Photo A Day Challenge (June)

I loved participating in Chantelle's Photo A Day Challege and can't believe I didn't try it sooner! Every day was a different prompt (like "morning" or "from a high angle"). For me, what made it fun and challenging was the same thing -- coming up with a something to take a picture of and how I should take the picture. For the "time" prompt, should I simply go with taking a picture of a clock, or should I be more creative? Should I take a close up so it's more artistic?

I love the variety in what you could do. After clicking #photoadayjune on Twitter, I saw that everyone made the daily prompt their own and no two pictures were alike.

Sidenote: I use Snapseed (the best photo app ever!) on all my pictures to enhance them or to simply make them look cool.

1. Morning 2. Empty

3. On my plate 4. Close-up (of my 1990 Acura Integra)

 5. Sign (yes, that's in my kitchen) 6. Hat

7. Drink 8. Six o'clock

 9. Your view today 10. Best bit of your weekend

11. Door 12. From a low angle

Outfit: Details

Details from my recent outfits...

Lately I've been wearing easy-breezy clothing,

like loose tops, rolled up jeans, and slip-on shoes.

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Tattoos (Pt. 3)

Some tattoo inspiration for your Wednesday...

 Love the font

 Love this compass

 Love this dandelion to birds tattoo

 Love the placement of this feather

Don't Judge A Person By The Books They Read (Or Write)

I read this comment on the incredibly cool blog Underground New York Public Library, where Ourit posts photos of people reading on New York City subways. How amazing is that?!

Anyway, I found myself nodding along to what this person wrote. Yes, I thought, I do that too! Does the book a person is reading match with who I think they are as a person? Most of the time that answer is no. But then again, I don't know this person because they're a complete stranger. Maybe that kind of book is something they always read, or maybe they picked it up on a whim, or maybe the book was a gift.

The same goes with what a person writes. At one point this subject came up with two people from my class. One woman said that she was suprised at times with what kind of story someone turned in. As a small, shy girl who writes sci-fi / alternative history, I was curious if they were suprised by what I wrote. They said they were, and for some reason that didn't surprise me and also made me kind of happy. I guess I like baffling people.

Are you ever surprised by what you see a person reading? Or when you find out they wrote a story and you had a completely different person in mind? 

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It's My Birthday Today!

Today I turn 23! Whoa!

In a way, I still feel like I'm 16 (and I kind of look it too),

but I've come such a long way and grown up so much since then.

To me, turning 23 means that I'm an adult and although I'll still act silly

from time to time of course, I want to make a conscious effort to do

things that 23-year-olds do.

Like drink a margarita at dinner with friends,

wear cute heels,

take a mini-road trip because I want to,

buy clothes that I can use for work and play (did that two days ago with Avra!),

visit new neighborhoods of Manhattan,

wear prescription sunglasses (this is what my dad's getting for me!)

and most importantly FIND A FULL-TIME JOB!

To celebrate, I'm eating Chinese food at work today, seeing Brave tomorrow,

and dressing up for lunch at Alice's Tea Cup with my two best friends in two weeks.

Can't wait!

The winner of the Favorite Things Birthday Giveaway is Jo!

Congrats!

Email me at sara.strauss8922@yahoo.com with your name and address.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

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Inspired By: Brave

Pixar's Brave is coming out tomorrow (my birthday!) and I'm so excited to see it!

Merida, a headstrong teenager in the Scottish highlands, has been fighting to control her life and her destiny all her life. She would rather be an archer and swordfighter than a lady, but when her family becomes cursed Merida must undo the spell before it's too late.

{Click for item info}

I chose two blue dresses, one for finer occasions, like feasts going out, and

one for more casual adventures, such as finding your destiny.

Are you going to be seeing Brave this weekend?

And don't forget about the giveaway! It ends tomorrow!

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(Stills via Yahoo)

Ombre Nails

When I saw the picture below {shown in this post}, I knew I had to recreate it! It's so fun for summer and I have sooooo many pink and red nail polishes that I knew I would be able to make my own version. I love how it turned out. I'm most definitely going to try it with a blue to purple gradiant!

Inspiration...

My version... 

