Takin' on the Jellies or another Childhood obsession

Today's post is another childhood obsession of mine. I've blogged before about how I desperately dreamed of having a pair of Red Rainboots just like Ramona Quimbly, which this past Valentines my lovely Husband made come true, and with Hunters at that. I know I'm a very lucky girl. But being that summer is coming up I've been thinking of proper wet shoes for the hot weather.

Last year I bought Sperrys just for that reason and honestly? That was flat out dumb. They are insanely comfortable, until you get them wet. Then they are just as uncomfortable as any other wet canvas shoe. For some reason I thought that them being a boat shoe meant they'd be just grande to walk in when wet. I was terribly mistaken. I wore them to Kings Island and regretted that descision as soon as I stepped off White Water Canyon. Which since its my favorite ride, I rode 5 times in a row. Yep, I'm extra stupid. 

I know most people would just wear rubber flip flops, and I do. Sometimes, if I have too. But mostly? I hate them. A lot. I have weird feet people, flip flops or thongs, and I are not friends. Bonus issue, I cant drive in them, its like Cher Horowitz in Platforms. Plus, I see a lot of Moms in my town switch from crocs to flops when it gets really hot. Long story short (Too Late!), I don't do flip flops, no matter how much they cost except to walk the dog at 3am, and if I weren't allergic to bees, I'd skip the flip flops and go barefoot.

I told you that incredibly long story to tell you this incredibly long story. I've always wanted Jellies shoes. I was never allowed to have them, even as summer running in the mud shoes because my mother thought they were impractical, no matter how cheap they were then. However, as an adult I'm not subject to my mother's fashion opinions and can buy all the stupid shoes I want to. For evidence see my shoe collection.

That said I have recently discovered that Kate Spade makes Jelly shoes, and that they aren't terribly priced and I need a pair for this summer.

The problem is I can't decide which ones, and on a couple of the pairs, I can't decide which colors. While I like the Jennie Flat in Cobalt/Turquoise I think I prefer them in Pink/Orange. However I feel the opposite way about the Farren Sandals, I think they look so much sweeter in Cobalt/Turquoise, but not so much in the Pink/Orange. The other two pairs I really like are the Jane Flats in Pink which have a completely adorable bow on the toe and the Fiala Flats in Orange Rubber which have a hot pink flower on the front. I'm kinda in love with all of them!

I could see my self having many "Summer Adventures" in these shoes, and for the flats I could easily see them paired up with Skinny Jeans and a Tee/Jacket combo. The Flats are probably more practical, since I would wear them into the fall time and probably stupidly into the winter. However the sandals just scream summer, and even though I'm not much of a sandal wearer I'm completely in love with the Farren sandals because of the bow on the front. What do you think guys, which pair should I choose?

Bonus note: Takin' on the Jellies is from Finding Nemo which is one of my all time favorite Pixar movies, and is fittingly a children's movie.

By The Way: There is only 1 day left on my Oasap.com Giveaway, and if there isn't 50 entries there will be no giveaway thanks to Oasap's terms for the giveaway as noted in that post, so hurry up and enter and tell your friends to enter too!

Kate Spade by fashionandhappythings featuring ankle wrap sandals

Haul or New Skincare Routine...again

You may remember from a few weeks ago when I said that the Murad Acne Complex line didn't work for my skin. I'm pretty sure that's because I'm one of those few people that Salicylic Acid doesn't work for. Benzoyl Peroxide doesn't work for my skin either, both work for a little while. Then no matter how consistent my regimen is, I end up with dry, irritated, painful acne in just a couple of weeks. Like I've said in the past, the Liz Earle products helped a lot, but they weren't perfect. The products aren't for acne exactly, but they are natural and soothing, so I thought I might head down that route again, and add in a few acne products as I go.

When I did my big Sephora Haul at the beginning of the year I purchased the Caudalìe Cleansing Water and the Caudalìe Gentle Cleanser

Since I already had those and my skin liked them, I decided to make most of my routine Caudalìe. So I placed and order at both Caudalìe and Sephora to make sure I got the most bang for my buck, since they were each having shipping deals. If I'm ordering around, not only do I compare the cost of the items I'm buying but I also factor in the shipping. If an item is $30 at one place and $32 at another but the first website charges $10 for shipping and the second charges $5 then even though the product is more expensive at the second place you're getting the cheapest price. With these orders I was trying to meet their free shipping marks since I was ordering everything anyway, but Sephora was sold out of one of the products.

