Confessions of a Shopaholic: Makeup and Jewelry and Clothes...Oh My!

Me: Hello. My name is Katie and I am a shopaholic. Bloggers: Hello Katie. Let's all be honest here for one moment. Yes, I mean you too. This is quite possibly the sole time I will mention this topic..because, well, let's face it- None of us like to confess to being an "aholic" of any sort.

My story all began when I was a little girl. My Mom would take me on her shopping journeys to Nordstroms and it was set in stone at that point. I was doomed. I had no chance of escape. The rows of designer purses and shoes, the gourmet cafe', the piano playing in the background, the jewelry, the makeup, the clothes! My addiction grew over time to what it is today. Now that I am making a little more money than I used to, I just can't resist. I think I am making up for all the years in college that I could barely even afford Forever 21. No thanks to this blogging world either! We all know how it goes. We see something on someone's blog that we decide we just can't live without. Then we go on the hunt. We scour the malls like savages on the hunt for meat and if we can't find what we are looking for there, we go to the online hunt. We are like vulchers waiting for the next kill.

Denial: I know I am not as bad as many people out there. I never use a credit card. I don't put myself in debt from shopping (I have enough of that from student loans). I pay the bills. Justify...justify..justify...

Acceptance: I am a grown woman who makes my own money and works damn hard to earn it. I accept that I may splurge more than I need to, but I am enjoying it while I can...before I have kids and a mortgage and car payments and real bills to worry about. So there. ;)

Now...with all of that being said...let's take a look into my little world of shopping lately. Shall we?
We shall.

 

I have been obsessed with Mad Men lately and vintage earrings. I was on the hunt for some and found these babies at Aldo. I love them. I also found this emerald cocktail ring from Nordstroms. 

 

Continuing on with my vintage obsession, I was on the hunt for an over-sized red, flower hair clip. This is also from Aldo. It was actually an elastic headband and I cut the headband part of it and use bobbypins to secure it to my hair. I wore it Friday night with red lips and winged liner and felt very retro. Almost too retro. But the boyfriend calmed my fears and told me it didn't look too over the top.

I received a few Sephora gift cards for Christmas and this was one of my purchases. I love it! Excuse the wet appearance. I wiped it down so it didn't look too messy. I highly recommend this product. I don't think I will ever buy anything else to conceal with.

 

Silver dust by MAC. This is a really pretty highlighter. It works perfect on top of the cream based highlights such as Pearl or Shell. Use this to set it and you are good to go.

Soleil Tan De Chanel Bronzer. This was my Christmas gift from Noelle. I love it! I wish I had taken a picture before I started using it. It smells great and I fear I have gained another expensive holy grail item. Oh dear.

This is the MUFE lip pot in #6. I wore it in my NYE makeup look. It is a very pretty girly, pink pop color. It will look great in summer with a tan and some gold flecked lg over it. (The sheer color to the left of the pink is a swipe of the silver dust).

 Nars Albatross lg; Chanel Gabrielle ls; Chanel Cherry Blossom lg and a Loreal lg. I love love love the Chanel products. If you stray from bold lips, but are tempted to try it, ease into it with a pigmented gloss. The cherry blossom is perfect for that! It is great alone or layered.

Cherry Blossom is on the left; Gabrielle on the right. 

Excuse the rest of my face. I had wiped off my makeup and decided to snap a pic after for the blog so you can see what it looks like on. I have remnants of leftover eyeliner on and that's about it.

James, the bf, got me this little dear for Christmas. Michael Kors Jewel Clutch in black and gold. I love her.

I also picked up this Trouve' boyfriend sweater from Nordstroms. It looks really cute hung off the shoulder. I wear it with a black bandage skirt, tights and a statement piece necklace. It pairs cute with jeans as well (as you can see). This is a great piece to dress up or down. 

Well..this concludes our session for today. Remember- the first step is to admit you have a problem. Happy Hunting.

