My 2014 Christmas Wish List

It's always fun to put together a wish list for Christmas. I never have any expectations that I'll actually get anything from this list, but it's always fun to share the things that have recently caught my eye. 

Stila All Day Liquid Lipstick 

In colors Beso & Patina - $22.00

I have two Stila Liquid Lipsticks already in Amore & Fiore and I love it! I recommend it for anyone who loves a good, matte lip stain. It stays in place and the colors are amazing. If you like a little shine, you can always add a little gloss or balm on top of the stain too!

Red Dress Boutique

If you have yet to discover Red Dress Boutique, brace yourself. I love basically every product that they have and they're always getting new items in. It's hard to stay away once you give in! The prices are pretty affordable and the shipping is usually free!

Toast & Cheer Dress - $50.00

A Moment Like This Dress - $56.00

Pretty as a Button Plaid Blouse - $49.00

Rhode Island Romance Vest - $56.00

Mistletoe & Kisses Romper - $42.00

Garmin Forerunner 220 - $249.99 
I love working out with a heart rate monitor and watch so that I can really monitor what my body is doing. I used to always work out in the gym, but it's a lot more convenient to just run or bike outside, so I can also track calories based on my heart rate too. I have polar watch and HRM currently, but I love the look of this one and the built in GPS. I usually use my phone to track, but this one connects to your phone as well to keep better tracking. And I really like the way that this one is interactive with the run with just a glance at the wrist.

Michael Kors Bold Faced Watches
Continuing with watches...colored faces on watches have definitely been a huge trend of 2014, but the majority of them were bright colors, like pinks, green and aquas. I'm loving these darker colors for winter and it seems like they would match more with my wardrobe.
Michael Kors Parker Rose Gold - $275.00
Michael Kors Skylar Gold-Tone - $275.00

Tory Burch Handbag
I'm one of those people that rarely switches handbags. I always have a big tote with all of my essentials, so I feel like if I switch bags, I leave something behind! That being said, I feel like this would be a great, neutral everyday bag for me with lots of space for all of my things. It comes in different colors as well, but black will stay the cleanest and match with the most.
York Buckle Tote - $295.00

What's on your Christmas wish list this year? 

Celebrating Thanksgiving 2014

So it's a little belated, but Happy Thanksgiving! 

I had a wonderful time at my house, and of course, at more than I should have. I had to work for a few hours that morning, but nothing too painful. Then, back at my house we had about 15 people over for Thanksgiving, including my family, relatives and part of my boyfriend's family. 

I'm always the one responsible for setting the table and making the mashed potatoes, so as promised in my "Friday Favorites - Thanksgiving Edition" post, I tried out and easy, yet sophisticated napkin fold for the table. Obviously it took a little longer to set up, but it definitely added a little something extra to the table. 

After drinking, talking and lots of eating, but the end of the night, I was thinking...

In addition to all the fun on Thanksgiving, my boyfriend Jordan and I got a new puppy recently. Jordan and I are in a long distance relationship, so he's taking care of him for most of the time. He's an American Bulldog and we got him when he was 7 weeks old. 

There was much debate about what we should name him, mostly from our indecisiveness. We went from Gus to Tucker to Duke, but finally settled on Louis (pronounced Louie). Jordan and I already have a nickname for him, Peepa, because he loves to pee on his paws when we take him outside haha. 

He was with us for Thanksgiving and melted the hearts of every guest. Jordan also has another three year old pit bull mix, Beau. Beau was jealous at first, but they seem to have grown to love each other already. It's weird to think that Louis is going to get as big as Beau soon too!

How was your Thanksgiving?

Friday Favorites - Halloween Edition 10/31/2014

Happy Halloween! Even though I won't be doing anything exciting this year for the holiday, I figured I'd share some of my spooky, or not so spooky, favorites, including my favorite Halloween candy, a hilarious video of a mutant, giant spider....dog, a DIY mermaid costume and more.

Favorite Halloween Video - Mutant Giant Spider Dog

I just can't help but laugh every time I watch this video. I do have to say that my reaction would be the same as the poor running and screaming people that were traumatized in the making of this video though.

Favorite Graphic - Most Googled Halloween Costumes for Each State

I thought this was pretty cool, especially since I don't know what half of the costumes are. Note the spider dog costume search in Washington.

Favorite DIY Costume - Lauren Conrad as a Mermaid

Not that I could ever accomplish this perfect of a DIY project, but I love the all the shells and sequins. It's girly and fun, yet still cute and body con. Not to mention, you won't have anyone asking what you're dressed up as. 

