A Touch of Class

I'm still missing a few things for my apartment... namely, a vanity and a nice bed set but I'm also on the lookout for anything that will add a little bit of personality to my otherwise standard issue college student living space.

While traversing the far reaches of the interwebs, I stumbled upon Touch of Class and ooh my gosh it's like someone purposefully sat down and decided to create a site with the sole intention of tempting me to spend every last cent that I own.

My plan for my bedroom is a white/pink/gold color scheme (check out my last post, you might start to sense a theme in my color palettes...) and I was looking for a comforter in those colors that hopefully also included roses.

Good news: Found it!  Bad news: Sort of our of my price range. 

But seriously, look how gorgeous this is. Please someone tell me I'm not crazy for actually considering saving up $320 for this? I mean, it comes with the comforter, a bed skirt and pillow shams so I'd be getting a bit more bang for my buck than just a comforter.

Now, please join me in oogling a few other gorgeous albeit unnecessary pieces.

{Victoria Rose Wall Teester Bed Crown, $149}

{Countess Scroll Area Rug, $89.99}

{Rose Vine Candleholders, $66.99}

Uhgn, everything is so pretty. I guess once I'm more settled in and can stop running to the store every other day because I realized I'm missing something I'll be able to start saving up for some nicer, more decorative pieces. 

Note: I am in no way associated with Touch of Class. My intention in this post is simply to share a store I found with readers who may have similar aesthetic tastes. 

Classic and Feminine Summer Accessories

First off, hello everyone! I'm (mostly) moved in to my new apartment, which means I'm back to blogging on a regular basis. The place is lookin' pretty, pretty good so far, but I'm missing a few key pieces of furniture and some other finishing touches, but I promise pictures once everything is perfect!

And now, let's jump right back into the swing of things shall we?

Dressing in summer can be difficult, especially if your personal style utilizes a lot of layering like mine. It's extremely tempting to throw on a billowy dress and walk out the door -- but don't! What if I told you it's entirely possible to add some pizazz to your otherwise unimaginative outfit without overheating? Doubt not ye nonbelievers, it's true. The secret is in the accessories!

Make sure to have an assortment of accessories that coordinate well with your closet's color palette, and have them on hand to add to any outfit for an instant pick-me-up.

I went through my jewelry and decided a couple key pieces to liven up my summer style, take a look to get some ideas!

Gold Chain Necklace {Express}

Rose Combs {Handmade}

Light Pink Jeweled Earrings {Forever 21}

Cat Eye Sunglasses {Target}

Gold Jeweled Earrings {Express}

What are your favorite accessories for Summer? Tell me in the comments!

Temporary Hiatus

Hello everyone!

My semester is finally over, and I've gone back home from school. I'll be moving into my very first apartment in two weeks. You have no idea how excited I am to be done with dorm life for good! Right now however, my worldly belongings are either stored at a friend's house or packed away, and with all the chaos of moving I don't have much time to write blog posts that I think will be up to my standard of quality. And so, I'm going to be taking a short break until I'm all settled back into one place and have all of my resources on hand.

I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my projects, so if I don't have X pair of shoes because they're stored away, or Y eyeshadow color to do a makeup post it just doesn't feel worthwhile. I want to give my readers my absolute maximum effort at all times, and if I can't do that I feel that it's better to take a break than publish sub-standard editorials or pictures. I will be back to writing regularly mid-June, and I promise pictures of my new apartment and lots of great content as soon as I'm able!

Thanks for your understanding!

Lazy Sunday 5.27.12

• The Natural Model Movement is making it possible for models to find middle ground between extremely thin and plus sized, which is great! 
• Stephen Colbert talks to Anna Wintour. Hilarity ensues. 
• Saudi woman refuses to leave mall for wearing nail polish... it amazes me that someone would need to take a stand for something so seemingly trivial, but I want to applaud her for being so brave. 
• If you are a Game of Thrones fan, do not watch this video or you will never be able to listen to the theme song ever again. 

