Connect the Dots

top: Joe Fresh; pants: Loft (similar); shoes: Charlotte Russe (similar); watch: Fossil (similar)

This lovely outfit was another that I had planned to wear for a trial run with a bride, but yet again I had to change at the last minute because of my misjudgment on the weather...whomp whomp whomp... 

I figured hey I'm going to be in my car and then a cool house I should totes be fine wearing this 3/4 length BoHo chic top with these jeans rolled up. Oh how wrong I was! I had totally forgotten about me having to cart my kit (hair and makeup) to my car, which took quite a few trips. So by the end of this ordeal I had pretty much sweat through the top, gross I know. 

So I changed my top and put the AC on full blast and everything was great! 

I will post that outfit on another day. It showed me just how many outfits I can make with these awesome polka-dot pants. As you can see I am a bit obsessed with pattered clothing at the moment. 

Makeup Kit: Array of Highlighters in My Kit

Check out the video to see how I use these great highlighters!

Check out the list of the products below!

Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Nectar, Rose & Bronze

Laura Mercier Shimmer Bloc in Golden Mosaic 

Dior Powder Shimmer in Rose Diamond 001 & Amber Diamond 002

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft & Gentle 

Kiko Milano

Lorac Perfectly Lit in Spotlight

Bare Minerals in Pure Radiance 

Orange You Glad It's Summer

Now I am not very good at making puns, so I chose one of the easiest ones there are, which I think fits quite well with this post.

Normally I am more of a pink, red or plum kind of person when it comes to makeup, but once in a while I decide to jump out of the box (the one we all make for ourselves) and wear more orange tones. 

 These two orange lipsticks are great tones to wear without having your lips screaming "ORANGE". What I applied the lipsticks I put the deeper tone (Estee Lauder's Pure Color in Nectarine) on my bottom lip and then the brighter tone (Covergirl in Temptation) on my top lip. I smooched my lips together and it gave my lips a nice pout effect because the lighter color transferred to just the center on my bottom lip. I do wear the colors separately from time to time, but I thought it would be fun to switch it up!

The cream blusher is one that I got in one of my Birchboxes. It is a very light and creamy texture and gives a natural glow to the cheek.

 Originally when I got the NARS polish I got the couple because I wanted the dark dark blue so badly, and the orange was just on for the ride. The blue definitely was gorgeous, but I decided I probably should try the orange too, just so I wasn't wasting a polish. So when in doubt try the color on your toesies! So I did and I absolutely love it! Yes it would look even better if I was a bit tanner, but nonetheless I am definitely liking this color and it is making me feel in the summer groove of things. 

So everyone 'orange you glad it's summer'?!

Covergirl LipPerfection in Temptation; Estee Lauder Pure Color in Nectarine (similar) 

Pierre Hardy for NARS Nail Color duo in Ethno Run 

Revolution Organics Freedom Glow Beauty Balm in Sunkissed from Birchbox 

What color do you wear when you step out of your box?

Day at the Winery Ensemble

 For my winery outing with my sister yesterday I decided to go with a casual chic style. We always try to look "5-star" wherever we go! Yes, many times we are more dressed up than everyone else; but we both have a love for fashion and figure why not wear the beautiful pieces we have! It is better than leaving them cooped up in our closets.

I got these shorts from my bargain shopping trip last week at Loft. They are such a fun print and totally different from what I normally get. As you know from my previous posts, I am desperately trying to stray away from my tendency to buy only black clothing. So lately I have been very into buying printed pants and shorts. They are great pieces to have because I can make so many outfits with them and be able to switch it up from the boring black I wear for work. 

hat: Bebe (similar here); top: Talbots (similar here); shorts: Loft (similar here); bag: Chictopia; earrings: Loft (similar here); necklace: Talbots (similar here); shoes: Forever 21 (similar here)

What do you like to wear on your trips to the winery? 

Philip Carter Adventure

Today I had a wonderful adventure at the Philip Carter Winery of Virginia with my sister, Colleen. 

