Friday Inspiration: Quotes I Love

Happy Friday everyone! Can you believe it's the last day of February and we're almost into March? I can't, but I hope that warmer, spring-ier days come to us soon! :) What are you all up to this weekend? I hope it's a great one!

Style Inspiration: Zoe Hart

When I was stuck home after my surgery, I started watching the show Hart of Dixie on Netflix and became instantly addicted. I've always loved Rachel Bilson and I find her quirky humor on her newest show hilarious, but my favorite part about watching is seeing all of her amazing outfits! You can tell that Rachel's real-life style influences her character Zoe Hart's ensembles and she's particularly good at pairing separates together and has inspired me to wear more cute jackets. Here are some of my favorite Zoe looks - which do you like best?

Review: Miyu Beauty

I'm excited to be sharing my review of Miyu Beauty with you today! I discovered this new natural beauty company on Pinterest and was instantly drawn to their beautiful website design and product packaging. {Take a look and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about!} I also loved that they use three natural and luxurious signature ingredients: pearl, green tea and white peony. I reached out and told them I was interested in trying our their brand, and they were generous enough to send me a sample of their Hydrate Mi pairing to try out!

The pairing includes the Hydrate Mi beauty essence and beauty tea. When paired together, the duo offers an easy way to hydrate parched complexions both inside and out! I've been using the beauty essence, which combines the freshness of a facial mist with the rich nutrients of a serum, for the past two weeks now and I am in love with it. It smells like roses and is really refreshing to use in the morning before my moisturizer. I have really sensitive skin that is prone to cystic acne if I use the wrong products, and this essence hasn't bothered my skin at all! In fact, it's kept it extremely smooth, hydrated and blemish free.

What I Wore Mullet x2

I'm not a fan of the mullet hairstyle, but I am a fan of these two fun mullet-like tops that look simple from the front but are more exciting in the back! The first has adorable sequin elbow patches and the second has a mohair back with sparkly threads. My new See by Chloe booties have the mullet effect as well, which is why I've been paring them with my favorite skinny jeans and these two tops all the time lately. They've been my go-to looks on the weekends for brunches and get-togethers with friends. What do you think of my mullet looks?

Linking up with with Glossy Blonde & Karly Kim for Totally Posted Tuesday.

PS: The winner of my glitter glass giveaway was Emily of Shell Chic'd! Congrats girl!

Miss Boston Princess Party & Funfetti Cupcakes

Last weekend was the big Miss Boston/Cambridge Pageant, and it was a crazy busy one for me! On Saturday, I helped out with the Princess portion where we threw a little party for the younger girls who appeared in Sunday's pageant. There were arts and crafts, mani-pedis and lots of rehearsing for the pageant! I also set up a DIY cupcake bar for the girls with freshly baked homemade funfetti cupcakes, vanilla buttercream, candy and little crowns for toppers and helped them decorate their own cupcakes to bring home. It was such a fun experience and I thought I'd share some of the photos with you! :) Click through for the recipes as well.

the girls loved my sparkly jacket - they kept asking if they could touch it!

Friday Inspiration: Quotes I Love

Happy Friday! Tonight I'll be out at the "F Your Couch" party at The Brahmin - if you live in Boston you should definitely join me! Tomorrow I'm getting my hair colored which is always a fun afternoon :) What are your weekend plans?

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http://ilovewords.tumblr.com

http://thegoodvibe.co/

Guest Post: Fashion Yourself a Yogi

Hi everyone - today I have my super talented (and flexible) friend Ashley sharing her yoga style tips with us so we can all look cute while sweating it out on the mat!

Confession: I have a yoga-clothing obsession. Those who know me are well aware that the more colorful, funky and fresh my outfit is, the more excited I am to hit the studio or the town. When I have the right clothing I feel more confident, invigorated and excited to sweat. I’m not trying to tell you what to wear to class or that you need to break to the bank to look good, but more so wanting to share my resources and love for fun yoga fashion!

lululemon Flow Y Bra, In a Flash Singlet and Trina Turk leggings

I get it, this sounds pretty anti what yoga is all about…attachment, materialism, judgment etc. However, yoga clothing was what led me to my practice years ago, and is what has kept me a motivated, consistent, and growing practitioner. Thanks to lululemon offering community classes I was able to give yoga a try as a customer. I began to crave yoga and started going on my own outside of the complementary classes. Because of this, and my intense love for all lululemon product, I eventually became an educator for lululemon. I learned so much more about the practice of yoga, myself as a yogi, and beyond that, the function of various pieces of clothing and why certain fabrics were used. So naturally, my love of yoga fashion grew and grew as I learned more about the industry.