Fashion Inspired by Game of Thrones

// Dragon Earrings // Bangle (similar) // Shoes (similar) // 

Daenerys is my favorite character in the books and the show. I find her interesting because of the tremendous amounts of growth that she goes through as a character. She begins as the property of her brother, then sold into marriage to Khal Drogo. However, she emerges as a queen (or Khaleesi) in her own right, with the weight of a dynasty on her shoulders. Sure, she doesn't always make the best decisions; but Game of Thrones is a series chalk full of bad choices, and I personally appreciate characters who aren't infallible.  Daenerys regularly switches between flowing, exotic dresses for special occasions and more practical roughspun clothing for riding through the Dothraki sea. I chose to emulate her more formal attire; all of the gowns that she's worn are absolutely stunning. I added silver accessories to this rhinestoned dress, including a pair of subtle dragon earrings to reflect her house sigil. I couldn't help adding the official HBO dragon egg necklace into the mix as well. 

// Dress (similar) // Earrings //

New to the game this season is the mysterious Melisandre of Asshai, a fire priestess from a distant land who has allied herself with Stannis Baratheon. There is something extremely unnerving about her. She's seductive, yet dangerous... and sometimes a little bit creepy.

Melisandre wears nothing but red, and is often referred to as "the Red Woman." The ruby on her neck is especially important, make sure to watch it whenever she does any freaky stuff. I went with a femme fatale look for my interpretation of Melisandre, going with a deep red wiggle dress and a scarlet scarf to be used as a wrap or shawl.

// Shoes (similar) // Necklace (similar) //

Sansa is another character that I'm very fond of, but the majority of fans seem to dislike. Sansa begins the series as a naive young girl with the hopes of marrying her prince charming, but she's dragged screaming into the realization that life isn't as romantic as she envisioned. Even though Sansa's tomboy younger sister Arya gets a lot of love for being a "strong female" character, I think Sansa is a great example of a different kind of strength, she demonstrates that strong women don't have to reject their femininity entirely. Sansa may seem delicate on the surface, but her strength comes from her resolve to hide her vulnerability.

I emulated the light, summery colors of King's Landing for my Sansa inspired outfit. Though, I chose to add small hints of the North such as the wolf ring and the snowflake earrings to illustrate how even though Sansa is out of her element, she still holds on to her identity.

// Dress (similar) // Blazer (similar) // 

Margaery Tyrell is another new character this season. She is Ser Loras' sister, and wife to Renly Baratheon. In the books, Margaery is a peripheral character and the reader never gets much insight into what she's actually thinking. HBO has made Margaery's intentions crystal clear, and I think they have done a good job of making her a more intriguing character. Though most of her screen time this season was in the first few episodes, I'm looking forward to seeing her be a viable player in the game.

For my Margaery inspired look, I went a little 50's housewife because of how... ahem, loving of a wife she is. And of course, the obligatory incorporation of the house sigil: the rose.

// Shoes (similar) // Dress (similar) //

I would be lying if I said that I like the Queen Reagent of Westeros. Cersei is cold, manipulative and almost entirely selfish except when it comes to her children. That said, I certainly find her to be an interesting character and I can empathize with her plight. Cersei is the only character who actively acknowledges the patriarchal society of Westeros, and laments having been born a woman only to be treated like a bargaining chip in forging alliances. Her husband, Robert Baratheon repeatedly rapes and hits her, and there isn't a thing she can do about it because she's viewed as his property. She wants to be powerful on her own, and not on the arm of a man and she finds herself battling an entire culture to have what she wants.

As the queen, Cersei dresses extravagantly, often in the colors of house Lannister: scarlet and gold. Most of the pieces I've chosen are very expensive, to reflect Cersei's status. I love the ruby and gold leaf necklace because her father Tywin's battle armor invokes images of ancient Rome and I thought the necklace would add a touch of that vibe to Cersei as well. The Lannister sigil is the lion, and Cersei takes great pride in being a lioness and of course would love to wear lion jewelry.


Do you watch Game of Thrones? What sort of looks would you create based on the characters? Tell me in the comments!

(Image Sources: Daenerys Targaryen, Melisandre of Asshai, Sansa Stark, Margaery Tyrell, Cersei Lannister)