memorial day weekend

Just wanted to share a few pictures I snapped over the long weekend. On Sunday afternoon, we went to an Asian Festival that is held annually at Franklin Park Conservatory - near our house in downtown Columbus. It was a beautiful day! The food was delicious, there were dancers, martial arts performances, music, and hundreds of booths set up with art and crafts for sale.

I also had a couple pictures on my phone from Saturday...we went to a concert/cookout in Delaware... sat in the grass and ate cheeseburgers to some classic rock ;)

Hope you had a great long weekend!

xx em

express overload

Aaron and I finally closed on our house this past week! It has been such a long process, but we are estatic that it is finally officially ours <3
I will post pictures soon, I need to get some nice shots of the inside.

Since all of our time and energy (and $$) has gone into the house the past few months, I haven't really been shopping or bought myself anything in what feels like ages! So, this weekend I was on a mission to check out a warehouse I had heard about through a friend. She told me about it ages ago... it sounded too good to be true... I have been meaning to go, and finally got the chance.

Now, this may not be everyones cup of tea, but I absolutely LOVE places like this. It is a giant "warehouse", kind of in the middle of nowhere, that is very basic/bare-bones inside...clothing racks for days, and makeshift changing rooms in the back. It reminds me of sample sale shopping :)

Basically, it houses all the overstock and "damaged" items from the Limited Corporation (ie Express, Victorias Secret, Limited, etc).

I love bargain shopping, so this place was a home run for me! There was so much, that it was almost overwhelming! They had tops, bras, swimwear, sleepwear, work attire, sweaters, purses, jewelry, shoes, dresses...

I even went back on Sunday, taking Aaron this time, since they had Express Men's items too. He ended up with two pairs of jeans.

Here are some shots of the items I ended up with...

Couple of mint colored sweaters - one slouchy/off-the-shoulder and one more fitted.

Two chiffon dress shirts for work - bright coral and royal blue. I need some bright colors in my work wardrobe for summer! Plus these are super lightweight which is great for the warm weather.

One-shoulder chiffon dress is coral pink and a long, light weight cardigan in the same color. Can you tell I love this color for summer? ;)

**Not pictured - VS bra, white Express button up dress shirt, 2 pairs Express men's jeans, and 3 pairs of Express Editor work pants. I also got the slouchy sweater (mint- first picture) in beige too!

For the 14 items we bought, we walked away under $200 - which is pretty amazing considering the items were originally tagged to total over $650!
I can't wait to go back in a couple weeks and check out what they have!

Holliter scent - Malalia
Gilly Hicks scent - Point Piper

We also spent some time with our close friends on Thursday, who were so sweet to give me a couple Hollister/Gilly Hicks roller ball perfumes. I haven't been to Hollister in years (I used to shop there in my high school years) but I have to say, the perfume is really nice and fresh! It's perfect to throw in my purse for summer :)

xx em

best dressed

With all the celebrity events and premiers that have been going on this past month, I wanted to share the few red carpet looks that have really stood out - to me, these three ladies hit it out of the park, all with gorgeous looks...including their hair and makeup.



Actress Isla Fisher at The Great Gatsby premier.
I'm usually not a huge fan of florals, but she looks absolutely stunning in this Dolce & Gabbana gown.

 Model Cara DeLevingne is stunning in black Burberry lace at the Cannes Film Festival. Props to the camera man who snapped this picture just as the wind blew her hair!

Actress Jennifer Lawrence in a less-conventional look at the Cannes Film Festival...that I just LOVE. Christian Dior black ruffled bustier and trousers paired with bright coral pumps.  PS - I love her newly cropped hair! Looks gorgeous on her. 

What are some of your favorite red carpet looks from the past month?

xx em

5.12

Mother's day weekend was a quiet one...just wanted to share a few pictures I snapped from Sunday. (Did a little shopping on Satruday - will do a haul post soon!)

Kept it simple with my rockstar jeggings, a black tank, and a long, oversized grey H&M boyfriend cardigan - forgot to snap a shot of the whole outfit.

I love using a conical wand to curl my hair...it is such a simple way to get a great beachy/wavy look. Plus, I have never really been a fan of how curling irons worked and the curls they produced.

I need a new one conical wand though... one that gets a bit hotter. I've been looking at the One 'n Only Argan Heat Ceramic Taper Iron as it's pretty resonably priced at Sally's Beauty Supply for $39.99.

I used my friend's about a month ago and loved how it worked on my hair! So, this will definitley be an upcoming purchase.

Amazing blue sky and clouds while out driving...I was the passenger ;) I'm excited for it to warm up again after being so cold the past few days!

xx em

sonya renee.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! I thought I'd post a quick outfit-of-the-day from Sunday and share one of my favorite jewelry items - by Sonya Renee.

Spot the lazy kitty ;)

 

Sunday's Outfit

Old Navy taupe tee and Rockstar jeggings

Bamboo wedges

Botkeir satchel

Sonya Renee Sugar Baby necklace - Green amethyst

Upclose of Sonya Renee Sugar Baby necklace

Just love Sonya Renee jewelry!

I first discovered it through Lorraine (The Current Custom) who's fabulous store in Sarasota, Florida carries the line.

I would love to own pretty much any Sonya Renee earrings, especially the teardrops or hoops (my favorite styles).

I currently have my eye on the dainty wishbone and side-ways cross necklaces.

Sonya Renee Jewelry available HERE

xx em



ikea wish list

 

Picture taken by Aaron after the last "wave" of projects we completed.

Now that quite a few of the projects are done on the house (at least for now) I'm interested in filling it with things we love. I would say the interior design style we always seem to lean towards is pretty modern/minimalisic. We picked all neutral paint colors throughtout the house and I have never liked having tons of clutter and "things" out/visable.

One of the first things on my list is a bed frame and headboard.

We actually got our bedroom furniture off Craigslist...it's a mid-century modern set by Heywood Wakefield ("Coronet") BUT the bed frame is for a queen...which equals a problem because we have a king size mattress which I love and refuse to give up ;)

So, I have been looking for alternatives that will work well with the set we have.

I have always liked platform beds, so I think a simple frame to get the mattress off the floor would be fine, and then a headboard like the one below (from Ikea) would be perfect.

Simple, modern, inexpensive, and could be stained to match the wood of the set we have.

Next on my list is the back yard. 

It's getting warm, and we love to cook out on the grill and entertain...so I would like to have some simple patio furniture (since an enitre backyard makeover is not in the books for this year).

These 2 rattan pieces from Ikea are right up my alley. I found them when HRH Collection's Alex posted pictures of her home awhile back...she had this set on her patio.

I love the look, but was worried about actual comfort, so I tried the rocking chair the last time I made a trip to Ikea...much to my surprise it was actually very relaxing and comfy!

Since we live in the city, our backyard isn't very big, but we definitely have a decent amount of space to work with. I would love to have a firepit along with some outdoor twinkle lights, and maybe even a small water feature!

xx em