bleaching your teeth smiling flash talking trash under your breath

Eeee I'm so nervous for this entry. I have never reviewed or taken much interest in menswear, however I feel like if I'm going to claim such a love and interest in fashion, I should have at least browsed a few of the 2011 menswear lines. I played it safe and went with Burberry's SS11, which is identical to the women's line. Is that always how it works? Once again, the iconic trench is revamped in leather, olive and mustard. Studded shoulders and elbows and fantastic moto jackets. I adore the mustard color in the first look- such a great twist to the double-breasted classic. Trenchcoats are both versatile, stylish, work for both sexes and absolutely timeless. Remember Holly Golightly and Paul Varjak's perfect kiss in the rain? They were wearing trenchcoats :) Love love love the silhouette of the tan moto jacket. I'm always skeptical of the idea of a men's leather jacket in any other color besides black or dark brown, but Burberry's maintains a masculine structure while remaining incredibly sexy. I love Christopher's varying lengths of trenches in this show and the tailored fit of the grey-brown slacks. Only criticism would be the leather skinnies. Not masculine in the least.

Whew. There it is- my first menswear review. Stay tuned for Prada and J. Crew SS11!

I've been playing this album nonstop for the past week. I love that every song sounds almost like a different band. And "Anthems of a Seventeen Year Old Girl" sounds like little babies. I love it.

On a more serious note, I am blessed to have a roommate who is incredibly well-informed about the world and is a very talented Middle Eastern Studies and Arabic scholar. Jadyn has offered me a lot of insight on the revolution occurring in Egypt. Both she and my neighbor have both been to Egypt and are personally invested in the events taking place. It's mind-blowing to see the effects of social networking and the Internet in today's world. I still can't wrap my mind around the fact that the beginnings of these protests were organized through Facebook events. It's amazing to read this past week's headlines and have those pieces of history in my room. I have formed opinions on the issues, as I'm sure the majority of you have, but I think we can all agree that the Egyptian people need our prayers. We are so privileged to have access to so many forms of media. I urge you to pick up a newspaper and open your eyes. The least we can do is be informed.

the work of the world isn't done by geniuses

Yesterday I went to one of the best Relief Society lessons I've ever heard. It was focused on Richard G. Scott's General Conference talk about character, which was my favorite talk from last conference. Here are some of my favorite quotes:
"Faith is a foundation building block of creation."
"We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become." (life motto)
"Noble character is like a treasured porcelain made of select raw materials, formed with faith, carefully crafted by consistent righteous acts and fired in the furnace of uplifting experience. It is an object of great beauty and priceless worth."
"Your character is a measure of what you are becoming. It is the evidence of how well you are using your time on earth in this period of mortal probation."
The lesson concluded with the above clip by President Hinckley at the BYU-Idaho building dedication. I heard about 3 words, and was already emotional. I miss President Hinckley and the warmth and love he exuded from the pulpit. He was one of the most remarkable individuals to ever walk this earth, and I feel so blessed to have lived during his presidency. Listen to this clip, it's the most uplifting speech I've heard in a very long time.

my hips they lie cuz in reality i'm shy shy shy

I am craving warm weather. I just went running for the first time in 4 months. Hilarious, actually. I told myself I would start running once the snow melted and alas, it is pretty much gone. I think I'm even going to go to yoga tonight. Even more hilarious. If you couldn't already tell, I'm failing miserably with the "Exercise regularly" New Year's resolution. I've been wearing my Sperrys, as if wearing shoes completely inappropriate for the cold will somehow reverse Provo's inevitable 6 month winter.

Above is 3.1 Phillip Lim SS11. (The 3.1 stands for 31, Mr. Lim's age at the time he launched his first collection in 2005). This collection makes me pine for spring, especially the second look. I love colorful shorts and sweater sets with a pair of Sperrys. I got a very preppy vibe from this whole collection, with all the shorts and sweaters and that darling little blazer in the 4th look. This spring/summer I would like to attempt lace/scalloped edge shorts and platform wedges. Is it bad that I'm already scouring online for both?

First let's talk about the perfection that is Lea Michele's Golden Globes dress. I've been saying it forever, but Oscar de la Renta should be the go-to for all Hollywood starlets during awards season. His gowns are beautiful, flawless, unique, classic and glamorous. I was skyping my mom during the GG last Sunday and I told her I want Oscar to do my wedding dress. Hopefully he will still be alive and designing by then. This was one of my favorite looks of his SS11 line. I should do a review for that collection, because it's stunning. Can't wait for Glee to come back, although this season has been kind of disappointing. I'm most excited for Emma Pillsbury's new outfits.

Now we can talk about Blake Lively and that olive Burberry trench. I'm obsessed with all of Christopher Bailey's metallic trenches, and this one is no exception. I'm pretty sure those are feathers on the shoulders? Gossip Girl is definitely my guiltiest pleasure. It's delightfully trashy and poorly written, but the clothes are to die for and Blair Waldorf is everything I strive to be minus the fact that she's a complete b!tch. Can't wait for this episode and the return of the scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite.

head down to toes a reaction to you

The Royal Tenenbaums is one of my favorite movies and I just got done watching it. Above is one of my favorite scenes, and in my opinion, the most beautiful scene of the whole movie. The soundtrack is impeccable and I'm oddly fascinated by Gwyneth Paltrow as Margot Tenenbaum. Her severe eyeliner, blunt haircut, Lacoste polo dress, giant fur coat, penny loafers and Birkin bag coalesce to create such an iconic and memorable look. I actually bought a Lacoste polo dress after seeing this movie and someday I would like recreate her entire look, minus the haircut and severe eyeliner.

