Sorority Chic- Kappa Shirt at Bloomingdales!

image from bloomingdales.com

I was browsing Bloomingdales.com and came across this fantastic t-shirt! Called the Quotation: Sanctuary "Kappa" Tee, its a fabulous light grey short-sleeved shirt. It has a heathered look and is completed with images of the owl, the key and the fleur-de-lis along with a book and a little brown bag.

My favorite part of the t-shirt is that its only $39 and for every purchase $10 will be given to KKG local and national charities, include the Kappa Foundation and Reading is Fundamental! I always love to purchase items that give back to the community!

I got mine! Make sure to snap yours up before they are all gone!

Weekend Recap: New York City Style

I'm back from a fabulous weekend in New York City!! Sadly, I have to work today, and I'm still recovering from my 48-hour excursion, but I'm battling through :) I was visiting 2 friends who live there and another friend also flew in for the weekend.

Friday night I arrived in the city around 8 and after a quick outfit change the 4 of us headed to Beauty & Essex. The place was AMAZING. When we first got there I wasn't really sure we were at the right place- it looks like a pawn shop from the street. But you go inside and through a backdoor and voila- a fabulous dinner/drinks place. Love, love, love. And they serve free champagne in the ladies room. Sold! After B&E we went to meet up with some other friends at a restaurant that I can't recall the name, where we drank delicious champagne and the oldest bottle of wine I've ever had- it was older than me! I.e. circa pre-1983.

Saturday involved a lot of laying around during the day, watched some college basketball then I went to meet some friends from Pennsylvania to watch the Steeler game at a fun restaurant/bar called Brother Jimmy's. We had a table- which was sooo necessary- and watched the Black & Gold bring home a win. I ate Frickles- aka friend pickles. They were to die for.

After a quick change from my game-day gear to my dinner wear in the restaurant bathroom, I met back up with my girlfriends and we went to Stanton Social for dinner. Delicious! It's a small plates place, so we ordered a bunch of dishes to share: 18 oysters, Red Snapper Tacos (my favorite), French Onion Soup Dumplings, Tuna Sashimi, Tuna Tartar, Mini Kobe Beef Burgers, Zucchini Tempura (my least favorite) and Spring Rolls. For dessert, fresh donuts. And wine of course :) It was very loud and they only had 3 unisex bathrooms for the whole restaurant (so expect to wait), but we had such a great time! Then we went to 3 different bars that I don't remember the names of and called it a night.

Sunday consisted of brunch at Sarabeth's, one of my favorites in NYC. Then relaxing on the couch for a bit and then off to the airport. For once my flight wasn't delayed (yay!).

Overall, a great trip! What did you do this weekend?

Lilly Sorority Line Expanded!!

Just had to share this with my Lilly-loving sorority sister friends!! I may be behind the ball a bit (because I usually am), but I just realized that Lilly expanded its sorority print line! In addition to the tote bag, Murfee scarf, make-up bag and wallet the collection has expanded to include a carry-on and pencil case.

Yes please!! Is it too late to ask for another Christmas/Birthday present??

The Big Apple

In a few short hours I'll be hopping a flight to New York City for a weekend with some of my Kappa sisters! I'm really excited. I always have such a good time in NYC and I haven't been there since late Spring. Tonight we plan on just going out, tomorrow I have a big day of shopping (Bloomingdales = my mecca) followed by college basketball and a VERY big NFL game, then dinner tomorrow night at Stanton Social! I was excited that we were able to get a reservation there at a great time- 8:45 pm! Sunday will be a delicious brunch, maybe at Sarabeth's, followed by some serious couch time then off to the airport! NYC-time always throws me off...dinner at 9 pm, bars open until 4...let's just say that a weekend in NYC requires a week of recovery!

To start my travel off right today, I got an email from USAirways saying that they had upped me to the next Preferred level!! I was literally about 21 miles away from the next level and I thought I was going to miss out...but thanks to the wonderful airline they bumped me up! Yay! Makes traveling just that much easier.

