where a lot of exciting stuff happened so I guess I instagrammed a little more than I thought I did! Most of these pictures are of my fiance or my dog - because this is my little lion pride and they are the central focus in my life. I also spent quite a few days at the beach this month and therefore have a few (pretty awesome) beach pictures. Three of these are actually screenshots from the videos that I took so you should totally watch the videos on my instagram. I promise most of them are funny (and of the dog jumping in the pool).

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No Makeup Challenge

No Makeup Challenge

So for my 100th post I decided I was going to challenge myself a little bit - and I decided to do the no makeup challenge! I didn't wear makeup for an entire 6 days (I went out yesterday with friends on a double date, so yes I wore makeup).

I took pictures almost everyday while I was completing this challenge. (okay so I forgot some days, my bad!) But I thought I'd let you guys know how it went, how I felt, and if any comments were made.

First things first: Walking into this I completely expected my office manger to say something about me not wearing makeup all week. She did - and I'll tell you more about it below.

To the left is the first day - and let me tell you, it was weird. I usually go to work with no makeup on, but that day I went the WHOLE day without makeup on. I didn't even have any moisturizer on - it was just me and my bare skin. It was a tad bit uncomfortable because I felt like everyone could see my lack of eyebrows and lashes but pressed forward - hoping that as the second day approached it wouldn't be too bad.

The second day came and went with very little comment from anyone - except my office manager. Who wondered "Why no makeup? Not even lipstick? You look so tired without it." Which I've heard before so I actually expected.

Things I'm Loving: Spring 2015

Things I'm Loving: Spring 2015

It's like horridly hot here in South FL already and it could probably be classified as summer. So let me tell you some items I've been using/wearing since the weather went over 80 degrees here!

Spring Retreat: Naples, FL

Spring Retreat: Naples, FL

So I pretty much have a theme this week: document everything that happened last week! On May 1st, 2015 (exactly a week ago today) I graduated Florida Atlantic University with a Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering. There were only 15 other graduates in my field with my degree, and only 1 other female. I also pretty much live-tweeted the whole ceremony, so scroll back on my twitter to see those tweets and some pictures. (yes, pictures)

How To: Dress for Graduation

How To: Dress for Graduation

I'm just gonna drop a couple tips & tricks that I used for graduation and pass them on. Graduation is an exciting time for everyone - no matter what you're graduating from! I recently (May 1st) just received my bachelors degree in computer engineering and wanted to share a few tips and tricks for how I picked out my dress for graduation. Remember: there will be a TON of pictures taken - so I opted to go for timeless rather than trendy!

1. Pick a conservative, but fun and young dress!

You're not an old lady! Pick a dress that is age appropriate and is a proper length. You want a dress that is young and looks cute with your friends, but also looks appropriate when you take photos with your professors and family. I personally chose a sleeveless dress because I graduated in the spring, but if graduating in the fall just watch that your sleeves don't peek out of your gown! Also - if you've got some large ladies like I do - find a dress that accentuates them but doesn't put them all out there on display! Nothing worse than feeling like your boob may fall out at any minute or having that one lecherous professor staring at them in photos.

Also - consider the color of your gown when graduating and choose your dress accordingly! My gown was navy for graduation so it pretty much let me run the gambit on what color I wanted to wear. I opted for a black and white a-line print dress with cross back paired with a cute yellow belt and black shoes. PS: A dress with pockets is a major plus!

My dress the day I got it!

I picked this cute dress by ELLE at Kohls!

Also: (and this is a personal opinion) Do not wear a maxi or high-low dress! It peeks out from under your gown and just looks weird. You can't see the top half of the dress so all people see is the bottom of the dress and they have no idea whats going on and it just looks like a flowy weird gown extension!

Easter Weekend Shenanigans!

Easter Weekend Shenanigans!

This past weekend I had an absolute blast. I actually got to relax a little bit and I'm definitely yearning for the weekend as I write this.

Note: This post is going to be picture heavy so I've hidden most of it under a cut. <3

For one: I had a half way at work on Friday so we managed to be able to go out to a nice lunch at the chinese buffet down the street from us and then head on down to my Grandmas house which is where we'd be spending our whole weekend. (the chinese place has delicious little donuts that make me salivate just thinking about them)
So we packed up after lunch - hopped in the car and to Grandma's house we go!

