Love-Hate with the Lady

I'm having a bit of a love-hate relationship with Lady Gaga. I used to be obsessed with her. Her music in The Fame and The Fame Monster were nothing short of addicting. In her new album that's officially coming out in May, "Born This Way," I'm not really sure how I feel about it. Her first single from it "Born This Way" was a little bit too out there for me and now her new single "Judas" (out just in time for Holy Week) is equally as crazy

I'm not really sure how I feel. First of all, I'm not really feelin' the cross on the cover since the song is mainly about her giving into sin. If you ignore the lyrics then it's honestly extremely catchy and I could definitely see it on a workout playlist. Listen for yourself. I'm hoping Gaga and I can get along again in the rest of her album.

Trend: Wall Decals?

Wall decals used to just be for college students who wanted a little color and interest on their bland, blank dorm walls. But now, they are expanding to the 20's and 30's crowd in more modern homes. There are multiple vendors but by far the most economical and the ones with the most kitsch are those on Etsy. 

For a decoration so famously tacky, I'm actually really loving these by Cherry Walls

Of course I love the cherry blossoms!! (above & below)

If I had a modern loft or lived in Scandanavia (home of the modern home), I'd be all over these!  If they're becoming trendy... I'm not opposed! ;)

My (not so ) Closet Obsession

This week in New York is Bridal Fashion week. Of course this catches my attention as I am all about weddings. I love everything about them. All of the love, all of the beauty and all of the fun! This is appropriate timing as hello, the Royal Wedding is in 16 days. Something interesting has emerged as coming back into style... sleeves on wedding gowns.

By Marchesa

By Oscar de la Renta

By Vera Wang

Now, not all of the gowns had sleeves and some of my favorites from the showings were



By Christos (designer with the palest models)

By Monique Lhuillier

By Oscar de la Renta

By Vera Wang

By Kenneth Pool

And... you know who else has started a bridal collection? My girl, Kate Spade in her new collection "Wedding Belles"

Looks like she wanted in on the action!  (It's too bad they're not full-length, I would never consider a short dress)



Bubble Bath

Ever since I was about two years old, I couldn't wait to be an adult. I've always been really independent and just wanted to be a grown-up. My mother would always tell me not to wish my life away, but it never worked. I would still look forward to the day where I could be the boss of me and be independent!

That day came. August 18, 2010 I moved into my dorm room and no longer had a curfew, house rules, chores (even though basically my only chore at home was to make my bed in the morning, nothing too strenuous) or anything else. I was so happy to have my own space and my own time frame to work with. Now that I've been living on my own for about eight months, I have figured out the highs and lows of independence. Some lows will fade but others will only get greater.

Upsides

• Not having a curfew (even though college has really only made me more of a homebody)
• Being able to do what I want with my space (at least my side of the room) and my own 'place'
• Painting my nails inside
• Eating what I want (or what's on the Zeta menu)
• Being independent

Downsides

• No more fully-stocked refrigerator
• No mother here to do my laundry or make me my tea in the morning
• No extra space like I had in my house
• NO WATER ... and by no water I mean not living by the water. I alwayyss want to live at most 30 miles away from open water!
• No big comfy couch to lounge on
• Figuring out my own budget

and what I'm really missing right now..... no bath tub! All of this stress associated with exams is driving me bonkers...

and I used to unwind in a hot bubbly bath with some Pandora on. Aaaahhhhh that sounds heavenly! All this talk of bubble baths just makes me think of how much I adore Lush.

If you're beginning to feel the insane stress of finals initializing or if you're drowning in taxes (hello Tax Week!), then you'd probably feel the same way as I am right now about now about popping some of these perfect bath bombs and bubble bars into searing hot bath water and clicking on some Colbie Caillat and George Winston.

"Absolute Delight" is loaded with Turkish rose absolute made from real rose petals and even has jasmine, sandalwood and geranium to enrich its scent and your attachment to its powers of serenity as well.

"All that Jas" has titillating jasmine in order to calm you and relax your muscles. The scent even stays on your body for hours afterwards so that your whole home and car can smell just as wonderful!

"Psychodelic" has hints of citrus and sandalwood to help you unwind and mellow out 

"Waving Not Drowning" has lavender which is my absolute favorite scent and go-to for relaxation. It calms your mind and body while helping to alleviate insomnia as well.

"Candy Fluff Egg" smells like a custard cream that "fell into a cotton candy machine". Of course I had to include this cute little bubble bar for Easter (countdown... 12 days!) that will make everything associated with finals and taxes so much sweeter.

