Slightly Obsessed with Candles

I've never been one to really like candles. I only like using the long lighters and I honestly don't think I've ever lit a match. But lately, the thought of a candle with a gentle scent and soft light just seems so relaxing. I can't imagine something more soothing for while I'm snuggled in bed reading and drinking tea.

So I've been on the hunt for the candles that I've been seeing literally all over different blogs. I want to spend a whole day smelling all of the different combinations, but I do know that I like the scent of lavender and that it is relaxing. I'm just afraid it would start to get overpowering.

Candles I'm considering: Archipelago  Botanicals| Antica Farmacista | Tocca

Diptyque |  Molton Brown

Jo Malone |  Nest Fragrances | Fresh

Not only are the scents good, but the candles themselves are beautiful, and add to the decor of the space (my room).

Also, totally forgot to add it to the collage, but I'm absolutely obsessing over this Kate Spade one. Obviously.

Candles have officially been Wishlisted.

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All I Want...

I have been shopping for a navy and white striped t-shirt dress for months now. And my search had been unfruitful until last weekend when I found the most perfect dress at the Banana Republic Factory Store. It was the perfect pattern with the perfect colors and the petite size fit me perfectly. And it was on sale!

Or so I thought. When I saw the display, it said that the dresses were 30% off the original price of $49.40, which would make it about $35. But when I went to cash out, the dress was full price. When I asked the cashier why it wasn't on sale, she explained that the promotion only applied to the misses sizes. Not petites. WHAT!?

I obviously handed the dress to the cashier and declared that I no longer wanted it. How can a store do that?!

I also may have sent a harshly worded email to customer care.

And thus, my search for the perfect and perfectly affordable navy and white t-shirt dress continues.

Update: After sending a super sassy email to Banana Republic Customer Service, they are sending me a gidt card for $15 -- the difference between the full and discounted price. Looks like a trip to the outlets is in order.

Obsession: Painting

I'm finally back in the Bronx--if only for a little over a week (perks of going to a Jesuit school)--just in time for my Visual Thinking midterm review. As much as I am not a fan of my professors teaching/critiquing style, I have always really loved painting. It's pretty therapeutic to me, even when I happen to be doing it for five hours straight on a Saturday night.

It's always relaxed me; last summer when I was having a really rough and stressful time, my mom bought me a few canvasses and a set of water colors, and it really helped take my mind off of my stressful experiences, as well as relax me for hours on end.

So, here are a few of my favorites, some that I've done for class, and some that I did on my own, just for fun. :)

For class:

Just for fun:

**The corgi is actually a card I made Andrew for Valentine's day. He has it hanging on the wall in his room now at school haha :)

Obsession: Brunch

Brunch is easily my favorite meal of the day. Maybe its just the food, or maybe its the fact that I can sleep until noon and still have eggs and bacon.

Aside from my dad's homemade buttermilk blueberry pancakes, I have a few favorite places to get brunch, both in Rochester and in New York.

 



Obviously, I am a little more familiar with Rochester than with New York, but I managed to sneak my favorite brunch spot in the city in--Lansky's.  They have legitimate blueberry pancakes and they put a loaf of fresh banana bread out on the table.  So good. Not to mention--they have unlimited cocktails during brunch. Perfect.

 

Obsession: Little Minka

[caption id="attachment_321" align="aligncenter" width="376"] A girl can dream[/caption]

I love Kate Spade.  I can't afford Kate Spade, but I love every last thing that woman puts her name on. I think her designs are all fun, classic and classy without overdoing it.  The kind of woman who wears Kate Spade well is the kind of woman I want to be.

However, the days where I will be able to afford her designs are far, far away. In the meantime, I'll settle simply for lusting over this handbag.  Its a classic design in a classic color.  I know that when if I get this, it will last me a long, long time.

My ultimate goal is to (someday) use my own big girl playcheck from my first big girl job to buy this as the ultimate gift to me.  I mean, its something to aspire to, at least.

Obsession: Cap Toes

I don't know what it is about a cute cap-toe ballet flat but I am disgustingly obsessed.

I think it started a few seasons ago when I set my sights (unrealistically) on the cutest pair of Kate Spade flats with a hot pink cap toe. They were beautiful. I am dying for her to bring them back (preferably after I get my own job so I can afford them) because I can't pass them up again.

There is something about the playfulness of a pop of color that makes it seem like you're trying to be cute and fun, without wearing a bright color shoe that practically screams "I'M TRYING TO BE FUN."