If was a bit of a trip getting there  (thanks Google Maps for that), but we made it only a few minutes late for our scheduled tour of the Winery and wine tasting.  

She got the tour and tasting voucher from TravelZoo for $30 for an $85 package, which included a tour, tasting, picnic basket and blanket rental, cheese, summer sausage, corkscrew (to keep), 2 PCW glasses (to keep) and 10% off of a bottle of wine of your choice. What an amazing deal right! 

Even without the voucher the pricing at Philip Carter is extremely reasonable, and I would definitely go back!

We had a very informative and humorous guide, Ben, who told us the history of the Winery and other wonderful tid-bits about wine. I am no expert, so a lot of this information was new to me and very engaging! 

When it came to the wine tasting, I was pretty excited, who doesn't love tasting wine. Yes, again I am not a pro but I did come up with a pretty stellar grading system for the wines: Stars! I won't try and impress you all with my fancy wine connoisseur descriptions (because I don't have any), so I will just give you the rating I awarded to each wine I tasted. 

'11 Chardonnay **

'12 Sabine Hall Viognier ****

'12 Rosewell *

'12 Governor Fauquier **/ (2 1/2 stars)

'11 Falconwood Red***

'12 Sweet Danielle ****

'11 1762 ****

PCW Sangria ***** (Perfect Score!)

So as you can see the Sangria was my favorite! It was so fresh and light: perfect for a summer afternoon of relaxing.

For our meat and cheese picnic with a delicious  mango chutney, we chose the Italian cheese with the Summer sausage and got a bottle of the '12 Sweet Danielle. It was so sweet and yummy and cool in the hot sun! 

As you can see we had a wonderful time at this quaint and cozy winery. I highly recommend making a trip out to the Philip Carter Winery of Virginia, either go on a romantic date with your honey or make it a group outing. Either way you will have a memorable time!

Goodies we purchased and some that we received at the winery! Had to get a bottle of red ('11 Falconwood Red) and white ('12 Sabine Hall Viognier), and something sweet ('12 Sweet Danielle). They treated us very well there! 

Cheers! Skoal!

Go and schedule your tour and tasting today! Make sure you get Ben as your guide through the wonderful tastes that Philip Carter Winery has to offer!

These Shoes Were Made for Shopping

top: random shirt; shoes: Clocharme made in Italy; pants: Colour by Cotton on purchased at Plato's Closet; necklace: vintage from my Tante; bag: Vintage Dooney & Bourke (similar) purchased from Threadflip 

I got these shoes when I went on a trip to Italy to visit my sister while she was studying there. They were a birthday gift from my Mom and Dad. They are so amazingly comfortable and great for walking around! I wore these on my shopping trip on Wednesday and they did a wonderful job carrying me from store to store!

These are my go-to shoes when I want to add a tomboy edge to my outfit and when I'm covering a lot of ground.

What are your go-to shopping shoes?

How to Use Dior's Airflash Foundation

Diorskin Airflash Foundation

Check out the video to see how to apply it! 

Diorskin Airflash

EcoTools Tapered Blush Brush; EcoTools by Alicia Silverstone; Sephora Advanced Airbrush Set

Go try it out and see if this is the right foundation for you!

Cruising for a Bargain

T.J.Maxx

T.J. Maxx

Loft

Cruisin' for a Bargain

Today I had a wonderful shopping date with my mom and sister. We went to the outlets in search of a yellow pencil skirt for my mom. Where else can you find amazing pieces for such amazing prices! 

We found so many great pieces; but unfortunately no yellow pencil skirt. I got a few pairs of shorts, patterned and colored, and polka-dot pants from Loft. Amazing steals! 

From T.J. Maxx I was able to find a replacement suitcase for my makeup kit, a gorgeous dress for work, cute notebook (who doesn't like cute notebooks), and a lovely feel good mug for my morning tea. 

I am totes ready for the summer and I can't wait to share all of these great finds with all of you! 

Where do you go when you are cruisin' for a bargain?!