Polar Vortex Denial

Unless you've been living under a rock, you're probably aware that much of the North East pretty much looks like a scene from Day After Tomorrow.  Mmmm Jake Gyllenhaal .... what? Where was I? Oh yes, "Polar Vortex" and all that.  Well like dealing with any other unpleasant circumstance in my life I like to ignore it until it goes away all by itself.  Yep, I'm an avoider of the stick-fingers-in-ears and repeat "I'm not listening! I'm not listening" variety.  And although I got a snow day out of this weather {yippie!} I've been ignoring the blizzard happening outside by looking at all the new spring lines coming out!  My favorite so far are all the new shorts from ASOS! 

1 // ASOS Shorts in Multistripe {$45}

2 // ASOS Skort in Bold Floral Print {$63}

3 // ASOS Shorts with Mesh Insert {$50}

4 // ASOS High Waisted Shorts in Wide Stripe {$58}

5 // River Island Embellished Flower Shorts {$81}

I'm feeling warmer already!  Yes I'm in denial- don't judge me!

xoxo,
j.

Bloggers' Year in Review {2013}

image via

One of my favorite things about the new year is that some of my favorite bloggers do a 'Year in Review' of all their favorite personal outfits.  Here are some of my favorites from 2013.  Hope you find these as inspiring as I did!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

1 // Blair of Atlantic-Pacific

2 // Veronica of Bittersweet Colours

3 // Krystal of This Time Tomorrow

4 // Alexandra of Lovely Pepa

5 // Helena of Brooklyn Blonde

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I love all the full midi skirts, bright colors (especially in outerwear), structured handbags, and monochromatic looks!  What are your favorite looks?

xoxo,
j.

I'm back! {With a nail polish review}

Happy New Year to all! I'm finally ready to jump back into posting after a somewhat lengthy {and well deserved} holiday.  I've spent the past two weeks away from work to celebrate the holidays with family and friends and have tried to stay away from the computer as much as possible.  One thing I did over break was to have a spa day with my mom the day after Christmas.  I got a manicure and instead of regular polish the technician suggested I try a new Vinyl nail polish, because it lasts for 7 days without chipping.  Sold! The color I chose is Decadence, a deep red perfect for this time of year.  Basically you prep your nails however you normally would without a basecoat, then apply two thin layers of the polish color and then follow with one layer of the Vinylux topcoat and just let your nails air dry (no LED or UV lamps)!  

Decadence color

Top Coat

The proof is in the pudding, as they say...

 This is just after I got the manicure still at the spa.  Shiny red perfection!

And seven days later ...

Righty

Lefty

I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised with this nail polish.  It really did last 7 days with NO chipping, cracking, or brittleness.  You can apparently remove this polish with just regular nail polish remover, which I haven't tried yet.  I wonder how much longer this polish would last, but as it's growing out at the cuticles as seen in the photos I think I'll change it out soon.  Since the CND website doesn't sell this polish directly, I ordered another red color and the Vinylux topcoat from Amazon, each for less than $7.  I'm hoping my at home manicure with this stuff turns out just as great as the professional manicure.  

If you love to paint your nails, but hate having to change or remove it after only a couple days I would definitely recommend you check vinylux out.  I'm hooked! 

xoxo,

j.

P.S. I am not affiliated or associated with CND Cosmetics or the Vinylux product whatsoever.  I did not receive any compensation for this review and all thoughts and opinions of this product are my own!

The bomb

 

 

images via 1/2/3&4/5/6/7/8&9

The bomber/varsity jacket has been the cool kid at school for a while now, and it looks like this trend is here to stay for bit longer.  I'm totally jealous of how street-style mavens seem to be able to pull it off so effortlessly- dressed up or down, but never thought the look was that attainable.  Until I saw this gem- at Gap of all places! This floral bomber hit the nail on the head, I think.  At $98 I still hesitate to take the plunge for something so trendy .... but Gap is having an extra 40% off your entire purchase sale until tomorrow with code "GAPXMAS".  Now $60 is more like it!  What do you think??

Floral Bomber Jacket :: Gap {$98, 40% off with code "GAPXMAS"}

Happy shopping!

xoxo,

j.

Splurge. Spend. Save.

Metallic Silver Pumps

Silver pumps would make an excellent addition to any girl's shoe collection.  They're popping up everywhere- especially in the blogging community {Brooklyn Blonde rocks a Jimmy Choo version quite frequently}.  I think these would look great with a sequin dress for NYE! 

1. Slurge :: Manalo Blahnik BB Pump {$595}

2. Spend :: J.Crew Everly Pump {$198 on sale, plus extra 30% off!}

3. Save :: Shoe Cult Luxe Pump {$78}

Happy Shopping!

xoxo,

j.

Weekend Links & Sales

image via

This weekend is so busy with ugly sweater parties and Christmas shopping that in lieu of a post today I thought I'd share a few links from around the interwebz that you might have missed and are sure to love!

• Jessie Webster shot Marlien Rentmeester's beautiful LA home for Refinery29.  I love everything about her home and have bookmarked all the images for future inspiration! Also- if you haven't checked our Marlien's blog LECATCH, you should do it.  Now.
• Blair Eadie of Atlantic-Pacific, one of my favorite blogs, did a roundup of 40 of her best looks from 2013 and they're all amazing.
• WhoWhatWear did a funny post on 20 crazy facts that you might not know about Audrey Hepburn! How many will you be surprised by?

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Sales

• Madewell is offering 40% off winter must haves (price as marked) until Monday at midnight.  Since I'm on a pea coat kick I would love this coat, and I really like this ski slope inspired sweater!
• J.Crew is offering 30% off your entire order (including sale items!) until Christmas Eve with code "GIFTNOW".  I really love these silk print pants, this sweater, and these leather riding boots in black!
• Piperlime is offering an additional 50% off final sale items.  But hurry cause this one ends tonight!  My picks are this velvet dress, these tartan shorts, this funnel neck sweater, or this emerald green cocktail dress {All under $50 with the discount!}

xoxo,

j.

Grey Sweatshirt

The grey sweatshirt is a major street style staple for F/W 2013.  If Alexa Chung and Taylor Tomasi Hill are wearing one then that's my cue to jump on the bandwagon.  As much as I hate to admit it, American Apparel actually does have quite a few great and inexpensive options for grey sweatshirt.  I myself am thinking about buying this one!

I especially love the idea of pairing a sweatshirt with a pencil skirt- the structure of the skirt balances out a looser fitting sweatshirt and it also fancies up a very casual top.  I put together five looks, each one featuring a different grey sweatshirt, ranging from inexpensive to "yeah right, maybe if I got a Christmas bonus".  Check it out!

Alexander Wang Sweatshirt by jillian-marie-1 

T By Alexander Wang sweatshirts  / Zara skirt / Madewell blue high heel pumps / J Crew handbag

Zoe Karssen sweatshirt by jillian-marie-1 

Zoe Karssen grey sweatshirt / J Crew long pencil skirt / ASOS open toe shoes / Lulu Frost black pendant 

necklace

Jcrew jeweled sweatshirt by jillian-marie-1 

J Crew top / Urbancode green pencil skirt / Leopard print pumps / Zara vintage black purse

J crew vintage sweatshirt by jillian-marie-1

J Crew long sleeve shirt / Pencil skirt / Zara shoes / J.Crew Glitter minaudière

AA Sweatshirt by jillian-marie-1 

American Apparel sweatshirt / ASOS mini skirt / Sole Society flats / Sole Society clutch

Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo,

j.