Viva Barcelona!

Barcelona was one of the most inspiring places I have ever been. There is an electricity in the air that is almost tactile. Art is EVERYWHERE, on buildings, in parks, on people. 

I was completely in awe of the women in Spain. They were perfectly put together and looked like it was just a happy accident. There was no one who looked like they'd spent more than 10 minutes on their makeup; a red lip, or a kohl rimmed eye was enough.

I wanted every item of clothing that I saw in every shop window. There were hand painted silk harem pants, kimono sleeve blouses paired with cargo pants, chandelier earrings made out of wood. Everything was unexpected. 

I LOVED IT!

 Hat- Bill Hallman ( I soooo got my moneys worth on that purchase!)

Earrings- Anthropologie

Shirt- Forever 21+

 Gaudi inspired me so much!

At Park Guell;  Sunglasses- Forever 21

Earrings- Belk

It was so hot that this dress was the perfect choice for a walk/hike in the park!

Dress- Ross

Shoes- Steve Madden

Sunglasses- Forever 21

This was the greatest ice cream I've ever had in my life!

Shirt- Nordstrom Rack

 

By the end of the trip I was definitely embracing the style that I'd seen throughout Europe. My hair was less styled, my make up was simple and I felt so relaxed. 

Well, that was my vacation, I guess it will be back to normal outfits from here on out. I hope y'all enjoyed my vacation snaps.

The floating City.

 I have been dreaming about Venice ever since my mom showed me pictures of her as a teenager in St.Marks Square. 

It absolutely lived up to the expectation. I walked around for 2 days with a giant grin on my face!

Top- Karen Kane

Skirt-  Forever21+

Shoes- Steve Madden

Bag- Urban Outfitters

Glasses- Forever 21

Necklace- Vintage

 

The temperature was in the high 90's so I sectioned off my hair into two teeny tiny braids at the front.  

 

Shane had Spaghetti bolognaise and I had tagliatelle with porchini mushrooms and truffle sauce. Believe me when I say that no other meal will ever compare.

This is perfect Venice. A small alley way, a bridge, flowers, washing line and gondola.

I must have taken a hundred photos of doors, but they're all so gorgeous.

We left as the sun was setting. It was beyond beautiful.

Dress- ASDA

Shoes- Payless

Watch- Michael Kors

Earrings- Francesca's

Florence + the Adriatic Sea

Whenever I'm sick and feeling sorry for my self I curl up on the couch and watch "While You Were Sleeping" (Lame, I know).

 I never knew why Sandra Bullocks character was so obsessed with going to Florence...until I got there.

It was beyond beautiful.

The Duomo is such a striking building; in a city that looks like it is bathed in yellow light, it looks like someone placed a black and grey watercolor painting in the middle of it all.

I will never forget the way I felt when I first saw it.

Here we are at the Ponte Vecchio.

I wore this top A LOT because it was so hot.

Our formal night on the cruise.

Dress- Ross

Shrug- Macys

I know this looks like a cheesy formal photo background, but it is a real sunset I swear! It was incredible.

Dubrovnik, Croatia.

I have decided that if things don't work out with the coffee house, I'm going to run away to Croatia.

It has beautiful turquoise water, lush green islands and such pretty pretty boys :) Oh and even in the heat the humidity didn't mess with my bangs! Woo hoo!

Top- Forever 21+

Tank- Gap

Belt- Macys

Bag- Urban Outfitters

I aint no Audrey Hepburn...

Me and Shane at the Colosseum.

 Rome is somewhere that I'd most definitely like to visit again. Hopefully next time the weather will be a little cooler. Seriously, running around Rome in 100 degree weather trying to take cute pictures that will end up on our dining room walls forever was difficult.  Having seen "Roman Holiday" a handful of times I had ideas of wandering around Rome in a cute dress and lace up sandals. Unfortunately my feet were blistered and sore from walking so much and I had chub rub AND heat rash. 

Oh well, It was gorgeous, glorious and grand, and I loved it!

At the Trevi Fountain.

Hat- Bil Hallman

Top- Forever 21+

Necklace- Etsy

Shorts- Ross (It was fun washing them on the ship in the shower!)

Sneakers- Nike

Bag- Urban Outfitters

Vatican City, chilling with the Pope :)

P.s. The coffee in Rome was unbelievably tasty. It was reason enough to go back.

Next time Florence and Croatia!

I love it when we're cruising together.

Hey y'all I missed you guys!

My vacation was amazing, I'm still buzzing off the experience and the 4 cups of coffee I've had this morning.

I have to be honest with you, I was all excited about coming back and blogging my super cute outfits from my trip, but my entire vacation was sooooo hot that I basically tried to get away with wearing as little clothes as possible without getting arrested. Oh well. It did make for absolutely beautiful holiday snaps.

Well, here is my 1st and 2nd stop on my cruise. Monaco and Marseille, France.



Amazing View.



On me- Top- Macys
Shorts- Ross
Shoes- Steve Madden
Bag- Urban Outfitters
Glasses- Forever 21
On Shane- Top- Calvin Klein
Jeans- Calvin Klein
Shoes- Penguin
Hat- Ross

That's the James Bond Casino!

My favorite shot of Monaco, taken with the Holga setting on my phone. 

Hat- Bil Hallman
Top- Forever 21
Shorts- Ross
Shoes- Steve Madden
Bag- Urban Outfitters
Watch- Michael Kors

My album cover...hee hee.

Such good graffiti everywhere in Marseille

Hope you guys are happy to have me back too! There will be more outfits and holiday snaps tomorrow.

