Currently Loving.

Thank you all so much for your sweet words to me - they were as beautiful as all of you! I appreciate the camaraderie in the blogging community - yeah, we don't all know each other personally, but there is still an investment in each others lives. I'm here for you all too - I'm just an email/comment/whatever away!



There was a time when I was constantly looking for things that were making me inspired, which would subsequently make me happy. There are so many things that I keep seeing and loving, so I'm combining it into a big post - which is a little selfish, because now when I get bitched at by a ten-year-old while babysitting, I can look back on this post, breathe for a minute, and feel just a little bit happier.

The Vampire Diaries.
So, I swear, I am not a vampire obsessed girl (no judgment to those of you who wear your Edward from Twilight shirts with pride), but holy crap - The Vampire Diaries is ridiculously good. Not only are there two super sexy and witty brothers, but the plot is really good and crazy addicting.
I started DVR-ing the episodes, and was sick, sick, sick on Monday - I seriously watched four or five episodes in a row. SO good, but you can judge by yourself looking at the two main stars...



Sparkles.
So, I absolutely love touches of sparkle on clothing, accessories, etc.
(Though not so much Snooki in sunglasses you can't see out of though).





Hanging out by my pool.
Part of my summer job is taking the kids to their town pool, which really is not as glamorous as it sounds, since I have to twist their arm to get them to come. I think that because of that, pools have a left a bad taste in my mouth!
I have to say - I really do not take as much of an advantage of my pool as I probably should. This summer, my mom lent our house/pool to her bff Betty so that she could throw her sun a graduation party. It was really fun to hang out poolside with J (who was very disgusted when he got a gulp of the salt water in our pool - we just switched to saltwater!), and have our pool used by so many people.





Well dressed males.
I've got a thing for men who aren't afraid of fashion - I don't care what sexuality, age, weight, whatever you are - if you dress well, I think you're fabulous.



Childrens books.
Being an elementary education major, I can't deny that my kids (someday) are going to have a pretty good collection of books to be read to them. I've been collecting to add to my classroom library, and really forgot how beautiful some of them are.



Positive messages.
Because when I'm in a bad mood, why surround myself with negativity?


Weekly mani/pedis.
This has become my guiltiest pleasure (besides maybe my Starbucks a day habit). It's just nice "me time" where I can sit an relax and experiment with new colors!


Chicky movies.
Sometimes the only thing that makes you feel better is curling up watching someone whose life is far worse than your own - and it gives hope in happy endings and that no matter what happens, everything will work out.



My puppy.
This little guy just makes me happy whenever I see him. He is currently curled up right next to me on the couch as I write this, and he's just the sweetest little thing (when he's not suffering from separation anxiety and eating my comforter).



J. Crew
True story, I am heading there today to spend a very well-earned paycheck. There are just too many beautiful things that I'm dying over and their ad campaigns put me in such a mood to shop!




Homemade popsicles.
Specifically with fruit chunks inside and fun flavor combos.


The upcoming season of Gossip Girl.
Paris + Blair and Chuck drama + fashion + illegitimate children... I cannot even wait.





Accessories.
I need to buy more cocktail/embellished rings. Well, first, I need to find teeny tiny ones that actually fit my fingers. I love accessories though and wish I experimented more with mine!



Paris.
Le sigh. Mon père promised me a trip to Paris in sixth grade, if I took and learned French. Je peux parler un peu français, mais je n'ai toujours pas été prises en vacances à Paris. Someday.


Images via Tumblr, my personal photos (of my dog and my pool), The Sartorialist

Currently: Motivating myself to go for a run. Any good new music I should add to my "Running" playlist?

Apology.

I was all set to be really good this summer with my blogging - writing comments to people, posting weekly (or even bi-weekly) and using my time after work to just kind of unwind and reconnect with all of my wonderful Blogger friends!

Unfortunately, the summer had other ideas for me. What I thought would be a peaceful and relaxing time before being hurtled into the job market, has turned into one of the most stressful and complicated summers of my life. Filled with good times sporadically (like the vacations I was able to go on), it seems to have been mostly agonizing amounts of stress and unhappiness, which is quote the contrast to the sunny and bright (and hot) summer we've been having.



