Some outfits and a little surprise

I know I've been saying this a lot lately, but I am so sorry for not posting in a while. The holiday weekend on top of my broken laptop has meant very little internet time for me. It sucks.

I promise to get back to each and every one of you very soon!

Lately the weather in my town has been mild. Since I haven't done an outfit post in a while, I thought I would share some of my favorite fall outfits I have worn in the past week.

It's funny. I fell in love with this dress when I saw it at Target six months ago. Sadly, I didn't have $30 to spare for it. Imagine my surprise a few weeks ago when I saw it was on sale...for $5! I thought the fall colors were just perfect for a sunny November day.


Target dress, Banana Republic cashmere cardigan, and Prada bag


I enlarged this next photo because I wanted to show off my favorite coat. When Harold's went out of business a year ago, I snatched this gem up at a ridiculous price. Every time I wear it, I feel like a princess. (Well, almost every time. My somber expression is because 20 minutes after this photo was taken I had to interview a couple whose daughter had been raped and murdered ten years beforehand. Her killer was recently found. Sometimes being a newspaper reporter can be a very emotional experience...)


Harold's coat; Gap dress; pearl earrings and necklace from Kay Jewelers; Kate Spade bag; vintage shoes


This last outfit is the result of Black Friday! I got this lovely skirt from J.C. Penney for only THREE DOLLARS.


My Michelle skirt; Etro top; cardigan from Target; I totally forgot where I got the sandals.

Unfortunately, I think our heat wave is over. I have a feeling my future outfit posts are going to be filled with sweaters and ear muffs. Sigh.

And now to my surprise...

I am going to leave you with one of my favorite videos. It is from four years ago before Lady Gaga was famous and merely a music student at NYU. Lady Gaga, aka Stefani Germanotta, blew away the judges with two of her original compositions during the university's annual talent show. She came in third place. Ironically, one of the judges quipped "Norah Jones, look out!" As we all know the future Lady Gaga would not go on to make Norah Jones-type music at all.



Enjoy!

I am grateful

I am so sorry for being MIA lately. I had to chug out two extra days worth of work into this week because of the holiday weekend. It has been so insanely crazy and stressful. I am really looking forward to relaxing this weekend.

Since today is Thanksgiving, I decided to share some of the things I am grateful for in life. I feel like I complain a lot. The past year has been extremely difficult. But despite everything, I don't have it as bad as I could.

I have a family who loves me, friends who are there for me, a boyfriend who adores me, and a roof over my head. I am grateful for so many things.

I am grateful for my FAMILY


Unfortunately, I have never met my father's family in India. I don't even know their names or who they are. But my mother's side of the family has always been there for me. I love them so much. I only wish I lived closer to Chicago, so I could see them all the time.



(My grandmother)


I am thankful for my BOYFRIEND



I have loved Rian for more than three years. He is my best friend and soulmate.


I am thankful for my FRIENDS







[Insert photo of yourself!!]


I am also thankful for the following RANDOM THINGS


Bunnies


James Franco




Bubble baths


Cupcakes (faint)


What are you thankful for?

My Playlist

I love music.

So, I found it a little shocking last week that I had still not created a playlist for my blog. That changed today.

I put my playlist on my sidebar, underneath my blog list. It is not on automatic play because I don't want to force anyone to listen to it. Just know it's there, in case you need to hear something magical. :)

Here are the songs I included and why:


Maps by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs

This song makes my heart bleed.


Imagine you're drunk, lying on a bed in the strange bedroom of a struggling musician. Who are you? What are you doing here? This song comes on. You start to cry. Nothing makes sense and that makes perfect sense. And every time you hear this song, that feeling of loneliness and chaos and despair crushes you. In other words, welcome to my fabulously warped little world.



Buildings and Mountains by The Republic Tigers

I first heard this song two years ago in Portland, Oregon.



We were driving through the rolling green mountains in a 1972 Volvo. When this song came on, I wanted to stay in the moment forever; I never wanted to go back home. I thought The Republic Tigers were a local Portland band. And ironically, the one band who made me fall in love with Oregon really was a local band...from my hometown.



Christian Dior by Morrissey

There is only one man who stands between me and Rian. That is Morrissey.



Yes, he is twice my age. But love knows no boundaries. I own every single one of his CDs, including all the imports. I have an embarrassing amount of memorabilia, including posters and t-shirts. Kerrie and I even made hung out with his roadies for a night, in hopes of catching a glimpse of the sex god. It was very difficult for me not to make my entire playlist filled with Smiths and Morrissey tracks, but I managed to restrain myself. Instead I chose one of his songs that is most fitting for a fashion blog: Christian Dior. Morrissey is one of the most fabulous and charming men about town. He is extremely fashionable. God, the man wears CHANEL and loves it. That's my kind of guy.



