"ugh, my nailbeds suck"

If anyone can tell me where this quote is from...I'll get really excited.
I'm always looking for ways to spruce up my school uniform in small, subtle ways and I was so excited to read about Zoya's new glitter nail polish. From what I've seen and read the polish itself isnt 100% opaque glitter but with about three coats it can be. There is nothing worse than glitter nail polish that skimps on the glitter, but I can assure you this is not the case with Zoya's. There are three different colors: Astra (dark pink), Luna (silver), and Nova (purpleish pink). The silver Luna would be *perfect* for adding a little pizazz to your holiday wardrobe.Glitter polish isn't just for little girls anymore!

Holiday Word Vomit..these things have got to get shorter

She let her pencil fall from her limp hand. Her head hanging over her desk, she proclaimed "It is done". Thus ends the epic thriller known as Midterms: the Saga. 

All joking aside, I did make it through Exams in one piece and now I'm able to focus on more pressing matters....Holiday Party!! I'm having a Secret Santa 'Mocktail' party for some of my girlfriends tomorrow. Mocktail = we are all too young to be sippin' on gin and juice but at the same time appreciate the swank-factor of a Martini. I've gathered an array of faux alcoholic drinks to appease my underage crowd- lemon drops ( Italian lemon soda), Cosmopolitans (Cranberry juice and sprite) and some Champagne (sparking grape and peach juices). 'Tis the season for holiday parties, and we alllll know how big a pain they can potentially be. I've only thrown a few soirees in my time, but i'll scrounge together what little advice I have to offer.

1. Catering is your best friend. I cooked all the food at my last party and GOD what a mistake. While the homemade touch was nice, let's face it, I'm not Martha Stuart, nor am I Jesus, so cooking food and setting up the house before an 11 o'clock brunch was not the smartest move and would have taken something close to a miracle.
2.Homemade dessert is choice. Having said my speil about cooking for the event, baking for the event is another story. A cake can be made a bit in advance while tiny finger sandwiches get soggy after 2 hours. Making a cake is always a personal touch and a hit if you put some time into it.
3. Those flimsy little plastic glasses where you have to attach the bottom to the stem SUCK. They will fall apart and you will ruin your carpet. I suggest going to target and springing on some cheap GLASS wine glasses to use for parties. Your guests and their new white blouses will appreciate it.
4. Deviled eggs. Really, just do  it. All it takes is some boiled eggs, a little dill, celery seeds, chopped celery, black pepper, salt, cayenne, and a pinch of celery salt and you are good to go. It's pretty stress-free if you know how to boil an egg. You can even make these lovelies the night before as long as you put them in an air-tight container in the fridge. I like adding a little sprig of dill to the top for a little extra oomph.
5. Enjoy yourself! Hostesses with the mostesses realize that once the party starts, what happens happens. No use crying over burned crescent rolls.
 

Stress.

My hair is about to start falling out from all of this stress. Honest to God. Very few things are keeping me sane between doing study guides, figuring out details of my debutante portraits, school musical auditions, and physics in general. I tried really hard to come up with at least one thing that isn't stressing me out and all I could come up with was my new eos lip balm I got at Walgreen's on my way home. Its a sad sad day today...but at least my lips feel like bliss.

Faux Glow

About this time of year I begin to seriously miss my tan skin. There is something so healthy looking about a suntanned face. Everything looks slimmer when it's tan; cheekbones just stand out. Right now,this is *not* the case because I'm as pale as a marshmallow. My dad works for a big-wig cancer center..so tanning bed is out, creepy tan solution is in.(I use it but I despise it..stinky!) Here is my top 5 list of self tanners.
1. Bare Bronze Spray by Victoria's Secret..discontinued but found on Amazon! It really gives a great depth to already tan skin or beautiful color to lighter tones. I use it on my legs allll the time. It doesn't rub off once it's dried and the oils in it really moisturize your wintery legs
2. Banana Boat EveryDay Glow SunDial Self-Tanning Moisturizer-I really like how you can adjust the color! The color is natural enough and the smell isnt so bad. I like it better than most other tanners out there.
3. Jergens Natural Glow Firming Daily Moisturizer- Warning, on anything but pinky skin tones it will turn you faintly yellow! The firming effect is the plus and the only reason I really use it.
4. Sally Hansen Perfection Medium Glow for Light to Medium Skin Tones- This was recommended to me by two friends. It gives your legs a polished glow to avoid even having to ponder the idea of flesh colored tights (they should be made illegal).
5. Hempz Supre Shimmer Bronze Herbal Moisturizer- A little hint of color for the less ambitious. It adds a nice bit of sparkle, smells nice, and its organic! Its great for after swimming by the pool to add a little extra something to your glow. You can get galons of this stuff at Walmart
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Deb Duties

So I didn't spend my *entire* weekend baking, I did venture out to a tea party thrown in honor of one of my fellow debutantes .I'm the one in red plaid! The party was adorable and the hostess sent us home with gingerbread Christmas ornaments. About my hair: I experimented with pin curls for the first time and it was a success (sort of). It turned out looking really cool and vintage, but I was going for a more Veronica Lake look. Ah, well, pin curls are seriously awesome. I'm going to post a tutorial, get excited. It'll be coming after exams because I'm going to be spending the next two weeks of my life under a rock studying world history.

