Budget, Bold and Ballin Buys

River Island

Joe's Jeans

Balenciaga 

Sadly my favorite season is ending, but what keeps me excited for Fall is the fashion! I have many things I am eyeing up to buy, but my first purchase will most likely be a motorcycle jacket. I love, love, love, a great leather jacket. It is something that can turn jeans and a t-shirt into a chic little number. I especially love it thrown on top of a dress because it gives an otherwise totally feminine look a bit of an edge. 

Here are a few additional wallet friendly choices for a black leather jacket: Forever 21/Nordstrom/Nasty Gal

Sephora 

Smashbox 

MAC

It's looking like colorful and bold eyes are going to be something you'll see this Fall in the world of makeup.  Having a great eyeshadow palette is the perfect start in being prepared for any creative eye look you may fancy this season.   These are all great choices depending on what specific products you need.  Sephora offers great value while incorporating eyeshadows, lipgloss and eye pencils to their palette, while Smashbox offers eyeshadow plus blusher and cream eyeliner.  The MAC palette is somewhat of an investment.  This is perfect for someone who loves eye makeup and likes to try new looks.  This palette is totally customized to your very own color preferences (this specific palette was customized by me.) While this palette only offers eye shadow, it may be worth the pretty penny since you can hand pick the colors.  

 Michael Antonio 

MK

 Coclico 

Booties, booties, booties how I love the. I am obsessed with booties of all colors, heel heights and styles.  Here are a few examples of some of my favorite basic black booties.  I have been stalking the Coclico pair and have already tried them on in my favorite local boutique, Peper & Parlor.  I can honestly say they are super comfy and that this brand is worth the extra $$$ for great quality alone.  I haven't made the purchase as of yet but I will probably bite the bullet quite soon.  If you have reservations about spending too much on booties, the Michael Antonio pair is extremely reasonable and for a bit more the MK pair is so pretty with the gold zipper detail.

Which products would you choose?
xo
Jen & Kelly

Watermelon - Cucumber Cooler

I have been a bit on the emotional side when it comes to this season nearing a close.  It's funny since Fall happens to be my most favorite time of year.  Summer is almost up so drink up I say!  It's time to enjoy those delicious drinks that exude Summer while you can.  This cooler/cocktail would be oh so perfect for a Labor Day weekend soiree or just a night out on the patio with your girl friends.  I obviously love how this drink tastes or I wouldn't share but also that it is so pretty in presentation and talk about refreshing!  I guess you could even say it's healthy sans the vodka haha.  There are so many options as far as garnish.  I went the obnoxious route and chose to use gigantic watermelon slices but you can use a simple cucumber slice or swirl.  To kick it up a notch in  the refreshing department, you can also add a bit of mint.  I first made it without the mint which was delicious.  When I added the mint as a test, I really enjoyed the minty refreshing zing but I would say without the mint it is more of a calm Zen flavor with stronger notes of melon.  Either way I promise it's very tasty.

x

Jen

Ingredients 

• 6 cups cubed watermelon (about 1/2 of a medium sized watermelon)
• 1 large cucumber, peeled and cubed
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 1/2  tablespoons of  honey
• 2/3 cup vodka
• ice
• 12 mint sprigs broken apart (optional)
• Cucumber  or Watermelon slices for garnish

Directions

1. In a blender or food processor puree the cubed watermelon. Place a fine mesh sieve over a large bowl or wide-mouthed pitcher. Pour the puree into the sieve over the bowl while firmly pressing downward with a wooden spoon or spatula (this will extract as much juice as possible). Repeat whole process with the cubed cucumber adding it to the watermelon juice. * If your blender is very large you can puree the watermelon and cucumber together to save time.
2.  Add lime juice to a small bowl or cup and stir in honey.  Add to bowl of watermelon and cucumber juices.
3.  Stir in vodka
4. Fill 4 glasses with ice and pour the juice mix over the ice of each glass.  Stir in mint if you choose to add it.  Add cucumber and/or watermelon slices to each glass as garnish.  Enjoy :)

Lasts Days of Summer Maxi

Our first order of business is to congratulate our winner of our Stella & Dot Giveaway for the Maldives necklace. Congratulations to Kim Blemings! You are our Lucky winner! You will be soon be receiving a little green box at your door-step with your beautiful new statement necklace inside.  Also we'd like to give a big "Thank You" to Shannon Burgwald for making this giveaway possible.