Fashion by Lady Gaga



Do I really need to explain this one?



The Fear by Lily Allen

This is pretty much my theme song.



I want to be rich and I want lots of money
I don’t care about clever I don’t care about funny
I want loads of clothes and fuck loads of diamonds
I heard people die while they are trying to find them

And i’ll take my clothes off and it will be shameless
Cause everyone knows that’s how you get famous
I’ll look at the sun and I’ll look in the mirror
I’m on the right track yeah I’m on to a winner



Ragged Wood by Fleet Foxes

This band let me fall in love with music all over again.



Beautiful. Breathtaking. Tragic. If you don't have their CD already, go out and buy it now. It will change your life.



You Know I'm No Good by Amy Winehouse

She's disgusting, vulgar, and a complete wreck. Oh, and she's a fucking genius.



This song represents Amy at her best. The brilliant musician she is and the amazing woman she should be.



Chocolate by Snow Patrol

This song blasted endlessly throughout the halls of my college newspaper house.



It reminds me of a time when the future seemed so bright and uncertain. When I wasn't sure if I was ever going to make it as a journalist. When I was in love with an Egyptian guy who would one year later smash my glass heart with a single blow after graduation. When I wore long skirts and Rolling Stones t-shirts and sandals in the winter and didn't give a damn what people thought when they stared. When I strolled into class wearing pajamas for the hell of it. Those were the best days of my life.



Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley

I was recently reading through some four-year-old Facebook messages Rian and I sent to each other before we were dating. In one, I told him how I heard a guy sing this song during open mic at a nearby coffee shop and it broke my heart. I had never felt more alive.



Every time I hear this song, it gives me goosebumps.



With a Little Help from my Friends by The Beatles

This song is dedicated to you.



I know this is going to sound corny, but your friendship has changed my life. I'm a happier person than I was a year ago. I have learned so much from all of you. And by sharing my life with you, I feel like I have learned more about myself. Thank you.

Perricone Discount and Giveaway

Want to maintain your youthful appearance?

Well, today is your lucky day.

I am teaming up with one of the most well-known skincare brands, Perricone, to provide one of their best-selling products Cold Plasma--a $150 value--to one lucky reader.

Cold Plasma is a skin care product which is suited for people of any age, of any skin type. It helps combat signs of aging such as dryness, redness, fine lines and wrinkles, and blotchiness. The product delivers optimal nutrition to skin cells to help skin achieve a healthy, glowing, youthful appearance.

Unlike a lot of other skincare products, Cold Plasma does not contain anything gross like fragrants, sulfates, or artificial colors.

It is simply designed to make your skin more radiant and youthful.

I have to admit, I'm kind of jealous of the winner. ;)

Here are the rules:

This giveaway is open for US residents only.

The contest starts today, November 18 and will end Monday, November 30.

The lucky winner will be selected randomly!

To enter, simply leave a comment.

Also, don't forget to check out this great Perricone Discount too.

Good luck to everyone!

A Movie Weekend

I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend.

I spent mine at the movie theater. Haha.

Now that the holiday season is drawing near, it seems a lot of really interesting movies are coming out.

On Saturday Kerrie and I saw "Coco Before Chanel." I think we were the last two girls in the world to see this film. It opened for us on Friday, but I know it has been playing everywhere else for a while now.



The movie was fantastic, which is not surprising considering Audrey Tautou played the main role. Kerrie and I knew the plot by heart because we have read numerous books ands and seen a few other movies about the fashion legend's life. But the movie still took our breath away.







After the movie, we took a long walk in the woods (out in the country) and then went to a friend's house for dinner.

This photo was taken around 2 a.m. We both were incredibly exhausted, but still managed to look fab. Hehe!



On Sunday my parents dragged took me to see 2012, the end-of-the-world blockbuster.

I'm not a big fan of cheesy action films, but I have to admit this movie wasn't terrible. It was visually stunning and the special effects were kind of incredible.

The acting, on the other hand, was not. The screenplay was also a joke. It was the most unrealistic movie I have ever seen in my life, with the worst comedic lines ever.









If you're interested in seeing the world coming to an end or just feel like you want it to, I definitely recommend this film.

Some other films I want to see in the next week: The Blind Side, Men Who Stare at Goats, and Precious.

What movies do you want to see?

The Anniversary

So, Rian and I had our three year anniversary yesterday.

I got home from work bursting with excitement.

"Are you taking me someplace special?," I asked, with a wink. He stared at me blankly. I froze. "You know it's our anniversary, right?" I continued. Recognition in his eyes lit up.

"Oh yeah," he said. "I guess we could go out to dinner."

He guesses?! He GUESSES?!

Needless to say, I was scowling when we got in the car.

