Christmas Eve Party

So, like I said, I finally got to wear my Anna Sui for Target houndstooth patterned dress.  I knew when I saw it that I had to have it, but I had nowhere to wear it to, so I decided back in September that it would be my Christmas dress.  I wore it with a blazer from Forever 21 and my black peep toe pumps from White House Black Market (incredibly comfortable) and I also added a cute black headband with a bow, just so that my hair didn't look too plain.

My lovely sister wore an outfit that I bought her last week from Forever 21's Twist Tres Paris line, which is veryyy cute, along with black tights and adorable shoes, also from Forever 21.

My lovely boyfriend should be a fashion inspiration to all boys.  He was dressed so cute, with his red with navy trim Penguin sweatervest, black shirt, gray pinstriped slacks, and his super awesome new brown shoes.  Oh yes, working that large combination of neutral colors.

Also, in the spirit of Christmas, he wore Santa Claus socks :]

Holiday Wishes

This is our Christmas card. I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday season :]  Sorry this is late, I've been stuck in front of my sister's new flatscreen alternating between the Beatles Rock Band and the new Super Mario Bros.Wii, in a sad attempt to come close to winning against my talented boyfriend. But anyway,   anyone who we actually sent this card to in the mail probably didn't even get it yet because we were very late this year in taking our picture.  Usually, it takes us forever because my brother thinks it's funny to make silly faces, conveniently in all of the ones that are actually decent pictures of Hannah and myself.  However, this year, instead of Jaxon, we had to worry about getting a good picture of the three of us as well as our new dog, Blaze.  It was an interesting evening, to say the least. Well anyway. I hope that everyone's holiday wishes came true! I will do another post tomorrow featuring the debut of my Anna Sui for Target Blair inspired party dress that I FINALLY got to wear for Christmas Eve

love calli cabrini

Rodarte for Target

So as many of you know, today was the debut of the Rodarte for Target line!  I woke up early this morning (well, earlier than my usual winter break 2 PM ritual of dragging myself out of bed) and I got dressed as quickly as possible to get to Target.  When I got there, I noticed that the women's clothing department definitely did not include Rodarte.  I asked the lady at customer service, and she said she'd never even heard of it! (Well I guess I should have known...this is south Louisiana)  But before I had a break down,  I decided to try the other Target across town.  After driving another 30 minutes, I finally got my Rodarte fix! I definitely did not expect the collection to be so awesome! I had loved the Anna Sui for Target line so much that I couldn't help but think that Rodarte wouldn't live up to it, but I've got to say that it did.  All of the pieces were whimsical in the most amazing way, with bold colors and creative textures.  It was hard for me to choose only a few pieces because I wanted everything! One of my favorite items was the leopard print lace dress with the bow details on the back, but unfortunately all of the small sizes were sold out.  I did find that the clothes ran a little big. I usually fit in a size 3 or a small, but for this line the size 1 and extra small fit better.  Anyway, I narrowed it down to three things: an adorable hooded rain jacket (I've been searching for the perfect rain jacket for 2 years and I finally found it!) a purple lace cami, and a lovely gold skirt.  I give this collection an A+

Thank you, Lovely Julian, for photographing me and providing such a whimsical backyard

Confidence is Key

This morning after I dropped off my sister at school, I was by myself and bored, so I decided to take a trip to the bookstore. I stumbled upon a lovely book, called Fashionista: A Century of Style Icons. Needless to say, I sat in Barnes and Noble and read the entire thing, it was so interesting. You should definitely check it out. The book basically broke down the different styles of famous style icons. In the midst of reading, I noticed that although these women had very different styles, they all shared one trait: confidence. Each of them had their own distinct style that not everyone could pull off, but they did because it was their style and they rocked it! For example, I know I could not pull off the crazy outfits that Gwen Stefani wears, but she can because she chooses to wear things that are true to her style and that she feels confident in. Confidence makes such a difference. A girl wearing Christian Louboutin boots with a stunning Stella McCartney dress won't look amazing if she isn't comfortable with herself in those clothes, and a girl dressed in an outfit that she got for under ten dollars at a thrift store can look like a runway model if she feels fabulous about her clothing choice. It all depends on attitude. I mean, look at Lady Gaga. She's taken the world by storm with her outrageous fashion choices.

