Kelly's Joie de Vivre

Bad blogger!

2010-07-12T22:54:00.000-07:00

I'm really sorry about the lack of updates! Between it being so hot in my apartment that I avoid turning my computer on, and the fact that my USB drives in my computer are totally freaking shot, I haven't been able to post anything too exciting lately. As soon as I solve the USB problem though and it isn't a nightmare to upload pictures on to my computer I'll be posting more.

Hope it's not so freaking hot whereever you are... and to think I just booked a vacation to Disney World for the first week of August! To answer your question, yes I am TOTALLY BANANAS!

Forget Stereo Rose!

2010-07-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

Ok so Temptalia did a post on MAC's Stereo Rose MSF, and in the post she swatched some other blushes that she thought might make good dupes for it... one of those swatch images was this picture:

...the second one in is Stereo Rose, but the one I couldn't stop looking at was the middle swatch which is Lancome's Mandarin Sky! How gorgeous is that? Needless to say I'll be heading to Nordstrom next week to pick one up.

What about you guys? Not in to the Stereo Rose hype? What's your favorite Stereo Rose "dupe"?

Awesome Urban Outfitters Deal!

2010-07-06T13:33:00.000-07:00

OK so I was just browsing around on the UO website and I found this awesome deal, 2 pairs of sneakers for $30!

Here' are some of the pairs I'm lemming:

AZTEC - RED - GREEN - CANVAS

Unfortunately they only go up to size 10 and I need AT LEAST an 11, but maybe some of you find folks can enjoy the savings!

Too bad because those Aztec shoes would have been perfect for the painted desert inspired look I did last week!

Recipe of the Week: Sangria

2010-07-06T10:53:00.000-07:00

Is it cheating if it's not a recipe of my own design? Even if I link you to the original recipe? Even if when I make it I usually have to multiply the measurements by 8? And even if I've altered the recipe and directions slightly?

Well at any rate, here is a recipe for Sangria by the Food Network's natural foods loving chef Ellie Krieger. During the summer, I'm constantly making this recipe for my troves of relatives to sip on the lakefront. Also, her directions for making red sangria are the same as the directions for white sangria (though I like to do peaches in stead of apples in the white sangria):

Sangria:

Ingredients

1 (750-ml) bottle red wine

1/2 cup brandy

1/4 cup triple sec

2 tablespoons superfine sugar

1/2 cup orange juice

1/2 cup club soda

1 medium unpeeled orange, sliced

1 unpeeled lemon, sliced

2 unpeeled limes sliced

2 hard apples sliced

In a pot ( I recommend a pot with a metal bottom rather than a bowl because it will help the sugar dissolve) add the sugar. Pour the brandy and triple sec over the sugar (sometimes this alone dissolves the sugar, but if it doesn't whisk the mixture until all of the sugar is dissolved.) Add the mixture in to a serving vessel like a pitcher or carafe and add the orange juice, wine, and fruit. Personally, I just like to add a splash of club soda to individual glasses so that way the club soda doesn't go flat on you but you can also add in the club soda at this stage. You can drink it without he club soda, but personally I think it's too thick that way, also, believe it or not, the club soda really changes the taste of the sangria to something that's a little fresher than it is without it. And now kick back, relax, and enjoy!

Happy 4th of July Weekend!

2010-07-02T04:11:00.000-07:00

For all of my American readers out there Happy Independence Day weekend! This is where I'll be spending my 4th of July weekend sipping cocktails and soaking up the sun!

Neither of those dogs are mine they belong to different relatives haha

(By the way this ride ended disastrously, they both jumped out and started humping each other and nearly drowning, my cousin there was freaking out, it was pretty hilarious!

Well I'm off to catch a bus upstate! I'll leave you with a picture of me and my best buddy and my "partner in crime", my Dad! (And a brother of an uncle... haha) My dad's the one sans beard!

Have a great weekend!

Awesome Giveaway at Uber Chic for Uber Cheap!

