Retail Therapy

So today I woke up totally pumped and un-hung over for a full day of surfing on Long Beach.  Unfortunately the weather was not on the same page as me with rain and thunderstorms pretty much all day.  To help me out of my bad weather funk, I decided to do a little retail therapy.

I've been hearing about Bare Minerals for a while now and in need of some new makeup I decided to check out the store close to my apartment.  The makeup has no preservatives, fillers, binders, talc, oil, or fragrances and supposedly even helps make your skin better over time.

Pretty much everything they have is in powder form which turns creamy when mixed with the heat of your skin.  When the makeup artist, first put the foundation (in powder form on my face) I wasn't really wowed, but as I sat there it's almost like the make up became more a part of my face and the coverage just got better.  And it really doesn't feel like you're wearing anything at all, which is a big plus.

My only complaint is there is kind of a lot of steps compared to what I'm used to, but the result is still very natural.  My true test will be using it tomorrow morning before work to see if it is in fact really managable in day to day life.   

My loot.  Yes, I spent a small fortune.  At first I was a little skeptical of the mascara since I'm a Fiberwig girl, but this stuff made my lashes longer than I have ever seen them...now testing to see if I have a waterproof problem with it.  Also I loved the eyeshadow colors.  I got a pretty sea green and two different golds.

Here I am in my rainy day attire on my way home from shopping.  Wearing yellow Hunter wellies, a black spring jacket with laser eyelet cut outs from F21 and my tiedye leather clutch from Urban Outfitters.

Mid way through my walk home I stopped to do a sweat test on the makeup.  Despite the rain, it was quite humid and muggy out.  Makeup wasn't running.

By the time I got home my skin still looked dewy and fresh...my hair is another story.

Close up of the Sarah Briggs earrings I wore today.  She's makes truly beautiful pieces and is one of the nicest designers I've ever met.

Also wore my JCrew bauble ring today.

I'm excited to see how the makeup continues to work for me and if this mineral makeup trend is all it's really cracked up to be.  I'll be sure to share my continued experience via the blog.

Beef Ribs and Checkered Wedges

If you read my blog, you'll probably come to realize that one of my loves beyond good shoes is good BBQ.  Always ready for a new BBQ adventure, my friends and I had dinner at Hill Country in Manhattan this week.  

Only one of the many pieces of down South inspired decorations that adorns Hill Country.  Definitely thought it looked kinda cool hanging from the industrial like ceilings.

Everything here is pretty much self serve, except for the drinks (wonder why).  You go up to the counters and order your meat, which they serve to you in this old fashioned butcher paper (you also pay by the pound), and your sides.  This is my lovely dinner of BBQ chicken, mac & cheese, and corn pudding.  Margarita with Jalepinos is in the background.

My friends and I about to chow down.

Maggie trying to eat her monsterous beef ribs.  Next time we'll stick with the pork.

More lovely decor at Hill Country including the cowboy boot lined bar.

They also have live music on certain nights and the best part is the back drop for the band which is made entirely out of denim and bandanas.

Close up of my favorite part of the stage back drop.

That night I wore a peach dress with a ruffled collar from JCrew with super high ribbon checked wedges by Joey O.  Also had on a super long gold and blue stone necklace by Amrita Singh, which is unfortunately hard to see here.  www.amritasingh.com

Close up of the wedges, which apparently kind of make gross veins pop out in my feet.  Kinda makes you wonder what heels do to your feet...anyway, I love these wedges because the checkered design on them is created by interwoven pieces of silk ribbon!

Lazy Beach Days

Here are just a few pics of me hanging out at the beach before heading to dinner.  I decided to wear a breezy navy eyelet dress snatched up at J Crew sample sale.

This pic totally makes me laugh...can't believe we caught it mid jump!

Also wore my giant Cleo and Cat clay ring again.

Paired the eyelet dress with some simple tan and white striped espadrilles from Chinese Laundry and an amazing tie-dye clutch by Deepa Gurnani.

Close up on my floating butterfly earrings from Anthropologie.

Also wore an olive green braided headband from J Crew.

We snapped this quick shot the next morning after breakfast.  I absolutely love love these ripped up jeans from American Eagle.  They're super inexpensive, so comfy and look cute and laid back.  Worn with a men's Haines v-neck, Anthropologie stone necklace, and Banana Republic nude heels.

Oh and a special thanks to my aunt for using her photography expertise to take almost all of my photos from the beach.

Arts + Culture

I've been wanting to post more photos from the beach, but have been super busy playing catch up with work.  I'm pretty excited to be home tonight to be able to post more. 

On one of our days at the beach we decided to visit a nearby arts and cultural center where we got to see really cool glass blowing.  The two ladies below are demonstrating how to make a vase and beads (sorry the photos aren't clearer).  My mom and I bought these cute blown glass ring holders.  This one is mine...didn't get a pic of hers though.

There was also a cool museum there with a large porch and statuesque white pillars.  Snapped some shots there too.  Wearing shredded jean shorts from American Eagle (cheapies, but they go with so many things) a tiered circular confetti shirt from JCrew and some super high multicolored sandals.  I also wore bead spider web earrings from an NYC street vendor and my silver octopus ring from seadesigns.com.


I have a huge fear of spiders, but for some reason I thought this little glass bugger was super cute.

These glass pendants with silohouettes of different people inside where super cool too.

Not sure why, but I also quite loved this little skeleton man in the museum.  Wish I could have brought him home with me!