Unreality Check

Something happened this weekend that made me so miserable, I literally wrote an entire blog post about how much I suck. It was brutal.

I didn't publish it because I decided I don't want to wallow in my misery. This blog is a place where I can get away from the stress of being me.

This blog is a place where I don't have to live in reality. I can be anything I want. I can do anything I want.

It's a place where I can eat fast food all day and not gain a pound.




It's a place where I can go to the beach any time I want.




It's a place where I look fabulous even while I'm doing chores.




It's a place where I kick ass.




It's a place where I'm not allergic to cats.




It's a place where I'm always fabulous.




It's a place where I can take risks without getting hurt.




It's a place where I feel beautiful.




It's a place where I have a lot of friends who will never leave my side.




It's a place where I have the best job in the entire world.




...I wish blog world was real world.

This weekend...

Follow your heart...




Let your imagination run wild...




Embrace romance...




Sleep in...




I have suffered a stressful Thanksgiving and need to lose myself in wonderfulness. Or I will have a mental breakdown. I'm taking my own advice.

See you Monday!

My Beauty Must-Haves for Cold Weather

One of the main reasons I used to hate winter was because I always looked like a troll. I'm not kidding. Once the cold weather hit, my dry skin and straw-like hair and bleeding lips would turn my radiant summer beauty into something out of a horror film. Now, in my mid-20s, I am free of that disturbing image.

After YEARS of searching, I have found three products that allow me to look somewhat decent in the fall and winter months. I decided to share them with you. I really hope you will try these products and that they offer you the same magic.

They are:


Healthy Sexy Hair
Soy Tri-Wheat Leave In Conditioner



Official description: "The Soy and Tri-Wheat combination combats against the harmful effects of the sun and environment while penetrating the hair to replace proteins. Creates soft and tangle-free hair. Energizing Kumquat fragrance."

This leave-in conditioner makes my hair smooth and extremely easy to brush. I always put it on after washing and conditioning my hair, especially in the winter months when my hair tends to be extremely dry. Sometimes I will occasionally spray it on my dry hair, if I'm not having a good hair day. Another benefit of this product is that if you tend to have very staticky hair during the winter, spraying this on your hair does help. (Side note: Spraying Static Guard on your brush and brushing it in your hair also helps for very bad static, but does not smell as nice).
You can find this product here.


Aveeno
Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer SPF 30



Official description: "Clinically proven Total Soy Complex and natural light diffusers work to naturally even out skin tone and immediately reflect light to bring out skin's natural radiance. Prevents premature aging."

My face gets really dry and scaly in the winter. It's embarrassing. This product is a lifesaver. Not only does it make my skin super soft and my skin tone very even, but it makes my skin glow. Like most girls, I think I have a lot of flaws, but I will admit one of my best features is that I have a very clear complexion. I rarely get a pimple and I have no scars on my face. So this moisturizer is literally the only thing I need to put on my face during the winter. I never wear foundation. This moisturizer makes my skin look THAT good. (Oh, and I was not surprised when I learned it won Glamour magazine's 2010 award for best moisturizer).
You can find this product here.


Elizabeth Arden
Eight Hour Cream Lip Protectant Stick



Official description: "Elizabeth Arden's renowned Eight Hour Cream in a super-protective, portable stick for lips. Enriched with emollients, protective sunscreen and vitamin E."

I spent years searching for the perfect chapstick. But nothing worked for me. During the winter months, my lips always cracked and bled. I felt like a freak. In 2007, Allure magazine opened my eyes to the Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Lip Cream. Oh. My. Freaking. God. It changed my life. It makes my lips super soft and sexy. My lips just drink up the moisture. I wear the original version on my lips at night and use the Plum shade on my lips during the day. It comes in several fabulous shades for every skin tone. It's bit pricey (around $17) but I tell you with my whole heart it is totally worth every penny. (Legend has it that when the lip cream was invented in 1930, it was such a spectacular success, Elizabeth Arden used it to soothe her famous thoroughbred horses' legs. Loyal clients even used it to heal skin for wounds on their children. In other words, it's awesome.)
You can find this product here.


