Stars & Stripes

Hey there! I hope you all had a wonderful, relaxing Memorial Day weekend. I spent the three days lounging, eating (too much) delicious food, hanging out with good friends and reading. What more could a girl want?

Oh, and shopping. A girl could definitely want shopping. I found this dress and jacket at the Loft outlet. Other fun finds included the first pair of shorts I've ever looked good in, some neon v-neck shirts and a polka dot blazer.

Dress and jacket – Loft outlet

Necklace – Express

Sandals – Forever 21

How did you spend your weekend? 

Layering Nail Polishes

Bold, bright nails are always popular for spicing up summer wardrobes. I decided to try out these Zoya polishes made with a sheer gel formula that can be layered. And all three of the shades in the Zoya Blogger Collection by Birchbox are so pretty that I decided to try them out at once!

Step One: Apply Coraline on all fingers except for the accent nail.

Step Two: Apply Kate on the accent nail.

Step Three: Apply Belle over all nails for a subtle pink shimmer.

Finish off with a good topcoat and you've got a fun, summery manicure! The colors remind me of Kate Spade. :)

What's your go-to summer manicure shade?

Summer Breeze

Summer is here in all of its sweltering, humid glory!

On Saturday Zach and I joined a group of friends for Walk Now for Autism Speaks. It was great to hangout and see everyone raising awareness, but I made the mistake of wearing a shirt under my team shirt and long (dark wash) jeans. Then we walked in 90-degree full sun around Coney Island. What I'm trying to say is, I was sweating buckets.

The rest of the weekend was spent in lightweight dresses, sipping iced coffee and raspberry lemonade on the porch and visiting with one of my best friends who is home for the summer! Lovely.

Dress – Express
Belt & Sandals – Forever 21
Bag – Thrifted

I was planning to create a vegetable garden in our backyard this upcoming weekend, but the 93 and 98 degree days might make me wait!

Are you doing anything fun this Memorial Day weekend?

Garden Party

When I was little I always wanted to play tea party with my dolls, stuffed animals, cats - you name it, they were invited to sip imaginary tea and eat goldfish crackers with me!

Now that I'm fairly grown up, I still want to have a tea party someday. For some reason this outfit makes me think of going to an outdoor summer tea party in a lovely garden. All I need is a fancy hat! However, I'd be more inclined to throw a coffee party, since I actually can't stand to drink tea. :)

Shirt – Express
Skirt – Forever 21
Shoes – Jessica Simpson

Happy Friday, everyone!

A Few of My Favorite Things

You know that feeling of finding something new that just makes life a little sweeter? I've been experiencing that a lot lately, so here's a list of a few things I'm especially loving:

1. Green B.E.A.N. Delivery
I can't stand grocery shopping. I dread going, and when I finally make it there, it's an in-and-out as fast as possible type of thing. I may or may not have "cart rage," so let's just say that being introduced to Green B.E.A.N Delivery was a relief to everyone involved!
Anyway, it's organic, local produce and natural groceries delivered to your doorstep! I get a bin every other week and it's fruit, veggies and groceries. I can take whatever is in season, or customize.

How fun to come home to this!

Everything stays fresh in an insulated bin

My first bin included brocolette, oranges from Valencia, apples, pears, romaine lettuce, raspberries, pita chips, veggie burgers, carrots, lemons and cheese sticks. Yum!

2. EOS lip balm. 
Ok, I may have developed somewhat of an obsession to this little lip balm. How stinking cute is the little spherical container it comes in??
I spotted it in the checkout aisle during a (dreaded) grocery visit and am glad I gave it a try.

EOS stands for "evolution of smooth" and the formula is completely organic and not tested on animals. It's easy to find it when rooting around in my purse, because nothing else is shaped like it! Plus, Chuck Bass uses it:

So smooth. The lip balm, of course.

3. Working out + fitness clothing
I'm a little surprised lightening didn't strike me down as I typed that! Seriously, though, I've been going to a bootcamp class three times a week for a month now and I'm hooked. It's great to sweat out the stress after work!
Of course, working out a lot means I need some cute workout clothes, so I bought these beauties:

Nike Free 3.0 that are Tiffany blue! They're so light, especially since they're meant to be worn barefoot. You can get them for $99 here: NIKE Free 3.0 V4 Women's Running Shoes, Tropical Twist/Reflect Silver/Pure Plat - 5.5

Next on my list is something from Lululemon. Maybe that will be my reward after another month of working out.

What are some of your favorite things?

May 2012 Birchbox (XOXO)

Good morning, Upper East Siders! This month's Birchbox is Gossip Girl themed!

I started watching Gossip Girl last year, after my coworker and fellow-blogger Robin introduced me to the guilty pleasure. The season finale airs this Monday at 8/7C on The CW, so this box of luxe samples is the perfect ending to another glam, drama-filled season!

Beautiful box!

How exciting! The card says the collection of samples are what an uptown lady needs for a black tie ball.

All the samples

Dior | Diorshow Extase | Full-size, $28.50

I'm thrilled with this sample! Just last month at the mall I was contemplating purchasing this mascara, but didn't end up buying. This formula creates dramatic lashes, especially if you naturally have blond eyelashes like I do.

Dior | Miss Dior Eau de Parfum | Full-size, $62, $102

Smells great! I imagine Blair would approve.

Miracle Skin Transformer Body SPF 20 in Glow | Full-size, $34

This tinted treatment promises to erase blemishes and scars, creating flawless skin. It creates a pretty shimmer, but I didn't experience much "erasing."

SHU UEMURA | Cleansing Oil Shampoo | Full-size, $55

 This shampoo smells AMAZING. Have you ever smelled a yuzu? I'm obsessed.

Birchbox extra | Notecards | Set of 12, $10 

My previous Birchboxes:

2012
January
February
March 
April 

2011
September
November
December

Birchbox is a fun way to try out high-end beauty and lifestyle products. Each month you receive a box with five samples delivered to your mailbox for $10, free shipping. You can cancel at any time. If you want to purchase the full-size product, the Birchbox Shop has it and you get points for each purchase!

If you subscribe to Birchbox, I'd love to know what you got!

Neon Dreams

Hey guys, how's it going? I'm riding high off a ridiculously enjoyable weekend, full of sunshine, hiking, book buying, popcorn and movies, baking, iced coffee and relaxing! What more could a girl want, am I right?

Dress – Old Navy
Jacket – New York & Co.
Shoes – Urban Outfitters
Clutch – Aldo

Have a great day!