I love them. And they pop up everywhere, making it more and more difficult for me to resist. Even Andrew can tell I love this trend--for Christmas he got me a pair of Toms that just happen to have a maroon cap on each toe.

And now, J. Crew factory has the most beautiful pair of pink flats with a pink toe that I can't stop thinking about. I'm not ready to splurge yet, but as soon as they're on sale I'm making moves.

Or at least, begging my mom to.

1 || 2 || 3 || 4

5 || 6 || 7

8 || 9 || 10

Obviously, there's a fixation theme here. The pink.  I'm clearly over winter and I'm ready to start wearing Springtime brights.

On a side note, how perfect are those Kate Spade for Keds? If I were more of a sneaker wearer (and had $80 to blow) I'd be all about those.

For now, I'm going to keep looking at these J. Crew Factory flats, placed safely in my shopping cart, until I go home to the outlets and kill myself (and my bank account) buying them.

Hungry for Change

As you are probably well aware at this point, I have developed an unhealthy obsession with documentaries. I have at least ten queued up, just waiting for me to watch. However, my most recent screening was of Hungry For Change
and it might have changed my life completely.

Basically, the film is comprised of a number of experts-in health, dieting, nutrition, whatever- discussing the state of nutrition. Then, they basically say the best way to a healthy body is feeding it full, whole unprocessed foods. Their recap of the chemicals and processing of so many common and popular foods was horrifying. Food today is actually manufactured to make up want more and nothing less. Foods that are manufactured have little to no nutrition and that really struck me.

After these experts horrified me with the state of the food industry they offered their solution: real food. Our body is programmed to know what to do with whole vegetables and real fats. Of we eat that our bodies will shine from the inside out.

Finally, these experts emphasized the value in loving ourselves. If we do not love and accept who we are right now we will never change. If we don't deal with what's eating us from the inside out, we will never gain control of our health.

The whole concept of the film really changed how I think. I've always been pretty health conscious, but it showed me I've been going about it all wrong. There is so need to be restrictive. Just eating the foods my body is built to digest and loving myself will help me be healthier and happier, and my body will continue asking for more good food.

I really enjoyed this film and I learned so much. I actually want to watch it a few more times, just to fully understand the methods and practices they advocate.

This film changed me. Now I too am hungry for change.

Obsession: Chambray

Happy obsession Monday!

If there is one outfit I could wear every single day, it would be a chambray shirt, leggings and riding boots.  There is just something about it that is just so perfect.  I like how I can wear the chambray with any colors or jewelry I want. I like how its so casual, but I can wear it so dressy.  Plus, its also super comfy.

I once told my mom that if my closet were filled with chambray shirts and leggings, I would be perfectly happy.

Dress || J. Crew || J. Crew || Madewell

Madewell || Old Navy || Old Navy || Old Navy

#NYFW

I'm not that huge on fashion, but I also don't live under a rock.  I know its Fall Fashion Week.  Although I'm not that interested in attending any shows, I wouldn't say no if say, J. Crew or Kate Spade invited me to come along to one of their presentations.

However, in honor of my complete love for documentaries and for Fashion Week, I watched The Tents on Netflix.  Essentially, this film documents the last season of fashion shows in the tents at Bryant Park, before they made the move to Lincoln Center.

I really liked this film.  It was interesting to hear the individuals who had been involved with fashion for so long discussing the way Fashion Week had revolutionized fashion in America.  I never really thought about it, but I never realized that there was a time before Fashion Week really existed, and a time before people took NYC and America in general seriously in regards to their fashion.

Now, these things are so well known and such big deals that it feels like its something that always happened.  It was intriguing to see how it all started and to see how it all came together.

While I may not necessarily agree with the fashion industry and the importance they put on clothing and fashion, I understand their world, even more so after watching this film.  I love the way they explain high fashion and how it precipitates down to commercial fashion, and the way designers really put a lot of thought and consideration into not only their collections, but into their presentations of these collections as well.

"New York is a fluid city," the film said.  And its completely true.  In only twenty years, it has changed from, essentially, a joke in terms of fashion, into a powerhouse and an authority around the world.

Obsession: Jewelry

Obsession Monday!

I was never a huge jewelry wearer until this year. Bangles always weirded me out and I wasn't adventurous enough to wear cool necklaces. But then I started buying a few things here and there and working them into my outfits once and a while and then over Christmas break the obsession exploded.

