Spring Has Sprung {Guilty Jean Series #1}

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Here is the first outfit post from my Guilty Jean series, and this is one of my favorite looks of the bunch.  The weather was gorgeous for the first time this spring, and I was clearly loving it!  This look is girly, flirty, and fun, but definitely has a bit of edge as well.  When I found this dress and floral crown, I immediately couldn’t wait to add my Guilty Jean jewelry to complete the look.  I love how the skull and bow necklace sits at the perfect length, and the pop of turquoise on the bracelet is a perfect compliment to the pink and black color palette.  Spring has finally sprung!

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Photos by: Zack Notes / Edited by: Myself

Dress: Hot Topic (on sale!) / Jacket: Macy’s / Shoes: Betsey Johnson / Pretty Little Evil Necklace: c/o Guilty Jean (on sale!) / Turquoise Bracelet: c/o Guilty Jean (on sale!) / Skull and Cross Bracelet: c/o Guilty Jean (on sale!) / Ring: Forever 21 / Floral Crown: Urban Outfitters / Eyes: Make Up Forever – Lid: No 26 Fuchsia – Crease: No 58 Dark Raspberry – Brow: No 303 Diamond Pink / Lip: Mix of MAC Candy Yum-Yum and Lancome Fuchsia Clutch / Nails: Essie Smokin’ Hot

Of course, now that I am back in New York, I am feeling much chillier temps this week.  I am eager for that sunny, warm weather I experienced in Maryland this past weekend!  Come back to me!

This week has been a bit busy with unpacking, eating Easter leftovers, a girl’s night, and tonight I have photography class. Hope you are all having a good week so far!

XO,

Gina

Introducing Guilty Jean

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They’re a little bit girly…a little bit rugged…a little bit dark…a little bit spiritual…and a little bit rock and roll.  They are…Guilty Jean!  The phenomenal jewelry collaboration by artists Nicole Rivera and Maria Vaspasiano is a personal favorite of mine.  Connecticut born and New York City based, these two ladies handcraft each piece of jewelry in their collection.  They are extremely talented individuals with a passion for fashion and a love of all things edgy.  I was so excited when Nicole and Maria surprised me with these fabulous pieces from their “Sinner & Saint Collection,”  and I could not wait to style them.  This line has an element of gothic punk mixed with spirituality.  It’s flirty, yet edgy at the same time.  I love the mix of skulls with religious symbols and bows.  If you know designers Nicole and Maria in person, you know this line totally fits their personality.  Take a look at some of my favorites from the collection below.  I know you will love it just as much as I do!

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Guilty Jean provides detailed write-ups in their packaging about the materials they use to handcraft your jewels.

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Stay tuned this week and next for some upcoming posts on how I decided to style this amazing jewelry line.  In the meantime, stop by Guilty Jean’s website to browse some of their other pieces.  Both the “Sinner & Saint” and “Rockstar Buddha” lines are currently 20% off all designs.  And you’ll definitely want to check out their new 2013 Spring/Summer collection called “Love, Gypsy.”

Gentlemen, don’t feel left out!  They also have a men’s line which is equally amazing.

Enjoy, and hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday!

XO,

Gina

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Saturday at the Market

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This past weekend, we had a wonderful visit from the in-laws, and we decided to take them to the Union Square Greenmarket on Saturday.  If you have never been to the Greenmarket, you should definitely make the trip.  There are fresh, local, organic fruits and vegetables galore, potted plants and herbs, flowers, local cheeses, meats, fresh pastas, honey, pies, candles, yarn products, and so much more.  Your mouth is watering the entire time you are there, and I felt like I had a bit of an attention problem, because my eyes were constantly being taken in different directions.  It’s hard to focus on any one thing, because there is something else amazing in the booth next door!  We had a great time walking around there, and we continued our day by taking my in-laws to the famous hot-spots Russ and Daughters and Katz’s Delicatessen.  They really enjoyed the day, and we headed back to Brooklyn afterward where we all fell into a food coma (i.e. a two hour nap.)

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We had a really great weekend spending time with family.  We hadn’t seen them since the holidays, so it was a lot of fun getting together.  We are also getting excited for this upcoming weekend as well where we will see my side of the family for Easter in Maryland.

