Celebrities Who Ditched Their Long Locks for a Chic Cut

Recently, Lauren Conrad ditched her gorgeously long mermaid hair for a cute and chic texturized bob. I was shocked to see that she made the cut, but of course, can Lauren Conrad really do any wrong? I think not. I may be a little biased considering that she's basically my idol, but the proof is in the pictures - she's just down right flawless.

 She actually had her hair cut 4 times until she got to the right length. Lauren said that he long locks have acted as a security blanket for her for many years past, which I can definitely relate to.

I've emulated her hair trends a few times, from her effortlessly soft curls to her dyed pastel tips - yes I had pastel tips for a few weeks (and actually loved it), but there's no way I could pull off a bob like her. My hair is much too thick. I've been there in grade school, and boy was that a mistake.

Also loving her outfit from this recent Who What Wear shoot.

Of course not everyone can pull of the chop as flawlessly as Mrs. Conrad - or should I say Mrs. Tell! Here's a few other celebs who took the daring cut, but in my opinion, some should have stuck with their long longs as opposed to the short do's. 

Better Short

Emma Stone

Taylor Swift

Better Long

Kaley Cuoco

Anne Hathaway

Jennifer Lawrence

Shailene Woodley

Can Rock Long or Short

Hayden Panettiere

Emma Roberts

Miley Cyrus

Julianne Hough

Who do you think can pull of the short cut? Have you ever made a drastic cut like these celebrities?

Friday Favorites - Thanksgiving Edition 11/21/2014

Friday Favorites this week include a trick to keep you from crying for Thanksgiving prep, my favorite Thanksgiving dish with a recipe, and perfect drink pairings for each Thanksgiving dish.

Thanksgiving Prep Tip: Use Olive Oil to Keep from Crying
This tip is good for any day, not just Thanksgiving. If you're like me, I have the role in the family on Thanksgiving day of helping with a lot of the food prep as opposed to the actual cooking. I'm looking forward to trying this new trick to see if it keeps my eyes from watering while I'm slicing the onions. I've also heard that chewing gum while cutting helps as well, which seems to be somewhat true from my experience.

Favorite Thanksgiving Dish: Green Bean Casserole 
I love almost all Thanksgiving sides and dishes, but my favorite definitely has to be the green bean casserole. My mom makes it every year, and it gets devoured by all of our family (and I'll admit that I'm the main culprit). I love green beans to begin with, but green bean casserole is on another level. And it's pretty easy to make too. Here's a recipe for the amazing dish.

Wine, Beer & Booze Pairing for Thanksgiving Dishes

Loving this infographic for the perfect drinks to go with all the goods on Thanksgiving. Even though I'll probably be sticking with my Chardonnay all evening, it's still interesting to see the different options. If you plan on making that yummy green bean casserole above, try pairing it with Viognier.

"All About That Baste" Thanksgiving Parody
 I'm loving this funny parody spin on Meghan Trainor's overplayed, yet highly likable song, "All About That Bass."

Triple Pocket Napkin Fold
I'll be trying out this unique, yet easy fold for the Thanksgiving table setting this year. It's amazing how much a simple napkin fold can add to the sophistication of the table - the small details do count! Click here for the full tutorial. 

Are you celebrating a big Thanksgiving this year? What's your favorite dish on Thanksgiving?

Kim Kardashian's Racy Paper Magazine Spread

Well if you haven't heard about it already - and honestly, who hasn't - Kim Kardashian bared all in a recent spread of Paper Magazine titled "No Filter: An Afternoon with Kim Kardashian. 

To avoid shock or unwanted views, I've added the explicit photos after the jump, so click "Click Here to Read More" below to see the rest of the post.

Celebrity Spotlight: Glowing Blake Lively

As if I weren't already jealous enough of how stylish and impeccable Blake Lively always looks on a daily basis (and a little jealous that she's married to Ryan Reynolds), she's now a flawless example of a glowing, beautiful mommy-to-be. 

Blake and husband, Ryan Reynolds, announced Blake's first pregnancy on October 6th via her somewhat new website, Preserve.us, in a unique and almost humble and discreet way. The post was titled Preserve Celebrations: Falling for Family. The post started out with the following quote:

"Preserve at it's core is about family. Family is the single word our founder, Blake, built this home on."

The short post continues to talk about pregnancy, family and mothers-to-be, and ends with this quote,
followed by a collage of pictures of expecting mothers with families. 

"Congratulations to all the expecting mothers out there. And thank you for being a part of our Preserve family."

