New Beginnings and Crossroads

Well hello, hello! 

For anyone out there still reading my blog you may be asking where did you go? What happened? Why the long hiatus? 

Well, quite frankly, I don't have a very good reason...life just happened... During my junior and senior year of college the academic load just got heavier, and I became more involved in extracurricular activities. I had to prioritize some things, and as much as I enjoy blogging, I had to put it on hold. 

So what's new? 

1. I am a new grad with a B.S. in biological sciences 

2. I moved from SoCal back to my hometown 

3.  I am currently job hunting 

4. I am learning how to transition into this new chapter of my life 

So what does that mean? 

Hopefully more time to blog!  

As I just mentioned, I recently moved back home, and the first few days were filled with lots of sorting and unpacking. In order to make room for all the new things I acquired during college (a.k.a mostly clothes and makeup), I had to sort through my dresser and closet for things I don't wear anymore. For instance, remember those Hollister polos from high school? So I went on an expedition to do something with my used clothes, and I wanted to let you all know of these options as well!

1. Try to sell back your clothes!

It all started this past spring when my roommates and I were cleaning out our closets. We decided to bring our unwanted clothes to a Crossroads Trading Co. which just opened in a plaza close to our condo. If you haven't heard of Crossroads, it is a used clothing store on the trendier side. They do have a small selection of new discounted clothes, but most of their inventory comes from people who sell back their clothes to Crossroads! Every season they come out with a flier which shows examples of the types of clothing/trends they are especially looking for during that time period. They will also price these items higher (and give you more cash back/store credit) due to the higher demand.

For Crossroads' buy back policy, they give you 50% store credit of what price they are marking your clothes. However, if you want cash they will only give you 30%. Depending on the store location and the associates working, sometimes they tend to be pickier on certain days. I've noticed they tend to be pretty brand conscious, so that may work in your favor or not. I took my clothes to a Crossroads near my home town. Most of my clothes were pretty dated, so I didn't expect them to take much. And I was right, they didn't take anything!

Another store that is much like Crossroads is Plato's Closet. Plato's Closet isn't seasonal like Crossroads, so they will look at any type of clothing regardless of what time of the year it is. Their buy back policy is a little different, since they only give you the option of 30-40% cash of what they price your clothes at. They do take a larger variety of used jewelry compared to Crossroads. For both stores, if the associates are busy or there are a lot of customers in front of you be prepared to wait. They usually take their time expecting your clothes for general wear/stains. I was in each store for 40 minutes! Unfortunately, Plato's Closet didn't take any of my stuff either!

2. Donate your clothes! 

And this is what I ended up doing with my clothes! Luckily, all of these stores including a Goodwill were within close proximity to each other. It's a painless process. Usually you just drive your car around to the back of the store, and someone helps you with your donation. I was out within five minutes. To be honest, it feels more altruistic knowing that my gently used, somewhat in style clothes are being sold at a much lower price to someone who needs them or at least enjoyed finding a good deal.

So whether you are trying to make some extra cash or doing a good deed, I hope this post helped someone out! I would love to know what you guys do with your old clothes!

Superlove & more blogging soon, 
Emily

P.S. After that clothing expedition, I went to get a haircut. I decided to go for a full straight fringe, and so far I'm liking it! Here's a picture straight out of the salon. I apologize for the little hairs on my face!

Ahoy there!

Hello again! 

I hope everyone is doing well :) 

Where have I been? Honestly, it's just been the usual - school, studying, dance, and whatever leftover time I have with friends and family. I can't believe my second year of college is coming to an end. It's definitely true when people say that your undergrad years will pass you by. As for the collegiate dance team I'm on, our season is over since it coincides with the school year. I'm no longer a newbie! Next year I'll be considered a returner. I also got a research position in a neurobiology lab on campus! I'm really looking forward to summer and seeing what my third year has in store for me. 

To celebrate the last day of classes, Connie and I decided to have one last spiffy day. I really hope we will continue this tradition when fall quarter of 2011 rolls around.  Here are some pictures from yesterday!  Click them if you want to see them in better resolution. 

To go along with my nautical inspired dress I decided to do a classic pin up-esque look with winged eyeliner and a bolder lip. Connie allowed me to bring out my inner make up artist and create a look for her. For her tribal print top I decided to go for a slightly more dramatic day look with a diffused cut crease for her monolids. Hope it turned out well!

 

  

  

 

  

Outfit Details: 

Emily:

Nautical Dress - Forever21 (I love how it has pockets!!) 

