la la la la 23.

Tuesday is my birthday. I don't really want anything, but to listen to Missy Elliot, eat key lime pie and win our kick ball game. I don't need a whole (blog) month to celebrate my birthday, nor do I need even a week. When people do that it confuses me, "I know your birthday is coming up, because you've facebooked / tweeted it a million times, but when exactly IS your birthday?" Silly people. I'm a simple kind of gal. Give me key lime pie and I'm golden.
Anyways...
There are a lot of things I have witnessed in my short existence so far, but I wouldn't change a thing! I hope my life continues to be fabulous.
Hope everyone has a great weekend!!!
ps That is me rapping with Missy. Horrible rapping face, I know.

Pajamas!

I'd like to be one of those girls who rolls out of bed with her hair still in a perfect top knot, wearing a cute set of pajamas and smiles at the birds chirping outside of her window...
You know, the kind of girl that drinks perfect cups of coffee, read poetry all day with her uber-handsome boyfriend, and can totally get away with wearing those same cute pajamas outside of the house. Basically, I want my life to resemble a romantic comedy.
I might not have that perfect top knot (okay, or that perfect cup of coffee... or those birds) but I've found a way to get a step closer to rom-com life: the pajamas. I'm digging the line from Sleepy Jones (if only it wasn't so expensive). I'd even consider wearing them out and about.
So, tell me about your pajamas...
(Also, what's your favorite rom-com? Mine? You've got mail! The movie starts with Meg Ryan in a classic pajama set!)

It's that time.

As much as we all like to avoid it, it's getting warmer. And warm = sun = outdoors = water = beach = SWIMSUITS. There are approximately 2,390 things I would rather do than try on a swimsuit right now.
The light in the fitting rooms alone is enough to make you want to crawl back into a parka. However, this year, I'm going to buy a new swimsuit. Which might not seem like a big deal, but I haven't purchased a new swimsuit since... oh... sophomore year of college? THAT WAS A WHILE AGO.
I'm looking to the new swim collection from H&M for inspiration on my quest. I love the simplicity and clean lines of these suits, not to mention they are super sexy without showing too much skin.
Are you ready for the beach? 

Bitch talking shit.

For some reason, these days I love swearing. 

I say shit, f**k, f**king - as in "That's so fucking cool"... I guess I'm just like everyone else, right? You do the same thing, don't you? Give me some reassurance here.
Okay, so maybe my swear word vocabulary isn't the most fluent. I hardly use any curse other than those, even if recently, I've added a new word to my vulgar vernacular: Bitch. Welcome, Bitch.
It took me by surprise the first time. I wondered where it came from.
I was joking around with a friend when suddenly I called her "such a bitch," which had her totally cracking up. Still though, as soon as the word crossed my lips, I was kind of shocked. Missy Elliot, get out of my body!!!
I'm not sure when the word started to be used in everyday language. My friend tells me that it all started with the super cult teen movie Mean Girls where the girls call each other slut and whore and bitch.
I feel like a while back we were saying be-atch to be funny, which made it easier to use and it ended up in daily language. It became a funny word, like a little poke, not exactly appropriate, but not so inappropriate either.
So now, girls are okay to call each other that. Beyonce has a new song that asks us to "Bow Down Bitches." Kanye put together a track that talks about Kim K as the "Perfect Bitch." In a totally different world, Thug Kitchen, a vegan food blog, told me to calm my bitch ass down and even Gwyneth Paltrow is on board.

Oh and for that matter, here is what I saw while trolling Pinterest.

Nice shirt. 
I'm a little confused. I mean, Thug Kitchen cracks me up, and I listen to hip hop on occasion with all the very explicit language, and I'm all for uninhibited and modern language, and I understand that appropriating a term meaning you can take some of it's original outrage away (it's called reclaiming from what I've heard)...
But sometimes I wonder if the joke is really on us (us, the "bitches") when we play with these kind of words. Yes, I am talking about feminism and respect for ourselves and all that.
What do you think? How carefully do you choose your words. What takes it too far? Or do you find all that just super fun?

On friends.

Yesterday, I was thinking about friendships on my way home from work and I came to the following conclusions....