Red // CVS nail polish (no name)
Magenta // New York Color Pink Promenade Creme
Dark Pink // Sephora Opi Techno Girl
Light Pink // Forever 21 Pink
Pale Pink // Wet N' Wild Tickled Pink

If you don't have a lot of one color, you could always use a paper plate to mix your favorite color with white nail polish that way you get just enough for two fingers and you don't have to go buy new bottles.

What do you think? Are you going to try it?

And don't forget about the giveaway!

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DIY: Neon Belt

As you can see, I've been loving neon pink lately. I think I'm going neon pink crazy! I made a neon colorblock clutch and now this amazing bright pink belt. I love it because it's just a hint of neon that I can pair with a neutral-colored outfit, like a beige top and jeans or a gray maxi dress. And it's super easy to make!

1. Brush white paint onto belt with sponge brush and let dry. It dries relatively quickly. I also painted the sides of the belt too.

Birthday Wishlist!

Some awesome things on my birthday wishlist that I've been wanting for a while!

*wink wink nudge nudge*

1. Chambray Shirt

2. Pride and Prejudice Penguin Mug

3. Ear Cuff

4. Bow Front Wedges

5. Moon Earrings

6. Lush Lip Scrub

7. Floral Dress

And don't forget about the giveaway!

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Happy Birthday, Avra!

This post is dedicated to one of my best friends in the entire world -- AVRA!

Avra, let me start out by saying, I wuvs you!

I'm so glad that I met you in 11th grade and I don't know what I would do without your frienship.

You're such a unique individual and you never try to be anything you aren't,

which I love about you.

You taught me that it's okay to be me and to stick with what I believe in.

You're an amazing friend, a fantastic listener, a master of languages,

wiser than your years, you always know the right thing to say, and you're simply magnificent!

I can always count on you to laugh at ridiculous things with me,

reminisce about the past,

want frozen yogurt at any hour of the day,

talk about our love of the 19th century (Jane Austen, Jane Eyre, cameo brooches!)

watch rom-com movies with me,

talk about funny encounters with people from high school,

giggle about the hot guys on Awkward and Hart of Dixie,

and drive around with me at night singing to the radio and talking about life.

Happy 22nd Birthday, Avra!

{And don't forget about the giveaway!}

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(First picture taken by Anna Gerstenfeld)

Life Lately

Now that I'm not in school my life has been very random and all over the place and quite fun! I'm driving around, seeing friends, eating delicious foods, and just generally enjoying life! I've even written a short story that I really like and will probably share on here soon.

The empty jacuzzi in my dad's backyard.

That thing needs water right now so I can relax in it!

 My little sis and her friend

 My brother and his girlfriend

 My beautiful friend, Avra

Favorite Things Birthday Giveaway! [CLOSED]

Since my birthday is next week (June 22),

I thought I would celebrate by having a giveaway with a few of my favorite things!

♥ What You'll Win: ♥

Eyes Lips Face's dark purple makeup case
New York Color's Fashion Avenue Fuschia nail polish
New York Color's Retro Red
Chapstick Classic lip balm
Magic's Eyeshadow and lipgloss tin

Milky Way candy pack

Blue notepad
Two teas (Numi Moroccan Mint & Tulsi Sweet Rose)
Two white rose hair pins

♥ How To Enter: ♥

Follow me on Google Friend Connect

and then comment with what your favorite color is!

Bonus Entries (Leave an additional comment for each):

Follow me on Twitter.

Like me on Facebook.

Giveaway will end June 22. Open to residents of U.S. & Canada only.

Good luck!

(This giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or associated with, Twitter, Facebook, New York Color, Eyes Lips Face, Milky Way or Chapstick.)

Small Pleasures

I've been indulging in simple pleasures lately...

walking outside while it's lightly raining,

eating a bowl of Lucky Charms for dinner,

reading in front of a fan when it's hot,

talking outside with a friend late at night,

getting free things because it's your birthday month (yay!),

making DIYs for myself and a friend for her birthday,

buying new intimates,

thinking about what I want for my birthday,


listening to a song over and over and over again,

&

planning fun summer adventures!


What little things have you been enjoying lately?

