Coming Soon

Hello!

I’m coming back! I’ve decided that I missed blogging, so I’m making my triumphant return. More info to come tomorrow!

Vintage Rose (OOTD)

AYO hello everyone! Long time no see!

Last week was my Spring Break, and I decided it was time to get back into the swing of things. As much as I adore my roommates and best friends here at school, we definitely encourage lazy behavior when we’re together (which is 97% of the time). Therefore, I completely fell out of the routine that saved me last spring when I was feeling down. I stopped trying with my appearance and, with that, I stopped maintaining this blog. This definitely affected my self-confidence significantly. Over my break, I realized that I needed to work on building myself up again. The journey to complete self-love and acceptance is never-ending, and I can’t slack or my mental health suffers.

So here’s to living a happier and healthier life.

So how about this ADORABLE dress, eh? I love it’s faded/worn look, and it’s in my trusty, go-to silhouette. It’s a super flattering cut and pattern, and I feel HELLA cute in it. I threw on a light, cream cardigan to complete the look and add some warmth. Also it looks pretty schnazzy wrapped around my waist. I paired these pieces with my trusty black leggings and black combat boots, folded down for extra flair.

What I Wore:

Dress: Target
Cardigan: Target
Leggings: Forever 21+
Boots: Payless

Alrighty, that’s all for now. Hopefully you’ll be seeing more from me on this darn blog soon!

Winger – Bookish Thoughts

Winger
By Andrew Smith

Rate: 3.5 / 5 stars

What I Thought:

This book was a doozy.

So it was definitely far from perfect. At times the main character annoyed the ever living shit out of me, and the story in itself just seemed totally unbelievable. To be honest, the whole novel was like a mediocre version of John Green’s Looking for Alaska. The plot line felt unbalanced, the most of the characters were bothersome, and the story just had no drive.

However.

I did manage to read the 400+ page book in about 24 hours. I absolutely fell in love with Joey. Even the main character Ryan Dean won me over by the end. Actually, the ending saved the entire book for me. I found myself attached to the story enough to cry at the end, and I even did that book hug thing where you just sit and grieve while clutching the book to your body for like five minutes after finishing it.

I just wish that some of the magic that I loved at the end was more evident throughout the entire novel. It did feel like it was being written by an immature 14 year old, and although I guess that was what Smith was going for, it was a bit of a turn off for me. Regardless, I made it through to the end mildly amused, and ended up liking the book and appreciating the ending.

So there you have it: nothing spectacular from this one, but likable enough.

P.S. We’re just not going to talk about how long ago my last post on this blog was. You get it. Life is hard.

Sept Bookish Wrap Up

Hey everyone! So I want to make this wrap up a regular thing on my blog. Lately I’ve been paying more attention to reading and really enjoying it again. I’m so glad that my reading motivation didn’t die off once I started school. Obviously I’m not reading as much as I did in the summer months, but I did read some great books! Below, I’m going to list the books I read with my star rating and a quick summary of my thoughts.

I only read 5 books this month since I had a LOT on my plate for my classes. My one class requires nightly readings that are dense and take up a lot of my time. Also, there was one book that took up a lot of my time because I just couldn’t get into it.

So this is what I read in the month of September:

Let’s Get Lost by Adi Alsaid
4 / 5 stars
I know there were quite a few people who didn’t fully enjoy this book, but I had a great time reading this. I feel like I totally got it, and it was so much fun to experience! I liked the unique characters, and I feel like I actually got something from the story. I recommend it! (Also isn’t the cover stunning?!)

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin
5 / 5 stars
I read this on recommendation from Ariel Bissett from Booktube. She praises this book, and now I know why! I absolutely ADORED this story. I was enamored from the start, and I sped through it. It’s touching and fun and insightful and a billion other wonderful things. PLEASE READ THIS. It was beautiful.

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick
3 / 5 stars
I had heard a lot of great things about this novel, but unfortunately I didn’t enjoy this one. I found it lackluster and annoying for the most part. I get what was trying to be accomplished, but as someone who genuinely struggles with the mental problems discussed in this book, I found it repetitive and regressive.

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
2 / 5 stars
Brace yourselves: I greatly disliked this book. This was the one that I had trouble finishing. I have a ton of issues with this novel. I was annoyed by the inaccurate portrayal of a plus size girl and an interracial couple in the 80s, but mostly the insta-love. I’m enraged with the amount of hypocrisy in the YA community. Every time there is a case of insta-love (two characters falling unreasonably in love without knowing each other for very long) or historical inaccuracy, the community bashes the book like no other. However, because this book was written by the almighty Rainbow Rowell, everyone shuts up and takes it. I loved Rowell’s other novel, Fangirl, but this is bullshit! They pick everything apart when it comes to the details of a book, and this book has A LOT wrong with it. I’m just annoyed. The story was sickening, inaccurate, and overwhelming. I don’t even want to talk about the ending. I may do a full review for this one, because I have a lot of negative feels I would like to let out.