I think not having college as a buffer is going to be a ridiculously huge adjustment for me to make. For the past four years, while yeah, classes have changed, the workload fluctuates, and roommates can annoy you to death, I had a schedule, a routine, a constant. I knew I'd have money from babysitting for wonderful families, I knew that I'd have a good time with friends (even if sometimes I wanted to kill my roommates), I knew that I'd have privacy away from home without my parents being on top of me all the time.

Now, I'm a college graduate in the worst economy since the depression, living at home in a state where the Governor doesn't feel that education requires a big budget, and has made a $1 billion+ downsize to education. I don't have a set schedule, I'm babysitting this summer for the most difficult children I've ever had to deal with who want to do absolutely NOTHING all day (seriously, it's a fight to get them to go out for ice cream with me!), and I'm tired and unhappy all the time.

I'm unhappy with my current job situation, with the fact that I won't even have a job situation to complain about in a month, with J, with my family, with everything. I also don't know if I'm unhappy with certain aspects of my life because I'm afraid of the future and what it holds - the uncertainty of not knowing where my life is going. It seems that since one area of my life is really lacking, the stress of the rest of it, and the pressure I face from my parents to get a job and move out as quickly as possible is manifesting in all other aspects of my life in a completely negative sense.

I've been trying to fill my life with the things that make me happy - Starbucks daily (which I realize is wise, considering that I will be unemployed in a month, and should be saving money), running every day, taking pictures, laying by the pool, playing with Coop, reading all the books I have on my shelves that have been untouched for far too long, watching The OC, talking and visiting friends... but nothing really seems to be shaking me out of my post-grad funk.





So until then, I'm trying to refocus and really figure out what makes me happy. Although I've been a horrible friend through blogging, I really do have a place in my heart for all of you - I love reading your blogs, learning more about you, getting inspired by the things that get you inspired too. You are all people that make me happy, no matter what. So, I promise to get out of this soon and get back into my normal, Seven jeans obsessed self as fast as I possibly can!



Hope you're all doing well - I'll be catching up with you soon!

Inspiration from the Girls.

My mother loved/loves The Golden Girls. We have video of me as a child singing loudly, "Thank you for being a friend..." from the theme song to The Golden Girls at like, age five (seriously).

I remember one of my mom's friends telling her that she was rotting my brain letting me sit with her while she watched a show about four old women who were rude, vulgar, and only talked about sex. This friend insisted to my mother that if I was going to be exposed to such things as a child, that I would become a nymphomaniac who swore like a sailor once I reached a certain age, which obviously came true. My mother didn't care what anyone said - for her, it was a way that the two of us could sit together. Obviously I didn't understand all the jokes and sarcasm, but I laughed because my mom was laughing.

Seriously, this was my favorite song to sing growing up. (Who am I kidding - I still sing along with it).


As I've gotten older, my love for The Golden Girls hasn't changed - I adore watching reruns of the episodes on WE TV or the Hallmark Channel, and I laugh hysterically at all the antics of the women. I've also found it quite sad that I relate so well to the lives of 60+ year old women. He'd kill me (like, MURDER me) if he knew I was saying this (hence a secret blog), but I've gotten J way, way into this show.

The show revolves around four older women who live together in Miami. Each woman has her own unique personality -

-Blanche Devereaux (Rue McClanahan) is a slut - there's no way to sugarcoat that. Everything she says and does revolves around sex and men.



-Dorothy Zbornak (Bea Arthur) is sarcastic and cynical about everything. She has a sarcastic comment for everything, and struggles with finding a man after the divorce of her husband, much to the avail of her mother Sophia.



-Sophia Petrillo (Estelle Getty) is a feisty 80-something year-old woman who "escaped" from Shady Pines Retirement Home. She is from Sicily, and often tells stories starting with, "Picture this. Sicily, 1923..." She also lies to make a point, and is as sarcastic as Dorothy. (She's my favorite).



