Reach for the stars

I am finally changing my "I'd rather be wearing..." on this lil blog.

For the longest time it has been Alexander Wang's Dorothy Shopper bag. A beautiful, grey, suede tribute to one of the greatest TV shows and characters ever. I ADORE the Golden Girls (just finished watching about 2 hours of it) with a passion.

This bag kind of makes me sad, not just because I don't own it, but because it reminds me that Bea Arthur died this year. I was heartbroken when I heard that. Estelle Getty died last year right before my eighteenth birthday - and her 85th birthday was only two days after mine. One of my life goals is to meet Rue McClanahan and another one is to meet Betty White: the last two living of The Girls.

When I found out that Alexander Wang was a fan and created a BAG dedicated to the sassy Dorothy Zbornak I knew that this guy was special and I assumed that the bag would be too.

I was absolutely correct.

I was hoping that maybe I could find it and buy it with my Christmas money, but alas it is sold out everywhere and at $795, really even with my Christmas money I would not be able to buy it without not buying text books for next semester. (STUPID TEXTBOOKS!)

I am changing it to this.

Oh these shoes. They're so scary looking and awesome at the same time. Hopefully, soon, they will be mine :) I'm willing to pay a pretty penny, I just hope my mom doesn't get mad.

Do you like these scary and/or amazing shoes? Are you a Golden Girls fan???

Thank you for being a friend!

The girl with love on her forehead

New Anime First Impressions: Full Metal Panic

One word: LOL!!!

Okay...that's three words.

This show was recommended to me by my friend Bri who is THE person to go to for advice on GOOD anime and manga to watch. I am on episode 6 out of 24 and I must say I am enjoying it.

I'm going to be honest and say that I don't know 100% what is going on. This anime is great because it is a comedy with romance, action and a mysterious plot. And I know the plot has to do with giant robots that do really cool things and also government hooplah. There is a secret terrorist organization(s??) that is trying to kidnap people because these people, known as "the Whispered", know how to create Black Technology, which is more powerful and deadly than any technology known to man. Whoa. o_0

One of "the Whispered" is a high school girl named Kaname Chidori. She is being protected by Sosuke (so close to be naming Sasuke :P) Sagura, a sergeant in Mithril, a really cool organization that fights terrorists. He's really straight-laced and determined to protect her and pretend to be a normal high school student and Kaname is trying to live a normal life as a real high school student - hilarity ensues.

She thinks he's weird (with good reason) but you see by the end of episode one that she is warming up to him. And you also see that he is starting to develop feelings for her too. It's really cute and really funny. Many times he does things that piss her off like
1. Stalk her
2. Lie about stalking her when he's clearly following her everywhere she goes
3. Jumping out of a train to follow her
4. Being seen on her back porch with her undies (he wasn't being pervy - he was stopping someone from being pervy but got caught holdin the tighty whities).

Like I said, the two main characters are different in attitudes and ways of life but they make a great comedy team. I'm excited to continue to watch this show.

Do you like Full Metal Panic? What's your favorite anime with everything (action, comedy, love, mystery, etc) in it?
Please tell me in the comments!

The girl with love on her forehead

Eye, Eye, Eye - Your eyes hypnotize!

(twenty points if you remember which 90s cartoon the title is from)

My new coveted make up look is of one I saw in a makeup tutorial on youtube with MAC Fly By Night blue.
Now this blue is beautiful but since the girl was a fair skinned the color will show up a bit differently on her than it will on me. Soooo today I actually went to find it at the Mall O Georgia but got sidetracked by Sephora. And I found a wonderful alternative.

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide on Eyepencil in Flipside a.k.a. bright teal

It looked okay on my hand. The color Deviant (a darker blue) looked like MAC's Fly By Night blue and the teal looked a bit darker than the color shown above on my brown skin. I really wanted a pretty cerulean blue that pops against my skin. And then I added...

Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner in Air Guitar a.k.a. Blue

to the Flipside eyeliner and it was a beautiful shade of blue that was glimmery and shiny. It made my skin look vibrant and my eyes look really dark and lovely. I didn't get it in the store because I intend on buying it (hopefully) during an after Christmas sale, so sadly I cannot prove to you now how awesome the color combo looked.

I'm excited. I'll have a great look for my eyes when I go out...I just need to find more places to go so I can have the excuse to wear blue glitter eyeliner. :P

What is your favorite brand of eyeliner? What's your go-to shade for schmexy night time eyes?
Lemmie know.

Happy Holidays!!!!!!!

