Outfits & Essentials: Made For Walking

I'm not going to lie to you; this trend is close to my heart thanks to Mr. Harry Styles. I've been loving his style for the past year or two (and I'm loving the long hair, by the way). From his YSL obsession and his love for hats and headscarves, boy has a style all his own. Aside from the skinny jeans, his signature piece is definitely a pair of Chelsea Boots.

I got myself a heeled pair this past Christmas (now unavailable from Forever 21) and I've been absolutely in love ever since. I'm not a big spender, as you know, so here are some of my favorite Chelsea Boots, all available for under $50. (Hint: H&M seems to have the most variety of styles!)

Info & links under the cut.

One Direction: Our Moment

I've said it once and I'll say it forever; I love One Direction. When I first heard that the boys were releasing a fragrance I immediately put it on my Christmas list. My family, being the wonderful people that they are, got me not only the perfume for Christmas, but the whole gift set which includes a body lotion and shower gel. When I went back to school I didn't take the set with me, afraid that it might get jostled or busted up through the traveling, so I have only just been using the set since mid May. And oh boy. I love this stuff.

Well firstly, the packaging is gorgeous. The gift box has all five of the gorgeous guys on it, so duh I love it. But the inside is super sturdy and I've been keeping everything inside the box even as I've been using it. It's been keeping out the dust and keeping all the products together has reminded me to use them together. (Full disclosure; I haven't used the shower gel yet because I share a shower and don't want anyone else to use it up on me!) 

Like To Be Bad

Okay, so this might be crazy but I used to hate wearing nail polish. I used to be constantly aware of it on my fingers and I thought I could feel the added weight on my hands; like I said, crazy. Well, I when I went off to college I decided that I wanted to love it and after painting my nails time and time again I have reached the point where I hate having unpainted nails.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago my aunt and I went for pedicures and she'd picked up a couple of Essie polishes and gave me this one; #798 Like To Be Bad.

This color is a little sheer and I've been using three to four coats to achieve the really opaque look, but it is seriously the most lovely baby pink color. In the bottle it appears to be very shimmery but once applied the pink glitz really blends out. I would consider this to be a a pretty flat and neutral color, but I am truly in love. I can already tell that this is going to be a repurchase. No chipping for days and pretty for every season. Neutral, but still adds a subtle pop of color! Totally my color for summer.

What are some of your favorite polishes? Any that you've been absolutely loving for summer? Let me know!

Happy Sunday and best wishes for the week ahead!

Homemade French Macarons

For months now I've been dying to try my hands at some homemade French Macaron cookies. Some of my family came out to spend the day for Father's Day and my aunt suggested that we give it a shot. After heading to our local grocery store to pick up some ingredients we got to work in the kitchen.

I've been watching Byron Talbott's YouTube videos for a while and have been really wanting to try one of his recipes, so after clicking around on his website for a little bit I decided to base my cookies off of Byron's Salted Caramel Macaron recipe. I even went ahead and followed his instructions for making homemade caramel filling from a can of sweetened condensed milk, and guess what! It totally worked! We also used some seedless jams and peanut butter to fill the other cookies too!

Following his instructions, this really wasn't too tough to do! There is quite a bit of patience required when making these cookies; having to whip the egg whites into a meringue, letting the batter dry for 15 minutes prior to baking, cooking in the oven for at least 10 (depending on your oven), and the thirty minutes of cooling time before you can fill them but wow these cookies were so worth it!

I'm thinking some red, white, and blue ones for the Fourth of July!
Hope everyone had a nice Father's Day!

Me Time on Madison Avenue

Last week I took a trip into Manhattan to see some of my friends in a musical theater showcase my school was sponsoring over at the Ailey School. It wasn't until to 2:00 but I headed in to the city early, getting in at about 10:30. I met my aunt for an early lunch and a quick trip to MAC to pick up some eyeshadow and when she had to leave for an appointment I headed towards Madison Avenue. Madison Avenue might be my favorite part of the city and wow, walking up and down it by myself was an absolute treat.

I'd been dying to try some Ladurée French Macarons for ages, and had totally forgotten that there was a shop on Madison Ave. I was so beyond excited when I spotted it across the street and immediately dashed over. I couldn't decide if I wanted a creamy one or a fruity one, so I caved and got one of each; pistachio and raspberry. I can't even tell you which I thought was better. They were both incredible. If I could only enjoy one treat for the rest of my life Ladurée French Macarons are it.

After the performance, I had some a few hours to kill before I was to meet up with my aunt again for dinner. I'd never been to the Madison Avenue Lilly Pulitzer, despite being a New Yorker, so I took a trip up towards 79th. Wow it was so beautiful inside. I was looking to pick up some of the Alpha Phi printed gifts but they were out, which was a bummer but I did pick up a new coozie (which I'm thinking of possibly using for a giveaway). The staff were just beyond sweet and really made my experience in the store a great one. I'm not really in a place right now where I can splurge on a big Lilly purchase and not once did I ever feel like they were pressuring me into either buying something or leaving. I would absolutely go back again!

Afterwards I headed over to Central Park which is so beautiful in the spring time. Having been in Oklahoma for the past couple of months has meant that I haven't really been around for New York's transition from winter into spring and summer but the park was looking beyond gorgeous. I walked around for a bit and then sat down to organize my thoughts and my planner, just enjoying the beautiful weather. 

I've never been someone who's had a hard time with alone time, but I never expected to enjoy my time in Manhattan as I did. I generally have my sister or a guy with me when I'm having a little daytime adventure, but having no one to entertain but myself was extremely nice. Everyone should try to take a day for themselves at some point. I could walk as quickly as I wanted, take photos of whatever, stop in any shops I wanted to browse, try clothes on I had no intentions of buying so I could see them on myself; it was just an all around great day.

Take vacations with yourself, even if they only last a couple of hours. You're better company than you expect you are.