Again, I really hope these products work for you. I have been using the leave-in conditioner for two years. I have been using the moisturizer for almost a year. I have been using the lip protectant stick for almost four years now. So, obviously, I'm not getting paid in any way to endorse them. Lol. (God, I wish).

Good luck!

Also, for those who celebrate, I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

A Very Anthro Weekend

Remember how Kerrie and I always match?

Well, this weekend was no exception. We both sported our new Anthropologie outfits Friday night. Oh, and we both wore our vintage fur coats with them too. It was ridiculous.

While we were out partying, we took some photos of our outfits. I haven't done an outfit post in SO FREAKING LONG, so I apologize for the lack of quality. We're obviously not professional photographers or anything. Haha!

Here is Kerrie with her vintage faux fur coat and Anthropologie sweater underneath. I think she had a little too much happy juice. (We both did).



I am wearing my vintage fur coat and Anthropologie dress (which I found at a garage sale for $5. It was brand new!)



This is a close-up of Kerrie's gorgeous sweater.



A better shot of my dress.



Fun times, fun times.

I hope all of you had a fabulous weekend as well!

Four years ago...

The lights were dim in the Oak Room on that blistery November night.

The snow outside the hotel lounge's crystal clear bay windows was whirling in the wind. The city skyline could barely been seen. Inside, I sat demurely on a maroon velvet couch, wearing a large belted men's black pinstripe shirt as a dress and red Jimmy Choo heels. He was standing at the bar, ordering another White Russian, while glancing at me out of the corner of his eye.

The jazz band across the room was playing "Christmas Time is Here."

It was my first time at the reputable Oak Room. Surrounded by sparkling martini glasses, black designer cocktail dresses, and glistening Rolex watches, I felt so grown up. I was 22. He was 26.

He came back to the couch and handed me my drink. Our hands touched and I gazed into his eyes, before blushing.

In that moment, I didn't know we would spend the next four years breaking each other's hearts. I didn't know we would spend the next four years mending them. I didn't know about his health problems which would occur. I didn't know about the weight I would gain. I didn't know about the jobs we would lose. I didn't know we would one day be living together in a tiny apartment, struggling, practically penniless, to get by.

I didn't even know if there was going to be a next date.

But the future didn't matter. I enjoyed sitting next to this good-looking man, who talked with passion about poetry and his classical guitar training. I enjoyed the way he laughed at my stories. I enjoyed feeling pretty.

I didn't want to be anywhere else.

Last night, I felt that again.

Guest Post: Leg Wear Trends

Today's guest poster is one of my favorite bloggers, Tights Lover. I'm not exaggerating when I say TL knows EVERYTHING about lingerie. He's like an encyclopedia. It's freaking awesome. Definitely check out his blog, The Panty Drawer, and I hope you enjoy his guest post!


Hello, 'I Know, Right?' readers. For those of you who don't know me, I am Tights Lover from the most awesome lingerie and leg wear blog: The Panty Drawer. I am very grateful to have been asked by Jennifer Fabulous to do a guest post.

As fall has been setting in, in my neck of the woods (New England), I've been loving the leg wear trends that I've been seeing around. I've decided to focus this post on some of my personal favorites while also, hopefully, pointing out that you don't necessarily have to spend a lot to have the latest leg wear looks. I've picked out an expensive, moderate, and inexpensive look for each of the following leg wear trends. I hope you enjoy them.

Basic Sheer Tights

Expensive


Wolford Satin Touch 20 -- Like I said, definitely a little on the expensive side, but an absolute must have staple to one's leg wear collection. The upside to paying the higher price is, if you treat them reasonably well, they'll last you a long time.

Moderate


Kunert Mystique Tights -- A little cheaper than the Wolford, they're comparable in quality with just a little less shine. You're still guaranteed to get plenty of wears out of these.

