Kate Middleton

I have a full on obsession with Kate Middleton.

Kate at the Military Awards in December 2011 in McQueen

Above is my absolute favorite look of her to date, besides her wedding dress of course.

She is the epitome of glamour and grace, and I just love her.  99.9% of the things that she wears take my breath away, and the fact that she buys many of her items from London's High Street (very mainstream, attainable stores) makes me love her even more.  
Below is the only outfit to date that I haven't loved.  

It's a green dress from Mulberry with peace signs on it!  What she was thinking, I'm not sure, but I love her anyway.

Another outfit, from Christmas Day this past year, that took my breath away.

That color...that hat...be still my heart!!

I had my bachelorette a few weeks ago, and my sister set up a game of 'who knows Kate the best (not Middleton Kate...but me Kate), and one of the questions was, "If someone were to play Kate in a movie, who would it be?"  Many guests put blonde actresses, but many of them put Kate Middleton (which of course was my answer).  Smart girls!

The Oscars

I'm not going to lie; I'm a little sad that award show season is over with the end of the Oscar's last night.  Below are my favorites and not-so-favorites of the evening.

Cameron Diaz.  Wow.  She looked absolutely stunning, and I have to say that I am loving her Something About Mary throwback haircut.

Emma Stone.  I have a serious girl crush on Miss Stone, and she can do no wrong in my eyes.  The whole look is perfection, down to her cat eye makeup.

Stacy Keibler.  Although I adore Stacy's dress, her hair is what really caught my attention.  Can Stacy Keibler's colorist please call me?  For my post wedding hair, I'm seriously thinking ombre, and hers is absolutely perfect.

Gwyneth Paltrow.  I loved her dress, but the cape?  Not so much.  I also didn't care for her hair.  I thought that it could have looked much more polished.  She's married to my man, Chris Martin, though, so I'll cut her some slack.

 
 Maya Rudolph!!!  She looked absolutely amazing...the hair...the dress...the color...the whole package was perfect.

Jessica Chastain.  I usually don't care for anything (seriously) that Jessica Chastain wears, but Alexander McQueen is my absolute favorite designer (including, of course, Sarah Burton).  So, by default, I loved this dress.

Kristen Wiig.  I used to get made fun of because tan used to be my favorite color.  My closet was about 1/4 full of tan shirts and blouses.  I have since branched out to include more color in my wardrobe, but I'm still drawn to that beautiful color, and Ms Wiig's dress was certainly no exception.

Michelle Williams' dress was my second favorite of the night.  It was absolutely stunning.  In an E Red Carpet interview, she stated that the dress was more of a coral color, which made me like it even more.  I thought the belt and the pink clutch were the perfect accessories to the ensemble.

Natalie Portman.  Hands down, my absolute favorite of the night.  I'm such a fan of 50's style (Audrey Hepburn is my all time, number one style icon), and this dress was from 1954.  I want a shorter version of this dress for my closet, please!!

Octavia Spencer.  Stunning!  She is a perfect example of the power of proper dressing on any body type and how amazing you can look.  Her curves compliment this dress wonderfully.

Penelope Cruz.  While I'm necessarily a fan of her hair, her dress is fabulous.  That color blue is my favorite (and...ahem...my wedding color also).

 Sacha Baron Cohen as 'The Dictator.'  Take out 'tator' and you pretty much sum up how I feel about this man.  He made a mockery of such a classy event and shamelessly tried to support his movie.  I'm so tired of shameless shock value for self-promotion (cough...Nicki Minaj...cough).  Boo to you, SBC!

Drunken Gummies

I found a recipe on Pinterest (shocker, I know) for drunken gummi bears and decided to give it a try.  I bought some whipped cream vodka and 4 bags of gummi bears to try.

I read that you must do this in a glass bowl, because the plastic can erode with the alcohol, so I grabbed my handy pyrex bowl and dumped the gummis in.

Next, I poured the vodka over the gummis to where they were all covered with by about 1/4 an inch.

I kept them in the fridge, uncovered, for about 5 days, stirring daily.  By the end of the 5 days, the gummis had soaked up almost all of the alcohol and had almost doubled in size.  I used the gummi bears in the gold bag, and they weren't soggy or mushy by the end.  Also, they weren't horribly strong, so I think that the most vodka you put in the bowl, and the longer you let them soak, the more concentrated they will be.  Enjoy!!!

the weekender bag

I have shopping problem, people!  K says that I "zone out on my mac and come up with a thousand things I need to buy."  He's exactly right.  Tonight, I decided I needed a new weekender bag for our honeymoon.  Our honeymoon is TEN days long, which causes an over-packer like me to have a bit of anxiety.  Since I don't want to have multiple rolling suitcases, a large weekender bag I can take as a carry on is a reasonable option.  Here's what I'm thinking. 

