Summer 2014

How can my closet be ready for summer 2014? Every season it's a new color palette, style, and fabric. It's so hard to keep up! This guide to summer will help you find the trendiest items of the season before the season even begins!

1. Warm, bright, colors

This summer, warm, bright yellow, pink, and orange hues are all the rage. Personally, I think a pop of any of these fruity colors adds a fun, summery touch to any outfit. If you aren't comfortable wearing one of these bold colors throughout your entire outfit, try it as an accent color. Wear a yellow blazer while keeping the rest of your ensemble neutral, or try a pair of fuchsia pumps.

2. Nautical 

Look beachy, comfortable, and high fashion all at the same time with an easy nautical look. You can't go wrong with navy blue stripes with a pop of red or orange. This style captures a casual yet stylish feel, and screams "OCEAN!" Don't forget to pair your favorite sailor-themed ensemble with a bold, orange lip!

3. Printed Boho Chic

Sheer and loose clothing

Most view wearing more than one print a fashion no-no, but when done correctly, the right amount of pattern can add a quirky and elaborate touch to a seemingly effortless look. My personal favorite way to go Boho is wearing a romper or jumpsuit (first row middle picture.) The best thing about this style is that despite making you look high-fashion, it is extremely comfortable and perfect for wearing during hot summer months.

4. Full Skirts

Christian Dior and Roksanda Ilincic

My favorite thing about skirts is that you can honestly create any look you could want with them. Wearing a floral or lace skirt can add a soft, cute, look while wearing a leather or velvety skirt can look chic and edgy. Even pairing your skirt with different tops can add a lot of variation to your closet. If you look at the picture above, the outfit on the left looks casual and beachy, the outfit on the middle looks more like a dress, and the outfit on the right looks comfortable yet classy. All three skirts are the same shape, but the way that they are styled makes all the difference.

5. Chic Athletic

Tommy Hilfiger

Lacoste, John Galliano, Victoria Beckham

An athletic look is usually looked at as comfortable but not stylish. This is not always the case! Bold color, as seen in the Tommy Hilfiger collection, can uplift an athletic look from dull sweatpants to a full on fashion statement! In athletic wear, nothing has to be super structured. Wear a simple sweater dress or find a dress that resembles a shirt and skirt. The green stripes also add a sporty element to the Lacoste dress, so look for something with a simple geometric pattern.

6. Holographic

Cynthia Rowley

  


This look is hard to pull off, but even harder to find. I've never seen anyone wearing a holographic dress, but I think the iridescent quality is gorgeous. The beauty in holographic fabrics is that they never look the same twice- every time you move, or the light hits the fabric at a different angle, the colors with change, blend and mingle. I also recommend trying out holographic nail polish! Check out ilnp.com for some really unique nail polish colors.

I hope you're ready for summer! Comment your favorite celebrity/singer and I might feature them in an upcoming fashion post.

LLLLAAANNNNAAAA

Heyyyyyyy! I haven't blogged in a while so it's only fitting that my post be about something- well someone- I'm crazy about- LANA DEL REY! I don't think you understand how obsessed I am. I might need medical help... I'm hyperventilating as I'm writing this because Lana's concert is tomorrow and I have tickets! I am so excited! I am actually going to see her in person! I realize at this point that many of you may not be familiar with Lana Del Rey.

I'm gonna cry

Elizabeth Grant, also known by her stage name of Lana Del Rey, was born in New York City on June 21, 1986. She started writing songs at age 18, but was discovered later on in life and went on to release albums such as Lana Del Ray and Born to Die. Her next album (which I am SO excited about!), Ultraviolence, is set to come out this May.

I'm gonna cry AGAIN

Lana Del Rey is known for her old-Hollywood style and smooth, sultry voice. Her sound has been called 'smoky' and 'gravely' by critics and has also been compared to Marilyn Monroe. Personally, I love her unique sound. I feel that her voice along with her musical style makes for meaningful, rich, and catchy songs. She also takes part in writing her songs and editing her music videos.

Lana Del Rey in her music video for Young and Beautiful

Lana has also done some modeling through her career, releasing a promotional cover of Blue Velvet and working with H&M. She has also worked with Jaguar to endorse their new F-Type, called Desire. She also released a song Young and Beautiful for the motion picture The Great Gatsby, and has recently come out with her single Once Upon a Dream for the upcoming movie Maleficent.

