Blog Anniversary Giveaway

Happy Holidays everyone!

I'm so sorry for not posting for a while, but I've just been too busy shopping catching up with my family.  ^_^  It's that time of year again, and my blog is almost one year old!  With that said, I've decided to host my first giveaway, and I'm not just giving away 1, or 2, but 3 items!

The first item is the Tied Crochet Dress - Black from Nasty Gal in a size Small.  It is currently on sale for $51.

The second item is a similar dress from LuLu that is currently sold out in a body conscious style in a size Medium.  It was priced at $39.

The third item is... a Hermes inspired Collier de Chien, aka CDC, or dog collar, bracelet.  It was priced at around $35.  Please note, however, this is a stock photo, and the leather on the actual bracelet is pebbled.

In total, this giveaway is a little over $100.

How do you apply?

1.  Follow this blog on blogger (+1), bloglovin' (+1), instagram (+1), and/or twitter (+1) for a possible 4 entries!
2. This is optional, but for an additional entry, you can link back to this giveaway on your blogger (+1), bloglovin (+1), instagram (+1), and/or twitter (+1) account for another possible 4 entries!
3. Leave a comment below, stating where you followed me (and any link backs to this post) and something happy that happened to you recently.

This giveaway is available to both US and international followers.  The winner will be drawn at random, and entries will be validated.  The winner has 3 days to claim their prize, and if it isn't claimed, another entry will be drawn.  This giveaway will end Thursday, January 31st at 9 PM EST.

Good luck everyone!

To All the Gentlemen of the World...

To All the Gentlemen of the World,

 You don't need magic tricks to win the woman of your dreams...

 You just need an ace up your sleeve...

A good suit and tie...

 Plus a fabulous pair of heels to seal the deal.  ^_^  Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Craving for Egg Puffs

To those of you who live in Asia, I envy you.  You get to enjoy these delicious egg puffs all the time!  There's really only one place that I know of in Boston that sells them, and, of course, it's in a small little spot in Chinatown.  There's an old woman who has been selling them for over 10 years now, and I've been going to her for my little treat ever since I was a kid.

As you can see, it's really not all that complicated to make.  Just pour something that looks like pancake batter into a small round mold and heat it up.  But it tastes so good!  Rain or shine - whenever I'm in Chinatown I try to grab a bag for myself.  I tell myself each time that I'll take it home to share with the rest of my family, but let's face it: I have absolutely no self control. ^_^  My friends have even started calling me "Eggy" because of how much I like them. ^_^;

Yes, that little batch costs $2.75.  I hear in China that you can get a much bigger batch for way less.  -_-  Again, I envy all of you who live in Asia.

New Sailor Moon in Summer 2013

If you've read my post here, you'll know that I'm a HUGE fan of Sailor Moon (and yes that HUGE was worthy enough of bold, italics, caps, and underline).  However, did you know that they are going to be bringing back the anime in Summer of 2013?  Yes, you heard right.  I had to double check with other forums and blogs to confirm what I heard the first time, and I also waited a little bit longer before I could finally accept it myself.  I mean this is HUGE (and yes, I know, I did it again)!  2012 marks the 20th anniversary of Sailor Moon, and now we find out that there's going to be a new anime?!  O.O  I could just faint and die (but not before I watch it first, of course. ^_^;).

While it's not going to be a continuation of the anime after Sailor Stars, it is going to be a "fresh rebot."  Not much yet is known about the new series, but you can find updated information here in English.  They will also be releasing a new artbook for Sailor Moon.  There will be some different bonus content that will be released in 7 different countries, so if you're a collector, you're going to have to buy all 7 different versions.  As for me, I'll just be happy with getting my hands on one.

With that, I'll leave you with a clip with another one of my favorite songs from this series, The Power of Love.  It's fitting, don't you think? ;)

A Golden Friday

It's Friday, and let's face it: This calls for a bit of gold!  Well, maybe lots of it.  ^_^

Outside Club Monaco

I've always admired the beautiful photos of the City of Lights found in Paris in Four Months, so taking inspiration from the lovely blogger, Carin, I took my (*ahem* brother's) DSLR camera for a spin outside the shop windows of Boston.  It's almost Christmas, so all the lovely windows are almost glittering with their beautiful decorations!  This haphazard photo of golden kitchenware is probably one of my favorites.  I'm pretty sure Midas would have used these in his kitchen.

