best gold polish

I just had to share with you the best gold glittery nail polish.... It's Essie LuxeEffects "As Gold As It Gets". It is seriously perfect: medium gold flecks that look great by themselves or over your favorite color. So run to CVS and grab this bottle before it sells out!

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TGIT: happy thursday!

I saw this on Facebook and liked it so much, I made it my phone wallpaper....

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Wishing everyone a happy Thursday and enjoyable weekend!

j.crew fall 2012 delectables

Has everyone had the chance to check out J. Crew's amazing Fall 2012 line up? I literally squeaked with excitement when I started perusing what the brilliant Tom Mora, in his first year as head of women's design, has created. In my opinion, he did an excellent job staying true to the brand's preppy roots, but took a few risks and added some extra flare I haven't seen previously from the line. Bravo, Tom and Jenna and J. Crew, bravo.

In a matter of coincidence, last night I had a dream that I had to run across the Plaza to J. Crew to be fitted for a bright pencil skirt and tie (yes, like menswear) before the store closed. I guess that's what happens when a shopoholic attempts to abstain from spending money on clothes for any length of time... Hi my name is Monica, it's been 3 weeks since my last shopping trip.

Back to J. Crew...  Here's a peak at some of my favorites from the Fall 2012 collection. They're all so ready to wear I can hardly stand it. Is it fall yet? :)

Hi jewel tones - glad to see you back for another season!

Want this sweater like I want my taxes to be done.... So. Bad. 

Pastels in the fall....? Ok! 

Neutral color scheme, shearling jacket and snake print maxi.... wonderous!

You can't go wrong with a J. Crew cable knit sweater. This ensemble is perfection for work, and then I'd throw on a pair of skinny jeans and boots and catch a flight to the mountains! 

Colors: j'adore. More pleated accordion skirts - yes!

I literally stopped in the middle of a post about my love of bows to write this post... and here are these amazing bow-patterned pants! These are on the short list. 

Leopard - it's back!

Can this please be my work uniform? Love absolutely everything about it.

[Sources: WWD and Fashionologie]

**Update** Sorry for missing the boat on wishing everyone a Happy Valentine's Day... I hope it was wonderful! I will get the post on the Valentine's sugar cookies up, hopefully by the end of the week. I forgot to write down the recipe.... ditz move, I know. Once I get it, I'll post the delicious outcome! xoxo

winter: revisited

First off, because it's on the forefront of my mind, J. Hud absolutely blew me away last night. What did you guys think? I was in tears halfway through the song. She has such poise and sent chills up and down my spine with her rendition of Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You. Now back to the topic....

Has everyone else noticed all the blogs about spring fashion that have popped up so early in 2012? I love rushing seasons...I'm the girl that wears flip flops when it's 50 degrees in March and dons chunky sweaters and boots if it hits 75 in August. And I'm all for planning ahead, getting inspiration boards updated, stalking the Spring catalogs and keeping a shopping list of the next season's must-haves in your planner.... but there's still probably another month of winter in Kansas City. Just look what we woke up to this morning:

via Instagram @monicarosekc

As previously mentioned, I tend to leave the house in neutral and dark colors, especially in the winter. This was true yet again this season, but I'm determined to give my wardrobe a whole new look to last through the end of winter and will transform in to spring, with a minimal amount of purchases. My strategy is to only add bright pieces to my closet... Here are some of my favorite finds:

H&M orange dress: $49.95

Wear it now: with a blazer and boots

In the spring: as shown, with espadrilles 

Old Navy cap toe canvas ballet flats: $22.94

Wear it now: with your favorite skinny jeans and chunky sweater

In the spring: with shorts (preferably patterned) and a thin sweater

ASOS lace waisted dress: $35.81

 Wear it now: with tights and ankle booties

In the spring: with a super bright cardi

kate spade new york julianna flats: $75

 Wear it now: with opaque tights and a dress

In the spring: as a surprise pop of color under your maxi skirt

Gap colorblock button shoulder sweater: $44.95

Wear it now: with jeans and a patterned button-up shirt underneath

In the spring: with a mini skirt! Or I do like the white jeans Gap chose to style it with....

La Mer neon simple wrap watch: $88

 Wear it now: peeking out from sweaters

In the spring: as a statement piece on a bare arm

Marc by Marc Jacobs bob's memphis trip pochette: $298

And in a perfect world I'd be able to afford this disgustingly adorable bag...... but hey - the rest of the pieces are all within a 20-something's discretionary (post-tax refund) budget. 

That's all for today, I hope everyone had a great start to their work week!

weekend plans

TGIF times a million! I am so excited for this weekend. I have zero plans other than cookie baking, and couldn't be more thrilled. I'm hoping to get some good cleaning/reorganizing in, write a bunch of blog posts (NYFW!), snuggle up with my Kindle, and celebrate a good friend's birthday via brunch on Sunday!

I think this Andy Warhol quote will be my motto for the next two days....

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Do you have any fun plans for the weekend? Whatever they are, I hope you enjoy it!

pretty packaging

Is everyone getting ready for Valentine's day? I love it. Always have, probably always will. I don't get so much in to the nice dinners and flowers. I just love the idea of celebrating the ones you love. 

Last year I had quite the Valentine's day surprise.... I was working at my horrible ex-job when I got a call from the security desk saying I had a package. Blue Eyes isn't really the type for romantic surprises, so I was pretty perplexed. Once I got to the desk, I saw a beautiful plate full of heart-shaped sugar cookies, decorated perfectly with cute x's and o's, polka dots and a lot of purple! My sweet friend Stasia had made these delicious (and literally perfect looking) cookies and surprised me with the special delivery! I wish I still had the picture so you guys could see them... I just dug through my old tweets but apparently the old Blackberry (RIP) wasn't capable of doing that back then. Anyway, ramble ramble..... More on all this next week, but Stasia and I have a date to make the cookies this weekend, so you'll get to see what we come up with this year!

So now I'm trying to figure out how I want to package the cookies and other V-Day presents I have in store for some lucky loves. Here's what I'm thinking:

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I'm madly crushing on this orange and pink wrapping paper from Paper Source.

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This idea to use glassine envelopes for treats is adorable, just add stickers! Thanks Martha Stewart.

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This is so simple and feminine, and all available at Hobby Lobby. Perfect for a mom or grandma's gift!

What are your plans for Valentine's day? Any exciting gifts you're giving or hoping to get?

happy february!

A little image inspiration for this short (longer this year!) but sweet month.....

[All image sources found via Pinterest]