Navy Blue Socks - Target 

Boots - Star Ling (purchased at Nordstroms)  

Pearl Earrings - borrowed from Mom

Connie: 

Tribal print shirt - Forever 21

Black Denim Shorts - Cotton On 

Sandals - Sam Edelman (purchased at Nordstroms) 

Earrings - Korean Boutique  

Make Up Details: 

Emily: 

MAC Face and Body Foundation 

Rock & Republic Blush in Bedroom

Too Faced Shadow Insurance 

Wet N' Wild Color Icon Palette in Vanity - Matte Off White shade 

Wet N' Wild Color Icon Brow Pencil 

MAC Black Track Fluid Line 

Maybelline Falsies Mascara

MAC Lipstick in Viva Glam Cindy  

Stila Lip Glaze in Merry  

Connie: 

Luichel Foundation Powder

Nars Blush in Orgasm

Too Faced Shadow Insurance 

Revlon Eyeshadow Palette in Copper Spice - Gold and Dark Brown color 

Revlon Kajal Eyeliner 

Covergirl Lash Blast Mascara 

Wet N' Wild Lipstick in Peachy

Hope everyone has a great weekend while Connie and I are studying our eyeballs out for finals!! 

Superlove & Funny Faces, 

Emily 

P.S. I've missed you all! I guess the one thing about being inactive on blogger is the fact that you have a lot of blogs to read and catch up on. You don't have to anxiously wait for udpates :)

  

Odd One Out.

For some reason, I've been having this weird obsession lately when I paint my nails. 

I've been making my ring finger nail have a different design then all of my other ones. And I really like it :)

Last week all of my nails were painted a hot pink/coral color, and I randomly decided to put a glitter nail polish as a top coat for my ring fingers.  The main reason was actually because I wanted glitter nail polish, but I didn't want to take 10 minutes removing it off of all my nails later. Funny thing is, I ended up liking how my ring fingers were kind of a fun surprise! 

This week I decided to paint my nails red, and my ring finger nail a cool tribal-ish black and white design. I used the white as the base coat, and the black as an accent color. I also used a small craft brush to make the design. I should really start investing in those design nail polishes with the thin brushes, or those pens from Sally Hansen. Have any of you ladies tried those?

 

Unfortunately I'm not ambidextrous, so I couldn't do the cool "M/W" design on my right hand. Don't you hate when that happens? So I ended up creating a "V" pattern, which is much easier. 

I also bought those rings recently! I am a sucker for statement rings, especially when they fit  my finger because usually they're too big.  

 

 

The rose one is my favorite :) 

Superlove & Pretty Rings, 

Emily

Bipolar weather.

Hello everyone! 

I apologize for the lack of posting this week. This quarter is really hectic compared to last quarter. 

I'm taking more units and my classes start earlier, which means less sleep, more naps, and unfortunately less blogging... Boo. Connie and I even had to skip our "spiffy" day last week because we wanted to sleep in more! 

Today I woke up and outside my window I saw a gloomy overcast sky. I decided it was the perfect time to break out the boots I got over winter break. However, by the end of the day it became sunny and hot! I wish Spring would just make up it's mind and stay here for good :)
The boots I'm wearing are black suede slouchy boots from Nine West. I love how they have a mini wedged heel and the best part is that they were only $40! Now that stores are being stocked for the spring season, most of their winter items are now on sale. Buying off season can help you save a lot of money, but just make sure what you buy is timeless and not trendy or else you might not want to wear it next year!   

Outfit Details: 

Black Boyfriend Cardigan: Aeropostal 

Gray Knit Floral Dress: Forever 21 

Black Tights: Target 

Black Suede Boots: Nine West 

Superlove & Palm Trees, 
Emily 

P.S. I'm sorry for the silly poses! Connie and I haven't gone out to take photos in awhile, so we're quite rusty... I wish I could post more but they're too silly :)

Spiffy Tuesday

Hope everyone's week is starting off well! Mine has just been filled with studying, studying, and well...more studying! Finals are next week, but that doesn't mean I can't dress up :) The weather was so nice today, so I decided to incorporate a blushing pink color into my outfit (a popular color for spring 2011!). After class, Connie and I went grocery shopping to stock up on lots of snacks, like yogurt for more parfaits, lots of fruits, and Naked Juice (Mighty Mango is my favorite flavor)! For some reason, when I'm in super concentration mode, I tend to get the munchies like crazy! Maybe it's because I'm using lots of ATP...Oh gosh...I'm such a bio nerd, but at least I'm applying what I'm learning to the real world :)  Anyways, here are some pictures of my roommate Connie and me: 

 

 

  

Here's a little face of the day:

 

Outfit Details:  

Connie: 

Blazer: Nordstroms 

Striped V-Neck: Urban Outfitters 

Acid Wash Jeggings: Fashion District in Downtown LA 

Sandals: Steve Madden 

Brown Purse: Lucky  

Emily:

Gray Cardigan: Nordstroms (borrowed from Connie! Thank you!) 