I want to wish everyone celebrating this week a Happy Passover!

Also, Happy 92nd Birthday to my Granny today!  She is the sweetest most amazing lady!

Have a great week everyone.

XO,

Gina

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Spring Greening

Spring Greening
MOTO Denim Shorts: Topshop / Tory Burch Burlap Sandals: L’Inde Le Palais / James Jeans Skinny Jeans (on sale!): The Outnet / Robert Chiarella Emerald Envy Earrings: Max and Chloe / Prabal Gurung Racerback Tank: Target / Ray-Ban Rubberized Wayfarer Sunnies: Bloomingdales / Nettie Silk Lace Up Dress : Calypso St. Barth / Pantone Emerald Candle: Occa-Home / Jessica Simpson Suede Pumps: Piperlime / Sergio Rossi Leather Clutch: StyleBop / Kempner Bracelet: BaubleBar / OPI Go On Green – Nelly
According to Pantone, Emerald is the color of the year.  In celebration of both St. Patrick’s Day and the first day of Spring this week, I thought green would be a fantastic color to feature.  Although it’s still freezing cold outside in New York City, I am hopeful for some upcoming warm weather.  I’m looking forward to seeing all the green sprout up in the parks, on the trees, and all the flowers blooming.  I am also looking forward to putting away my winter coats for the season, and breaking out some new Spring attire.  If we could only get these snow flurries to calm down!
What article of clothing are you just dying to pull out of the closet and rock this Spring?
Happy Thursday!
XO,
Gina
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{8} Lately…

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Lately I’ve been…

reading  Just finished Belong to Me by Marisa de Santos.  Now I’m reading Love Walked In by the same author.  Someone should have told me I should have reversed that reading order.  Oh well.

writing  Bills Bills Bills.  Yes, I still do most of mine by hand.  Call me old-fashioned.

listening  The Sound of Music station on Pandora.  Complete with musical ensembles from Phantom of the Opera, Beauty and the Beast, and many more Disney and show tune favorites.  So guilty, yet so not ashamed.

thinking  About my upcoming girl’s night tonight!  Yay for friends and Mexican food!

smelling  Juicy Couture Eau de Parfum

watching  My favorite restaurant in the Outer Banks, NC, Tortuga’s Lie was featured on Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives last night!  My cousin’s uncle (Richard Welch) is a chef and owner, and my cousin worked there for years.  It’s amazing, and Guy Fieri gave Tortuga’s rave reviews for their Jerk Chicken and Pork Antonio.  I’m so proud of them!

wishing  For warmer weather.  Snow be gone!  It’s time for Spring now.

hoping  For a good doctor’s report tomorrow.

wearing  This photo is from over the weekend pre-shopping trip, but today I am wearing…jeans, J. Crew navy and white polka dot button down, cream and navy striped GAP sweater w/ red bow over top, Steve Madden boots, and some fun baubles.

loving  The fact that my tax documents have already been organized and shipped out to my accountant, and I can let her take over from here.  Totally worth the money to not have to do them myself.

laughing  We watched a few documentaries over the weekend on Vice.com, and stumbled across this genre of music called Turbofolk in Serbia.  Serbian pop star, Goga Sekulic came out with this hit “Seksi Bizinesmen” (note the spelling) and we couldn’t not stop cracking up at how serious they were while performing this video.  Is that a fox on her shoulder?  The worst part is that after to listening to this song three times, I am starting to think it’s kinda catchy.

wanting  Warm weather.  Did I say that already???  Well let me just reiterate…spring cannot come soon enough.

needing  Before this weekend I was needing pants that fit!  I am now satisfied, and banning myself from shopping until spring is over since I went a bit crazy.  We’ll see how long that lasts.

feeling  A bit more energized, and a lot less nausea than the past few weeks.

craving  Family time.  I haven’t seen the fam since the holidays, so I am looking forward to my in-laws visiting this weekend, and also looking forward to seeing my side of the family on Easter weekend.  It’s been too long!

clicking  Through baby toys.  What does one get a 1 year old for their 1st birthday?  I’m new at this baby thing, folks!

What have you been up to lately?

Happy Tuesday!

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.

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Kiss Me I’m Irish!