Inexpensive


Levante Brillante Tights -- Same sheerness and shine as the Wolford tights, the Levante's will run you less than $10 a pair. Despite the much smaller price tag, these are still very high quality and durable. These will last you multiple wears as well.

Patterned Tights

Expensive


Fogal Snake Tights -- Fogal has an amazing collection of patterned printed tights, especially animal prints. They also have unmatched feel and quality. If you are in the mood to splurge, this is a great option.

Moderate


Falke Sharon Tights -- Falke can typically be a very expensive brand, but these tights can be had for under $20. I love the texture and pattern of these as well as the illusion of a thigh high stocking on the tights.

Inexpensive


Jonathan Aston Tartan Tights -- If you love patterned tights, you should definitely get to know Jonathan Aston. This brand is constantly coming out with new trends and patterns of leg wear and much of it is well under $10.

Leggings

Expensive


Black Milk Teardrop Laces Leggings -- When it comes to leggings, there are few, if any, brands doing it better than Black Milk right now. If you're not familiar with this name, you should definitely check it out...they have plenty of other amazing styles of leggings.

Moderate


MaxMara Eva Footless Tights -- For a much sheerer (and much less expensive) look than the Black Milk, go with the Eva Footless Tights. MaxMara makes some of the best feeling most comfortable tights on the market. You can get the Eva's for under $20.

Inexpensive


Tiffany Quinn Opaque Footless Tights -- For a sheerness in between the Black Milk and MaxMara options (as well as a price well below both), go with the Tiffany Quinn footless tights. These are a great pair of basic footless tights that will cost you well under $10. Not bad for a style that can be paired with almost anything.

I hope you enjoyed today's guest post. If you did, feel free to drop by The Panty Drawer, at any time, for many more posts like this. Thanks again, to Jennifer Fabulous!

My Sister's Wedding

Well, I'm back!

It was a whirlwind weekend, filled with fabulousness. It all went by so fast, it still doesn't seem real...

In all honesty, Jenn was the most beautiful bride I have ever seen in my life. She was so gorgeous. I spent the entire weekend just mesmerized, staring at her, because I have never seen someone so pretty before in real life. She was glowing. It is a memory I will never forget.

Our schedule was pretty packed, with rehearsals, photos, limo rides, the ceremony, and the reception. It was fun because I got along very well with the rest of the bridal party. I knew some of them, already, from high school, but others were new to me. Jenn had a few friends show up from her grad school days in Milwaukee. They were adorable, which doesn't surprise me because Jenn only surrounds herself with awesomeness.

It was simply a wonderful weekend.

Here are some photos!


(Jenn and her new hubby, Rick. Isn't he a hottie?!)


(Jenn made these gorgeous green bracelets for us bridesmaids to wear with our dresses. It was SO sweet. Jenn's hand is obviously the one with the diamond bracelet.)


(Jenn in her stunning gown)


(I sat in the back of the limo with Jenn & Rick because I'm awesome.)


(A few of the bridesmaids with Jenn at the reception. Do you see me?)

I only have one story to share:

I had a few (or many more) glasses of wine at Jenn's wedding reception. By the end of the night, I only have memories in flashes. I do remember Jenn's sweet friend Julie guiding me to my parents' hotel suite. The last thing I recall is my father opening the door. Then it all goes black. Well, on Sunday morning, I woke up in bed, still wearing my bridesmaid dress (covered in vomit). I noticed that there were dozens of pillows scattered all over the floor. I went to the bathroom and realized it was flooded. I went over to my dad, who was reading the newspaper on the couch, and asked cheerfully, "Hey, what happened here last night?" My dad looked up in surprise and asked, "You mean you don't remember?" My smile stayed frozen on my face as my dad told me what I had done.