Pink Tunic: Forever 21 

Beige Thigh High Socks: Cottonon 

Brown Leather Boots: Star Ling  

Cream and Brown Striped Scarf: Forever 21 

Zipper Purse: Target (it was only $15!)

Superlove & Sunny Weather, 

Emily

P.S. I just realized that my purse is really similar to Rebecca Minkoff's 3 Zip Rocker purse! No wonder I was so attracted to it at Target! 

Time to hit the books.

Man it is already March! I can't believe how fast this year is going and also how fast this quarter is going by! In just one and a half more weeks I'll be taking finals. Time to start super studying! 

While I study, I want to try and be as comfortable as possible but still look presentable. That's why I love my leggings :) Pair them with a boyfriend cardigan or an oversized sweatshirt, boots, and you're golden. Easiest outfit ever. It was also pretty chilly today so I wore a large scarf. I love how when you need a power nap it can double up as a pillow :)

As for my hair I like tying it up when I study. For some reason I just feel more productive when my hair is up and out of my face. To do this simple side bun just twist your hair to one side, coil tucking in the end, wrap your hair tie around it twice, and use bobby pins to secure. 

 

Outfit Details: 

Sweatshirt: MCIA 

Black leggings: Forever 21 

Brown Boots: Star Ling from Nordstroms

Black Scarf: H&M 

Black Bag: Urban Outfitters  

If you're wondering about my sweatshirt, it's actually not made by a brand! I'm on an exhibition hip hop dance team at my college,  and every year someone on the team submits their design for our annual sweatshirts. As a team we vote on which design we like best. This sweatshirt is really cool because we have the year 2010-2011 on one sleeve, and on the other sleeve it has the Greek alphabet starting with Alpha through Theta. We use the Greek alphabet to help differentiate each year, so this year is Theta year. Not only is this sweatshirt really comfy, but it holds a special place in my heart since this is my first year on the team and thus my first sweatshirt :) 

Superlove & Good Luck Studying, 
Emily

Everyone Needs a Little Introduction.

Hello everyone, my name is Emily.

I am 19 years young, and I'm currently a sophomore in college.
I love family& friends, white nectarines, dancing, crafting, philosophical conversations, and a home cooked meal.

I've always wanted to start my own lifestyle, fashion, & beauty blog but I was always hesitant. I guess I never had the guts to until now. Please be gentle and patient with me.

For my first post I decided to keep it simple and start of with an outfit of the day. A couple months ago, my friends and I made a pact that one day a week we would dress up, meaning cute outfits, hair, make up, and all that jazz. We call it our "Spiffy Days". Usually this falls on either a Monday or a Tuesday just so we start off our week well. There's something about putting on an awesome outfit that makes you feel more confident and ready to conquer the day :) As Coco Chanel would say, "I don't understand how a woman can leave the house without fixing herself up a littles...And then, you never know, maybe that's the day she has a date with destiny. And it's best to be as pretty as possible for destiny." Ideally, everyday would be a spiffy day, but honestly unlike Coco Chanel I think we'd rather use that 30 minutes to sleep in bed, especially after studying all night for a midterm. Sometimes dressing up takes a lot of work...but of course it always feels good looking extra nice once in awhile. 


Here are some pictures from a couple of weeks ago. My roommate Connie loved waking up to the sunny weather. Unfortunately, right now it's gloomy and raining...Boo. Please come back sun! Anyways, her outfit was inspired by the upcoming spring season. As for me I guess you could say I was channeling business casual with a slight edge. If you were to take a peak into my closet you would see a lot of blacks, grays, and maroons. I would say they're my safety colors :) . 


 


 

Outfit Details: 

Connie: 

Blue Flower Print Dress & Brown Belt -Love Culture

Gray Cardigan - Nordstrom

Gray Knee High socks -  Small Korean Boutique

Oxford heels - Steve Madden

Bow Ring - Nordstrom  

Emily: 

Gray V-neck - Forever 21 

Black Blazer - H&M 

Burgundy Shorts - Abercrombie  

Studded Skinny Belt - Aeropostal

Black Tights - Target 

Black Pumps - Aldo (but thrifted from Black&Brown) 

Heart Earrings - Metropark  
Watch - La Mer

Superlove & Spiffy-ness, 

Emily

 P.S. Modeling is REALLY hard. Hopefully Connie & I didn't fail too miserably...