My Black Friday experience 2014

If you're like me, Black Friday is one of the best days of the year.  Not going to lie, part of the reason I love Thanksgiving is because of the day that follows.  My friends and I went shopping at midnight until 3 am, as we did last year.  Going to the mall at night feels so fun and different, even though there are so many crowds, it is an experience you must try once in your life.

Here are the purchases I made and the deals I received this year:

The first store I went to was Pacsun.  Right when they opened the doors to the store I was there.  It was pretty crowded, but they had some awesome deals.  The entire store was buy 1 get 1 50% off...including the Brandy Melville merchandise which is so rare!  Brandy hardly ever has a sale.  Additionally, all denim was buy one get one free.

I only bought two Brandy Melville shirts.  Both shirts were $22, but one was half off so the total was $33 (saved $11).

I got a black and white striped crop top which isn't the exact as pictured above, but that was the closest I could find on the Brandy website.

I then got this adorable crop top and I already know what I am wearing with it.  Something about this shirt I love.  Partially because it has my favorite color combination- gold and blue.  Unfortunately this t-shirt is not on their website, but they have many similar ones here.

Next, I went to Garage which also had some great deals.  I bought a sweater dress for $20 (originally $39) and a scrunchie which was $6.50 and not marked down.  My total was $26.50 (saved $19)

I only could find the scrunchie online, the dress shown above is similar. 

My friends and I then went to American eagle, but I didn't find anything worth it for me.  After, we went to Tilly's and I bought a bralette and a flowy shirt.  Neither were marked down because Tilly's did not have good sales.

 In total I saved $30 which is pretty good!  Some stores have great deals, others...not so much.  Just have to find the right ones.  I love Black Friday, it gives a little thrill.  Plus, there is no better feeling than finally curling into your bed at 3 am after a long night of shopping.

xoxo
Emma

Thanksgiving Day Overview

I do love Thanksgiving!  What is better than eating as much food as you want with your entire family and getting dressed up?  The answer is: nothing.

My family and I got up around 8 am and ate pancakes. Then bundled up and went on a scavenger hunt in the woods.  This was our second annual scavenger hunt, but it is becoming a tradition.  My mom hides little presents like mascara, chap stick, money, and candy and writes clues as to where they are hiding.

After an hour of walking through the woods with my dog and my family, we all headed home and got dressed for the big meal.

My relatives lives on the other side of the country and we spend Christmas with them, so for Thanksgiving we are on our own.  Last year and this year we ate at the Langham Hotel in Boston, which has the most amazing Thanksgiving dinner.  They have everything from traditional dishes to a whole seafood station, kids section, and even breakfast station.  Not to mention the place always looks absolutely stunning.  They also have so many desert options!

I ended up wearing a simple dress with my combat boots and just a pair of nylons.  it was very simple and comfortable, but I regret wearing a tight dress because by the time I finished my meal and then desert, I had a huge food baby.

They had a fake red carpet which my sisters and I took about 100 pictures in front of.

Dress-  I cannot find this dress anywhere, I purchased it at Nordstrom Rack for $41 and it is from the brand Tart.  Similar dress here.

This is where we ate- however I did not take this picture.

 The most delicious deserts!

I hope you all had an amazing Turkey Day!  Of course I am going black friday shopping in a few hours so I am very excited.  I will be blogging what I purchased and the deals I got from that shopping trip shortly.  (Here)

xoxo
Emma

Holiday Gift Guide: Men

Recently I've seen several blogs doing holiday gift guides since it is about time to begin Christmas shopping.  I will be doing three of these posts (one per week) and provide gift guides for men, moms, and friends/secret santa occasions.  Let the holiday gift guides begin!

Today I have five gift ideas for men (dads, grandfathers, boyfriends, and brothers) ...all under $30!

1.  Classic T-shirt $18
I don't know if this is just my dad, but he is always wearing cheesy t-shirts on the weekends or when he is relaxing, and sometimes they're actually pretty funny.  T-shirts are cheap so find something your dad/grandpa/brother/etc... likes and find a t-shirt that represents it.

