popcornandpandas, Author at Popcorn and Pandas

Accessorize Me {Flair Accessories Series #1}

Here is the first outfit post for my Flair Accessories series. I started off with a simple business casual look — colored button down, black denim skinny jeans, black pumps. Simple right? What brings this look to the next level is the accessories. A little leopard print belt and gloves take this look up a notch as well as the vintage sunglasses. And lastly, the fabulous flair that was added to complete the look. Take note of the purple pop to my ears and the chain bling around my neck. I also added this fun cage style ring. Without the accessories, the look would honestly be quite boring in my opinion. Accessorizing is a key element to my getting ready process and can turn a look from “nice” to “amaze” in a matter of seconds. Definitely check out Carly’s amazing store online. I guarantee you will find a piece of flair you adore!

Photos by: Zack Notes

Coat: ASOS / Button Down: StyleMint / Pants: ZARA / Belt: J. Crew – similar / Shoes: Cynthia Rowley / Sunglasses: Vintage / Gloves: Dorothy Perkins / Necklace, Earrings, Ring: Flair Accessories / Lip: Lancome Red Haute

It’s a busy week here with work conferences, clients in town, movie nights, meetings, photography class, photography homework, etc. Hopefully I can find some time to fit some sleep in there. Right now I’m just whirling on through.

I saw Argo over the weekend and Beasts of the Southern Wild last night, which are two more Oscar nominated films to check off my list. Both were absolutely amazing. Beasts was especially impressive coming from a first time director, and that little girl was such an amazing actress. I would recommend both films though!

In other news, how was everyone’s Super Bowl? I really didn’t have a team to rally behind (since my beloved Redskins did not make it), but being from Maryland, I must say I have a lot of happy friends this week!

Hope everyone has a Happy Hump Day!

XO,

Gina

Flair Accessories

Hi there! I am really excited for this series of posts I have planned featuring statement pieces from the amazing jewelry company, Flair Accessories! Owner, Carly Botti, started this venture to spice up her otherwise simple wardrobe. Her typical clothing choices revolve around neutrals and mostly black, so accessories are her way of taking her look to the next level. Let me tell you, her pieces are anything but simple!

Carly loaned me a wonderful selection of jewels that I had my eye on, and I have styled them to give a little pop to my wardrobe as well. Here is a sneak peek of the shoot I partook in this past weekend. I have four different looks enhanced with Flair Accessories that I am psyched to share. Stay tuned this week and next for some inspiring ways to rock some Flair!

Photos by: Zack Notes

Girl’s Weekend

Oh how I love my girls!!! A couple weeks ago, some of my besties from Maryland came to visit for a fun Brooklyn weekend. The hubby went out of town, so this was actually the first time I had a real girl’s weekend at our place. It was honestly such a blast. I love spending time with my favorites. There is never any drama. Never any bullshit. Just plain old fun. It was really great to have a bunch of girls around to borrow clothes from and talk about make up and hair and just get dressed up. After living with my man for so long now, I sometimes start to miss those girly things that come with having females for roommates! It was also great to just have them there to snuggle and have deep conversations about life face-to-face rather than on the phone or through e-mail. I had such a great time, that I already want to start planning our next girly adventure together.

This little photo session was captured by my amazing cousin, Marisa of Misa*Me Photography. Unfortunately, she never made it to the other side of the lens, but the fact that these photos were taken are proof enough that she was there with us as well! This documents our little Saturday at DiFara Pizza and walking around my neighborhood. What you don’t see is the 90’s dance party that we got into later that night, but I have to leave something to the imagination, right?

Playing some cards while we wait for our pizza…worth the wait!

Most amazing pizza EVER

Teri’s hood rocks my world…

Black Coat Mafia…

All photos by: Misa*Me Photography

Coat: ASOS / Bag: TJMaxx / Sunglasses: Vintage / Gloves: H&M / Scarf: Christmas gift / Lip: Lancome Groupie

Happy Friday everyone! Hope you all have a great weekend!