The reason she can get away with wearing these outfits is because she is so confident when she wears them.
In order to be confident, there are a few things you must do. First, you must figure out what your style is. Not everyone has one distinct style. There are no rules saying "You must only wear preppy clothes" or "You must only emulate the Bohemian style." Choose things that you feel comfortable wearing, and wear them with confidence. You also need to stop worrying so much about what people think about you. Almost every weekend, my Dad says something about my outfits being weird, which is not exactly a self-esteem booster, but I learned to just blow it off. If I feel comfortable in my clothes, then I don't care what anyone else thinks. Anyone can pull off anything if they love it and feel confident!


Take a fashion risk and wear something you feel great in, even if it isn't the most trendy or expensive thing. Your confidence will shine through and people will notice :]

Christmas Party Outfit

I don't know about you, but I am getting extremely excited about the holidays! I just spent the last 3 hours wrapping presents with my mom and my brother and I'm definitely getting into the Christmas spirit.  One tradition that my family has is going to mass together on Christmas Eve, then coming back to our house for a big Christmas party with both my Mom's side and my Dad's side of the family.  Everyone usually dresses nice, but the tricky part is choosing an outfit that is appropriate for chrurch and a party. I put together a great outfit for the occasion that costs less than $100! The perfect outfit for a fashionable girl on a budget:

Untitled by queeniecabrini featuring Forever21

Items in this set:
Leopard Jacquard Dress, $25
Forever21.com - Outerwear, $25
satin peep toe pump, $18
Hue Tights - footless tights, textured, and opaque tights by Hue, $13
Forever21.com - New Arrivals - Accessories, $7.80

This is such a great outfit for a party.  The satin material of the dress and shoes makes it look elegant and expensive (even though it is really affordable!) and the cute cocktail ring and necklace make perfect accessories.  The tights and the shrug make the dress appropriate for church, but after mass, you can lose the shrug to show off your beautiful shoulders. Another good thing is that this is an A-line dress, which means that it's flattering to almost every figure, and it doesn't fit tight on the stomach area so you can indulge in as much delicious Christmas party food as you want!

Hope your holidays are wonderful!

The Underground Sea

So last night was Julian's first show, and let me tell you, he was amazing!  Hannah and I rode there together because Julian had to ride with the band.  My sister and I had a fun little road trip to New Iberia. 

I wore a black skirt that I got at Rue 21 for only five dollars, a great blue top with neckline flower details that I got over the summer at a trunk show, black tights, and black patent leather booties by Gianni Bini that made me feel like a giant compared to Hannah.  Hannah wore a green sequined mini dress from Stage, a trendy boyfriend blazer from Forever 21, black tights and black ballet flats.  Basically we didn't want to dress in a basic hoodie and skinny jeans, but we didn't want to look too out of place at the show, so we kept the color palate mostly dark neutrals with one little pop of color.

The show was really fun.  We got to watch a bunch of cool bands.  Here are some random pictures we took there:

This is Julian and I when he was about to tune his bass.

Julian on stage, looking cute.

Hannah and I after the show, with her sequins sparkling!

Julian and I after the show

Looking a little happier haha

Anyway, it was a lovely evening.  I can't wait until the show next weekend!

Rock Star's Girlfriend

So my lovely boyfriend, Julian, just joined a band, and his first show is this Saturday! Well it's not his first show ever, but it's the first one with this new band.  They are a really cool band, for real.  You should check them out, they're called Change Today and they have really cool music (especially the bass :] ) 
So I was thinking about it, and I realized that I have no idea what I'm going to wear to the show this weekend.  Thank goodness I'm going shopping tomorrow! But anyway, earlier today, while taking a break from studying, I created an outfit that I would wear to watch Julian play music if he and I were rich and famous.  I can just picture it, being on the front row at Madison Square Gardens, wearing Christian Louboutin boots with a crazy outfit.  It's what I imagine Ashlee Simpson feels like when she gets to watch Pete Wentz jump all over stage playing awesome music.  I know the show this weekend is going to be on a slightly different scale than that, but it's still fun to let my imagination take over for a little while.  Anyway, once I decide what I'm really going to wear, I'll post it here, but for now, feel free to indulge in my "When I Get Rich And Famous" outfit

rock star's girlfriend by queeniecabrini featuring Miu Miu

Items in this set:
Ashish Sequined silk-georgette mini dress, $1,020
GOAT FUR JACKET, 1,340 GBP
CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN - SUPRA FIFRE NAPPA BOOTS, 1.285 EUR
Balenciaga Round-frame acetate sunglasses, $325
BURBERRY AW09/3359647 AMGLRICARD-3210C CHECK BEIGE SCOZZESE..., 139 GBP

John Lennon

This blog does not nearly embody the awesomeness that is John Lennon.  I mean, he is the most interesting person that I have ever been obsessed with, and I feel bad writing a blog entry about him that does not show how truly amazing he was as a person.  I do, however, feel that it is necessary to mention him today, even though I am pressed for time, because it is the 29 year anniversary of the terrible tragedy of John being shot and killed.  Although this entry does not do him justice, I will mention a few things about him.