2.  Leather Wallet $19.50
A wallet is an inexpensive gift that will definitely get a ton of use.  J. Crew Factory had cute wallets for both women and men at good prices.

3.  Tie $23.70
You can't go wrong buying a tie.  Either pick out one you really like, or buy a funny one because when I see men in funny ties, it always puts a smile on my face.

4. Cook Book Pitt Cue $24.50
Many men love to cook, depending on who you are purchasing a gift for, a cook book is an awesome present.  They are very useful, and as a thank you that person might cook you a new recipe!

5.  Shave Set $25
If you haven't, check out the Sephora or Ulta mens gift guide.  They have tons of shave sets, colognes, and more awesome gifts for guys!  Often I forget that many guys have to take care of their skin just like girls, so a bath and body set or a shave set is perfect.

Hopefully you got some gift ideas!

xoxo
Emma

Last Minute Thanksgiving Outfit Ideas (dressy, sami-casual, and casual!)

I still do not have any idea what I will be wearing on Turkey Day.  Although, after creating this post, a few ideas are popping up in my mind.  I've created a dressy, semi-dressy, and casual look for you to gain inspiration from for your thanksgiving outfit this year.

Personally, I am probably going for a semi-dressy look.  I think I will be wearing a casual dress with riding boots and some jewelry!

Look 1 (Dressy)

I love this look because black is one of my favorite colors to wear so the knit black sweater dress is adorable!  Paired with silver jewelry and black booties, this look is flawless!  I then paired burgundy tights to tie the look together and make it more fall.  As nothing screams fall like the a nice burgundy.

Look 2 (semi-dressy/casual)

This outfit is very fashionista.  Of course you have to have the high wished skirt, I chose a plaid one because it seems appropriate for fall, and paired it with a cozy, cropped, beige sweater.  Perfect combo!  Then I found these dark green combat boots that look awesome with the green on the skirt.  To dress up this look, add pearls (and maybe some black tights!)

Look 3 (Casual)

I feel like this look is somewhat common.  you cannot get more casual than black leggings and a cotton t-shirt, add a green military jacket or a jean jacket for a cute and effortless vibe.  Then I chose some riding boots so the look wasn't completely casual, and a cute statement necklace.

I love all three of these options and any would be perfect for this Thanksgiving.  Look one has to be my favorite!

Which is your favorite?

xoxo
Emma

Tobi Review

My friends and I recently rediscovered the online store Tobi and basically everyday I'm on their website checking out the new clothes.  If you've never shopped from Tobi, it has both good deals that are under $20 and some other rather expensive items.  It has a very wide variety.  My favorite part of the website are the dresses.  Here are some of my favorite looks:

Dress $54

Obsessed with this dress and the whole look including the jewelry.

Shirt $40

Cool pattern and I love the colors!

Jacket $92

I know its super cute but super pricey, worth it.

Jacket $98

Tip: When you become a member of Tobi, your first purchase comes with a 50% discount, so really this jacket could be $49, pretty sweet.

Pants $28

Really good deal for these fun, yet sophisticated pants.

Scarf $7

This is one of the cheaper scarves, but their is a wide selection (all of which I love) that ranges from $7 - $30

Black shoes $68

Brown Shoes $48

Cute shoe selection too!

So be sure to check out Tobi!

New posts up soon

xoxo

emma

PumpUp Fitness App

My new favorite app on my entire phone, that i completely rely on is the PumpUp App.  It is a fitness and training app that motivates you to lose weight, build muscle, eat healthier, or workout.  Every time you've completed a workout you share a picture and a week/month later you can go through your pictures and see how much you've lost weight or got toned.

Everyday you can pick between workouts that focus on a specific part of your body like your arms, abs, legs, or back muscles.  Then before the work out it gives you a warm up, after the workout it contains a cool down/stretch. (example below)

You can also select the length of the workout and location.  So if you want to work out at home you press "at home", then fill out the length you want it to be (between 5 - 90 minutes).  Or you can cater the workout for the gym or to specific workouts tools like weights or bars that you have at home.

Finally, there is a tracking your weight option.  It allows you to type in your weight goal and then you type in your weight each day and it tells you if you're on track, and centers your exercise to help you.

