VEGAS!

Hello world! I have some VERY exciting news to share with you. My friend Mara is turning 21 this weekend, and we’re hitting up Vegas to celebrate! I don’t think Vegas is ready for us.

The last time I went to Vegas, I was 16, and obviously with Mara and her family. So I think it’s only appropriate that I go back with them! And this time, we’re legalllll!

So I’m planning, and trying to find my cheapest option. I’ll be heading there Friday morning, and coming back Saturday afternoon/evening, because I want some time to recover before Monday. I’m working on deciding whether to fly or drive, but at this point, driving seems like the cheaper option. I just don’t want to drive all the way there and back alone ):

I also need to find a dress for our crazy night out on Friday. So here’s what I’ve found so far:

$22.80 @ Forever21

Loooove the color of this, and I think it would look amazing on my fair skin, with my dark hair. And my nude pumpsssss. Ah I’m drooling.

$22.80 @ Forever21

I really like this dress as well. I’m sort of into the neutrals right now, and the gold metallic look is just delicious. I love that this is a dress, but it looks like a top and a skirt. I’m getting more excited every dress I see!

$22.80 @ Forever21

This isn’ttt my favorite, but I think it’d look great on, and black is pretty much my ‘go to’ color for any occasion.

$50.00 (to rent) @ Rent the Runway

Full price, this dress costs $360.00, but my coworker and friend Kaila turned me on to the website Rent the Runway. Basically, you get to rent a dress for events, so that you don’t pay a ridiculous price. I definitely can’t wait to try it out. And this dress is unlike anything I’ve seen; it’s unique, and adorable, and it might be ‘the one.’

$50.00 (to rent) @ Rent the Runway

Moreee metallics! I love the two tones on this dress. Full price, it’s $348.00, eh, I’ll just rent (;

$36.90 @ Windsor

More gold, duh.

$59.90 @ Windsor

This might be in the top 3. I LOVE this dress, and where better to wear it than in VEGAS?!? Glitter, glitter, glitter!!

Vegas, watch out for ussss; we’re about to take over the strip!

Nubby Nails

In an attempt to save some money, or be more cautious about spending all my money before I get paid again, I decided against getting my acrylics done. They really should have been filled last weekend, but I tried to ignore that, and painted them red for my pirate costume.

Tuesday morning, I went to work with them… And my coworker Joelle told me my nails looked super long/ugly, so I decided it might be time to do something about it.

I went directly home, and soaked them in acetone to get the acrylics off. Uh…. it took a long while. And in my impatience, I ended up ripping my own paper thin nail, and excuse my French, but that shit hurt.

So I sported a bandaid for a few days over the broken nail, and even went to class WITHOUT nail polish on…. I don’t remember the last time I did that. I felt nakedddd.

I painted my nails and they turned out like thisss:

This was literally right after I painted them, so excuse the excess nail polish around the actual nail. They look better after I shower anyway.

For my ring finger, I painted on clear polish, and then dipped them in gold glitter that I purchased at Sally’s. I used Sally Hansen’s Commander in Chic for the rest of my nails.

$3.99 @ Sally's

$6.49 @ Target

A lot cheaper than getting the acrylics, but a lot more work/upkeep. I’ve already had to repaint them, and because of the thinness of my nails, they keep breaking.

Which brings me to my light bulb moment: when I realized how much BETTER it would be for me to do GEL nails!

I was in class the other day, with my crippled hand (I genuinely thought about parking in a handicapped space when I couldn’t find parking that morning, but then decided that would be really messed up…so I walked three parking lots away from my class, and was about 20 minutes late), and one of the girls at my table was talking about gel nails. She told me how good it is for your nails, and showed me hers which looked amazing! She said it would help my nails get stronger, and that it flexes with you real nail, so when you get it caught on something, it doesn’t hurt like Hell, like it does with acrylics.

And the best part iss…. DRUMROLL…. she works at a salon a few miles from my house, called Pampered Pinkie, and it’s only $35 to get it done there. Uhh hello. First paycheck at the new job, guess where I’ll be!

CAN’T WAIT!

Summertime Style

So, since you’re reading about things in my life that are so personal, I thought you should see firsthand what my style looks like. I set up a shoot with a friend, Jillian, to show off my personal style.

