Hi guys!!  I'm back!!  Takes me forever to post, mental note, must get better!! Today I wanted to share my new favorite nail kit.  Most people that know me, know I love to shop, however it's easy for people to think I just spend money with no regards (perhaps at one time, but that is not the case any more).  I'm a reformed shopaholic (got tired of being broke all the time).  A few years back I completely stopped getting my hair and nails done (too much work, time and money + I hate waiting)  and I needed to free up cash for shoes and bags (my no.1 love) but I still wanted my nails and hair to look fairly decent.  So I went on youtube and learned A LOT!  It's crazy to see all the stuff that is out now for do it yourself'ers.  Enter Sensationail!!  Now the kit is pricey, about the cost of one mani/pedi and since I don't get my nails done, I still thought too much at around 49.99-59.99.  And like a true reformed shopaholic, I cyber stalked the product for about 6 months  and eventually my patience paid off as I found it on EBAY for $38 bucks + FREE SHIPPING .....SCORE!!!! I'm sure at one point in time I would have just bought it at the higher price and then later found it  cheaper.....enter self loathing LOL.  So I bought two LOL one for me and one for my mom.  I have now used the product and couldn't be happier!!  15 minutes and I was ready to go.  Granted I will be buying additional colors at about $10 per bottle, but again I went to Ebay and found 5 colors for $27.  It's amazing what happens when you decide to not give your money away and again this frees up cash, enough to rid me of the guilt of over spending on an amazing handbag!

One In Every Color Please

So for as long as I can remember, I've had an obsession with purchasing multiples of things I love.  Call it obsessive compulsion, greed or stupidity, I can't stop.  I often think I'm growing out of this, but as I put together my April must haves, I realized, I either owned some of the items on my monthly list in different colors, or I'm wanting items in multiple colors. I have to say I couldn't help but chuckle when I realized this was so.  As it's a constant joke in my family that this is the way I shop.  Reference is then made to my first every shopping spree when I worked, cashed my first paycheck and hurried over to a swamp meet and requested jeans and and tops in every color they had.  I just figure, if something works, why would it not work in every color.  Am I alone here???

Whats In My Bag??

What's In My Bag by melikeetoo featuring wet n' wild

Plastic bag
modcloth.com

Louis vuitton handbag
bagborroworsteal.com

House of harlow 1960 sunglasses
zappos.com

House of harlow 1960 sunglasses
nordstrom.com

Hair accessory
brookfarmgeneralstore.com

Goody
target.com

Tarte black eye makeup
beauty.com

Prescriptive
beauty.com

Sephora collection
sephora.com

L Oréal Paris nude lipstick
drugstore.com

Wet n Wild wet n wild
amazon.com

Wet n Wild wet n wild
drugstore.com

Bath body product
target.com

Pinch Provisions beauty product
cusp.com

Neosporin Neo to Go For Kids 0.26 oz.
target.com

Oral-B Glide Pro-Health Dental Floss, Comfort Plus, Mint
drugstore.com

Buy Bayer Low Dose "Baby" Aspirin Pain Reliever, 81mg, Chewable...
drugstore.com

FOREVER 21 17 Piece Hair Tie Set
forever21.com


So I always wanted to be the kind of girl who was always prepared for any and all of life's little emergencies and though it's taken several years, I'm happy to report, I am that kind of girl.  Well kind of.  I do carry with me all you see here, but it seems not ever when I truly need it!  I am an absolute handbag lover, but living in L.A this sometimes seems a little absurd.  As I literally walk from my house into my car, from my car into work and when I am walking about, it's annoying to have a handbag on my shoulder at all time, so I often opt for just carrying my phone and tuck my credit card inside my phone case!  What is a gal to do???