MY NEW OBESSESION: MAD MEN

I have stalked the shelves of Blockbuster for months staring down this series and for some reason never picked it up. The other day, I finally decided to give it a go and rented all of Season 1. I am hooked. I am currently on Season 3 within a week period..maybe less. This is hands down my favorite show...above Dexter..above True Blood...above dare I say it..Sex and the City. This is a must for me to own.

If you have picked up one thing from my blog, you might notice I am very into anything retro. This show takes place in the early 1960s. Mad Men refers to the ad execs on Madison Avenue in New York. This show has it all. Brilliant writing, acting, casting, history, fashion, sex, seduction, glass ceiling, women entering the work force..the list goes on and on. It reflects on so much history. So far, some historic points have been the death of Marilyn Monroe, JFK running for President and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Trust me gals. Give this show 1 episode of your devoted time and you will be hooked.

Each episode has intertwining plots that just float from scene to scene brilliantly. It really reflects on deep human emotions and conflicts in human nature..infidelity, parents growing old and getting sick, having kids, hidden identities, homosexuality, office crushes that become more than they should, the good ol' boys club. It also focuses heavily on office politics of that time period. Men are the executives and women are the secretaries. The main difference I can note that has changed over the past 50 years is the chain smoking and wet office. What I mean by wet office is everyone has a bar in their office and a drink in hand. The show really illustrates how women have pushed to gain better positions throughout the years. I can tell you first hand we are not there yet. I work in a law office, an old profession in itself, and for the most part, the men are the lawyers, the women are the secretaries. But that is an entirely other topic to discuss.

Trust me..get your hands on this show and watch it! Not many shows captivate me like this one. You will fall in love and hate all in one with Don Draper. You will feel for Betty Draper. She is so beautiful, yet so sad. Man or woman, you will lust for Joan. You will root for Peggy.

You will form deep bonds with each character. 

 

Don Draper. Sigh. You hate him. You love him. You hate him. You love him.

Thank God for women like this in Hollywood. I did some research on her. She is the only actress that is mainstream that I can think of that is right around my size.

 Can you imagine these days just lighting up a sig in the office!

 

Betty Draper, Joan, Peggy

 Watch it. Learn it. Love it.

NYE MAKEUP and CHRISTMAS TREE

Hello little Elves...I have been absent from the blog world for a while it seems. With the hustle and bustle of the Holiday season, it is easy to do! I had a fab Christmas. Santa was VERY good to me this year. Some more mentionable gifts are Tory Burch flats and a Michael Kors purse. Love Love Love and Love! I will do a post soon showing everything I got for Christmas.

Sooo...NYE plans changed. After spending a huge amount of money over Christmas and burning a hole in my pocket, I decided to cancel downtown. Instead, we are having drinks and appetizers at my place and then going out by the beach...which just happens to be walking distance from my house. I still think it will be a great time! Noelle, the best friend, aka Beautygirl24 is coming to go out with me and we will most definitely take pictures! I went to the store tonight and got loads of champagne, noise makers, fruit, ice and all the necessities to ring in the New Year right.

I wanted to do a test run of my makeup tonight and I am happy with how it came out. I wish the glitter would show up more in the camera because I used gobs of it..but you get the idea...I used several new makeup products I bought recently from Sephora with Christmas gift cards :)

I did a "professional" foundation routine for this look. I wanted a matte and dewy face all in one and I find the way to get that is patience and quite a few face products.

Face: Benefit: primer, erase paste, boi-ing, lemonade, eye-bright Mac: foundation in NC25, blush in pink swoon, highlighter in pearl Nars: Face powder in Beach; MUFE: Bronzer in #4, HD powder...phew that is a lot of products..I don't do this everyday, but for special occasions, this is the way to go..trust me..your face will look flawless in pictures...