First up is my order from Caudalìe.com. Isn't the packaging amazing?:

Samples of the Premier Cru Eyecream, Vinoperfect Serum and Vinoexpert Radiance Day Fluid with SPF 15

I ordered the Moisturizing Toner,

 the purifying Mask,

 and finally the Lip Conditioner.

The Moisturizing  toner is nice, you only need one pump depending on how you use it. I love the smell and it feels very soothing on my face.
The Purifying mask is probably one on of my all time favorite masks and is well worth the $40 I paid for it. I love the way it smells on my skin, I love that even though it's a clay mask it never hardens or makes your skin feel overly tight. And the smell, some people may not like the smell but I adore it. It's very herbal and spa like. I will be repurchasing this, as soon as I run out of this. I love what it does to my skin and how it soothes my angry red spots, and even if I don't stick with this routine forever, this will always be in my collection of skincare products. It's such a treat to use and I want to use it every night.
I've had the Lip Conditioner before and my Husband swiped it, so I decided to order myself another one. Turns out he'd run out of his and stole this one too. It's probably one of my favorite things to use from Caudalìe and I will be purchasing myself another one soon while his is still close to full. The Tubes last ages (apparently our puppy got a hold of the last tube he'd had, but that was actually my fault.), and it is the best thing for that horrible chapping you get in the winter.

 From Sephora I ordered the VinoSource Moisturizing Sorbet,

 and DermaDoctor's Ain't Misbehavin'.

 I really like this moisturizer, of course the scent is lovely being that it's from Caudalìe and I only need a bit to cover my entire face and feel completely moisturized. It's definitely another winner.
Ain't Misbehavin' was recommended to me by a lovely lady who works at the Sephora in Crestview Hills who has similar skin issues as me. I kinda love it so far. I use it as a mini mask for just 3 minutes or so every morning, putting a thin layer all over my face and a thicker layer over my problem areas. My skin's not perfect yet, but I've only been using this for a few weeks and I am already seeing results.

This isn't actually my complete skincare routine, I'm slowly building it. I'll be changing the cleanser, probably just to a different Caudalìe one, because I'm almost out of the Gentle Cleanser, which is now called the Gentle Cleansing Milk, and adding in a Retinol to help more with my acne and a Sunscreen because the SPF in my foundation isn't going to be strong enough with the addition of the Retinol. Currently I'm trying out samples of both of the last two products and will be deciding which one to get very soon. S

Honestly it's a bit out of my way, but between Maxwell and Aimee, this Sephora is definitely my favorite and is well worth the few minutes extra drive.

Stylish Sundays: Peach Pants and Chelsea Boots or Fabulous Hair

Look at me on time with Stylish Sundays. I know how rare that's been, right? Don't worry, my sisters coming to stay with me so next weeks will probably be late. Even though it's on time it is picture heavy though, sorry I just couldn't decide.

 So since I can't wait, I'll talk about my hair first. my bangs had not been cut for months and they were driving me absolutely, completely crazy. So I made an appointment at Tanya's Image and Wellness Salon in Crestview Hills, KY. I'm absolutely in love with the result.

 Once I made my appointment I had to decide what I wanted. I looked for days at pictures of celebrities and at pictures of how I had my hair before. But none of them were really what I wanted. Finally about 2 days before my appointment when I was starting to worry that I'd walk in there and not know what I want, I sat down and said who do I have the most hair envy over?

 The answer of course was FleurDeForce. Every single time I see her I'm jealous of her hair, even when she's got it tossed up in a ponytail headed to the gym, it looks amazing. The picture I took in of Fleur's hair was one that she posted on instagram after she had gotten her hair done at the Aveda Salon in London.

 Which is actually a bit funny, because according to her bio my stylist, Christie Toffan, graduated from the Aveda Fredric Institute. I must say I completely adored her, and if you're in the area I fully recommend going to see her. I drove an hour to get there and it's definitely worth it. I will be going back.

 

Now obviously my hair doesn't look exactly like Fleur's hair. Mine's shorter with different bangs, this is because I had overgrown blunt bangs, and it was shorter to begin with. But my goal is for it to grow out into a very similar style. 

Let's break things up with an adorable picture of Howl:

 Now that we've all cooed over that adorableness, lets get into the outfit. Here's the overview:

 For my top I wore a lace tank that you can see better here, with a grey cardigan that kinda reminds me of the cardigans that ballerina's wear. Sorry it's been ages and I don't remember where I bought it. My necklace is from Jewelmint and it's the Lovers Locket. It's one of my favorites, I've always loved Lockets and it's Rose Gold.

