Gift Guide: For The Home

C Wonder crystal wine stopper / C Wonder bar tool  /  C Wonder bar tool  / C Wonder gold plate / C Wonder blue dinnerware  /  C Wonder kitchenware dining  /  C Wonder kitchenware dining  /  C Wonder monogrammed cheese board

C. Wonder is the perfect store for holiday gifts. They have clothes, jewelry, bags, and home decor. Personally, I love their home decor section because you just cannot go wrong. The gifts I chose above are all under $50. Most of my friends live on their own now so we are all just now starting to decorate our places. I know they would love any of these gifts. These gifts are also good for moms, aunts, or grandmothers. Where do you shop for your holiday goodies?

-Katie 

Make Up: Daily Routine

Today I'm sharing my daily makeup routine. I usually don't tend to wear too much makeup when I'm teaching, but instead go for more of a natural look. I start off using Urban Decay Naked Foundation. This foundation is a serious favorite of mine. It is so light, but the coverage is amazing. I don't have flawless skin (how wonderful would that be?!) so I have to wear foundation to cover up blemishes and even out my skin tone. This foundation is a miracle worker. I bought it from Sephora for about $40....and it's worth every penny. It's light, non greasy, and covers so much that I only need a little bit of concealer. 

After I've put on my foundation I use Benefit's Erase Paste concealer. I use this under my eyes, for pimples, or just to brighten my skin. I buy my concealer one shade lighter than normal so that it gives my skin some brightness. A little goes a long way with this stuff, and it really does do what the name implies.

I have been using Bare Minerals foundation for about three years now. I love the coverage it gives and it really helps keep my face feeling fresh and non greasy. I'm a fan of matte looks when it comes to daily makeup. If I'm going to be working all day, I want makeup that will stay put. The dewy look is great, but for a natural look I want something that will hide the oil. This bare minerals foundation is perfect for just that. I know you might think it's overkill to use liquid foundation AND powder foundation, but it works for me. The bare minerals foundation adds another layer of protection and helps keep my makeup in place all day long. 

After I've finished with the foundation and concealers I use bronzer to give my skin some much needed glow. I like NARS bronzers for night time looks, but tend to use Benefit Hoola Bronzer for everyday. The NARS bronzer, laguna, has more shimmer to it. I like that for a night out, but not for work. The Hoola bronzer is great because it's matte and doesn't have any shimmer to it. It's strictly bronze color that adds some warmth and dimension to my face. It's really easy to use and you don't need much. 

For a daily look, I like a pink blush. Again, I'm not a fan of shimmer blushes for everyday looks so I like this one from Smashbox. The pink shade adds some pop of color and goes well with my fair (to light) skin tone. I don't use too much...just a little bit on the apples of my cheeks. 

For my eyes I tend to stay pretty low key. I use Benefit's They're Real Mascara and Stila's Liquid Eyeliner in black. I don't normally use eye shadow during the week....and I'm not sure why! I really should, but it seems to be the step I miss each day. I love my mascara and eyeliner. The mascara makes my lashes look really long and the eyeliner is a felt tip so it's almost like using a marker, which makes it way easier to draw the line. I highly recommend both! 

I look older when I wear color on my lips, and as I've posted before, I love, love, love these NARS Lip Pencils. They add the perfect amount of color and stay on for so long. They are easy to apply and look really natural. 

The last couple of things I add are some Highlighter to the bridge of my nose and cheek bones and then I brush my face in a little bit of HD Finishing Powder to really make my makeup set. I love this finishing powder from Sephora. It blends everything together and makes my makeup stay put all day long. It's one of my favorite makeup products that I happened to forget on the image above. 

 So there you go....my daily makeup routine. It usually takes me about 5-10 minutes to do my makeup in the morning (I would love to spend more time, but when you get up at 6 am, 10 minutes is all you need!). It's a pretty simple routine - and maybe I'll add a video to show how I use the items in the future! 

-Katie 

LBD

Dress ,  Cardigan  , Jacket  , Tights , Scarf , Boots  , Heels  , Belt 

I love my little black dress because it's one of the most versatile things in my closet. It's so easy to dress up, dress down, or give an edgier look. In look #1 I paired it with a longer cardigan. I think this look could be worn to the office (if you have a laid back work site like me) or during the weekend. Look #2 has a little more edge. It's paired with a leather jacket to give kind of a cool girl look. I would wear this on the weekends to get dinner or drinks. #3 is paired with a scarf, tights, and booties. I like this look because it's so effortless. Black goes with anything so really any color scarf or any color tight would do. If you've been following my blog, you already know I love the color burgundy so that's what I went with (I really need to start staying away from that color!) Look #4 is a more dressed up look. I paired it with a gold bow belt from Kate Spade, bangles, and some plain black heels. I would wear this to a dressy dinner or holiday party. 

The LBD can be worn so many ways. It's a staple every girl should have in their wardrobe. You really cannot go wrong with a little black dress... 

Currently Craving...