To continue with the Kappa-themed week, I went to a happy hour last night with a bunch of Kappa alumnae in my area. It was great because no one from my college (at least non that I knew during my 4 year there) live in my area, so it was great to meet other local sisters. Good wine and tapas = a fun night!

Do you have any fun plans for this weekend? I'd love to hear! Havea great weekend!

Things I love Thursday: Clarisonic

I've decided that some Thursday I'm going to talk about health and beauty products: tried and true ones I love, new product reviews, etc. If there is a special product you are wondering about, let me know!

I've had a Clarisonic skin cleaning system for years now. I got it right after Oprah listed it as one of her favorite things. And it's one of my favorites as well! I have the original one, like the one shown below, but in pink (obviously).

With the Classic, there are two speeds and its available in three colors. Had I purchased a Clarisonic now, I would have gone with the Plus version- which has a body cleansing mode. I feel that this would be great on my decolletage area, an area often left untreated on many women.

The system was a pricey investment when I first got it (around $200), but I would purchase it again in a heartbeat. My skin feels so much more refreshed and clean after using the system. It gets rid of more of the daytime grit and grime from your skin than any hand washing could ever due. And its waterproof (or resistant) so I like to use it in the shower! It has a timer on it, so I know exactly how much attention to spend on each area of my face (i.e. forehead, each cheek, chin, etc.). SO helpful!

After trying a variety of different cleansers, I found that the Clarisonic cleanser works the best. The only bummer is that you cannot use an exfoliate cleanser with this system, or you risk harm to the handset. And the brushes need to be replaced every 3 months or so and cost about $20 per head. However, I buy my replacements on Ebay from a trusted seller (someone with lots of positive feedback) and usually get them for under $10 a head. Perfect!

Do you have a Clarisonic system? Or ever tried one? I believe I saw a commercial that a makeup company (one that you would find in Target or a drug store) came out with a much cheaper version- but I couldn't locate it. Anyone know the name or tried the new, more economical version?

Wardrobe Wednesday: The Skinny

I'll be the first to admit that I jumped on the skinny pant bandwagon a little late. Although I'm petite, I also have some curves so I just didn't think that I had the body type to wear them. In fact, I didn't even try them on!

Thankfully I finally tried on a pair last year. And I feel in love!! Not only with dark skinny jeans, but black skinny jeans (love my stretchy pair from Citizens of Humanity- they feel like leggings!), skinny cords, skinny white pants and skinny camel pants.

These camel ones from 7 for All Mankind are fabulous. With knee high boots or Tory Burch flats they are super cute! In person they are more of a khaki color that what appears in the photo (at least the pair that I got). I'm a person who tends to mostly wear solid colors, so I have paired them with white, black, brown and rich jewel tones like deep purple.

Although I am open to a good skinny pant, I don't think I'll be able to pull off the skinny cargo or the red/black style above. A little to edgy for me!

Are you all skinny pant fans? What's your favorite way to wear them: with flats, booties, knee boots or something I haven't thought of?

New Year x 2

Beginning of January is always an interesting time for me- not only is it a new year, but it's also my birthday (get it- new year x2).

This year I got a bonus- the Northeast is being slammed again with snow, so I got a half day yesterday and the day off today! Well, not really the day off as I will be working from home, but sitting in bed/on the couch in comfy clothes sounds pretty great to me!

So, I may be 12 days late, but here are my hopes for 2011 (staying away from the word resolution!):
* Work-out more. As I head more towards 30 than 20, I want to maintain!
* Cook more. I seriously don't cook anything that can't be made in about 5 minutes or less. So sad. So, I'd like to cook one real meal a week (starting out small!)
* Get into business school. Applications are done and now I just wait in hopes of making the next step (interviews)
* Travel. My goal for the past few years has been to try a new country every year. So, far I've been successful! But with a (hopefully) upcoming grad school budget, I may have to settle with a new state!

So, far I've been pretty good. I worked out the past few days and have a trip planned to New York City this weekend with college girlfriends.

Here's to a great year!