2010-07-01T07:11:00.000-07:00

I'm really excited about this giveaway on Uber Chic for Uber Cheap. It's features the happygirlgreetings shop on Etsy, she does, as she says in her shop description "the search for affordable customized paper goods is over. happygirl® is your source for calling cards & note cards, announcements & invitations."

The giveaway prize is 3 sets of calling cards from her shop! If you, like me, are applying for jobs and internships, this may be an excellent resource!

Here's a link to all of her calling cards: http://www.etsy.com/shop/happygirlgreetings?section_id=6083545
I especially love these:

Even if I don't win I may still purchase some calling cards!

Inspired by Nature Series: Painted Desert

2010-06-30T20:33:00.000-07:00

This outfit was inspired by a photograph taken by the photographer David Anthony Porter. Here's his Flickr page (LINK) he is truly a fantastic talent. I'm going to link you to the photograph instead of putting it in this post because the image is copyright protected and I couldn't find anyway for me to contact him and ask for permission to use the image.

The link to the inspiration photo for this look is THE PAINTED DESERT.

Gorgeous photograph right? And it's not the ordinary color combination you think of when you think of the desert right? Well at any rate that sky blue, red, and gray color story really inspired this outfit.

I threw in a bunch of different accessories because there are really so many ways you could go with it, and typical me, I just couldn't limit myself. I also included a grayish-red pair of shorts as well as a plain red pair because I couldn't decide which I liked better.

So what do you think? Is it a mess? haha

I liked the idea of the wolf accessories.. you know wolves, the desert, yadda yadda... but that was before I had added in the red shorts and I was like, well theres just not enough red! So that's where those southwestern inspired earrings came from... you could probably still wear the wolf necklace with that but both of the pairs of earrings would be too much. In case you hate the wolves I also threw in that lovely reddish-brown stone colored necklace. And of course if you're going to be in the desert a hat is a must right!? (Sorry I didn't include shoes, I got frustrated! What would you recommend?)

So what do you think? Garbage color story? Or no?

HAT-S/W EARRINGS-SUNGLASSES-WOLF EARRINGS-BRACELET-STONE NECKLACE-SHIRT-WOLF NECKLACE-PURSE-RED/GRAY SHORTS-RED SHORTS

I love feedback, I'd love to know what you think!

I have the most amazing shoes coming in!

2010-06-30T09:47:00.000-07:00

I haven't been this excited about shoes in a long, long time. I wear a US women's size 11 and it's IMPOSSIBLE to find non-geriatric looking shoes in that size. Amazingly, I seem to have struck gold TWICE recently!

This first pair is from Alice + Olivia for Payless:

Not only did they have them in size 11, but it was the only size left online! This is truly amazing because I haven't been able to find clogs like this ANYWHERE in my size! The heels might make me 6' 4" so I may not be able to see my feet from all the way up there but at least I'll know they look good! haha

This second pair is from Target:

I love the wood on the sole of these shoes! Gorgeous right?

Anyone got a source for fabulous shoes for women with large feet? What shoes have you been loving lately?

About Me Page Updated!

2010-06-29T20:53:00.000-07:00

For anyone who's curious I've updated my "About Me" page so you can learn a little more about who I am.

Thanks for reading!

Old Navy 30% Sale: Work Clothes

2010-06-29T12:58:00.000-07:00

So I decided to take advantage of the Old Navy 30% off deal that's going on to get a couple of basics for my work wardrobe. At the moment I have almost nothing that's "work appropriate" but it's getting to about that time, I'm applying for my first internship this fall, there will probably be more after that, and someday (God willing) I'll have a for real and actually job to go to everyday! So I'm starting now on building up an acceptable work wardrobe, I love "work" clothes anyway so I'm really pretty excited that I'm going to start having occasions to wear them!

I just figured this would be a perfect plain vanilla work skirt, and it was on sale for $18.99 in addition to the 30% off so why not!?

<<< This is probably more of a casual Friday kind of blazer, but it might work depending on the work setting, but it was on sale for $24.99, plus there was the 30% off so... I got it!

So what do you guys think? A good use of a 30% off deal? Where are your favorite places to buy "work" clothes?