First of all, John Lennon became known because he was in the legendary band called The Beatles.  Ever heard of them?  I am a firm believer that without John, the Beatles would have never gotten as big as they were (and still are!) But that is a whole different story.

After John became famous, he met his soulmate, Yoko Ono.  He and Yoko took the world by storm with their insanely creative campaign for peace.  With their Bed-Ins and Bagism interviews, they really got their point across to people all over the world that love and peace are such beautiful things and we should all strive for them. 



It really is a shame that such a lovely person, who truly believed that the world could be a better place, had such a tragic fate.  I know that he had so many other things up his sleeve that would have greatly benefitted our society if he was still with us.   I do believe, however, that his spirit is still alive within all of us who believe in love and peace. 

Let's do our best to make John and Yoko proud.  Try to live your life with love and peace.  It will make the world so much better.

These are also fun things we can do in memory of our favorite Beatle:

Listen to the Beatles music and John Lennon's music whenever possible. 
Wear your favorite Beatles t-shirt
Check out the Imagine Peace Tower live on webcam
Check out Yoko Ono's Music on Myspace- It's really cool stuff, I love her.
Become a fan of Yoko on Facebook
Follow Yoko Ono on Twitter. She posts very inspirational things.  It always brightens my day :]
Go to the bookstore and check out the books about John.  There are so many amazing ones and I WANT THEM ALL!
Print out War Is Over posters and post them everywhere!

I love John Ono Lennon! and I will definitely post a better blog entry about him later!

Delicious

Blahhh I hate finals week!!!!
I spent my entire day studying and I'm still not even close to being prepared for any tests.  Well I guess I am a bit closer than I was before, but still.
Anyway.  One thing that really sucks about finals week is how unhealthily most students eat.  Instead of eating nutritious food to give us brain power, we opt for the easier option of picking up a burger and fries with a large sugary soft drink.  I mean, who has time to cook anyway?  All we have time to do is cram every last bit of information into our heads (and write a few short blog entries) before our exams. 
Fortunately, for myself and for my roommates, I thought ahead this semester. Yesterday, while I was enjoying my lazy Sunday, I decided to dig into my mother's recipe drawer and pick out a delicious and nutritious recipe to make.  I chose "Hamburger and Corn Soup," which sounds a little weird, I know, but it's so tasty and flavorful with a surprisingly low amount of calories.  It was also extremely easy to make.  After I chose the recipe, I went to the grocery store and bought all of the ingredients and upon my return home I immediately started cooking.  A short hour later, Voila! My soup was complete.  After eating a bowl or two, I served the soup into two separate containers, one for my family to eat and the other to bring to Baton Rouge.  Now, instead of fast food when I'm hungry, I can just pop a bowl of soup into the microwave and be good to go :]

I will post the recipe later, I forgot it at home.  It's super good though, really.

Goodnight and  good luck with exams!

Fangs and Fashion

With my 3 year Twilight Saga obsession, I thought I would never have room in my heart for any vampires other than those of the Cullen clan. This thought turned out to be a complete misconception, and thanks to my roommate, Megan, I have a new obsession with the CW hit show, The Vampire Diaries. The storyline is completely different from Twilight. It is scary and unpredictable and I LOVE IT! The show (if you don't already know) is mainly focused on two vampire brothers, Stefan and Damon Salvatore, who have been around since the Civil War times. One thing that is not a huge focus of the show is fashion. Not that I'm trying to bash the way the characters dress, they dress well, but I'm just trying to get the point across that The Vampire Diaries is no Sex in the City or Gossip Girl. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw Episode 6, which contains flashbacks to before Stefan and Damon were turned into vampires. They were both in love with a girl named Katherine. The flashback showed footage of when the brothers first met her, and when she stepped out of her carriage, I was in awe. Her outfit was gorgeous! Even her servant was dressed beautifully.







I love vintage and vintage inspired clothing. Although I am usually more interested in trends from the 1960's and 1970's, who can deny how beautiful Katherine is dressed? I used her style as inspiration to make an outfit similar to hers with a modern twist.

