..... to a different blogging platform.

 

 

Click here to find the new Kaleid-Ohh-Scope....

 

Although I do enjoy OnSugar, I decided to move my blog to Blogger.com as I find it a little easier to handle when it comes to HTML and a few other things. I will still keep my OnSugar profile to follow all the great blogs I found on here. If you'd like to follow my new blog, you can do that through Google Friend Connect on the new website. You can also still find me on twitter. I'll be happy to hear from you guys soon!

XOXO
Katie

 

Friday is PAYDAY and although I have a ton of bills to pay in the next couple of weeks, I decided to go shopping - at least a little bit. The feeling of working a 40 hour week and still not being able to afford anything is more than frustrating, and yes, I know - it will get better in a while but I'm a girl, and girls like spending money. So I did what I have to do. Right down the street from my work is a plaza with Savers and Marshalls, and lucky enough I have a friendly co-worker who drove me there as I don't have a car. First, I went to savers. I started at the jewelry section a spotted an adorable, golden necklace with a heavy look to it. I grabbed it, and took a look at the price tag: $1.99.. I think my heart skipped a beat. Due to 2nd hand stores raising their prices to rediculous levels, I haven't gone thrifting in quite a while but the moment I checked out this necklace I knew I came to the right spot. I started looking through the racks, which are organized by colors and after just a couple of minutes I was already holding a few items. It wasn't long after that and I carried over half a dozen items and decided to grab a shopping cart. I scanned the entire store and ended up with a cart full of cute things including a few sweaters, shirts, skirts and a couple of accessories. While trying them on I sorted most of them out though. I am very picky when it comes to how clothes fit, but although I am (somewhat) proud of my curves, I can't ignore it when you can totally see my bra through the shirt and there are little rolls showing. So, I had to say good bye to some of the pieces. I tried on a very pretty skirt by Banana Republic which is mint grean and has pale pink roses on it, but unfortunately it was a little too long.. so that went back on the rack, too. I don't have a sewing machine and to be honest, I don't really know how to sew, though I'd like to learn it in the near future. Also, I came across a really cute, green Tommy Hilfiger sweater for only $14 but it was sooo itchy. Anyway, enough about stuff I didn't buy.. I had a couple of great finds which included leopard print heels with lace by Wild Diva for $7.99, a pair of cute black boots with faux fur for $9.99, a brown waist belt, which is actually a kid's belt, for $2.99, a red hat for $5.99 and a vichy plaided skirt for $2.50 and of course the golden necklace from the beginning! I was thrilled!

Sneak Peak of the skirt

 

Since I had a little over half an hour left before my bus arrived I decided to hit up Marshalls, too. This is  one of my favorite stores, as I always find something totally awesome there. On Friday, I fell in love with a pair of Betsey Johnson heels which were in the clearance area, but still not affordable - at least not that day.. if this was a few weeks from now I probably would have taken them home. Oh, well. Browsing the store I found a really cute white & blue striped tank top and a loose black shirt. I grabbed them both and on the way to the fitting room I came across a dress I just couldn't pass on. The sequin dress is orginally from Express and upon looking at it, I pretty much knew already that I couldn't afford it right now... but I was so WRONG! It was only $14.99. After almost fainting from just looking at this beautiful piece I began to search for my size, as the first three dresses (of about seven) were marked XS.. and then, finally after what seemed like an eternity, I found one in Medium! I stormed into the fitting room, jumped out of my clothes and immediately knew that this is going to become my new favorite piece. Right now, I am trying to find a skinny, red, patent leather belt to go with it.

Details

Total damage of the shopping trip: $67

Friday night my husband and me went out to a concerts at a near by club, and I decided to take the chance and dress up in my newly purchased items.
This outfit actually is also my first submission the Shoe Challenge!

