Tiffany Blue + Sparkles = NYE Nails!

December 31, 2012

Happy (almost) New Year Dolls!!

I love NYE because it means sparkle, sparkle and MORE sparkle! While I'm still trying to make the final decision on my OOTN, I for sure knew I wanted some nails that really shined (see my NYE nails last year HERE)! This is totally easy to do as there are SO many sparkly nail polishes out right now :) 

One of my super sweet blogging (and longtime friends) Alexa at Southern Living Our Way sent me a Christmas gift in the mail including the AMAZING Tiffany blue nail polish from the Essie 2012 Holiday Collection called "Where's My Chauffeur?"!!! I have been SO excited to try this polish & it was such a perfect gift :) Thank you Alexa!!! So when I got my nails done I layered this beautiful shade...


          Check out "Where's My Chauffeur?" HERE 

...underneath a sparkly gold, turquoise, orange and silver glitter mixture by OPI called "The Living Daylights" (another awesome Christmas gift from my sweet boyfriend!!!)




And now I present to you my NYE nails: 






So what are you wearing on your nails to ring in the New Year?! :) Leave me a comment and let me know!!!

I am so excited to see what 2013 brings!!! I appreciate each and every one of you who take the time to read, follow, and comment on my blog. You make this such a fun and exciting adventure for me!! :) I'm looking forward to continuing writing in 2013 and connecting with many new people through blogging!
 I wish you a very Happy New Year!!!

XOXO
Ashley

OOTD & OOTNs: Christmas Edition!

December 28, 2012

Hello dahhhhlings! :) 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed spending time with your families! This Christmas was one of the busiest I ever had as I celebrated Christmas on 3 different days: the weekend before, Christmas Eve and of course Christmas Day! 

So for a sort of Christmas recap post, I wanted to show y'all some of my holiday outfits. 

The Sunday before Christmas, we celebrated with my mom's side of the family which is always a blast! I have TONS of cousins and we all love getting together, laughing and playing games (oh and also eating...there's always lots of that)! For that celebration I wore a black long-sleeve cotton dress with a faux-fur vest to spice things up (remember when I first blogged about fur vests in my blog post HERE??). I just love throwing this vest on to add a little something extra to my outfit: it goes well over a dress or with a shirt, jeans & boots. 


Dress: Michael by Michael Kors
Fur Vest: Forever 21
Boots: Arturo Chiang
Owl Necklace: H&M

Goofing off with my cousins! I just love them!!!

With my girls!

Christmas Eve was celebrated at my sweet Nana's house (remember when I got tea with Nana HERE?). I have so many precious childhood memories from Nana's house growing up and I always LOVE our Christmas Eve tradition of lunch and exchanging gifts. It seriously always melts my heart :). This year I wore a maroon colored long sleeve dress from my go-to store....you guessed it....Forever 21! It was a steal at $14.80. I paired it with boots but it would also be nice to wear with heels for a dressier occasion. 



Dress: Forever 21
Boots: Arturo Chiang





 And I had to get an OOTD pic at the top of this balcony where I used to literally tie dish rags to my hair and let my "hair" fall to the floor & pretended I was Rapunzel. :) HA!


With my sweet Nana!


Since I missed Christmas morning at my house, all my gifts were out for me right where Santa left them that morning :).... 



As you can see, Santa knows me very well and left me some awesome clothes and boots. Shout out to Santa---thank you! :) 

So how did you spend your Christmas? What did you wear for your Christmas festivities?! Leave me a comment and let me know dolls :)

Thanks SO very much for reading!

XOXO
Ashley

My Favorite Holiday Party Dresses!

December 24, 2012

Hi sweeties!

Can y'all believe that it's Christmas Eve?! I just love this time of year because it means family get-togethers and holiday parties which translates into looking your best and (hopefully) dressing to the nines (any excuse right?). With this in mind, I wanted to show you some of my favorite holiday looks inspired by celebrities and how you can get the look yourself no matter what kind of party you're dressing for! :) 

1) LBD with lace details 
How the stars wore it....
I love the LBD with the lace cutout Vanessa Hudgens is wearing below paired with a pair of beautiful printed tights and a gorgeous red lip! 


Image via


How you can get the look....
Look for dresses with lace details like the ones below for a beautiful, elegant look for any party! 


Holiday Party: Lace LBD + Red Lips


Bb dakota
modcloth.com


Full tilt
tillys.com


Karen Millen wedge shoes
karenmillen.com


Revlon cherry red lipstick
compare.ebay.com



And here are some other variations of the lace dress...