Pottery Barn Canvas and Leather Weekender Bag

I love me some Pottery Barn, and this bag is right up my alley.  However, I'm concerned about how the canvas will wear over time.  

Jon Hart Daytripper

I've always really liked Jon Hart items, although I don't have any.  I'm starting to reconsider this bag, because it seems very "Texas" to me (no offense to anyone who has one).  

Pottery Barn Tomlin Weekender

Again with the Pottery Barn items.  I have a serious obsession, and I do absolutely love this bag.  It looks sturdier than it's Canvas and Leather cousin featured above.  

Longchamp Le Pliage Expandable Tote

I have been in love with all things Longchamp Le Pliage for a while now.  I know that this tote will not only last me forever, but it's classic style will last forever as well.  This bag can also fold up into a teeny bag OR expand into a much larger carry on.  

Longchamp Le Pliage Large Tote

This bag is similar to the Expandable Tote featured above.  I could also use this one as a tote bag in my daily life, as a duffle isn't particularly suited for my daily needs.  

I'm truthfully leaning towards the Longchamp Large Tote in Black or Navy.  Also, my girl Kate loves her Longchamp, which (I'm not going to lie) persuades me even more.  

Do you have any travel favorites that you'd recommend?

the obagi blue radiance chemical peel

On Friday, I am going to do my second Obagi Blue Radiance Chemical Peel, so I thought this would be a great time to recap my first one.  This peel is not to be mistaken with their original Blue peel, which literally turns your face blue.

The Blue peel is a moderately deep peel which requires a total recovery of about two weeks.  The radiance peel, the one I did, however, is considered a 'lunchtime peel' with little to no downtime.  I scheduled my appointment for a Friday afternoon and planned on being a hermit all weekend while my skin recovered just in case.

Above me is a picture of me before, with absolutely no makeup.  You can see lots of acne scarring and discoloration.

And another, for your viewing pleasure!

When I got to the doctor's office, I washed my face and an activator was applied.  Then, the peel was applied.  I was given a small fan to point to my face to decrease the burning of the peel.  While it felt slightly uncomfortable, I was never in a great deal of pain.  The fan did help, but I honestly think I could have gone without it.

Here is a picture of my face during the peel.  They call the white a 'frost,' which really was a perfect description.  After the peel was over, after about 10 minutes, moisturizer was applied, and that was it!  I was expecting them to wash my face, but the peel is self-deactivating, which is nice.

This is a picture of me in the car (at a stop light, don't worry) on the way home from the peel.  My cheeks are red, and the feeling was similar to a wind burn.

This is a picture of me when I got home a few hours later.  My cheeks were the only area where I felt any discomfort, and it was only slight.  I was so amazed.  K and I went to dinner that night; no being a hermit for me.

Here is a picture of my a week later.  I don't know if you can tell, but my skin is brighter and the scarring had almost disappeared.  I experienced the most drastic peeling on my cheeks.

I would definitely recommend this peel to anyone.  It IS slightly pricey (I paid $125), but the effects last MUCH longer than a facial, which can be similar in cost depending on where you go. 

Cleanses

Cleanses have always intrigued me.  The idea of giving your body a break from processed foods is very attractive to me.  This past weekend was my bachelorette party, which consisted of a great deal of indulging.  I knew that after the bachelorette I wanted to do some sort of cleanse, so this morning I started the Women's Health Look Better Naked Two Day Cleanse.

Basically, the cleanse consists of a smoothie for breakfast, two meals of lean protein and veggies and two snacks of veggies.  The smoothie this morning was yummy, and I love fresh vegetables and steamed spinach, so this is a very doable cleanse for me.  For my proteins, I'm going to be having baked chicken breast and baked salmon (although, yes, I know salmon is fairly fatty).

This past December, I was at the heaviest I had ever been in my entire life.  I felt disgusting after an overindulgent holiday season, and I wanted to try a cleanse simply to jump start my eating habits.  I did a green smoothie/juice cleanse in which I made all the green smoothies.  After one day of the smoothies, I felt physically ill.  I also was eating raw nuts and chicken, but my body was not happy.  Many advocates of cleanses say that these feelings are normal and that it is your body 'detoxing,' which I disagree with.   