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows movie trailer

2010-06-28T19:29:00.000-07:00

Ok so it's time you all knew, I freaking love Harry Potter! I seriously almost died from excitement while I was watching this trailer:

Sooooooooo? How awesome was that!?

Recipe of the Week! This week: Marinated Asparagus Appitizer

2010-06-28T09:10:00.000-07:00

Here's a new feature for all of you lovely readers out there, a recipe of the week. Now that I've begun dieting, I've realized how important it is to have some good healthy recipes in your arsenal! This one is an appetizer that my dad slightly modified from a Paula Deen recipe. I can't find the original version on her website, but here is the even more delicious version my dad came up with!

We have VERY large family events just about every weekend, and there's always about 20 people crowded around the marinated asparagus dish! We've even converted some people who never liked asparagus before into huge fans! Enjoy!

Marinated Asparagus

Ingredient List:
1 or 2 bunch(es) Asparagus
Olive Oil - approx 2/3 cup
Tarragon Vinegar - approx 4 tablespoons to taste
Shallot - 1 or 2 medium size
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
pinch crushed red pepper flake (optional)

Preparation:
Bend each asparagus spear until the tough bottom portion snaps off. Discard bottoms.
Drop asparagus into large pot boiling water. Blanche for 3 minutes.
Drain and plunge asparagus into ice water bath to stop cooking process.

Place in oblong serving dish and set aside.

Peel and dice shallots and reserve.

Combine olive oil, tarragon vinegar, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flake in bowl and whisk briskly. Add shallots and pour over asparagus.

Allow to marinate for 1/2 hour before serving.

Big Thanks to Mary's Last Chance Blog Design!

2010-06-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

You may notice this amazing new layout for my blog, it was done by the wonderful Mary of Mary's Last Chance Blog Design! She designed this gorgeous layout and was really lovely to work with! For anyone whose looking to create a beautiful and professional looking blog I absolutely recommend her!

Thanks again, Mary!

Kelly Elizabeth: Weight Crusader!

2010-06-27T20:39:00.000-07:00

Over the past two years my body has been on a crazy ride.

When I first started college I didn't like the school I was at, it was so cold and windy outside all the time that I never went out, and I wasn't clicking with anyone on campus, I was super depressed, and for the second semester I barely left my room and almost flunked out. During this period of time I lost 40 pounds, 30 of which I really couldn't have afforded to loose. I think I was somewhere in the 125 to 130 range at my thinest, which for a person as tall as me is really far too thin.

After my first miserable year at college I transfered to a school that I love that's in a great area, with great people, and it's a short train ride into Manhattan should I feel the urge to soak in some culture. Unfortunately, with all of this luck I've become, as they say, "fat and happy". I'd say that right now I weigh about 180 pounds, I'm 6 feet tall so I'm not morbidly obese or anything but I really need to loose some weight and get healthy.

My target weight would be somewhere around 140 or 150. For a lot of years I was pretty steady at 152 pounds, and even then I probably could have stood to loose 5 to 10 pounds. I'm not so focused on these numbers as much as I just want to look good and be healthy.

I've just started my weight crusade today and I've decided to chronicle my attempt to eat healthier and make a positive lifestyle change...

There was nothing left in my refrigerator and I decided that this would be the perfect time to drastically change the way I eat. So I got myself some healthier things like Greek yogurt, blueberries, whole grain bread, milk instead of soda, granola, and some Lean Cuisine dinners (because when I cook it's hard to resist the urge to throw in lots of butter!). I also bought a few chicken breast, boiled them, let them cool, shredded them and stored it in some Tupperware in my fridge. I figured this would be a great way to be able to throw together a quick low-fat meal... either a sandwich or I could make soup or a whole bunch of things. My mom also gave me a food diary so I can write down all of the things I eat everyday.

For my first post on my weight loss journey I wanted to begin with my new obsession with Lean Cuisine dinners. I had my first one tonight and was surprised to find it very satisfying!

It was the Three Cheese Stuffed Rigatoni from the Cafe Cuisine line, really tasty and only 230 calories!

