Shoes, Bags, and Books

When a pair of high heels or a hand bag catches my eye, I can't contain myself. Being the only daughter in my family, people think I should be influenced by the manly environment my brothers give. However, my mom did a pretty good job of raising me into a girly and preppy young lady. Now, don't think I'm a spoiled brat. I'm pretty much the complete opposite. I work and save up money to buy the things I want, and I also search for deals and bargains wherever I go. When you find a sale that's at least 50% or more of the original price, it's so exciting! I bought all of the pieces below on pretty amazing deals. This was my first time purchasing a Kate Spade bag which I am completely enamored with. If you haven't noticed, I am so obsessed with Michael Kors as well. Finally, fashion and accessories are nothing without a little brains, hence the books. 

{The cutest Kate Spade handbag found on sale at the Premium Outlet Chesterfield Mall in St. Louis, Missouri. I can already picture myself wearing this on a night out with friends when I don't want to carry much with me.}  

{A beautiful navy blue Michael Kors handbag I bought at Marshalls in St. Louis, Missouri}

{Being the book worm that I am, most of my baggage consisted of books.}

10,000 Cupcakes Barnes and Noble

If I Stay Wal-Mart

The Alchemist Barnes and Noble

The Book Thief Barnes and Noble

Four (A Divergent Collection) Wal-Mart

{Gorgeous high heel booties in a beige/creamish color. I bought these on 45% sale at ALDO at West County Mall in St. Louis, Missouri.}

{Small gray Michael Kors clutch. I bought this on sale at Marshalls in St. Louis, Missouri. This is perfect to fit credit cars, some money, your phone, and a lip balm on a quick grocery trip or frozen yogurt stop.}

{Last, but not least, my gorgeous pink, beige, and gold pink clutch I bought on sale at ALDO at West County Mall in St. Louis, Missouri.}

Little Things

Summer has finally come. The long days of incessant brain activity, stress, and school drama have finally come to an end. Now, I say, it is time for staying up late at night, waking up whenever I wish to wake up, testing and tasting a thousand different recipes, going out, and having fun. My summer began way earlier than planned. It so happened that I was excempt from ALL of the final exams, which meant that I had every right to skip the last three days of school. Oh, the perks of being a nerd. I would not consider myself fully a nerd, for I definitely have a social life outside of the classroom and text books (hence,the story of my life on this blog). But now that I can forget about all of that crap, these are my plans for the summer.

•  Working out
• Reading
• Blogging
• Baking, cooking, and eating
• Cleaning out my room and my closet
• Learn to drive
• Keep learning French
• Travel

{A mid-morning snack: Homemade Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies with a warm cup of coffee. Follow the recipe and then just add about 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips.}

 

{Organizing my closet with all of my handbags. I did the same with my heels but I did not take a picture. You can also hand your bags on a hanger behind a door. I followed Emily's tips on organizing closets.}

{Tong's Thai Cuisine- My new favorite restaurant in town. This was the second time I ate here, and I ordered an appetizer of Summer Vegetable Rolls. The best part was the Peanut Sauce on the side.}

 

{I can finally say I have the luxury to eat breakfast while still laying in bed watching TV. This is heaven. --I had a Yoplait Light Strawberry Yogurt, a peach, strawberries, I Classici Del Mattino cookies, and coffee--}

{Tickets for the Maleficent premiere. Ironically, I loved the movie but hated the ending.}

{This morning I tried a new recipe for these Polka Dot Brownies. The recipe called for regular milk chocolate chips, but I decided to top them off with white chocolate chips instead, and they are simply marvelous.}

Catching Up Special

Parties, dinners, "cuchumbos" (Secret Santa), oh my! The Christmas season has definitely begun. Lately, school has been so hectic that Christmas just seemed so far away. Finally, though, I can smell Christmas right around the corner. 

 I wore this outfit for one of my lifetime friend's sixteenth birthday party. I literally pulled it out two seconds before the party (it was a Friday night and I slept through the whole afternoon after school). I bought this romper in Forever21, paired it with a gold belt, gold accessories, and a pair of nude pumps. I had so much fun, letting lose of all of the stress school causes. As a result, my feet were in a way ripped open (okay maybe I'm exagerating). Next time, I know I have to bring a pair of flats along just in case. 

{Forever21 romper and bracelet, H&M belt, Michael Kors clutch, ALDO nude pumps, LOFT earrings}

Secret Santa has been a tradition for the past two years for me and my friends. "Cuchumbos" is the typical Honduran way to say Secret Santa. For our annual Secret Santa dinner, we all get dolled up and enjoy a taste of a Christmas inspired dinner. This year, we decided to only include girls in the Secret Santa because of previous problems with guys not taking the whole thing seriously. Nevertheless, it was a hilarious Christmas dinner. I honestly think my gift was the best gift ever. One of my friends (which we've been classmates only once in sixth grade) gave me this whole baking kit that included a bowl, a whisk, cookie cutters, and more! Following the "cuchumbo," we had turkey-ish chicken with stuffing, potato salad, and green salad for dinner. For desert, one of my friends baked these mouth-watering mini key lime pies that were definitely the highlight of the night.

{Forever21 skirt, Zara blouse, Express clutch}

{Forever21 Mary Jane heels}

{Forever21 bracelet and necklace, Jewelry store earrings}

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}

Preppy and Pink

{Forever21 bracelets, and LOFT earrings}

Fridays are without a doubt the reason behind my motivation to end every week on the right foot. After a long, stressful, tedious, tiresome, long, monotonous, long, and-did I mention long?-week has passed, the best way to finish the week is by going out and acting like the teenager that I am. As a bonus, this Friday was a day off from school, and I was invited to two different events-a quinceañera (15th birthday) party and a "congratulations you graduated and have to face the tough reality of life, but, oh, I'm glad you're home" celebration. Don't get me wrong, I had a blast at both events and I wouldn't have it any other way. 

Finding an outfit that matched both occasions was a little challenging, but as I was hastily searching for something to wear through my closet, I encountered this gorgeous dress that I haven't worn in a while. I bought it at a small boutique at the mall and it is definitely one of my favorite components in my wardrobe. I decided to pair this dress with nude platform heels, a sparkling necklace, a nude handbag, jingling bracelets, and a simple night-time make-up look.  

{Da'Lila (a boutique in Honduras) dress, ALDO shoes, Louis Vuitton handbag}

{Forever21 collar necklace}

{Make-up: foundation, blush, purple eye-liner, mascara, liquid liner, and lilac eye-shadow}

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}

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}

Little Things

The saying "it's the little things in life that count" is always, always true. We usually take for granted the little things in life, but when we don't have them we can totally feel a difference. I, for one, cannot sleep without kissing good night to every member of my family in my house. I've decided to make a recap of the little things that have made me happy throughout this week (like my blogger role model Emily Schuman from Cupcakes and Cashmere does every Friday). This is a perfect way to realize how blessed I am and share my thankfulness with my readers through my blog. 

{New Michael Kors handbag bought at an amazing price} 

{New ALDO flats}

{A bouquet of white and yellow roses from my dad for my parents' 26th wedding anniversary}

{The Fault In Our Stars by John Green & a Minion from my Happy Meal at McDonald's}