Sunday, April 28, 2013

Best & Worst: 2013 White House Correspondents' Dinner

Since it totally missed all the award season fashions, I thought i'd catch up by listing my favorite, and not so favorite, fashions from the 2013 White House Correspondents Dinner.

Favorites:
Hayden Panettiere in Katharine Kidd

She plays a songbird in Nashville and looks amazing
in this canary yellow gown.

Connie Britton in Temperley London

As if Connie Britton could be any more radiant,
this blue gown gives her an amazing glow!

Jessica Pare in Antonio Berardi

I don't know a lot about Jessica Pare, but this one-shoulder
gown is beautiful and accentuates her in all the right places.

Sophia Bush

Sofia looks like a princess/ballerina/bride combo dreamt
up by every little girls dreams!

Katy Perry in Giambattista Valli

Katty Perry is glowing like a wood-nymph in this gown!
_______________________________

Not So Much:
Sharon Stone

Elizabeth Banks

Morena Baccarin

Carol Alt

Olivia Munn

Overall theme: underwhelming

_________________________________________

Anyways, I had been seeing the photos and thought i'd write up a quick little post! This is just my personal opinion, but i'd love to hear what you all think! Let me know in the comments below! Thanks for reading!














Saturday, April 27, 2013

Social Media Update + A Survey!

It's been a little while, so we wanted to update you all on the current social media outlets being used by the blog. Also, at the end of this post there is a quick, multiple choice, survey about what you might like to see more of, or start seeing, on the blog! It would be a big help if you could take the survey and also leave us a comment if you feel like you need/want to elaborate! Please don't be rude or spam. Constructive criticism is always welcomed here! Let us know that you've followed us on Blogspot, leave your URL and we'd love to do the same!

Now, be sure to visit all of our social media pages and like, follow, friend, hype, vote etc so you wont miss anything!

Facebook
Glipho
YouTube
Chictopia
Lookbook
Pinterest
Polyvore
Intsagram: commeuneplume 

I think that just about covers it! Now, don't forget about the survey! ;)


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Thursday, April 25, 2013

TLT Lookbook: Maxi Skirt (pt2)


Welcome to part two of the maxi-skirt lookbook featuring this skirt:


Here are the details:
I purchased my maxi some time ago from XXI, but this one is very similar in style. It is a simple chiffon maxi skirt, priced at $17.80 and comes in navy, a teal green, and pink.

Now, XXI has a TON of different styles, colors and fabrics of maxi skirts, so pop into your nearest one and try on them all to find one you like best!

All of them are pretty affordable and hold up nicely. I've had mine over a year and am not experiencing any fraying or tearing at all.

Now, onto the looks!




 Look 4: Dressy Date Night

I pulled up the skirt and turned it into a dress. I am 5'7" and it still hits me mid-calf, so the look stays modest and wearable. Throw over your favorite cropped cardigan, belt it, pair it with some wedges, and you're good to go! 

- Cardigan is from Express (similar)
- Shoes are from Buckle (similar

Look 5: Concert in the Park

I know, I know. That hat again? Wearing it again as a dress, and letting the vest do the cinching. Add a hat, scarf and booties and you're ready for that concert in the park!

- Vest from Express (similar)
- Booties from Vince Camuto (similar)
- Purse from XXI (exact)

Look 6: Buttoned Up

Instead of another dress look, I thought i'd show you all a high-waisted version of the skirt. I love tucking in a button down shirt to a high skirt and cinching with a wide belt. It's hard to go wrong with navy, brown and gold!

- Purse from Buckle (exact)
- Shirt from XXI (similar)

Be sure to check out our other lookbooks!

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Note: This entry was not sponsored in any way, shape or form by any of the products/companies named above. Thank you.




Monday, April 22, 2013

Ipsy Glam Bag: April


Hello all! Tonight I wanted to (finally) go over my Ipsy Glam Bag for the month of April! Now, this is my first time to ever receive any type of subscription based beauty/fashion box/bag in the mail and am super stoked!

I've heard about Birchbox and BeautyBox5 but came across Ipsy from Michelle Phan's Youtube Channel. She is the creator/founder and seeing how I enjoy her videos, I thought why not! It's only $10 a month, plus it comes with a cute collectible travel bag!

This months theme was "Pretty In Pink"


Full Price: $5.00

I didn't think this color fit in with the pink theme of the month. It's really more of a muted orange/coral mixture. It has a bit of shimmer, and the color payoff is quite nice! Also, made in the USA and a very reasonable price if I decided to buy any!


Full Price: $14.95

I love, love this mineral eye shadow! It's so light and has little shimmers of golds and silvers in it, so I could see it working in a variety of situations. This is not the eye shadow duo that's pictured on the website, but I'm super happy about it!