Apparently after Jenn's friend had dropped me off, I started skipping down the hotel hallway singing "Tick Tock" by Kesha. My parents chased me back into the hotel suite, where I started running in circles, laughing hysterically. Much to their dismay, I started throwing pillows at them. I then stumbled into the bathroom and threw up everywhere (the sink, the floor, the bathtub, etc.). My dad, horrified, yelled at me "Stop throwing up everywhere!" and I apparently responded, "Don't worry, I'm going to clean it up, I promise." My dad came back to the bathroom, five minutes later, to find I was using an ice bucket to gather water from the tub. I started pouring the water all over the bathroom floor. He screamed at me to stop, but I reassured him that everything was fine, I was just cleaning up my mess. Then, I passed out on the floor, clutching the ice bucket. My parents had to drag me to bed, where I woke up the next morning.

My dad, shockingly, wasn't mad. He laughed while telling me the story and said his only regret was that he didn't get photos.

And to quote Jenn's reaction, it was an awesome end to an awesome day. Haha!

How was your weekend?

The Other Jennifer Fabulous

My sister is getting married.

Well, not my REAL sister, but one of my oldest and dearest friends.

Her name is Jenn. She lives four hours away in another state. She's freaking AMAZING.

I still remember the first time we met. We were in middle school, sitting at the same table during lunch, and our first real conversation involved one of her school assignments. It was something to do with writing a letter to a fake family, I believe. I introduced myself by suggesting that she actually send the letter to the address written in the textbook. I told her with my naive 13-year-old confidence that if the family was actually real and she got a response back, her English teacher would give her extra credit and she would be a school legend. Well, we actually mailed the letter to the Smith family at their address (I think it was 123 Main Street, Greenwich, Connecticut). We never got a response, of course. But a sisterhood had blossomed.



We quickly became known as the Two Jennifers. We were the same height, had the same sense of humor, and the same personality. She was the blond version, I was the racially ambiguous one.



Junior year of high school, I was rudely transported by my family to Ohio (14 hours away). Jenn and I kept in touch through e-mail, phone calls, and the occasional snail mail.

When I moved closer to my old hometown, however, we started visiting each other more often and regained our closeness.

...and now she's getting married.

This isn't strange. I'm 26 and have loads of friends already hitched. But it still feels weird to me. It seems like yesterday when we were giggling at sleepovers about what our weddings would be like. When we fantasized about who those future husbands would be. When we promised each other that we would be bridesmaids in each other's weddings. When we promised our kids would grow up like cousins.

And now it's actually begun. Reality is sinking in.

I'm nervous for Jenn, but I'm also really excited. After all, I'm not LOSING her. I'm just going to be sharing her with the man of her dreams. That makes me happy. But I guess this action sort of symbolizes, or cements, our adulthood.

We're not kids anymore...



I'm actually going to be out of town for the wedding for the next few days, so I won't be posting anything new until Monday. It will probably be lots of photos of the wedding, plus any crazy stories about my bridesmaid adventures. (If I'm drunk enough at the reception, I'm sure there will be PLENTY of things to share).

Have a great weekend!

I'm Scared of My Shoes!

I was reading one of my all-time favorite blogs, The Panty Drawer, this afternoon when I realized my pal and I share a similar problem. He hoards MaxMara tights, without wearing them, because he's worried the brand will stop selling them (again). Makes sense, right?

Well, my problem is embarrassing.

I hate to admit this to the fashion blogging community, but here it goes: I hoard designer shoes and rarely wear them. I'm obsessed with buying designer shoes, but I'm too scared to wear them because I fear I will break them.

The victims (bought in the past three years):
Five inch bronze Jimmy Choo sandals (worn twice). Red Jimmy Choo high heels (worn once). Black Jimmy Choo high heels (worn once). Black and white strappy Ralph Lauren sandals (never worn). Kate Spade pink dragonfly sandals (worn twice). Kate Spade black and orange star sandals (worn once). DKNY pink high heels (worn once). Brown Prada flats (never worn). Wine colored Giuseppe Zanotti heels (never worn). Tan strappy Giuseppe Zanotti sandals (never worn). Navy blue Prada high heel sandals (never worn).