"Can I pick the place?" he asked, hopefully. I shrugged. It better be good, I thought to myself.

We started heading downtown and I perked up. Maybe he was taking me somewhere fancy!

"I'm really in the mood for pizza," he said, naming a generic sports bar he knows I can't stand.

My blood turned to ice.

"What?" I said, stonily.

He shrugged.

"I just really want pizza," he said, looking with concern at my stank face.

I hastily listed our favorite Indian, Ethiopian, and Middle-Eastern restaurants that were nearby. He shook his head on all of them. He wasn't in the mood.

"Fine, let's go get your damn pizza," I retorted, holding back tears.

He started going the wrong way until we were going in circles. I closed my eyes and tried not to scream. He knew perfectly well his fucking sports bar was left, not right.

We ended up pulling in front of the fanciest French restaurant in town, a place I had always longed to go to but never had the courage to ask, because of the crazy expensive prices.

"We can go here if you like," he said, shrugging.

I felt bad.

"No, let's just go get pizza," I said. "It's getting late and this place is too expensive. Plus, you need reservations. You can't just pop in. It's not McDonald's."

But he insisted on checking out the menu.

As soon as we got inside, the waiter rushed over to us.

"You must be Rian," he said, his eyes lighting up at my boyfriend. "Your table is ready now."

Um, what?

We were escorted to a private table, next to the window, overlooking the downtown skyline.

Rian shot a triumphant look at me. Pizza, indeed! He was pretty pleased with his little scheme. I wanted to smack him (and then kiss him).

Delighted with the surprise, I was in a much better mood. I drank three glasses of pink champagne.

The only hitch was when I tried to order a chicken entree and accidentally ordered kangaroo. I refused to eat it until Rian told me that kangaroos are actually rude and violent animals, unlike the cuddly and friendly ones depicted in Winnie the Pooh. So, feeling better, I gobbled it down. It was pretty good!

After a romantic candle-lit dinner at the French restaurant, Rian took me to my favorite Italian restaurant for dessert.

We were the only ones sitting at the bar, so we got a cozy little spot in front of a giant roaring fireplace.

Rian let me order two glasses of this fancy red dessert wine ($20 a glass, holy hell) and we split tiramisu.

He told this long and winding story about how he went to my favorite gelato place to buy me a gift certificate but they were closed for construction. I tried not to let my face show my disappointment.

"So, I got you this instead," he said, pulling a long jewelry box out of his pocket.

I opened it and gasped. It was a sapphire necklace. I burst into tears.

"I'm sorry, Jenny," said Rian, alarmed. "I'll get you the gelato gift certificate another time. At another place!"

Then, I explained to him that I was not crying because I preferred gelato, but because I was not expecting such a beautiful gift. And then I smothered him with kisses.

Yay!

It was a beautiful and wonderful and romantic and perfect night.

Sadly, as soon we got home, Rian tried to be romantic with me, but to his disappointment I quickly passed out from all the champagne and wine.

Oops.

Oh well, I'll make up for it later. ;)

Fall outfits

I wish I could tell you how amazingly awesome my week has been going so far...but I can't. Ha. It has been boring and kind of dismal.

So here I am with nothing particularly witty to say, just a few outfits I have worn in the past few days.

This following photo is an accidental outfit shot. Rian was testing out my camera before we headed out to a party. But it works perfectly, doesn't it?

I wore this outfit to my editor's 40th birthday party.



The shirt is Etro, the vest is vintage, the jeans are Gap, the purse is Kate Spade, and the shoes are Tod.


I wore this next outfit to work the other day. You can ignore my somber expression. I had just come home from a very long and exhausting day at work.


The shirt is Michael Stars, the skirt is St. John, and the shoes are my favorite Tod flats.

I stole this photo from my sidebar to show you the shirt's design, which has two little gold stars on the shoulder. This is one of my favorite shirts.



This last outfit is one of my favorites and not just because it has shoes that Rian specifically picked out for me. ;)


The shirt is from Express, the skirt is Candies, and the shoes are Facade.


Close up of the shoes.

Well, now I'm off to work and hopefully the rest of this gloomy week will speed by in a flash.

I hope your week is going better!

Fabulousness

I'm sorry for being MIA this weekend. It was crazy busy as usual but hopefully things will calm down this week and I can catch up on everything. :)

I was recently given a few awards and wanted to share them with you.

The fabulous Missy from The Fashion Fusion gave me the following award. Her blog is freaking amazing, so I highly suggest you head over there immediately. (Well, after you finish reading my post, haha).



I am supposed to nominate 5 blogs for this award.