 

Belt Savers
Necklace Savers
Shirt & Top Marshalls
Skirt American Apparel
Tights H&M
Shoes Kohls

 

XOXO
Katie

Last week I found this great Shoe Challenge, and couldn't resist but take part in it. Yes, I am one of those... Shoes are the number one thing to make me happy! The challenge was brought to life by Shoeperwoman and here is what she writes:

1. You must wear every pair of shoes you own (and any new ones you purchase) between today and February 14th, 2012.

2. You must provide photographic evidence of you wearing each pair of shoes (full-length shots only, although you’re free to crop out or otherwise conceal your face if you wish).

3. You must email your photo, or a link to the blog post you’ve published it on, to shoepershoechallenge @ gmail.com in order to be included in our weekly roundups. Please note: I will ONLY be accepting submissions via email – please don’t post links in the comments section of the blog. (Most comments with links tend to get caught up in the spam filter, anyway, so email is much more reliable…)

4. Any shoes you haven’t worn by the end of the challenge must be donated/sold/binned/otherwise disposed of. Use ‘em or lose ‘em!

A quick word on photos, too:

If you’re blogging the challenge, please mention the brand of the shoes you’re wearing somewhere in your post.
If you’re not blogging the challenge, please include the brand name of the shoes in your email.

Everyone ready? OK, GO!

P.S. When I first announced the challenge, I said that participants should email me if their shoe total changes at all throughout the year, so I could update the participants list. Buuuut, that was before we had almost 90 participants, which is a number I hadn’t even dreamt of! I’m already struggling a bit to keep up with the volume of email the challenge has generated, so I’m going to change that “rule” a little and say that the number of shoes under your name on the list will represent your starting number. At the end of the year I’ll add everyone’s end totals, so we can see how much the numbers have increased or decreased during the challenge. If you gain or lose shoes during the year, then, you don’t need to email me to update the total, we’ll just do a final count at the end!

Although not stated in her rules, I read in a different post that to paricipate you did not have to enter on or before Valentine's Day 2011 but you still have to fulfill the rules: wear all your shoes at least once until Valentine's Day 2012!

So, here's my little shoe collection:

 

Seeing this actually makes me a little upset: back "home" I had way more than that but travelling - MOVING! - overseas with only one suitcase and one little bag of hand luggage means taking the most important. Especially when every pound costs extra - I went on the plane to D.C. wearing 2 jackets, 1 hoodie and 2 cardigans. What's a girl gonna do, right? People stared at me but the only thing I was thinking of was 'I wish I had more feet, so I could wear more shoes!'. To sum it up: I brought a total of 3 pairs on board. A few of my favorites (the red, lacey & the black ones on the top left) my mom even had to ship to me because I couldn't part with them. Before I left, I sold most of my collection - I had about 50 pairs of heels and almost just as many vans sneakers/flats. It was hard, but hey! First of all, moving away means a new start and you don't want your new start to be plastered with "baggage", right? And the sale brought in a good amount of $$$, too. After all, I had to go through the whole process of getting a Green Card and my man and me had to pay an attorney.

Anyhow, back to topic: Shoe Challenge! Although it might seem easy for me having only 17 pairs of shoes.. I assure you, it's actually not that easy. My reddish dark brown boots for example: bought last October, worn. once - if you count trying them on. And it's like this with quite a few other of my shoes. Also, since I have a regular income since two weeks and my first shopping trip of the year is very close (!), in my head I already bought 10 new pairs. And then maybe another 10!

Click here to find Shoeperwoman & her challenge!

Brands
- from left to right -

1st /2nd Picture
- J.T. Shoes (black w/ wooden heel)
- Zara (patent nude)
- Forever 21 (black cage)
- Graceland (patend red)
- H&M (black satin wedge)
- Graceland (black lace)
- A.P.T. 9 (platform oxfords)
- Paris Hilton (white satin w/ rose - my wedding shoes!)