Obviously, it doesn't look quite like the picture over there, but it was really not too different! The vegetables were really surprising, they still had good tooth to them and weren't mushy at all, and the sauce was very flavorful, it had some good zest to it! In the future I think I may try to stay away from a Lean Cuisine with so many carbs, but for a once a week treat it's great!

I'm also really impressed by Lean Cuisine's website. You can browse through all of the varieties of dinners they have, check out the nutritional facts, read product reviews, check to see which products your local super market is carrying, and even create a diet plan for yourself.

Have any of you tried Lean Cuisine products? So far I am loving them!

LUSH Color Supplements Review

2010-06-21T19:03:00.000-07:00

Alright everyone, here's my latest review!

The Lush website describe the color supplements as:

"Perfect for giving an even, flawless look to your skin; these little beauties will cover up the odd blemish and tone down any redness. They can be used by themselves as a normal foundation for more concentrated coverage, or they can be mixed with our beautiful moisturizers to give a lighter, more dewy complexion. Made with red rose petal infusion to calm redness and glycerine to help your skin retain moisture, these mineral oil-free Colour Supplements do lovely things for your skin."

Alright so I'm going to give you the bullet points:

-I wouldn't use these by themselves, I think that they would be hard to work with and way to thick on their own. Even with moisturizer mixed in it was still a little hard to work with.

- If I did this again I might use a foundation brush instead of my hands, because, as you saw, the finger application technique wasn't very even.

-Obviously there's a VERY limited color range (as you can see on their website) I think that maybe the theory is that if you mix it with moisturizer it should be thin enough that it will match the tone of your skin rather than the exact shade and that that should be good enough? This is what it says on the subject on their website, "There are four different Colour Supplements that are meant to cover all the ranges in colour of skin. You can use them straight onto your skin as foundation, concealer, or by supplementing (blending) the colour with your moisturizer on the back of your hand to find the perfect shade."

- I didn't use any kind of primer or base because I was blending the supplement in with my moisturizer, I wonder if that is why it really didn't last on me very long at all, or because it was hot out... It sort of managed to stick to some of my forehead for most of the day, but it also settled in to some deep cracks I have on my forehead (sun damage from my lifeguarding days unfortunately...) It slide off of my cheeks and chin pretty quickly though, and that's after I set it with some bare minerals and minerals veil.

- I don't think that I would buy this product, especially since you only get .7 (I think ounces even though it doesn't say so on their website) and it costs $13.00, but I suppose you have to factor in that you mix it with moisturizer instead of just using it straight (or at least that's how I'd use it.)

If you have any questions that I didn't answer or any comments at all please leave it in the comments!

Thanks for reading!

Rouche, why must your shorts be so cute?

2010-06-21T18:43:00.000-07:00

I am coveting so many pairs of shorts from Ruche lately, that it's border-line ridiculous...

I'm going to buy one of these three here:

How great is this outfit?>>

Or These?>>>>>

Boy oh boy is my window shopping eye DANGEROUS! What do you fine people think? I'm sort of leaning toward the floral print... I think.... maybe...

FLORAL SHORT-LACE SHORTS-GREEN STRIPE

Some of the Best Graphic T-shirts I've ever seen.

2010-06-17T14:42:00.000-07:00

I have an odd obsession with collecting basic wardrobe items, tank tops in every color, t-shirts in every color, socks, etc, etc. I've never really been a fan of graphic tees because I don't like to preach to people with my clothing but some of these are just too great to pass on. The following T-shirt are all courtesy of Mental Floss Magazine, a great publication that is as full of useless trivia as it is stimulating facts. This is their great store, Mental Floss Store, but I'm going to be focusing on some of their "women's fit" t-shirts. Really I'm just posting some of my favorites, all of these t-shirts are aorund $17 a piece. Enjoy!

Got to love your basics!!!

Holy Grail Etsy Shop: Vintage Curve

2010-06-17T13:09:00.000-07:00

Vintage Curve describes themselves as: "Vintage clothing and accessories from the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s with a focus on larger sizes!"

