Blogger Sketch Sunday [Phi Style]

Welcome to the Fourth edition of Blogger Sketch Sunday! Every week I like to post fashion drawings of bloggers that inspire me. This week's edition is dedicated to Tramanh of Phi Style. This recently engaged blogger is from Houston, Texas and her blog is the cutest mix of outfit posts, cooking, and real life documentation I have ever seen.

3 Reasons I love this blog:
-This girl's hair is amazing. Seriously, every time I look at her blog I get major hair envy. Its just so long and curls so perfectly! When my hair grows long enough I am shamelessly going to get a Phi-Style haircut. Don't judge.
-She's getting married and I love seeing the inspirations she gathers for her wedding. The necklaces she debates about, the color scheme she's pondering, or the bridesmaid dresses she's picked out. I've never been a girl to dream about my wedding day, but her blog is inspiring me to start.
-She and Issa of We Wear Things collaborate to create the most stunning photo shoots. Check out their vintage 20's inspired shoot [here] or their Emma Watson in Teen Vogue inspired shoot [here].
I've seen a lot of engagement photos and wedding invitations for someone my age, but Tramanh's are the best I've ever encountered. She and her fiance just look so romantic and cute together! Check out their engagement photos [here] and their Save the Date photos [here].

So if you've never come across her blog, you should definitely check it out! The link to it is located where I named the blog above.

Hope you're having a wonderful Sunday!
Rach:]

Verde. Amarillo. Rojo.

Before my summer Physics class started and I still had a life, me and Brandon decided to cook chicken tacos with mango salsa for dinner one night. It really is the perfect summer dish, clean and cool with little to no grease and a ton of natural ingredients. Certainly beats the frozen dinners and ramen noodles we have become accustomed to living off of.
I also got to practice my food plate arranging skills. Perhaps I've been watching too much Iron Chef America on the Food Network. These are my first attempts so by no means are my techniques restaurant worthy yet but I'm getting there.

The recipe is actually incredibly simple. Honestly we didn't really adhere to one provided recipe or the other, but instead just kind of winged it. Sure this doesn't really work for most cooking, but this dish is pretty much foolproof. Anyone can throw this together.

For this recipe you will need:

-5 or 6 Tortillas. [I love the freshly made ones. And wheat tortillas are a healthy choice!]
-4 or 5 Chicken tenderloins.
-1 Onion. [We used a sweet white onion]
-1 Mango. [My Mom taught me to ripen mangos by leaving them in uncooked rice in the pantry]
-2 Tomatoes.
-1 Lime.
-A few stems of Cilantro.
-Salt and Pepper.
-Sour Cream.

1. First start with the mango salsa since it needs time to sit and refrigerate. Chop the tomatoes, onion, cilantro and mango into small chunks.
2. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the mangos, tomatoes, half of the cilantro and half of the onions.
3. Squeeze in lime juice to taste. I like to use about a quarter of a lime. Add in salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.
4. Cover and set it the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes. The ingredients need time to mix so the favors can settle together.

5. Tenderize the chicken and season it with salt and pepper. Chop up the meat into small bite size strips.
6. Heat a large flat pan on Medium-high. Drizzle on some oil and then add the second half of the onions.
7. When the onions are slightly cooked, add in the chicken strips. When the meat is browned, lower the stove heat to Low. Add in the remaining cilantro and mix well.

8. On a plate, place the tortillas on it and cover with a damp paper towel. Microwave this for about 30 seconds.
9. To serve, fill each tortilla with the chicken mixture and top with the mango salsa. Don't forget to add a few slices of time and a dollop of sour cream on the side.
10. Of course this meal isn't set without some tortillas chips to finish off the salsa. Eat and enjoy!

Rach:]

Happy Birthday Sis

Happy Birthday to my little sister, Vy! She is celebrating her sweet sixteen today :]

Rachel [going to a wedding, but NOT] Getting Married

[Black shirt, Gray cardigan, Black sandals- Target. Pencil Skirt- Forever21. Necklace- Charming Charlie.]