3rd Picture
- No Label (Korean brand, brown cage)
- RocketDog (satin black)

4th Picture
- VANS
- Converse
- VANS

5th Picture
- Kelly & Kate (reddish dark brown)
- Pimkie
- Forever 21

.... and actually thought it was a good idea? Yeah, me too. About five years ago I suddenly decided that I need to have bleach blonde hair - or else... terrible things would happen. But back then, I had no idea how bleach works and what it does to your hair, neither was I aware of the difference of a simple hair dye and the blue-colored powder monster. Ever since I started bleaching my hair, it went from healthy to damaged and from shiny to dull - but most of all it went from long to ultra short.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2005 - 15 yrs - long, red hair - no tattoos... and  sporting a vintage Dior box-shaped purse which was hand me down/gift from my ballet teacher. Seeing this picture actually makes me wonder what ever happened to this bag... did my Mom give it  away? Did I accidently throw it out?

Although I reached my goal of having blonde hair, I was pretty upset because I've never had short hair in my life ever before. And although it was nice to have something different than the usual, I got sick of it after just a few weeks. As the years went on, and I kept on bleaching, nothing ever grew back. My hair stayed short, damaged and boring. I tried extensions for a few months but knew deep inside that the only thing I could do now is take action and stop damaging my hair more and more every month.

I got my last 'blondie tune up' in April 2010, because I wanted to look cute for my wedding but after that I called it a night. In the last 10 months not one single drop of bleach has touched my hair, and I only dyed it twice. And suprise, surprise - IT'S GROWING! I decided to dedicate a post to this topic and share my favorite tips with the community, because I am sure that I am not alone in this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 2010 - Oh Long Hair, Where Art Thou?

 

Chapter 1
Where to Start

First of all, go to your bathroom and check your hair products and tools. Decide, if you need them for your new adventure. Say good bye to 'Ultra Strong Hair Spray', 'Hair Glue' or other sticky products. If you want you hair to become shiny and healthy you have to get rid of everything that tangles and glues it. Also, lock away that flat iron you love so much. Heat is one of the things that can damage your hair enormously, even if you do use heat protection products. Just like in the real world, in order for you - or in this case your hair - to relax, you have to eliminate all stress factors.

Chapter 2
Without using hair products I will have a Bad Hair Day every day!

No, you won't! I tried out lots and lots of hair products and found a few that might not exactly heal your hair, but at least they're not damaging it either.

Aussie 'Mega' Hairspray
My personal favorite is the Aussie 'Mega' hair spray with flexible hold, but really  you can use any flex hold hair spray. It holds your hair together without tangeling it and giving it a glued look. The best part is that at the end of the day, or night, you will not have to fight with your head and brutally brush through your hair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aussie 'Mega' Flexible Hold Hair Spray - approx $4

Osis 'Dust It' by Schwarzkopf
This little grem is a real lifesaver! 'Dust It' is a powder that you simply apply to your hair and without teasing, you can achieve a very cute, volouminous hair style. Another plus point is that it almost works like a dry shampoo. I am one of those people who have to wash their hair every day, or else I have a grease bomb on my head, but using DI really helped me. I usually can go a second day without washing my hair. The only con to this product is that it is descibed as a mattifying powder and (believe it or not) mattifies your hair - so you might want to use a bit of shine spray.

Osis 'Dust it' by Schwarzkopf - approx. $10

Chapter 3
What else can I do?

Olive Oil Treatment
Olive oil works wonders for you hair. Although this procedure can get messy, it is definitely worth trying. I recommend doing this on the weekend or when you have a day off! If you don't have it already, go out and buy some Extra Virgin Olive Oil. You can get it at pretty much every supermarket, and even places like Wal-Mart. Then, put some olive oil in a bowl and brush your hair. Take a small part of hair, dip your finger tips in the bowl and massage in the EVOO from ends to roots. Do this until your hair is completely covered in EVOO and put a towel around your head, to keep it warm and let the oil do it's magic. Leave it in for a half an hour and then procede to wash your hair. I recommend using shampoo only, since your hair is already conditioned from the EVOO and you don't really need conditioner anymore. It might take a few rounds of shampooing to get all the oil out, so don't worry about 'overdoing' it.