I've always been weirdly attracted to Luke Wilson in movies, and I can't help but crush on his sad and sometimes pathetic character as Richie Tenenbaum. My second favorite scene features "Needle in the Hay" by Elliott Smith (great, great song) and is Richie's suicide attempt. It's kind of dark, so I decided not to post the Youtube, but I just love the music and how great he looks sans facial hair. This movie is extremely dry and viewed as extremely boring and weird to 90% of young adults, but if you like indie films/Wes Anderson/dark humor, you might enjoy it.

i think i'm losing where you end and i begin

It is so cold outside. Not just brrr, winter jacket and mittens cold. Frigid, Arctic tundra, your face hurts after a while cold. I'm so thankful for my sleeping bag coat I acquired last year as a birthday present. With the little sash, it's not as bulky and is almost cute.
For Christmas, Alyanna gave me a giftcard to Anthropologie. I was so excited to go into that store and actually buy something for a change! They were having their end-of-winter (even though it's just begun...) sale and I snagged this pretty skirt and a toile printed dress. I've been coveting this skirt since it first made its appearance online back in October and now it's finally mine. It has just the right amount of sparkle and tweed to make it functional for dressy events or class, depending on my mood. In addition, it has pockets, one of my favorite features of dresses/skirts and the pleats give it that cute tulip shape. The best part was the $59 pricetag! Compared to $118. I don't have a picture of the dress, but it was also $59, originally $258. I was very pleased with both purchases.

WANTED: PHOTOGRAPHER WITH ONE OF THOSE SWEET CAMERAS THAT MAKE EVERYONE LOOK GOOD

Someday I will take real pictures of my outfits, like a real fashion blogger. For now you'll have to settle for my amateur Photobooth/digital camera shots because I would feel weird asking someone to take pictures of me in my outfits. Unless of course you're into that kind of thing and have a lot of free time on your hands. In that case, lemme know :) HA

My music doesn't get as big of a part on this blog as clothes do, but I consider it one of my hobbies as well. Discovering new artists, finding their discographies and transferring them to my iTunes is a therapeutic process for me. I got so much new music while I was home that I feel like anyone who appreciates music should listen to. Above is my bomb playlist that I listen to walking to school and around campus. You'll have to click on them to see them, unless you have abnormally good eyesight.

I absolutely cannot get enough of "All of the Lights" by Kanye, The Knife's cover of Jose Gonzalez's "Heartbeats" and "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)" by Arcade Fire. Ugh. Actually, Kanye's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Arcade Fire's The Suburbs are two of the most excellent albums of 2010 and should be in anyone's music library.

so this is the new year, and i don't feel any different

Happy New Year! I spent New Year's Eve at the Cherry home dancing to Michael Jackson and watching Robin Hood. We tuned in for Dick Clark's countdown to the ball dropping, which is really the only part worth seeing. I got to see Jayk and Jared for the last time before they leave on their missions. Lil cuties! They will both be amazing :)

It snowed the day after Christmas. Alyanna and I decided to capture the festive weather, but actually we were more excited about the fact that we have matching coats. We heart J. Crew stadium cloth. My mom has a coral colored one and we all look like little fruits when we wear them at once. This picture makes me miss my cute house, family and the best food in the land.

New Year's Resolutions:

1) Save money. Ok, but seriously. I have always had a problem with spending money especially on clothes. For example, I really want a nice laptop cover. Currently I have a cheap plastic one that I got on eBay for $15, but I'd really like those nice rubber ones that are $50. I have wanted one for a while, but I can't bring myself to spend $50 on a laptop cover. However, I have repeatedly spent this much and even more on numerous articles of clothing. I worked a little when I got home and I'm certain I spent much more than I actually made. Ok, so save money. Seriously. No more spending sprees and no. More. Clothes.

2) Exercise regularly. Regularly is a vague word, but I find that when I'm specific with my fitness goals, I end up falling short and just become disappointed in myself. Last semester, I neglected my personal fitness by October. Thankfully I take the long way to campus every day, which I'm going to continue doing, but in addition I want to run or do yoga at least 3x a week. I will slowly add more once the sidewalks aren't completely iced over and I can run. (Btw, I added about 15 mins to my walking routes today thanks to the Arctic tundra that is Provo.)

3) Get good grades. Last semester wasn't stellar, but I have been improving tremendously since my first semester, which I like to pretend never happened. In addition to a class for my major, a religion and MUN, I'm retaking two classes, so I don't anticipate this semester to be too terrible, but then again I've said that the past two semesters and I was wrong. School is hard. Like, I know it's hard but I pretend that it's not. But it is. It's really, really hard.

4) Read The New York Times every day. At least the International section. We're required to for MUN, but when my weeks got busy I kept putting it off. But seriously, if I replaced the time I spent on Facebook, blogstalking and girl crushing, I would be able to read the Times plus the Wall Street Journal. It has been a longtime goal to be more informed about the world, and I can honestly say I have greatly improved this year, so I would just like to continue.

One of the most exciting things that happened to me over break^ Prabal Gurung. As in, one of the most talked about up-and-coming Asian designers. Has dressed Michelle Obama and Demi Moore. Been mentioned and loved on The Rachel Zoe Project. Tweeted about my blog. My. Blog. I was looking through the traffic sources and I saw twitter.com/prabalgurung. I typed it in and scrolled down and there it was. I'm still so excited about it. PRABAL GURUNG. Hehehe :) So thanks for that Mr. Gurung, and also everyone else who reads my blog. I am so unbelievably flattered that people take the time to read my ramblings about nothing. Thank you!

2010 was actually a great year for me. It started out horribly, but slowly turned into a wonderful year that was full of progress and improvement. Looking back on my January of 2010 and this January, I am shocked and sincerely proud of myself. I'm incredibly thankful for the gospel in my life, my wonderful friends and the neverending love and support I receive from my incredible family.