As I scrolled through the photos of a rustic outdoor get-together, I saw small little baby shoes, onsies and women laughing and holding their round tummies as they enjoy a chic picnic with friends. Then as I got to the last photo, my jaw dropped. 

I've always been a little upset that Blake didn't have a blog or instagram, or some form of social media that I can know more about her life for the longest time, so this blog post was quite a shock to me. Of course, everyone went crazy when they saw the announcement because she's so secretive with her private life. Even her wedding with Ryan in South Carolina back in September 2012 was a secret and low-key event. 

Her secrecy and humble personality only makes me love her even more. And since the announcement, she's not hiding her baby bump any longer and still holds her flawless and classy style, wherever she may be, whether that's on the red carpet or hanging out with friends. 

As for now, Blake and Ryan say that they're going to keep the gender a surprise. I'm hoping it's a girl, but I guess we'll have to wait until around late winter/early spring to find out!

Do you love Blake as much as I do? What did you think about the announcement? What's your guess for the gender?

Friday Favorites 11/07/2014

Friday favorites this week include my favorite infographic, favorite new recipe, best dressed from the Country Music Awards, and more. 

Favorite Infographic: Average Heel Heights for Each State

I thought this was pretty interesting, especially since Florida was so high up (where I live). I can understand that a lot of women wear heels in Miami, but seems like everyone else mostly wears flats and sandals - I was also surprised for the same reason for Hawaii, which was also pretty high in the ranks. Of course Nevada is one of the highest as well, considering Las Vegas.

Favorites from the CMA's 2014 Red Carpet: Miranda Lambert & Lucy Hale

So I couldn't choose between the two...I love that Miranda's showing off her curves in the body-hugging nude dress. Nude is a difficulty color to pull off, but I think she looks amazing. As for Lucy, I love the red on her. The dress is really simple, but still looks flawless.

Favorite New Recipe: Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Honey & Cinnamon
Love love love these and they're super easy to make. Stay tuned next week for the simple recipe.

Favorite New Song: Love Me Harder by Ariana Grande & The Weekend
I can't get enough of this song lately. Ariana Grande keeps on coming out with songs that I adore.

Favorite Celebrity Halloween Costume: Kim Kardashian and North West as Anna Wintour and Andre Leon Talley.

I just can't get enough of they're costumes! They're so spot on and were my favorites from my previous post, found here.

Where you surprised by the heel height infographic? Did you watch the CMA's? Who did you think was best dressed?

Top 5 Celebrity Halloween Costumes 2014

Halloween is definitely not one of my personal favorite holidays, but I do love seeing all the different costume ideas and the people who really go all out to make their costumes believable. The worst thing that could happen on Halloween is that someone has to ask who you are - your costume should be so great that there's no doubt. 

That being said, here are my top 5 celebrity Halloween costumes from 2014:

Heidi Klum as a butterfly

Talk about putting effort into a costume...This must have taken forever to assemble and do the makeup for, and I can only imagine how heavy and annoying it was to wear it the entire night. Props to you Heidi!

Jessica Alba as Slash

Loving this rocker-chic Slash outfit with including everything from the massively curly dark, long hair to the bottle of Jack Daniels in tow. 

Demi Lovato as I Love Lucy

This again is another celebrity who has done such a great representation, that it would be hard to tell the actual I Love Lucy from Demi. The bright red lips and dark cat eye eyeliner, polka dot dress and matching facial expression are spot-on. 

Blue Ivy as Michael Jackson

Let's be honest, it's fun to look at all the adult celebrities dressed up in full costumes, but there's nothing cuter or sweeter than seeing all the little ones dressed up as miniature icons. Beyonce dressed up as Janet Jackson, while Blue Ivy rocked a Michael Jackson outfit with a pink microphone. 

Kim Kardashian as Anna Wintour, with North West as Andre Leon Talley

My absolute favorite hands-down! Kim and North nailed their costumes on the head with their rendition of Vogue editor-in-cheif, Anna Wintour, and former editor-at-large for Vogue, Andre Leon Talley. They were also accompanied by Kim's friend/makeup artist Joyce Bonelli, dressed as Grace Coddington and her son, dressed as Karl Lagerfeld. The ultimate fashion clique. 

Katy Perry as a Cheeto

This was one of my least favorites. I mean, I guess I can give her props for going with something completely different and random, but it's definitely not something I would want to dress up as. One thing she wouldn't have to worry about is being dressed like anyone else on Halloween at least. 

What were your favorite celebrity costumes from this year? Did you dress up for Halloween?