Burberry's Festive Gift Balloons

And let's not forget the golden windows of Burberry.  I wouldn't mind having one of those balloons drop down on my doorstep with a prettily wrapped gift attached.  I love those bags!  I'm probably going to be taking my own Burberry bag with me on my next trip to Paris...  Yup, you heard right!  I'm going to Paris in the Spring!  How's that for a Golden Friday!  ^_^

A Longing for Spring in the Middle of Winter

It's strange that while I'm typing this I'm enjoying a view of snow slowly falling by my window.  This usually happens to me when we're in the middle of a season.  When it's summer, I can't wait for winter to arrive, and when it's winter, I can't wait for spring to arrive.  Getting this catalog from Saks yesterday didn't help either, but it's good to know that florals are still in.  Enjoy a preview of what's to come in the next season, and have a great weekend!

Being Thankful

I absolutely love Thanksgiving.  For me, it's a moment every year on the fourth week of November where you are just simply thankful for everything.  Your friends, family, health, and life among other things.  Like most things in life, there are downsides too, such as getting together with family members that just make you crazy.  I think the most important thing is trying to make the best out of every situation.

My grandfather passed away recently, and because of it, I've had to cancel my trip to Paris, so I could stay for the funeral.  Trust me when I say that it has been difficult, but the silver lining in the cloud is that my grandfather isn't in any pain, and Paris will always be waiting for me.

I like to read other people's blogs (more so than updating my own, it seems... ^_^; ), and I see these amazing photographs and achievements that they post everyday.  However, what they don't usually say is how hard it was to get there (sometimes, literally).  I'm sure there were struggles and perhaps a few tears along the way, but sticking to what they like doing, I think, is what pulled them through.

With that said (and while New Year's resolutions are a few months away), I am going to try to update my blog more often.  I do so enjoy writing, and while posting outfit pictures are fun, it can be a bit time consuming, but at least I have Instagram (and Twitter) now!  I am still such a noob at using it though, so please bear with me.

I know everyone has been posting links up for good deals with shopping for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, so I won't bore you all with another list.  I will, however, put up a list of purchases that I've made thus far.  I bought everything online, because I really wanted to avoid the crowds this year.

The first thing on my list was this Eric Bompard Classic V neck pullover in navy blue.  I found out about it after reading Parisian Chic, and when I saw that it was on sale online, I immediately grabbed it.  Don't get me wrong: this 100% cashmere sweater is still expensive, but I was pleasantly surprised at the 20% discount that was offered.  The original price was $295, and after the discount, it came out to $236.  However, at checkout, it came out to $196, I think, because it's supposed to be 20% off the price in euros.  Plus shipping, I think, I paid $213.  The sale is still good until December 2nd, so there's still time to pick it up if anyone's interested.

When I saw that ASOS was having a Black Friday deal as well, I went to check out any tops that interested me, and my eyes immediately honed onto this ASOS Top with Pearl Grid Embellished Armour.  It was awesome!  I usually dress pretty simply, but I just couldn't get enough of this sweater.  It completely reminded me of the Balmain Fall/Winter 2012 collection with all its opulence and luxury.  I immediately grabbed it before it was all sold out, and sell out it did just a few hours after I grabbed it.

This was more of an impulse buy for me.  I really wanted a military inspired coat to wear, and I saw this coat at Topshop that met my needs.  It's aptly called the Military Piped Girly Coat.  There's no Black Friday coupon code offered, but there was a 10% student discount that I found online (and no, I'm not a student, but, hey, they don't know that. ^_^).  I'm already planning on returning it, because I have more coats than I really need, but we'll see how much I like it when it gets here.

There's also one last thing that I bought.  It's small, but it was a big splurge for myself.  Hint: I bought it to remind myself to never stop loving.  I will reveal all later.  Happy shopping everyone!

Update - 11/26/2012:

I know I wrote about a similar dress like this a while ago here, but I wasn't happy with the body conscious style of the dress, so I looked for another version, and I found it at Nasty Gal.  This version is much more forgiving, and the dress flows over your curves.  I wouldn't recommend it for tall people though.  Even for a petite person, such as myself, I found it a bit short.  There was a purple and white version that I bought already with the black lace.  I'm buying this one as well.  It's called the Tied Crochet Dress - Black.  Everything is 25% off today for Cyber Monday, so get it while there are still some sizes left over!

To be completely honest, I had no intention of buying this dress.  I first saw this Herve Leger dress on Net-A-Porter for $625 (down from $1250).  I was tempted, but I didn't buy it.  Then, I saw the same dress on Shopbop for the same price, but they were having a 25% deal for items over $500.  The price came down to around $470.  I couldn't resist, so I just bought a small size just to see how it'll fit.  I'll probably end up returning it later.