crispy sesame beef & sesame noodles

recently, joey & I have been craving chinese food 

but I've been refusing to get take out ( sorry joey ) .

I am hardly ever satisfied with take out post-eating -

home cooked meals always taste better to me , 

are less costly & healthier .

with that being said ,  we decided to make

crispy sesame beef & lo mein noodles turned

sesame noodles ( we cooked the noodles plain & added

chunky peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar , 

sesame seeds & sesame oil ) as a side .

the outcome was exactly what I wanted :

a chinese meal that satisfied my taste buds &

wallet more than any take-out dinner ever could .

summer wish list

1. ) forever 21 maxi dress

2. ) classic fedora

3. ) soludos via j crew

4. ) ann taylor necklace

5. ) tom's sunglasses

6. ) orange polish

party nail gone polka dot

yep I did the party nail once again .

[ essie's lapis of luxury , nyc color's white , & 

necessary tools ]

poppy king for kate spade

first poppy king collaborated with

j crew & made the perfect red lipstick -

see here .

now she's at it again , teaming with

kate spade to provide the perfect punchy colors

for spring & into summer 2012 :

I die .

multi colored nails anyone ? these colors would

provide the perfect platform for your take on the trend .

picture via kate spade blog

trend: multi colored nails

I have been called out multiple times for my " party nail " -

see this post for example . right now I'm rocking

opi's happy  " holli-grays " on all fingers save for my ring ,

which is a generic white .

the " party nail " has been a trend as of late ( which I guiltily

have endorsed ) ... but another nail trend I have noticed is

a rainbow - effect sported on nails .

normally , painting each of my ten nails a different color

would undoubtedly take me back circa 2001 , but these

girls make the unmatching look chic :

[ fun & frisky via the lf blog ]

[ atlantic pacific illustrates beautifully ]

[ a la lauren conrad ]

[ cupcakes and cashmere's half & half mani ]

[ cover of family circle ]

poppy razzi

barneys vs forever 21

pictures 1 , 3 , 5 , 8 via

pictures 2, 4, 6, 7 via

stylemint

it's nearly impossible to find a great tee shirt 

at a decent price

that fits well in all the right places , is a 

soft ( but not too soft ) fabric , but yet still looks polished &

put together .

 my favorite tee shirt of all time

is from j crew - it's a white v neck boyfriend tee . 

I love it because it's not too snug but not

too big . do you know what I mean ?

It's perfect ... & I've literally worn it so much

there are holes in the shirt ! not okay but I still wear it ...

I even wore it out last night ( guilty ) .

I kept hearing about stylemint - a website curated

by mary kate & ashley that bases all outfits around tees .

they even offer design tips on how to style the pieces - 

& with an average price of $ 30 per tee , it's hard not to 

want every one .

via stylemint

reverse french manicure

 I have officially become addicted to the

gel manicure . I love that the color doesn't chip

for at least two weeks & that bubble-looking 

gloss I can never seem to do painting my nails at home
that the gel mani provides .

three gel manicures in a row later , my nails

are somewhat back to normal ( only negative

side effect of the gel : my nails are now thin & brittle ) .

while I have the chance to experiment with nail polish

before I get my next gel manicure treatment , I decided

to play around with the idea of a reverse french manicure :

[ essie : mucci gucci pucci ]

[ 1st : use a white polish to paint the top portion of

nail white - shape / sloppiness does not matter ]

[ 2nd : using second color ( mucci gucci pucci ) , paint 

over half of white section & bottom of nail ]

[ 3rd : many coats later ... ]

[ finished product - I think it's pretty darn cute ! ]

keep me posted

yesterday I was in providence visiting my friends from college 

& obviously had to stop at nordstroms cafe for my favorite

lunch ever - chinese chicken salad .

up three floors and through my favorite departments 

we went - shoes , watches ... 

& then we saw the most beautiful earrings ever ,

& they happened to be marc by marc jacobs .

at a great price ( $ 40  average ) - these delicate 

earrings are the perfect gift for your friends or even

for yourself ; )

images via

lost & found

a couple of days ago , I left my beloved army green

utility jacket ( shown above ) in a taxi cab while

 rushing around the city .

as it was one of my wardrobe staples , I need to find

a replacement - and fast .

here are some jackets , though not the same as

my classic j . crew version , that will look just as 

great in my closet :

[ images via 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , & 5 ]

style icon : rachel bilson

this girl can do no wrong .

I love rachel bilson because she can

pull off virtually any look .

though she seems like a jeans and tee girl ,

she also looks drop dead gorgeous dressed for an event .

check out some images I found that make me

want to dress like rachel  :

[ who cares if her hair isn't perfect ... this is perfection ]

[ she makes every day look so easy ]

[ who else could pull off the awkward - self - cut - jeans look ? ]

[ & i'm sure she is not even trying ]

[ & more cuteness ]

[ images via 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , & 5 ]

spring break staples

there's one week left until I leave ny and head off to warm beaches ,

frozen drinks , & a much needed suntan .

the week before vacation is always anxiety ridden -  I am so beyond

excited to get away but yet am filled with all the 

necessary pre - vacation jitters 

( a . k . a making sure I have vacation worthy clothes )

here are some things I will most definitely be

(over) packing for my trip to puerto rico : 

[ j . crew ikat romper ]

[ temperley london dress ]

[ must bring accessories : make up bag & sunglasses : forever 21 ,

necklace : vintage , nail polish : essie's cute as a button ]

[ miguelina linen romper ]

[ ella moss top ]