Onzie Spring 2014 Elastic Bra Top, Long Leggings and Elastic Back Tank 

{CLOSED} Giveaway: Cupcakes & Couture Glitter Glasses

Some of you who are super observant may have noticed the new widget on my sidebar featuring glitter glasses for sale...it's there because I have decided to open up my own Etsy shop to sell the glitter wine and champagne glasses I make! I've received such great feedback on them from friends, family, followers, random people on Pinterest and social media, so I thought it might be fun to start selling them online!

Today I'm asking for your help in spreading the word about my new Etsy shop, and I'm doing so with a giveaway! I would love it if you could share it with your friends and followers to help get my shop off the ground. The winner of the giveaway will win two glasses of their choice, either champagne or wine, and can choose any glitter colors they want. The giveaway criteria is pretty simple - click through to enter and thanks so much for your help! :)

What I Wore: Tulle & Bows

YOU GUYS, I FINALLY BOUGHT A TULLE SKIRT! Can you tell I'm excited about it?! It brings me back to my ballet days. I've been waiting for a day where the weather would be above freezing so I could pair it with my brand new bow pumps and not get frostbite on my legs. I kept the rest of the outfit simple to let the skirt and shoes take center stage. What do you think of my tulle skirt look? I'm sure I'll be styling it many more ways in the future - this is not the last you've seen of the skirt! :)

Linking up with with Glossy Blonde & Karly Kim for Totally Posted Tuesday & Walking in Memphis in High Heels!

Friday Inspiration: Quotes I Love

Happy Friday! I have a super busy weekend ahead of me. Tonight I'm going on a non-Valentine's Day date with my friend Jen - we plan to have a nice dinner and some cocktails together! :) Tomorrow is a full-day dress rehearsal for the Miss Boston pageant and also the Princess workshop, which I am catering with cupcakes for the younger girls to decorate. Sunday is the big pageant day and I'll be on site from 8am-8pm - it's sure to be an exciting and busy day! I have Monday off from work and will take the day off from blogging as well to catch up all the sleep I'll miss Friday through Sunday. :) What are your weekend plans??

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Guest Post: Wedding Party

Hi Cupcakes & Couture readers! My name is Stephanie and I’m from Wedding Party. I’m excited to be doing a blog swap with Amy today -- you can read her post on engagement rings over on our blog today! Anyway, I’m going to be sharing a few ideas on one of those stressful-yet-fun tasks every girl will experience when asked to be a bridesmaid: planning the bachelorette party!

As weddings get bigger and more extravagant, we at Wedding Party have noticed that other wedding-related celebrations like engagement and bachelor/bachelorette parties are doing the same! The bachelorette party especially has changed from being a one-night event to a weekend event, with brides and their best friends taking a few days to party in an amazing destination. And no, I’m not just talking about Las Vegas -- bridesmaids are getting way more creative and planning bashes in more interesting place than the strip! Here are a few of my favorite ideas for a destination bachelorette party; maybe you can find the perfect place for the next one you have to plan!

For a beachy bachelorette party: Mexico

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If you’ve got money to blow and know the bride would love to spend her Bachelorette in the sun and sand with margaritas, you really can’t go wrong with a trip to Mexico. However, different towns offer different experiences, so consider the bride’s ideal vacation past booze and beaches. Will she want to party every night till the sun rises? An all-inclusive resort in Cancun might be the ticket. If the bride would rather wander through cute, culture-filled towns by day and spend the evenings wining and dining by the sea, towns like Tulum or Puerta Vallarta may be just the right speed.