Chris and I stopped at the dollar store on the way to Grams to pick up a few things and somehow a 4 foot inflatable alligator and a water gun got into the basket. I'm not going to name names - but I think I know who put them in here. (chris) Either way, Chris was excited to test out his new pool toys and was determined to swim ASAP. So after only being home about for about 20 minutes Chris was in his swim trunks and we were going swimming!

Friday night my Grandma, Brother, Chris, and I all dyed Easter eggs. Can you believe that Chris had never dyed eggs before?! I think he had more fun than anyone coloring them - we did neon tie-dye eggs.

Buster was soo pooped at the end of the night that he was literally the most adorable thing ever and just fell asleep in my lap cuddling my leg.

Fun Questions Tag

The Fun Questions Tag

I'm doing something brand new on Friday so in preparation for Friday's post I've decided to keep today's post pretty simple. It's nothing too deep or heart wrenching just something new that my fiance has been poking and prodding me to do to step out of my comfort zone.

Either way - I was poking around the internet looking for a fun little tag to do and I stumbled upon 'The Fun Questions Tag'. Well if that practically doesn't describe what I was looking for I don't know what would. 

1. When is your birthday?

January 29th! I was born on Super Bowl Sunday. For those of you who don't know what it is: Its when us Americans watch 2 teams of very large men in lots of padding tackle each other for a ball. Yay sports! Do the thing win the points!

2. What are 3 of your favorite colors?

Plum, Maroon, and black. Does black count as a color?

3. What are your 3 favorite quotes?

"I am not afraid; I was born to do this." - Joan of Arc

"No one is going to hand me success. I must go out and get it myself. That's why I'm here. To dominate. To conquer. Both the world, and myself." - Unknown

“I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best.” ― Marilyn Monroe

4. Are you addicted to Youtube?

Absolutely. I don't even have cable I just watch youtube and Netflix now.

5. What are 3 of your favorite shows on TV or YouTube or both?

Recently I've been addicted to Ghost Whisperer and Venture Brothers (just finished all seasons) on Netflix. I also love Scooby Doo. As for YouTube I really like to watch Grav3YardGirl, Seananners & DashieXP, and JennaMarbles. Wait, thats 4. Eh... Oh well!

6. What are 3 qualities you like in a best friend?

Uhm... For their name to be Christina, for them to be my FFB, and for them to always be there for me, judge me, and be honest to god truthful with me. (girl you best be reading this, SHOUTOUT!)

7. Do you like your name?

Sure?

8. If you have the choice to pick your own name, what will it be?

Ahhaha! You always have this choice on the internet. I was called Quinn for a very long time online, and sometimes I still am. 

9. What is your fantasy dream?

I would love to be able to travel for the rest of my life and see everything I possibly can.

10. Do you wear makeup?

Oh yes - almost everyday unless I'm giving my face and skin a rest.

Holiday Decorating & Cookie Baking

Holiday Decorating & Cookie Baking

Lets be honest, the Holidays are expensive enough with all the gifts your buying and whatnot. I want my house to look festive and expensive without actually being expensive!

Since I just moved into my apartment this past year, I had NO holiday decorations. So of course the first thing I did once December rolled around was figure out what I was going to do for Christmas decorations! The first thing that needed to be picked up was a Christmas tree. I've never had a real tree before, and honestly my apartment is wayyy too small for a 6ft Christmas tree. So I opted for the fake 4ft tall kind that you can buy from Target on sale for $75. Next: Baubles. I opted for the classic red and gold theme for the tree, although I really wanted to do an all white theme. $1 store, here we come. I bought all of our tree baubles AND the star for the tree at our local Dollar store. And honestly, I think it turned out pretty nice.

 

I have to admit though, some of the ornaments were not from the dollar store. My Grandma loves the Christmas store, and when she went there she bought a ton of absolutely adorable ornaments. And she even got one to commemorate our first Christmas actually living together.

Get Ready With Me - Drugstore Edition

This post is picture heavy - so the full post is hidden under this break.

I was in a wedding!

Remember that wedding I went to back on Nov 1st?