DIY Ombre

DIY Ombre by melikeetoo featuring a military fashion

CAPTURE By Hollywood Made print top
asos.com

Graphic top
nastygal.com

Helmut lang legging
net-a-porter.com

Military fashion
boohoo.com

Alexander Wang satchel bag
$1,160 - gravitypope.com

Michael michael kor
nordstrom.com

House of harlow 1960 jewelry
metroparkusa.com

Barts Beanie
$59 - conleys.de

L Oréal Paris beauty product
$12 - thehut.com

So a long time ago, I decided I was not a fan of "celebrity" brands.  It was pretty standard for celebrities to tell you how great their products were while wearing high end designer brands themselves (ie. Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Gucci etc).  My thought was, why give them my money so they can go out and get themselves "Real" designer products.  I will save my money and buy myself a true designer piece that doesn't feel watered down by celebrity.  Well along came Nicole Ritchie with her  House of Harlow line and Gwen Stefani with L.A.M.B.  I must admit I did my best to resist, but I have since fallen in love with these brands.  I have a mad crush on HOH at the moment.  The above items are on my current wish list!  I truly believe what sets them apart from most "celebrity" driven brands is the fact that these ladies, wear their brands and wear them well, they have the ability to mix and match their own designs with other designers and keep it looking effortless.   In addition to wearing their products, the price points are definitely key to my arm being twisted into giving in.  Now HOH and L.A.M.B have been around for several years now, but November 2012 was my leap into this brand and I must admit I have not been disappointed by a single piece I've purchased thus far.  HOH products have a real designer feel.  So far, I own the sunburst earrings in black and sting ray embossed white, as well as the black Chelsea sunglasses that have really become a staple of the line.  I'm bummed that it took me this long to give in as I'd love to own the Sasha sunglasses, but these are impossible to find, maybe someday on Ebay ....sigh.....

STYLISH + COOL

So for those of you out there with the patience and motivation for organization, I thought featuring this app +http://stylishandcool.com/ would be most beneficial.  I discovered it last year, (early in the year, I’d like to say) on +youtube.com I was watching a youtuber discuss her love of a particular app where uploading a cyber closet was possible.  As I allowed my shock and excitement to sink in, I investigated this further immediately, only to find the app she mentioned was poorly rated so alas I thought, totally bummer!  So I did a general search of like apps and came across +stylishandcool.com/ which was highly rated and looked very promising powered by +shopstyle and +polyvore!  This is definitely the time to mention that this app is completely free!!! There is a charge if you are interested in purchasing the calendar feature, which I inevitably did but it is absolutely not necessary!!  So uploading my items took me at least two month, this is not morning noon and night but off and on working on it when I had free time or when I remembered something that I had in my closet that had to be uploaded at once. 

I do have a few suggestions if you choose to take on this project.  At first I began photographing my items, which would have taken FOREVER!!! I quickly lost motivation as I tried putting an outfit together and didn’t like the finished product.  So what I began doing was going to +Google images and locating my items there from the original stores I bought them from and saving the images to my iphone/ipad, this process was a lot quicker and I was able to locate my items even if it had been years since I purchased my items.  On those rare occasions when I was unable to locate my exact item, I made due with like-wise items.  What I love now that it’s all in there, you can create a wish list of items you want and when you buy them, you can just move them from your wish list to your virtual closet, I love this feature!!!  So below I'm sharing some of my own images from my stylish girl virtual closet!  Any of you willing to give this a try, let me know how it works out for you!

New Year, new post it seems!  Today is the first time I realized this, I'm an annual poster.  No this must change.  Especially because I have sooooooo much to tell!  I went through my annual excel spread sheet of 2012 and I must say, I'm beyond over the moon that I had lots of items checked off!  This does lend itself problematic when my closet is seeping into my bedroom.  Next on the wish list a clean clutter free closet for more than a month at a time!!  Plus the good thing about a good closet purge, donations, room for this years annual spread sheet wish list and a sense of accomplishment, not to mention the good example to the kiddies!

But for now my 2013 list is shaping up to be my most simple list yet.  If i'm lucky Valentines day will bring a few checks off my list, here's hoping!  I will update my wishlist accordingly if need be.  Anyone else make annual wish list?? I'd love to know!!