Full Price: $16.00

This blush is beautiful. It has a soft pearlescent glow to it, and a little of this goes a long way on my pale skin. Even though its a powder, the texture is very velvety and It didn't dry out on my cheeks!


Full Price: $21.95

I don't know much about this brand, but I do love hair treatment products! I can't wait to give it a try, oh, and it smells divine!

1. Polish 2. Eye shadow 3. Blush

Overall, I'm very pleased with my first Ipsy bag. There were a few reviews that had me worried but since I have nothing to compare it to yet, this was not a bad starting off point! 

The total value for all of these products at full size is $57.90!
The only product not full size is the hair treatment, so for $10 you absolutely cannot beat this deal! If you've been looking into a glam bag subscription but are unsure where to begin, I highly suggest giving Ipsy a try!

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Note: This entry was not sponsored in any way, shape or form by any of the products/companies named above. Thank you.








Saturday, April 20, 2013

Recipe: Nutella & Banana Cookies

I started an album on my personal Facebook called "Baking Adventures" a while back and thought it might be a good idea to get some of those recipes over to the blog, and start posting new ones as well.  

I'll go ahead and start with these Banana Nutella cookies! I love love love Nutella, like borderline being on an Intervention episode. 

Here's the recipe and what I though about it. ;)

*Disclaimer: This recipe calls for oats, I did not have any on hand and the weather had me too lazy to go and get some haha.

1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup shortening
2 large ripe mashed bananas
1 egg
4 tbsp Nutella
1 3/4 cup oats*


-Sift flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. 
-Cut in shortening. 
-Beat in mashed bananas and egg. 
-Mix in oats. 
-"Slice" the Nutella into the batter, I did this by dropping 4 tbsp randomly into the bowl and swirling it like a marble cake. The consistency is more like a drop cookie. 
-I spooned 1 1/2 tbsp per cookie onto a greased baking sheet. 
-Bake for 8-10 minutes at 400 degrees.

Verdict: (6/10) I have to say i was VERY excited to make these cookies, given my current obsession with Nutella. The finished product was more like a bread and the texture was really lacking. I feel like the oats would have pulled it all together and really impacted the flavor and consistency of the baked cookie. The banana flavor was not as defined as i was anticipating and I will probably ad in a tsp of banana extract next time. Overall I was a little disappointed with these cookies but will be making them again soon!



Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Decoding BB, CC & DD creams.

It started with the BB creams, quickly moved to CC creams and now with Julep announcing pre-orders for their DD cream, I'm starting to wonder just how many letter of the alphabet we will cover with these wonder creams, and what's really the difference between them?

BB Creams-

Defined mostly as a "beauty balm" or "blemish balm". It is promoted as a sort of all-in-one tool to replace layering primers, moisturizers, concealers etc... It can be worn alone, with a primer, or even set with a powder, depending on the coverage you're after. They usually come in a small variety of shades to suit your skin tone.

I've tried one drug-store brand, and while i prefer a fuller coverage, it could be great for these upcoming Texas summer months.

A few drug store brands that are available are Revlon, L'Oreal, Covergirl, Rimmel, Aveeno and Olay. The prices range from about $6.99 (rimmel) to around $16.99 (l'oreal)

Some higher end options include Clinique ($37), Smashbox ($39), Estee Lauder ($45), and Dior ($56).


CC Creams -

Usually defined as a "color correcting" cream, it takes BB's to a new level. It is said to blend and correct uneven skin tones more effectively than a BB cream, which allows for a more even finish.  So far as I can tell, there aren't near as many CC creams available as BB, but this is what I've seen.

Hard Candy (walmart) has one for $8.00
Olay has one available for $24.99

L'Oreal Paris has  Nude Magique: CC Cream. Which are 3 CC Creams available to fight redness, tired skin or dullness. As far as I can tell it is not available in the States yet, but is available for purchased at Boots.

Now, Julep is unveiling their DD cream, a "dynamic do-all" product that you can pre-order for $36. It will supposedly be equipped with "SPF 25, a primer, moisturizer, and anti-aging agent", while being available in four shades. Get the scoop here

They have some pretty rad nail polishes, so I'm interested to know more about and try out their DD cream, which will launch in June 2013. As I find out more, i'll be sure to give you all an update. I'd also like to do a comparison of a same brand BB and CC cream for you all!

SO- What are your thoughts on BB, CC and DD Creams? Have you tried any, or are you curious to try? Let me know your comments and thoughts below! Also, does anyone know why AA as skipped? ;)

Thanks for reading!