Favorite Halloween Candy: Reese's

This is a tough one. I basically like any sweets, but there's something about Reese's on Halloween that you just can't beat. Chocolate & peanut butter, what's better than that?

Favorite Halloween Recipe - Mummy Dogs

These are so effortless, enjoyable and festive, it's a no-brainer if you're having a Halloween get together. Great for kids or adults.

Ingredients:

- Hot dogs/Turkey dogs

- Crescent rolls

- Yellow Mustard

Directions:

- Unroll crescent rolls and cut each perforated piece in half

- Wrap crescent roll around hot dog or turkey dog

- Bake in 375 degree oven for 12-15 minutes

- Add two dots of mustard for the eyes!

What's your favorite Halloween candy? Are you dressing up this year? What's your favorite Halloween costume of all time?

An Exciting Weekend of Celebration!

This past weekend was full of celebration for my family and me. It all started on Thursday when I celebrated my boyfriend's 22nd birthday with him. We didn't do anything too crazy, just went bicycle shopping and had dinner at my house with my family. 

Later that night, I found out that my oldest brother, Max, proposed to his girlfriend, Caitlin, of about 5 years. My parents knew he was planning it the whole time, but they kept it a secret from everyone else, so everyone was pretty shocked when they found out.

Friday was my graduation celebration. My parents threw me a party and charted out the Starlite Majesty, a big dining yacht out of Clearwater Beach. We had about 120 of my friends and my parents friends on board for a 3 hour dinner and dancing cruise. It was so much fun to have everyone there, and I know everyone had a great time. 

I wore an off-white BCBGeneration lace dress that took forever to find. I couldn't decide if I wanted to wear a bold color for a statement necklace, or a bold colored shoe. I was literally shopping the morning of my party to try to decide and came across a bright pair of wedges from Aldo. They had my name written all over them, but they didn't have my size in that store. My boyfriend was nice enough to go pick up my size from a different store, so I paired them with a simple gold necklace. Unfortunately, he had to drive separately and was one of the last people there, so I had to make a shoe change once he brought them. 

And last of our weekend celebration was Mother's Day. I got my mom a cooking pot she has been asking for and a UCF t-shirt. We also had an edible arrangement delivered to the house instead of flowers. It looks like a big bouquet of fruit, cut into different shapes - and we had chocolate covered strawberries delivered also. 

Overall, these past two weeks are two weeks that I won't forget. Between graduation, birthdays, parties, engagements and moving out of my apartment in Orlando, it's been hectic, but definitely worth it - and also a lot of fun!

College Graduation: Class of 2014

This past weekend was a big milestone for me: I officially graduated college! I have been attending the University of Central Florida in Orlando, FL and studying Journalism and Marketing for the past four years. I was also fortunate enough to be surrounded my numerous great women throughout all four years when I was a member of the sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma.

We're able to keep and decorate our graduation cap, so I thought what better to put on it than h². I've had this blog for almost my entire college experience, so I found it fitting. The ceremony only lasted about two hours because they luckily spilt up the ceremonies across three days. When I walked across the stage, I completely blacked out - I didn't hear my name called or my family cheering for me, I was just focusing on not tripping on stage in front of everyone.

My college experience has clearly been one that I won't forget. It flew by, just like everyone says that it will, but that didn't really hit me until it was too late. I don't think I'll really realize that I'm done with school until next Fall when my sorority sisters are posting pictures at sorority recruitment and football tailgates. 

Overall, I'm extremely happy that I chose to attend UCF for my last four years of schooling. Although it's a big school (the 2nd largest in the country), it wasn't too overwhelming and I feel that I made memories that will last me a lifetime. Now, I'm looking forward to my graduation party on Friday!

Easter 2014 & Egg Bashing

Happy Belated Easter! I spent the weekend in my hometown with my family and boyfriend. We started out the morning by discovering some presents that the Easter bunny left behind. I got a red hot Michael Kors coin purse that I can use as an alternate wallet or a business card holder for my new job I'll be starting in May, and a pair of gold earrings. 

Later in the afternoon, we had all of our neighbors over to our house for an Easter tradition that my family has been doing ever since I can remember. We call it the egg bashing competition. This is how it works: everyone gets a hard-boiled egg, then you go up against someone, and bash an end of your egg with the other persons - one person's egg will break, while the other will remain untracked. Since there are two ends to the eggs, it's double elimination.

My brother usually makes the bracket, and this year may have been the largest bracket we've had, about 35. It's fun to watch since some people will try to use strategies, like hitting the person's egg when they're not looking or hitting it hard instead of lightly, but in my opinion, there's no strategy, it's all just luck. The champion gets bragging rights for the whole year until next year's egg bashing contest. 

