Christmas [Instagrammed]

1. Our tree on Christmas Eve...look at all those presents!
2. My favorite little boy
3. My mom's gift from my brother and me...a collage of pictures of us from over the years
4. Crumbs! Courtesy of a giftcard for bad service over the summer
5. Deborah Lippmann's Glitter in the Air and Across the Universe (a gift from my brother)
6. Modeling my new hat and fur vest on Christmas Eve
7. My Christmas day tradition of wearing new clothes. I'm in love with my B.B. Dakota vest!
8. My new wire dress form! The ultimate toy for playing dress up!

I had a wonderful Christmas, and I hope you did too! Now it's time to get ready for the New Year... look for my 2011 recaps coming your way this week!

Weekly Gratitude

Image via WeHeartIt

Taking a quick little study break to dish out some weekly gratitude. Here it goes...this week I'm thankful for:
-Target! I was so excited for the GoInternational 5 year anniversary dresses, and they didn't disappoint!
-All of the awesome people I've "met" through blogging. I love that there are people out there that understand why I'm geeking out over these Target dresses or why I get so excited the day my fashion magazines arrive. You guys get me, and I love you for it!
-To go along with that, I wanted to thank Amy from ApronsAndALines who let me in on the secret to finding the dresses on Target.com this morning. I tweeted about it because I thought literally every dress had already sold out, but Amy clued me in on how to find them. Tricky Target.
-Nail polish. I found the perfect shade of light blue yesterday (Blue Away by Sally Hansen Insta-Dri, also a Target find), and there is nothing like bright colored nails to brighten my mood while studying my days away. A great little pick-me-up!
-Great roommates! My roommate Joslyn made the trip to Target possible by offering to drive us. I don't have a car at school, so I'm super thankful when someone offers to take me places.
-Chocolate. Copious amounts of chocolate and caffeine are always necessary to make it through finals week.
-The Cincinnati Public Library website. You can search for any book and put it on hold, and they'll ship it from any of the local libraries and call you when it's arrived at your local branch. Basically, I have a big stack of fashion books waiting for me when I arrive home for break :)

Okay well I've already taken FAR too long of a break to write this post, so I need to get back to the books. The next time you hear from me, I'll be done with finals...yay!

Weekly Gratitude

Image via WeHeartIt

My most recent blog obsession is Love, Life, Lace, an amazing blog written by the lovely Tatiana. One of my favorite things about this blog (besides Tatiana's awesome and unique style) is the "Weekly Gratitude" posts. Because I absolutely love this idea, I decided to do a weekly gratitude post of my own. Here it goes:

-I'm thankful that Spring is right around the corner. It's almost here; I just know it!
-I'm thankful for all of the amazing and supportive people in my life, especially my parents and boyfriend. They'll do whatever they can to help me achieve my dreams.
-I'm thankful for receiving awesome news while enduring a long and boring work shift on Friday. Good news and a smile on my face makes everything go a lot faster.
-I'm thankful for nail polish. I finally painted my fingernails this weekend, and I love the feeling of having painted nails. Welcome back, nail polish obsession.
-I'm thankful that there's a Crumbs cupcake in my near future.
-I'm thankful to have my motivation back. Today marks the end of my fourth week of consistent workouts!
-I'm thankful for lazy nights at home, watching a movie with my mom and brother
-I'm thankful the Oscars are on tonight! I can't wait to see all the fancy dresses!

I think these posts might just have to become part of my weekly routine here at Best Foot Forward. What are you thankful for this week?

Day 1: Balancing Act

Lately, I've been having the hardest time striking a balance between work and fun. This quarter has been a killer, and I can't seem to be able to get everything done while still having fun and enjoying myself. These pictures were taken yesterday at the mall (I didn't buy anything, promise!) while helping the boyfriend pick out some new jeans while avoiding homework. And then because I procrastinated all day yesterday, I'm buried under a pile of homework today. Oh, the life of a college student. So so so ready for break to be here! 33 days!

What I'm wearing: Gap striped tee, Loft knit cardigan, Forever 21 scarf, J.Crew outlet jeans, J.Crew flats, Pink Box earrings, Forever 21 ring, Kate Spade outlet tote

Graeters Icecream- If you aren't from Ohio, you are seriously missing out! So delicious!

Day 1 of my 30 for 30 is complete! I know this outfit isn't the most exciting thing ever, but I wanted something comfy and warm for shopping, since part of the mall was outside. Do you like my nail polish? Its the shade Jade from Forever 21, and its holding up surprisingly well for costing $2.80. I had to include the close-up to prove to my mom that this polish is cute after all, since she gave me quite the incredulous look when I picked it up on Friday. See Mom? I knew what I was talking about.

You Can Never Have Enough Nail Polish

After professing my undying love for Anthropologie in yesterday's post, today I decided it would be fitting to wear my one dress from there. This dress and a pair of jeans are surprisingly the only things I have ever bought from Anthro. Whenever I go in there, I usually browse around a little but walk out empty-handed because of the prices. Some people have extraordinary luck with their sales rack, like Kendi, but I have never experienced such luck. I'm much better at navigating the J.Crew sales- now that is something I am definitely good at.

Occasion: work
What I'm wearing: Anthropologie Staysail Dress (2008), Vintage earrings via Talk of the Town Vintage, Isaac Mizrahi for Target sandals (not pictured)

In other news, I bought my first bottle of Essie nail polish today. I am a devoted OPI fan, so this is quite the departure for me. I never can keep up with what makeup trends are in or out, but I always follow what the "it" colors of the season are for nail polish. I can always come up with excuses to buy more bottles of OPI; you can never have enough nail polish, right? Its funny because up until this summer, I hardly ever painted my own nails. I don't have a very steady hand but I love having painted nails, so I would always buy new bottles of polish and then have them sit around until someone else was willing to paint my nails for me. When I got to NYC, I decided this method was no longer going to fly. I bought a Sally Hansen manicure clean-up pen (basically a nail polish remover pen that is a godsend) and have gotten much better at doing my nails on my own. Every Sunday night before the new workweek starts, I paint my nails. I have made it a part of my routine, and I kind of like it. This Sunday I will be trying out my new Essie color, Fiji.

Fiji by Essie

I am also currently on the lookout for a baby blue or periwinkle color. If anyone has any suggestions or have seen something similar, let me know. What is your favorite nail polish brand/color?