Sunday, April 14, 2013

The Oldest Town in Texas

We all have those distant relatives that live several hours, or states, away. There is an annual pilgrimage out to visit them, cramped in a car for several hours, but it's usually worth the wait and charlie-horses in our legs to get there.

Mine live in Nacogdoches, Texas.  It's about a 2 hour and 15 minute drive up through hills, trees, antique malls, and old drive-in theaters. In Nacogdoches lives the remaining part of my Dad's side of his family. My great-aunt Rachael, she just turned 93 this month and still is beautiful, funny, and alert as ever. Her Children Mona, Lucy & Mark, also live in Nacogdoches along with their husbands, children etc...

They are the sweetest, down-to-earth people you might ever meet. (maybe i'm just biased?) It's always a nice visit drinking coffee, walking around their gardens and just getting caught up on everything. 

This trip, however, we were able to leave earlier and make a pit-stop into downtown Nacogdoches. I haven't been downtown in a long, long time and it was such a beautiful day to walk around, admiring the brick streets, visiting antique shops and getting some sun. 

We ate lunch at The Olde Towne General Store and it was so delicious. Also, if you're ever in downtown Nacogdoches, parking is free everywhere on the weekends!

Now, onto the pic-spam!
Flags inside the Visitor Center
..
Inside an Antique shop, this place had so many banjos, guitars and dulcimers!
Talking about the flags
Coolest. Car. Ever. Very "Boardwalk Empire"
Just a street view. Does no justice to the beauty of the day though...
A blurry one of my Husband and my "Little E"
My "Little E", Mom and Pops. Yes, my Dad is 6'10" and my Mom is 4'11".
Only photo I manged to grab of myself :)
For those interested:

The shirt, purse, bracelet, watch and jeans are from the Buckle.
Shoes are from Journeys, necklace is from XXI.

Thanks for reading!













Thursday, April 11, 2013

TLT Lookbook: Maxi Skirt (pt1)


Hello again! Welcome to another edition of the TLT Lookbook! In this post I will breakdown (3) ways to style this simple tan maxi skirt from Forever 21! Now, there are so many ways to wear this skirt, so this lookbook will be broken into 2 parts! 

Have a look at the TLT Lookbook: Maxi Skirt (pt1):

I purchased my maxi some time ago from XXI, but this one is very similar in style. It is a simple chiffon maxi skirt, priced at $17.80 and comes in navy, a teal green, and pink.

Now, XXI has a TON of different styles, colors and fabrics of maxi skirts, so pop into your nearest one and try on them all to find one you like best! 

All of them are pretty affordable and hold up nicely. I've had mine over a year and am not experiencing any fraying or tearing at all.

Now, onto the looks!




Look 1: Back to Basics

Now, I like to wear my maxi skirts at my hips so it's floor length. You can wear yours like this, or up on your waist like the one pictured above. I will cover the high-waisted look in part 2 of this lookbook. You can't see my feet, but you could pair this with some simple sandles, boots or flats!

- My basic grey tee is from XXI (similar) for around $5.80 
- My belt is from Buckle (similar) for around $9.95
- Add your favorite pendant necklace and you're set!

Look 2: A Little Country

For this look, I wanted to keep it simple with a little country. The details in the bird earrings, tarnished bangle and flower collar keep it light and the boots add the country feeling I was going for. Perfect for a night of line-dancing!

- I'm wearing my favorite boots from Journey's (exact) for $59.99
- Button-up from Old Navy (similar) for $22.50
- Cinched with a braided belt from XXI (exact) for $4.80

Look 3: For those about to rock

(There's that hat again!) One of my favorite things is bumming it one of my husbands old, soft, worn-out tees. Now a new favorite is wearing those shirts with this maxi skirt. I love the contrast between the dressy and casual, especially adding the Chucks into the mix. Cinch it, pair it with a statement necklace and your favorite shoes, and you're ready!

- Blazer from Target (similar) for $34.99
- Hat from XXI (similar) for $12.99
- Chucks from Journeys (exact) for $49.99
- Belt from Buckle (similar) for $12.95
So, that wraps up part one of the Maxi Skirt lookbook! Stay tuned for part two, lot's more looks to be had! Also, tried out a new shooting spot, what do you guys think? Better than the front door or handmade backdrop right? 



Be sure to check out our other lookbooks!

FYI - Went into a Whole Foods for the first time today. Mind = blown. We have a Basic Foods in town, but it is nothing compared to WF. Sadly I was about 2 1/2 hours away for a doctors appointment, so I won't be going there often. Plus side, I got some amazing goat cheese soap! Can't wait to use it!


Photobombed by Harley!