The girl with love on her forehead

p.s. the title is from Dexter's Laboratory...the episode where the creepy girl with the anime eyes has a crush on him

Product shoutout: Covergirl Lash Blast Length

This is my first time reviewing a beauty product. I hope all yall on the interweb (tee hee) enjoy!

CoverGirl Last Blast - Length:

I am a MEGA FANGIRL of CoverGirl Lash Blast Length.
It is the little sister to CoverGirl Lash Blast Volume. I tried volume and for me it was "meh". That's because I am fortunate enough to be blessed with thick and curly eyelashes. I did not really need any help in the volume department. My lashes looked the same with that product. However, when I wear Length people ask me if I have on false eyelashes - no lie. This stuff is beautiful.

(my camera = poopy...Sorry Yall)
My lashes without mascara (two views of the same eye)

My lashes with mascara

This is the best picture out of the bunch. Sadly I didn't get my entire row of eyelashes. They are even longer around center of my upper eyelid but the camera didn't get that. My bad yall. But look at how much longer my eyelashes are on the left side corner than they were in the above pictures. AMAZING.


CoverGirl Lash Blast Length comes in a sleek and slender yellow tube and it costs no more than $7 (whoo!). The wand apparently has 450 little bristles that swipe on the mascara with an "elasta-nylon" formula to keep your lashes flake free. I have never had flaking issues. Yet with my right eye it always clumps in the corner but I always fix it by swiping it a bit more with the brush and then again with a clean brush from old mascara.

I love this mascara. I've tried and bought MANY mascara products. But this is my absolute favorite. If you want longer lashes I highly recommend this.

What's your favorite mascara? Do you use any of the Last Blast products?

The girl with love on her forehead

Bag Lady

I've always been wishy-washy on how I see myself. Sometimes I look in the mirror and go "I'm okay that I'm not a size 2". Other days I look in the mirror and go "WHO LET A BEACHED BROWN WHALE INTO DUKE UNIVERSITY???" And because of this I love clothes - I also hate them.
Yet shoes and handbags have ALWAYS been my favorite. You can be a size 16 and go get some hot new heels. You can be fat and buy a new handbag.

Speaking of handbags...
One of my FAVORITE websites to browse is bagborroworsteal.com. It's the home of many designer accessories such as purses, sunglasses, and jewelry that can be rented. For example, instead of paying almost $2000 for this lovely leather studded Prada handbag...

Prada Studded Leather Tote (image: bagborroworsteal.com)

you can rent it for $100 a week or $295 dollars a month and then when you find another bag you HAVE to have you just send it back and rent a different one.

I love the concept: Find a bag you love today, Love it for a few weeks, Find another bag you love, Send old love away, Get your new love!
They have new headings at the top of their site that says it all.
"Commitment issues? Keep your options open - and rent!"

I don't know about you but I have bag A.D.D. I adore my new purse but then after about 3 weeks I'm like "meh. you a'ight"
I just peruse bagborroworsteal for now because I don't really have a job (work study doesn't count...) to where I can pay for bag rentals. Looking is always fun, though!
I also love that they find designer bags and sell them for keepsies at SUPER marked down prices. Some of the bags are bags that were never rented or bags that were rented and have minor scratches and really small signs of wear (a.k.a. Gently Loved). Here are a few of my favorites that are still up for grabs!

Donald J Pliner 'Bamberg' Small Hobo Handbag

Original price $645 and now $245

I love how the different color hues of blue and the texture. It reminds me of the Mediterranean sea. (When I went there 2 years ago there were rocks instead of sand and the water was a perfect color blue)

Lulu Guinness Stripe 'Stella' Clutch

Original price $365 and now $215

Very feminine. I love the stripes and the way the design fans out.

Moschino 'Vernice Luce' Medium Shoulder Handbag

Original price $1595 and now $995

I think it's such a pretty iridescent white. I would lovvvve (or like lady g says LAHV, LAHV, LAVH) to have this for Spring 2010.

kate spade 'Small Maeda' Satchel Handbag

Original price $725 and now $195

This price drop makes this bag a total STEAL. The turquoise color is to die for!


J'dore handbags? Like bagborroworsteal.com? Do you have a favorite place you get you handbags?
Please comment and let me know!!!

The girl with love on her forehead

(images from bagborroworsteal.com)

Sample CF Article: Take Control of Your Time With Just Flash Cards and a Notebook

Where did the time go?! It’s late Thursday evening and you are practically pulling your hair out trying to decide if you should work on your paper that’s due tomorrow or study for your test which is also, unfortunately, tomorrow. You did study a little bit yesterday for your test but you didn’t do as much as you should have. And you thought about ideas for your paper but you never got around to it writing them down let alone your paper. Yet here you are Thursday evening with realistically only enough time to do one.