This past weekend Jen came in town for the day to catch up on some blog work. Luckily I was able to convince her to stay the night and we had such a blast catching up, girl talking,  and playing cards against humanity with some of our other friends.  Rewinding to earlier that day, we took a lunch break and went over to my sister Jacque's house.  It was such a gorgeous sunny day, one I will cherish since the Summer is sadly winding down.  We enjoyed our lunch outside on the patio and soaked up some rays. We made plans to head to Manayunk later that night  for some dinner & cocktails.  It was the perfect night to eat outside.  We loved the dress Jacque wore so much that we wanted to share it on the blog as one of our last outfit posts for the Summer.  She kept her accessories quite simple since it was a casual night out.  This dress is such  a beautiful color.  I love the flowiness factor and the details on the back.  It was certainly a steal at Forever 21.  Although this exact dress is no longer available, there is still a similar flowy maxi version in the same print at Forever.  Hope you are enjoying the last days of your Sumer. 

  x

Kelly

Maxi Dress - Forever 21 - find similar

Sunnies - Ray Ban

Earrings - Anthropologie

Clutch - Francesca's - find similar @ Nordstrom

Watch  - Michael Kors

Liebster Award

We were recently nominated for the Liebster award by Vee Coco from V World Rocks. Thanks so much Vee for the nomination! The Liebster Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers.  What does Liebster mean?  Liebster is German and means sweetest, nicest,kindest, dearest, beloved, lovely, pleasant, kind,valued, cute, endearing, and welcome.

Here are the rules...

1. Link back to the blogger who nominated you thanking them.

2. Answer the 10 questions you've been asked from the person who nominated you.

3. Create 10 questions of your own to ask some other bloggers.

4. Share the love: Choose 10 other bloggers, with less than 200 followers, to nominate and send them a comment or message letting them know you've nominated them. 

Sharing the love (Blogs we are nominating) 

1. http://postcardsfromfrisco.blogspot.com/

2. http://brewedtogether.blogspot.com/

3. http://doitfortheirony.blogspot.com/

4. http://www.sincerelytrulyscrumptiousxoxo.com/

5. http://www.chevronsandeclairs.com/

6. http://www.trendyschmendy.com/

7. http://anna-lamode.blogspot.com/

8. http://dashofkate.blogspot.dk/

9. http://www.weheartbeautyblog.com/

10. http://iamalifestyleblog.blogspot.com/

Questions and Answers: (Jen & Kelly will be answering separately.)

1.  When did you start blogging?

      J - March of 2013

      K - April of 2013
2.  What inspired you to start blogging?

      J - I used to take pictures for my sister-in-law's blog and it inspired me to start my own.

      K - My girlfriend Jen Tucci (AKA my co-blogger)
3.  What 3 words describe your blog?

      J - Fun, Colorful, Real

      K - Fun, In, practical
4.  What 3 words describe you?

      J - determined, friendly, shy

      K - friendly, problem solver, mommy
5.  What is your favorite beauty product?

      J - One Love Organics -  Skin Savior moisturizer/cleanser

      K - Mascara/Bronzer - I love both!
6.  What is your favorite article of clothing?

      J - My yellow cardigan

      K - Shorts
7.  Other than blogging what are your hobbies?

      J - running, baking, photography, DIYs

      K - cooking, painting wine glasses, hosting get-togethers
8.  If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go and why?

      J - This is a tough one! I would go to HI anytime and have always wanted to see  

      Austrailia, but I would have to say Bora Bora.  It looks gorgeous, untouched and  

      relaxing.

