Monday, August 25, 2014

Never Again

I, Jaclyn, hereby solemnly swear to not get white gel nail polish again until next summer. 

My mother is in charge of infection control for a local medical practice. She cannot have gel nail polish because it absorbs germs / bacteria / icky things. Therefore, I knew that gel polish wasn't very... ahem... clean. After getting white gel polish, I have visually experienced the dirt and grim that the polish absorbs. 

For the first few days, I LOVED the polish. 

It was classic. 

It was chic. 

It was stark white. 

Then... it turned icky. My bronzer turned the tips of my nails orange. I looked like I had a messy halloween / creamsicle manicure. Very unforgiving. I would only recommend getting white for a particular event and then getting them redone within the week. 

As for my nails, I will stick to pinks, purples, and reds in the future. 

Like most painful yet beautiful experiences in life, I will probably only abstain from white temporarily. 

I just wish that someone had warned me. 

So here I am, warning you.

Ciao for Now! 

Jac

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Let Them Eat King Cake


Yesterday was Fat Tuesday so Rachel and I decided to partake in some Mardi Gras fun.

Here are pictures of the King Cake which I decorated as well as some snapshots of the festivities.





 



We couldn't find the baby in our pieces so we decided to cut the cake until we found it. Overall our "Pardi Gras" celebration was an adventure and my fingers may be stained yellow, green, and purple for a few days.  
Let them eat king cake! 

Hope your Fat Tuesday was as delicious as ours! 




Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Fashion of the Academy


Ever since I was a little girl, I've watched the Academy Awards with my mother and sister. After the awards, we would watch Joan Rivers talk about the fashion. The best dresses and the worst dresses, I couldn't wait to see them all.

The link below will take you to a blog with an infographic of the dresses of every winner of Best Actress since 1929. Definitely a link you want to check out!

http://www.mediarundigital.co.uk/blog/oscar-dresses-infographic-2014-version/

I think we can all agree that Cate Blanchett looked stunning!





Sunday, January 12, 2014

Furocious Deal

In Georgia, we just got over a cold front and it has been pretty rainy and muggy. Today it was actually sunny which made me, and my hair, very happy. Here are a few pictures of my outfit today. I scored this cute brown coat from Forever 21 for only $11. Yes, ladies, $11. They are having a great sale on clearance items! 50% off already marked down items! I love a good deal (in this case it felt more like a steal) and I am extremely happy with the weight and fit of this coat. Plus, it's fur and I am loving the fur trend this season. This is a great piece to be on trend but not blend in with the masses in fur vests. I accessoried my outfit today with presents from some of the people in my life which are close to my heart which made it even more special! 

Close up of the cute pockets! 

Necklace from J Crew (Christmas present from my boss) 

Bow bracelet from Kate Spade (birthday present from my dear friend Rachel) 

Earrings from J Crew (Christmas present from my sister) 

Finally a picture of the coat from Forever 21! This was my inspiration behind today's look! 

Did any of y'all shop end of season sales? Did you find success like I did? 


Tuesday, January 7, 2014

#TeamStud


I love accessories. My first job in retail was in an accessory store in the mall, Charming Charlie. After working there for 6 months, I aquired lots of necklaces, bracelets, purses, scarves, and mostly: stud earrings.

I haven't worn dangly earrings since high school and here are 5 reasons why:
1. Studs look cute with all hairstyles. 
2. You can style your hair while wearing studs and not be in pain. (I have almost ripped a hole in my earlobe countless times from getting my earrings stuck in my hair while styling it. Also have you ever worn metal dangly earrings while blow drying your hair? Don't, it's painful and will burn you!) 
3. You can wear a statement necklace and studs at the same time and not look overaccessorized. 
4. Unless you are wearing 80s prom queen studs, they are lightweight and will not wreck your earlobe. 
5. You can buy a pair of stud earrings to match any theme imaginable and not look tacky.  (Examples: Kate Spade wedding studs, sports team mascots, and holiday shapes like a Christmas tree or pumpkin) 

Here is my personal collection of my favorite studs. My most worn earrings are my David Yurman pearl cookie earrings. They go with EVERYTHING. 


