Boardwalk Tribal

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Two summer trends I am embracing this season are 1) obviously the maxi which you have seen a lot lately in previous posts, and 2) tribal prints.  I actually received this dress as a gift a summer or two ago, and I broke it out for a quick impromptu beach trip to Brighton Beach/Coney Island.  I also recently found this amazingly bright tribal necklace from Flair Accessories.  It was the last one, and I just had to snag it.  If you’re lucky, she may get some more in stock!  We had a great time watching the sun go down, reading our books with our toes in the sand, and walking along the boardwalk catching the last of the Puerto Rican Day Parade festivities.  I heart the summertime.

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Photos by: Zack Notes / Edited by: Myself

Maxi Dress: Gifted / Tribal Necklace and Bracelet: Flair Accessories / Watch: Michael Kors / Flip Flops: Rainbow / Shades: NYC Street Vendor / Lip: Lancome Fearless / Nails: The Balm Hella Yella (from LOFT)

The storms seem to be winding down, and we are heading into (hopefully) a gorgeous weekend.  Do you all have anything special planned for Father’s Day?  The hubby and I will be spending our Father’s Day weekend preparing for him to be a father and me to be a mother at a weekend intensive child birth course.  I’m a little nervous, but excited to learn and get ready (as most we can) for our big day ahead.

I also want to wish a Happy Father’s Day to my own Father, as well as my Father-in-law and my Godfather.  You all have made a wonderful impact on my life and my husband’s, and we are so lucky to have the three of you.  While, we won’t see you this weekend, we are looking forward to our family reunion and belated Father’s Day celebration next weekend.

Have a great weekend everyone!

XO,

Gina

5 Beauty Must Haves

5 Beauty Must Haves
1.  MAC Paint Pot in Painterly – This is a cream eyeshadow, but I use it an an eyeshadow primer.  Before using this, my eyeshadow would wear off before the end of the day.  Now, I have literally fallen asleep, and my eyeshadow has still been wearin’ strong!  My makeup routine is no longer complete without this product!  And the little pot actually lasts quite awhile.
2.  Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula – I have been slathering this on daily to avoid stretch marks from my Little Monkey.  So far, so good!
3.  Lancome Hypnose Drama Mascara – I was an avid Lancome Difinicils user for years.  I recently started using Hypnose Drama instead, and I LOVE the difference in my eyelashes!  While it still makes them longer, it also makes them fuller and more voluminous.  I think I will be sticking to this mascara for awhile.
4.  Olay Age Defying Moisturizer – I use this all year long, and have been very happy with it.  As for the anti-wrinkle, you can never start too young in my opinion!  It also has an SPF of 15, which is great for the summertime.
5.  Loreal Extra Intense Eyeliner – I always have trouble with eyeliner wearing off on the underside of my lower eyelid and smudging underneath  (I know, I know, you’re aren’t supposed to put it there, but I have to).  So far, this eyeliner does it the least, so I’ve been using it a lot lately.
What are your beauty must haves?
Tonight, I’m headed to the AICP Show at the MOMA, and very much looking forward to it!  Have a great Thursday everyone.
XO,
Gina

Big Floppy Hat

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In honor of Kentucky Derby weekend, I packed my big floppy hat and took it with me to Arizona.  I purchased it earlier this spring, and was obviously excited to wear it.  My belly is definitely starting to pop, and I wore this comfy outfit in Phoenix to meet my cousins for dinner.  Would love to see the different ways you wore your big floppy hats that weekend!  Tweet your pics my way to @popcornpandas!  Of course, Preakness hats are more than welcome too. 🙂

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Photos by: Zack Notes / Edited by: Myself

Big Floppy Hat: Francesca’s – similar here and here / Top: Motherhood / Skirt: Motherhood – similar in gray / Sandals: Sam Edelman via Nordstrom Rack / Bag: Coach (old) / Snakeskin Bracelet: Henri Bendel – sold out – shop bangles / Bow Bracelet: Baublebar / Red and Gold Chain Bracelet: Gorjana – sold out – shop bracelets / Watch: Michael Kors / Necklace: Family Heirloom / Sunglasses: LOFT / Toes: Essie Peach Daiquiri / Lip: Lancome Red Haute

Dreary Monday here in NYC.  We had a great weekend seeing family and friends that were in town visiting, and I worked on creating a baby registry for my little guy.  Wow, and I thought a wedding registry was overwhelming!  Boy, was I wrong! It pretty much took me all weekend, but it’s finally complete.  Can’t believe I will be 24 weeks tomorrow!  Time is flying right by.

Hope you all have a great week!  Memorial Day Weekend is on the horizon.

XO,

Gina

Wild Wild West

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I borrowed this romper from a friend of mine recently, and I could not wait for some warm weather to wear it.  The Arizona desert seemed like the perfect opportunity.  I love the tribal embroidery detail in the top half of this piece, and because I was in the west, I just had to top off this look with some fringe booties.  This outfit was super comfortable, flowy, and free…and I’m hoping to get a few more wears out of this bad boy before my bump grows too large!

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Romper: Borrowed from a friend – similar here, here, and here / Fringe Ankle Booties: Target / Bracelet: (Old) Street Vendor  / Necklace: c/o Guilty Jean / Chevron Stack Ring: Baublebar / Watch: Betsey Johnson / Earrings: ALDO / Shades: NYC Soho Street Vendor / Lip: Lancome Fearless

It’s FRIDAY!  Hubby is home from ATL, and we are heading out on a little date night tonight for a belated 2 year anniversary celebration.  I’m currently in the dark on the surprise, so I’m excited to find out what’s in store!  We also have some visitors in town this weekend, so looking forward to seeing and catching up with some friends and family.