Eyes: Midnight Cowboy by UD, Smog by UD, antique gold glitter by Mac, black cream el by Loreal Paris, zoom lash mascara by Mac...on NYE I am slapping on the falsies

Lips: Mac pro lipcream in Overtime, MUFE aqua waterproof lip pot in #6 and a tad bit of Mac dazzleglass in sugarrimed.

I know it sounds like a lot, but trust me peeps..this makeup will take you all the way through midnight and the next day!

Here is a close up of the lips...This is waterproof makeup, so buyer beware..if you do get a Mac prowear ls and the MUFE lip pot, be sure you are in love with the color, because it will stick around whether you want it to or not!

This is the necklace I am wearing on NYE..I love it!

This is my lips AFTER scrubbing the product off and there is still color deposit. 

Christmas Tree: 

I wanted to do all gold and off white this year. I decorated the tree with some of my pearl necklaces, hair clips and star fish from around the house. I was very happy with how it came out :) 

Time for bed now...:)

Happy Happy Happy NYE!

NYE 2011

My past NYE's to say the least have been a bit on the blaze' side. Five years ago, I went home to spend it with the best friend and she ended up with the flu and I ended up having a silly panic attack over some ridiculous thing- we were both in bed by 9:00 p.m. Four years ago, I was laying in bed sick with the flu. Three years ago we had gone downtown with two of our "friends" who happened to be dating at the time. We lasted all of 30 minutes downtown due to the "friends" getting into a fight and before I knew it, we were headed back home. I spent 12:00 a.m. in the back of a smelly cab. Two years ago, we had just moved into our house and I had to rush home from work at 5:00 p.m. due to my evil boss not allowing me to get off early and scramble to get ready. We ended up down the street at a bar..eh it was OK. And, last year, we went to a friend's party, but for some reason I was just not feeling it and also had to work that day (with said evil boss) and was just super tired by the time 12:00 a.m. rolled around. This year I refuse and i reiterate REFUSE to have a lame one. 

I booked a hotel room downtown and now that I work for a normal, nice boss..I can leave pretty much whenever I want that day. I also work downtown, so after work I will just walk to the hotel and start getting ready. The boyfriend, the best friend and the best friend's boyfriend are meeting me in said hotel room. I plan on the night consisting of lots of: Champagne, glitter, cheesy 2011 glasses/hats, fireworks and a big ol' smackaroo at midnight!

 This is the hotel we are staying at. :)

Downtown San Diego

Last NYE in downtown

Cheers! 

Love this outfit!

NYE is the only night you can get away with glitter galore without looking drag!

This is how I did my makeup a couple NYE's ago....

And last NYE...

This year I'm thinking possibly a red lip...but who knows how I will feel that day. I always love doing glitter on NYE! 

SMoooooooocHHH!

I hope you all have an amazing NYE and an even better 2011! Celebrate it up right. Life is short. Enjoy every single moment. :)

A little HOLIDAY HAUL

I made a little trip to the mall today and picked up a few items..Nothing too crazy..just a few things. To my surprise the mall wasn't too packed with Christmas shoppers. Thank goodness! I dragged...and I mean dragged the boyfriend with me. Big mistake. He was one whiny bird. But I did treat him to lunch after at the Nordstrom Cafe' and I got my favorite meal! A cup of the tomato basil soup and the blackened salmon caesar salad. Yummm! So onto what I got.

EXPRESS

London Sweater in Gray. I loveeee this sweater. It runs big! But that is what I like about it. It hangs off the shoulder and I am going to wear it more as a sweater dress. I will layer a longer black top underneath and pair it with black opaque ankle tights (also bought at Express today, but we all know what those look like, so I'm not posting a picture) and a pair of black leather boots.


MAC

Russian Red lipstick. I have been wanting to try this one for a while now. It is a good Holiday lipstick and a great one to do "Old Hollywood/Pin-up" looks with. I had 6 items to take "Back to Mac", so I decided to get this ls since it was "free" anyway. There are ways to tone this ls down too. You can dab a bit of white shimmery es on the center of your pout and it makes it more of a hot pink lip. You can also just dab it on and mix it with another ls. I think it will work great with See Sheer ls. You can also layer a sparkly gloss on top, which will tone down the harsh matte look if this one is a little too va-va-voom for you.

