love is all you need

shirt: Ann Taylor
shorts/belt: H&M
shoes: charlotte russe

This shirt was purchased while I was helping my mother pick out an outfit for my sister's college graduation. I saw it while my mom was trying things on and decided to see how it looked on me. I loved it and bought it. It was slightly more expensive then the things I normally buy (because I'm a cheapo, but I prefer the word frugal) but it was so nice it was worth it. The shorts were bought on my recent trip to H&M and I am just loving the high-waisted shorts look. I also like that they came with a really cute belt! I've had the shoes for a really long time because I think that everyone needs a pair of black flats to fall back on. They have a cool woven detail on the front so they are not totally plain.

Today, I had a meeting with the professor that I am doing research with. So basically, I wanted to look slightly more professional without being too dressed up. Also I couldn't be too daring or trendy because that would be inappropriate. Hope you all enjoyed this look!

Happy Thursday! (its almost Friday!!! Yay!)
Lisa

Experiment: Can a pair of shoes transform an outfit?

I found myself in a bit of a shoe dilemma this morning when I got dressed. I put on a simple white dress, a denim shirt (as a light jacket), and then I couldn't decide: heels, sneakers, or sandals? I tried on all three and loved them all, but still felt very differently about the outfit with each pair of shoes. Let me know what you think, can shoes transform an outfit?

Pair of Shoes # 1 : High Heels

I think that these give the outfit a dressy, girly look. This is actually what I ended up wearing for most of the day because I liked the sophistication that the heels gave me. As a 20 year old that gets mistaken for being under 16 way too often, sophistication is important to me.

Pair of Shoes # 2 : Sneakers

I think that these shoes give the look a more playful look. Just as an FYI, these shoes are brand new, I just got them today. Also, it was really windy when I was taking these which is why my hair is consistently in my face.

Pair of Shoes # 3 : Sandals

Now I am an avid shoe collector, so I normally don't like to wear flip flops unless I'm going to the beach or pool because I feel that they are just too casual. However, sometimes if I'm just running around all day I like my shoes to be very comfortable. Also, I think that the flip flops with this outfit give it a beach-y, laid-back look.

dress: urban outfitters
shirt: H&M
heels: forever 21
sneakers: forever 21
sandals: Nordstrom

Hope you enjoyed reading this and that you'll let me know what you think!

Lisa

the warmth in your eyes swept me into your arms

shirt: H&M
skirt: pac sun
shoes: charlotte russe

Today, Tony and I went to the gym and played basketball for 2 hours! Let me tell you it wore me out! I'm so beat right now, I'm off so bed right after this post gets published!
I thought that this was a really unique and girly way to pull off the canvas combat boots. I also like that the skirt is sort of like running shorts material, so it's super comfortable. I've seen a lot of shirts like this one and I normally wouldn't have thought it would be something I would pick up. But it was on sale and as a shopping addict I couldn't resist at least trying it on. As soon as I put it on I started thinking of all the ways I could style it, so off to the cash register I went.
I hope you all enjoy this post! Talk to you soon!

Lisa

new scarf thingy in action

shirt: pac sun
shorts: delia's
vest: forever 21
shoes: vans website
scarf: DIY

Oh man, so much angst! I didn't mean to be making such an angry face! Well this is what my DIY scarf from my last post looks like executed in a full outfit, what do you think?
The vest is one of those things that I've had for a while that I never really wore. But I knew that I would find inspiration to wear this one day and that's why I never got rid of it! It's kind of a velvety material so its not the best option for summer, but it was just fine today because I didn't spend much time outside.
Also, I don't care what anybody says; I love my vans! I've had these for like 6 years and they are so comfortable and durable. I think they add a certain attitude to the look. I also tried teasing my hair a bit so it would gain some volume, but it doesn't appear to have worked! That's all for now!

Have a wonderful day!
Lisa

DIY and other stuff

So I found this really awesome DIY tutorial for scarves made out of t-shirts on stumbleupon. Its from college fashion, here's the link:

http://www.collegefashion.net/fashion-tips/diy-tutorial-tubular-tee-shirt-scarves/

I'm like really terrible at sewing so I try to avoid DIYs with a lot of sewing involved. This one had zero sewing involved so of course I had to try it and here are my results:

The shirt I used was $5 at Dollar General, but of course you can use any t-shirt you wish. The tank top I'm wearing is from Free People.
In other news, I have a new shoes crush. And I am really crushing hard because I will probably never actually buy these because of the price tag. Maybe they will go on sale one day *sigh*. The worst part is I've been seeing them everywhere lately. Well, here they are, the very beautiful Jeffrey Campbell Litas:

Aren't they just gorgeous? And finally, if you all are interested in a laugh check out Who Wears this Shit. It's an awesome and hilarious blog written by my best friend, Abby. She points out the questionable items that are being produced by far too many brands these days. Too funny.
Hope everyone had a good weekend!

Lisa

like a rolling stone

shirt: forever 21
shorts: old navy
shoes: charlotte russe
sunglasses: pac sun

 "You put your shirt on backwards, look where the buttons are!"

  "I don't like this picture. You're posing like a dork."

  "Those shoes look dumb with that outfit."

  "What's on  your head!?"

Boyfriends say the darndest things. But thanks for getting me ice cream today and for visiting my blog regularly, Tony!

Lisa

cut out all the ropes and let me fall

shirt: American apparel
jeans: pac sun
shoes: forever21

I've seen some of my favorite bloggers like Jazzi McG and Style with Benefits wearing these awesome turban headbands, so I've decided to give it a try and I think I like it! Mine is actually made from a scarf that came with a Halloween costume for the Pink Ladies from Grease. Silly I know, but I work with whatever I have laying around. You have seen this shirt and these shoes before. I love these items and I think they are both very versatile.

