[arms of undertow]

after seeing an ad for DailyLook  on Facebook and a promo for 2 mos. free of their Elite service i decided to give it a go. seeing as i don't have time for much of anything anymore with my crazy work hours and soul sucking commute, it seemed like a great option. the background: after filling out a profile, naming some fashionistas you admire and linking to your pinterest boards, a $20 monthly styling fee gets you clothes and accessories sized and customized to your preferences, shipped to your home, with free shipping both ways. you get 6 - 10 hand selected pieces of various price points (as specified in your profile). if you choose to keep anything from your monthly box, the $20 styling fee is applied as a credit. even if you don't choose something from the Elite box, you can use your credit during that month at the store and as an Elite subscriber shipping is free. the experience: my first box's styling was a little off. i received things that while pretty, weren'...

In January I started a job that keeps me at my desk for upwards of 9.5 hours daily on average. Consider my 2-3 hour commute and my mandatory 7-8 hours night-nights (sleep keeps you young....and sane....) and that leaves about 2 hours time to actually live. That said, I'm a big fan of anything that streamlines and improves my life....and keeps me from looking like i'm rundown (although I sometimes feel it!) My latest obsession on the makeup front, which helps me look rested when i'm not, is eye brightener. As someone with large, anime eyes I haven't frequently used brightener in the past since it's primary purpose is to make small eyes look bigger. If you're lacking sleep however, the inside rims of your eyes can show it, but a schmeer of brightener on the lower eyelid rim makes a TON of difference. So if you're missing sleep but don't want to look like it, try this quick trick. My favorite? Rouge Bunny Rouge Eyes Wide Open Brightening Liner Duo which...

Saw these earlier today and am in love....espadrille elements on a wedge.....yummy.  I don't really wear anything other than flip flops, but am going to have to start....living in CA, I think I might become a sandal junkie. $73 from Revolve.com Also very giddy about warmer weather (which I know my NJ friends would kill me for saying considering i'm in SoCal and it doesn't get much colder than a brisk 50 degrees, lol).  I just scoped out this dress and I love EVERYTHING about it.  The 1 shoulder cut, the emerald color and the scallop detail hemline...Gorgeous and wallet friendly. $50 @ Ruche This one caught my attention as well. Too cute.  Love the delicate pink bodice, the white lacey/crochet shoulders and the dramatic black faux lace print.  $48 @ Ruche I just stumbled upon this store and think I need to explore it further ;p  So much for my evening! Cheers!

If you're like me, then bargain shopping is like a mild aphrodisiac.  I like to shop, period.  I've been told this is somewhat of a problem (it's only a problem if i'm broke, if you ask me.)  Finding bargains, however, is the icing on any shopping addicts cake.  Being a freelancer (read: I don't have a "steady" gig, lol), saving money is crucial...I digress.  Since i'm attempting this whole independent contractor/be my own boss deal, i've been trying to "build" a comfortable home office (luckily all my purchases are tax deductible :) Here are a few lovely items I picked up at my local Target in the $1 (or so) section...which i'm pretty sure has it's own extremely strong gravitational pull as i'm ALWAYS inexplicably (i'm in denial) drawn to it: Super cute note cards from the $1 section of Michael's: $8 spent total....Not too shabby =) Cheers!