Glitter Thursday- I like free things

I'm attending a Christmas party on Saturday night and have been fretting about what to wear for an embarrassingly long time.My sister has had the same issue and ended up with a sparkly, peach colored mini before finding a pretty dress that trumped it.

Lucky for me, I happen to be the same size as my sis so, naturally, I swooped in on the skirt:



I think I shall pair her with sky high black heels, black tights, a slouchy sweater and my new black and white polka-dot clutch from Anthropologie. Pics to come!

What would Clark Griswold do?

I'm a self-professed Christmas lover. I get a secret thrill when i see decorations go up in department stores in October, I plan my cookie trays months in advance, and (with a little difficulty) I do a full-out dance routine in my car when 'All I Want for Christmas is You' comes on the radio. SO, why is it that I've been so grumpy this year? I'm not exactly sure why... except that being an official adult takes it's toll some days, which isn't a very good reason.

I did, however, figure out how to make this disgruntled-ness disappear. On Sunday, My family was basically re-enacting the scene from 'National Lampoons Christmas Vacation' where we were driving home, tree strapped to car, and along comes an angry driver who promptly begins tailgating us and illiciting many an angry swear-word from my father. It dawned upon me then, that I must watch NLCV in it's entirety should I have any hope of awakening my inner Christmas spirit. Alas, it did just the trick. If you're having this same dilemma: do I choose to be happy or angsty for no apparent reason this holiday? watch NLCV and use the Griswold's as a reminder that you are not alone...

Without further ado...

Glitter Thursday- Tis the season....

I put up with winter-y weather for exactly 1 month every year... that is the month of December. It's the time of year when the snow stays pretty and white, everyone looks sprightly in their winter coats, and there is an abundance of sparkle. Yes, for a glitter lover like myself, this time of year is just glorious. Since, the holiday party invites are starting to roll-in, I figured I'd share a few of my blinged-out holiday-party must-haves...

1. The quintessential sparkly eye- grab yourself some 'wet and wild' sparkles from the drugstore and pair with this nude lip-color and consider yourself smokin'

2. I just love how understated this blinging manicure is. holiday ready and office appropriate- win.

3. A girl can dream... This Anthropologie 'Polished Platinum' dress, for a mere $388, speaks for her pretty-little-self.

4. Top your look off right with this metallic lace head wrap from ban.do

5. Aaand finally, don't forget to be the perfect party guest... wrap a couple of these glimmery ornaments around a bottle of wine for a gaw-geous hostess gift


Incidentally, I would be elated if any of these items ended up underneath my tree... just sayin'

Glitter Thursday- An Ode to the Bracelet I Did Not Buy

Last night I was fortunate enough to receive an invite to an event at the J-crew Copley Place store. Tom- the head of womens design for the company was in attendance, along with tons of jcrew fanatics, dressed to the nines. All-in-all, it was an unbelievably fab event.

I am, however, in a deep state of depression this AM as I did not walk out the door with the worlds prettiest, sparkliest bracelet. I tried this stunna' on:



...and had to be physically dragged out of the store before I could slap any plastic down to buy it (thanks Kelly). Hmmmm me thinks it could be time to apply for a part time job at that joint for the discount.....

The Charles River and Toscanini's

My, how tardy to the party this post is..... Super busy just trying to make my way up the ol' corporate ladder during the day then consuming exactly 0.5 glasses of pinot before passing out on my couch every night- Yes, it's true, being 24 and living in a big city is just as fabulous as it sounds...

Believe it or not, I did leave my apartment in Brighton recently. I didn't just stop there though, I traveled all the way across the river to Central Sq. in Cambridge. It's kind of unspoken between the post-grads in Boston that crossing the Charles River is a lot to ask of a person. I can guarantee that if you ask someone of my age and financial status to come "hang" across the river, you'll be met with the exact following response:
1. A long sigh
2.You'll be asked for an explanation of what is so great that it requires sitting in Harvard traffic
3. WILL there be parking? If not, don't waste my time. And, no, I'm not taking the green line to park st, then just hopping on the red (or vice-versa for my Cambridge/Somerville peeps), i'd rather spend that hour napping
4. Most likely, I'll end the convo by trying one last time to have the friend in question just come to me... but I'm also a pinch selfish at times. Sue me.

I digress, anyways, I went to Cambridge to help a friend complete his "I am the1%" Halloween costume by scouring through the Garment District. After we found his garb, I decided I wanted to look for costume ideas at the salvation army down the street (PS never went out for Halloween due to a random rib injury- made a drinking game out of Hocus Pocus instead- we'd sip our wine any time the witches acted confused by modern times). Never made it to the salvation army because we stumbled upon Toscanini's instead.

Toscanini's is a little shop specializing in gourmet coffee, quirky ice cream flavors and bistro-type eats. My P.I.C and I sampled peppermint mochas made with hot fudge; they were insane- you literally had to use a spoon to scoop out leftover fudge when you had gotten through your drink. Then... we sampled their ice cream.