MAC Pro Longwear Foundation in NW25. I usually wear NW30 when I have a bit more color on my face, but I am looking pretty pasty these days, so had to go a color down. I love this foundation. It is medium to full coverage and goes on extremely smooth.

That is it. Not the most exciting haul, but I really did get items that I know I will use and wear a lot. I might do a post on my makeup look tonight. I'm going to wear the Russian Red but as I said, tone it down with a couple of makeup tricks.

Happy Hauling dolls!

Oh Happy Days....

I still need to post a "haul" that I did while in LA...but have been a bit slacking in uploading the photos, so until then, I have been itching to do a new post. Getting into the spirit of Christmas, I wanted to share some people/furry things that make me "happy as a kid on Christmas morning" ;)  (This is in no particular order)

1. My dog Oreo. Let me start this by saying that I am absolutely obsessed with dogs. I have always said that when I reach Heaven, it will be doggie Heaven. They just make me smile all day long. I found Oreo 3 years ago when I was desperately searching for a little dog to call my own..to be a part of my family. I stumbled upon backpage.com and it was love at first sight! He had to be mine and I had to be his. He has been licking my face ever since. :)

This is a picture of Oreo aka Cookie aka Boo aka Snoopy aka Mr. Man aka snarffles aka fluffy butt..you get the point...when we first got him. He was only 4 months old :) 

This is Oreo at the Petco Costume Contest. He has his tongue out 99.99% of the time. As I am writing this, he is on his back, snoring with his tongue hanging out. I just love this little man with all my heart <3

2. The boyfriend and HOPEFULLY soon to be fiance' James. Again..hint...hint..hint...I met James my freshman year of college and I just thought he was the sweetest, most funny guy that I had ever met in my life. He has the kind of personality that just lights up a room and makes the entire room laugh. He has done so much for my family and I and I will be forever grateful for that. We can drive each other up the wall sometimes, but at the end of the day he is my little love bunny. Gag..hehe ...but seriously, he completes me. (He has asked me specifically not to post a picture of him on this blog..for some silly reason..so the picture below will have to do. I have called him Goose for years. It started as silly goose and was shortened to goose and it has stuck ever since. :) )

. 

3. She's my best friend...Noelle. I have mentioned her a million times in this blog. She gets me..I get her...there is no drama..no fakeness....it is pure, simple friendship and love for one another. :) She completes me as well. :)

4. Last and certainly not least is my parents. I "lost" my Dad a couple years ago to cancer, although I don't feel like I lost out on many things with him even though I was only 23 when he passed. He was the best Dad a gal could ask for. He did anything and everything for me and he was one of my best friends. Noelle and I were just laughing the other day about some of the silly stuff we would ask him to do and he would do it for us ;) A day does not go by that he is not on my mind. Before he died, he wrote me something he called "Lessons of Life"- He wrote certain things he found valuable and things he made mistakes in doing and wanted to pass the knowledge onto me. I didn't see this until after he was gone. My Mom had it framed and gave it to me as a present the Christmas after he passed. I was lucky to have many special years with him. He isn't lost to me...I always say that we are all just visiting here for a while...a blink of an eye really...My Mom is one of my best friends. She is a birdy who loves fashion and vino ;) I learned a lot of my ways from her. We have a good time together, especially as I have gotten older. She cracks me up without even knowing she is being funny. She is very genuine in everything that she is and does. I love them both with all my heart and am so blessed to have not only such great parents, but as I got older, great friends as well. :)

This is my Dad's senior high school photo. So handsome :) 

This was taken the Christmas before my Dad got sick. :) Happy times.

What or who makes you "as happy as a kid on Christmas morning"?