DECEMBER

It is officially December, everywhere & all over the world!!! This is my favorite time of the year... between the HOLIDAY SEASON & MY BIRTHDAY MONTH, there is so much to get excited about! It is a month full of gatherings with family & friends, delicious meals, tons of dessert, gift exchanges, Christmas music & decor, bright, colorful lights everywhere, the smell of alpine trees, cinnamon & pies. It is a time for sharing, giving (and receiving). It is a time for reflection and tradition, a time for reunions and remembering loved ones near and far, those we miss and the ones that have passed. In December, you might hear a lot more laughter than usual, think of more sentimental words to say, do a lot more hugging, see more smiling faces, feel those positive vibes, recognize people eager to be living life to the fullest and attend more fun, out of this world, memorable parties in one month, than you have all year long. It is such a festive time of the year and I love it! I'm kicking off the 1st day of this special, wonderful month of December, hanging up a little bit of beautiful, sparkly holiday decor around my home, ready to enjoy every single day of December. 

Shopping H&M

Theme: Classic in your Basic Black

Purchases: Dress, Purse and a Graphic Long Sleeves Shirt for the little man in my life.

I went into H&M this weekend and got these amazing finds, that I guarantee, can & will be used for many different occasions. Each item can be perfectly matched with a variety of options for multiple looks and purposes.

For the price of a steal, I was excited to find a long, lace dress in black. This dress is currently on sale, over 50% off of its' original price of $49.95! This dress is versatile in its wearability. With hints of lace all over, it has the simple elegance of a dress that can be worn for a special event, an important dinner date, any occasion that requires evening dress attire, but also simple enough that with flats instead of high heels, can be dressed down to be worn for Sunday Brunch or Saturday shopping with your best, just as fashionable girlfriends. It is a long dress but has a shorter inner piece to show off traces of your legs, under its soft, sheer material. I love it because its simplicity is not underrated. It is both classy and sophisticated and with the lace and sheer overlay combination, it is also sexy. 



                 

I had been looking for a black purse with a possible hint of gold, when I stumbled upon this one. The one I found at H&M, may be quite simple but shoulder mini bags like these can also be hard to find. The purse is in your basic black, with no patterns or mixed with any other color combinations. It is versatile for a night out with the girls, dinner dates or for a day out shopping to match those smooth leather pants and faux fur jacket you've been wanting to finally wear, this Fall & Winter Season. This small shoulder bag has gold chain straps, giving it a hint of contrast from the simplicity of an all black purse, but it is also exactly what I needed to add to my collection of "go to" purse that can fit more than just your credit cards and lipstick, but small enough to wear with a cocktail dress, mini dress, black skinny jeans, basically anything, where subtlety in your choice of purse, may make the best statement versus any other. The material looks like matte leather, which isn't actually real leather but from a distance and even up close, looks perfectly slick and chic.

                                      

One of the best part of shopping at H&M is that they have clothing for women, men & kids. I have found my favorite pieces of clothing & accessories for Jax at H&M, since he was a baby and realized how fun it was to style him in trendy, fashionable outfits. I got a shirt for my little sidekick, to go perfectly with my all black dress and my gold chained mini shoulder bag. When I saw this long sleeves shirt, the writing on it reminded me of Jax instantly and it's by far, the cutest part about it. Black on black always matches and the gold graphics to emphasis the word, SUPER is just right. 

Coordinating outfits? Yes, but more like, I simply fell in love with a shirt perfect for a boy like mine. 

"Part Time Super Hero", that is so my little man!

H&M to shop for this look or similar designs!

APPS: American Express Unstaged Taylor Swift

For more Taylor Swift experience, you must check out the application, Amercian Express Unstaged Taylor Swift. It is an interactive 3D experience into the set of her music video, "Blank Space" which is also at the very top of my most favorite songs in her album, 1989. Love that song! What makes this application so unique is that it creates another experience for fans to get more of Taylor Swift, the visuals, the commentaries, the ideas behind her music. This was my first experience with an application such as this, featuring an artist, their music and into the terrain in which they have recreated, into the world their songs inhabit. I think it is quite revolutionary, but leave it to Taylor Swift and her brand, to find new ways to engage with her fans. In a behind the scenes interview, she describes this app, as a gift to her fans. So, the coolest part is, this application is absolutely FREE! So you can try it out with no hesitation or cost to you, experience this interactive Taylor Swift world in 3D and you'll love her even more...

In this application, you can: watch the music video, "Blank Space", enter the interactive 3D experience, check out the list of cities in her upcoming world tour, purchase the album, go behind the scenes into the making of the album, view some exclusive collectibles within her music video set, discover more unstaged moments by other music makers. 