Hope you all have a GREAT weekend!

XO,

Gina

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Walk on the High Line

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Here’s Part II of our little girl’s weekend in NYC.  Sunday, we got bagels at the best place in the city.  And yes, you can quote me on that.  We then ventured into Manhattan to do a little shopping and take a walk on the High Line.  For those of you who have never been, this park was built on top of an old abandoned elevated train track and runs down Manhattan’s West Side.  It’s so unique, and provides wonderful views of the city.  It was a gorgeous day, and I think the girls enjoyed it!

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Two of my favorite Baltimore blondes 🙂

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Outfit photos by: Nichole Cohen & Lisa Dannenberg / All other photos my own / Thanks to random stranger for the photo of the three of us

Coral Trench: GAP – sold out – similar here, herehere, and here / Mint Button Down: Express / Skinny Jeans: Motherhood Maternity / Ankle Boots: Target / Scarf: Gift / Sunnies: Vintage / Watch: Michael Kors / Bracelets: ASOS and Gorjana – 2nd one sold out, but see more bracelets by Gorjana here / Lip: Lancome Groupie

Today brings a doc appointment and my 2nd to last photography class.  Hoping for a good report on the first and to learn as much as I can during the latter.

Crazy enough, we have a trip to Boston coming up on Friday for a dear friend’s wedding.  It still breaks my heart that people could purposefully cause harm to so many innocent others.  I am still praying for all of those in Boston that were affected by this horrible madness.   I am looking forward to the wedding and hoping it will bring some happiness and light to the Boston area.  In the midst of this tragedy, it’s nice to know there is still some love out there.

Happy Wednesday everyone.

XO,

Gina

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{9} Lately…

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Lately I’ve been…

reading  Just finished The Power of Habit, by Charles Duhigg which I strongly recommend to everyone.  Currently reading The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown.  It’s decent so far.

writing  A birthday card for a special someone.

listening  I’ve got a Mumford & Sons station on Pandora at the moment.  Fun tunes from Passion Pit, Cold War Kids, MGMT and the likes.

thinking  About the fact that Tissycole and Lisa are coming to visit tomorrow!!!  Super excited!

smelling  The rain.  Is it weird that I could smell it before it even started coming down?

watching  The always fabulous Rachel Zoe Project.  Dying over the fashion weekly.  Also just started watching the Real World Portland.  Yes, I still watch the Real World.

wishing  For sunshine.  We were so spoiled at the beginning of the week with warm temperatures, and I’m wishing for them back this weekend!

hoping  That the laundry will do itself.  No?  Not possible?  Oh well, I tried.

wearing   My “Amaze” sweater from ASOS (now on sale!) with an Old Navy poly button-down underneath.  Black skinny jeans from Motherhood.  Leopard print rain boots similar to these.  Red Haute lip from Lancome.

loving  I never realized how much you can love someone you have never even met.  So excited for my baby boy to get here in September, and so in love already.

laughing  At the fact I actually tried to straighten my hair this morning.  The hair in the photo above lasted all of 2 minutes as I stepped out into the wind and rain this morning.  You know those days where your umbrella decides to flip itself out over and over again?  Did wonders for my hair today.

wanting  To finish the friendship bracelet I started making over a month ago.  My 4th grade skills just aren’t where they used to be…

needing  To paint my nails tonight.  They are in dire need of some Essie love.

feeling  Excited for the girls to get here this weekend!  Can’t wait for a weekend of shopping, photographing and girl talk.

craving  Strangely enough, I am not getting any weird pregnancy cravings.   I mean, I want ice cream…but I always want ice cream.  Nothing new.  I haven’t started liking condiments, so I think my appetite is relatively the same.

clicking  Through fashion blogs of expecting mamas.  Trying to figure out some tricks to looking chic while prego.

What have you been up to lately?

Happy Friday!

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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Preppy With A Twist {Guilty Jean Series #2}

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Here is my 2nd look from the Guilty Jean photo shoot over the weekend.  I was definitely enjoying the sunshine on this beautiful, glorious Saturday!  For this look, I purposefully chose the same Guilty Jean jewelry pieces as my last outfit post to show how versatile this line can be.  Even if you don’t see yourself as someone who is “edgy” or “punk rock,”  you can still glam up your look with Guilty Jean’s designs.  This particular look gives the preppy business casual girl a little edge.  I love how these pieces work so well with a variety of different personal styles, and I plan to rock these jewels no matter what I’m wearing!

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Photos by: Zack Notes / Edited by: Myself

Yellow Button Down: GAP / Blazer: GAP / Jeans: Motherhood Maternity / Pretty Little Evil Necklace: c/o Guilty Jean (on sale!) / Turquoise Bracelet: c/o Guilty Jean (on sale!) / Sinner & Saint Bracelet: c/o Guilty Jean (on sale!) / Clutch: Express – similar / Sparkly Flats: Nordstrom Rack / Watch: Michael Kors / Ring: Banana Republic – similar here and here / Sunglasses: Ann Taylor LOFT / Lip: Mix of MAC Candy Yum-Yum and Lancome Fuchsia Clutch / Nails: Essie Smokin’ Hot

Hope everyone is enjoying their week so far!  I have been busy busy, so I am looking forward to a little R&R tonight.

XOXO,

Gina

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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

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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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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