 

Not brushing wet hair
We all heared this tip at least once in our lives and still most of us do it: we brush our hair right when we get out of the shower. Unlucky for us, this is really not what our damaged hair needs! Try 'brushing' your hair with your fingers when it's wet to get it in shape.

Don't use a hair dryer... Unless you really need to!
This was the hardest part for me, to be honest. Having short hair means you have to blow dry it in shape or it will look weird... or is that just me? So to avoid blow drying, I made a habit of showering and washing my hair before I go to bed. This way it can air dry. Of course, I know many people need their morning showers but if you can manage to keep your hair dry during those you're good to go. Although we might not notice it, hair dryers are a big stress factors for our hair. We expose our head to a lot of heat which makes the hair dry and papery. Try washing your hair the night before, let it air dry and blow dry it with cold air the next morning. Cold air is not half as damaging than hot ait! If you usually straighten your hair with an iron, this might be something to look into, too. Irons, like blow dryers are not the best tool if you want to keep your hair healthy. So if you get a round brush and use the cold air on your dryer, you will definitely make less damage and your hair will thank you by growing.

 

Use quality products
From my exerience in working in a hair salon and going to hairdressing school (ironic, isn't it?) the best shampoo I can think of is Kerastase (by L'oreal) 'Bain de Force'. I've never had a more wonderful shampoo than this one, but unfortunately it's pretty pricey with about $33 a bottle. If you can't or simply don't want to spend this much on a shampoo, another recommendation would be Schwarzkopf's BC (BonaCure) Line for damaged hair (runs for about $10 - $15 a bottle), or if that is still too much, Aussie 'Moist' (about $4). I currently use the Aussie shampoo and it's great! As for conditioners and treatments you can look into purchasing the 3 week set of Kerastase - 'Force Intense' - which is really expensive, but also really worth it. 'Force Intense' consists of six little tubes, and it's a three week treatment. After washing your hair, you apply the tube marked 1, leave it in for about 10 minutes and apply the second one afterwards. After another 10 minutes you can rinse your hair and you are done for the week. This, you repeat the following two weeks and your hair will already have a better structure. Unfortunately, this product runs for about $60 a set, but if you search on eBay or Amazon you might be lucky and find it for around $30 - $40. A cheaper alternative is a product I recently tried: the Neutrogena Tripple Moisture Hair Treatment. After one month of using it my hair felt really soft and hand a nice shine to it. Conditioners are also an important factor of your hair care, but while the 'Bain de Force' - or really any Kerastase shampoo - offer a 2 in 1 formula and no conditioner is needed, I would always recommend using one if you use a shampoo that does not offer a 2 in 1 formula. Schwarzkopf has a great leave in spray conditioner (BC Moisture Kick, approx. $10). I had a lot of great experience with it because it does not make your hair look or feel heavy/greasy. For the cheap alternative you should check out Aussie '3 Minute Minute' - I was using it over the past month and really liked it.

 

Avoid dying your hair
Now, I know - this is really hard for a lot of ladies. Not dying your hair means you have to accept your natural hair color and not all of are blessed with a cute and clear natural ine. If you think you can sacrifice having a stylish hair color for a while, and have bleached or light hair in general, hit up the closest beauty supplies retailer  and ask for a color chart. Compare your own hair color to the ones on the chart and pick the ones closest to your own, natural hair color. Buy the product, dye your hair one last time and leave it alone afterwards. If you have dark (brown, black) hair I would probably just let it grow out.