The Unstaged Taylor Swift application presented by American Express Unstaged, can be downloaded for free at either the Apple App Store or Google Play.

Album:1989 Taylor Swift (Deluxe Edition)

Release Date: October 27, 2014. Big Machine Records. Executive Producers: MAX Martin & Taylor Swift

5 Reasons I'm Loving Taylor Swift's New Album, 1989:

1. In typical hit-maker fashion, every track on the album can be a single! 

2. This album is not just a collection of songs, but reveals an array of emotions and intentions; love, fear, happiness, flirtatiousness, playfulness, regret, doubt, insecurities, certainties and fun, fun, fun.... It's an emotional roller-coaster, but a ride worth taking!

3. There are songs that will surprise you! A few songs on this album, may not sound like Taylor Swift from her past albums, but they are just as good. It might be in the slightest of ways, but she still continues to reveal for us another dimension to these notions of love & relationships, she is best known to sing about. She has ballads that are softer, more gentle in sound yet stronger in its words and content, than before. She has songs that are edgier in its production and deeper in meaning and concept, than we have heard before. Isn't that what any innovative artist would want? A constant revelation in their maturity, reflected through their music. 

4. In classic Taylor Swift songwriting style, her lyrics significantly matter! They always seem to tell a vivid, cohesive & intricately woven yet relatable sequence of events. There is a story line and her stories are intriguing!

5. Taylor Swift songs will keep you guessing, wondering and deeply engaged in figuring out which boy(s) she's singing about... this time. 

Reasons Why The Deluxe Edition is Worth It: 

1. Three of the best songs on this album are the Bonus Tracks: Wonderland, You Are In Love & New Romantics. After listening to the Deluxe Edition of this album, the regular version almost seems incomplete without the Bonus Tracks. I can hardly imagine the album without them. They are on repeat in my audio player!

2. There are three songwriting voice memos. If you are a songwriter yourself, an artist of any genre or simply a huge fan of her music, you will love listening to Taylor share a glimpse of the creative process that goes into the compositional structure and writing of her songs. They are more than songs, but playbacks of a time before the completion of a song, if anything, it is a playback of the beginning, the fruition of what was to become of an idea and a sound that will eventually turn into a record on this album. It is often an unseen side of an artist, the songwriter, the individual as her authentic, raw self behind & before the music. 

3. Everyone loves visuals and photographs. Within the Deluxe Edition, you get a handful of Polaroid-like copies of Taylor behind the scenes. They replicate the style, look and colors of a Polaroid film. These images are beautiful, visually, aesthetically & in the manner that they give insight to what feels like intimate moments in this pop icon's world. So, if you are a fan of Taylor Swift, you might not want to miss out on these images & their original captions, as written by Taylor herself...

IF YOU ARE GOING TO GET TAYLOR SWIFT'S 1989 ALBUM, YOU HAVE TO GET THE DELUXE EDITION! 

They are sold exclusively at Target.

Music: Albums Worth Revisiting

With all the new music, artists and albums out there, it is more often that we try to keep up with the current hit songs and bask in the notion of finding something new and upcoming to listen to, than we are likely to find the time to put that old record on... but, just because it is not the latest album or a new release, it does not mean it is no longer relevant or as good as if they were released today. Here are a few artists (who have released an album within recent years) with one of their past albums, which I think is still worth listening to in its entirety, again & again...  even after a decade ago! They have a sound that still holds relevance and shows innovation, even in a constantly changing music industry. These artists have voices that continue to uniquely define them. Most significantly, these albums have songs and messages that will still speak to you, regardless of how long ago they were written. 


This morning, I've been listening to these albums: 

(1999) Fiona Apple, When The Pawn... (2000) Boyz II Men, Nathan, Michael, Shawn, Wanya (2001) Tyrese, 2000 Watts (1997) Gwen Stefani, Sweet Escape (2009) Mariah Carey, Butterfly (2006) Ingrid Michaelson, Everybody





You can revisit these albums instantly on Spotify.

A Retro Mini Bag for My Lipstick Obsession

The make-up product, I probably buy and experiment with more than any other, is lipstick! I just love trying out colors and textures, from matte to butter

(yes, butter is a lipstick texture, according to NYX). I am always on a search for that perfect everyday lipstick, that can go with any outfit, subtle enough but definitely there. Some days, I love making a statement out of my choice of lip color and occasionally, I will shop specifically for a color to match an outfit for a special occasion. Lips without even the slightest color just seems boring. It's that final touch when putting on your make-up. My interest in lipstick have led to what feels like an obsession... almost. It's as if, I just can't have enough color choices and when I hear of a lipstick product that does wonders on someone else's lips, I have to try it out on myself!