These were all bought brand new. Hundreds of dollars each.

Like I said earlier, I'm just too terrified to wear them because I fear I will break a heel or wear them out. So, instead, they just sit in my closet, staring at me. Intimidating me. Torturing me with their fabulousness. It breaks my heart.

I really want to wear these shoes. Shit, I paid the money to earn that right. But something inside of me stops me every time. When I go out on a date, I stare at them, and then opt for my black flats because those trusty GAP shoes have never failed me. If I get the black flats scruffy, I can always spend ten dollars on another pair. When I go to a girls night out, I throw on my chocolate brown Jessica Simpson heels. My heart wouldn't be crushed if I got drunk and stumbled off the sidewalk in those $80 shoes.

I don't want to sell my gorgeous designer shoes. (Is that selfish?). I want to wear them.

It's a disturbing dilemma. I have no problem wearing my designer clothes and coats. It's just those damn shoes that scare me.

Looking at my favorite fashion blogs, I have a hard time thinking other people have this problem when it comes to shoes. I feel really alone in this matter...



PS. I'm too lazy to find my camera to take a photo of my shoes and closet right now, so you're stuck with these very old photos. (Plus the shoes are all still kept in their original boxes, like museum artifacts). And yes, Kerrie & I often sit in my closet with my shoes and drink wine. So the shoes aren't totally unloved...

My Fabulous Weekend

I hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was fabulous, of course.

Kerrie and I had a girls night in, with wine in a can and gourmet chocolates. We're classy bitches!



Interesting fact: For the past four years, Kerrie and I have noticed that we ALWAYS match every time we see each other (a.k.a. every single day). We do not do this on purpose. It's like we have fashion ESP or something. We're usually wearing the same colors, have the same handbag, wearing the same shoes, or even wearing the exact same outfit. This weekend, it was the same cardigan. She came over and we both burst out laughing when we saw each other.




We also did a little shopping. Here we are at Urban Outfitters. Do you like our new hats?






On Sunday, my parents took me to the zoo. It was very exciting and I had a lovely time gawking at all the animals and annoying them with my animal noise impressions.

(This llama got all up in my grill).

What did you do this weekend?

Guest Post: Meaningful Roses

The following guest post comes from Elie of Punctuation Mark. I definitely recommend checking out her charming blog! If you love delicious food, travel, and overall amazingness, you won't be disappointed!


Isn’t it beautiful to get roses from those you love? I just love it and even though these days we don’t know the real meaning of their colors years ago people sent messages to each other using the color of roses…

Red



Red roses are the quintessential symbol of love, passionate and romantic love! For the ancient Romans and Greeks it symbolized Venus, the goddess of love, and many other cultures used them to decorate wedding dresses and attires. In English gardens became the favored flower and was revered for its medicinal uses. And a single long stem rose mean “I love you”.


White



Associated to young and bridal love, the white rose represents humility, purity and innocence. Because of their widespread use in weddings they are the perfect flower to symbolize unity, virtue, and the pureness of the new bond of love. It’s been said that in Scotland when they were in bloom it was the time for new unions and marriages.


Pink



Said to be longest existing rose, pink roses have been featured in countless works of art beginning with the ancient civilizations. They symbolize tender love, grace and elegance, as well as sweetness and poetic romance. They are the most aromatic of all the varieties of roses and for that reason the different shades have also acquired their own meaning: dark mean gratitude and appreciation, and light mean admiration and sympathy.


Yellow



These are the roses that were discovered most recently growing wild in the Middle East. Their meaning has changed through the years but generally is associated with the sun, joy, wisdom and power. However, in Europe for a long time they were a symbol for jealousy and dying love. Today, unlike the romantic connotations of all the other colors the yellow rose is the only one that is the true symbol of friendship.

Have a great day and may you receive many colored roses!