      K - Greece because it looks absolutely breathtaking in pictures and I've heard its 

      amazing.          

9.  Who inspires you and why?

      J - Any woman who works full-time, is a mom, a cook, a wife and still finds time to 

      exercise and have fun.  I want to have it all together like that someday. These women  

      truly amaze me.

      K - My Mom, she always handles every situation effortlessly even the tough ones.
10. Any goals or dreams?

      J - To be a great mom someday and also be my own version of the woman  I described  
      in question 9.
      K - To see my daughters grow up to be the best that they can be, and always feel good 
      about themselves.

Our Questions:
1.  How would you describe your personal style in 2 words?
2.  Where is your most favorite place that you have ever lived or vacationed?
3.  What inspired you to start a blog?
4.  Do you have a favorite makeup or beauty brand?
5.  Cooking or baking?
6.  What is your favorite comedic movie?
7.  What is your favorite item in your closet right now?
8.  What celebrity inspires you most in terms of fashion?
9.  What haircut or style have you always wanted but have been too scared to try?
10.What is your favorite guilty pleasure food?

Nautical Nancy

These pictures were taken a few ago.  Rupal and I were going for a stroll by the water in Hoboken.  All of NYC was behind us.  It is such a fantastic view.  It's funny, no matter how many times I see the city from afar I still stare in utter amazement.  It's like seeing it for the first time every time and even better at night.

The Nautical look will always be one of my favorites.  There are so many renditions of nautical and I think they are all so much fun. I absolutely Love this Splendid jumpsuit! For 1 it's navy, 2 it's striped and 3 it's just too cute.  Rupal looks amazing wearing anything but I think this look in particular suits her tall frame. Although I am super short and I stocked up on jumpers and jumpsuits this Summer. I think the next thing on my list is to find out how she gets her hair to look so perfect.  I specifically remember this day being super windy and still her hair stayed as it did when she first walked out the door. I can't believe I have never asked her before hmmm.  Another great thing about this jumper is that you can gear it up differently for Fall.  Add a pair of flats or boots and a cute little jacket and there you go, Fall time!

 Jumpsuit - Splendid

Bag - Tommy Hilfiger - find similar

Sandals - JCrew

Sunnies - Salt Optics also seen here
Necklace - Martin & Osa (old) - find similar

Watch  - Michael Kors
Earrings - Trends Boutique - find similar

Toe color - OPI (Don't pretzel my buttons)

P.S. Don't forget to Enter our Stella & Dot Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Stella & Dot Necklace Giveaway!

Happy Monday Everyone,

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  I had a lovely weekend spent on Kiawah island about 15 miles from Charleston, South Carolina.  This trip was planned by my hubby as mainly a golf outing for him, his father and brother-in-law.  Us women tagged along for some cocktails, meals and late afternoon strolls on the beach. It was a lovely time for the ladies to spend time bonding and relaxing separately while the men had their macho time on the fairway.  While the weather was quite uncooperative (humid, cloudy & rainy) we definitely made the best of it.  Staying positive was the way to go and the Sun gods gave us a beautiful sun filled sky on our last day.  We were able to spend a few hours on the beach just before heading to the airport.  It was just enough time to cook my skin to over medium and avoid a well done situation.  I was able to leave with a nice glow that now puts me one step above ghostly as I was before.  Yes in case you are wondering, I did use sunblock of course. 

