Rachel McAdams meets Barcelona

on me: scarf (worn as headband) coach; sunglasses, tom ford; shirt dress, pepe jeans; cardigan, j.crew; flats ruby & bloom; bag, botiker 

When visiting Barcelona my boyfriend and I decided that the most romantic and easy way to sight-see through La Rambla and the Port Vell would be to rent bikes (you don't have to be a couple to rent bikes but it is so fun!). The city was a perfect place to have a complete Rachel McAdams moment like in Wedding Crashers or in her day to day life. In all her movies she is a flawless girlie-girl and I absolutely adore her so, it was not hard to mimic her lifestyle real or not in the gorgeous city of Barcelona. 

sources;2

Keds & Tights

When walking around the Vatican in Rome I saw so many different outfit combinations. The one that stuck out to me the most was sneakers with dresses or skirts. It is a different way for the comfortable tourist to rome around Rome (hehe) and still dress cute. The combination of sneakers and tights look the best with Keds. Keds are smaller, thinner, and a little dressy which makes it the perfect sneaker for tights. Personally, I would still stick with flats they are cute, versatile, and almost as comfortable as sneakers so, you can tour the city but still look un-touristy and adorable. But after seeing how cute Mischa Barton looks in Keds I may just have to buy a pair. How do you dress to sight-see?

Sunday Shopping; Barcelona

 Park at Port Vell 

 Casa Batllo

Museu Picasso 

sweater & shirt, j.crew; skirt, 344; bag, botiker; ray ban wayfarer sunglasses

Sunday used to remind me of one thing; my busy week ahead so, I dressed it up to be the funnest day of the week. With an earlier curfew, relaxation, and de-stressing on my mind I look forward to my favorite, shopping. 

Sunday in Barcelona stirred up my day with almost every shopping boutique and store closed. So, I took the day to visit the gorgeous museums by Gaudi (which reminds me of window shopping in a way because you get to see all the art but not take anything home with you) and just relax in the park by Port Vell with my boyfriend. How much better can Sunday get?

My favorite Barcelona Sunday stops:

Casa Batllo- an apartment complex built by Gaudi with no straight lines. there are fireplaces shaped like mushrooms and a beautiful rooftop. i can't imagine actually living there!

Museu Picasso- a collection of mansions lined with pictures by Pablo Picasso. there is a whole room dedicated to his version of Las Meninas which is so creative, in his own way.

Port Vell- this Port reminds me of the Baltimore Port but with couples and groups laying out everywhere to soak in the sun

Park Guell- when I entered the main entrance there were two large gingerbread houses on each side which made me feel like I was Gretel from Hansel and Gretel
La Sagrada Familia- Gaudi's church created to look like a dripping sand castle

Designer Favorites

 Gratacos store, Barcelona

Barcelona is a beautiful city for the city life, shopping, beach, and atmosphere. Passeig de Gràcia is the perfect street to see all your favorite designers and to add designers to your favorites list. After one day here I already added three designers to my list that I cannot live without.

1. Armand Basi- I liked the men items a little more than the women which makes it a perfect place to shop for my boyfriend!

2. Gratacos - the store is walled with different colored fabrics to choose from to make any kind piece you could ever dream of

3. Bimba & Lola - some of the pieces look as though they are knock off of tiffanys, longchamp, and even chanel but they are so cute! (and is still a little pricey)

Packing Light

sweater, j.crew; jeans, joe's jeans; flats, staccato

With my vacation slowly approaching I decided putting my essentials aside with the mentality of "packing light." As the week went on I tried my hardest to leave my clothes in the packed section of my closet. Yesterday was finally the day I packed. I put all of my essentials on my bed and had no room to even sleep! Looks like my idea for packing light was a failure but at least i'll have my travel esstenials 

My top travel essentials are:

passport- when traveling you can never leave home without this. I keep mine in an adorable Juicy Couture cover. 

LUSH ¨body bomb¨- my favorite is sex bomb. the bubbles create an ultra relaxing bath and they even have ¨bombs¨ that have confetti and sparkles. bath are so relaxing and help you refresh yourself and clean off your day good or bad.
ipod- with my ipod touch I can keep up with my favorite television shows (like gossip girl and re-runs of sex and the city) and keep myself entertained

travel books- lonely planet books are my bible when traveling

laptop- how else would i blog? :)

lip gloss- the lipstick tint in my Kielhs lipgloss makes me feel cute no mater where I am

 

What are your travel essentials?

Listen here, missy!

caroline & i would like to thank each of you

that sent get well

& happy birthday wishes!!

i can't tell you how much your words mean to me

caroline will head over to see the specialist on monday
so hopefully we'll start to get some answers & help for my cutie

the last several days i was so frustrated with myself

several things had all occured simultaneously

& that just 'bout did me in

i was already all knotted up

worried about a screening test dan was to have this week

screening for one of the several cancers his mom had fought

but i should know better

this frustration & fear thing with medical issues

i have allowed to creep in & take up residence in my soul

robbing me of joy & peace

oh yes

it's my fault indeed

i should know better by now

anyways
everything else just piled up ontop of my already fragile spirit

dan's test was fine
he's aok
but i need to remind myself
that we'd be aok no matter what

there is a scripture that i love
joshua 1.9
"Have I not commanded you?
Be strong & courageous.
Do not be terrified
do not be discouraged
for the Lord your God
will be with you
wherever you go"

that's right
wherever i go...