XO,

Gina

#14 Take a Photography Class

This was me on my birthday this past summer. So excited for my brand new camera. Cameras have always excited me. Ever since I was a child, I loved taking photos. I remember I got my first camera in Disney World when I was 7. I went around that park taking photos of everything I could. Back then there was no such thing as digital. So we took our photos to CVS or Ritz Camera to get them developed, and it was always exciting to remember what pictures I had taken or which ones turned out properly. My passion continued through middle school and high school. I would bring my camera to field trips, recess, prom, and other school dances. I brought my camera to college documenting football games and sorority functions. I loved having a physical memory to hold on to. I had albums for days. And I still have them. Memories locked up inside books that I could flip through at my leisure. People always ask me how I am able to remember everything so well. Well, I think it’s because of my photos. I can remember where we were or what we were doing or even what we were wearing, because I can see the photo in my mind. Eventually photos became digital, and I started taking so many photos that I could not keep up with my albums. They were starting to takeover my room, and I had no more storage for them. Luckily, Facebook was invented, and I have since been storing all my memories on the computer. As much as I have always loved taking pictures, I never had a good camera until this summer. I would try to take artsy shots with my point-and-shoot, but they never really turn out how you want them. When I decided that I really wanted to start blogging more often, I realized it was finally time to get a nice camera. The only problem with that is…I don’t really know how to use it. All this money for a beautiful new camera and lens, and not a clue of how to get the most out of it. Which is why I decided to sign up for a photography class at the School of Visual Arts. This is something I have wanted to do for a long time (bucket list/great adventure item #14!), and I am very excited to embark on this journey. It might be tough, and I may get frustrated, but I cannot wait to learn and become completely enthralled with this craft. Today is my first class, and I am not quite sure what to expect, but I know I am definitely looking forward to it. I am hoping to be able to share with you some of what I learn on this blog, and most importantly, I am hoping my new skills will show in the photography I continue to post.

Happy Wednesday Everyone! 🙂

Gina

Monday Musings: Man’s Quest for Leisure Time

I stumbled upon this piece that I wrote a few years ago for a collaborative blog that no one really saw but a few friends. Since I never really shared it before, I thought I would share these thoughts today. I tweaked it a bit to make a a bit more current, but it’s mostly the same…

Man’s Quest for Leisure Time:

As much as I love my life–I have a steady job, a great husband, a wonderful family, amazing friends, and good health–I realized that sometimes I think the grass is still always greener. A few years ago, this became evident to me while embarking on a dinner date with friends. Cruising the Upper East side with “That Vacation Guy”, “Violet of Leisure”, and “Summer Yaffa Dalia” (names have been modified to protect their identities ha), I felt like the loser who couldn’t stay out late because I had work tomorrow. While they could go off galavanting to the next piano bar or Irish pub, I had to go upstairs, vacuum my apartment, and get ready for bed. How fun is that?

I know I should be happy that I have a full time job, so that I have money to pay bills and go on said dinner dates, but don’t you ever feel like you waste half of your life sitting and staring at a computer screen waiting for the time to pass by so you can get back to your “real life?” It’s not that I don’t like my job; I do. I actually enjoy it. But I like not working so much more. I love the freedom of roaming around finding fun adventures to take part in, not having a curfew, waking up whenever I feel like, & enjoying the sunshine outdoors (instead of seeing it shine through my office window).

My 9th grade history teacher once brought up a topic of discussion about “man’s quest for leisure time.” You work hard to make lots of money, until you can afford to pay people to do the work for you, freeing up yourself for more fun adventures in life. In other words: work hard to play hard. Except if you work hard enough, you can eventually just play. This has been evident all through history, and this mentality still exists in a lot of people today.

More and more people I know in our generation don’t want to work for someone else–they want to be entrepreneurs with their own businesses, doing things they enjoy, making their own schedules, still working (because most of us still have to), but working at their leisure, and making sure there is enough time for travel, rest, and fun.

