Fashion | girl meets life.

happy new year.

From my fake-tanned-heavily-madeup-sequined self, to you.

Back to regularly scheduled blogging soon. xoxo G

No, I haven’t been secretly training for a 26.2 mile race. You know you can trust me on that one. I have, though, had quite the crazy holiday week – complete with 32 hours of work and a one exciting day after the other.

After spending a few days with my family in Pennsylvania, I headed back to the city on Wednesday to celebrate the second-to-last night of my beautiful friend Emily’s life as a bachelorette with a big dinner at Matilda. Then Jessi and I met up with our two favorite Arizona boys Corey and Eric to show them a night out in NYC. We went to 1OAK, and it was a good night.

Fast forward to Thursday night where Corey and Eric’s band Rescue Lights had their first NYC show at Pianos. I can’t even remember the last time I’ve been to a concert, and I must say that homeboys are good!

(Check out their music here.) After the concert we all went to Southside and bopped around. Another fun night.

And then there was yesterday, where we laughed and cried and danced the night away to celebrate Chad and Emily’s marriage. It couldn’t have been any. more. perfect.

Okay, so I may not have ran an actual marathon, but feeling like I did can sort of count…right?

I’m currently being as much of a bum as possible before heading to my pre-NYE festivities, followed by the main event. Let’s just say I can’t wait to bounce around in my obnoxious “I’d-never-wear-this-unless-it-was-nye” dress…

See you in 2012, creeps xoxo G

What are your plans for ringing in the new year?

baby, it’s cold outside.

Over the past couple of weeks, the weather here in NYC took a pretty quick turn from being chilly to being painfully freezing. But – other than the dreadful walk to the train or wait for a cab – I don’t mind the cold too much. I think that with the right gear, the cold days of winter can actually be really cozy and fun. So here are some of my favorite things that make the cold weather much more bearable.

gml’s cold weather favorites.

earmuffs.

Not only do earmuffs do the best job of…well, keeping your ears warm…but I also think they’re just the cutest thing ever. I’m especially loving these tweed Ralph Lauren earmuffs.

slipper socks.

(…how I get all of my boyfriends, clearly.)

I’m that typical girl whose feet are cold 90% of the time, so thick and warm socks are a must whether I’m at my apartment or out and about in the city. Here’s a really cute and cozy pair of woolen socks from H&M that you might want to add to your Christmas wish list (…I did).

{the right} gloves.

I can bear walking around the freezing cold city for a certain amount of time, but it’s that point where my fingers start to feel like they’re going to fall off that I become a first-rate whiner. A lot of gloves don’t always do the trick, but these black pleather insulated Merona gloves that my mom got me keep my hands SO warm (despite Jessi insisting they look like I’m going to murder someone. Ahem).

the perfect coat.

Having a great warm coat for the cold weather is a given, but here are a few of my favorite styles for this year.

soup, soup, and more soup.

Seriously…what’s better than a big bowl of hot soup after a day of being out in the cold? Recently Dr. McDougall’s Right Foods sent me a bunch of their delicious soups, and they’ve been my lifesaver when I need a warm and cozy meal. All of the varieties taste great, but my favorites are the Lentil and Tortilla soups.

What are some of your cold weather necessities?

p.s. still haven’t finished your Christmas shopping? Check out my Holiday Gift Guide for some of my favorite gift ideas!

what you {should} wear on nye.

Yesterday I shared what I really, really don’t think any girl should wear on New Year’s Eve. I was planning on posting my favorite dress options later this month – but for the sake of being ahead-of-the-game – here’s a montage of dress styles and colors I’m loving for this NYE…as well as how to do sequins right.

Which of these is your favorite?

what not to wear on nye.

So I’ve been browsing for inspiration for a New Year’s Eve ensemble…

(you know, since I only have *gasp* less than 4 weeks left)

…and I came across this little number.

…and about a million others just like it.

I know everyone wants to look hot and sequin-y on NYE but…just, no. Let’s be a little more creative this year, ladies.

I’ll post some good NYE dress options in a week or two for good measure.

What are your New Year’s Eve plans?

what i learned this weekend.

I will never ask guests to take off their shoes upon entering my home. It’s insulting.

Sometimes you just have to skip right to dessert.

If a guy’s apartment has more “feng shui” than mine…well, just not a huge fan of that.

I’m officially in love with the Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market. It (almost) has too much vintage and antique jewelry for this girl to handle.

Oh. My. Edward.

I used to knock it, but I’ve become a Heytell convert. The app has done wonders for our need to verbally process things anything and everything.

I like capes.

New York City during the holidays is the most romantic place on earth.

Perfect love really does cast out fear. Thanks for that, God.