This sound familiar? Are you tired of having time slip away and assignments creep up on you? Then hopefully this tip will help you out.

A Tip on How to Use Your Time:
Try carrying around work that you can do when waiting in line or sitting down for fifteen minutes before another class, such as making flash cards or writing down topics or sentences for your paper. This can make the difference in an entire day and sometimes an entire week.

Scenario:
Take the sad scene above but rewind it to Monday. On Monday you are waiting to meet your English professor and discuss your thesis on a paper that is due on Saturday. You know you had a Japanese language test on Friday. While you wait you make flash cards by using index cards. In your meeting with your professor you write down supporting ideas for your thesis in a little notebook. Later you are bored in line for food and you take out and shuffle through your cards realizing that there are some vocab words that you don’t know but a lot that you do know. During those brief moments you have between classes on Tuesday and Wednesday you keep going through your cards with all of your words and grammar tips; also any sentence that sounds good for your paper you write down immediately in your little notebook. Thursday comes and Shock-Shock-Surprise-Surprise you realize that the paper is due on Friday not Saturday - gaaaah! You already have a little bit done but you also have that HUGE Japanese test - double gaaaah! The paper for English is worth more than your Japanese test but you don’t want to sacrifice one grade in one class for another. But *sigh of slight relief* because you prepared ahead of time during those random bursts of time you only need to devote a couple of hours to Japanese just for basic reviewing. You already made your study materials and realized what you need to work on and what you understand. You can spend the majority of your available time on that paper. Also, you know what you are going to write your paper about and you have kept all of your brilliant ideas you came up with throughout the week handy. So no last minute idea creating for you. All you have to do is organize your thoughts and write.

What to use:
Managing all of those study cards can be easy. To avoid having a sea of flashcards at the bottom of your purse (trust me - it's not pretty or fun to clean up and reorganize) try finding an index card case to keep them all in.

Card cases by breadisgood4u on Polyvore.com

Or you can buy index cards that come with rings and you can flip through them like a book.

Index Cards on Rings by breadisgood4u on Polyvore.com

You can even make your own flash card book. All you need are index cards, a hole puncher, and a book ring. Slip the punched cards on the ring and you have flash cards on the go!

D.I.Y. Flashcard ring by breadisgood4u on Polyvore.com

At my school they sell the boxes and ringed flashcards in many different colors and they fit right in my purse and I take them out when I have a spare moment. You can also find these things whether you want to buy them whole or make them yourself at Office Max, Staples or online at www.office-supplies.com.

Pack A Portable Pensieve:
For jotting down ideas, essentially you need a place that you can consistently store your thoughts and access them again later. This can be a mini composition notebook, a special notepad, or a piece of paper. I’m a huge Harry Potter fangirl so I have a little Death Eater’s notebook that I carry around in my bag. It’s always there if I ever need to write down an idea I had during flash of genius, even if five hours later I go back to read it and realize that my flash of genius wasn’t really all that bright.

What do you think?
Do you have any tips of how to manage flash cards or your thoughts? Do you have quick tips for studying on the go? Comment and let me know!

La Vita Bella

Last night as I watched Detective Conan (at home - yay home!) I got a huuuge craving for chocolate and lemonade gelato. One scoop stacked right on top of the other. mmmm.

But I know there is nowhere near my house to get gelato. In Durham there was a little shop but it is not as good as the kind I had in Italy.

*Cue cheesy Italian accent and hand gestures* - Ahhh Italy!!!

Ciao Bella by breadisgood4u featuring Juicy Couture accessories

I have been blessed to go to Italy not once but twice in the past 3 years. Rome is one of my favorite cities EVER! Some of my happiest moments have been in Italy.

Happy Memory 1. Grapefruit Gelato
I bought it at the beautiful little gelato shop in Florence. It was such a wonderfully sweet yet tart treat. And while I was eating it I had to run in the rain to catch a train back to Rome. I think that made it taste better. :P
I was with my cousins and they were full of fail and dropped their gelato while they ran and I ate and ran like a pro. Good times. Yet I have NEVER found grapefruit gelato anywhere. In Rome, in Duhram, in Atlanta. ANYWHERE!!! :(

Happy Memory 2. McDonald's
The first night in Italy was in Rome. My cousins and our friend TJ were STARVING and nothing was open - except McDonald's. I was like "WTF I'm here in Italy - FREAKIN ITALY - and the first thing I do is go to Mickey D's". I hated eating at McDonald's in America. But I was so hungry I went. I remember wanting a cheeseburger with bacon. They didn't have that. Instead they had a cheeseburger with prosciutto (??? correct me if I'm wrong) It looked like bacon even thought they told me it wasn't. I figured meat is meat and when in Rome...
My cousin Antonio ordered a medium drink and TJ ordered a medium fries. These mediums did not look like mediums. We were so fascinated with the sizes we took pictures!!!