Lynne xoxox

Just a quick note to tell you that I'm going to Europe in a few hours for 3 weeks! I don't think I'll be able to post anything,  but don't worry I will bombard you with photos when I return!
See y'all soon!
Lynne xoxo

Lemme Upgrade Ya.

There were 2 casualties on my trip to Myrtle Beach, the first was my mp3 player that I immediately replaced because I can't live without music, and the second was my straw fedora. 

I wore it in the ocean, and the mixture of saltwater and sand killed my 100% paper hat. I loved that hat.

see, here, here and here for example!

I decided that because I wore this hat so much that I could spend a little more money than I would normally because I know that I wear a fedora all the time. I went to Bill Hallman in Little 5 and picked up a swankier version of my sweet hat. It has beautiful silk leopard trimming, is super sturdy and will work 365 days a year. I will keep this one out of the water for sure!

P.s. I totally used a Beyonce song as the title because I'm super happy for her and Jay-Z. Such a sweet moment on the VMA's when she revealed her teeny tiny bump.

Chillin with my B Girl stance.

I think the hardest outfit to put together is the one for chilling. I mean if I put on a dress and heels on a Wednesday then I'm better dressed than at least 50% of America already :) But in jeans and a t-shirt I feel less than cute unless I'm adorned with cool jewellery or a funky hat. That's probably why I am never moved by Sophia Coppola or Nina Garcia like some fashion magazines are, I hate minimalism.

Even looking around my house the walls have paintings everywhere, I need 4 different purple eye shadows instead of 1, I have enough pillows to make a fort in every room. More is more to me I guess.

I tried to be a little simple yesterday. The music that I play usually effects my fashion choices day to day and I've been on a serious 90's Hip Hop/RnB kick recently, I think that's pretty obvious with this ensemble.



Simple, easy, comfortable!

T-shirt- Mamahood Maternity Size XL

Skirt- Macys 1X

Bandeau- Ross 3X

Shoes- Nike

Necklaces- Urban Outfitters and ASDA

I scored this bandeau bra in NEON PINK at Ross for $2, it's not great support, but I love the way it looks through my sheer tee. It's a little unexpected.

Nike Sweet Classic Leather in Black/Solar Red

Yellow eye shadow was a subtle carry on of the Neon trend I was trying out.

I used MAC's "Chrome Yellow" matte eyeshadow from their Pro line to line lower lash line.

Biggie, Tupac, Wu Tang, Aaliyah, Brandy and Tribe, thanks for the influence!

Now all I have to do is perfect that windmill and Lotus Airbaby combo!

Confessions of a Make Up Artist.

I have worked on and off as a make up artist for 5 years and in that time I have accumulated more make up than I could possibly use in a lifetime. The funny thing is that I have given away at least 50% of the products I've gotten as gratis to friends, so this is just the stuff I decided I couldn't live without. Scary. Maybe I should have entitled this post as Confessions of a Make Up HOARDER!

Here's a quick little tour of my guest bathroom, aka, "the make up room".

I love having pretty art in my bathroom where I do my make up. I got the 4 girls from The Red Velvet Shop, they're original drawings by Elsie Larson. They make me happy because all the girls have different hair styles and accessories, so it inspires me to try something a little different.

The doodles by JenyfferMaria were done specifically for me which makes them super special. The girl with the umbrella is illustrating my favorite song by my favorite band (Save Me by Hanson in case you were wondering).

I love walls full of Polaroid photographs, so I wanted to do a little homage to that with my Fuji instax photos. There are some from mine and my husbands European travels (Amsterdam, Paris and England) and fun family snaps, my favorite one up there is my husband sleeping with our cat Marvin (4th from the left on the bottom row).

I painted everything in seafoam green, then in white and sanded through the two layers so you could see bits of the original wood and some of the green. It was a fun project to do.

 I got all the shelves and the drawers from Goodwill and Vintage shops.

In the drawer on the left I keep my palettes of blush, my Stila getaway palettes, bronzers, mirror and a few extras. The drawer on the right is all eye products. Urban Decays primer potion will be my favorite forever, I have MAC shadows in quads to keep colors that go together together. I love Benefits "Big Beautiful Eyes" Palette, it's my "go to" when I travel.

I have tons of make up brushes because I feel like you can use pretty much anything as long as you have the right tools to apply things with. MAC brushes are worth the investment. I also adore Smashbox brushes, they feel so soft and will last a lifetime. Just remember to wash them every couple of weeks or so. I use MAC's "brush clean", but baby shampoo works wonders  too.

1- Nude/light lipsticks 2- Pink and peach lipsticks 3- Red/dark lipsticks

4- Lip gloss 5- Matte Eye shadows 6- Lip pencils

7- Concealer/foundation/cream cover ups 8- Powders 9- Eye pencils

I worked for Benefit for a year and a half, it was the easiest job in the world because it meant that I got to gush about how much I love their products all day long.

I will use Erase Paste, High Beam, Dandelion and High Brow until I die!

I hope you enjoyed this peek into my bathroom.

Queen of Hearts

Today I was feeling a little blue, so I decided to wear my favorite color head to toe and attempt my favorite hair style to cheer me up.

It totally worked :)

I have the hardest time with "retro hair" because my hair is so thin and I always feel like I'm making it worse when I tease it, but I got Big Sexy Hair's "What a tease" and I think it works wonders.

Just a little bump.

Dress- Forever 21+

Scarf- Vintage from Kudzu

Flip flops- Target

Necklace- Birthday gift from my hubby

"L" Studs- Urban Outfitters

My hubby loved it too!