What have you learned lately?
& have you seen Breaking Dawn?? (AH.)

gml’s christmas gift guide.

Is it just me or does it seem like getting Christmas gifts for people gets more and more difficult each year? And don’t even get me started on having to get gifts for guys…

As far as gifts for us ladies, though, I did a little brainstorming and came up with a few that I’d personally love to receive myself, and hopefully these ideas will make the gift-getting process just a little bit easier for you. So whether you’re looking for something to buy for a friend or add to your own Christmas list, here’s my:

christmas 2011 gift guide.

for the beauty babe.

Last year my cousin Liz got this Sephora/OPI mini nailpolish set for Christmas, and I just couldn’t get over how much of a perfect gift it is. The set includes 18 assorted nail polishes for under $50. And, considering the cost of a single bottle of OPI, I’m pretty sure you know how much of a steal that is.

for the fitness buff.

For the exercisers of the bunch – I’m loving Champion Sports Bras, which the company was kind enough to send me samples of. They’re comfy, supportive, and seriously cute.

(Because let’s be real – white sports bras weren’t doing anyone any favors.)

And – take it from me – simply wearing cute workout gear and stretching at home for 10 minutes totally constitutes as a “daily workout.”

for the girlie girl.

I’ve admitted before that I’m kinda sorta obsessed with my “G” pendant necklace. Although I got mine from Urban Outfitters, I’d pretty much kill for one of these Sonya Renee personalized pendant necklaces.

Some of them can get a little pricey, but they’re customizable and a classic jewelry piece that will never go out of style.

for the thinker.

Journals are a great gift because they’ll always get put to use in one way or another. And, as someone who journals every day, I’m partial to their therapeutic powers I really like Barnes & Noble’s selection of journals, which you can order online or find in their stores.

for the foodie.

Oh, how I love French Macarons, let me count the ways…

If you want to make a good gift-giving impression this year, French Macarons from Payard Bakery are the way to go.

Or if you want to go with something non-perishable, these Painted Amaryllis Measuring Cups from Anthroplogie are pretty much just the cutest thing ever.

for the workaholic.

Even with the takeover of online calendars and smart phones, sometimes there’s just nothing like a good old hand-held planner. And the best-of-the-best? A classic Moleskine.

I love my Moleskine planner and plan on getting a new one for 2012. I’ve seen them at just about every book or office supply store, including Barnes & Noble.

So there you have it – a gift idea for just about every type of friend. Now, when can we get past the gifts part and get to the holiday party guide…?

What’s on your Christmas wishlist this year? Any tips for gifting others?

playing dress up.

Last week I posted about one of my favorite places to shop in NYC – Necessary Clothing. Luckily for me, they happened to stumble upon GML and kindly offered to send me a few pieces to put together an outfit with!

First up – this Birds High Low Unbalance Long Dress, which I’m kinda sorta obsessed with. I love the goldish/camel color and length difference. I’m also a fan of pieces that can be worn every season, and with some wedge sandals I’ll definitely wear this right into the spring.

Because my style lately has been more “edgy” than girlie, I instantly knew I wanted to pair the dress with a black boyfriend blazer and black tights.

Belting dresses is always another good option if you want to switch things up a bit.

What are your favorite accessories/pieces to wear with a dress??

I definitely suggest checking out the Necessary Clothing website – they have so many great pieces out right now and too-good-to-be-true prices. And – get this – you can receive 10% off your purchase with promo code “shopblogger” – good now through Wednesday!! So why not go ahead and treat yourself to an early Christmas present, eh?

shabby apple necklace giveaway.

As someone who is always looking for fun new places to shop, I was excited when Shabby Apple reached out to me and introduced their vintage-inspired apparel. I instantly fell in love with just about everything on their site!

Shabby Apple is all about bringing back the dress, which I just love. Not only that, but according to their website, “because serving women and families is a core value at Shabby Apple, we devote a certain percentage of our net proceeds to charitable causes serving women and children.” Yeah. Love that too.

I couldn’t help but be particularly obsessed with this Gold “Light As A Feather” Necklace. So that’s what I’m offering to give away to one lucky reader!

To enter the giveaway:

1) Like Shabby Apple on Facebook (mandatory)

Another (optional) means of entry:

2) Follow Shabby Apple on Twitter

***Please be sure to leave a comment for each means of entry in order for them to be counted!***

The contest will end on Friday, November 18th at 9am EST. Open to U.S. residents only.

Good luck!

the fruits of my failure.

Worth it, right?!

FYI – I just noticed that Necessary Clothing has an online store! So for my non-NYC-fellow-shopaholics-who-like-a-good-bargain…you’re welcome

oh, hi!