Pretty Pumpkins & A Sweet Treat

Happy Halloween! A few embellished pumpkins and a cute last minute idea for a sweet halloween treat...

{A pink pumpkin made prettier with gold glitter glue}

{A white pumpkin made whiter with glossy white paint}

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Weekend Snapshots

{Chanel inspired pumpkins on our porch}

{Sunrise over the lake captured during a walk with our dog}

{Manicure in Essie's Ballet Slippers} 

{My bridesmaid bouquet from my cousin's weekend wedding sitting pretty in our mudroom}

Hope you had a lovely weekend! xo, Alicia

Duchess Style My Way

I love the classic style of the Duchess of Cambridge.  A friend of mine gave me this dress a while back and last night, I finally had an occassion to wear it: my cousin's rehearsal dinner.  The style and color immediately reminded me of something Kate Middleton would wear. My dress is a morph in style/color between Kate's famous blue engagement dress and her St Patrick's Day 2012 outfit. 

Inspiration:

Interpretation:

How To: Painted Rhinestone Necklace

Most painted rhinestone necklaces I have been lusting after are quite pricey. A while back, I purchased a clear rhinestone necklace at a thrift shop and was never quite happy with how murky the rhinestones were.  My solution was to turn it into a piece that I love by painting it with bright colors while saving a nice sum of money in the process! 

A beautiful design, not so beautiful stones

You need: a few bottles of inexpensive nail polish (mine were on sale for 49 cents each!),  a toothpick to correct mistakes along with nail polish remover, and plain white paper to place under the necklace

Start with one color at a time and dab the nailpolish onto the stone. It's okay to cover the prongs...

By using one color at a time, it's easier to decide on your desired color placement

Rotate the paper as you work, not the necklace. Gradually, the necklace begins to come alive!

 

Peplum and Polka Dots

It seems that menswear for women never goes out of style.  While I like menswear pieces, I like to add a feminine touch to personalize it and balance out the overall outfit.  Since peplum and polka dots are more stylish than ever right now, this blouse was the perfect touch to my casual menswear blazer and worn in jeans.

{Express blazer, Violet & Claire blouse, Vigoss jeans, Coach handbag, Kenneth Cole Flats, vintage bracelet, Essie 'A List' nailpolish}

{I love a sparkly flat shoe!}

Doe Eyes: Part 2

You may remember this post about creating doe eyes with makeup for a wedding I was planning to attend.  Well, in 'real life' the result was great (minus my failed attempt at applying false lashes...epic fail, friends!)  In photos, however, the makeup did not translate as well and does not look as dramatic as it did in person.  I'm realizing just how much eye makeup needs to be applied for it to really show up in photos and it's much more than I am comfortable with wearing in real life. 

This is how my results turned out.  I also used a brown palette rather than black (which I typically wear) and I have to say I have been getting more compliments since switching over to this palette for my eyes.

Do you have a favorite eye look that you recommend?  I'd love to hear.

Have a lovely day, Alicia

Beautifully Bold

Ever since I received my copy of Romantic Homes magazine October 2012 issue, I have been obsessed with the cover! It features designer Megan Winters' bold fuschia and gold dining room.  If I could live in a dream, I'm pretty sure this is what it would look like:


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A closer look from the Romantic Homes magazine cover:

Sometimes I joke with my husband that I think about renting a small apartment in a historic building just so I can decorate it as I wish (i.e. modern, feminine, pink!) and I bet you can guess what he says to this ;o)

Have a lovely day, Alicia

Monday Manicure

I typically polish my nails on Sunday evening as part of my Sunday evening beauty ritual, a ritual which helps me feel that I'm starting the week off on the right foot and one that I have consistently done for 15+ years.  To be honest, I get a bit anxious Sunday evening in anticipation of the week ahead, so my Sunday evening beauty rituals help distract and relax me.  I plan to write more on this topic in the future, but wanted to share my current manicure:

Products:
Essie: 'A List' nailpolish and 'No Chips Ahead' Top Coat
Sally Hansen: 'No More Mistakes' polish corrector pen

A Cat in Paris

I'm not one for animated films, in fact it's quite rare that I ever watch one (although Ratatouille was quite possibly one of the best I have ever seen).  Recently, I read about A Cat in Paris (2010) a film I had never heard of despite its Oscar nomination. Admittedly, I am intrigued by the cover of the movie alone, but below is a great article reviewing the film. I hope to settle in to watch it soon and hope you will too.

Click below for a glowing review:

http://blogs.detroitnews.com/geekwatch/2012/10/10/review-a-cat-in-paris-deserves-its-oscar-nomination/

Have a lovely weekend! xo, Alicia

photo via

Doe Eyes

This weekend I'll be a guest at wedding and am hoping to glam up my makeup a bit, particularly my eyes.  My inspiration is, (surprise!) none other than Olivia Palermo who is an expert at creating a dramatic doe-eyed look:

{A close up of Olivia's eyes}

Word on the street has it that Olivia typically uses false eyelashes.  I may try to apply falsh lashes myself (yikes!), but just in case, I found this fun video from Bourjois to create doe eyes simply using liner and mascara (*note* I will be adding a few shades of eyeshadow a la Olivia, to get a smokier evening eye compared to the model in the video)

Seasons of the Wreath

Our front door wreath has been the same for months on end because I have loved it so much.  It all began with our Valentine's Day Wreath that I posted about back in February!

During the summer I added this black and white polka dot ribbon that was tied around one of my birthday presents:

During late summer/early fall I swapped the pink flowers out for metallic gold:

I finally decided it was time to trade the summery ribbon for something more autumnal.  This silky caramel colored ribbon with black lace was a perfect replacement and I thought these dark eggplant colored flowers along with glittery black ribbon would look great:

Progress...

Didn't love the flower addition, so off they came and the final result  is much more simple that I imagined, but I love it because the gorgeous caramel lace ribbon is the focal point:

Apple Season

The cooler temperatures have definitely arrived in New York and have left me craving the comfort of steaming apple treats and hot tea (namely, Earl Grey).  Nothing beats the smell of apple turnovers baking in the oven.  This treat warmed my body and soul:

Stay cozy. Have a lovely day, Alicia