my hero Beth Moore once said
that the "have i not commanded you"
is like the lord saying
"LISTEN HERE, MISSY!"

i love that

we're commanded not to fear
we're promised He will be with us

why i can't get this nailed down in my fragile spirit
is a constant source of frustration

i have my own screening test coming up soon

for an issue i've been dealing with for a couple of years

think its time

i listened up

{~~~caroline finally felt the best she has in days

so yesterday

we ran out to one of my fave places & snapped up

a couple hundred shots

darn it, if she's not a trooper

than i don't know who is~~~}

now

listen here missies

don't let anything

rob YOU

of your joy & your peace

ps....i've already received a few emails....the ginormous flower is from Anthropologie! :)

Arrivederchi Tourists

 

When traveling to London I was gifted with the Louis Vuitton London city guide. The outside is adorable and is full of amazing places to see, shop, and indulge. The book gives tips on what to wear and who you can hopefully get a glimpse of. No more looking like an unfashionable tourist! There are currently 8 books total (New York, Los Angeles, Mumbai, Rome, Paris, Miami, Tokyo and London) and one European collection that you can collect. I cannot wait to get my hands on them all! Next city guide: Rome! I'll be traveling Barcelona & Italy for the next week and a half so check back to see my fashion forward adventures! I look forward to a shopping spree on Via Borgognona, open markets, gondola rides, the list is a mile long. Who knows I may even run into the Beckham family in Milan!

Arrivederchi!

Edgy Gossip Girl gone Cute

 cardigan, j.crew; top, anthropologie; skirt, express; pumps, aldo
retiro park, madrid

After watching this Monday's Gossip Girl episode I woke up feeling edgy. With Jenny's badass attitude in my head and a small feeling of home sickness I put on a Taylor Momsen inspired ensomble and headed to what feels like New York City's Central Park in Madrid, Retiro Park. My black tights added a Taylor Momsen edginess to my peep-toed shoes but the purple color kept them girlie and fun. I wonder who will inspire me after next week's episode. Which character inspired you this week?

 taylor momsen

source

the grumpy blogger

i'll be honest

this is how i've felt the last several days

its been a doozey around here

i debated , should i post the list of things that have gone wrong?

i was going to even try to rhyme everything

dr seuss style of course

but since i'm in a funk

& a little grumpy

my creative thoughts weren't really flowing

& besides that

who really wants to hear all about

water pouring through my ceiling inches from my white furniture

or that my freezer flooded my fridge

again

or that my beloved vacuum cleaner died

after cleaning the mess

the sewer guy left on my newly shampooed carpet

who really wants to hear about that?

but the real kicker

is that my little birthday girl has been mighty sick

she was out of it on her birthday

fever 105

delirious

sick

sick

sick

so pitiful

she asked me if i would open her presents for her

sadness

but in all seriousness

i would love for you to remember her in your prayers

she has chronic headaches

we've been through the neurologist

had an MRI

seen the eye doctor

she has experienced migraine like headaches & has since she was 5

some weeks she might go to the clinic at school everyday

but about 2 months ago

she began to complain that her tummy hurt

usually all day

everyday

we saw the doc 2 weeks ago & had a load of tests run

many things ruled out

but one of her labs came back abnormal

we've been referred to a gastroenterologist

thus begins the long wait

waiting to get an appointment

then takes time to schedule tests

i'm just tired of seeing my little one not feeling 100%

i'd rather her be running around flying her new birthday kite

then laying inside not feeling well

~~

on the upside
my older 3 girls all have cheer tryouts
this week & next
so you can imagine all the excitement around here

savannah will be a senior next year
she's done gymnastics & tumbling since the age of 3
she hoping to change things up next year & not go the competition cheer route
so we'll see how that goes...

emily is my rookie cheerleader

she had a fantastic season last fall

& will be trying out for the middle school squad

madison left her 11 years of ballet

& jumped right into cheering

she had a great season cheering for middle school

& this week is running with the big dogs

as she tries out for a spot on one

of the highschool squads

good luck girls!!!

i'm so proud of each of you!!

Afternoon Cupcake

juicy couture zip-up, tank top; j.crew, jeans; true religion, bag; longchamp, ring; david yurman

After hitting my snooze button a million times & sleeping until 1:30 pm, I decided to enjoy the rest of the day with my favorites; an afternoon cupcake, Starbucks, & magazines.

The day was gorgeous so I threw on my ruffled juicy zip-up and walked to my favorite sweet shop in my spanish neighborhood, Happy Day. The frosting on the cupcakes are always bright and fun. Each time I go in the store there are different colors and designs that bring a smile to my face. It is simply the best cupcake in Madrid. Oh, happy day! I then grabbed by daily mocha latte and snuggled up to my magazines. My perfect ending to my lazy tuesday.
While flipping through my Cosmopolitan magazine (UK edition) I found Redfoot a cute website for flats that fold into velvet bags. So when your feet are killing from your hot 4-inch heels you can make an exchange and slip into their cute flats. They created an official Sex and the City 2 line inspired by the movie's main characters. The "Charlotte" flats are my favorite, she reminds me a lot of myself so if the shoe fits wear it!  I cannot wait to get mine in the mail! Which is your favorite? 

From top left, the Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha 

Charlotte flat folded in half

sources ; courtesy of Redfoot's website