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Hope everyone had a HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY!!!  Being half Irish, this holiday always means a bit more to me than the typical American “let’s get wasted” mentality.  I make sure to call my off-the-boat Irish Granny to wish her a great day as well as my mother, sister, aunt, and uncle.  I dream of my roots, and wish to someday actually visit Ireland.  Of course, I also usually take part in the fun festivities as well, but obviously this year was a bit low key!  This weekend, I ended up going to church instead of the bar, hung out with my guy and some friends, went shopping for new clothes (that fit–yay!), and of course, still sported some green in my attire.  It was a nice switch up to St. Paddy’s Day this year.

In addition, my photography class assignment this week was to do self-portraits.  Ahhh!!!  Scary!  Definitely out of my comfort zone, but it was good for me to actually take my tripod out of the box and learn how to set it up.  I decided why not use this as an opportunity to learn how to take my own blog outfit photos if I get in a crunch or the hubby is unavailable.  I was limited in my ability in the sense that I could only do the landscape set up (as opposed to the long-ways portrait set up) with the tripod.  It was also difficult to focus the lens without having anything to focus on, so I had my hubby stand in for me while I focused, and then I mind-marked the position he was standing so I knew where to go.  Trust there was a lot of trial and error, blurry shots, etc.  But I eventually ended up with a few shots that I was satisfied with.  Of course, you are your own biggest critic.  To be the subject AND the photographer at the same time was something very new and different for me.  However, I am glad I was presented with this challenge as it ended up making me more confident in my abilities.

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Top: ZARA / Skinny Jeans: Motherhood Maternity / Boots: Steve Madden / Watch: Michael Kors / Claddagh Ring (Irish Ring): gift – similar / Madonna Necklace: gift  / Shamrock: Wedding Gift – here / Pearls: gift – similar / Lip: Lancome Luxe

Let me tell you…I think ALL jeans should be made like prego jeans…they are ridiculously comfortable!!!  Haha.

Anyway, hope you all had a great weekend, and wishing you a wonderful week ahead!

XO,

Gina

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Happy Bump Day

Little Monkey 13wk sono

Surprise!  Happy Bump Day!

Zack and I are so excited to announce that we have a Little Monkey on the way, expected to arrive on or around September 10th of this year. 🙂

Here is a photo from my 13 week sono.  I am now at 14 weeks, and happy to be in the second trimester.  It’s amazing how much detail you can see, and I cannot believe there is a tiny little human growing inside me!

Little Monkey is so photogenic already.  He/She even waved for the camera!  (either that or L.M. was still fist pumping from the Swedish House Mafia concert…or sucking his/her thumb?)  I’m going with L.M. was saying “Hello” and “Happy Birthday” to Dad last week.

It’s been a bit of a crazy adventure so far, and we are both looking forward to what lies ahead…specifically this weekend, I’m thinking my wardrobe needs an update of clothes that actually fit…

Happy Bump Day!

XO,

Gina

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Dinner Party

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There’s nothing like an impromptu Saturday night dinner party!  I broke out the fine china (for only the second time in two years…let’s just say was about time to put those amazing wedding gifts to good use), and whipped up a little Italiano meal for the hubs and my friends Brooke (a new Brooklynite) and Kendel (visiting from Baltimore).  Pasta with red sauce, breaded chicken, mixed green salad, and a bottle of red (or maybe two bottles of red).  Doesn’t get much better than that huh?  Except for maybe the little game of “Flip Coaster” we invented after dinner.  Don’t even get me started on how insanely good Brooke is at this game–she put us all to shame.  We had so much fun that we completely lost track of time, and the fact that we were supposed to be meeting friends out in Manhattan that night.  Zack ended up crashing, but the girls and I rallied for a fun little night at the Back Room on the Lower East Side.  The Back Room is a swank little speakeasy that serves cocktails in teacups and beer bottles in paper bags.  We had a great time, and I’m thinking we will need to have a repeat date sometime soon!

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Photos by: Zack Notes / Edited by: Myself

Dress: Free People (old) – view their current dress collection! / Leather Jacket: Vintage – love this asymmetrical alternative / Tights: Urban Outfitters / Boots: ALDO / Cardigan: Forever 21 (old) / Bag: Chinatown / Scarf: Gift / Necklace: Guilty Jean / Watch: Michael Kors / Bracelet: Baublebar / Lip: Lancome Luxe / China: Lenox Chirp

Hope everyone had a great weekend.  Mine was quite relaxing, and I’m looking forward to chilling out this week as well.  I’m a bit excited about the extra daylight hour.  It reminds me that spring is right around the corner!

