A Few Boxing Day Finds

For all who celebrated Christmas, hope you all had an amazing day with your families and for those who celebrate Kwanza, Happy Kwanza!! As some of you know the day after Christmas is boxing day, which I only found out about just last year noting that it's a more prevalent holiday in UK. Lush in particular always has boxing day sales on all their holiday products and gift sets - buy one get one free! Disregarding the title of boxing day, a variety of stores were having sales yesterday through the end of December; to name a few, Uniqlo was having 50% off select styles, Stuart Weitzman is having 50% off select shoes, Macy's was having a huge one day sale, Aritzia is having up to 50% off fall/winter merchandise, Urban Outfitters was having 50% off all sale items,  Topshop is having up to 50% off select styles, and many many more. Long story short, after Christmas sales are amazing. 

Dream Steam Tablets, Candy Mountain Bubble Bar, and the Wizard Bubble Bar

Usually my local Lush isn't as busy, but on boxing day it was packed! Last year, I picked up two gift sets filled with bath bombs and bubble bars, but this year they didn't have many containing strictly bath bombs or bubble bars, they were all had one bath bomb and a bunch of soaps or shower gels, which I didn't particularly want. Luckily all their holiday products were also on buy one get one free, so I picked up the Candy Mountain bubble bar, which smells of vanilla and a hint of candy, giving it a very sweet scent. I also picked up the Wizard bubble bar, which smells like the signature Lush scent, very florally and sweet. Lastly, I stumbled upon these Dream Steam Tablets, where at first I thought they were for your shower and making the steam in your shower a certain way, but no you're supposed to drop them in a bowl of hot water and use the steam to leave your skin refreshed and unclog your pores, either way I'm excited to use them! 

Clinique Clarifying Lotion 3, Beauty Blender, Living Proof 5-in-1 Styling Treatment, Bobbi Brown BB Cream, Glamglow Thirstymud Hydrating Treatment, and Yu-Be Moisturizing Skin Cream

On my way to the Lush Boxing Day sale, I stopped by Sephora to pick up a few winter essentials. I love how every time I go in to Sephora to pick up a couple things, I always come out with so much more.  After running out of toner and moisturizer, I decided to go get some more. I use the Clinique Clarifying Lotion toner for combination and oily skin, I have no idea if that is what type of skin I have, but it seems to work for me and thats all that matters, right? For the winter time I like to use the Yu-Be moisturizer at night because it is so thick and helps cure my awful wintery dry skin. I also picked up a new Beauty Blender, after having one for a whole year it got a bit smelly, even after sanitizing in the microwave and deeply washing it, I thought it was time to throw it out, and get a new one! While on line to check out, I saw a bunch of mini Glamglow mud masks, I had already tried the Supermud version and have gone through two big tubs of it, so I thought i'd try the Thirstymud mask as an overnight replenishing mask, lets hope it lasts me through the winter. Lastly, I got two beauty insider rewards, the Living Proof styling cream and the Bobbi Brown BB cream, I haven't tried either before, nor I have I tried products from either brands, so maybe they'll be my next holy grail product, who knows?? 

Hope you all have a great rest of weekend! And a great end to the year!!

xx
Francesca 

Chunky Scarves and Detailed Jackets

As the temperature in the city starts to drop, the chunkier scarves and warmer jackets start to come out. Whether you use a scarf as a statement piece or as something you casually throw over a sweater or shirt, a scarf can add a significant amount of depth to an outfit. Plaid, bold colors or even plain black can make an outfit super comfy.  Depending on where you live, this is the time for you to pull out your transition coats. Cute transition coats with certain details, such as leather, can really make a piece stand out.  To us, the perfect transition coats are the ones that keep you warm but not to the point where you feel as if you are boiling hot. It's all about feeling comfortable, meaning you aren't going to feel super cold or hot in your perfect transition coat. Essentially, detailed jackets and chunky scarves are our essentials when transitioning into the colder months.

Francesca is wearing a darker toned ensemble with her navy J. Crew sweater paired with a navy and green plaid scarf. To give more emphasis on the blues in the outfit, she wore black Topshop jeans and a pair of tall black Stuart Weitzman boots.

Ray-Ban Sunglasses 

J. Crew Sweater

Gifted Scarf

Topshop Jeans

Stuart Weitzman Boots

Deena is wearing a toned down, grayscale coloured combination with an edge. While mixing metals between the hardware on her Vince Camuto jacket and the buckles on her Dolce Vita booties, she succeeds in accomplishing the biker girl look. Although she is wearing just a simple tee and a pair of black skinnies, the quilted details on the jacket dress up the whole outfit. 

Ray-ban Sunglasses

Vince Camuto Jacket

Zara T-shirt

Madewell Jeans

Dolce Vita Booties

Dinner Date Anyone? | Momoya Review

Yesterday, the two of us went to a Japanese restaurant by the name of Momoya on the upper west side. Although it's not the fanciest of places we decided to throw together a dressier ensemble because who doesn't like to dress up every once and a while. 