Cut off damaged ends
We've all been there: we go to a hair salon and tell the hair dresser 'Please only cut the ends, and not too much'. But how do we usually walk out the salon after a hair cut like that? Upset and feeling like the stylist did cut off way too much and at this point we think 'Nevvveeer again!'. Of course, you can't just not cut your hair while you grow it out. That would be way too easy, right? Some people might say the best tip is to just not cut it, but like I just said: that's not the way to go. The damage in your ends will slowly crawl up the rest of your hair and destroy it.. those sneaky little basterds. So if you don't have a hair dresser you can fully trust you can always cut your own ends. You really can't do wrong much. Simply wet your hair and brush it (this is the only time I recommend brushing your hair when it's wet!). Take your hair cutting scissors and just grab streak after streak, cutting off the ends. Since you are not giving yourself a 'real' hair cut - I doubt that is possible anyway - you don't need the best, most expensive scissors. I got mine at Wal-Mart in a hair cutting set for $20.

Chapter 4
Additional Suggestions

Prenatal Vitamins
You might have read that some people take prenatal vitamins to boost the process of growing their hair out. I have tried it too but didn't see any difference between when I took them and when I didn't. You will find a lot of reviews on the internet of people saying how great they worked for them and how fast their hair was growing, but it really depends on your body and how it reacts to them. Since they don't do any damage it is always worth trying them!

Use a good hair brush
This is really important! You should find a good hair brush that doesn't rip out all you hair. I enjoy using my hair extensions hair brush which I got with my first set of hair extensions. Other great brushes I've tried are wooden ones, since they are really soft to your scalp and usually don't tease your hair too much.

Clip In Extensions
Up until recently I couldn't imagine wearing clip in extensions but I've come to learn that they can be really handy and look good at the same time. Unlike regular hair extensions - which against common belief DO damage your hair, even if they are done with keratin bondings - the clip ins work like regular hair clips. You can put them in or take them out whenever you want, and don't have to deal with head pains when you lay down to sleep. Clip in extensions are a great (and cheap) way of working through that phase where your hair just doesn't seem right if you leave it open, but you also don't want to wear a pony tail every day.

What do you think - pretty much work, huh? Or so it seems! But believe me, it is not half as bad.
Here's a quick summary:

* Try to avoid heat (flat iron, hair dryer)
* Don't use products that are sticky and tangle your hair
* Try to keep dying your hair to a minimum
* Use a good shampoo

And finally, a picture of my current hair lenght!

Happy Hair Growing!

XOXO
Katie

 

Yesterday after work I needed to stop at CVS to stock up on my two favorite beauty basics: Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse & Powder. I've problems with acne and oily skin pretty much my whole life, and always try everything possible to a) keep it under control and b) improve my skin by using appropriate skin and beauty products. When it comes to foundations & make up there are three things that are important to me:

- the covering power
- must not look caked on whatsoever
- must stay on for at least 8 hours

Over the years, I've tried lots and lots of foundations - from L'oreal, to Chanel, back to cheaper brands like Nivea, to Clinique... none were satisfying.
Most of the time I felt like all of their foundations were made for skin that already is flawless - but mine isn't.
When I was about 14 Max Factor came out with 'Color Adapt' which I used for a couple of years, and it was pretty good. It covered and evened out my somewhat uneven skintone and hid imperfections - I was happy. But one day, just like that, 'my color' didn't match my skin anymore. I always have been pale but something inside my body must have changed which brought me right to vampire status - I am pale as a ghost... but refuse to use tanning beds.
So, I started looking again for something to fit my needs - and I found it! Since about 3 years I am using Maybelline's Dream Matte Mousse (color 0 Porcelain Ivory) and it's perfect. My skin looks nearly flawless, at the end of the day it is still where it belongs... on my face! Also, I just love how it adapts to my skin color. But the best part for me is that this product is only abou $10. And of recently CVS seems to have a permanent promotion on Maybelline products which is buy 1 get 1 50% off - classical win/win situation right here! Anyway, I wasn't actually planning to write this much about my foundation. Much more I wanted to review a lip gloss I pretty much 'stole' yesterday.

