Flowers?

I was recently asked what my favorite flowers were, on the off-chance that someone wanted to gift me with a bouquet one day. I had no response for the person, which was embarrassing only because it was such a simple question. I have no olfactory sense (I don't know why. Doctors have tried to figure it out for years.) and because I cannot enjoy the fragrance of flowers, I think I never developed an appreciation for them. They are definitely beautiful and I find the gesture of gifting flowers to be romantic in theory. But, that's it. I also love bright colors and staring at pretty things... but no, you won't intoxicate me with the alluring scent of flower love.

Anyways, I've been on a mission to try to pick a favorite flower(s). I am picking them purely on first impression (courtesy of google image):

Brightly colored chrysanthemums

Poppies and Bluebells  (ie. wildflowers)

Lush roses, tulips, Asiatic lilies, stock, asters and more...

In all honesty, I find all flowers to be pretty. It's the thought that counts!

Target = Trouble (Weightless Wallet)

Oops..

I went to Target last night and was incapable of leaving the store with one thing, or the actual thing I intended to buy. My wallet is weightless with the excuse that I needed to refresh my Spring work wardrobe:

Mossimo® Womens Fit and Flare Dress w/ Pockets in Aqua Mist

Merona® Women's Elastic Waistband Shirtdress in Black

 Merona® Petites Refined Dress in Red

Healthy Tummy

Things I buy when I'm on a health kick (anytime I have a special event coming up; summer; when I'm bored and need to obsess about something):

1.

 2.

(I also LOVE it in Gingerberry)

3. Yerba Mate

4. WHOLE FOODS EVERYTHING... including these treats!

 

Yes.

Nicely groomed eyebrows and big earrings.

The combination of a strong brow and intricate earrings is very appealing to me. (Wouldn't it be great to go back to the moment where something catches your eye so you can explain what is so amazing about it later in life? I wish I could explain it!)

Stumbled upon (this is glamourous) and I loved the site!

The looks from the 2013 Dolce & Gabbana editorials epitomized the glamour of the strong-brow/jewels look. Further, they set the scene on the beautiful Sicilian coast with a nostalgic 50s/60s vibe, which was enough for me to drool at the mouth and wish I lived in that world. Add boys to the mix... and I die:

#nofilter #filteranxiety

Life is happening. It’s weird. I always think that my real life is going to begin when ____________ happens. At different moments. Probably when my fantastic adventure begins. Probably when it looks pretty or prettier… filter free, isn't that the dream?

Cindy Crawford aka How I wish I could spend my days... looking beautiful and scantily clad, in a French cafe, no less.

The simple pleasures.

This was just emailed to me and it made me smile:

Cookie top (because I don't like muffins).

That's a lie. I do like muffins, but only the muffin-tops. They tend to have all the extra sweetness. I like really cold muffins. I learned I preferred them chilled because in college, I used to buy chocolate chip muffins that were stocked towards the top freezer section of the fridge in the store. The cold muffins were refreshing and made the muffin-top all the more chewy. I can't really describe it.

I'm actually not that much of a cookie fan. I don't like dry foods.This whole post is a lie. I like cookies and muffins under certain conditions

HOWEVER... I think these cookies will change my life because they have nutella and sea salt. I love nutella... and sea salt is fine just because I like the sea and I like salt... I'll happily sacrifice my waistline for these:

Nutella stuffed brown butter and sea-salt chocolate chip cookies from Ambitious Kitchen. OMG.

I first tried the sea-salt/chocolate combo when I was in Chile visiting my grandma. It was very late at night and I wanted junk food (that I knew my grandma wouldn't have) but I was determined to find something yummy in her pantry. I looked and looked and almost gave up, until I found a dented box of bon-bons. It was dark and I couldn't see what kind of chocolates were in the box. Frankly I didn't care. I carefully opened the box (because if it looked un-opened, my grandma would never know that I had opened the box... not that she would have cared... but I felt guilty stealing chocolate from my grandma at an odd hour of the night), grabbed a chocolate and popped it in my mouth.

Then my brain exploded with ecstasy because I had never experienced the sweet and salty combo chocolate delight. Because one of my senses was compromised (it was dark and I could not judge the bon-bon) the experience of taste was heightened and all the more glorious. 

I'm determined to make these Nutella-stuffed brown butter and sea-salt chocolate chip cookies... and by that I mean that I'll ask my sister (because she'll go the extra mile to make them GF) or bf to make them for me because I like instant gratification. I wouldn't be able to get past licking the cookie batter, on my own.

I know better, but I need to drill this in my head:

I can be very critical and cut-throat... when it comes to other people's relationships. As soon as someone meddles with my emotions, I turn into a sobby-blabbery-inconsolable-excuses lady...

Enough is enough.

(I think that I'm a hoarder of memories. That's why I need Hooked-on-Phonics for moving on).

In other news: The sun is shining. There are happy people making me swoon... Well, one is. And that is all that matters!

Also, have you noticed that I like letterpress-esq visual representations of quotations?

And random: one of my pet-peeves is when people use "quotes" when they should be using "quotation." Just thought I would tell you.

Indulge.