I was out after only two rounds, so I clearly have no strategy, but the championship ended up being my brother's girlfriend, Caitlin, and my boyfriend, Jordan. This was Jordan's first time participating, but Caitlin ended up winning in the championship round. This year, everyone put in $1 each, so along with the bragging rights, Caitlin got $35 too. 

In the end, it's all just friendly competition and a lot of fun to have everyone over and laugh at the egg bashing. 

Do you have any Easter traditions in your family? How was your Easter?

Liebster Award

The Liebster Award: It's a way for up-and-coming bloggers to connect and support each other.

The Guidelines: Mention the person who nominated you; list 11 random facts about yourself; answer the 11 questions asked by the person who nominated you; nominate 11 up-and-coming bloggers; create a new set of 11 questions for your nominations.

Christine from "From the Lion's Den" was sweet enough to nominate me for the Liebster Award. She's an adorable lifestyle blogger originally from Los Angeles. I love her variety of posts and her fun and easy-going blogging style. She posts anything from food to fashion and anything in between. Definitely check out her blog and give her a follow!

11 Random Facts About Me:

1. I have a serious problem with watching bad reality TV. I'm a Real Housewives addict. My favorite's are Beverly Hills and Orange County. I basically watch anything on E! And Bravo. It's definitely a guilty pleasure of mine! (I think Yolanda is my favorite).

2. When I was younger, I wanted to be a veterinarian. I love animals, but I realized that I would have to deal with animals that were sick or have to do surgery on them possibly. That's when I realized that I really just want to cuddle and pet them, so I changed my mind quickly haha.

3. I've subconsciously trained myself to sleep with my hand curled up under my face. I slept this way because I used to sleep with a stuffed animal bunny, but it's still the way that I usually fall asleep.

4. I currently attend the University of Central Florida in Orlando, FL. I'll be graduating in the first week of May with a major in Journalism and a minor in Marketing.

5. I'm a member of the Eta Eta chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma (at UCF).

6. I have extremely long and thick hair. I usually get comments on a daily basis about it, especially if I have my hair in a braid. I think it's definitely my best feature.

7. I really want to invent something! I love watching Shark Tank and my brother invented his own app, so it really makes me want to create something of my own too! The only problem is, I can't think of anything haha, sort of a dilemma.

8. My favorite colors to wear are jewel tones like fuchsia, emerald green and cobalt blue. Dresses are definitely my go-to outfits too.

9. I love designing things on InDesign or Photoshop. I recently designed my own Graduation invitation because I didn't like any of the other free e-vites online, and I made my own creative resume too.

10. I love to read, but I haven't really had much time to because of my schoolwork. I'm looking forward to having a bit of extra time once I graduate to start reading more again. Any good book suggestions?

11. I love the ocean and I love being on the boat and scurfing! Scurfing is like surfing, but behind a boat. You get really close to the back of the boat and use a skim board or surf board to ride the wake that the boat creates. You can even throw the rope back into the boat, so it's like you're actually surfing! Check out the picture of me below.

11 Questions From Christine:

1. Do you have a pet? 
Yes, but not here at school in Orlando. I have a cat, Roxy, who is almost 7 years old. She stays at home with my parents since I'm not allowed to have pets in my apartment here. We actually trained her to sit and beg for treats. My boyfriend also has a two year old pit bull/plott hound mix that I love. They're both in the pictures below.

2. What's your biggest fashion Achilles' heel?
Sales! It's hard for me to say no to something if I see that it's on sale and that I'll be saving money. Sometimes it ends up being my excuse for buying something, even though I don't necessarily need it.

3. Can't leave home without?
My cell phone, wallet and chapstick. I love the eos brand. It looks like a little egg and comes in refreshing flavors. My favorites are lemon and mint.

4. What's something you used to wear and love but are totally embarrassed about now?
In the beginning of high school, the movie High School Musical was just coming out. I loved that movie and of course, Zac Efron. I had a heart locket necklace that had Zac Efron's face on it that I would wear occasionally. Yep, that's definitely embarrassing.

5. Favorite food to eat and/or cook?
Sushi is definitely one of my favorite foods! I've never tried to make it myself at home, but I would love to get a kit and try it sometime.

6. Ideal place to live?
I love the city I grew up in, near Clearwater, FL, which is where I'll be moving back to after I graduate. But I would love to travel to NYC and Los Angeles and other places in California. I think I would really love California because of the warmer weather - I definitely have an issue with the cold.