 

With these adorable and relaxing little bath accessories, how could you resist a hot bath to soothe and ease?  Now if only I didn't have three finals, a project, an exam, two quizzes, homework and 150 miles standing between my bath tub and me....

 

 

Royal Wedding

The April 29th marriage of Kate Middleton and Price William is the perfect storm to make me completely infatuated. It involves royalty (I mean, not only am I a Zeta and love crowns, but who doesn't want to be a princess?!) and a wedding. Basically, I'm 100% fascinated. The Daily Telegraph has made it on my top visited sites on Google Chrome for goodness sake. In addition, there are some really great other websites such as What Kate Wore and Kate Middleton for the Win.  Some of these "For the Wins" are so priceless...

They crack me up everytime!  Meanwhile, as much as they joke, everyone wants to be her. I mean, who wouldn't want to be on a stamp?!

Or have your wedding be a national holiday? The closest thing we've had to a national holiday in the US lately is nearly a government shutdown because we couldn't come up with a suitable budget. Honestly... what a life. On the Big Day, I will be up in Washington, DC with my friend Francesca to utilize the little summer break we have before class starts again on May 9. We will definitely have to make ourselves some cups of tea (so British, no?) and start our Royal Wedding party at 3 AM in our hotel room. If I weren't on the verge of poverty (okay... I'm not that poor), I would totally snag some of these cute royal wedding decorations:

Can't eat their wedding cake? Eat some cupcakes from these festive cake stands!

Rockin' the face paint? For this, maybe..

Strewn about our hotel room

Sippin' on some tea out of these babies

The "ULTIMATE" British party pack... #winning

Since we cannot ride in a real one like Kate, we can pig out from one?

All of these would make for the perfect Royal Wedding Day party! Maybe you could even put together the pieces to the engagement photo jigsaw puzzle?

The Daily Telegraph is holding a Royal Wedding Day photo contest for those of us celebrating the wedding outside of the UK. If you win, you snag an awesome new Olympus camera! Just another excuse to have a party... 

The only downside for the perfect fairytale wedding ever-after is when Prince William and Princess Kate return from their honeymoon to their London home, they will have

this guy waiting for them! A little You, Me, and Dupree-esque, huh?? How fun for the newlyweds! ;)


And if this post did not catch your fancy, then Sorry But..., a UK-based company empathizes with yah. They're even advertising it by selling these little gems..

The countdown begins... twenty days until the Royal Wedding! Get excited!

Money Tree

I've been stuck in a rut for about... oh, almost twenty years. I have way too expensive of taste. Devon teases me about it all the time since he's on the opposite end of the spectrum - 100% practical. Currently this is more of a predicament than usual because I'm an adult and experiencing the poor financially-challenged college years. Why can money not just grow on trees? I'm finding more and more designers that I'm falling in love over! My newest find is

She has such hip, classic dresses, skirts and tunics! Some of my favorites are

Drew tunic in Blush Plumes. This would be great for a bathing suit cover up!

Kelsey dress in Taupe Links. I adore this. I would definitely consider this for a work dress with some cute nude pumps!

Kylie skirt in Greek Links. Obviously I'm a little gaga over these links patterns but this piece could transfer between seasons with no problem! In the spring, pair it with a melon-colored top, in the summer, try some blue out, in the fall some burnt orange and in the winter pair it with red for the holidays! It's so versatile aka exactly what kind of clothing I need!

Mimi top in Ivory Fleurette. It's also so dynamic. You could tuck it into a high-waisted skirt and pair it with a cardigan for a more professional environment or you could just rock it with some dark wash  jeans for a casual dinner out! Either way, it would look fabulous!

Dottie dress in Orange Lattice. Um, hello Gator gameday!? This would be perfect to sport with a cute orange or blue hairbow and some Jack Rogers sandals or some brown cowboy boots!

And I saved my favorite for last......

Tilda dress in Edie's Garden. I would love wearing this with a cardigan to church with some (brightly-colored) pumps or with some flat for traveling. I'm dreaming of this one. It's so bright, so unique, and so me.

The best part of me discovering Lesley Evers, though, is that one of my favorite fashion blogs The Pursuit of Style is having a giveaway of the Sophie dress! I entered and chose the Rockridge Blue print if I win!

Tres chic, no?

If you want to look at more of her fabulous clothing, check out her website! 

What do you think?? I'm in love!