 Here's a close up:

For my makeup I'm wearing Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua in B10, with Nars Deep Throat, Makeup Forever Setting Powder (Gift from my bestie T, and as usual she was right I adore it) Chanel Mascara, Benefit's Highbeam and Boi-ing concealer in no. 2. 

My Pants are Peach Skinnies I got from H&M awhile ago on sale. I adore these pants, the only issue is that they stain easily, and I'm terribly clutzy.

and finally, we have my Chelsea Boots that my absolutely amazing husband gave me for our wedding anniversary.  He ordered them from Asos, and if you'll notice they're the ones I mentioned wanting before. I'm completely in love with them and wore them all day today. Right from the moment I put them on they were extremely comfortable. I'd say they're probably my favorite boots I own.

I think we'll end things today with another adorable picture of Howl.  He's just so cute.

Super Exciting or Oasap Giveaway

I have something I'm crazy excited to share with you guys today. I was contacted by Oasap.com this morning and told they would like to sponsor a giveaway for my readers. So of course I jumped at the chance.

I'm a little obsessed with browsing their site right now. I'd compare Oasap to somewhere in between Romwe and H&M, with their pricing leaning more towards H&M. Which is amazing because you guys know how obsessed I am with H&M.

To qualify all you have to do is sign up on Oasap.com (don't worry it's free!), follow them on either Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook, then leave me a comment below telling me the email address you used to sign up and where you followed them. You must also be able to provide your address so the prize can be shipped to you.

Bonus Entry, Follow me on Bloglovin or GFC and leave your name you follow under and I'll toss your name into the hat twice. Actually I'm probably actually going to asign you all a number, and your second entry will be listed under the complete list of normal entries so you'll have your name in two places on the list increasing your chance to win when I use www.random.org to pick the winner. Share on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest and leave the link in your entry comment and for another entry in the metaphorical hat.

Below are the things you can choose from if you win:

• Candy Color Skater Skirt
• Elegant Mini Skirt with Chiffon Overlay 
• Shining Galaxy Print Leggings
• Sweet Floppy Hat with Floral Embellishment
• Eiffel Tower Print Tee Shirt
• Cute Pink Panther Tee Shirt
• Round Neck Crochet Lace Vest Top
• Sleeveless Chiffon Dress with Asymmetric Hem

 The Giveaway last for 10 days so it ends on June 1st, and I will announce the winner on twitter and on and update of this post soon after.
Good luck to everyone who enters!

Edit: I'm sorry to say we did not meet Oasap.com's requirements for the giveaway. I will be hosting another giveaway soon though with much less strict requirements. 


 Terms and Conditions from Oasap:
1. If there is any fake data, we will cancel the cooperation.
2. If the giveaway will not reach 50 sign-ups, we will not offer the prize.

Stylish Sundays or Sheer Polka Dots

This outfit was another Errands outfit, but I was tired of just jeans and a top and tennis shoes so I decided to dress up a bit. I was actually out shopping for a baby gift for the baby shower that I'm attending today. Super excited for my bestie T, and I'm almost as impatient as she is for Baby S to get here.

 

I wore a Sheer Polka Dot Button Down and black tank from The Limited, with Black Pants from H&M and my Beatrix Sam Edelman Flats. This outfit kinda fits into the monochromatic or black and white trend that's going on this spring without being too much.  

 I wanted my makeup to be simple and clean so I'm just wearing foundation and mascara, both from Chanel and a bit of my Nars Deep Throat with Koh Gen Do's Natural Lightening Powder as a Hightlight. I didn't use anything to set it as I wasn't planning on wearing it for more than 4 hours. For my hair I just kinda copied Leighannsay's hair in a recent video of hers. I still have not gotten my hair cut yet and it is driving me absolutely bonkers.

 My jewelry was pretty special to me, I was given these earrings as a Bridesmaids gift from Mrs. Cannady when she got married nearly 3 Junes ago. I absolutely adore them and I feel like they don't get enough wear. Especially since they remind me of a very special, insane day. But I swear Mrs. Cannady I would carry that big ass dress around all over again just to watch your's and Phip's Cake Throwdown again.

My necklace was from H&M, nothing really special but it went well with the earrings without being to much I think.

I loved feeling a bit dressed up while running around, and I plan on doing it more often.

Spring is here but I'd rather be in Paris or Parisian Chic

I've been spending a lot of time watching HGTV and I'm absolutely obsessed with the Paris Episodes of House Hunters. I've never been really interested in even being in Paris until recently despite the fact that I took french in elementary school. Looking at the city and the houses has made me absolutely desperate to be in France. I've always loved Versailles, but now I want to see all of France and would love to be able to just take off and spend a summer, or if I'm really honest at least a year touring the whole country.