7. If you could do anything for a career, you would...
Being a personal stylist or a fashion buyer would be an amazing job. I love fashion and looking through clothes, so I feel like it would be an easy and fun job for me. I would also love to work for a fashion magazine.

8. Worst thing you've ever eaten?
Hmm, nothing comes to mind right away, but I'm not a big fan of green olives or brussel sprouts. I can eat them if I have to, and I still like dirty martinis, but I don't prefer them.

9. Favorite workout?
I've recently been using Tone It Up a lot. I love the girl's behind the brand, Karena and Katrina, and they make the workouts fun, but you definitely still get a great workout.

10. What's a current trend you are absolutely hating?
Eyebrow penciling. Shading in eyebrows a little bit to make them look fuller is totally fine, but girls have been taking it to a whole new level lately! They end up just making themselves look like clowns.

11. If you had to wear one brand for the next five years, which would it be?
I've always really like the clothes from Express. They have a lot of cute and fun clothes, but also a lot of clothes are good for the workplace - and they're all pretty reasonably priced. I have a lot of basic tops from there that go with a lot of outfits.

11 Questions for My Nominations to Answer:

1. What was your reason for starting your blog?
2. What's your favorite color to wear?
3. If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
4. What's your favorite thing to splurge on?
5. What are your guilty pleasure TV shows?
6. If I gave you $1 million tomorrow, what would you do with it?
7. If you could meet anyone, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
8. What's one food you can't live without?
9. If you had to choose between not having breakfast or dessert for the rest of your life, which would you choose and why?
10. What's one designer you wish you could have everything in their collections?
11. What's one of your favorite quotes?

My 11 Up-and-Coming Blog Nominations:

1. Hillbillies in Heels
2. Pink Peonies
3. Vanilla Extract
4. Rachel Whitton
5. Spoonful of Sugar
6. Champagne Lifestyle on a Beer Budget
7. A House in the Hills
8. Blogging Over Thyme
9. Averie Cooks
10. Envision Pretty
11. Edible Perspective

The Miley Cyrus Bangerz Tour

I'm not the biggest Miley Cyrus fan, but my little sister in my sorority won tickets to her Bangerz tour at the Amway Center in Orlando last night and invited me to go with, so naturally I said of course! I do like most of her new songs, but I wouldn't have paid to go to the concert, but who turns down free tickets!? They weren't great seats, but good enough to see all the ridiculous action taking place on stage. 

The show was what I expected times ten. The props, her outfits and Miley in general were all crazy to say the least. The show wasn't close to being short of twerking and crotch-grabbing, but that's basically what Miley seems to be all about lately. 

During the song "Adore You" she told the crowd to make out with whoever you came with. Then cameramen proceeded to go around the crowd and put couples up on the big screen who were following Miley's orders. You can only imagine what some people were doing to get on that screen. 

During another point in the show, she took swigs of water from her water bottle and spit it out all over the front rows of the crowd. 

Most of her outfits incorporated a revealing, over the hip leotard of some kind. She also had a few different pairs of cowboy boots, J's and heels. Check out the pictures in this post (not ones that I took) to see for yourself. 

Her back-up dancers included little people, giant dancing teddy bears, and girls who could twerk better than anyone I've seen before. She also had crazy props like a Miley tongue slide which she slid down to start the show, a giant gray wolf, a massive bed and a floating hot dog that she rode on.

Even though I'm not the biggest Miley fan, I still had a lot of fun watching the performance. It was definitely entertaining to see all the different props, and it was a great place for people watching too. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone who's not in high school yet though, because it was pretty explicit for young ages. 

Other than that, it was definiltey an experience that I won't forget and will probably be the most outrageous concert that I'll ever attend. 

Are you going to see Miley on her Bangerz tour? What are some of your favorite performers?

My First and Last Spring Break Vacation

So this is my senior year at the University of Central Florida and I had yet to take a Spring Break trip. Since it was my last opportunity, I booked a 4 day Royal Caribbean cruise with my roommates and little sister in my sorority. I've been on cruises with my family before, but none with my friends, so I was excited for the new experience.

Needless to say, we had tons of fun. The cruise went out of Miami, then proceeded to Nassau, Bahamas, CocoCay, Bahamas, and Key West, Florida, respectively. We had great weather except for the last part of the day at Key West. My Dad was nice enough to let me use his Go Pro camera so that I could record all of our festivities throughout the trip. It was hard to cut down all the video, but I managed to fit it into a 15 minute video which you can find at the end of this post. 