Kelly and I thought it would be fun to start off the week with a giveaway!  We got together with our friend and Star Stylist, Shannon from Stella & Dot.  Shannon thought it would be an exciting opportunity to giveaway the Maldives (retail $118) necklace in honor of our post "Minty Maxi" that was published in Lucky Community.  We all loved the necklace that Rupal was wearing so much that we thought one of you lovely readers should have one too!  Although Summer will soon be coming to a close you can still enjoy the beautiful vibrant colors of Summer.  This necklace has some of my fave color combos for the season.  Below are some additional photos of the necklace.  If you would like to enter for a chance to win just look for the rafflecopter box at the bottom of this post.  Good Luck!

x

Jen

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cakebread Stripes and Polka Dots

This week I am presenting yet another set of photos from our trip to Napa.  I think I just can't get over the fact that we left and are now stuck back in reality. These pics were taken mostly on the grounds of our first tasting which was at Cakebread Cellars.  It was definitely a fun and out of the ordinary tasting since they guide you all around the grounds and have you taste at several stations.  They call it "progressive tasting" which we did not experience anywhere else.  They are not stingy with the number of wines they give you to taste (unlike some places) and the tour was very informative but not boring.  Oh and I should add that the wine was pretty yummy too. This was a great place to start off the day.  We took many photographs here since we were still fully energized and hadn't yet drunk too much wine.  As I mentioned in the last Napa post, my best friend Maria, here in the photos joined us since she was just a short drive away coming from San Fran.  It was so good to see her even if just for one day.  Maria was wearing such a cute striped skirt from Anthropologie and she paired it with my polka dot chambray top also from Anthro.  Can you tell where we like to shop haha?  It was the perfect outfit for wine tasting. She went the opposite direction of me.  I chose to go bare legged in shorts and cover my arms with a blazer while she covered her legs and exposed here arms. You have to cover up somewhere in the crisp cool morning air in Napa Valley.  I am counting the days until my next short trip out there in October.  
x
Jen

Chambray shirt - Anthropologie

Maxi Skirt - Anthropologie

Lace top - Banana Republic -find similar

Necklace - Express

Sandals - Colin Stuart

Sunglasses - Anthropologie

Bag - Louis Vuitton

Budget, Bold and Ballin Buys

Urban Expressions

 Claire Vivier

 Proenza Schouler

With Cobalt Blue as one of the hottest colors for Fall why not have a clutch in this fun color.  It gives the perfect pop to any outfit and looks great with even a LBD (little black dress).  I have always loved this color but now that it's super trendy it will be that much easier to find amongst more accessories, jewelry, clothing etc... My personal fave here is the Claire Vivier.  There is a little boutique shop 1 block from my apartment that always stocks her current clutches and I drool every time I see them. I think I will make the leap and just purchase one already! I need to start off the new season right :) If you care to take a peak at this addictive boutique shop, please do here.

Physician's Formula 

MAC 

Kimiko 

Every girl needs the perfect eye liner that she feels confident using and wearing.  Kelly and I are huge fans of gliding eyeliners because they are easy to use and easy to smudge. The Fall and winter months are our personal favorite seasons to sport the smokey eye and this is what we use.  Kelly has always loved her MAC Pro longwear liner.  Then she discovered the Physician's Formula liner that seems to work just as well but comes in a 3 pack for only $12.  This nifty and thrifty pack allows for experimentation with different colors and you don't have to break the bank to try them out. I am a long time user of Kimiko eyeliner.  I am a bit fanatical when it comes to using all natural and organic products these days.  This liner falls into that category. It is not organic but it is all natural and offers some extra moisturizer powers for the lash line. It is glides on super easy and lasts for months. 

Zara 

Ted Baker

Red Valentino 

Pale pink for Fall?  Surely this may sound odd at first but YES indeed pale pink will definitely have its moment to shine come Fall along with other pastels like baby blues and faded almond.  I rarely wear pink but there is something so feminine and fresh about a pink coat that I adore.  There are many shades of pink so if a bolder pink or Salmon scares you, opt for a very pale pink like this Ted Baker peplum hem style shown above.  These coats really make a statement.  Sometimes it can be difficult to justify buying an expensive trendy statement piece.  I happen to Love the color and relaxed style of the Zara coat which is nice and affordable but with a pastel color I think I would prefer it to be a bit more structured and modern.  My favorite is the Ted Baker but I am also attracted to the timeless vintage feel of the Red Valentino coat.   Which style would you go for?

x

Jen