Team USA Nails

 Happy almost Fourth of July! America is another year older. And to celebrate I made this cute nail tutorial for those who feel the need to display their patriotism on their fingers!

You're going to need. A top coat, a base coat, nail polish remover, Q-tips, and a chopstick/tooth pick--something that you can make small dots with. You're also going to need a blue polish, a red polish, a gold polish, a white polish, and an optional sparkly top coat. I'm using Sally Hansen "Hard to Get" [white], China Glaze "Ruby Pumps" [red], Nicole by OPI "Listen to Your Momager" [blue], Nicole by OPI "Glitter in My Stocking" [gold], and OPI "Servin' Up Sparkle" [sparkly top coat]. 

Apply a base coat. Then paint your pinky, middle finger, and thumb with the blue color. Paint your ring finger and pointer finger white.

 Using the chopstick or the toothpick, make gold dots.

Then draw on line using the red polish. Polishes with smaller brushes will be easier to work with. That is one of the reasons I choose China Glaze "Ruby Pumps". Also, don't worry about getting red on your skin because we will remove all of that later with nail polish remover. For those who are nail art masters, just stay inside the lines and you should be fine.  After you remove the red polish, you can stop here.

But I decided to add a sparkly top coat on top of the blue fingers. In my mind the gold dots are fireworks in the sky and the glitter makes it look like the starry night. It really adds a beautiful touch. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and I hope you have a FANTASTIC Fourth of July. These nails would also be really cool to sport during the Olympics to show your support of Team USA!

How To Make Pumpkin Spice Cake Pops

1. Mix together 1/2 cup of unsalter butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 2 large eggs, and 3/4 cup of pumpkin puree

2. Mix together 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of backing soda, 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves, and 1/2 teaspoon salt

3. And then mix it all together

5. Put batter in a pie pan

5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (177 degrees C) and cook for 18-20 minutes

6. Take the cake and mix it in with frosting until it easy to mold (similar to the consistency of cookie-dough)

7. Using an ice cream scooper, form the dough into balls

8. Dip the lollipop sticks into melted chocolate and push the stick into the balls. The chocolate will harden and prevent the cake from falling off the stick.

9. Dip the ball into the melted chocolate until the entire surface is covered

10. Optional: We made these cake pops around Halloween and so we used black food dye to make faces and a green tictac to act as the stem. But be as creative as you want at this step.

If you try to make your own cake pops I hope they turn out as delicious and beautiful as ours. It was really fun to get into the kitchen. Even though I don't like pumpkin, I loved eating these. Anyway. I hope you liked this post and I might be doing more baking posts in the future.

8 Ways to Wear Light Denim

Everyone knows that dark-wash is extra slimming. That is why it is so popular among women. We don't want to look bigger than we are and that is why we have been taught that dark denim is our friend. Lately, there have been many fashionistas finally deciding to buck that rule and start wearing light-wash denim freely.

Jayma Mays in a sequined skirt and denim button-up [left] and Jessica Szhor in a draped mini with a jean jacket [right].

Denim is such a work-man's fabric that an easy way to dress it up is shiny and fun sequin. It is the juxtaposition of necessity and want. A truly dark denim would've looked too harsh with the light gold color. Jessica is proving that jean jackets are not a project of the 90's. She adds a modern twist with her modern mini and black clutch.

Rashida Jones in a jean jacket and black capri [left] and Drew Barrymore in a belted long white skirt and jean button-up top [right].

Rashida adds a jean jacket to keep her look casual and it is styled perfectly with her detailed pumps and tailored capri pants. She tossed her hair up in a bun, suggesting an air of messiness. Drew looks like a breath of fresh tropical air in this billowing white skirt. She looks like she would be more at home on a beach than in the concrete jungle of New York. The dark chocolate  belt is a beautiful contrast to the light colors of her top and skirt.

Whitney Port in cuffed boyfriend jeans, a printed blazer, and white tee [left] and Blake Lively in a sequined skirt, belt, and denim shirt [right].

Light wash denim looks best in a slightly loose fitting pant. It is meant to look slouchy and un-put together. Whitney dresses it up a bit with structural heels and fitted blazer. Blake takes a casual denim shirt and keeps it casual with the messy knotted belt and shirt peeking from the bottom of her skirt but her sleek booties and sparkly skirt add class. This outfit surprisingly fits in both categories. 

 I just got the Glee Christmas Album and I'm so excited! :) My favorite song has got to be God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. Acapella [spelling?] music is my favorite. Thank you guys for reading!