Lana Del Rey for H&M

Other stuff Lana is known for:

1. HER LIPS THO

2. Being super nice to her fans

3. Laughing while singing on stage

4. Letting her fans hug her during concerts

5. Keeping things you throw on stage

6. Loving Elvis and Marilyn

7. HER EYELINER
8. Her classiness 

9. Her bubbly personality

10. RED (lips, nails)

If you aren't familiar with Lana, listen to some of my favorites. You either love her or hate her, and you won't know which one until you listen to her songs!

Lolita

Diet Mountain Dew

American

Without You 

Lucky Ones

Update: Lana's new single, West Coast, is currently #3 on iTunes! Congrats to Lana and my current favorite song!

West Coast

But really you should check out her album! She's just perfection.

Comment your favorite singer/celebrity and I might feature them in my next fashion post!

50 Random Things About Me

So I guess I've decided to do a post on 50 random things about me... I wasn't planning on doing one of these but I wanted to challenge myself. I kind of think I won't actually be able to come up with 50 things to tell you. I'll try to make them things most people don't know about me.

1. I was born in Mobile, Alabama, which is as South as you can get. I lived there until I was 8.

2. My favorite color has been green for as long as I can remember.

3. My dream is to travel the world but I've only been out of country twice: once to Pakistan when I was a baby (I don't remember a thing) and the other time to Canada when I was in 3rd grade.

4. I have attended 7 different schools so far in my life.

5. I have lived in 4 different states.

6. I love art now, but as a child I always thought I was terrible at it and never really enjoyed it. 

7. I cannot deal with having long nails... It drives me bonkers. Lately I've been trying to grow my nails a little longer so that they have a better shape, but they are already driving me insane.

8. I sit on the floor in my closet for 10-20 minutes every morning trying to figure out what to wear.

9. I really hate Dr. Pepper- it tastes like Coke and bubble gum mixed together.

10. My favorite season is winter. 

11. My birthday is in January (coming up soon!)

12. I love cooking all types of foods. I try not to bake too many desserts... We all know what happens if there's cake in the house!

13. My cat got my parents to come to my room in the middle of the night when I was in too much pain to call for help.

14. Writing has always been my 'thing'

15. I've been in the newspaper, an official brochure for tourists who come to Mobile, and an ad for my preschool on TV.

16. My dream is to play a role in a TV show even though acting is something I doubt I'll pursue.  

17. I love the cities Boston, Chicago, 

LA, and San Francisco.

18. I love the snow.

19. I really can't think of a certain thing that I don't like to eat. A lot of people have something they don't like, such as a fruit or vegetable, but I don't.

20. I have two little sisters; one is 10 and the other is 2. (Almost 11 and 3)

21. My sisters and I have really close birthdays. Mine is January 19th, Alina's (10 year old) is January 17th, and Zoya's (baby sister) is on February 2nd.

22. I wrapped my umbilical cord around my neck before I was born and could have suffered from brain damage or even died. 

23. I still can't believe that next year I'll be in high school... In my head, I'm still 8.

24. My favorite number is 3. It has been 3 for as long as I can remember. I have some sort of happy feeling when I remember my days of being three years old, and I think that's why I chose it.

25. I do not like playing competive sports because I kind of suck at sports.

26. I'm not very quiet, but a lot of people think that I am.

27. I've always wants a blog.

28. I used to watch Toddlers and Tiaras- how shameful!

29. I tend to get along with people who are older than me.

30. I can spend hours stalking people in Instagram.

31. I enjoy decorating my own room and used to want to be an interior designer.

32. I've never worn Uggs... I think they are Ugg-ly.

33. I've technically had 3 different cats but only one of them worked out for my family. 

34. My cat is laying next to me as a type this. Here are some pics:

36. When I was really little, someone saw a drawing I made of a sunflower, really liked it, and asked to put it on display at a children's section of a museum.

37. I've never been to a concert (I know... LLLAAAMMMEEE!) 

38. I love hanging out in bookstores 

39. My favorite TV show is called Once Upon a Time

40. I don't watch PLL... I guess I'm the only one left on this earth who doesn't watch it.

41. In my life I've wanted to be a doctor, lawyer, politician, writer, and more. I have absolutely no idea what I want to do when I get older.

42. I have always dreamed of volunteering at an animal shelter.

43. I don't like New York City! It's just too much for me. It's ok for visiting, but I would NEVER want to live there.

44.  I love music, but when I was younger I never listened to any kind of music. 

45. My hair is super long but you can't see how long it is because it's curly.

46. I like to sleep in chilly, dark, rooms.

47. I'm really picky when or comes to water. People say that water doesn't taste like anything, but I can taste the difference in different types of water and I can hardly drink some of them. 