It started down-pouring like immediately after I came in from taking these pictures; thunder and all! But before these photos were taken, I had work and then Tony and I went out for sushi! He was even nice enough to get me some tempura ice cream after! It was a wonderful lunch and a great way to kick off the weekend! I'm gonna do some major GPL this weekend. Gym. Puzzle. Laundry. Oh yeahhh

Cheers and TGIF!
Lisa

living reflections from a dream

shirt: forever21
shorts: delia's
shoes: forever21
headband: pac sun
necklace: gift from my lovely sister

After enjoying a wonderful meal with Tony at a local pizzeria, I paid the bill and got up to leave. As I reached the door, I noticed a table of 6 older women staring at me. I paused and looked down to see if I got pizza sauce on my shirt. After seeing no obvious blemish I became quite perplexed. Confused, I smiled at them and turned to leave. As I turned, I heard one woman not-so-discreetly mutter to the woman next to her, "My gosh, could you get any skinnier?" I turned around and saw the other woman shaking her head judgmentally. I heard other whispers from the other women which I couldn't quite make out, but I did pick up words like "anorexic". As I exited the pizzeria and walked down the street, I was absolutely flabbergasted by these comments. I mean, they had just sat three tables away while I stuffed my mouth full of pizza, how could they possibly believe that I was anorexic?

I am very proud of my body and I take very good care of myself and my health. However, when I was younger I was embarrassed that the other girls my age had much more shapely figures then I did. Now that I am in college, I have come to terms with what I was born with, but comments that imply that there is something wrong with me still bother me somewhat.

Sorry for the rant, but it was on my mind. In this outfit of the day I am introducing my favorite shorts. =)

Lisa

New Stuffs

The first thing, I got was this crackle nail polish:

OPI has a nail polish called "Shatter," and I have never actually tried that, but this is called crackle glaze and it is by China glaze. I personally think that this polish looks great and it did exactly what I wanted it to do and was cheaper than the OPI shatter brand. I love that it gives you a really cool design without you having to do anything special to achieve it. I have only tried the black one so far but I am really excited to try the teal one. The color reminds me of Tiffany jewelery boxes.

The other thing I got this week was these stockings:

I am SO excited to style these new stockings from American Apparel. I think that they could look really awesome with a lot of different items currently in my wardrobe. I've seen different people wearing socks and stockings in really unique ways and that has inspired me to purchase these.

That's all for now! I hope you enjoy looking at my messy dorm room and leopard print snuggie in the background of the pictures! =)

Lisa

good times bad times

shirt: forever 21
skirt: urban outfitters
shoes: target
earrings: pac sun

So I realized that A LOT of my summer wardrobe comes from pac sun. But really though their clothes just fit me right and they have some pretty reasonable prices especially when they have sales.
This week is going to be pretty light on work so I'll be able to post everyday which is good because I love taking photos and writing about different things. Talk to you all soon!

Lisa

count the headlights on the highway

Sorry I didn't post anything yesterday, but this is essentially what it looked like from my point of view. Drove back to school yesterday and back to reality (and work) today! Oh well, at least the smoothie was good. Smoothie King is by far my favorite road trip food. If you've never had it, HIGHLY recommended. Anyway, this is what I wore today:

shirt: pac sun
shorts: delia's
shoes: target

Thanks to everyone who has been reading, it means a lot!

Lisa

Welcome to New Jersey

Hi all! I have had a very busy day today, so unfortunately no time for outfit photos. I spent the day in New Jersey. First, Tony and I had some chicken rolls from a small italian take-out place near his house and it was excellent! We also had zeppoles...YUM! After we had lunch we browsed around Barnes and Noble and we ended up buying a puzzle! 1000 pieces and boy is it tough! I will be sure to post a picture when we are finished. The picture is a Norman Rockwell illustration and Mr. Rockwell is one of my favorites. I love the simplicity of his work.

Later in the evening, we went down to the boardwalk at Point Pleasant. We just walked around, ate funnel cake and played mini golf. By the way, for some reason I am just terrible at mini golf. There were some interesting fashion choices going on down by the shore and I wish I had brought my camera so I could have captured it all. The pictures shown are pictures that I liked from a Google search.

TTFN
Lisa

Peking

shirt: american apparel
shorts: pac sun
shoes: charlotte russe

Extremely busy day today. After working all day, Tony and I got in the car and drove to his house. Right after that we went to dinner at a great restaurant called Peking (hence the name of the title). I am SO ready for a great night of sleep. I wish I could have had some natural light for the pictures, but I think the dogs look great. Rex and Roman are the kindest, sweetest dogs and would never hurt a fly, but you would never guess that by looking at them! They look like beasts!

My hair is in a french braid done to the side and tucked under so that it looks like I have shorter hair.  I think my favorite part of this is that the sear sucker shorts and polo shirt give it a preppy appeal, but the distressed, almost acid washed look of the shirt and the combat boot-like shoes give it a dark side. Oh and did I mention? TGIF!!

TTFN
Lisa

Ginseng and Honey

shirt: american apparel
skirt: a'gaci
shoes: forever 21
bandeau: random amazon vendor

Today was a very busy day! I had several meetings today to discuss what will come of the rest of my research this summer. I'm quite fond of this outfit so I posted it elsewhere as well here on my blog. My hair is in this really cool looking fall through effect french braid on both sides, but you can only see the left side. The title comes from my latest obsession with Arizona green tea with ginseng and honey. So amazing! That's all for now.

TTFN
Lisa