While On Vacation

As promised, this is my only outfit post I was able to get while on vacation. Well, aside from my outfit from the airport. The weather was beautiful and it was really nice to get away from the cold for a few days. Naturally, the final day of our vacation (most of which was spent travelling) was the nicest day of the trip, but I made sure to get in this outfit shoot. I got this sweatshirt/sweater on vacation at J. Crew, and I'm obsessed with it, to say the least. Time to get more outfit posts going. Maybe one later today?

sweatshirt: J. Crew, jeans: AE, tank: Ann Taylor, boots: H&M, bracelets: Tiffany & Co., vintage

Insta-Vacation

I was only able to get one outfit shoot done over vacation because it got dark at night so quickly, but during my trip I made sure to take photos of all things interesting and beautiful I saw one the island. 

1. a new skirt for the holidays

2. boarding the (near empty) plane headed for South Carolina

3. A quick shot from my Airports post

4. Dinner out on our first night: crab cakes, ahi tuna sashimi and red pepper risotto

5. (First of four) new pair(s) of shoes that I acquired while on vacation (by: BCBGeneration)

6. A very cool, rather beat up collection of World religions

7. Florsheim Wingtips found at a thrift store for $12 - boyfriend's new favorite possession

8-10. Shots from our only beach day

11. last night at dinner in the candlelight 

Up next: "New In:" of my holiday vacation acquisitions, Christmas presents, and my outfit post from the island.

Merry Christmas

A few Instagram shots from my holiday. Hoping everyone has an amazing weekend and that you get everything you wanted! Up next: Instagram - Vacation

Sun and Sand

It's come to the end of my holiday, and I've had an amazing time. These are just a few photos from my day at the beach, which was short-lived but amazing. It wasn't warm enough to do this every day, but I'm glad I got a chance to relax in one of my favorite places on earth for a bit. I'm not in Christmas mood yet at all, so I'm going to overload on holiday cheer when I get home tomorrow to prepare for the season I've so poorly celebrated thus far. Promising some Instagram photos next (maybe tomorrow?) and a whole lot of holiday looks in the future. 

taken with my iPhone

New In: Shoes

While on vacation in South Carolina, I've been shopping every single day. Not intentionally, I'll go out with my mom, we'll go into a store I've never even been to, and she will enable me into buying something. Aside from the silk shirt, New Year's dress and olive sweater I've managed to pick up in the past two days, I bought shoes. A lot of shoes. I don't think I've bought this many shoes in a 24 hour period in my life. But I did. And I thought it was particularly interesting/hilarious that every new pair of shoes I have acquired recently has been of the same brand. 

Meet my (apparent) new favorite shoe line. BCBGeneration. I went shopping with the intention of buying a simple black platform pump to replace the dying pair in my closet. Buy first I needed to waste time buying sandals in the middle of winter. Mother enabled me. These lovely tan sandals fell in love with my feel and my feel with the shoes, and I had to. $30 on mega clearance at Belk? Random. 

Today I went to this outlet mall somewhat off-island from where we live, and they has revamped the stores in the complex since I'd been last. This year, they has a Vince Camuto store. And again, I had to. After all, I need those black pumps that I originally went shoe shopping for... Well, I found them. And then some. After narrowing it down to this BCBGeneration shoe and a Vince Camuto patent leather pump, I elected to get the tumbled leather pair, for their timelessness...

But not before my mother tried to change my mind with another pair of BCBGeneration low vamp pointy toe heels. I'm pretty sure that I laughed in her face because they were a bit awful looking without a foot in them. I had never tried on a pointy toe heel (sans platform), but I did it anyway to humor her, and I died. This cut is my new favorite heel shape. So elegant, leg lengthening and sophisticated. Kate Moss brought back to pointed toe heel, and I wanted to bring it to my generation. (That is, the generation of 7 inch heels with a 2 inch platform - awful for not only your eyes but your feet.) For someone like me, used to buying pumps with a 5+ inch heel, these were an easy transition with a good 4 inches. Because I decided on the black tumbled leather platform, I decided on an "army" (they're grey) lizard print style. 



Love. Them. So I bought both pairs. Ha.  So again, my mom showed me shoes that I simply could not turn down. And the best part? Because of the holidays, the black pair were $25 and the grey ones were $30, with an additional 25% off. $50 for two pairs of beautiful genuine leather heels. And now commences the story of my new (again, apparent) obsession with BCBGeneration shoes, and of how I scored three pairs of $90+ (each!) shoes for about $80 combined. 

all shoes: BCBGeneration

Airports

What I wore to the airport for my trip to South Carolina. My family and I are taking the opportunity to escape the cold for a week before the Christmas holiday. And Jan Niclas is here with us again for an unprecedented 2nd visit for the year. This should be a lovely week of amazing food and even better company.

sweater: J. Crew, t-shirt: Forever 21, jeans: AE, boots: H&M, sunnies: Ray-Ban

DIY Glitter Heels

SO SO SO much inspo from the Miu Miu glitter booties and heels that are taking fashion by storm right now. To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the Miu Miu booties... but the pumps are to die for. But I really needed to try this out for myself. And I think my ancient Steve Madden heels turned out pretty lovely.

What you will need:

pair of shoes

bowl (covered in aluminum foil)

sponge brush(es)

Mod Podge (high shine gloss)

glitter in color of your choice

clear acrylic gloss coating

Step 1: pour Mod Podge into bowl and add glitter. (I bought the wrong paste, but I'll give these instructions as if I got the correct paste). Mix glitter and Mod Podge in bowl until you have a thick (very glittery) consistency.

Note: if you are unsure of how thick to make the glitter paste, try it on the shoe and see how it looks. You can always go over it again if need be. I did this a few times.

Note: I used suede shoes for my DIY, which made it easy for the paste to adhere to the fabric. If you are using leather shoes, I would suggest roughing them up with sandpaper before painting.

Step 2: begin to paint your shoes with a sponge brush, applying the paste generously. You can either coat the entire shoe in glitter as I did, or get creative by just applying glitter to the heel.

Note: Because I bought the wrong paste, I applied the Mod Podge and then sprinkled glitter on the wet paste and patted it down for adhesion. This is also an option.

Step 3: continue to apply glitter paste to shoes, and work quickly so that the coat is even. (I almost wish I had stopped glittering them half way down... the shoe on the left look so cool).

Step 4: once the shoes have an even coat of glitter, touch up any bald spots on the shoes.



Step 5: spray your newly glittered shoes with the clear acrylic spray to secure the glitter paste. I did two coats, letting them dry for about an hour in between.

And you're done! This whole process was pretty quick, even though I did have to put the glitter on by hand. I'm sure it's a much quicker process if you have the right (clear) paste. My inspiration for this DIY came from the lust-worthy Miu Miu's we're seeing everywhere, and from the lovely Geneva of A Pair & a Spare. Happy glittering!

P.S. So sorry that I have been so MIA. Although my hiatus is not completely justified, I had all of my finals this week on top of being sick. So if I have any excuse for being absent, its that. I'll be on vacation towards the end of the week, where I'll be sure to update regularly! 

P.S.S. As I'm sure we all know, we are saying goodbye Google Friend Connect. Follow me on Bloglovin' to stay updated with my blog! Kisses.

Insta

A few snapshots from the past week. Featuring: some new items, some old, and some things that delight me during the holidays. I always love to snap quick photos while I'm out, and Instagram gives you so many cool filters to put on the photos. I'm thinking about making this a weekly thing. What should I call Instagram installments on the blog? I've been having way too much fun with my new iPhone.