1. You don't need to have a plan when you get together with a friend. You don't need to have a party, an activity, or a brunch you're supposed to go to together. You can see a friend with nothing on the agenda, just wanting to get together and decide what you'll do after. 2. A true friend: ...Doesn't judge you, but also has the right to not approve of your full body tattoo. ...Is ready to drop everything she's doing and come to your rescue if you have an emergency, but also knows when to tell you when you're overreacting. ...Has the right to be pissed at you when you overreact, but not for too long. 3. A true friend: ...Doesn't make a move on your ex. ...Doesn't make a move on your boyfriend (This stays true for crypto-moves too). ...Doesn't steal your friends (Unless you encourage her to do so). ...Doesn't lie to you. 4. Best things to do with friends you don't have to prove anything to (which is the essence of true friendships, by the way).
My top three: Pizza and painting nails Movie night with ice cream on the couch. Partying the night away and spending the next morning on the couch recapping all the night's events.
5. A true friend would say... "Yeah, okay, maybe you're right. You've gained a few. We'll stop our Ben & Jerry's couch parties for three months." "You look amazing in that photo!" "That outfit just doesn't work on you." "I saw your man with another woman." or  "You're boyfriend is amazing. Stop creating stuff in your head."
6. Sign that it's a true friendship: (or sign that your friend is very well educated, which is pretty rare) Your friend is with some people who are magnificently cooler or amazingly more important than you (yeah, it happens) and introduces you as if you're the greatest thing since Mac and Cheese.
7. Some friendships die, but it doesn't mean they weren't beautiful and true. 8. Stupid problems that can kill a friendship if not kept in check.
- Jealousy: Jealousy stems from desire. Before you hate someone because she has everything you want, you usually start by loving her for everything she has. Keep yourself in check.
- Money: In friendships, as in love, everyone gives what they can, weather that be affection, money, intelligence, experience, contacts, what ever it is... You have to be generous, and let others be generous too, even if it's just paying for coffee.
- Distance: You have to pick up the phone and call. Skype, text, whatever it is. I'm the worst at this and I can't even get it together to respond to emails. Friendships have suffered... That said, I'd never hold it against a friend if they are too busy and don't have time to call - I know they are busy, I don't think they are forgetting me...
9. Sign of a true friendship: After three minutes of no one saying anything in a conversation, no one feels embarrassed.
10. Unidirectional friendships, a problem more frequent than you think. Asking, "how are things for you?" (+15 minutes listening without checking your twitter feed) is not a superfluous act. 11. Some profound friendships can be formed in three minutes, other superficial ones can take years.
12. With a true friend, you can be completely yourself. You don't need to be the girl who's "cool with tons of friends, a great job and an awesome boyfriend, wahooo!" You're just you.
13. Sign of a true friendship: Even after not seeing each other for three years, you feel like you're picking up a conversation you didn't quite finish the day before. 14. Sign of a true friendship: after 40 years of friendship, you still laugh together like teenagers. That's all for now! There are many other things - Plus, I have a amazing theory about jealousy that I can tell you about next time.

Chalk colored.

White nails have always been a little fascination of mine. I think they look chic, clean and simple but I also think they are tricky to pull off...
(Flashback to elementary school when all of my friends and I painted our nails with Wite-Out.)
I knew it was time I let go of those Wite-Out memories and give it a try.
Drumroll...
Here is my official, exclusive, at home white nail polish manicure step-by-step guide! 
1. Trim and file your nails to the desired length. I think white looks best on medium to short length nails.
2. If you are prone to ridges, grab your nail buffer and go over each nail before applying your base coat. Let dry.
3. Before you apply your first coat of polish, select what TV show you would like to watch on Netflix (I highly recommend Friday Night Lights, Season 1, Episode 3. Tim Riggins has to run in the rain!) and hit play. If you are anything like me, you have a very hard time sitting still and letting your nails dry and this will provide a good distraction. 
4. Apply the polish! Let your first white coat dry completely before adding your second coat. This will help with even coverage.
5. Once your second coat is completely dry, apply your top coat and enjoy some Tim Riggins.
(Okay, yes, this is really just a guide to manicures in general...)
What do you think of white nails for spring? Oui or no?

My shopping secrets revealed.

Would you believe me if I told you that I bought two blouses and a statement ring for $21? Believe it. I like the conversations I have with my friends, they can never understand the fact that I DON'T  pay full price for clothes. Actually, it's quite rare that I pay full price for anything I buy, unless it's groceries. I just tend to avoid it.  
So today friends, I am giving you my tips on how I shop without paying full price.
1. The best way to shop is to have a plan, which is easy to say. Know how much you want to spend while shopping. I would like to think it was the way I was brought up, but I think $25 is a lot to spend on a pair of jeans when I know I can find those same jeans for less.
2. Shop the end caps and clearance sections. The best way to find deals is to know how to navigate the store. Most of the clearance items are found at the end of the aisles or the farthest away from the main shopping areas.
3. Know the markdown schedule. Now, I don't know each day that every item is marked down, but what I do know is, the general time frame the markdown happens. It's important to know that most places mark things down for the first time or to the next level every 2 weeks (these are usually the opposite weeks the coupons come out). Here's a tip: If it's an item I actually need, I will by it at 50% off. If it's something that I want, I will wait to see if I can get it at 75% off. And sometimes when you go back the item will be gone, I usually say... It just wasn't meant to be. Harsh, I know.
Now, back to what I said about jeans "$25 is a lot to spend on a pair of jeans when I know I can find those same jeans for less." How so?
4. Know the season schedule. For instance, the "jean" department gets "reset" in early march to make room for their Spring line. So those Joe jeans you've been lusting over all winter, guess what, clearance baby. You know those great months of November/December when you just wish you were on the beach in your new L-Shape bikini (minus the fact that you've packed on about 10lbs since Halloween, but that's besides the point). Check out the clearance racks around this time and I bet you will find that bikini you've been wanting for MUCH less.
5. Goodwill. Now, I know most of you are thinking Goodwill??? I'm not stepping foot in a place that resales stuff others don't want. But I bet you (as in you who have never been in Goodwill) didn't know that even after merchandise leaves Target after its final markdown, often you can find it at Goodwill! Yes, even swimwear. And ps goodwill can not resale swimwear or undergarments so they are new!!
And my last piece of advise is...
6. Learn to read the clearance stickers. For example, all clearance deals at Target have red stickers. You  will find a  number on the top right corner of the sticker. That is the percentage it has been marked down. If the price on the sticker ends in an 8, it will be marked down again. It it ends in a 4, that's the lowest it will be. This is true with most retail stores. So just be aware. 
I hope this will help you find the best deals out there. Now, you know you don't need to pay full price for items! If you have any questions, please ask! 
Happy shopping!!!
Oh yeah, and for the record....I will never pay $95 for a pair of yoga pants! Think about it, that's just ridiculous! People are starving....