If I had to describe it, I’d say, for the most part, I’m a pretty casual girl. ESPECIALLY in the middle of Arizona’s summers. When it’s 115 degrees outside, I don’t care too much for packin on the layers. I keep it simple with tank tops and denim shorts. Most of the time I’m also rockin’ flip flops or my Converse.

Courtesy of Jillian Bratcher

This is a perfect example of my every day outfit.

TO GET THIS LOOK:

$30.00 @ Sole and Blues

$20.00 @ Hollister

$5.80 @ Forever21

This next outfit is also very typical for my summer style.  More denim shorts, and yet another tank. This is something I’d wear on a summer night, to a party, or just to hang out with the boys (on a typical summer night, you’d find me kickin’ it with some of my best friends, most of which are guys).

Courtesy of Jillian Bratcher

Courtest of Jillian BratcherCourtesy of Jillian Bratcher

Courtesy of Jillian Bratcher

Notice the nail color; it’s the new one I bought, “Turned Up Turquoise” by OPI.

TO GET THIS LOOK:

$30.00 @ Swell

$44.50 @ Hollister

$17.50 @ American Eagle

By the way, I love stacked bracelets and rings; I’m not a huge accessories person, but I love the look of it. I find a lot of cute accessories at American Eagle. Their jewelry is to die for!

My nextttt outfit, is my summer sun dress. This is when I feel like dressing it up a bit, but still casual enough for comfort!

Courtesy of Jillian Bratcher

GET THIS LOOK:

$17.99 @ Target

$19.80 @ Forever21

Uhm, I’m in love with that dress from Forever21. The tribal print is adorable, and honestly, I like it better than the one I’m wearing! What the heck? I might have to make it mine.

And last but not leastttt, my night out attire! This is what I originally intended to wear as my birthday dress, however, my birthday this year was freezing cold and rainy, so this was not the outfit I wore.

Courtesy of Jillian Bratcher

Courtesy of Jillian Bratcher

GET THIS LOOK:

$7.80 @ Forever21

$23.00 @ Yesstyle

$198.00 @ Nordstrom

$88.95 @ Nordstrom

So these are my summer looks! The pictures were done by Jillian Bratcher. See more of her work @ Jillian Bratcher Photography. My hair was cut and colored by my best friend Jennifer Swarts.

Nail craze and mall days

Still counting down for pay day (Friday, please hurry the heck up!!), and I got my nails done yesterday. Smart, I know. But it was $17 for a fill, and my nails definitely needed it, and so did my stress level. I’m really diggin’ the whole one nail a different color trend; I was inspired by my best friend. I used a pink from OPI called “Elephantastic Pink,” and my ring finger on both hands is black. Back in the comfort zoneee. Loved the turquoise, but mannnnn, it was bright!

Elephantastic Pink by OPI

Today, I woke up super stressed. Went to school, had a test in my second class. After class, my best friend asked me to join her in taking her extremely old dog to the vet. I agreed, even though that vet’s office smells like wet dog. Gross. I met a puppy named Sugar; she was a German Shepard. She was THE coolest dog. I decided I’m going to own one. But that’s beside the point.

After leaving the vet, the smart thing to do would have been to go to the gym. Right?… Not my thought process. However, for once, it wasn’t MY idea to go to the mall. Jenn had mentioned she wanted to go to the mall, and I felt I’ve done a very good job lately exercising self control. AKA I haven’t stepped foot inside Forever21, or any store in the mall really, because I know I can’t do the damage I want to. It’s all about that forward progress. So I told her I’d join her. She even promised to buy me a new shirt. What a great best friend I have.

The mall had been screaming my name for months, and I was finally going to show her some attention.

Our first stop was Steve Madden. Ohhhh boy. I wasn’t intending to buy anything, but I saw some cute things for fall, and I always enjoy looking at a good pair of shoes!

WANT:

$139.95 @ Steve Madden

With the black jeweled bow? Uhm… YES PLEASE. So cute.

$129.95 @ Steve Madden

Okay, so Jenn and I both LOVED these; super cute for fall. Skinny jeans. And they’re black… They’d match with EVERYTHING. Must have.

