Dressing Up While Dressing Down

Once again, I owe you, dear reader. a little fashion show. As you see, the title of this post is "Dressing Up While Dressing Down" which simply translates to looking pretty without trying too hard. I swear if I could live in a dress, I would. I love wearing dresses and skirts, but the tricky part is changing something casual into something dressed up, like something you would wear to a quick lunch with friends to something you would wear for a night out. Usually, I add make up and pretty accessories to dress up an outfit. Both of these outfits work both ways; however, I wore each of these for day events this summer.

{I wore this outfit for a family Sunday lunch. This is a Wet Seal cropped top, and Michael Kors handbag. In addition, I wore pearl earrings, a white watch, and a pearl bracelet, which are not shown in this picture.}

{I wore this outfit for my brother's graduation followed by a family lunch at Olive Garden. This is a Shasa little black dress, H&M pumps, ALDO handbag, Forever21 necklace, Fossil watch, and vintage earrings (which are not shown in the picture).}

Black, Beige, and Pearls

Above all, dear reader, I owe you a little fashion show. One of my recent outfits was this totally classy and chic combination of black, beige, and pearls. I felt like I was wearing the perfect blend of Blair Waldorf with BFF Serena Van Der Woodsen. The summer night was chilly with a little rain, which is normal for Honduras' weather. I opted for shorts and a semi long sleeve leotard. The outfit itself is super simple and effortless, but throw on accessories and that changes everything. Furthermore, I wore ordinary black ballet flats from H&M, and went all out on make up with blush, bronzer, mascara, winged eye liner, and hot pink lip gloss.

{Forever21 lace shorts, semi long sleeve leotard, Kate Spade handbag, Fossil watch, and vintage earrings.}

{H&M pearl necklace. I found this on sale at H&M and completely loved it.}

{Fossil watch and vintage earrings complemented the outfit perfectly.}

Little Things

The past few weeks have had their ups and downs. But while all good things come to an end, they always open up new doors and new possibilities. Nevertheless, I have a little desire in my heart to explore what the world has to offer. In the meantime, I am planning to take things step by step and work my way to the top. But, first, I must catch up on my beloved blog. These are a few of my currently favorite things...

{Awestruck with the beauty of a cold yet sunny day}

{Spencer Hastings (from Pretty Little Liars) inspired outfit of the day. Nine West ankle boots, A'GACI jeggings, GAP knit sweater, Forever21 white button-down, Louis Vuitton handbag}

{New discovery: a delicious Italian restaurant called Pazi Pizza in the city. It truly is a hidden gem}

New Year's Eve

I am grateful to God for granting me another year of life. Although 2013 had its ups and downs, I will certainly keep my head up high and anxiously wait for what this new year has to offer. 

New Year's Eve in my family is usually very tranquil (ok, maybe a little boring). This year, my mom and I began the cooking at 8 AM sharp. We made pork leg (not my favorite, but it turned out pretty tasty), turkey medallions (stuffed with tomatos, spinach, parmesan, and olives), corn souffle, sweet potato casserole, and salad. For dessert, my aunt brought a delightful pecan pie. The "ooh's" and "aah's" and "yum's" coming from my family on the dinner table made the whole work day worth it. That is the true pleasure of cooking: seeing others enjoy what you have prepared. The rest of the evening, we sipped on wine until the clock struck 12 and the new year received us with its arms wide open. My outfit for the night consisted of a beautiful coral peplum dress with nude heels and gold accessories. They say the way you end a year will dictate how the new year will go. If this is true, then the laugh attack I had around my family at 11:59 PM on December 31, 2013, is a good sign (my dogs crashed our party and thinking the Christmas tree was an actual tree, ALMOST urinated all over it..It was priceless). 

Happy New Year, everyone! May this new year be full of blessings, laughter, love, happiness, and hope! 

{Forever21 chain bracelet, LOFT earrings, jewelry store cross bracelet} 

{The Collection peplum dress, Forever21 heels, Francesca's necklace}

Sixteen Going on Seventeen

Once again, turning sixteen seemed like a VERY long way ahead. Now that I finally turned sixteen, I can literally say nothing has changed, except the fact that I am aging slowly. In spite of all the eagerness to turn sixteen, I picked out a pretty romantic yet casual floral dress for my birthday dinner. I made it even more casual by paring  the dress with a jean jacket and a pair of beige flats. It was a night filled with little favorite pleasures and lots of love, gifts, and hugs. (For more details on my sixteenth birthday, read my last Little Things post.)

