Blogger Fashion | Girl Meets Life | a lifestyle blog by Gracie Gordon

ben amun bracelet giveaway (this is a REALLY good one!).

7 May, 2014 by Gracie

If the title didn’t give it away, I’m EXTREMELY excited about this giveaway!

I’ve been a huge fan of Ben Amun jewelry for a while now. I don’t think it’s much a secret that I’m a jewelry/accessories girl through and through, and Ben Amun’s designs continue to wow me.

If you ask me, Ben Amun is the leader when it comes to eye catching statement jewelry (or as referred to on their website, “wearable art”). Their jewelry is bold and interesting, yet classic and elegant at the same time. Not to mention the fact that each piece is custom made to order.

My best friend Jessi is the social media community manager for Ben Amun, and when she asked if I’d like to do a giveaway, I obviously jumped at the opportunity.

Ben Amun was kind enough to gift me with the box link chain bracelet seen above, and I haven’t taken it off ever since. I love chunky gold jewelry, especially layered with other bracelets (a fun look for summer!).

And as for the giveaway, one lucky reader will win this STUNNING large link chain bracelet - the highest valued prize I’ve ever given away!

how to enter:

1) Leave a comment saying how you’d style your new Ben Amun bracelet.

2) Tweet about the giveaway: “I entered @alagracie’s @ben_amun giveaway! http://tinyurl.com/lwwat6w”

3) Follow @ben_amun on Instagram

You can enter once, twice, or all three ways – but be sure to leave a comment for each entry in order for them to be counted accordingly.

~~Contest open to US residents only. Must be 18 or older to enter. Ends on May 14st, 2014 at 4pm EST, so get your entries in! Good luck~~

5/14/14 - winner has been emailed!

Please note I was not monetarily compensated for this post. All opinions herein are my own.

my favorite spring/summer fashion trends.

15 April, 2014 by Gracie 7 Comments

I don’t know about you, but even though it’s only April, I’m all sorts of excited about trading in my sweaters and layers for tank tops and cut offs.

The other day I posted some of my spring/summer wardrobe and got a few requests to share my favorite fashion trends for the warmer weather, so here it is!

(I thought about waiting until it was closer to summer, but if this year is anything like last – the cooler part of spring is going to flash before our eyes. So why not get the wardrobe ideas started now?)

While compiling my favorite styles and trends, I realized that they kind of all overlap and fall under one big category. So I’m going to call my favorite fashion look(s) for the spring/summer Boho…with an Edge.

If I had to describe this “Edgy Boho” look, it would be…

KIMONOS // STRAPPY // FLOWY
CROCHET // CROP TOPS
CUT OFFS // LAYERED JEWELRY
WHITES // BRAIDS // NATURAL MAKEUP
OFF THE SHOULDER // DISTRESSED DENIM
MESSY HAIR // BEACHY // EFFORTLESS
HEAD SCARVES // FLARES // OVERSIZED // FRINGE

(all images found via Pinterest. Click the image for source)

Some of my favorite places to SHOP for Edgy Boho clothes are:

URBAN OUTFITTERS // BRANDY MELVILLE // NECESSARY CLOTHING // LF // FREE PEOPLE

**********

What are your favorite styles & trends for this spring and summer?
Which of these do you like (or dislike) most?

snapshots.

13 April, 2014 by Gracie 13 Comments

Shipping out Speakable orders is my new favorite way to start the day.

Okay fine…there’s a better way, and it’s called brunch. Even if it doesn’t “start” the day until 3pm.

A la Essex…

The other day I got these Amy’s Sandwich Rounds to give a try. They’re really tasty, but really small.

If you look really closely, there’s one hidden under there…

But it’s all good because I got the extra carbs I needed from a green smoothie.

Why do smoothies taste better in a jar…?

My summer wardrobe is growing at a much more rapid pace than most years.

But…how much do you want to bet I’ll never wear those crop tops?

**********

Have you started getting summer clothes yet? Any colors/trends your especially loving lately?

color lovin’.

8 April, 2014 by Gracie 8 Comments

If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen my newly BLUE hair.

No, I didn’t actually dye my hair blue (although, it IS quite trendy right now according to Pinterest…). That optical illusion is thanks to Shimmering Lights, odd lighting, and a cool-toned filter. I’d never forsake my beloved blonde, but the blue is kinda cool looking, huh?

More color has been making an appearance in my life via my accessories. I definitely tend to lean toward neutrals when it comes to my clothes, but jewelry is a fun and easy way to add a pop of color.

I got this great bracelet from Target. I don’t usually check out their jewelry section, but they had some great finds! I thought this was just so fun for the spring and summer.

Speaking of jewelry, did you know that Speakable necklaces look great with any color? Shameless plug – sorry not sorry.

On the food front, this go-to meal has continued to make an appearance quite often. I always knew this combo of avocado, eggs, and sweet potato was delicious and filling, but it’s also quite the colorful one, yeah?

And then there’s Baby Bo’s Cantina, which is one of my favorite hidden gem restaurants in the city. They have hands down some of the best authentic Mexican food I’ve ever had. Not to mention it’s clearly quite festive there.

**********

What do you think of the bright and bold hair colors trending right now? Would you ever try something like that?

what i’m loving right now.

20 March, 2014 by Gracie 9 Comments

ombré lips.

For my birthday Erica got me this great dual lipstick from Bite, which is perfect for doing easy ombré lips.

It was so simple - I just did the dark (red) shade on the outside of my lips, and the lighter (fuschia) shade on the inside. It’s not as fancy as the ombré lips/tutorials I’ve seen on makeup blogs, but it does the trick. Voila!

ribbon hair ties.