While walking the beauty isles at CVS yesterday evening I noticed signs that said '75% off' - they were literally everywhere. So after grabbing my two basics I scanned the shelves for those little '75% off' stickers that marked products that were.. well.. 75% cheaper than usual. Of course, I was a little too late to the party and everything was gone. Or was it? When I was just about to give up and get ready to go to the register and pay something red caught my eye - and lucky for me it also had a little pink sticker on it AND was the last of it's kind. Of course, I grabbed it. Honestly, I didn't even examine it that much. It was red, it was something for my lips - there's no way I couldn't like it. The product I took home is a simple Revlon Lipgloss in a color called Firecracker (160). It was originally priced at $8.89 (I really don't know why I remember that) but taking the 75% off it costed me a total of $2.22. What a steal! Now, I really don't expect much of lipgloss; I'm used to no matter what brand I buy, it will wear off within half an hour max. So this morning when I decided to try it out I powdered my lips a little and put it on. The color in the flacon looks like an thick, orangey red, though when you actually I apply it is rather transparent. I like it a lot though!
Shades of orange for lipsticks or glosses might not be everyone's cup of tea but ever since I got Lancome's 'Juicy Tube' in Mangue (Mango) a few years back I was hooked. A half an hour, a kiss & a cigarette later I just had arrived at work and to my surprise  I still had a cute, orangy glow on my lips. Summed up I am very satisfied with this purchase: cute color, bargain price and lasts a decent amount of time - Thank you Revlon!

Showing off my Cosmopolitain Finger Tattoo!

On my lips

Ohh, hey there!

In the end I am very happy with my purchase and definitely would recommend this lipgloss!

I was just going through my picture folders of last year and found this

I really, really regret not buying this dress last spring. I remember trying it on at Zara, thinking 'this isn't all that great', and ending up only buying the pumps (which I still love!). I wish they would bring back this dress so I could buy it.

I also found this picture of me first trying on my favorite dress of 2010! I got it in Germany at a store called "New Yorker" which is kind of like a cheaper (in quality, not in price) H&M. They basically mostly sell  weird clothes that probably are worn only by middle school kids (no offense!). I still liked to check in there sometimes, because every once in a while they have a real beauty - like this one. I wore this dress a bazillion times last summer - either plain, paired with a denim vest, a summer-y jacket and heels or ballet flats. Unfortunately, by now one of the straps ripped in the front - and this happened because I wore a bra underneath which I usually didn't when wearing this dress', the colors seem washed out and it actually shrunk to the point where you can almost see my buttcheeks when I walk. I thought about getting it sown into a waist skirt or something, or actually try and do it myself although I doubt that that's a good idea - I have two left hands.

 

Yeah, of course this had to happen. I was almost finished with, what felt like, the longest post ever... but then I had to push a wrong button... and everything was gone. Just my luck! So how was your Valentines Day, everybody? Besides this little accident I had a really good day, to be honest. Our great Manager at work surprised the whole team with fresh, yummy cupcakes and it's finally getting warmer out. Let's hope spring will be here soon and we can exchange our thick coats & wool tights for denim jackets & short skirts!

So, to mention those cupcakes one more time... I can describe them best in two words: HUGE & DELICIOUS! Seriously, though. Those things were giants, and probably bigger than every piece of cake I've had in the past couple of months. Or maybe even the whole last year. Considering I only got about four hours of sleep last night, and that I didn't have any coffee, coke or energy drinks, this 'little' treat is my only explenation for managing staying awake for a total of 18 hours straight (as of right now).

Fashionwise, I really had to improvise this morning. I am forcing myself every day to not go back to the habit of wearing black, with black & black. This is kind of hard right now, since approximately 90 % of my wardrobe consist of black pieces, and as much as I crave a good shopping trip.. right now, bills have to be paid. I am avoiding shopping plazas & malls like cats/rats (well, most of them at least) avoid water, so I am not getting tempted to buy just this one piece, I just HAVE to have.. or else I'll die & end up with no hot water. I'm sure you know how that is. Anyhow, since I really only have black things right now I decided to put  shoes & make up in the focus today.

