How to make a plain winter hat into a cute winter hat

This may actually be the easiest how-to ever.

Step one: go get a hat. Mine was $5.95 at H&M. It's pretty boring (don't worry, H&M, I won't hold it against you):
Step two: go get some bow hairclips. Mine were $3.95 for a pack of 2, also at H&M. If you live in Boston, you can also check out Dajuli Sparkles (the website is a little creepy and not very informative but it does have the address) on Newbury Street for some awesome bow clips:
Step 3: Clip the bow onto the hat:
ZOMG cutest hat ever!!!!
All in all, this beautiful creation cost me just under $8 to make and took all of 2 seconds: Today's outfit was a keeper. At first I was a little iffy about mixing neutrals but Monique assured me it looked fine:

I believe this skirt is meant to be worn at the natural waist, but as I am slightly taller than average this left just about nothing to the imagination. So I bought it in a Large instead of a Medium and wore it around my love handles instead. Unfortunately it's still a little too big and at one point today I looked down and saw that it had pulled a 180 on me. Like it was exactly backwards. Perfectly centered, too. Who else has skills like this?Bah! Another one with the hat:
The view from our living room is getting better and better each day as the leaves change:

hat and clip- H&M
top- BP Nordstrom
skirt- Charlotte Russe
tights- Hue
shoes- target

A work in progress

Arabic midterm day! I wanted to be comfortable for the test (there's nothing worse that skinny jeans pinching a nerve when you're trying to remember vocabulary). This outfit was actually kind of heinous but I'm posting it anyway:
This top is a half-wrap, meaning it's only a wrap on top with a normal shirt on the bottom. It's actually extremely confusing. Good thing I have a Ph.D. in Wrap Theory. I was so good at it, they gave me the doctorate BEFORE I even got my bachelor's. Take that, Ann Taylor!
I just received this necklace as a gift from Kelsey of A Kingdom By the Sea. Click here to check out her adorable Etsy shop, Works in Progress and here for her Facebook fan page. I actually ordered the necklace in the main picture on the facebook page so you'll see that soon!
And then Allston caught on fire:

top- Ann Taylor, thrifted
leggings- American Apparel
necklace- A Kingdom By the Sea
booties- Target
earrings- heirloom

Apples and Arabic

Those are the only two things I've been able to concentrate on at all this weekend. Monique and I went apple picking on Friday with her brother Nick. It was great. I love doing Fall stuff like that. I also made a new friend at the orchard that I was able to take back with me:
The smallest pumpkin ever. Here it is next to one of the massive apples we found:
Saturday and today I did nothing but pore over my Arabic textbook. I have a huge midterm tomorrow that I'm pretty nervous about.
These were taken when I was fresh out of the shower, which is why my hair looks strange.

In case you were wondering, "apple" in Arabic is "TifeH"

sweater- H&M
leggings- American Apparel
shoes- Target

Birthday Cards as a measure of height with an appearance by Roger Federer

All my fellow Bostonians loving the warm weather? Hard to imagine just 5 days ago it was snowing heavily.
Today I learned that high-heeled boots hurt a lot more than flat boots. I can't help but think someone with common sense would have discovered this earlier. I did enjoy being the tallest person in existence for a day though:

Let's also focus for a second on how tall my hair was today:
If you look closely you can see that it was roughly the height of one birthday card (stuck on my closet door). I didn't think this kind of volume was even possible without using half a can of hairspray. Or Bump-Its. Except Bump-Its don't work. So half a can of hairspray.

My friend Salomon insisted that his Roger Federer hat be featured on my blog since it is obviously the height of fashion. He refused to be photographed but gladly snapped a picture of me wearing it:

top- Target
black jeans- Nordstrom
shoes- Off Broadway
earrings- Eastern Market
bracelet- from Mexico
And I have no idea where the hat is from.
UPDATE: Salomon told me the hat is from ebay

Lazy Day

I love only having one class on Tuesdays.
A bow!


top and jeans- BP Nordstrom
bow- Dajuli Sparkles
watch- Brighton
shoes- Target

Emily the Forest Elf

Today my roommate Nikki declared that I looked like a forest elf hunter. "Like Legolas" were her exact words, I believe. I guess it was the tunic-y top, tall boots, and all the green. What do you think?

I guess I was feelin Gondor a little bit today cause out of all 400 outfits I tried on before I left for class, this one was the winner. Good thing I love LOTR.