ALSO a gift from Erica…thanks E

Um, why didn’t anyone tell me about these things sooner?! They’re so much better than regular hair ties as they don’t break or leave creases in your hair. Not to mention they just look cuter in your hair and/or on your wrist.

vaseline spray & go moisturizer.

Ok – this stuff is a game changer. I’m slightly OCD about using body lotion every day, and Vaseline Spray & Go makes it SO much easier. I still love regular body lotion and body butters, but when I’m in a rush this is great for quick application *and* quick drying.

I’ve only tried the Cocoa Radiant one, which I love – it smells like cocoa butter!

roasted veggies.

Nothin’ fancy or new here, just good old big bowls of roasted vegetables. I’ve mentioned before how roasting vegetables (with lots of spices) is the best way to make them taste good, and lately I’ve been making big batches ahead of time.

Smothered with some Annie’s Goddess dressing = perfection.

(I have a great guide to roasting vegetables on this post)

**********

What are you loving right now? Any of these things?

what i’m loving right now.

10 March, 2014 by Gracie 6 Comments

Ellovi body butter & lip butter.

Hi my name is Gracie, and I have an extreme obsession love for all skin moisturizers. I’ve never met a body lotion I didn’t like, but I was especially excited to accept a sample of Ellovi body butter when I learned that it’s all-natural, handmade, and includes just six ingredients. Made from macadamia nut, coconut, marula nut, hemp seed, and shea, there are no synthetic ingredients, preservatives, parabens, or other secret ingredients in Ellovi.

Their lip butter also has just six ingredients - Hawaiian coconut, sunflower, hemp, macadamia, Ghanaian marula, and shea.

Both butters smell amazing, and they feel incredible on my skin and lips.

Madecasse toasted coconut dark chocolate.

Not much explanation necessary here. If you see this in stores, get it. Trust me. If not, you can order it on the Madecasse website.

UV Sriracha vodka.

That’s right, sriracha really can add flavor to anything and everything. Rachel and I used UV sriracha vodka to make “Srirachaberry Margaritas” (with raspberries instead of strawberries) before going out, and it was the perfect way to kick off the night!

this meal combo…

This isn’t anything new or revolutionary, just a meal that I’ve been loving and eating just about every day for either breakfast or lunch.

It’s pretty simple – just a combination of soft boiled eggs, sweet potato, and avocado. It’s so filling and delicious!

Liquiteria.

In case you didn’t notice, cold-pressed juice is like, really in right now. Especially in NYC, at least. I’ve tried a handful of juice brands, and Liquiteria is definitely one of my new favorites. I had a discount code so grabbed their Level One Cleanse the other day, and I loved it. I drank the juice in additional to my normal (slightly smaller) meals, and it left me feeling really energized throughout the day. I didn’t even need my afternoon coffee fix!

(Oh, and I also like how Liquiteria’s juice 6-pack is the most inexpensive I’ve found yet.)

Arrojo PrIMP working spray.

I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with hairspray. Since I add waves to my hair often, hairspray is a necessity. But even with my (then) favorite brand – one spray too many left my hair feeling and looking crunchy. So when I got the suggestion to try Arrojo’s PrIMP working spray, I figured it was worth a try.

The verdict: it’s the hairspray I’ve been looking for all my life! It’s super light but still holds my hairstyle in place. Best of all is that it still allows you to switch up your hairstyle if you want to do different shapes and styles (it was actually created for that purpose for photo shoots). It also smells amazing and works well with heat tools.

**********

What are you loving right now?

snapshots.

9 March, 2014 by Gracie 14 Comments

Gym things.

More Juice Press goodness. This time their Anytime Taco.

Sometimes ya just have to ditch the makeup for a day.

And sometimes it’s time to trade in all black attire for the lighter side.

On Saturday we had brunch at one of my favorite spots, The Fat Radish.

I can’t not get their avocado toast…

Epstein’s is always fun for some Saturday silliness.

lol Mon.

Fuel to keep the fun going into nighttime…

A random pup in a cup. Clearly blog-worthy.

Last but not least, this…

**********

What’s been the highlight of your weekend so far?

scenes from the weekend.

23 February, 2014 by Gracie 17 Comments

Weekends are always a fun time, but they’re especially great now that I live within walking distance of most of my favorite places in the city.

…like St. Paul’s German Church, where we had an amazing Liberty Sisterhood gathering on Friday.

Followed by a cozy late night dinner at the Meatball Shop.

Then after a few hours of bopping around we ended up at the “neighborhood club.”

In case you missed everyone’s Instagram updates, the weather in the Northeast this weekend was per-fec-tion. No winter coat necessary!

And springy nails to match.

The West Village was doing all sorts of showing off.

We brunched 13 people strong at De Santos.

I’m thankful that Rachel likes splitting meals as much as I do. Why on earth get one entrée when you can have two?

We kicked the new week off right with a visit to the gym on Sunday morning.

(Sunglasses to cover up the post-gym roughness, ha.)

With a weekly Quest Bar restock on the way home, of course.

Spring-ish attire, day two.

Dinner of lazy folk champions.

(This was actually really good!)

Last but not last is the most special part of my weekend. This is Ayanda, the adorable little girl from Zimbabwe that I’m so blessed to sponsoring through Children’s Cup.

I’ll leave you with some inspiration for the week ahead…

**********

What was the highlight of your weekend?

all about layering {jewelry}.

29 January, 2014 by Gracie 11 Comments

If Speakable doesn’t give enough of a hint, you should know that I’m a HUGE accessories girl. While I love clothes, my personal style is attributed mostly to how I accessorize my look(s) – be it handbags, scarfs, shoes- but especially jewelry.

Sometimes I like to keep my jewelry minimalistic, and other times I like it over the top. Layering is a great way to take simple pieces and combine them with others to turn your jewelry into an eye-catching statement.