Cropped Sailor Style Jacket - Bought in some small, pretty cheap store in Germany. The label reads "2 Elles".
Top - H&M
Jeans - H&M
Patent Leather Mary Janes - Graceland (Deichmann Shoes)

The cropped jacket is one of my favorites, I got January 2010 in Duisburg, Germany. While the store was rather cheap & didn't have a lot of (or should I say ANY?) quality items, this jacket was both cute and pretty well manufactured. I paid about 29EUR (approx. $39) for it and wore it quite often last fall, and so far there are no rips, or other signs of wear. Yay! The patent leather MJ's are definitely an eye catcher, but unfortunately rather uncomfortable. In fact, they're probably the most uncomfortable shoes I have - definitely not made for walking a lot, but that's alright with me since I sit pretty much all day anyay.

The jacket has golden embroidery on the sleeves & shoulders and cute, brass anchor buttons. The lining is striped black & white. On a side note, I really need to get a better camera!

The bag I carried oday is from Forever21, and I found it at the Premium Outlets in Camarillo, CA last April. While I usually rather invest a few bucks more into a designer piece - bags are really the only thing I spend a lot of money on -  I fell in love with this baby the moment I spotted it! It is made of really soft, pebbly faux leather - at least I think it's faux leather, since it was only $17 - and has a lot of heavy-looking, golden hardware. You can carry it crossbody, on your shoulder or handheld, which is my favorite option because it looks extra slouchy this way. After buying and inspecting it from 'head to toe' I noticed that it reminds me a lot of a mix between a Balenciaga Pom Pom and the Alexander Wang Rocco bag, and I don't think that is a coincidence. A few months ago, when I was at Forever21 at the Natick Mall (Natick, MA) I noticed that they actually have a lot of designer inspired pieces. Besides a quilted flap, which looked a lot like Chanel's Jumbo Flap, I also spotted a nearly spot on remake of Chloe's 'Marcie' bag - I even read a post of some lady ranting & complaining on tPF about how she doesn't like that 'her' bag is 'copied' & therefore 'accessible to the working class' (if this was your post and you are reading this.. please stop being such a dramatic freak!!!).

So, ladies: if you are looking for a designer inspired bag - Forever21 is the place to be!
See for yourself:

Forever 21 'Date Night Leatherette Bag' vs. Hermes 'Constance'

Forever 21 'Striped & Leatherette Handbag' vs Mulberry Oversized'Alexa'

Forever 21 'Three Compartment Handbag' vs Alexander Wang 'Rocco'

Forever 21 'Small Quilted Shoulder Bag' vs. Chanel 'Mini Flap'

Forever 21 'Alligation Hobo Bag' vs. Givenchy 'Leather Hobo'

 

All the Forever 21 bags shown are being sold this very moment on here!

I actually can't believe I am still awake right now... I will so regret this tomorrow! Anyhow, I was browsing around the web and stumbled upon this great fashion blog called It's a New Kate. Katie is giving away a $20 gift card to Forever21, which is actually one of my favorite stores when it comes to cute assecoires! So, of course, I couldn't resist - like I mentioned before, lately I've been becoming addicted to giveaways & contests.

You can find all information on her giveaway here!

And now, finally, I'm off to bed.. I need my beauty sleep!

First of all, I was really trying to avoid Twitter ever since I heard about it. I mean, honestly... what is it even good for? Who really cares if you have a craving for a donut, or if there was a hair in your salad - c'mon guys, be a little less self-centered. But as of right now, I finally begin to understand the concept and.. well... I gave in. I made a Twitter account for my little Blog - And yes, I admit. It seems to be a fun & useful tool! It almost kind of reminds me of how I hated on UGG's for the longest time and finally gave in last December. Even though me and my UGG's had a rather bad start (I ordered the last black pair in my size at NeimannMarcus, they ripped after two days & were sold out everywhere ever since) I am totally buying a new pair when they are available again. Most comfy shoes ever!