Do you hear the Hallelujah chorus too, or is that just me? FINALLY vintage clothing for those of us who aren't a size 00-6! Here are some of the highlights of the lovely "plus-sized" (ha!) clothes:

I don't know about you, but for me this is an AMAZING find, I can finally get some fintage dresses, that are slightly fitted, that actually fit me!

Happy Thursday, everyone!

Current Dress Covet: Grand Stand Dress @ ModCloth

2010-06-17T09:49:00.000-07:00

I want this dress from ModCloth so badly it hurts! Unfortunately, NONE of the clothes sold on that website fit me. I am 6 feet tall and have wide hips, so even when the rare chance comes along that something comes in an extra large, it still doesn't fit me! Oh well... maybe one of you fine readers will be able to get this gorgeous dress.

Derek and the Dominos are the greatest rock band of all time.

2010-06-16T22:16:00.000-07:00

Derek and the Dominos are my favorite group of all time here are a few reason why:

Adorable Jewelry that's Perfect for Summer!

2010-06-16T21:06:00.000-07:00

So I found this new shop on Etsy that I am just in love with! It's Ben & Oliver, which gets a bonus because I had a dog named Oliver, but they make these great rings, necklaces, earrings, and bobby pins that I am dying to get in every color! The best part is that almost everything is in a $7-$13 price range!

Here are some of my favorites!

Adorable right!? I know I'll be getting at least a couple of things once my debit card stops smoking from some other purchases!

Enjoy!

New Etsy Purchases Coming in!

2010-06-14T19:05:00.000-07:00

I know I have yet to update with photos from my first Etsy purchases... since my camera is still on the fritz. I'm still excited about some new things coming in! (By the way I've just discovered that I can take photos on my new video camera so there should be pictures up soon!)

First I ordered a ring made out of an antique type-writer key from qacreate ,which is pictured to the right. How neat is that?! They have a bunch of neat thing featured in their shop, including;
Authentic Baseball Silver Cuff Links, Vintage Russian Moscow Subway Metro Transit Cuff Links, and a pair of cuff links made out of an old Map of New York City, featuring the Empire State Building and the NYSE.

I also ordered this beautiful Nautical Boatneck shirt from the lovely Maria at Lulu Letty from her OCaptainShop. I'm very excited to receive this, it looks super cute, and super comfy! I can't wait to pair this with a pair of washed out denim shorts, a pair of red socks, and some keds!

And last but not least I ordered this gorgeous baby doll dress from brownbagvintage , I dare you to look at this dress and not think it's super adorable! The thing that I fell in love with instantly, was not only the gorgeous floral pattern but the pockets! I just love some nice comfy pockets!

So That's all she wrote today folks! Tomorrow I'm going to ride my bike to a farmer's market, and play with my video camera, so hopefully I'll have some great footage to put up!

The most awesome products on Etsy...

2010-06-12T21:30:00.000-07:00

... are at celantanowoodworks. This guy makes guitars and ukuleles and they are so freaking adorable. Here's a few pictures to prove it:

Have you ever seen something so cool in your life? Well I mean it's pretty cool at least, right? He's got a YouTube account set up HERE, and this is one of the videos from there:

YEAH I WAS RIGHT, IT'S AWESOME.

This Makes My Life!

2010-06-12T17:55:00.000-07:00

I love Disney and I love Jason Segel so this picture pretty much makes my life! Jason was at the World of Color Opening Ceremony, I imagine he's making appearances at Disney events because he's writing the newest installment of the Muppets movies, which is, of course, a Disney-owned franchise. The movie is going to be called "The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made" sounds promising!

Anyone else totally stoked for Jason Segel's Muppet Movie?

Here's some of the original Muppet movies to refresh your excitement!

Pick Me Up Video of the Day Number 5: Dawson's Creek

2010-06-12T17:42:00.000-07:00

This show is a huge guilty pleasure for me! I may or may not own all of the seasons on DVD.... Anyway, for some reason every summer I think of Dawson's Creek, I think it's because my family used to vacation at Cape Cod every year (the place that the fictional town of Capeside was based on). For all of you folks who have fond memories of the 1990s this is for you!