The Ice Cream Dress, courtesy of designer Zac Posen's collaboration with Magnum Ice Cream caught my eye! (But really, was it the ice cream or the glitzy fashion that inspired me..?) Apparently, the dress is valued at $1.5 million and will be worn by a hot Brazilian model during the Tribeca Film Festival in a few weeks. I think this is a very unique concept and quite brilliant, meshing ice cream with beautiful people... I have an unnatural obsession with both! 

In keeping with the pretty people and gold theme... here are a two of my favorite girl crushes wearing goldish-tones:

Margherita Missoni

Eva Mendes

*Blog ADD* Stalking Eva led me to re-loving the Cartier Love Collection. I think it would be very romantic to receive a Love Bracelet from a serious significant lover (and by that I mean husband, because these puppies are so $$$, and because I like the story and symbolism of the bracelet ie. permanent love).

Have a lovely day. I must go be a work minion now.

Spring. Finally!

It finally felt like spring! Yay!

The weather was almost balmy... the sun was shining and I was very happy to leave my office for an hour and walk around. 

I've tried to get into the habit of walking around on my lunch break. I hate sitting at a desk for 8 hours. For the sake of being honest, I will also now admit that I have a slight fear of getting fat. This is a complicated and sensitive subject for me, but why lie about it? I go through phases of extreme health, with binges of... well, binges. The thing to remember -according to my sister- is that as long as boys are willing to hook-up with you, you aren't completely that off-track and you can go ahead and eat whatever you want. I think it's also important to remember that (heterosexual) boys are usually willing to hook up with girls regardless of pretty-much anything (give or take some things... like a penis) Her theory is great because (in a non-skewed brain moment) I'm fine and healthy, and because I don't have a penis.

I bought a yoga ball chair a few months ago, to try to help my posture (I've turned into Quasimodo) and to "strengthen my core," which is a cop-out since the best way to have a core is by getting out of the chair and doing hot-girl exercises like Pilates and yoga. I struggle with yoga because I'm not a skilled breather, but I'm getting better at it! I can get into Pilates, up until I fart start laughing. I'm getting better at pilates, too! 

The warm weather was lovely and inspired me to make a playlist of catchy pop songs that I will try to run along to. (Wishful thinking that I'll be one of those runner-girls who just bop up and down the road and look hot and sign up for charity marathons... I like spandex pants and neon tank-tops, that's really why I want to be a legit runner-girl...) 

Would I rather run, or not run? With a gun to my head, I would pick running. Ringo understands. 

I got back from my "run" a few minutes ago, which was a "run for three songs" and then "walk the rest of the way which was also three songs" long. I was proud of myself for the first half of my run. I think I could have run a little bit longer. The walk back was nice because my legs felt the "good" kind of tired (plus I had power walked for an hour in the afternoon)... however... I was so disappointed in my illegally dl-ed playlist because the last two songs on the list didn't play all the way through. I walked back home with the headphones still in my ear, but no sound coming through. It was oddly peaceful. 

Playlist for the Non-runner who loved boy-bands but is too lazy to download songs so you just take what you get from whatever car CD mixes are lying around (that's right, I don't even connect my Ipod in the car)

1. Give your heart a break - Demi Lovato

2. Some Nights - FUN

3. The New Workout Plan - Kanye

4. I love it (I don't care) - Icona Pop

5. Bad Romance - Lady Gaga

6. I knew you were trouble - Taylor Swift 

5. Hot N Cold - Katy Perry

*Songs 5 and 6 were very scratched. 

It's complicated.

Thank you, F. Scott Fitzgerald, for making me feel empowered...

... and heartbroken. 

(What is the lesson here? I'm waiting for it. Can the new love be better if it's not the same as the nonsensical absurdity I'm now mourning?) 

Weightless Wallet

Oh. Man.
I just discovered Loly in the sky, a divine loafer shop! The loafers are adorable, a little quirky and chic, and (sort of) affordable (depending on how stingy and/or irresponsible I've been in a given month).

I do not know how I ended up here (I have a gazillion web pages open. It's Friday. It's hard to give a ______ about what I'm paid to do. I am a master maximizer/minimizer of the websites compliance frowns upon... but they haven't stormed in to reprimand me for what I'm looking at, yet. Or ever. I'm that smooth.)

I'm drooling at the mouth because there are loafers that are called my name. This means they are meant for me. Someone was inspired by my name! (This never happens. At Disneyworld, I could never find my name on the personalized magnets or mugs.  My name is: 1. Foreign (because I am the product of tan Frenchies and Italians who settled in South America) 2. Popular in the 1960s-80s, not including the eras where it's been popular in Latin countries 3. A character on Cheers 4. For the record, I like my name!)


And that's how my wallet is weightless.

Little Free Library

My heart skipped a little beat of delight when I came across this sweet book exchange... the Little Free Library! The Little Free Library promotes literacy and community building through the exchange of books and opportunities for dialogue.

I love books. I love libraries. I love little things. This is amazing. What's even more lovely is that this project can be enjoyed world-wide. The world just got a little smaller, thanks to the Little Free Library.

Aggressive suggestion.

Don't spill tea on the books.

Whimsical. Probably managed by a hot hipster couple who is very detail-oriented.

Songbird.

Ponder... songbird.

"Songbird Circle Skirt" 

I would not wear this skirt, but I'm happy it exists for the sake of this post. I do love Anthropologie though. I've never come across a nautical stripe I didn't like either, aka the shirt.

A little Oasis nostalgia...

...It depends on the day