A RAY OF SUN |

April 11, 2013

oysho

When I was in Paris, my luggage got ~~lost~~ delayed for three days. It was a mess and I ended up spending my precious money on essentials that I had ever so carefully placed in my checked bag. Luckily, this made for the perfect excuse to go shopping and thankfully, one of the girls on the trip had been living in France for almost a year and knew the best places to go.

One of these places was Oysho, the intimate/lounge/beachwear brand owned by Zara. Their stuff is to- die-for cute, affordable, and trendy at the same time. To put it into perspective, think of it as an Aerie mixed with an Urban Outfitters with a little H&M thrown in. I went in looking for underwear and socks but also left with a new pair of sandals that I’ve been dreaming about wearing ever since.

And now that I’m back stateside I’ve been checking out Oysho’s website on the daily because I need a new bathing suit this year. I am in love with most of their styles and think this precious ruffle top, this cute brown bandeau, and this emerald green one-peice are my absolute favs. The only problem? They don’t have a franchise in the United States – just another reason why I must make it back to Paris!

How much do you think shipping would cost from Europe??? Ahh xoxox

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April 10, 2013

zesty

The orange lip trend. I have to say that even though I’ve been seeing this trend all over for the past year or so I have been weary about trying it out for myself. Sure it looks great on models and celebrities (and celebs of the blogger world) but could I really pull it off?

Well something came over me as I was shopping yesterday. As I meandered through the make-up aisle at Target, I spotted the lipstick section and stopped to gander for a few minutes. As my eyes gazed passed the reds, the neutrals, and the purples, I was immediately drawn to the oranges. There, I stopped, and said to myself, “Today is the day I’ll try the bright bright lip trend”. And just like that, I picked up Revlon’s Lip Butter in ‘Tutti Frutti”, put it in my basket, and rushed home to try it out.

Well guys, I’m happy to say that my opinion has definitely changed about the orange lip trend. What once seemed scary, extreme, and better left in the 1990s with the Spice Girls, has now become one of my favorite colors of all the lipstick I own. The orange lip gives a nice pop of color while being something different than the typical red. It’s also fun, playful, and will look super sweet and sultry with sunkissed skin. I think it’s a great trend, and one that more people should embrace! Give it a try!

Also to see how I rock it – follow me on Instagram @arayofsun

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April 3, 2013

paris, briefly

Paris, ah Paris. Paris was amazing. And I’m still trying to put what it meant to me into words. But for now, I’m still staring at my pictures in awe. This one is from inside the Louvre which I was lucky enough to spend two days wandering around in. More to come xo

March 12, 2013

escape

After an incredibly stressful two weeks of nonstop school (I’m talking more stress than I usually have during finals week) I am counting down the days til I get to leave for Paris. I feel incredibly grateful to have gotten this experience to go, and I can’t wait to make new friends and see new things. It’s going to be that much more interesting especially because I’m taking a class on Hemingway this semester and have become fascinated with the expatriate lifestyle. I keep telling ~~people~~ myself that it’s my career path after college. Ah, to be a dreamer! Three days left and then bon voyage!

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March 8, 2013

the blueprint

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So remember when Sydney did this post on doing a juice cleanse with her husband, Tyson??? I remember thinking dangggg I need to do one of those. But on my poor college student budget, I knew there would be no way I could afford to do a prepackaged cleanse let alone buy a juicer. So yesterday when I was at Whole Foods I was super surprised to see that you could buy the BluePrint Cleanse juices there! Now, they’re not cheap. In fact I spent $9.99 on just one 16 fl. oz. bottle. I bought the Green Juice, which is a mixture of kale, apple, ginger, romaine, spinach, cucumber, celery, parsley, and lemon. I have to say it was better than expected and I woke up this morning feeling full of energy. So for $10, I’d say it was worth it for the occasional splurge!

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March 5, 2013

what a long, strange trip it’s been

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February 25, 2013

back in black

This weekend my friend Anna and I (above) both rocked all black outfits when we went out for a Friday night on the town. It made me realize just how much I love an all black outfit. You can mix textures and fabrics but you inherently look put together no matter what. My faux leather leggings from Forever21 really helped to pull the look together and I have to say they were probably the best $12 I’ve ever spent! Here’s some more all black outfit inspiration for your weekend or weekday wear:

Is it Friday yet? xoxox

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February 18, 2013

freshly picked

So I went shopping on Friday, which is both a good and bad thing. Good because there was so much great stuff to buy. Bad because I’m left broke (financially) and dreaming of spring (incessantly). First I stopped by a tried and true consignment shop and found the pair of black flats above as well as the gray sweater. It’s an XL which is basically four sizes too big, but lately I’ve been loving the over-sized look. I’ve already worn that sweater twice and may end up wearing it to class today!

After that I headed to the mall and literally didn’t get past Gap. All of their Spring stuff was out and I wanted to buy it all. They have every color and print of jeans imaginable, not to mention long tees and tunics and cute dresses with tea cup prints. I ended up with up with these jeans which are the brightest color blue denim you’ve ever seen. I wore them out on Saturday and got so many compliments! I also snagged this tunic which will be perfect for Spring as well as these loafers! Overall it was quite the success!

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February 14, 2013

love love love

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Happy Valentine’s Day world! Though I don’t have a Valentine (besides my nieces and my Granny) I’ll probably be spending the night doing romantic things like watching reruns and working on homework. But because one of my assignments for this week is to read ‘The Great Gatsby’ I’m not that upset, especially since it’s my favorite book. Also I’m not bummed out about being alone on V-day because I celebrated Galentine’s Day last night with my best friends! It was the bomb.

Anyway, this post is about something else I love and that is this new hair style I’m trying out! I first spotted it on my oldest sister’s best friend’s two little children. Phew, what a mouth full. Anyway, she has the cutest little girls who she always dresses impeccably and the two mini buns are a hairstyle they are always rocking. I love it because it’s playful, girly, and incredibly easy. Plus, if you put your hair in two mini buns while it’s still kind of damp, it makes beautiful waves by the time it dries and you take it out. What’s not to love?? xoxoxoxo

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Video | February 13, 2013

breakers

all I want for my birthday…. is to go to Bonnaroo or Coachella!

Video | February 13, 2013

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