Well here are the pictures and the post you guys have been waiting for.

So back on October 31st I had to skip classes and fly out to Maryland for my amazing cousins wedding. She was getting married November 1st and I was so happy to be asked to be in her bridal party. Originally Chris was going to join me on this adventure, but he ended up not being able to take off work and I spent Halloween running through airports.

One thing you guys probably don't know is that I get miserably motion sick. Like miserably, so I knew that the flight from Florida to Georgia and then from Georgia to Maryland were going to feel like the longest plane rides in the history of my life. They weren't actually the longest I've ever had, but my motion sickness didn't set in until I was about 19-20.

Nevertheless, if you've ever landed in the Atlanta, GA airport it is absolutely HUGE. And of course I only had an hour long layover so if my first flight didn't go right on time it was practically guaranteed that I wouldn't make my second flight.

But no worries, my flight out of Ft. Lauderdale went off without a hitch and the only problem in Atlanta is that my next terminal was literally across the entire airport. Even the stewardess on the airplane wished me good luck as I ran through the airport. Atlanta has a tram though, and I still only made it with 5 minutes to spare!

EITHER WAY: The moral of my story is not about airports or travelling, its about these lovely ladies right here and LOVE. Plain and simple.

Rehearsal time!

When I landed my Grandparents scooped me up from the airport and we went straight to the hotel and the wedding rehearsal. And thank goodness its a tiny airport because I don't know if I could have handled another large airport that day. I got to meet most of the bridesmaids that were going to be there and I finally got to see my cousin! It feels like forever since I've seen her, its so funny because we can spend years apart and then we get together and we always click and its like its been no time at all.

My First Subscription Box!

On Saturday I got my first Subscription box...

Loot Crate!

Truthfully, I never understood what all the hype was about subscription boxes/bags every month. I've been eyeing an ipsy subscription for awhile, but I never got around to buying it. Especially with money about to be tight in my household with Black Friday around the corner and our bills seeming to get larger and larger.

I finally caved though on this month's Loot Crate though - it was Battle themed and Chris and I were watering at the mouth to see what was in it. If you don't know what Loot Crate is: It's a monthly subscription box for under $20 filled to the brim with stuff for geeks and gamers.

We caved and ordered this months, and it finally arrived on Saturday 11/22.
The box itself is awesome looking, sleek black and pretty sturdy. Protecting all the geeky goodness inside. The box is actually a diorama and you can play with/display it if you want!

We opened the box and the first thing we noticed was the street fighter headband. And of course Megaman.
Ya know, because Megaman.

Bonobos Fall Style Challenge!*

Bonobos Fall Style Challenge!*

Happy Halloween everyone! Today I bring you my Bonobos Fall Style Challenge outfits. They contacted me a bit ago and I've been dying to post this for you guys. You should definitely check out their new Fall mens suits collection that inspired each of these looks! The first one is definitely a more casual daytime outfit and the second is a LBD outfit that I absolutely love.

This post contains links that may be followed, and also links you to all the products used in every outfit.

Outfit 1:

 

This outfit was inspired from the image below

Top: Blue Top from TheOutnet.com

Jacket: Jacket from Farfetch.com

Skirt: Karl Lagerfeld Tweed Mini Skirt

Shoes: Crixia Shoes from Aldo

Purse: Annabelle Scallop Tote from Forever New

Earrings: Sparkin in the Sunlight Earrings from ModCloth

Bracelet: Set of Two Arrow & Leaf Cuff Bracelets from Neiman Marcus

Necklace: Double Heart T Collar from Lipsy

Lipstick: L'Oreal Paris Colour Caresse Lipstick

Outfit 2:

This outfit was inspired by the image below:

Dress: Peplum Tube Dress from Nelly.com

Coat: Bat Shape Long Dust Coat from Chicnova

Shoes: Fab Factor Heel from ModCloth

Purse: Cedar Street Maise from Kate Spade

Necklace: Bejewelled Necklace from The Iconic

Earrings: 18k Yellow Gold Diamond Stud Earrings from Overstock

No seriously: Check out the awesome men's suits from Bonobos.com and their Ladies clothes at Ayr.com.

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(*) This post was sponsored by Bonobos.