I guess my mom took note of my interest in accessories and just went bananas in the jewelry department of every department store she shopped in. I seriously got so many bracelets they wouldn't fit in my jewelry box and we had to search for something else that would accommodate my collection.

Now I have so much I can find something to accompany almost all outfits. And I get a huge pleasure out of deciding what would go best with what and I feel so much more put together with a little bit of jewelry on.

Here are a few of my favorites:

1. Etsy || 2. Kate Spade || 3. Etsy

4. Design Darling || 5. Target

6. Bauble Bar || 7. Esty || 8. Design Darling

9. Bauble Bar

Book Review: The Fault in Our Stars

I literally just finished reading The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I wanted to write this review as soon as possible so I didn't lose any of the feelings this book gave me.

I loved it. I want to sit and just think about this book and the characters and their ways of thinking for days. The most important thing about this novel is that it made me feel. It made me think. I'm inclined to say it changed my life.

Something about two teens who are terminally ill still finding the ability to fall in love and mean so much to each other while still knowing that they are going to die very soon really struck me. At sixteen and seventeen the were both so wise. And I suppose maybe cancer does give you a little perspective and a little knowledge. I'll hopefully never know.

But the way these two approached life stuck with me. They didn't do the typical and cliche "live every day like its your last"--although it very well might have been. Instead, they focused on enjoying the present. Everyone is always so concerned with "living life to the fullest" because these are the years we'll look back on fondly, the years we'll never get back.  But we take for granted the privilege of living long enough to be able to look back. These two were so strongly devoted to the present and to just noticing the things around them. They did not avoid the fact that they would soon die. They accepted it and for the most part, welcomed it.

I think the thing about a good book is that it makes you feel and it makes you think. I can't describe how this book made me feel, but I'm glad to have read it, I'm glad to have been forced to think. It's weird saying I love a book that is so sad. But I did. I loved reading it.

It's difficult for me to describe how it affected me but it did. "My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations."

It was something so beautiful and I feel like it changed my life. I want to read it again.

Just for Laughs: Suri's Burn Book

I'm not really big on reading text posts on Tumblr, I really don't see the purpose.  I also am not really interested in parody accounts because I think a lot of them try too hard and are pretty dumb. However, the one account that consistently gets it right is Suri's Burn Book.  I don't know who is responsible for this, but I'd love to meet her.

I don't know why this makes me laugh so hard but it's honestly the funniest thing on Tumblr.  Maybe because its just so absurd that someone is pretending to be a 6 year old Suri Cruise, or maybe because it is exactly how I imagine Suri would be in real life.

She is so sassy and so opinionated it kills me.  And, she has a book.  Whoever dreamt up this ridiculous concept is a genius.

Obsession: Quotes

 

I've mentioned before I'm really big on reading blogs.  And I really love writing this one.  I've grown to love coming up with ideas and writing my posts and making my graphics.  I hope to continue this blog long after this class ends.  Which brings me to some articles I was reading on a really helpful website for bloggers: Altitude Summit. My ideal situation would involve this blog growing to be so large I can start making money off of it or start gaining freelance opportunities or even a real job from it.  In doing research on how to grow my blog, one of the most important things mentioned was the importance of utilizing an editorial calendar.  Long story short, they suggested doing some things on a regular basis.  I noticed I have a lot of "obsessions," and therefore, my Obsession Mondays were born.

If there's one odd thing I find myself looking up for hours on end, it's quotes. Most specifically, those of the inspirational variety. I don't even know how it started or why. All I know is that I can spend forever on the "Quotes" board of Pinterest, pinning to my own personal board of quotes.

I think what I've come to like most about them is how something another person said can speak to me so personally. Some quotes make me realize that I'm not the only person in the world who's encountered a difficult situation. I'm not the only one who has been sad or frustrated or confused.

Knowing that other people can say something that speaks so well to me and that seems so wise encourages me. I like knowing other people had a rough time and made it out alive, even succeeded.

So, in keeping with this theme of quotes, here are a few of my favorites:

"Worrying will not change the outcome"

"The best way out is always through"- Robert Frost

"Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple"- Dr. Seuss

"No great thing is suddenly created"

"Not everything will be okay but some things will"

"Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still"

"We can complain because rose bushes have thorns or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses"- Abraham Lincoln

I have a million more and you can see them (if you'd like) on my Pinterest board. :)

Documentaries

My mom finally gave into my sister and I's begging and subscribed to Netflix. And yes, there are lots of shows I'm dying to watch, but what I was most excited for we're the documentaries. I had read a lot of great things about a lot of them and I had been dying to finally have the means and the time to do so.