Untitled by queeniecabrini featuring 1928 jewelry

Items in this set:
Alternative Bridesmaid Dresses at ShopRuche.com, $49
DANIER LEATHER GREEN TIBETIAN LAMB Shearling FUR COAT M - eBay (item...
UNIQUE Ankle Boots, 150 GBP
Victorian Revival Fancy Framed Rose Necklace, $22
Manor House Filigree Crescent Frame Earrings, $22

In this set of clothes, some of the items are really expensive (like the $200+ hat!), but they can be found for much cheaper with a little effort. For example, today I went to Stein Mart to get a Christmas gift for my Dad and I tried on the most adorable hats which were very similar to the one pictured above, and they were all priced under 30 dollars! There is also a pair of similar shoes on Forever21.com for only 32 dollars. Although the dress isn't floor-length and poufy like Katherine's, it's intricate lace details make it look like something a girl like Katherine would wear if she would time travel to the 21st century.
 
Watch Vampire Diaries on Thursdays at 8/7 Central!

Snow?!

Who would've thought, snow in Louisiana. Again. For the second year in a row. I love it, really. My little brother, Jaxon, and I were screaming frantically in the car when the rain turned into soft fluffy snowflakes.  Literally. My poor vocal chords are in pain now.   Jaxon and I are spending the weekend in Lafayette at my Nannie's amazing townhouse while my parents go to my sister's soccer tournament in New Orleans.  I'm jealous, really, because this is the second time this month that I had to choose staying in to study over spending the weekend shopping and having fun in New Orleans.  It's really for the better. Even though I'm missing out on that, I will get to hang out in Lafayette with my Nannie and my brother and cozy up to my school books after that.  I will hopefully get lots of studying done tonight so I can spend the whole day tomorrow with my lovely boyfriend, Julian.  Anyway, back to the snow.  I'm so excited about it.  Since I forgot all but one pair of my boots at home when I went to my apartment in Baton Rouge this week, I ended up wearing my black over-the-knee boots 3 times in 4 days!  So today, in preparation for the freezing temperature, I wore *gasp* pants! I mean, what was I supposed to do? Wear a skirt and tights without boots? That would have been impractical for the cold.  So I sucked it up and wore pants, even though I had work today.  These are no ordinary pants, however.  They are black velvet skinny jeans that I got for super cheap on the sale rack at Express last year.  They are as comfortable as leggings and a whole lot warmer.   Last night it was so cold when I got back to my apartment that I decided to skip washing my  hair because I would have been too cold.  So today, I knew I had to wear a hat.  I chose my newest hat, a grey felt cloche hat from Urban Outfitters with a cute flower detail.  Hats are great because they are a cute and easy fix for hair on mornings when you're pressed for time, and they keep you very warm.  For my top, I wore a plain navy v-neck shirt with a cute rose colored cardigan.  Layers are so warm, even if they're thin layers.  I also wore a white and purple striped scarf (which I stole from Julian about a year ago) and my lovely Kensie Girl overcoat that I got as a Christmas present last year.  To play in the snow, I also have a purple pair of vintage gloves  that my mom got when she was in college.  Cold weather is WONDERFUL when beautiful clothes are keeping you warm!


This is without the overcoat:



This is with the overcoat:



My adorable brother in the snow:



It only snowed a little, but it was still fun!





To keep warm and look nice doesn't always require sweatpants and Uggs.  I was so warm today with this outfit.  I only wore solid colors, but I kept it interesting by incorporating interesting shades of purples and blues with black, along with cute details like the flower on my hat and the stripes on my scarf.  To make a similar outfit, choose different shades of bold colors that don't match perfectly, but look nice together.  Pair these colors with dark pants and boots or ballet flats.  Keep it interesting by adding interesting details, like a hat with a cute design, a headband, or even a standout piece of jewelry. And if you are lucky enough to be in the part of the country where it is snowing, enjoy yourself and make a cute snowman!

Snow Outfit by queeniecabrini featuring Miss Selfridge

Items in this set:
Perfect-fit short-sleeve crewneck tee J. Crew Navy, $6.99
Open Front LS Cardigan, $14
Blue Funnel Neck Coat, 75 GBP
Black Velvet Tregging, 38 GBP
Emily Temple cute Rhinestone Gloves (Pink) - 58.23USD(Approx.) : MARUI..., $58

My boyfriend is also a great example of dressing cute and still keeping warm! Wearing a striped scarf that matches really well with his hooded plaid jacket from www.urbanoutfitters.com (though you can't see the green in the picture), along with a navy beanie, Vans slim jeans and adorable brown loafers. I taught him well.