So here goes:

1. Inspiration in Italy (this blog features the most gorgeous photos EVER)
2. CosmiCaroline (she is so glamorous and fabulous it kills me)
3. Dina's Days (one of the coolest blogs out there)
4. The Panty Drawer (if you ever have a question about lingerie, this should be the first guy you go to!)
5. Mouthwash (Amber has the cutest blog but the poor girl also has swine flu. Definitely stop by her blog afterward and wish her a get well soon!)

I was also given the Inspiration Award from Liya at My Glittering Creation. I am in love with her blog, so I also recommend you checking it out as well.

I am going to pass on the Inspiration Award to all my BBs (blogging buddies) because you all inspire me every single day. Awww! Hehe. :)

And finally, I wanted to give a shout out to one of my favorite BBs, Barry. He recently featured me on his blog and you can find it here.

His blog, "Life in Quotations" is funny and uplifting and sweet. If you want your day to be a little better, definitely stop by his blog.

Well that's all I have time for today. I hope you are all having a lovely week.

xoxo!

Cactus Flower

I recently discovered this little gem of a movie at the library last week.

It's called "Cactus Flower" and it stars Goldie Hawn, Walter Matthau, and Ingrid Bergman.



The 1969 film was the first for Goldie and it earned her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

The film is kind of dorky, but sweet. Walter Matthau plays Julian, a dentist who pretends to be married so he won't have to settle down with his 21-year-old girlfriend, Toni (played by Goldie). When Toni declares she wants to meet his other half, Julian asks his secretary (played by an alarmingly plain Bergman) to act as his wife. Obviously, hilariousness ensues.

The film is a bit odd. It never explains what Toni finds attractive about the washed-up dentist. He's not particularly wealthy or good-looking. He doesn't even have that great of a personality.

Plus, it was kind of perplexing that in all the time she had been living in her Greenwich Village apartment, Toni seemed to never have noticed her hot 20-something year old beatnik neighbor, Igor. Um, this is a guy who walks around her apartment complex shirtless for no reason throughout the film.

The only aspect of the film that really made me cringe, however, was Ingrid Bergman. I always remembered Ingrid as the beautiful Golden Era movie star who took my breath away in Casablanca. Any memory of that I had is gone. Now when I think of Ingrid Bergman, all I can remember is her dancing awkwardly to a go-go beat with Goldie Hawn, trying so hard to look hip when she just looked like a middle-aged woman with no sense of rhythm. My heart cried. And the costumes didn't do any justice to the Hollywood legend, they just made her look frumpy.



But, of course, the acting and plot are not the reasons I love this film.

It is all Goldie.







Her character is adorably nutty and utterly fabulous. Toni lives in a tiny studio apartment that she decorates with the bright neon colors of the late 1960s. She works in a popular record shop, where she gets to wear cool artsy clothes and hang out with hipsters. She loves to dance no matter where she is. She is young, full of life and energy and sweetness, and loving every second of it.







If you love fabulousness and you love comedy and you love fashion, go rent this film.

Did I mention it's quite a gem?

In the Mix

First, I want to thank everyone for their kind comments regarding my laptop. I am going to try and save up for a netbook in the next month and buy an external hard drive to go with it. But until then, I will be borrowing my boyfriend's laptop.

Speaking of my boyfriend, I want to talk about a favorite subject of mine: mixed races.

Perhaps I am a little biased (I am half-Swedish, half-Indian) but I have always found that some of the best looking people are of mixed race.

The world is a melting pot and humans are humans, regardless of race. Living in the US, almost every single person I meet has a mixed ethnicity (whether it be a European blend, or more worldly).

I have always been attracted to mixed race guys. My first boyfriend was half-German, half-Egyptian. My boyfriend now is a quarter Native American.

Some of the reasons I like men of mixed race:

1. They get the benefits of looking exotic without even trying.
2. There's usually some interesting combination of features you don't see every day (i.e. Some guys have dark skin and light eyes, which I find really hot).
4. They will make beautiful babies with women of any race.
5. Their families might come from mixed cultures, which always does good things for their personalities; they will probably be a lot more open-minded.
6. You just can't stop looking at how beautiful they are :)

Here are some of my favorite multi-racial celebrities:

Taylor Lautner


actor; he is French, Dutch, German, and Native American (specifically Ottawa and Potawatomi)


Alicia Keys


singer; she is Italian, Irish, and African-American


Tiger Woods


professional golfer; he is Chinese, Thai, African American, Native American and Dutch


Jennifer Beals


actress; she is half-Irish and half-African American


The Rock


actor, he is half Black Canadian and half Samoan


Norah Jones

singer, she is half-Caucasian and half-Indian


The most famous person of mixed-race:

Barack Obama


President of the United States; he is half Kenyan, half Caucasian

My favorite person of mixed race:

Guess who!

Rian, my boyfriend


Haha, okay I'm a dork.

Anyway, what are your thoughts on men (or women!) of mixed race? Do you find them attractive?