———–

So that’s what I read in Sept 2014! Some good, some bad, one ugly.

I did start reading Gone Girl. I found a copy for super cheap at walmart, so I decided to jump on the bandwagon. EVERYONE’S been talking about it, and I needed in. Currently it’s a bit boring; I’m around page 150. However, I’ve heard some crazy things, so I’m hoping it picks up soon.

What have you been reading lately? Any suggestions?

Happy fall, y’all!

Maroon Meow (OOTD)

Hey y’all! It’s definitely feeling like fall outside, and I am LOVING IT. After the uber hot and gross weather we had those first few weeks of the semester, I was dying to get myself into some cute sweaters/leggings/scarves/boots/lipsticks! (I’m really passionate about fall fashion.) Now that the weather has finally cooled down. I’m taking advantage. Of course it still warms up too much by midday, and I end up pushing up my sleeves in a huff, but I refuse to stop dressing so cute!

Today my friends and I decided to all wear maroon pants just for shits and giggles. Now, I really don’t like how my maroon pants fit, so I cheated and wore my new maroon leggings instead. #ohwell. (Note that the leggings look more red toned in person than they do in the pic. I really dont like plummy maroons.)

 

What I Wore:

Sweater: Forever 21+
Leggings: Forever 21+
Combat Boots: Payless
Lipstick: Rimmel in Bordeaux 124

This sweater is just so stinkin cute! When I saw this online last season I absolutely HAD to have it. I am a hardcore cat person, and this just spoke to me. Also it’s super long and cozy, and it’s also not too thick or thin of a material. Basically, this sweater is purrfection.

When I was planning this outfit in my head, I knew I had to pull out one of my favorite fall lipsticks from Rimmel. I only wish it were a matte finish instead of cream, but with a few rounds of blotting it stays put. For some reason, I find it really hard to find good deep red lipsticks. Berries and plums are super prevalent, but a dark brick red alludes me. It’s one of my goals to find the perfect fall red this season. If you have any suggestions please let me know!

Well that’s it for this post. Thanks for reading! I hope you’re enjoying the beautiful weather!

P.S. More roommate love.

Break Free (OOTD)

Hey y’all! The fashion posts are officially back! I am so passionately in love with this dress that I had to make a post immediately. 

So obviously, I’ve been pretty absent from this blog. However, no apologies or excuses. Life happened; that’s it.

The title of today’s blog is brought to you by my obsession with Break Free by Zedd/Ariana Grande. I’m not a big fan of Ariana, but mostly anything by Zedd really gets me boogieing out of my seat. 

Update on my life? Being captain is hard work. Getting tan basically happened over night. The side-braid is unsurprisingly omnipresent. The textbook buying process was significantly more difficult than semesters past. Using blogspot for blogging is excruciating (doing it for a class). I’m feeling more confident and fabulous that I ever have, thanks to my beautiful friends. Choreographing a sassy swing dance is so much fun. I’m genuinely interested in all of my classes this semester, no matter how frustrating they may be. On the first day my professor for Dinosaurs legit squatted on a chair in the front of the class and pretended to lay an egg. College, man. 

Anyway, on to this beauteous dress.

 

What I Wore:

Dress: Forever 21+
Oxfords: Gifted
Lips: Revlon Colorstay Moisture Stain – India

 

This dress is just so. flippin. cute! The box pleats are incredibly flattering, and teal and gray are my favorite colors to wear! When I saw this dress online, I knew I absolutely had to have it. It fits like a damn glove. The best part easily is that the teal isn’t just big ol’ polka dots; they’re actually speech bubbles!

This is just the perfect dress for me, and I’m so happy about it’s existence in my closet (or more currently: on my body.) I got so many nice compliments today, and yeah… I’m feeling good about it. Did ya notice? 

Also this lippie is bomb. I’m all about that deepened radiant orchid color for this fall. Highly recommend. 

P.S. Here’s a super cute pic of me and my roommate, Heather. She’s gorgeous and just as fabulous as I. I love her!

End of Summer Update

Heya guys! This is gonna be a real quick update because I’ve been a terrible blogger this summer, and that makes me sad. I have no excuse; I was just a lazy human.

I still want to make a post regarding the one year anniversary of this blog! My first legit post was made on July 19th, and even though it’ll be a month late, I want to honor it. I don’t really know what I’ll do yet. That’s future Gigi’s problem.

I will be leaving for band camp on Wednesday, so I wouldn’t expect any content until after that all ends in about 2 weeks. After that though, school starts, and I’ll actually have a reason to wear legitimate outfits! And makeup! Maybe I’ll have motivation? Hopefully? Also I’m gonna try super hard to not give up on reading like I’ve done every past semester. I’ve read soooo much this summer, and I don’t want that to go away. Books make me feel good.

