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

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}

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}

Preppy & Pretty Pastels

I look forwards to Sundays the minute my mom wakes me up for school on Monday which, like any teenager in the world, I dread. During the summer, however, I tend to forget what day it is and Sunday just seems to come a lot quicker than when I'm in school. My Sundays usually consist of lazy mornings, then going to church, going out for lunch with the family, going to the movies, then a little coffee and dessert break, and ending the day with more laziness before going to bed. Today we had more of a laid-back Sunday. We had a lazy morning and went to church like usual and then went out for lunch to my favorite steak restaurant. After a delicious meal of steak and an all-you-can eat salad bar, we came back home and spent the whole afternoon watching movies in the comfort and coziness of my living room. Days like these are like the cherry topping to the end of the week. Today's outfit consisted of a combination of different pastels with gold pink accessories to complement the preppy/pretty yet casual look. 

{Express tank top and bracelet, H&M purple pants, Forever 21 denim shirt, Nine West flats, ZARA purse, and Fossil watch} 

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}