Last week I went home to attend the wedding of my best friend from junior high. Isn't it funny how time flies? One moment you're 12 and your biggest worries are how frizzy your hair is, not embarrassing yourself tremendously in front of that cute boy in 2nd period, and if your parents will let you go to the dollar movies this Friday. Then suddenly you're almost 21 and your days are filled with trying to get a job in this awful economy, not epically failing college, and staying semi-sane through all the all-nighters. I can't help but think I will still feel this way in 9 years when I'm 30 and reminiscing about my college days. So I think I'll choose to enjoy my age right now. While it seems like everyone my age is already graduating college, getting married, or having children, I'm turning 21 not 41 so I'm not going to stress out about going over the hill quite yet.

Sorry about the shadows in some of these pictures. These were just a few quick shots taken after the wedding. As much as I love this skirt, satin and figure hugging pencil skirt do not mix. There is no stretch to this thing and it is impossibly hard to walk in. But the gorgeous paint stroke detail and the fact that it is my favorite color combination of yellow and black, makes it worth it.



Congratulations to Megan and Jeremy Templeton!

Rach:]

Blogger Sketch Sunday [Alice Point]

Welcome to the third edition of Blogger Sketch Sunday! Every week I will be posting a few of my sketches of some of my favorite bloggers. This week's sketches feature Alice of Alice Point.

3 Reasons I love this blog:
-She makes it look effortless. Alice works some really trendy pieces, such as her gold sequin mini skirt [here] or her zig zag cutout leggings [here], but she never looks like shes trying too hard. Somehow, everything just looks natural and simple on her.
-The details! Its all about the details! Alice's outfit posts always make you take a second glance because everything she wears tends to have an interesting detail to it that draws the eye in. Different textures, different patterns or different embellishments, she always plays with a little extra in her ensembles.
-Alice's style is unique and daring. I've never seen anyone who dresses like she does. You would never some across a mannequin at the mall dressed like her. I think its inspiring to see someone who dresses to the beat of her own drum and looks amazing.

If you haven't already, check out her blog! The link to it is where I named the blog above.
Have a great Sunday evening guys.
Rach:]

Happy Father's Day

Wishing my father and all fathers out there a Happy Father's Day today...

Rach:]

Blogger Sketch Sunday [Nini's Style]

This week I've decided to dedicate the second edition of Blogger Sketch Sunday to Nini of Nini's Style. Only one word ever comes to mind when describing this woman's style: Fierce. She has amazing taste in fashion and is a force to be reckoned with. I like to imagine that one day I'll have as incredible personal style as she does.

3 Reasons I love this blog:
-Nini wears the same stunning pieces from her wardrobe over and over, but it never gets old. She always manages make it look new and fresh again every single time she wears it. This woman knows what quality pieces to splurge on and styles them impeccably.
-Her blog is located in Dallas, TX. Perhaps this makes me bias, but I grew up in Fort Worth, and I love seeing such an amazing blog so close to home. I sometimes recognize downtown buildings in the backgrounds of her stunning editorial worthy photoshoots.
-She is fearless when it comes to fashion. It seems like Nini really knows who she is as a person and style wise. She knows what she likes and goes for it without any reserve and the results are always flawless.

If you haven't already, check out her blog! (I've included the link to it where I named it above)
Rach:]

Fringe Benefits

Last week me and my best friend decided to channel our inner old ladies by having appetizers at Applebee's and hitting up the local Goodwill afterwards. There I came across this fringed leather biker jacket that for some reason I became inexplicably attached to. Upon pulling it from the rack, it looked hideous and almost comical, but I had to try it on. And then I fell in love with it. The fringe on the sleeves is a little much, but I really liked the fringe hanging from the back. It reminded me of Leighton Meester's Giambattista Valli dress, which you can see for yourself at the link [here].

But alas, our love could not be. Me and that jacket were simply not meant for each other since I did not have $50 to bust on it. Really expensive for a Goodwill find, I know! However upon doing some research on fringed leather biker jackets I came across this one from William Rast a few seasons ago. It was selling at Nordstrom for 4 times the price of the one at Goodwill. While the William Rast one is obviously newer, I can't help but think that from the picture above, the old vintage 80's one was made of thicker more durable leather. Either way I couldn't really get over the guilt I would have if I bought another leather jacket (I already have 9, I'm obsessed I know) so I left Goodwill empty handed, content with some pictures Dee took of it in the fitting room.