48. I like to keep my alarm on for 6 AM on weekends just to feel the satisfaction of turning it off and going back to sleep.

49. I love taking pictures but I don't officially follow the rules of photography.

50. I really want to go to sleep... As usual.

I hope you guys liked reading the random things about me! Now you know what a loser I am! What's something no one really knows about you? Leave your answer in the comments below! 

Restaurant Review: Essence Bakery

I've been putting this off for a while. I went to Essence Bakery quite long time ago to try their macaroons. It's a small place that's not too fancy. It's usually very full.  

The bakery had not only macaroons, but cookies and pastries that looked absolutely delicious! We bought only macaroons because that's what Essence is famous for. We bought raspberry/rose, chocolate, caramel, lemon, and hazelnut. We wanted to eat them after lunch, but it was too hard to resist! 

Chocolate, caramel, raspberry/rose

The raspberry/rose was an acquired taste, but I liked it. It definitely had a rose flavor. The chocolate was rich and fudgy. The caramel was my favorite out of the three.

We bought the hazelnut and lemon for my dad. When I did try them, I really liked them. The hazelnut was one of my favorites. 

I ordered the spanakopita for lunch. My sister ordered the tomato grilled cheese, and my mom got the burger. 

Spanakopita: Puff pastry with spinach and feta cheese

Tomato with mozzarella cheese

Dry, mediocre burger

The burger was kind of dry and flavorless. I really liked the spanakopita, but it was a little cold. The grilled cheese wasn't bad, either. I didn't really think anything was SO good that I'd crave it and have to come back for more.

The macaroons were good, but not the most amazing thing I've ever put in my mouth. I'd recommend the caramel, hazelnut, and lemon. I'm not sure when I will return to Essence bakery. It's kind of far away and not too much to write home about. Maybe I'm not the macaroon type of person... I'm not really sure. It was a good, but not earth-shattering experience. 

San Francisco

San Francisco is one of my absolute favorite cities (next to Boston and Chicago of course.) Over Thanksgiving break, my family and I drove to San Ramon, California, where my cousins live. It was a 12 hour drive of torture. Well, it wasn't actually that bad, but no one wants to be cooped up in the back seat for 12 hours! Plus, my two little sisters were also crammed in there. We left at about 6 PM and arrived near to 6:30 AM in California, so by our time, it took us over 13 hours to arrive. The worst part of the drive was when we were less than two hours away (so close!) we got stuck in a huge traffic jam. We literally drove a mile in more than an hour. Painful memories....

Finally, after one of the longest drives I've taken, we arrived at my cousins' house. It was like a dream. The sun hadn't risen yet, and fog clung to the round hills. We were greeted at the door by my aunt and uncle, grandparents (who were also visiting for a short time) and my two cousins. We had a delicious breakfast and went straight upstairs. We basically hung out and relaxed for the whole day. The weather was surprisingly warmer than it is here, so we took long walks and got Starbucks. I realized that it was the perfect day to go watch Catching Fire, which I really really really wanted to watch. I somehow convinced my Dad to take us after dinner.

We ate a delicious dinner, and headed right to the theater. My Dad was really tired from driving all night long the previous night, and vowed that he would be sleeping through the whole movie. We were a little late, but the ads were still playing. However, the theater was stuffed to the brim! We had to work really hard to find 2 seats together. We ended up asking someone to move over one seat so that my cousin Manaal and I could sit together. My dad somehow found a seat directly in front of me. I got comfortable and prepared to hear loud snoring.

The movie was amazing, and I was completely enchanted by it. A while later, I didn't hear any snoring. At the end of the movie,  I asked my Dad how his nap was. Apparently, he never went to sleep and he really liked the movie. I kind of knew he would. It was hard to fall asleep during an action packed movie like that!

The next day, it was Thanksgiving! We had a delicious Thanksgiving feast with Irani style chicken, lamb leg, and other sides. Manaal and I set the table for kids and adults. After we ate dinner, we ate apple pie, of course! Then, we headed out to go Black Friday shopping.