Alice You dress  ,  L K Bennett coat  ,  Knit Sweater  , Kenneth Cole Reaction flatts , Bag , Earrings

I'm craving the color cobalt right now. It's such a deep hue of blue that really works with every skin tone. Cobalt should be worn as an added pop of color since it is so bright. I would wear most of these pieces separately with black or white. I love the bag over an all black outfit or the shoes for some surprising color at the foot. I've put some cobalt pieces together to show you how I would wear the look. Enjoy!

-Katie 

Go-to

J Crew sweater , J.Crew jeans , Acne Studios booties , Michael Kors bag , Michael Kors watch , Alberotanza scarf

I think there is something underestimated about wearing a sweater and jeans in the winter. I don't know about you, but I like to be cozy when it's cold. There is nothing better to me than wearing a sweater, jeans, scarf, and boots. I am just not a sweatpants kind of person. Never have been, probably never will. I am just as comfy in this outfit as I am in sweats. So on my comfy days I like to start with jeans, add a sweater, then a scarf, pair it with boots, and add some accessories. My accessories almost always include my watch, a necklace, and a black and gold bag. I wear this outfit out to dinner, to get groceries, shop, basically anywhere! It's definitely a go-to outfit. 

-Katie 

Balance

Top, Jacket , Skirt , Shoes

There are so many features of this outfit that I love. I love the pleats in the skirt. I love the accented gold toe of the shoe. And I love the bow design on an otherwise plain tee. The jean jacket makes the outfit laid back, but the shoes refine the look. It's a laid back sophisticated look, which in my book can't be beat! You don't want to be too dressed up, but you also don't want to be too casual. This outfit is the perfect balance of both :)

One more day until the weekend!

Katie

Currently Craving

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I have this dresser from IKEA and I absolutely love it. It's a bit on the massive side, but that makes it perfect for decorating! I'm still trying to figure out my decorating style, but until then I love mixing colors on a white background. This dresser is perfect for doing just that. I started off decorating my dresser with a mirror. I think every girl needs a mirror on their dresser to put the finishing touches on their outfits. I love this mirror with the geometric shape cut outs...plus it's in gold...I'm sold. 

When I've found the perfect mirror I move on to choosing a lamp. This can be really difficult, but remember you can always change the shade. Choose a lamp based on the base, and then go to Home Goods and find yourself a lamp shade in the color you want. It's much easier that way. I love the blue see through color of this lamp. I love bubble lamps in general, but the blue color really stands out to me. It reminds me of sea glass in a way. The blue also give a pop of color to my all white dresser. 

Next, I find something to display my perfumes. I like to have my perfume and jewelry displayed on my dresser because I put those on last (also why I need my mirror on my dresser). I love putting my perfumes on mirrored trays and this one is perfect. I really like the detailing on the edge. I arrange my perfumes depending on how big/small the tray is. The one I have on my dresser now is slightly smaller so I have three perfumes and a tiny perfume bottle from my great-great grandmother. I choose perfumes that tend to go well together in size, color, and shape. They aren't necessarily ones I wear all the time, but they go well together. Plus, let's face it, I really only wear Daisy by Marc Jacobs anyway!

After I've finished decorating the bigger items I try to fill up some space on the dresser. As I've said before, this dresser is quite larger so I need more than just a mirror, lamp, and tray. I love adding candlesticks with white candles. I have the mirrored candlesticks from IKEA, but these from H&M work too. I also add a glass vase with some pink peonies to my dresser for the finishing touch. 

I'll add some pictures of my dresser so you can see what I did with mine at home :)

Thanks for reading!

Katie 

Happy Halloween!

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Happy Halloween! I hope you are having a fantastic (and candy filled) holiday! I'm usually not one who likes to wear costumes during the day, but I still love to be festive. So to compromise I wear all orange and black to get in the festive mood! What do you think of the orange and black Halloween look? 

Have a great Halloween night :)

Katie 

Currently Craving

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I'm craving gold accessories these days. I love dainty gold jewelry and I think it really dresses up casual outfits. I have the Michael Kors chain link watch and I wear it all-the-time. It's probably one of my favorite accessories. I also love my renegade bracelet from Stella and Dot. I wear them both together like stack bracelets and they pair really well. You can see them both together in this post when I went to the boat show! I think my next purchase is going to be that bow ring from Kate Spade. I love the simplicity of the ring and think it would look great with the other rings I wear. What are you currently craving? 

Inspiration

Top: H M  Jeans: DVb jeans Boots: Acne Studios Hat: Yves Saint Laurent hat  Lipstick: Nars Polish: Essie

It's finally starting to get a bit chilly here in the DC area. I've been spending my days in jeans, booties, and comfy shirts. I love this look because it gives an ordinary outfit a polished look. I created this look on Polyvore.com, but I am going to put one together tomorrow featuring items that are much more reasonably priced. For now, it's just inspiration!

Oh! - I swear by those NARS lip pencils! They are my go to for an instant pop of color on my lips and they stay on for hours....they are on my list of favorite products! 

Happy fall! 

Katie