Forever 21
$24.80
HERE




2) Peplum Dress: 
How the stars wore it...
I have always loved the peplum style! It can be so very figure-flattering if worn correctly. Below is a great example of peplum done right. Charlize Theron looks gorgeous in her red Lanvin dress.


Image via

How you can get the look....
Pair a peplum dress with some pretty metallic heels (below I picked pretty gold heels). I also recommend adding some pretty jewels to dress up the look!! 


Holiday Look: Peplum Dress with Gold Accessories


Mango dress
mango.com


Nine west pumps
ninewest.com



Acrylic jewelry
filthymagic.com





Here are some variations of the peplum dress....


 Blue Lipsy Peplum Dress
on sale for $80.03
Check it out HERE
Express Pink Peplum Tube Dress
$98
Check it out HERE!


3) Sequins, sequins, sequins!! 
How the stars wore it....
Carrie Underwood is one of my fave celebrities to rock sequins! She always wears them perfectly. She always lets her sequins be the main focus of her ensemble by pairing it with minimal accessories, jewelry and makeup. 


Image via

How you can get the look...
Take a cue from Carrie and let your sequins take center stage by pairing your sequined dress with simple accessories! 



Party Look: Sequins


Mango zipper dress
mango.com


Christian louboutin heels
christianlouboutin.com


Accessorize foldover bag
accessorize.com


MAC Cosmetics lip gloss
bloomingdales.com




Here are a couple of my other fave variations of the sequined dress....

French Connection Sequined Fitted Dress
$248
HERE

TFNC Sequined Dress
On sale $67.72
HERE

So dolls, what are YOU wearing to your holiday parties?! Be sure to leave me a comment &  let me know! :)

Thanks so much for reading & Merry Christmas Eve!

XOXO
Ashley

OOTN: Styling Western Booties

December 20, 2012

Hi dolls!

You know when you buy something and it instantly becomes one of your go-to favorites? For me, those are the 2 pairs of western booties I bought last year from Old Navy {I would link to the post I did on these boots when I originally bought them but I was unable to recover that post from the hacker catastrophe of 2012 :( HAHA! I'm working on it though!}. I bought them in grey and tan and I LOVE finding new ways to wear them. Here's how I've style them previously: 







If you notice, most of the times I've sported these adorable booties I have just worn them with bare legs. I often would LOVE to wear them with pants but I've had a hard time styling them because I never liked the way the boots looked with pants tucked into them. I thought there was just too much material to tuck into these little booties. HOWEVER, a couple of weeks ago, I had a lightbulb fashion moment!!! Don't you just love those? I thought I would try my grey booties with my black skinny pants rolled up a little. I really like the way the look turned out!!! And now I present you, a new way to wear my booties (wardrobe remixing anyone?).....



Top: Forever 21
Pants: H&M
Booties: Old Navy

So what is your go-to favorite in your wardrobe?! Be sure to leave me a comment and let me know :) 

Thank you SO much for reading dolls; I appreciate each and every one of you! 

XOXO
Ashley

Oprah---er--- Ashley's Favorite Things!!

December 17, 2012

Hi dolls!

Can you believe there are only 7 shopping days left until Christmas?! If you're anything like me, you may be really close to being done but still need to pick up a few last minute things. With that in mind, I thought I would create a list of my 10 FAVORITE things from this year. While I wish I could give all my sweet readers each item on my Favorite Things List just like Oprah, these pictures will have to suffice :)....

1. Lifeproof iPhone Case: $69.99


The background story behind my amazing Lifeproof iPhone Case is rather, well...embarrassing :). I purchased this pretty little case after I dropped my iPhone in the.....wait for it.....toilet. Yes, you read that right.... the toilet. After retrieving my iPhone and drying it off, it magically still worked. That was when I knew I needed a case that would protect it no matter the conditions it finds itself (I ALWAYS manage to drop my phone. Although it WAS the first time it's found its way into the toilet! ha!). I was originally thinking of an Otter Box, but when I went into Mac Authority they recommended a Life Proof case because it was much thinner, lighter, and was WATER proof (aka toilet proof) and SHOCK proof (aka ASHLEY proof). I couldn't be happier with this case! I mean seriously....I can text or answer important phone calls IN THE SHOWER. And not to mention how AWESOME this case will be next summer at the beach! This would be a great gift for anyone with an iPhone who may just be as clumsy as me :) They are also available for the iPhone 5 now! 


Check these cases out HERE!!!