FFFFFOOOODDDDD

Yes, that is splenda... its an inside joke :)

We had a blast at the mall and went to sleep after 1 AM. My uncle made us wake up early the next morning, which was terrible, but very worth it. We all went and got ready to go to San Francisco. It was a warm, sunny day, which was perfect for a day out and about in San Francisco. When we arrived, we drove to one of the most crooked roads in the US. It was so steep that I was scared that the car was going to roll backwards down the road. The view from the top was really spectacular, though. We also took a short stop to see the Golden Gate Bridge.

View from top of curvy road

Golden Gate Bridge

After that, we headed to the Fisherman's Wharf, or Pier 39 for lunch. We walked around until we came to a huge bakery called Boudin, which is famous for its sourdough bread. We ate outside on the patio. Of course, I had the clam chowder in a sour dough bread bowl. After over-stuffing, we headed to Union Square to do some shopping. We went into the Macy's and accidentally ran into a pastry shop. That's not even the best news! The owner of the shop was Yigit Pura who won a chef show called Top Chef Just Desserts, which I watched. At this point, I had to get something! I got a pecan tart and a macaroon, and they were pretty good.

Fisherman's Wharf

Gorgeous trees

Boudin! YUM

Preparing food

My yummy clam chowder

Pics at Union Square:

I remember him from the TV show

Tout Sweet 

Rainbow macaroons! 

Chocolate Ganache  

Special flavored Marshmallows 

We wanted to go to other stores, but apparently there was a whole thing for lighting up the gigantic Christmas tree in Union Square and caused a crazy huge crowd, so we skipped the shopping and went to dinner. My aunt and uncle took us to their favorite South Indian restaurant. We never ever eat Indian food, and it was very good! Here are some pics of the meal:

Stuffed with potatoes (soo good!)

Gotta love this

Unfortunately, the next day was the day we went back to Arizona. We had lunch at a bakery in Danville called La Boulange. I had some French Onion Soup, a goat cheese sandwich, and a steak sandwich. No, I didn't order all of these things; I shared with my sister, of course.

YUM

Great ambiance 

French Onion Soup

Get a bowl of hot chocolate at La Boulange 

My steak sandwich 

After lunch, we went into a pet store and drooled over the kittens and then said goodbye to the family. We were back on the road. Another 12 hours... Thank god that's over.

I had so much fun with my family this Thanksgiving! What did you guys do over the break?

Hair Trends for 2014

So what kind of locks are in this season?

1. Punk/Gothic 

Edgy pixie cuts, angled bobs, and dark colors are definitely in right now. You don't have to go all out goth... Just try out a raven black, dark blue, or a jagged cut. Dark smokey eyes and black lipstick helps achieve this look, too.

You can still achieve this look with light hair!

Be punk and glamorous at the same time!

2. The Ombre Effect

We've all heard of this one before... If you haven't, you might as well live under a rock. Just in case you do, I'll explain the ombre effect. Ombre is referring to a color gradient, in which a color slowly goes  from a dark to a light shade. Sometimes, people also do reverse ombre, when their hair color starts lighter at the roots and gets darker when it goes down. This is a super cute style, but some people (including me) are getting sort of tired of this trend. I'll show you a way to spice it up later. Remember- Ombre is pretty low maintenance if you want to get your hair dyed. It only damages the ends, so you can always get rid of it by getting a haircut. You also don't have to get it redone every few weeks if your roots are growing back, because this style already utilizes your natural color.

I love fiery red ombre!

3. Neon Colors
If you are crazy like me, you might consider going for an unnatural hair color. I personally would not dye my whole head a neon color, but maybe go for an ombre effect, so that it would be a more subtle style. If you are going to do this for the first time, I recommend non-permanent dyes like hair chalks to make sure you like your hair like this. It is a pretty drastic change. Some may cringe at the thought, but I think that it would be an interesting way to change it up and express yourself.

People with light hair often go for faded pastel colors

OMG I LOVE THIS PURPLE HAIRRRR

                                         

4. Classic Red Head
I love love love red hair. It can be fun, classic, elegant, and also daring at the same time. I can't even explain, so just look.

Ariana and her classic red velvet hair

Rihanna was a fun and flirty red head

Of course, Emma Stone

Florence Welch

5.  Honey Blonde

I CANNOT pull off blonde hair. But, for those of you who can, take advantage of the honey blonde highlights in your hair. I love 'em. Here are some fashionable celebs rocking their honey blonde strands.

The super gorgeous Scarlett Johansson

And of course, Jen Lawrence!

Let me know what you think of this and comment below :) I really want to dye my hair purple, but what if it gets messed up? Leave comments and help me through this hair dilemma!