The next day, I felt even worse.  I had a horrible headache and extreme nausea.  I attempted to drink a smoothie in the morning, but the nausea mixed with hunger pangs were killer.  I finally had to eat a toasted whole wheat waffle (which is what I always eat when I have an upset stomach), and it helped some.  Even the smell of the smoothie made me feel sick.

By the third day, I felt a little better, but it took a good 5 days for me to feel back to normal.  I'm not opposed to doing another three day juice cleanse, but I would definitely order it from a company such as blue print  or cooler cleanse.  I would also eat the 'cheat' foods that they allow.   

I ended up losing about 5 pounds (mostly water weight I'm sure) that first week and have since lost 15.  Although torturous, the cleanse was a perfect way to jump healthy eating habits for me, which is why I would do it again.  

I will update everyone on the progress of the Women's Health Cleanse this week!  So far, so good!

Puppy Love!

If you've met me for even 5 minutes, you probably know how much I love and adore my dog, Cooper.  He's an English Creme Dachshund and also the furry love of my life.  (My future husband, K, is the human love of my life, of course).   

He is the sweetest, most adorable dog I've ever met.  I remember when I first was dating K, I would tell him about how great Cooper was.  K would say that he never liked small dogs and never would.  I would counter, telling him that Cooper is the exception.  Now, two years later, the two are like peas in a pod.

 If that picture doesn't just melt your heart, then I don't know what will! 

Grammy Looks I Loved and Didn't...

Well, friends, the Grammys have come and gone.  Overall, I enjoyed the show this year, and I thought that LL did a great job hosting.  He was respectful and tasteful, which was a nice change as opposed to most other award show hosts.  Jennifer Hudson singing Whitney's "I Will Always Love You" took my breath away, and I had to fast forward through Nikki Minaj's performance, because I was so uncomfortable.  Below are some of the looks I loved and some I didn't love from the night.

Kelly Osbourne.  While I will never know what color you would call that hair (purple + grey = gurple??), I have to say that girlfriend looks fabulous.  She has totally transformed her look for the better.

Giuliana Rancic.  I love this girl.  She is always so composed and gorgeous.  Yes, I wish she'd eat a hot dog, but she looked awesome last night.

Kate Beckinsale.  I'm not exactly sure how Kate is associated with the Grammys (besides being a presenter last night), but either way, I thought she looked amazing.  The whole look is perfection.

Adele.  Oh, Adele, I adore you.  It is so nice and refreshing to see an artist who is actually rides on her talent and not shock value.  I'm so happy she won 6 Grammys.  I am so tired of these 'artists' trying to ride on the coat tails of shock value, which leads me to....

Nicki Minaj.  If you know me at all, you probably know of my complete and total disdain for this chick.  I can't stand anything about her, and last night was no exception.  I take offense to her turning the Grammy's into a freak show, and her performance made me so uncomfortable that I had to fast forward through it.

Oh, Fergie.  Why do you dress the way you do?  I hope that you look back in 30 years while wearing a classic Chanel suit and are embarrassed at this outfit.  There are much better ways to show off a rocking body.

On a lighter note, I thought Carrie Underwood looked flawless (as usual).  I'm loving this (in my opinion) Kate Middleton inspired trend of having some modesty on the red carpet.

Bruno Mars.  Homeboy looked awesome.  I absolutely love a classic grey suit (probably while my future hubby is wearing one at our wedding)!  I'm also obsessed with his band mate's red suit.  Very Grammy-appropriate. 

David Guetta.  David Guetta, you have changed my views on electronic music.  I love you.  While I wished he would have run a brush through his hair, I loved this look on him.

What did you think of the Grammy red carpet?  Were you as disturbed by Nicki Minaj as I was? 

Wedding Emotions

I'm getting married NEXT MONTH, and I'm waiting to have a meltdown.  I truly don't feel stressed, which is very unusual for me.  I am, however, starting to have very vivid wedding-related dreams and nightmares.  This is strange for me, because I'm usually not a dreamer. 

Last weekend, I dreamt that my teeth were falling out.

I have also had several dreams where I was running late for the wedding, or I had forgotten something and was literally running to get to the wedding on time.  In my dream last night, I was literally running on De Zavala road in my wedding dress trying to get to my venue. 

I'm typically not a very emotional person, and every sappy love song or wedding show has been making me cry my eyes out lately.  I'm currently trying to decide between two songs to dance to at the wedding and have been crying over and over while listening to them.  

Have you ever had any crazy dreams before a big event in your life?