Since I'm unable to do that, I'm instead imaging what I would wear if I were able to just up and go to France for a year. Today I'm sort of focusing on the touristy type outfits I'd wear. What I'd wear to explore the markets and spend time in the parks. Maybe learn to ride a bike. Actually I can ride a bike, so long as it has training wheels or 3 wheels, I have no balance.

So lets look at what I'd wear to be a tourist in France in the Summer



This outfit is definitely my Market Exploring outfit. I love that this outfit mixes both patterns and textures and even though it all comes from American retailers I still feel like this outfit is very Parisian. The Lace Blossom Tee from Madewell is the perfect starting point for this outfit. It's plain white but it has texture because it's lace. I'm completely in love with with these Demin Cutoff Shorts in Graphic Grid. I love Madewell Denim and the pattern of these is almost sort of a non pattern. It's the kind of pattern you could easily mix with another pattern and it wouldn't look gaudy or like you're trying to hard to be trendy. This Embroidered Scarf from J.Crew is gorgeous and perfect for traveling in France because it's light enough to layer in the warm weather and just adds the perfect finishing touch. Plus Scarves are very Parisian and you don't want to stick out when you're a tourist in another country. The Leather Ballet Flats from Gap are perfect for all the walking you'll be doing and of course you'll need the Picnic Floral Delacorte watch from Kate Spade so you're not late for lunch. My favorite part of this outfit, the finishing touch on this outfit really is this Call To Action Play The Field bag from Kate Spade. It's absolutely perfect for all the shopping you'll be doing in the open air  The accessories of this outfit could easily work into several other outfits which is key when you're packing for traveling.


This second outfit is perfect for riding bikes, visiting the Eiffel Tower, and exploring the parks.

Stripes are classically Parisian so this Striped Harbor Sweater from Madewell is a must, it's loose and comfortable while still being insanely fashionable. I paired it with the 3" Chino Shorts in Chrome Green from J.Crew. Add in some Keds for ease of peddling or walking. You could easily switch these out for Converse or Superga's. Add in the Picnic Floral watch you wore with your last outfit, some Skinny Mini Bow Studs and this Neon Pink Turnlock Charm Leather Bracelet from Marc By Marc Jacobs and you've got the perfect accessories. Then since you'll be out sightseeing all day I added in these Winston Sunglasses from Warby Parker which is an amazing company that donates a pair of glasses for every pair you buy. I'm just a bit obsessed right now and am saving all my pennies hopefully in order to buy myself a pair for my birthday this October.  I added in this fragrance from Caudalié. I adore Caudalié and being that they're a french skincare company, this nice light fragrance would be perfect for your stay in France.

Just a bit of a side note here, you guys will be seeing a lot of Caudalié products here very soon in the form of a Haul. Probably early next week.

Influenster Spring Vox Box or Spring Fever

I recently received the Spring Vox Box in the mail from Influenster and since I'm not currently making Youtube videos I thought I'd share it with you guys on my blog.

 Here's the overview of the box and I'll talk a bit about each item individually below.

 First is Secret Outlast Deodorant in the scent Completely Clean, which may seem sort of odd, but we all use deodorant, or we all should and I always have several bottles around the house. Secret is generally my brand of choice, but I usually go for the overnight clinical protection ones.

Next are the Broadway Impress nails in Joyride, which I have already tried out and will have a post up about very soon, so I won't mention more about these than the fact that they're like those press on nails you used as a kid only more grown up.

Another slightly weird, but interesting one is Tastykake Kandy Bar Kakes in the Reese's flavor. First that name makes me feel very Kardashian-y, all those K's. But moving on from that note, I think it's kinda nice to toss in a snack, especially since I already love Tastykake thanks to the Stephanie Plum book series, and I hadn't tried the Reese's flavor yet. I've already demolished this so I'll just go ahead and say it was delicious.

 Next I received the Osis+ Dust IT Texture Mattifying Powder which I'm really excited about because I love powder's like this because while I have a lot of hair, the hair itself is very fine. I plan on doing a complete review on this very soon though so be on the look out for that.

   I also plan on doing a review on this product soon, which is the NYC New York Color Big Applelicious in Big Apple Red.It's a really pretty color and I'm really excited about it, because I had completely forgotten about NYC makeup since it's kinda tucked away in my local store that sells it.