I love the app, and you can even follow friends and celebrities on it and see their workouts or post-workout pics which is such motivation. (example below)

This app isn't necessarily about losing weight, it is just an overall great way to stay in shape and track your progress!

Try it out and you can follow me on it- @emmaranny12

xoxo

emma

Styling Brandy Melville T-shirt Dress

Almost everyone I know has some version of the Brandy Melville T-shirt dress, probably because it is so cute and comfortable.  But, sometimes it is annoying showing up to school and the per on sitting next to you in class has almost the same outfit on as you.

I styled my Brandy dress a little bit differently and made the look a bit more winter appropriate by adding a sweater and a scarf.

 I love the sweaters over dresses look!

What am I even doing in this picture?  It seemed like a good idea at the time.

dress | shoes (local) | sweater | scarf (similar)

xoxo 

emma

Desktop Calendars

I'm stealing this blog idea from Preppy By the Sea.  Just thought I would let you all know.  Last month they blogged about their love for desktop calendars for their laptops so I decided to try it out, and I love it!  Having a alexander right in front of me when I open my laptop is great, after all calendars are one of my many obsessions.

Since november just began, I got to pick out my november desktop background for my MacBook and their were so many to choose from.  i thought I'd show you my favorites and if you'd like, you can save the images I share and make them your backgrounds too.

 This first one is the calendar/desktop I selected for this month.  I love the colors and I like how they set up the calendar kind of different with the weekends in a different color.

This one is classic and has nice Fall colors so I thought it was appropriate for this month.

 This one above is so cool, artistic, and unique.  It reminds me of New Mexico for some reason- don't ask me why.  Once again the color scheme really works.

 This one is the preppiest one of the desktops I selected.  I'd say it is cute and classic and I like the patterns.

 I thought this was the cutest one ever.  I love cacti and I don't really know.  This is just so cute how could you not want it as your background.  Plus, the calendar part is pretty cool.

 Finally, for those of you into the Thanksgiving season, this desktop is perfect for you.  I love the effect and the picture is really pretty.

If you still don't feel into the whole desktop calendar thing, just try it out really quick and you can always switch it back right away.  trust me, these calendars look really nice once they're blown up to fit your desktop screen and you'll love it.

xoxo
emma

p.s. I'll make my next blog fashion oriented :)

5 Things I Never Knew about Makeup

Over the past 9 months I have been watching tons of makeup tutorials on youtube and finding out more and more about makeup.  Thinking back, this time last year I knew so little about makeup.  here are 5 things I've learned over the past 9 months or so.

1. You are supposed to wet your beauty blender.

I can't believe I didn't know this because it makes such a huge difference.  It helps spread your foundation and make it smoother.  I'm sure like everyone knows this and I was just clueless, but yeah.

I also found this.  I use the Beauty Blender dupe which works just as well as the actual beauty blender and is $10 cheaper.

2. The order to apply makeup

I love this chart that I found on twitter.  It tells you the exact order of how to apply your makeup/moisturize/skincare.  I always questioned the order I was putting on makeup, especially eye makeup like mascara, eyeliner, and eyeshadow.  After watching countless beauty gurus on youtube and relying on this chart- I'm now an expert.

3. The Importance of Eyebrows

Not up until 3 months ago did I start to improve my eyebrow game.  Now I know to brush through my brows, fill them, highlight the brow bone, and use brow gel to keep them in place.  Eyebrows make such a difference in how you look which I never knew.

4.  Eyeshadow placement

I never knew that the lightest color went on the inner corner and the darkest belongs in the outer corner and the crease.  I had never heard of highlighting the brow bone so i basically just put a bunch of sparkly eyeshadow onto my lid and headed to school.  That look satisfies most people, but following the chart below in terms of where dark vs. light colors belong on your eyelid, really helps.

5.  Contouring and Highlighting

Contouring is my favorite part of my makeup routine.  It works wonders.  Same with highlighting.  I use the charts below to highlight and contour and it'll make your face have so many more angle and make your cheekbones look higher and your face thinner.  It is the reason Kim Kardashians face looks so good all the time.

xoxo
emma