With all the lip products I have collected, there are lips stains, lip moisturizers, lip glosses and of course your classic lipsticks, I definitely have my favorites and I decided a little cute cosmetic bag would be the perfect place to keep them. It keeps it separated from all my other make-up products and when I'm ready to finish off my look for the day or night, having my favorites in one place, makes it so much easier to look through my growing collection and choose the perfect lipstick to go with the right outfit.



The names of lipstick colors are always so fun! There's Divine Divine, Audacious, Pink Wink, Strawberry Dauquiri, Thalia, Regal, Delish, Madeline & Milan Moment, just to share a few from my collection of lipsticks... Imagine being the one who gets to name these amazing colors?!?  

The mini lipstick bag, I have chosen is small enough to put inside my daily, general make-up bag and stylish enough to stand out, on its own. A plain white background may seem simple enough of a design, but definitely not boring, not when you've got an image of a single bright red lipstick on one side and a bold black mascara on the other side, right at the forefront of this stylish cosmetic bag, which I also found, in store at Forever 21.

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MAKE UP JUNKIE Cosmetic Bag

It was finally time to update my make-up bag! 

I've had my last one for a little over two years, which surprisingly, through all its' travel and daily use, is still useable, with no tears or stains that a little cleaning up can't remove. So one may wonder, why update a perfectly useable bag? The main reason I got a new make-up bag was simply because I was in a mood for a change... Since my last one held up for so long and with just a little cleaning up, can look almost as good as new, I was very impressed with its quality. With this in mind, I decided to shop for my new one, where I bought the last, Forever 21. 

Did you know Forever 21  has an 

awesome collection of cosmetic bags?

Beauty: Three Specific Beauty Products I have Stuck With...

There are three specific beauty products that you will always find in my make-up bag. Ever since I started using these products, I have honestly never found any other version of these items, that I seem to like more! These beauty tools, mascara, eyeliner & foundation, are definite essentials for nearly anyone who wears make-up. 

Why I love these particular products?
Accessibility. Inexpensiveness. Quality. 

Spotify: Leighton Meester "Heartstrings"

Album Title: Heartstrings
Release Date: October 28, 2014

Singer/Songwriter: Leighton Meester
Producer: Jeff Trot


Spotify, the digital music player that allows you to stream music online is a great source and access to countless artists, albums and simply put, millions of songs. It allows you to listen to music categorized by musical genres, moods,  such as " and depending on your account, so much of these music can be enjoyed for free. I've personally found Spotify to be an awesome place to discover songs, I would have no prior knowledge of until hearing them on Spotify or be introduced to artists, I would have never otherwise stumble upon, if it were not for the structure in which Spotify allows you to explore and listen to music. Occasionally I listen to Spotify on my computer, as background music, while working on other things and other times, I intentionally log unto Spotify, to browse around, searching for musical inspirations. I have also found Spotify to be a great source for previewing albums, before deciding to purchase it. With that experience and notion in mind, I would like to start sharing my musical discoveries via Spotify, beginning with the album "Heartstrings" by Leighton Meester. 


Most people know Leighton Meester as an actress. She famously starred in the CW hit television series, Gossip Girl, as well as the film, Country Strong alongside Gwyneth Paltrow, which allowed her to utilize and expose her vocal abilities. Regardless of her popularity on screen and the knowledge that she can sing, not as many people know her or refer to her as musical artist, that she is. Now, with her own collections of original songs and an album, titled "Heartstrings", I think that is about to change... For a television/movie actress to add recording artist and songwriter to her repertoire, expectations may vary on what her album may bring, what type of audience it would captivate, what sound she would contribute to the music industry, who she is when she isn't playing a role but being simply an individual, expressing her authentic self through music. Personally, regardless of who she is, I have found her album to be quite special. It has only been about twenty-four hours since I first started listening to it, but it has clearly become one of my current favorites. Her songs and voice reveals a side of her that I find intriguing. I have to admit I was surprised by her style and her sound, because it is unlike what most people may expect from a young Hollywood star, so famously linked to everything pop, maybe not pop music necessarily, but popular culture, everything and anything that exemplifies what is trendy and currently "cool" and perhaps because of this, the sounds of pop music, may be what I was subconsciously thinking I would hear, but her album is more than just popular music. It has the sound of indie, rock and pop music, even hints of country and blues. Most significantly, Leighton Meester's album, "Heartstrings" is different enough to separate itself from the expected, but it is still so cool.

Check out: Leighton Meester's cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" with Singer/Songwriter, Dana Williams on YouTube.