 I know I'm doing a review on this soon, but I had to include this picture now, because how cute is that apple? I absolutely love apples so I was very excited when I saw that little detail.

I'm absolutely excited to try everything in this box and will be letting you know my honest opinions of everything inside very soon.



I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.

Shiseido Sun Protection Foundation SPF 42 or Allergic To Everything?

Today's post is going to be on the Shiseido Sun Protection Foundation SPF 42 that I hauled a little while ago. 

I actually feel a bit bad having shown it in the haul now because I ended up returning it because I was allergic to it. But I did use it for a little while before I found out I was allergic to it and decided to post up a little bit of a review.

I kinda loved this foundation. It was a tad to dark for me, but aside from Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua and Nars Siberia there's not many foundations out that that aren't to dark for me. Maybe one of the Burberry ones? I'll grab a sample the next time I'm in a Nordstrom and let you know.

It is a very thin formula with a light coverage that is really build able. Sometimes you'll try to build up a foundation and it'll get cakey or the color will get darker and that just wasn't the case with this one. And even though the formula is thin it's not hard to work with and lays really well on the skin. It would have been great for the summer, especially after I'd gotten a bit of color.

It claims to be water resistant, but I never really got to test that out.

Now I know you guys are dying to know what the allergic reaction is. Mostly it made my cystic acne angry, but I also developed some odd red patches. I also want to be clear that I do have unusually sensitive skin and the red patches cleared up by the end of the day after I stopped using it. Those might have been something else, but the fact that it irritated my acne was enough for me to stop using it.

If I were you though I wouldn't hold any of that against this foundation and I urge you to try it, I was absolutely lovely to apply, it wore well, and lasted all day, which is more than I can say for many other foundations I've tried in the past.

Happy Mother's Day or Stylish Sundays

If this lateness keeps up, I'm going to have to change the name to Stylish Mondays.

This one is late though because I wanted to do a post of what I wore today, and since it was Mother's Day and I am a Mom, I just managed to squeeze them in after dinner out and before the ice cream cake at home. Yep I'm spoiled.

This is kinda picture heavy. I'd apologize, but really I felt amazing in this outfit and we got so many good pictures I was having a hard time narrowing it down.

 I wore the Black and White Olsenboye Skater Dress that I bought at JCP a few months ago. They seem to be rebranding themselves again, so I don't know if I'll be shopping there anymore, but I really love this dress. A Pink Wallace Cardigan from Madewell that I got on sale for $15 last Feburary, my Kate Spade Bow Belt that I bought just before Christmas which was also on sale for $50 instead of the normal $70 something, and Black HUE tights. Not Pictured are my Sam Edelman Calypso Flats in Black with a Black patent toe cap and gold studs.

 

 I know it's kinda amazing right? The only thing I wish I could have changed is I probably would have worn a pair of Chelsea Boots with them. It was cold today, plus I feel like they would have looked better with the tights. I blame Voussontbeauetbelle for that obsession right now. 

 For my face I just wore my everyday makeup but I applied it a bit differently using brushes for my concealer and foundation. I really want to get some Real Techniques Brushes for my foundation and concealer, but this time I used a random stippling brush and fluffy eyeshadow brush I had.

 My hair was a slight variation on Zoella's Messy Top Knot Tutorial. The only variation is that I pinned my bangs back. Even though I used Zoella's Tutorial, it really reminds me of LeighannSay's Pretty Dirty Princess Bun, which I adored, but could never get my hair to do. I'm in the process of looking for a new hair stylist and I haven't gotten my bangs cut for quit a while. They're kinda driving me crazy.

I bet you're wondering if I got anything for a Mother's Day Gift. Of course I did. You've already seen my gift though, a few times.

Bet you're wondering what that is? Well I actually got my Mother's Day Present a month ago and it was....
Howl.

 Yep, I had been wanting a dog for a very long time and since he and all his things were pretty expensive, we decided that he would be perfect as a present for my Mother's Day.  Of course I'm completely in love with him.

 He's teething right now as you could guess by the fact that he's 3 months old, and he's chewing his lead in the above picture. He's also pretty attached to sticks.

 See, he loves sticks. We're bell training him, and sometimes he'll go out, find a stick he loves and for whatever reason drop it on his way in. He's been known to go back and ring the bell, just so he can go out to get his stick he dropped.

Oh, look at that bokeh! I'm kinda completely in love with this picture of a random blossom off the tree I was standing next to. It's so springy.

 According to Howl it's time to go now. I guess I'd better quit rambling he's looking pretty insane.