Happy Birthday to my twin cousins, Briana and Victoria, today!  Love you girls!

XO,

Gina

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{7} Lately…

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Lately I’ve been…

reading  Catching up on my Marie Claire reading.  The February & March issues are featuring so many spring trends that have me itching for warmer weather.

writing  A Birthday card for the hubby.  His Birthday is on Tuesday, but we are celebrating this weekend.

listening  Swedish House Mafia all day today.  Gotta pump myself up for the concert tonight at Madison Square Garden.  Can’t believe this is their last tour.  Sad face.  I scored tix to start off the hubby’s b-day celebration.  I’ll leave you with one of my favs: Don’t You Worry Child ft. John Martin

thinking  About how much fun this concert is going to be.  It’s consuming my mind today!

smelling  The yummy bagel with cream cheese that I am about to consume.

watching  Don’t hate, but I have been loving the Snooki & JWoww show this season.  I mean, how cute is little Lorenzo?!?!

wishing  That we hadn’t been woken up at 4am last night with the doorbell ringing from a cab driver that got stiffed by my neighbor.  I mean, really?

hoping  For positivity and strength to surround my Uncle and help him fight off the sickness he has been faced with at this point in his life.  I also hope that my Mom can find equal strength since she has been his rock during this time.

wearing  Black leggings with a pink and grey striped top, black and white striped cardigan, studded combat boots, my panda necklace, and my new MAC Candy Yum Yum from my bestie, Nichole!  You rock!

loving  The fact that we started making friendship bracelets at our last girl’s night on Tuesday.  What a trip down memory lane!  So fun, but I realize my skills need some brushing up.

laughing  At this poor girl who tried to do a hair tutorial.  I know it shouldn’t be funny, but it’s kinda funny.

wanting  A big cup of coffee from Starbucks.  Preferably a Cinnamon Dolce Latte.

needing  The winner of my Flair Accessories giveaway to reply back with her shipping information.  If I don’t hear from her soon, someone else may become the lucky winner instead.

feeling  A bit sleepy due to being woken up last night.

craving  This gold Rebecca Minkoff Mini M.A.C.  Oh wait…I already bought it.  I’m not allowed to crave anything else for awhile…

clicking  Through Amazon for some photo paper to print on for class.  We are learning to use Camera RAW and Photoshop, so exciting!

What have you been up to lately?

Happy Weekend!

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.

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Spring Fever

Spring Fever
1.  Yellow Trench Coat: Target / 2.  Butter London Spring 2013 Collection: Nordstrom / 3.  Wide Brim Straw Hat – Kate Spade / 4.  Fan Fringe Necklace – J. Crew / 5.  Rainboots – Charlotte Russe / 6. Rebecca Minkoff Striped Mini M.A.C. – SHOPBOP / 7. Polka Dot Short – Forever 21 / 8.  Floral Porchfield Dress – Jack Willis / 9.  Pink Blazer – Topshop / 10.  Blue Minnie Pant – J. Crew / 11.  Jeffrey Campbell Lace Ankle Bootie – Nelly / 12.  Anchor Studs: J. Crew
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I don’t know about you, but I am OVER this cold weather!  All the talk of snow and chill has me jonesin’ for spring.  I couldn’t help but scour the online shopping world for some of my favorite on-trend pieces that I cannot wait to get my hands on.  If only I could wear them right now!  Although I tend to wear a ton of black in the winter time, I am very excited to sport some color this spring!  This little collection above makes me happy, because it reminds me that spring is just around the corner.
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In other news, congratulations to “Befab4lyfe” for winning the Flair Accessories earring giveaway!!!  Please inbox me your shipping info to { gina dot notes26 at gmail dot com }.  Then, I will have these gorgeous iridescent studs on the way to your door as soon as possible!  Thanks to all who entered the giveaway.
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I am ticking off a bucket list item tonight, that I cannot wait to share with you next week!
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Happy Friday Everyone!
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XO,
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Gina
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