{Urban Outfitters dress, H&M jean jacket, ALDO shoes}

{Forever21 bracelets, Fossil watch, Vintage earrings and infinity ring}

Fall Colors

This morning I woke up and got right to work. Seven pages and 2,271 words later, I was jumping up and down with joy; I was FINALLY done with that haunting Psychology essay. My Saturday went on as usual: running errands, coffee dates, and watching Charlie St. Cloud (it was the third time I watched it and I never get tired of Zac Efron's charm) with my family. 

Today I decided to dress to match the season, beige and red adorned with a hint of gold. Despite the fact that it's fall, Honduras has its own rules when it comes to climate and it's currently like a hundred degrees outside.

{Forever21 blouse and handbag, Kenneth Cole flats, A'GACI leggins}

{Fossil watch, vintage bracelet}

Casually Polished

Being a sophomore and turning sixteen seemed like decades away. Now, sophomore year has begun and so has the birthday season. One of my life-long guy friends turned sixteen a couple weekends ago and I decided to wear this outfit. The weather was the perfect excuse to dress down my girly outfit with a classic denim jacket. I still can't grasp the fact that in a few weeks I'm gonna be the next new sixteen year-old sophomore. 

{Maybelline The Falsies mascara, LANCOME foundation and lipstick, L'OREAL True Match neutral blush and Espresso-colored eye-liner}

{Forever 21 tank top, skirt, and bracelets, H&M jean jacket, ALDO heels and necklace, ZARA handbag, vintage earrings}

Summer Farewell

I am devastated to inform you that school is sadly right around the corner; I can count the remaining days of my summer with one hand. The moment I was dreading, the last weekend of the whole summer, finally came. This Saturday consisted of spending quality time with my family, just like usual, followed by an amazing night out with friends. The get-together with my friends was full of smiles and laughter. It felt so good to see all of the familiar faces I haven't seen in two and a half months. I guess going back to school won't be as bad as it seems after all. 

I decided to wear a mint peplum shirt with skinny navy blue pants, and dressed it up with a chain collar. I also decided to go low on the make up and only applied a layer of foundation and a bit of blush. Then I applied a lower lash line with a pencil eye liner, a semi-winged line on the upper lash with a liquid eye liner, and a layer of mascara.  

{Forever21 peplum shirt, necklace, and handbag, H&M navy blue pants, ALDO shoes}

{Semi-winged eyeliner, lower lash eyeliner, and a layer of mascara}

But the party didn't end on Saturday night's bash. The next day, Sunday, was full of more quality time with family and friends. We celebrated my brother's 21st birthday at home with a delicious tipical Honduran meal ("pinchos" or beef and pork skewers, refried beans, fried plantain, pico de gallo, sour cream, cheese, guacamole, salsa, and corn tortillas). We were so stuffed, but as I always say, "there is ALWAYS room for dessert." We sang "happy birthday," my brother made a wish as he blew out the candles, and we enjoyed an exquisite vanilla cake with dulce de leche filling and frosting (my choice, of course) from my favorite bakery. I decided to wear a pair of mint pants with a tucked in blouse and cream-colored flats. Today I also decided to go low on make up and just added a layer of foundation to cover up the bags underneath my eyes from the day before and a layer of mascara to make my eyes pop.

{H&M mint pants and blouse, Nine West shoes, Forever21 handbag}

Warm & Windy

Today was one of those hot summer days that just decide to surprise you by sending a wave of wind your way. I personally love these kind of days. For today's outfit I decided to wear a casual pair of denim shorts with a pretty pastel-colored blouse. I decided to dress the outfit up with a beautiful necklace with a ray of pastels, but dress it down with a pair of pink Ked's. I also carried around this distressed jean button-down shirt for the moments where the wind decided to hit me. Finally, I topped the outfit with a super tall ponytail, grabbed my sunglasses, and was out the door. This was a fresh, casually polished look for today's summer sun.  

{American Eagle denim shorts, Zara blouse, Forever21 denim button-down, ALDO necklace & earrings, pink Ked's}

White, Blue, & Gold

Waking up to the birds chirping on a Saturday morning is the best part of living on a mountain in Honduras. My Saturdays usually consist of running errands with my mother in the mornings and visiting my grandfather in the afternoons, followed by going out for dinner with the family. Today, however, my mom and I took on a very difficult task this morning. That is, fixing and organizing our closets. I swear we were sweating about halfway through the process. Our plans for the afternoon still stay the same, though. Today I have decided to wear a classy/romantic, yet casual outfit for a day full of quality time with my lovely family. I added a coat of mascara and some pinkish lip balm and I'm good to go.

{H&M shorts, Forever21 blouse, ALDO flats, Old Navy cardigan, 

Michael Kors handbag, ALDO earrings}

{Super simple makeup: Maybelline The Falsies mascara, L'oreal Paris Rose Elixir lip balm}