When going out to dinner with friends, whatever your dress up in you want to feel comfy and confident, with that a perfect pair of wedges gives you the perfect combination of comfy and confident. We all have that one bottom that we never get to wear a lot because it's too dressy for school or work, so why not wear it out to dinner with a simple top to caus' down the outfit. 

Francesca is wearing a black butterfly back top with capped sleeves from Aritzia and a white skort also from Artitzia. To tie back into the black top, she wore black suede wedges from Charles David. The wedges give Francesca the height and comfort a pair of thin heeled sandals would.

Aritzia Top

Aritzia Skort

Charles David Wedged Espadrilles

Anthropologie Bracelets

Moon and Lola Monogram Necklace 

Fendi Bag

Deena is wearing a red Zara skirt along with a Brandy Melville sweater to keep her warm in the cool restaurant. She paired her outfit with black wedges to add a little height in her step. 

Brandy Melville Sweater

Zara Skirt

Toms Wedges

Marc by Marc Jacobs Cross body

Alex and Ani Bracelets

Momoya Review 

Address: 427 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY, 10024

Front of Momoya

Inside Momoya

Sushi/ Sashimi Tasting with Crispy Rice as the signature roll [$47]

(Left to Right) Avocado Roll [$5] - Salmon Avocado Roll [$6] - Eel Cucumber Roll [$9]

Momoya was definitely one of the better Japanese restaurants we have been to. The service was good and the waiters were very attentive. We were placed in a circular booth, which meant we were on the same side of the table, but it was comfortable, however the tables were a bit close together so we could easily hear the table next to us conversation. But, that wasn't really an issue and we had a very enjoyable time. There were booths that were a bit more secluded which we would've preferred. The food was set up beautifully and considering it was a higher end Japanese restaurant- the prices were reasonably priced. Overall, we would- and plan- on going back to Momoya. 

Wedge on Wedge

Wedged lace-up's are great because while they add height, they are still fine to wear during the day time. There's an immense amount of styles that wedged lace-up's come in, such as floral or plain black. Depending on the pattern you choose to have your wedges in, you can pair it with a simple white top and blue jean or even a colorful dress- such as in the outfit's that we chose. Wedge's are also great because they are easier on the feet than thin heels, yet they still look fashionable. Wedge's are more comfortable to walk in because both the heel, toe and bridge of the foot are supported and elevated, which makes the shoe more manageable to walk in than a heel. 

Deena is wearing Kelsi Dagger Suede Wedges, paired with a tie dye dress from Urban Outfitters. This gave her more height, but allowed her to still be comfortable. And you can't forget the famous Ray-Ban club-master sunglasses that never go out of style.

Ray-ban Sunglasses

Urban Outfitters Baby doll Dress

Kelsi Dagger Suede Dessert Boot

Gifted Ring

Zara Bag

Francesca is wearing floral lace up wedges from Liberty of London x Lord & Taylor with a plain white button down from Urban Outfitters and blue jeans from Topshop to ensure that the focus stays on the shoes. These wedges are true statement piece and you don't want to take the spotlight away from them.

Ray Ban Erika Sunglasses

Urban Outfitters Button Down

Topshop Jeans

Liberty of London x Lord & Taylor Hightop Sneaker

Anthropologie Bracelet

Moon and Lola Monogram Necklace 

Fendi Bag

White Shirts and Flowy Pants

As we always say, Comfort is Key, and when working 8 hour days for 3 days straight, a pair of pajama type pants that are acceptable to wear out in public is the way to go. For the past few months drawstring pants have been the it trend. With flowy drawstring pants you can dress them up or down, for a shopping filled day or a girls night out, pairing them with either comfy tees or a fashion-forward blouse. They can also be paired with a variety of shoes like strappy sandals or point toe pigalles, the options are endless, so have fun with it.

Deena is wearing a casual yet chic ensemble by pairing a basic white tee from Brandy Melville with an intriguing geo print pant from J. Crew. To complete the look and tie back into the white tee, Deena threw on some white sandals from Urban Outfitters.

Ray-Ban Sunglasses

Brandy Melville Tee

J.Crew Printed  Geo Print Drawstring Pant

Urban Outfitters Sandals

Francesca has paired floral printed pants from 5/48 with a basic white scoop neck tee from Urban Outfitters in hopes of ultimate comfort for a long day at work. To polish the look off, Francesca wore her gladiator sandals from Prada. 

Ray-ban Sunglasses

Urban Outfitters Tee

5/48 Printed Drawstring Track Pants

                                                                     Prada Sandals

Madewell Bangle

Moon and Lola Monogram Necklace 

Fendi Bag