I often wonder what my life would be like as a “freelancer” per say, and what exactly I would even do? Or if I did eventually work so hard that I never had to work again…would I then not appreciate leisure time as much? Would I take it for granted? Would I become bored with it? Would the grass actually be greener–or is that just a fantastic notion? I suppose time will only tell, but for now, I will just continue on my own quest for leisure time–working hard to play hard.

Hope ya’ll have a good week!

XO,

Gina

Pizza With Pears

Happy Friday everyone!

Sorry for my lack of posting this week. I have been out sick most of the week, and haven’t felt much up to blogging (or anything else really.) Been trying to work from home a bit, but mostly been watching endless episodes of Top Chef and Project Runway, and I’m finally caught up with my DVR.

I did make it into the office yesterday and for our 2nd week of our Race to the Oscars event. I saw Zero Dark Thirty. WOW. Amazing. Intense. Well done Kathryn Bigelow. If you haven’t seen this film already, it’s definitely a must see.

Anywho, back to pizza with pears!

While scouring through my recipe books for something new and interesting to cook, I came across a delicious looking recipe for pizza with pears. I credit this original recipe to Maxine Clark from her book Pizza Calzone & Focaccia.

Of course, due to time constraints and the inability to find all the ingredients in my local grocery store, I tweaked this recipe a bit–which is very typical of me anyway.

So here we have Pear, Pecorino, and Fontina Pizza with Honey and Sage

Ingredients:

Pizza Dough – original recipe has you making homemade dough, but I opted for a quicker, easier version and went with Pillsbury Pizza Crust (it’s no NY pizza, but not bad!)

2 tbsps. extra virgin olive oil, plus some extra to drizzle

4 oz. Fontina cheese cubed (original recipe called for Tallegio, but could not find in my local store – this was a great substitute!)

1 very ripe pear, cored and thinly sliced

12-15 small sage leaves

1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

1 tbsp. of honey (or more depending on how sweet you would like)

sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Pre-heat the oven at 425 degrees F. Open the pizza dough package and spread it thinly onto a pizza pan. Pre-heat the dough according to directions on the Pillsbury package.

Rub the pizza crust with the olive oil and scatter over the Fontina. Arrange the pears over this, then the sage and the pecorino. Drizzle with honey, then season with salt and pepper. Finally, drizzle on a little more olive oil.

Bake until the cheese is bubbling and the crust is golden.

Eat & Enjoy!

Currently Trending: Chunky Knit Sweaters

In this freezing cold weather, it’s time to bundle up. Keep warm with one of these adorable chunky knit sweaters this winter. Which one is your fav?

1. Heart Sweater : River Island

2. Mustard Sweater: Romwe

3. Gray Cape: Rachel Comey via La Garconne

4. Peter Pan Collar Mint: New Look

5. Navy Love Sweater: Dorothy Perkins

6. Snowflake Sweater: House of Fraser

7. Anchor Sweater: Wallis

8. Kitty Cat Sweater: Wallis

9. Green Cable Sweater: Romwe

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Home sick for the third day in a row. Starting to get a little stir crazy up in here. Hoping to get out of the house tomorrow since we are supposed to see our next Oscar Nominated film set. I have to make a choice between Life of Pi and Zero Dark Thirty. Any thoughts?

Have a great day all.

XO,

Gina

{5} Lately…

Meg Gi — My friend Meg and me over the weekend at OxCart Tavern in my ‘hood.