I truly believe that, every once in a blue moon, some mysterious greater power is all, "I'm over watching Amy curse in her car as she sits in traffic and blasts angsty Tay Swift. Whilst funny, it's also pitiful. Maybs, I'll help her cash in those karma points she earned when she waved for an extra paper towel to emerge for the lady behind her in the paper towel line this morning..." The ice cream at Toscanini's, my friends, was definitely a reward for some good karma. I sampled the 'brown butter pumpkin sage' flavor while my friend tried the 'goat cheese brownie'. Both were close-your-eyes-and-make-an-awkward-stomach-rubbing-motion-in-public incredible and completely worth the voyage across the bridge.

What pumpkin ice cream & peppermint mocha heaven  looks like

more pumpkin ice cream heaven...

brownie goat cheese titillating-ness

random pic from our trip to Toscanini's. How does one not  file  away such strangeness in their iphone as a fun convo-starter at parties? 

Glitter Thursdays

Let it be known far and wide that I am not a fan of Thursdays. People treat Thursdays like the weekend is just around the corner and drop casual pleasantries to eachother like, "Hey, it's Thursday- on the downslope, huh? Yeah!" or "Thirstay Thursdayyyyy!" But they're completely wrong. We have 2 more days, people! Not to mention, my days of Thirsty Thursdays have, for the most part, turned into me weighing the delicious thought of a few margs with friends against the idea of having to get up early on Friday... womp, responsibility. Even my favorite stores like the J-crew outlet act like it's basically the weekend, sending me taunting e-mails telling me to buy things that I can't even buy until the store opens on Saturday!!! Sorry, J-crew factory outlet, 2 days of waiting is just enough time for me to talk myself out of buying this necklace... maybe....errgh, it would look smashing with many different outfits...

The only thing that Thurday signifies to me is that I still have 2 more days of waking up early, 2 more days until I can become comatose in front of some sort of Bravo marathon, and 2 more days of traffic... don't even get me started on the traffic. Thus, it's time to give my Thursday blues the boot via my favorite embodiment of pure happiness: GLITTER!!! Glitter is all that is right with the world. Whenever I'm thrust into a situation involving glitter, my thoughts instantly shift off of anything negative. I mean it's kind of hard to be a pessimist when all you can focus on is finding elmers glue and an available surface you can smear the stuff on then glitter-ify within an inch of it's life.

SO- I present to you 'Glitter Thursdays'. Every Thursday I shall find a new sparkly item that extends it's lustrous hand and lifts me of out my not-done-with-the-workweek rut, to share with my many readers.

So let's start 'er off right. This weeks feature is perhaps the greatest item that's ever been engulfed in glitz: My Steve Madden Glitter Pumps


I got these babies last Christmas and have, truthfully, only had 1 occasion to wear them on. But if you include the many hours of playing dress-up alone in my room, then you can consider these puppies more than worth the investment. Also, you don't even need to wear them to have fun. You can just hold them up to your light and watch it dance off the millions of multi-colored sparkles.

Another perk of these shoes is that, if you don't receive them as a gift like me, then you can spend minimal amounts to have your very own pair. The interwebs is full of glitter heel DIYs like this one, as well etsy shops that'll pimp out your shoes for you at a fraction of the Steve Madden price.

Now, cue the harps, if anyone's looking to provide me with a glitter heel upgrade for say Christmas 2011, look no further than right here. Siiigh.

Fall and Budget Failure

oh m'lordy, I've been too scatterbrained to sit down and write a proper blog post in awhile- forgive me? bffs still? 4eva? Welp, I have some fall treats for you which should help.. they're really nbd except, OH YEAH I CARVED A SCARY-CAT-PUMPKIN

MEOW

Anyone who knows me (or who has even past me grumbling getting into my car the past few frosty mornings) knows I'm not so-much a cold-weather type of gal. I believe my best friend, Michelle ,put it best when she described me as "too precious to be cold" on Sunday. That does not mean, however, that I reject all that is autumn. Actually, based on the below images I've captured over the past couple of weeks, some people might even refer to me as a fall-champion...

twinkly pumpkin displayed at my parents abode

perdy fall trees

apple crisp. been doin lots o' bakin' due to the cold weather lately. Cue peculiar-ly tight pants

I love nothing more than a soy latte  when it's cold in the  morning.  this beverage choice will  switch to a peppermint mocha come mid-november

artsy pic of my boots and coat I took at Keith's soccer game. I was trying to look busy on my phone so I wouldn't have to run after the soccer ball that had just flown by me. dangerous stuff, those soccer games...

pumpkin beer and a hot dog  at Oktoberfest in Somerville this past weekend. This feast was followed up by more pumpkin beer and nachos. Again, cue tighter pants.

So, as you can see, when it comes to the changing of seasons, I'm winning. What I'm not winning at is money management. Could have something to do with my affinity for lattes and shoes..... but what I think it really is, is "the man" taking a swipe at me. And while, admittedly, "the man" keeps me in a comfortable supply of forever 21 and skinnygirl margs, he sure knows how to break a girls heart when he takes it away. What I'm saying is, once again, I need to cut back on some (every) things. Which is what leads me to my newest blog project, entitled: Amy's actually-using-the-groceries-I-buy-instead-of-wondering-why-all-of-my-produce-has-gone-bad-as-I-stuff-leftover-sushi-into-the-fridge get rich quick plan. It's pretty self- explanatory. I've found a few recipes to support this scheme and made this chicken ropa viejo recipe last night and it came out great, left me with tons of leftovers and was only about 300 calories... cue pants loosening?