Photobomber! The infamous Nikki:
I hadn't started a blog yet when I first wore this top. If you're interested in how I styled it then, check out the look on my LookBook!


top- Macys
leggings- American Apparel
Belt- F21
boots- Target
earrings- Laila Rowe
bracelet- gift from my dad from Mexico

Une Americaine à Paris

Great news, guys! Today I found out that I have been accepted into the BU Paris Internship Program for next semester! What does this mean for you? Well, not only will I be able to cover Paris fashion but starting January 10th I will be writing my posts in English and in atrocious broken French!
I also plan to save up for a really really nice camera in order to take my pictures to the next level (ha, that's kind of a pun if you read it a few times and then think about it for a little while).
Anyway, I am so excited to make the transition to a different city. Not that I don't love Boston and DC/VA, but this is PARIS. And I'm really glad I'll be able to share it with you guys!

How not to be a raisin this winter

With the first snowfall in Boston (October 18th must be a new record or something, guys, seriously) also comes the bone-chilling wind that dries out your face until you can't even wince without feeling like your skin is going to crack. How do you fix this problem? Quite easily, actually. Exhibit A:
Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer with SPF 30-- $17 at drugstores
I'm willing to pay a little more for a product that can offer me a relatively high SPF. No joke, I will fly off the handle if I see wrinkles on this face anytime soon.

Exhibit B:
Boscia Intensifying Moisture Pack + -- $30 at Sephora
This is also kind of pricey, but it works wonders on a dry face (and a little bit goes a long way). It's technically a mask but I use it as a night cream. It's pretty heavy so don't use it if you have oily skin unless you are trying to achieve the recently pubescent middle schooler pizza face look. Moving on...

Exhibit C:
Lip Smackers Dr. Pepper lip balm- $2, drugstores
This stuff is awesome because it's cheap and it deposits a subtle hint of color onto your lips. Buy it at Target and save 40 cents. And then put those 40 cents towards buying the first two!

The flower girl who never did anything

Four score and seven years ago my aunt Deb got married. It was decided that I would be the flower girl for the event. Normally, flower girls walk down the aisle before the bride, sprinkling the path with rose petals to make the walk more romantic. My duties as flower girl included wearing a flowered dress and... oh wait, that was it. Awesome.
Today was equally filled with flower girl duties (not), including waking up with full makeup from last night still on, running exactly one mile on the track at the gym before getting bored of everything and leaving abruptly, and listening to an indescribably boring segment from BBC Radio on Heloise and Abelard, the next book I have to read for my French lit class (and by "read" I mean stare at the words until they make sense. Which takes awhile).
At least I was able to do the last thing in flowery-girly style. Check out these sweet blooms:
Diesel:
My favorite part about this top? The sleeves. They're so triangle-y. Very flattering:
My bangs, instead of doing that cute brushed-off-to-the-side thing other people's bangs do, sat in a pile on the right side of my face for the afternoon:
The red shoes picked up some of the red flowers in the top:

top and tank- BP Nordstrom
shoes- Target
leggings- American Apparel
necklace- gift

Alexander

Everyone has a bad day sometimes. Today I was Alexander:
I woke up late and didn't have much time for hair and makeup, so I swiped on some lengthening mascara and a headband (plus 400 bobby pins to hold down my unicorn spike):
I'm not one of those girls who can roll out of bed looking refreshed and beautiful so I'm going to spare you the gory reality and hide my face in these.
I tend to be drawn to otherwise simple pieces with cute details:
... and bows. I love me some bows:
Figures that I would get a run in these tights the first time I ever wear them:

Bad days do have 2 redeeming qualities though:

1). They make the good days that much sweeter, and
2). They end eventually

top- H&M
tights- Hue
boots- Target
skirt- American Apparel
headband- ? maybe also H&M?


P.S. Congratulations to my roommate Liz for putting on an amazing show!! If you go to BU and you didn't see Beauty and the Beast tonight, go get your tickets for Sunday's matinee show (tomorrow night's show is sold out, just like tonight's was)!

My number-one tip for staying warm in cold weather

Wear tights under your jeans. It's really the best trick I've learned at school so far. Plus it's kept me from losing both my legs to hypothermia. True story. As of right now my favorite brand is Hue (available at dept stores and Anthropologie, I'm told), but I've also heard great things about We Love Colors.
Now, a picture of me giving a fan the stinkeye:
It's too cold for a fan.
I'm embarrassed to admit that these booties are real suede. I didn't know it when I bought them, I swear! And now that I can't take them back I guess I may as well wear them. They are very warm...
Faux pearls I got when I was in early high school, probably from some dept store:
Sometimes when I wake up in the morning my bangs are a trainwreck. On these occasions I pin the to the side with 2 bobby pins and pull my longer hair over them:

booties- Target
jeans- BP Nordstrom
top- F21
necklace- Macy's maybe?
ring- Eastern Market