Pistachio Rose Cupcakes

When I was in Paris, I tried as many different pastries as I could. One treat I tried has stuck with me ever since I got back from my trip - a nice, light, not overly sweet pistachio & rose macaron. Although the flavor combination is originally Middle Eastern and not French, there was something perfectly Parisian about it. Everyone knows that I love to bake, but I very rarely make anything just for me, so since I haven't taught myself the fine art of macaron making yet, I decided to try my hand at a pistachio rose cupcake this weekend. It was a little pre-Valentine's Day treat for me, because let's face it - my true love is Paris! :) Not only were these some of the prettiest and best smelling cupcakes I've ever made, but they may have been the most delicious too.

Shopping List: Etude House

Have you ladies heard of Etude House before? It's a Korean beauty and cosmetics brand that appears hard to find in the US, but I stumbled upon them online last week and fell totally in love with their whimsical product packaging. It reminds me of my childhood in the best way possible but is still totally feminine...I've never seen anything like it before! I found one website called KollectionK that carries a bunch of their products so I put together a shopping list of all the adorable things I want to buy. Let me know what you think of my picks in the comments below - if these products don't make you smile, I'm not sure what will!

What I Wore: Helzberg Diamonds

Happy Monday everyone! I'm excited to be back with my first outfit post of 2014 sponsored by Helzberg Diamonds, just in time for Valentine's Day! Helzberg sent me this gorgeous necklace from their new INFINITY X INFINITY collection which was designed by Udi Behr. Inspired by ABC’s hit series Revenge and lead character Emily Thorne & her father’s mantra, “I love you infinity times infinity," the collection emphasizes the double infinity insignia and symbolizes infinite love. What I love most about the pieces is that they're easy to wear with your entire wardrobe and don't need to be saved in your jewelry box only for special occasions. I styled my new necklace with a feminine and classic outfit - skinny jeans, a black and white sweater jacket, bow pumps and a quilted bag - perfect for a date or dinner with friends.

Friday Inspiration: Quotes I Love

Happy Friday everyone! I don't have any big plans for this weekend except helping with the Miss Boston Pageant orientation and workshop all day tomorrow! What's on your agenda for the weekend?

PS: My high school friend Cindy works for a biotech company that's working on producing a drug for melanoma, and she and her coworkers are running a half marathon for leukemia & lymphoma in April. They're trying to raise money to help support the cause. If you're interested in donating, even just $5, please click here for her donation page. :)

See you all on Monday!!

buy this print

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Wish List: Blush Pink

Valentine's Day is just over a week away, and although I have no plans to celebrate it this year, I'm going to use it as an excuse to create a pretty blush pink wish list. I've had my eye on all of these pink pieces for a while now, so I thought I'd put them all together because they make me very happy. :) Let me know which is your favorite in the comments below.

DIY Glitter Champagne Glasses

If you've been following my blog for awhile, you may have seen my DIY glitter wine glass post before. It actually has the most page views of any post I've ever written, thanks in large part to Pinterest! I used to same process to create these pretty glitter champagne glasses over the weekend to give out as gifts. I hope the recipients will be happy with them! :) You can use any color glitter you want, but I chose silver and gold since I was making a whole bunch of glasses and didn't want to guess what colors people might like. I think they will be perfect for New Year's Eve among other celebrations!

If you don't want to make your own glasses, buy them here in my Etsy shop!

Runway Inspiration: Spring 2014 Couture {2}

And now on to my favorite two designers from the Spring 2014 Couture runway shows: Elie Saab and Zuhair Murad. Those of you who have followed my blog for a while now and know my aesthetic will instantly understand why I look forward to these two designers' runway shows every single season. If I ever had the opportunity to walk a red carpet, I would be honored to wear one of these two designers' dresses. They include everything I love: romanticism, whimsy, femininity, tulle, sequins, silk, floral appliques, feathers, pastels, pearls...need I go on? Just take a look and see for yourself. :)

Elie Saab

someone needs to get married in this. 

Runway Inspiration: Spring 2014 Couture {1}

The Spring 2014 Couture runway shows have left me totally inspired...there were so many gorgeous looks that I had to split up my top picks into two posts! {Check back tomorrow for Elie Saab and Zuhair Murad, which were my two favorite shows.}

Chanel - full of sequins, feathers, ruffles and pleats, this collection was both feminine and whimsical, making it right up my alley. I wasn't a huge fan of the sneakers or the whackadoo hair, but I did love the sparkly eye makeup.