Next stop, we browsed through Arden B. Normally, this isn’t my “go to” store, because it’s a little on the pricey side, and a lot of their stuff is dressier. I’m normally a pretty casual person; don’t get me wrong, I LOVE to dress up. But for the most part, I’m rockin’ shorts and a tank top. I did find a few items for my wish list, though. Obviously.

$98.00 @ Arden B

$98.00…?!?! See what I mean? I loveeee the dress. But why am IIIII gonna buy a dress for a hundred buckkssss when I have nowhere to wear it. Love the color though. WAH. (I’m thinking I might be going through a gold phase…. normally I’m a silver person. hm.)

I also loveddd Arden B’s accessories. They had really cool hair stuff, like feather clips. We all know I loooove those feathers!

$19.00 @ Arden B

$19.00 @ Arden B

After Arden B, we made our way to my number one storeeeee, FOREVER21! I missed Forever so badly. I wanted to cry with joy and kissed the glittered floor when I walked in the double doors and saw the massive store in front of me. Okay, I’m taking it a little far here…. but you get the point. I was insanely happy. For some reason, though, I wasn’t focused at first. I thought I lost my groove. I couldn’t find anything in there, and after circling the store, I got frustrated. So, I stepped outside for a cigarette. (I know, I know… I said I was quitting. And I’m doing a horrible job. I even caved and bought a pack today…. nooooo). After my little break, I thought maybe it was just that I wasn’t meant to buy anything. But when I stepped back inside, I got my swag back. I started picking things up, found a dress I’ve been eyeing, and took four things to try on.

I liked this dress, but online it looks more pink, and in person it was more orange. Plus, I wasn’t sure where I’d wear it, so I decided it wasn’t a smart investment. (I think that shows some progress too! Woo hoo!!)

$19.80 @ Forever21

I especially liked it because it’s bright, and I love bright colors with my dark hair. ALSO, the slits in the side showed off my tattoo perfectly. So cute. But it can wait.

I did end up buying (or Jenn ended up buying…) a cream sweatshirt that says “Be You” on the front, and a basic, black, form fitting, long sleeved dress to wear under it (neither of which I could find online, to show you). But I like the idea of wearing the two pieces together and rockin’ my converse, or separately for different occasions. The black dress would be especially good for mixing things up, ’cause you can dress it up, or down with the right accessories. That’s smart buying.

I decided at this point it was time to quit while I was ahead, and leave the mall. But the shopping didn’t end here.

Later tonight, I was at my friend Jeremy’s apartment. His roommate (and my friend) Pete wanted to run to Target to get a few random things. And even though I’d already been shopping for the day, I wanted to go with. HAA.

So, we got there, and Jenn and I immediately went off separately from the boys and did our own thing. We were headed to the clothing section when BAM!! we were hit in the face with another nail polish display. I’m tellin’ ya, they get me EVERY time.

I ended up finding a gold (it’s the new color) that I really liked, and picked it up with every intention of buying it. But then, I looked up to see the Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips by Sally Hansen. I’ve seen these before on people, SUCH a good idea. They’re strips of nail polish that you cut to fit your own nail, and they’re supposed to last much longer than polish. And I haven’t been able to find them anywhere. All of a sudden, here they were!

I wanted two. I really enjoyed the almost metallic looking “Raise A Glass” and “Misbehaved.” They were almost the same base color, and I wanted to do the whole, one nail different, but I didn’t want to pay like 10 bucks for each?! Are you kidding, that’s ridiculous…. So I settled on the “Misbehaved,” and opted to paint the rest of my nails black, (or maybe just one, I hadn’t decided…) and made my way to the checkout line.

$9.99 @ Ulta

$9.99 @ Ulta

But then, we ran into the accessories aisle. I found sunglasses I want. But at this point, I was getting tired, and hesitating buying the nail stuff, since I JUST got my nails done. So I set down the adorable orange glasses, and the nail stuff, and sulked out of Target. I will be back for you Sally Hansen. I must try this stick on nail polish.

So today was definitely an adventure. But I feel like I’ve made a lot of progress in terms of self control. I normally would be freaking out and buying everything, but I managed to leave content with two items, that are very versatile. I’m super stoked to wear this new outfit. Hopefully it’s cool enough one of these nights for a sweatshirt….. !