'tis the season

All this weekend I baked Christmas cookies and fudge to send  my godfather who is currently stationed in Iraq. I discovered the most AMAZING thing. Nestle toll house gingerbread dough in a giant tub! The flavor is excellent and quickly transform into beautiful gift with a little effort. For those of you who are cookie-deficient, I'll outline the process. Take about 1/4th of the dough from the tub and roll it out (1/4th inch thick)with a little flour. Make sure you put the not-used dough back in the fridge. This stuff gets sticky quick! The colder your dough the easier it will be to work with the cookie cutters and shapes! I like to stray away from the traditional gingerbread man and make things interesting (ex. sheep, elephant, pig, moose, scottie dog cookies). Place all your shapes about 1 inch apart on a cookie sheet and bake for 8 min on 350 to get them to a perfect crunch. Nothing is worse than a squishy gingerbread man. Once they cool I outline the fun shapes with some fluffy white icing stuffed into a ziploc with a corner cut out to make a neat, thin line. These make great gifts wrapped in plastic or placed inside a tin.

Rooster
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UPDATE

Remember how I mentioned Beauty is the Movement? Well, apparently my school bans blogs now. I'm glad i'm getting such a good education, but I have to object to this treatment. This blog is a means of self expression and a way of communication within the fashion community* . 

Erecting a free speech alley in my school ASAP. I'll let you katz and kittens know how it goes.
"No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn." (Isaiah 54:17)

* It makes me feel like I have some sort of communication with the fashion community. 

A new Direction?

I know I've mentioned it before, but I really do want to take this blog in a new, more personal direction. I will now give an explanation along with an analogy. Keep up kids.

So I was once again on my quest to find some Burrbery 09 wedge knock-offs (some of you wont know what the hell I'm talking about since I've yet to make a post about them because they have been eluding me for quite some time). ANYWAYS, I was looking for this shoe, right, and I thought to myself  "How convenient that Jane Aldrige of the popular Sea of Shoes got to create her own line of shoes for urban that looked curiously like a few of her high end desiger shoes...If I could do that- I would totally redo Burberry 09 wedges into affordable delights for savvy shoppers. Wait, why can't I do that? Because no one follows my blog.."

Which led me to the conclusion that If i really want to get anywhere I've GOT to start showing myself and my personal style more often. Thats how Rumi, Jane Aldridge,Tavi,  etc. gained so many readers.  Sure, it might seem a little self centered to be posting pictures of yourself left and right, but ponder this. Would you rather watch E news report on the 'Housewives of Atlanta' or would you rather watch the Real Housewives of Atlanta. I'm the E news in this analogy and other bloggers would be the Housewives of Altanta (not to imply that the more popular bloggers are even remotely similar to those crazy-ass women but you get the point!) Readers, watchers, what have you, want to see people, not people talking about people.

So are you with me or are you with me? Don't fret, you'll still get plenty of the usual posts. I can only skulk around in my 4 inch boots and force my photographer friends to make me look appropriately Avant-garde for so long. 

WOW that's a lot of talking..So here is a picture of women talking because apparently that's something I can't stop doing.

Beauty is the movement

A group of a few girls at my school have started an underground campaign called "Beauty is the Movement".  They put up encouraging posters around school to combat the negative image the media projects onto teenage girls these days. Check out the blog! It keeps supporters up to date on the most recent BITM news.

Coupons and funerals

I just purchased these bad boys (CINTIA- Steve Madden) after finally getting over lust for the Sam Edelman Zoe's.  I just couldn't bring myself to spend 350 on a pair of going-out-every-other-weekend shoes. I mean *if* they were of serious designer quality, then maybe I could have talked myself into it...but I know for a fact these shoes have significantly increased in price but not quality. Girls, if I've learned one thing it's quality over droolability . ...although it pains me to admit bootie-defeat. Harness-booties, you will be gone but not forgotten. On a brighter and less tragic note, I cant wait to test out my new boots!! I got a great deal on them from Steve Madden. I used this code: RMN15N at checkout for15% off as well as free shipping.Use it, you're welcome. Look at me sharing all my secrets! There is much more where that came from.