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Beauty & Hair Looks I Love

Right now, I'm loving ways to keep my hair up in the heat, bronze smokey eyes, bright pink, red lips, and ombre nails.   What beauty looks are you into right now? Anything you've seen on other people that you want to try? Personally, I like the knotted headband look (pictured below), but don't think I could pull it off. Have you tried it?

 Knotted headband

{unknown} {Also seen on Kendi}

 Twisted Ponytail

{Glamour}

 Smokey eye

{Keiko Lynn}

DIY: Glitter Belt

Tools Needed:

• Plain Belt
• Modge Podge
• Glitter
• Cup
• Paintbrush

1. In a cup (plastic one that you can throw away afterwards) mix equal parts Modge Podge with glitter. You can always put more glitter in later if it's not enough.

2. Start painting your belt with the mixture and let it dry.

New Buys

Kindle Fire Case (got a Kindle Fire for FREE using Viggle!)

FantaSea Cosmetic Blending Sponge

Wet n' Wild Coloricon White eyeliner

 Forever 21 Belted Paperbag Skirt
that I wore here.

 Forever 21 Tribal Print Maxi Dress

My first maxi dress! I really love it, but right now it's 3 inches too long.

The woes of being 4'11".

Outfit: The Fairest of Them All

This is the outfit I wore to see Snow White & The Huntsman with Jackie. I had to wear red of course, for the line "lips as red as blood."

Songs To Make You Feel Like An Action Hero

And don't we all want to feel like action heroes sometimes? I know I certainly do.

I guarantee that if you listen to this playlist you'll want to go skulking around your home, checking around corners, and pretending your hands are a gun.

When I'm writing an action sequence for my novel, I use these songs to get into a running-for-my-life or fighting-the-bad-guy mindset.

"Every woman has a secret action heroine in her."

                                                              -Sigourney Weaver

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(Image via MyNewMovies)

Summer TV Guilty Pleasures

I'm Sara and I'm a TV addict. That's the first step, right?

I can't get enough of TV. It helps to relax me after a long day, it's too entertaining for words, and I love getting caught up in a character's story. For me TV is like watching books (minus the words part), so naturally I love scripted television for the story, the characters, the drama, the humor, the feeling of living someone else's life if only for an hour.

Next week many summer shows are returning and I'm so excited! Here are my summer guilty pleasures...

Teen Wolf

I never thought I would like shows on MTV, but this show about the life of Scott McCall (Tyler Posey), a teen werewolf, is actually really good. In the second season, Scott will try to find a cure, Derek is going to recruit new werewolves, and we'll finally found out what happened to Lydia and Jackson.

The show returned yesterday, but you can catch up on MTV and watch the second episode tonight at 10pm/9c with following episodes on Mondays. Watch the first ten minutes here.

Pretty Little Liars

You have no idea how excited I am that this show is returning. After finding out who "A" is and that [SPOILER] there's an "A" team, I can't wait to see what horrible things will happen to Aria, Hanna, Emily and Spencer next. Will they find out who else is behind those texts and who murdered Alison?

The show returns Tuesday, June 5th at 8pm/7c.

Trueblood

I love the drama, the sex, the craziness, the blood and gore, and the oh-my-gawd-ness of this show. Although the characters can bother me at times, the storylines are just too fun and ridiculous to pass up.

The show returns Sunday, June 10th at 9pm/8c.

Suits

This show about a young man named Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) working at a law firm with no law degree works on so many levels. It has the friendship between Mike and Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht), a lawyer who knows Mike's secret; it has real characters, a believable law firm, romance, a new case every episode but the ever-present suspense and wonder that someone's going to find out.

The show returns Thursday, June 14th at 10pm/9c.

Awkward.

One of the funniest shows I've seen in a long time, it follows the life of high school student Jenna Hamilton (Ashley Rickards) after an accident with pills is misconstrued as a suicide attempt. It sounds dark, but it's hilarious and at times romantic and cute. I can't wait for this to come back to my TV.

The show returns Thursday, June 28th at 10:30pm/9:30c.

What are your TV guilty pleasures?

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(Posters via Wikia, TVFanatic, Trueblood, SeriesAddict & Bing)