What’s up for the upcoming months:

I’m gonna try to do 2 posts a week, and at least one of those posts will be fashion related. Once again, don’t hold me to this. This blog is one of my hobbies, and sometimes life doesn’t allow time for those. I’ll be super busy with my frat, colorguard, and school work, but if I can make time for scrolling mindlessly on tumblr until the wee hours of the morning, then I can make time to write up a post.

Anyways, I’ve still managed to gain followers, so I hope I don’t let you guys down! I’m so appreciative of you guys. Thank you so much for sticking around!

LOTS OF LOVE! And enjoy the rest of your summer!

If I Stay – Bookish Thoughts

If I Stay
By Gayle Forman

Rate: 3.5 / 5 stars

What I thought:

I liked this book, but I’m a little unsure of it. I had no problems getting through it, but something about it just didn’t sit right with me.

Nothing happened. Nothing. The accident happens in the beginning and then, boom. Flat-lined. (No pun intended?)

Sure, I loved the anecdotes. I loved how I came to appreciate and even love each character which every passing memory. But really there was no plot. The themes that I were expecting didn’t bleed through, and it left the reading experience a bit dry. I understand that “Ghost” Mia was unfeeling and cut off, but it just didn’t work for me.

The book dealt with a very emotional thing, but I felt nothing until the last 5 pages. The only character I ended up feeling anything for was Adam when he poured his heart out at the end. I ultimately had no empathy for the characters.

I liked the story; I liked the characters. I just didn’t take anything away from this story. And with this serious of a plot, I expected more. However, I will read the sequel, and I’ll probably check out the movie, too.

p.s. I did cry at the end. Those last few pages really did save the book for me.

p.p.s. I’ve been really critical of books lately. I need something to come along and wow me asap.

Shatter Me – Bookish Thoughts

Shatter Me
By Tahereh Mafi

(Book 1 of the Shatter Me trilogy)

Rate: 3.5 / 5 stars

What I Thought:

So this story is totally predictable and cheesy and 100% like every other popular YA dystopian on the market, but I did still enjoy it.

The characters are nothing special, but they’re likable enough. I do appreciate Warner’s character, he’s a good example of a dynamic villain, and I like how his character “plays” with Juliette, the protagonist. However, Juliette is definitely not one of my favorite characters. But that has to do with the writing style more than anything.

To put it bluntly: the writing style reminds me of a try-hard, pretentious teenager writing a #deep story for their creative writing class. It was particularly painful in the first 10 or so chapters, with all the cross outs, run on sentences, and broken phrases. It was killing me. Does Mafi even know how to use commas? Because every single compound sentence was lacking the comma before the conjunction, and it was absolutely tortuous to me. There were so many over-the-top metaphors and descriptions that made the text come off unnecessarily pompous. The writing was not creative and did not add to the richness of the plot; all it did was distract the reader.

The romance was gag-worthy, but I expected it. I also have to admit that I did get swept up in it from time to time. I just love reading about love sometimes, okay? It was a plot point, and it worked well enough, so I can’t complain. But yeah it gets goopy at times; be warned.

The whole “special” abilities thing for this story was just okay. I had a lot of questions, but with 2 more novels and a couple of novellas, I hope they’re answered. As for now, the whole super power thing is kinda lost on me, but I’m not giving up yet.

Bottom line: Nothing too spectacular about this series thus far. However, the story did intrigue me, and I had an enjoyable experience reading it. I do plan to finish out the series.

Since You’ve Been Gone – Bookish Thoughts

Since You’ve Been Gone
By Morgan Matson

Rate: 5/5 stars (I would give it more if I could!)

What I thought:

[This isn’t going to be a long review. I went into the book with no idea what it was about and loved it that way. No spoilers ahead, just some words of admiration.]

This was an absolutely phenomenal book! I thought it would just be another cutesy contemporary, but this was filled with adventure, love, humor, and a little bit of mystery. It was just so enjoyable to read! (I ended up reading 93% of it in one sitting, and it isn’t a short book!)

Morgan Matson did a fantastic job of fleshing out each character, even the ones who only had a few lines. I was completely immersed in the story, and I never wanted it to end! The list was the perfect catalyst for the plot; the story never felt boring or predictable. I loved how each challenge happened in an elusive way, leaving the reader begging for more!

This novel was incredibly adorable and unique in a manner I would have never guessed. It was modern, funny, and entertaining. I will definitely be recommending this book to all my friends ASAP. Also, maybe I’ll try writing some of my own lists. 😉

P.S. I tweeted about being hooked on this novel, and Morgan Matson favorited my tweet! #fangirling!!!!