And then TJ realized he didn't have ketchup. So we went to the counter and asked for ketchup.
The guy at the counter smiled and said "(don't remember the amount) euro."

We must have looked completely confused. So he said it again. And I don't remember who, though it was probably me, but someone said "Waaaaaait. We have to PAY for KETCHUP???"
And the guy shrugged and smiled at our confused American faces and slid over the ketchup and goes "it's alright. you take ketchup free."

THEN about ten minutes later my cousin wanted a refill. "It's McDonald's. They do free refills all over, right?" ...wrong. He went to the counter and said "refill". The guy at the counter was confused. Tonio went "Reeeefilll" and made a gesture of the cup being filled. The guy at the counter understood! And he smiled and said "(don't remember the amount) euro." Fact: There are no free soda refills in Italy. :)

A random memory but it was the first thing I did in Italy, so it sticks out.

Happy memory 3. Italian people
This is actually multiple memories shoved into one.

The first time I went to Italy I remember being on a train through Tuscany staring at sheep and playing card games with my friends and havin a good ol' time be loud and obnoxious Americans. Oops. To our left was this woman who was the epitome of chic European style. She had on gorgeous leather boots, stylish and super straight dark brown bob with bangs, and was reading Italian Vogue. I almost took a picture of her. But I didn't because it would have been super creepy.

I also remember going to a gelato shop close to the hotel I stayed at the first time in Rome. (If gelato seems to be a recurring theme it's because ate a TON of gelato in Italy. I can't help it, I'm a fatty.) And all of my friends were like "YEAH WE CAN BUY ALCOHOL!!!" and I was pumped too "YEAH I GET TO BUY GELATO!!!" (like I said...fatttttty) And they were toward the back of the store while I was in the front. Then a different guy came to take the money for my lemon and chocolate gelato. He = epitome of beautiful Italian boy. And I think that he could tell that I thought he was hawt beyond words. I remembered paying him and saying "Ciao" and he winked and said "Ciao Bella". I melted. But don't worry my gelato didn't! I ate that in a heartbeat!!

My second time in Rome the mission was sight-see by day and partaaaay by night with random Italians. And as you can see by the pictures below my friends and I were quite successful.

(these guys here saw me taking pictures and were like "Take picture! Take picture!" And I was like..."ok. if you want random crazy Italian dudes." :P)

Though I must admit the music at the clubs we went to was horrible; nothing but house music. Not techno - house. The same thumping beat with NO WORDS over and over again.

These are three of many, many, many happy memories of Italy. Every time I have gone I have made a wish in the Trevi fountain. They say that if you do you'll be back in Rome again. It worked the first time. Can't wait until I find the opportunity to go again!

Have you ever been to Italy? What is your favorite country that you don't call home? What's your favorite flavor of gelato? :)

Let me know. Ciao my bellas!


- The girl with love on her forehead

We're Beautiful and Dirty Rich

I have had Lady Gaga's Beautiful, Dirty, Rich in my head all morning and I just heard someone whistling it while they walked by my door. Oh Lady G - you have infiltrated the minds of many with great success.

Later today I am supposed to be going shopping with my buddy Maria at Southpoint mall (a verrrry nice mall in Durham). Well...she'll be shopping and I'll be trying not to spend money. She hasn't been shopping since she started losing weight. It has gotten to the point where she can take her size 14 jeans and pull them off without unbuttoning them or unzipping them. She has GOT to be an 8 now. And I have convinced her to go out and have a super-happy-awesome fun time buying new clothes at the beautiful mall that is Southpoint.

(ze picture is from Duke magazine)

Who's excited and has two thumbs?

ME!!!

Clothing ensemble du jour (without the Jimmy Choo bag...meh).

I am not going in the cold...unless I'm goin shoppin :) by breadisgood4u featuring Jimmy Choo bags

Any other lovers of Beautiful, Dirty, Rich out there? Goin shoppin today? Let me knoooo.

- The girl with love on her forehead

Story of my life...

This is how I felt when I applied for a multiple thousand dollar student loan for one year of college. Minus the tears and the horrible realization that I have to do it for two more years. Crap.

Found here...at the wonderful xkcd


- The girl with love on her forehead