Here are some studs which I would like to add to my collection: 


Jac's helpful fashion hint
A little hint about stud earrings is the type of back that you wear with them. 
If you wear these backs: 
Then your earrings will look sad and hang off your earlobe strange. The bigger the stud, the more it will droop. 

But if you use these backs: 
Then your studs will be perky and happy just like the fabulous girl wearing them. 

You can buy a pack of these from Amazon and replace your backs on all your studs that have the other kind. Or you can just use these backs from another pair of earrings with your studs that came with lame backs. 
The clear ring adds support and makes for a much more comfortable experience as well as keeps the earring perky! 


What are your favorite studs? Do you share my stud-love? Are you #teamhoop or #teamdangle? Let me know! 







Monday, October 28, 2013

Horse Country

Fall is my favorite season. Each year I look forward to wearing leggings, oversized sweaters, and boots. I love the holidays and seeing family and friends. Unfortunately it is one of the most difficult seasons to dress when it comes to weddings or fancier daytime events. There is an art to looking fashionable but not too summery. Darker colors and sleeves are key to a good fall dress.  As a worker in a boutique, I am daily helping women find the perfect dress to wear to any and every occasion. 

This past weekend I needed to find a dress for fall Steeplechase. In the springtime, a standard Steeplechase outfit for women consists of a Lilly sundress and matching floppy hat. Fall horse races are different. Not many women wear large sun hats. I still wanted to wear a dress but I needed something that was warm and not too summery. What a dilemma! But, I found the perfect dress! It was orange with light blue, navy, and black flowers. I paired it with my Marley Lilly riding boots and leggings. 

I received several compliments on both my dress and the dip I made for the tailgate. The only downer of the day was forgetting to bring the mango orange juice for the mimosas! 

My roommate and dear friend Holley! 

My sorority sister Caro! 

My date Matt sporting his Dogwood Stables hat! 
(Street Fight from Dogwood Stables won the first race!) 

Mirror picture before leaving and putting leggings on to keep me warm. 

Tailgating on the rail makes for an excellent view of the track. 

The girls at our tailgate! 

Now for the dip recipe which will rock your pasture! 

It was very easy to make. I found the base recipe on Pinterest but edited the amount of ingredients I put in to make it my own. 

-16 oz of reduced fat sour cream
- 8oz of cream cheese
- 3/4 cub of chopped ham (I bought premade chopped ham at Kroger) 
- 4 green onion chopped  
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese (save a little to sprinkle on top) 
- 1 tsp of hot sauce 
- 2 tsp of Worshestershire sauce 
- salt
- pepper 
- Italian Bread Loaf (baked) 

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl except the loaf. Add the hot sauce and Worshestershire to taste. I added a little at a time to make sure they weren't overpowering. 

Cut the football shaped center top out of the bread and use a knife and spoon to carve out the center of the bread. 

Fill the bread bowl with dip. Sprinkle extra cheddar cheese on the dip. Wrap completely in tin foil. 

Bake the dip for 350 degrees for 1 hour (wrapped in tin foil)

It serves well immediately or after it is cool.
I used pita bread but any sort of chip would work well with it. 

The picture is from Pinterest because mine was gone by the time I thought to snap a shot! 

Ciao for now! 
Jaclyn 

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Let's Talk About Guac

One of my favorite snacks and my ultimate comfort food is guacamole. Growing up I would spend my summers at my grandparents' house in Miami. Their neighborhood was on an old mango orchard. My grandfather had many mango trees, a banana tree, and my favorite, an avocado tree. Florida avocados are very different than the avocados that are sold on Georgia supermarkets. Florida avocados are the size of my head and a haas avocado is the size of my palm. 

Here is my guacamole recipe which is based on the recipe from my Cuban grandfather. 

Ingredients: 
1 Roma tomatoes 
1/4 of a white onion 
A sliver of jalapeño pepper
A pinch of cilantro 
2 haas avocados (one Florida or California one) 
A bag of Tostitos Scoops chips! 

Finely chop (put in magic bullet) tomato, onion, a little bit of cilantro, and a sliver of jalapeño.
Cut the avocados in half, remove the pit, and scoop out the meat. Chop avocados. 
Mix the blended ingredients with the chopped avocados until you get a creamy but chunky consistancy. Scoop in and enjoy! 

Ciao for now! 

Jaclyn