2. Forever Red Shower Gel by Bath & Body Works: $18


So my sweet bf got me this body wash for our anniversary, and LET ME TELL YOU this stuff is AMAZING. It smells fantastic and it makes your skin so very soft! The scent also stays with you all day; just what I love about a body wash! This will be the perfect gift for any lady on your shopping list :)

Check it out HERE!!!  




3. Bath & Body Works Body Butter: $15

I have tried SO many different lotions from Bath & Body Works, but the body butter is my hands-down favorite. It has shea and murumuru butters AND coconut oil....super luxurious but non-greasy and lightweight. I love applying right out of the shower for the ultimate moisturizing treat that for real keeps my skin moisturized all day long! :) 

View all of the collection HERE {I definitely recommend the fragrance Secret Wonderland-it's delightful!}







4. Forever 21 scarf: $8.80

I bought a lime green scarf I wore on Thanksgiving from Forever 21 for under $10 and I just LOVE it. It's so cozy, warm and adds an instant pop of color to any ensemble (also available in pink, coral, blue, and black). This would make such a perfect gift for any special lady on your list at a very reasonable price!

Check out my favorite F21 scarf online HERE!








5. Marc Nelson Denim T-Shirt: $35-$50. 

I firmly believe that every fashionista should own a few basic, solid colored t-shirts. They are SO versatile and can be worn with multiple ensembles: layered under a blazer, paired with a scarf, or worn as the perfect backdrop for your statement jewelry. With this in mind, I'm so happy to say that one brand of t-shirts I LOVE is Marc Nelson Denim. My favorite style is the women's vee (for $39.99 here). For just a reminder on how much I love them, HERE is the post when I paired mine with a scarf & ballet bun for a casual fall day....

Check out MND women's shirts HERE



6. Clarisonic Mia brush: $119

If you remember my Christmas recap post from last year HERE, my Nana got me a Clarisonic Mia brush which I absolutely have LOVED ever since I got it a year ago. It is perfect for deep-cleaning and removing ALL of my makeup. It also makes my face supaaa smooth. 

Check it out at Sephora online HERE {available in SO many adorable colors!}




7. Naked 2 Eye Palette: $50

Before I bought both the Naked 1 and 2 eye palettes this past February (read about that experience HERE), I was always in search of different eyeshadows and would use many different kinds. However, 10 months later and I am STILL hooked on these eye palettes! If you only get one, I find myself using Naked 2 Eye Palette the most. I absolutely LOVE the shades for EVERY occasion: day and night. They help you create the PERFECT smokey eye! Ahhhh in love! 

Check it out HERE!




8. Crafts & Love Jewelry: Range in Prices! 

I am SO sad to say that I have yet to be able to recover my blog post that I wrote about Crafts and Love Jewelry so I can't link back to it, but I wanted to share some of my pictures from that post and say that it is DEFINITELY on my favorites list this year. If you remember, this jewelry line was started by one of my friends and girls I graduated high school with, Courtney. She is a doll and the jewelry is fabulous. I absolutely love the Abebe statement gold bib necklace {pictured below}. If you want to order something for yourself or as a gift, be sure to do so soon as the shop will be closed December 21st to January 1st. I know I have ordered a couple of Christmas gifts for my family this year! She has some BEAUTIFUL pieces! :) 

Check out Crafts and Love's Jewelry Etsy store HERE







9. Longchamp Bag: "Le Pliage" Line: $100

When my sweet bf returned from his summer studying abroad in Paris, he brought me back the perfect gift....a Longchamp bag in the "Le Pliage" line. When he gave it to me, I had NO idea how much I would fall in love with it! It's seriously the PERFECT bag and I have been carrying it since this summer. Yes, I am the girl that carries her LIFE in her purse {and yes, I hate to admit it probably weighs 15 pounds....} and this bag can not only hold everything but is super comfortable to carry my life in-HAHA! It also comes in a variety of colors which is also a huge bonus! Here is how I wore it this summer....

Check out the Le Pliage line HERE!





10. Nail polish: James Bond Collection: Approx $8 a bottle

Finally, a Favorite Things List from this makeup, clothes and NAIL POLISH obsessed girl would NOT be complete without featuring my favorite nail polish collection of 2012. While there were MANY nail polishes I tried all year long, my favorite was released this by OPI this holiday season: the James Bond Collection. The shades were stunning and had a little something for everyone (and to last you the whole holiday). Be sure to read my post about it HERE!



I hope this list of my favorite things might give y'all some last minute Christmas gift ideas! :) 

Thank you SO much as always for reading, dolls!!

XOXO
Ashley
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