The first day with the subscription, I watched 2 films. The September Issue about Vogue and Anna Wintour. I had literally wanted to see this since it was made in 2007. It was such an interesting and beautiful movie. I loved seeing the passion all of these people working at the magazine have for fashion and their publication. It was amazing to see their dedication. And it was also interesting to see Anna's own daughter saying how foolish and pointless she thought fashion was. While the entire film was intended to shed light on the inner workings of the most influential magazine, probably ever, they allowed the little snippet to slip in and just suggest that maybe this thing everyone is dedicating their life to is actually very trivial.
Nevertheless it was an amazing film and I loved every single second of it.



The second film I watched was called Life in a Day. The concept of the film was that people all over the world took videos of their daily lives on the same day--July 24th, 2010-- and sent it in to nat geo where they created a film. It was absolutely beautiful. While it did depict how different people all over the world are, what I noticed more was how similar they are. It was stunning and there were so many amazing moments linked with run of the mill ones. It made life seem like such a beautiful thing. A kind of stark contrast to The September Issue, but amazing.

Though its very time consuming, watching documentaries is preferable to fiction films sometimes because its amazing to see things as they really are, before the scripting and the editing and staging, there is something about a documentary that is so raw and compelling. They almost always open your eyes, and make you consider life in a different way.

Currently...

Just cuz...here are a few things I'm currently ______(fill in the blank-ing).

Watching: The September Issue on Netflix. I am literally in love with this documentary.  It was absolutely enthralling to get a real view into Vogue, and see the people who are so passionate about what they do.

Eating: Luna Bar, Chocolate Covered Bananas from Trader Joe's. I've loved Luna Bars for a while now, may favorites being Peppermint Stick, S'Mores and Lemon Zest.  I recently discovered frozen banana bites when I was home and I am ob.sessed.  They're so good and they're not even that bad for you.  They are bananas, after all.

Wanting: (P)Leather leggings.  I'm not usually super edgy or hip, my style errs more on the side of safe and preppy, but after a lot of contemplation, I think a pair of faux leather pants could really work in a lot of ways.  The search begins.

Obsessing Over: Finding a navy blue skirt, as similar as possible to the J. Crew City Mini, and updating my makeup collection from drugstore brands to something a little more...grown up.

Dreading: Grocery shopping.  Waiting in a line at Trader Joe's after class and then lugging my food back to the Bronx is not my idea of a fun time.

Looking at: The cutest dogs in the world .  I think I've mentioned this blog before, but I don't care. Corgis are perfect.

Wishing I could afford: This bracelet, this shirt, these earrings, this necklace, this duffle bag, these flats, and these glasses.  I guess I went a little C. Wonder crazy...

Listening to: Mumford & Sons.  Its the perfect rainy day music.  Its always perfect, no matter what kind of mood I'm in.

Obsession: Digital Magazines

I'm a little bit of a nerd when it comes to magazines.  It's probably because thats my dream job--to publish my own--but still, I'm obsessive.  The first time I read a digital magazine on my iPad and saw that the publisher had figured out how to link the featured items to their seller's website I was so astounded and excited I walked around my house and interrupted everyone's business to show them.  It was cool.  Ever since, I have devoured as many digital magazines as humanly possible.

While I do read Lucky and Allure on my iPad, my favorites are lesser-known publications.

My first favorite is Sweet Lemon Mag.  Edited by one of my favorite bloggers, this magazine claims to be "written by & for the Jane of All Trades."  And it is. Most, if not all of its writers are twenty-somethings working their first jobs in big cities.  They have wisdom from making mistakes, and write amazing features that really do help people in the process of becoming a real person.  Not only do they have career advice, but they also write about style, fashion, as well as different and fun things to do in the cities they live in.  Each issue features a young women who made her own success.  Even more inspiration.  And I am obsessed.



Another publication I discovered shortly after I found Sweet Lemon, was Matchbook Mag.  I love the way they feature lesser-known brands and people from the fashion/accessories industry who I haven't heard of before.  This is actually the magazine I was reading that excited me so much.



Today, I stumbled upon To & From. I think this is intended to be a gift giving guide, but to be honest, if I were to buy gifts for anyone that I found in here, they would be for myself.

The magazine is composed, almost exclusively, of collages of gifts for various groups (men, women, children, single friends...).  It literally has over 100 pages of cool and unusual and creative gifts.



These magazines inspire me to start think about starting my own.