Lately I’ve been…

reading Onto Book 5 of the Harry Potter series. Making my way…

writing Some e-mails to folks in the advertising community.

listening Another hit from one of my favorite collaborators, David Guetta and Sia. Check out “She Wolf (Falling to Pieces).”

thinking That is it very frigid out there!!! Brr…hat, gloves, and a scarf are a must in this weather.

smelling Yankee Candle “Soft Blanket.” My new favorite scent.

watching My boss and I are currently partaking in a “Race to the Oscars.” Our goal is to watch all of the films nominated for Best Picture before the big event. So far, I have seen two out of nine.

wishing That I hadn’t caught this cold over the weekend. I spent my entire day off yesterday sick on the couch. Hence my lack of a blog post yesterday. Today, I am still sick and working from home.

hoping That we can plan another girl’s weekend soon, because that one was SO MUCH FUN! (minus the whole catching a cold from my cousin part)

wearing Pajamas.

loving Michelle Obama’s Inauguration outfit. Way to go Thom Brown.

laughing At this hilarious video “How to Dance When You’re High on Life.” It totally reminds me of all my favorite guy friends when we go to Dewey Beach. Thanks to my friend Trey for sharing this.

wanting To be able to breathe out of my nose.

needing To get a lot of work done from home today, because we have a client coming into town tomorrow.

feeling Extremely tired. No matter how much sleep I get, I can’t seem to get enough. Also, feeling very stuffy.

craving This Rebecca Minkoff Mini M.A.C.

clicking I was featured on another leg wear website called Fashion Legwear for my ivory polka dot tights. I was included with a group of bloggers for best leg wear of the week. Scroll down about halfway, and you will find my pic.

What have you been up to lately?

Love,

Gina

***I was inspired by Tina of Like Ordinary Life to create this post, and she was inspired by Lauren of siddathornton, who started The Sunday Currently.

Turquoise Tights

These shots were taken last weekend before heading out to our little karaoke night. So much fun by the way! Mr. Biggs seriously has the BEST karaoke in the city in terms of talent. Although your average Joe (ahem me) might be a little uncomfortable getting up there to sing after someone belts out “Diamonds” almost as good as Rihanna. Seriously, I’m not lying. This place has some amazing talent, and considering there is no cover charge, it’s like getting a free Broadway quality performance every time I go. Fortunately, my girl Melissa and I don’t care if we aren’t as good as the rest. We just say, “Even though we may not have quite the singing talent they do, we can sure put on a hell of a show!”

Photos by: Zack Notes

Dress: Mystique Boutique (old) / Tights: Target / Jacket: Wilson’s Leather – similar on sale! / Booties: Go Jane – similar here (Donald J Pliner), here (Sam Edelman) and here (Target) / Clutch: NY & Co – similar / Panda Ring: nOir Jewelry / Watch: Betsey Johnson / Bracelets: Oja Jules and gift from cousin / Lip: Lancome Fuchsia Clutch / Nails: Essie Marshmallow

It’s FRIDAY!!! And guess what that means? GIRLS WEEKEND IN BROOKLYN! The hubby is heading out of town after work today to hang with his college rugby buddies in DC, and my girls from Maryland are coming up for a Brooklyn weekend! Yayy! This will be the first true girl’s weekend since moving into our Brooklyn apartment (which has now been over a year). So excited to get some quality girl time with good friends.

What are you up to this weekend?

XO,

Gina

Winter Wedding Wonderland

You saw the “Milk & Cookie” themed bridal shower. You saw the Atlantic City Bachelorette. And now it’s time for the main event. Milk and Cookie finally get married!!! Let me set the scene. We awoke on a crisp Saturday morning before the sun came up, and shortly after got a light dusting of snow. The bridal suite overlooked Camden Yards in Baltimore, which was a gorgeous view. We got ready, took tons of photos, and headed off to the church in Elkridge, Maryland. After the wonderful ceremony complete with the Arch of Swords military send off, we headed back to Baltimore to a lovely little venue called the Belvedere. The ballroom was stunning and so was the bride. The dance floor was packed and the photo booth was hysterical. The bridesmaids even had a little special dance prepared for the guests to enjoy. I was honored to be a bridesmaid in my cousin’s wedding, and this was definitely one for the books! I had such a great time with all my family, and it was the perfect end to 2012. Congratulations Alex & Seamus! XOXO.