My encounter with that fringed leather find at Goodwill gave me a new appreciation for fringe. Although it can easily be seen as tacky, too 80's, or overly Indian inspired, I definitely see how in the right doses it can add a bit of interest and texture to something solid black.



Thank you for putting up with my cheesy 80's Rebel Without a Cause wannabe poses. I hope you guys have a great weekend!

Rach:]

Wolves and Cheese

[Olive green blazer, White cutoffs, and Necklace-thrifted. Wolf T-shirt-gifted. Black heels-Alfani. Fedora hat-Target.]

So I've been chasing down a wolf t-shirt like this for forever it seems. But every time I find one its 'vintage' and way over priced. Thankfully however, my bff found this one for me from the little boy's section at Kohl's I believe. I plan on altering it a bit (cutting off the hem, lowering the neckline, rolling up the sleeves, etc) but I actually couldn't wait to wear it so here you see it in its untampered form. With it I'm wearing one of my favorite necklaces. I bought it from Savers Thrift in Austin because it reminds me of cheese. And I love cheese.

I always feel pretty proud of myself when I look down and notice that almost my entire outfit was bought secondhand. Feels like maybe, just maybe, I can perhaps deny my obedience to commercial consumerism for at least a day. I'm pretty sure everything I'm wearing but the shoes cost me a grand total of around $22.

Which is about half of the parking ticket I got the other day. Is it sad that what upsets me the most about parking tickets is that I know that I could have bought 2 complete outfits with the money I now must fork over because I forgot to buy a parking pass before class? Alas, perhaps one day all of my dreams will come true and parking on college campuses everywhere will be free.
Someday...

Rach:]

Blogger Sketch Sunday [Karla's Closet]

Hello there, welcome to the first edition of Blogger Sketch Sunday! Every Sunday I will be posting a few of my sketches of some of my favorite bloggers. I always keep a notebook at my desk so that when a specific image or photo on one of the many blogs I scroll through really catches my eye, I can grab the nearest ballpoint pen and scribble a drawing of it down. What you see below and on my blog for many Sundays to come is a peek into my nifty sketchbook.





What better way to start off this weekly tradition than with one of my absolute favorite bloggers out there, the edgy and stunning Karla of Karla's Closet.

3 Reasons I love this blog:
-This girl's photos are amazing. Each and every single one always seems to capture her in a perfect moment in time. Whether shes laughing, walking, or twirling, her photos capture her beautifully.
-Karla is not waif thin. Shes got curves and she knows how to work them. Its really inspiring to see a girl who's got muscle to her legs and an actual figure dress how she pleases and look stunning every single post.
-Her style is something that cannot be mimicked. There is something about the unexpected way she puts her ensembles together. Its like abstract art. You can copy an outfit that she wore, but you couldn't have come up with it before she wore it.

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed this post and others like it for many Sundays to come.
Rach:]

Tribute Painting [Audrey Hepburn]

A few months ago, I decided to start a series of paintings featuring inspirational women. In the list of females I wanted to pay tribute to, Audrey Hepburn was among the top few. Infamous for her style as much as her grace, its easy to see why she was the perfect muse to kick off this new series with. Like most girls out there, I have always been enamored by her classic and elegant personal style. I chose to do her portrait in my art medium of choice, watercolor paints. I only used black pigment for her portrait to reserve that timeless quality Audrey has.




I also honestly just did this portrait because I couldn't afford to buy the $60 portrait of Audrey selling at Target. My room's color scheme is black and white and I really wanted the painting to add to it. But seeing as I am a college student, I made do by painting a portrait of her myself to put up in my room.

Outfits Inspired [Blair Waldorf]

Like I said I would in my last post, here are a few outfits I've put together inspired by Gossip Girl's Blair Waldorf. This girl always keeps it chic and polished with color coordinated pencil skirts, feminine blouses, structured bags, and sleek coats. Its no wonder girls everywhere take cues from this Upper East Side style icon.

Rach:]