Nassau, Bahamas was my favorite stop. I even got a hair wrap - which ended up taking an hour and fifteen minutes because my hair was so long. I was definitely not expecting that, but I couldn't stop half way through! 

All in all, we had a great time. I don't think I've ever laughed to much in that period of time either. I got a bit of a tan and ate and drank way too much. But in the end, it was definitely worth the money spent and calories gained. I would definitely recommend it for anyone who wants a short getaway!

Have you had any fun Spring Break trips? Where do you want to vacation to?

Super Bowl XLVIII Recap

My family decided to have a small Super Bowl party for some of our close friends and neighbors to root on the Denver Broncos. Despite their epic loss, the party was fun, the halftime show was good, there was great food, and I won a little extra money on the side playing a game my family calls football pool (I'll explain that later).

I've always been a Denver Broncos fan since I was little, so I was ecstatic that they had won the American Football Conference (AFC) and were going to Super Bowl XLVIII to battle the Seattle Seahawks. The boys had a great season, and I was pretty confident that they would pull out the win at the Super Bowl, but unfortunately, that didn't happen. The Seahawks crushed the Broncos, 43-8. Although I'm still a bit sad about it, I'll still stick by my Bronco's side. 

The other best parts of the Super Bowl besides the game are the commercials and the half time show. Bruno Mars was the main half time performer alongside The Red Hot Chili Peppers. A lot of people weren't too excited about that, and most people said there's no way he could top last year's performer, Beyonce. I thought he did a great job though. Bruno is a great performer, dancer and singer, so I loved the half time show. I also loved his super skinny tie and metallic blazer. The little Red Hot Chili Peppers performance wasn't so bad either. You can check out the full performance below.

As far as the commercials went, I didn't think they were really that funny this year. There were only a few that stood out to me: a heartwarming, tear-jerking Budweiser commercial featuring a puppy and a clydesdale and a funny Dannon Oikos commercial featuring John Stamos and a little Full House reunion. Check them out both below.

Last, with a party comes lots of great food. Everyone who came brought an appetizer with them and my family covered the main dishes and desserts. One of my favorite appetizers were homemade pizza roll-ups. Click here for a similar recipe. My parents made some delicious filet mignon sliders, and I made my famous peanut butter bars. They're easy to make and really addicting to eat. Stay tuned for a recipe post later this week.

So back to what football pool is. It's a game that has no strategy, it's all just luck. There are 100 squares that people can buy - we made two posters this year, one was $1 per square and the other was $3 per square. Once all the squares are filled in, you label 0-9 at the top and the left side in a random order. You split up the pot for each quarter, so $20 each (for the $1 board) and $20 for overtime, just in case. After the first quarter, you match the numbers to see who's box it lands on. For example, after the first quarter the score was 8-0, Seahawks, so you find the 8 at the top and the 0 on the left side and see which box they land on, which was the box with my name on it! So I walked away with $20. Sort of hard to understand, but it's a fun game to play with everyone.

What did you do for the Super Bowl? Did you have any favorite commercials? 

Miami Metropolitan International Fashion Week: Yvette Elfawal

I was lucky enough to attend Metropolitan International Fashion Week in Miami this past Friday. My best friend/roommate, Maria, was a model walking in Yvette Elfawal's show, so my other best friend/roommate, Christie, and I went down to Miami to watch and support Maria. 

Yvette Elfawal has also shown her most recent collection (Fall/Winter 2013) at New York Fashion Week in February. Yvette uses a lot of detailing with rope around the bodice of her pieces. It looks both unique and sophisticated. But my absolute favorite pieces were the long gowns with feathered fabric. From a distance, the texture looks just like feathers, but once you get closer, you can see the small pieces of fabric that make the bottom look flowy and feather-light.

The other designers who were also showing on Friday night were: Dancing Dolls, Kirsten Regalado Gowns, Agragrami Fashion House, and Beautiful People Couture. Although they were all amazing designers, Yvette was my favorite of the night. 

Here are some photos (taken with my iPhone) from Friday night. Sorry for the horrible quality!

My outfit for the fashion show:

Blue Dress - Fashion Star from H&M

Black Wedges - Target

Pink Floral Statement Necklace - Ebay

After the show. These were my two favorite looks, but I would die to have the light pink gown. 

My best friend, Maria, who was walking in the runway show.

All of the models before the show (Yvette in front with the green maxi)

The three of us (me, Maria, Christie) after the show.

Here are some higher resolution photos of her collection. (Photo Credit)

And of course, I had to be a tourist and visit the Dash store on Saturday morning before we left.

Have you ever been to the Metropolitan International Fashion Week? What do you think of Yvette's designs?

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