-Rose Nylund (Betty White) is as dumb as can be. She's from a small town in Minnesota called Saint Olaf, and she loves to tell stories about it, much to the avail of her roommates.



While it does revolve around some issues that I really can't relate to - like Sophia (Estelle Getty) and her constant remarks to the torture she endured at Shady Pines Retirement Home, or the women dealing with relationships after the death of a husband - the sarcasm and humor is something that everyone can relate to.

Case in point:


I was also super impressed with the way that issues were dealt with - liberally and with compassion, but still maintaining the sense of humor that the show was known for.



My mom still tries to insist to me that the clothes the women wore on the episodes were actually considered fashionable in the mid-80's for women their age, and that the furniture was very up-to-date and chic. Now that I'm older, I still don't get how Blanche was dressing "sexy" for the many men she brought home, but I do have an appreciation for the interior decoration of these Miami dwelling women.

The entire house that Blanche, Rose, Sophia, and Dorothy live in is welcoming, and has little touches that make it fabulous and easy to emulate in a more modern way.



Ikea has a huge section of Rattan furniture, that would be the Girls proud!



Le Creuset would do a fantastic job of updating all of the kitchen appliances that are in the house.








Jonathan Adler has some fabulous Chippendale chairs, that echo the style seen constantly in the kitchen, where the women sit to eat their cheesecake during late-night conversations when no one can seem to sleep.


If Blanche's wallpaper/bedroom was the look you're after, then you could head to this site and purchase your own (which is apparently also the wallpaper of the Beverly Hills Hotel).

Sorry for the poor quality of the Girls picture - it was the best I could find!


If you're not too big on banana leaf wallpaper in your bedroom, here are some ideas of other places you could use the same tropical motif (one is Nicky Hilton's breakfast nook!):


If you have not seen The Golden Girls, you are seriously missing out. I suggest you check it out immediately, and when you fall in love with it, I will give you a huge, "I told you so."

Currently: Trying to figure out my new Blackberry. Day 2 of the new touchscreen is going a lot better, but it's still a huge difference from my old one! Any tips from fellow BBerry users?

The Magic of Marchesa.

Marchesa, the brainchild of Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig, seemingly came out of nowhere when it was started up in 2004. Known for the exquisite draping and the Asian and vintage inspiration as well as the remarkable structure of the gowns, Marchesa has been making appearances on the red carpet all over the place.



The styles of Marchesa are unbelievably feminine, with so much perspective, and cuts that are extremely flattering to a woman's body.

Having the perspective of two women is clearly a goldmine for Chapman and Craig, and I can't wait to see the continuing fashions of these designers through the years. It's clear from their celebrity clientele that Marchesa is here to stay for the long run.

Ali Larter.


The always gorgeous Kerry Washington.


Anna Kendrick.


Eva Longoria-Parker.


I die for this gorgeous Marchesa jacket Blake Lively was seen wearing. Unfortunately I think moi wearing that jacket would just not have the same effect.



Olivia Wilde.


Sandra Bullock.


Jennifer Lopez (who wears Marchesa all the time, and looks perfect in it all the time).


Nikki Reed.


Michelle Trachtenberg.


How gorgeous is this Marchesa wedding dress that was worn in Harpers Bazaar by Kate Hudson? I have this issue of it, and I swooned over the beautiful detailing of the dress especially contrasted against the busyness of the streets of New York.


Camilla Belle.


Kate Beckinsale.


I died of fashion love when Blair Waldorf wore this on Gossip Girl - and had a good case of fashion envy too for how beautiful Leighton Meester looked in it!


Mischa Barton - in happier days when she was actually working and doing something with her life.


Are you as big of a Marchesa fan as I am? Which designers inspire you, or draw you in when you flip through the pages of fashion magazines?
Currently watching: The last episode of Season 3 of Gossip Girl. I'm very far behind on all my favorite shows, but I'm squeezing in an episode every night before bed as a way to unwind! :) Jenny Humphrey gives me anxiety/anger though - I can't stand the little brat.