My Halloween Party!

Halloween Party!

So this past weekend I threw an amazing Halloween party. I spend the entire week before the party panicking and freaking out about food and who was coming and all the small details.

I freaked out for absolutely no reason, only 2 people cancelled, and some people brought +1's.

It started at 7pm, and the plan was to have everyone eat dinner at 8. And while that didn't go to plan, everything else did. I tried channeling my Grandma (who may be my hosting/party spirit animal) and had lots and lots of chips and salsa and horderves to eat before dinner. I ended up having a lot more than I even expected after people showed up and brought stuff.

For dinner I made lots and lots of taco stuff. Chris made his Mom's delicious shredded chicken recipe and I made regular beef taco meat. Then we had every single topping you could really ever want to put on a taco. We had both hard shells and soft shells and everyone stuffed their faces until they literally were like "Jenn I ate too much you had soooo much food."

And that was even before dessert.

My best friend made Owl cupcakes that were decadent chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting topped with oreo cookies and M&Ms.

And then someone else brought even more vanilla cupcakes with giant candy corns on the top!

Then the plethora of sugar cookies and chocolate chip cookies were abound. 

And candy. So. Much. Candy.

After dinner we had the Murder Mystery part of the night, where they had to figure out who done-did it. I found the template for the party online and I promise as soon as I find it I will link you to it. It was a great ice breaker for some of my friend who had never met before or were a little shy. We gave away the board game 'Clue' to the person who figured it out, and the game 'Sorry!' to the person who got second. (haha, get it?)

Overall it was a great time and I'm thinking of hosting another party/game night/friends night sometime again because even though it was a lot of work, it was also a lot of fun!

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Halloween costume ideas

Costume Ideas for Halloween

So, as Halloween approaches I've done enough googling for Halloween costumes for about 3 people. So I'm going to show you some of the costumes that I seriously considered!

I like costumes that are a little more conservative, and usually had a male pairing because Chris and I are finally able to do a couples costume this year!

Costume #1: Broken Doll

I came across an amazing makeup tutorial on how to do a broken doll makeup. I spent a very long time looking for the proper costume to compliment the makeup I was planning on doing, and eventually settled on this dress shown on the left. My favorite color is purple and I had amazing ideas on how to style this.

I hate ordering costumes and clothing online sometimes, because I can't touch the fabric. But the reviews online for the dress were amazing.

If you like this costume I found it on Spirit Halloweens website.

I didn't end up picking this one though because Chris didn't want to be a doll or a puppeteer. Plus I had to think about its wearability throughout the night while I was hosting a party, so I eventually decided against this.

Throwback Thursday!

Throwback Thursday

I know how silly this is about to sound, but I seriously love Thursdays. Not only is it a day away from Friday and literally so close to the weekend I could taste it, but also I /love/ Throwback Thursday.

I love seeing everyones old photos, old memories, and what I love most is the radio when they decide to put a good mix on.

Now here's one thing you may not know about me, but I seriously resonate with early 90's Miami booty bass music all the way up until the early 00's hip-hop and r&b. There is nothing a good mix couldn't fix.

Speaking of: the radio stations down here usually do a pretty good job creating some bomb remixes. For me a good mix has equal parts sirens, amazing bass, fast tempo, and lyrics. I don't particularly care what they are talking about, but if its about shaking my butt, you can bet I for sure am. Singing the lyrics and wiggling in my car getting as crunk as I can without crashing my car.

Uncle Luke? Trick Daddy? Trina? DJ Laz? 69 Boyz? Quad City DJs? TLC? 2 Live Crew? Yes, please.

Basically, perfect throwback thursday mixes should make me want to twerk.

Everywhere.

Judge me tomorrow. Because today I'm enjoying myself too much.

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Wedding Plans...?

The more comfortable I get in my everyday life makes me realize that marriage is no longer something that a couple needs to do to validate their relationship.

Ones relationship is just as valid as any others with or without the churches approval or a legal binding. This legal binding does however, protect and give your loved ones rights and protects them.

Which is why, after two years of engagement to my lovely fiance I've decided one thing:

I want to start planning my wedding.

I want to be legally bound to him, as he will be to me.