I now fully understand that I live in Brooklyn.

New York trip

Ahhh, it's been a while, but I'm back! Finally graduated and whoo has it been a ride! I recently took a trip to New York City for a very exciting interview, so I thought I'd share a few pictures and some neat findings. My wonderful mom decided to come along on this trip, so we started our short visit with a little sight-seeing and of course, a lot of good food.

The third picture was taken at a bar/restaurant called Dinner on Ludlow.. I had two of the most fabulous cocktails I've ever had and then topped it off with some truffle oil risotto. TO. DIE. FOR. The bar seemed to specialize in cocktails with house-made syrups (I had "By the Bayou", a tequila and jalapeno-infused drink.. awesooome.) and super cool hipster get-togethers, as we seemed to have been crashing some kind of DJ-ed art opening at the time. Anyway, I'd highly recommend it. Check out their website for more info!

Next.. The big interview! Here's what I wore.

blouse: TJ Maxx
Necklace: DKNY, TJ Maxx
Blazer: Express
Skirt: Ann Taylor Loft
Purse: Nine West
Belt & Shoes: Target

The only stuff you may still find in stores are the belt and shoes, as I bought everything else at least a season ago. BUT none of this outfit cost over $100! Actually, most of it was under $50 when I bought it... thus proving you don't have to spend an arm and a leg to look fab (if I do say so myself). I am standing in an amazing store called This Is STORY.. but more on that in my next post!

Now that the interview is over, all I am doing is...

Hopefully I'll hear soon! That's all for now, folks.

Things are changin'...

Ah, it's that time of life where some keep moving forward and some stop where they are. I don't know where I'll be in a few months, let alone a few years! Scary and exhilarating.

Anyway, check out Gary Clark Jr. He's an amazing blues guitarist and pretty much the shit. Found a great music site called GrooveShark.com (which apparently I'm a little late on finding, but oh well). Listen to Gary Clark Jr.'s whole album, Blak and Blue (FO FREE!) here.

Feeling the springtime whimsy as well? Follow my Pinterest board under the same name.

ttfn.

Be mine.

Although I don't have a Valentine this year, I refuse to be a scrooge. It's still a wonderful day to celebrate the people you love! I thought I'd come up with a dream Valentine's Day date outfit, just for fun since I won't be going on one myself. Ahh well! Everything on this board is under $50 (except for the Sergio Rossi shoes.. a girl can dream, right?), so shop away, friends!

Forever New lace peplum top, $39.95

Zara Boyfriend jeans, $59.90 (okay, I lied, but that's cheap for jeans!)

Sergio Rossi heels, $650.00

Mango Heart-Shaped purse, $19.99

Betsey Johnson lovebird rubber stretch bracelet, $25.99

Bright Valentine pink rose stud earrings, $5 from Etsy

Forever 21 black studded belt (similar), $4.80

French doodles

A set of drawings to be used for a menu project for a french food truck. Working on this project really took me back to when I traveled to Paris over the summer. Such a lovely city! The snobby smoking french man that's the first of the set is not actually how anyone I met there was.. more like what I thought they'd be like. Oh, American stereotypes...

Comment if you'd like to see these made into cards.. I just might do it!

My favorite online shopping sites

Who doesn't love online shopping? It's so easy.. just browse, click, type in your credit card number, and it's at your door by the weekend. It's also easy to spend way more than you intended to and then have to call up mom asking for 50 bucks while your waiting for your next pay check to come in so you don't have to eat Ramen noodles for the rest of the month (I'm not the only one that does that, right?). So, here are a few of my favorite clothing sites that are super cheap (or at least super discounted) and won't break the bank.

A few notes: Ruelala, Obaz, and Ideeli require memberships. They're worth it, and you can totally unsubscribe to any emails you might receive from them. Alloy is geared mainly towards teens, but there are still a lot of casual weekend pieces and a great jean selection of longer sizes, so they're worth a shot, too. GoJane has an AWESOME shoe selection, just so long as you can handle super high heels. Finally, NastyGal is not necessarily the cheapest site on the internet, BUT they carry tons of awesome trends for a lot less than what you could find at somewhere like Nordstrom or Saks.

Purple eyeliner on a budget

I love experimenting with new makeup ideas, but buying makeup all the time can really break the bank. So, when I saw purple eyeliner on a fair skinned lady like myself in a magazine last month, I had to try it. The only problem was.. the magazine I saw the idea in was suggesting some very expensive (at least for what it is) stuff! So, off to ULTA I went to try to find a middle ground.

Above, NARS Larger Than Life Long Wear Eyeliner, $23 at Sephora online.

Above, my bargain find: NYX Slim Eye Pencil for just $3.50 (!) at ULTA online.

The result! I'm in love with adding color to my makeup palette. And yep, just saved almost $20, too.  I'm wearing Too Faced Fuschia lipstick here, which you can find at ULTA online as well.