Long story short - I made a Twitter account and if you'd like to follow me click here!

I also decided to tell you a little more about myself & picked out this little "survey" called 30 Random Facts. I originally saw this on Facebook a while ago, and thought that it might be interesting for my blog. If any of you out there decide to post this on your own blog, please let me know - I love to read about my fellow bloggers! :)

30 Random Facts

1. I am 21 years old.
2. I lived in 3 different countries
3. I love flying - the food, the little safety shows the staff performs, the feeling when you hit a small air pocket.. & most of all:  the free drinks!
4. If I was a boy, my name would be Andre.
5. I never tell people my real first name because I can't stand it.
6. I love cats more than anything in this world.
7. When I was little (around 8 or so), I had a huge crush on Agent Fox Mulder.
8. Around the same time I used to tell my friends I was in an episode of the X-Files...clearly, I wasn't... or was I?
9. My dream job is being a high school history teacher...
10. .... which is funny cause I never finished (German) high school (my certificate is still equivalent to an American HS Diploma though, Thank God!)
11. I have no talents whatsoever.
12. I started learning English when I was 6 years old.
14. I love chick flicks (&always have to watch them alone).
15. I have a bad timing when it comes to making inappropriate jokes.
16. Up until recently I couldn't chew bubble gum without feeling like I have to vomit.
17. Aged 2.5, I stole a cat from a neighbor on a vacation in Russia. My family kept her.
18. Chemistry makes absolutely no sense to me.
19. I started smoking when I was 15 years old.
20. I used to do ballet.
21. I believe in ghosts.
22. I cry during movies... a lot.
23. Buying shoes makes me happy.
24. I recently started working at Hasbro Inc. and absolutely LOVE it! After all, who wouldn't if that means you're surrounded by toys all day?!
25. I've been a vegetarian since I was 9 years old & up until recently I refused to wear leather. But things change...
26. If I could be one person, I'd be Anna Nicole Smith (minus the being dead part).
27. The first movie I've ever seen in theaters was Disney's Anastasia.
28. When I was little my understanding of life and death was:

- you're little
- you grow up
- you become older
- you become really old
- you start to shrink
- you become really tiny, pass out for a bit
- you're back to being a baby and the cycle restarts

29. I speak Russian, German, English & a little bit of French & I was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
30. I hate root beer - wahh, so gross!!

I've been not feeling that great the past view days, and therefore I haven't been using my computer much. To be honest, yesterday I have been sleeping literally ALL DAY! I woke up around noon, having a giant headache which I tried to sleep away.. by 10 pm I finally was able to get up without feeling like death.

So after I got up I decided to browse some blogs and stumbled upon a beauty contest sponsored by Too Faced Cosmetics.
Lately, I've been obsessed with giveaways & contests so I couldn't resist and threw on some make up, even though I really was planning to go back to bed about an hour later.

The contest's theme is RED HOT, and basically you should show off your cutest Valentine's Day make up.
They picked a winner ever day for the past two weeks - but like I said, unfortunately I only found out about it last night so I sent in a picture right before midnight and another one this morning since you can participate once a day.. only thing is, the make up has to be different & you have to use another email adress.

You can find the contest here!

These are my submissions

02/12 - I took the picture around 11 pm & the light in my apartment really isn't the best... so the quality is kind of crap. I doubt that I have a chance. Haha.

02/13 - This was taken right after I got up around 12 pm (I admit.. I love sleeping in!). The light was a lot better and although I usually don't like to show off pouty lips... I felt like it was kind of appropriate for this picture.

I never win anything but maybe this time I am lucky?