Fall Wish List

I'm so excited that it's actually 'officially' fall, even though the past few days in New York have actually been pretty warm! I thought I'd do a bit of a 'Lust List' or 'Wish List' of Fashion that I've been wanting for awhile and think would be perfect for Fall! Since this is a total 'Wish' list, most of this stuff (actually all of it, let's be honest) is out of my budget, but it's still fun to have favorites! 

1. Mulberry 'Cara' Bag with Lion Rivulets - Totally cute, totally unaffordable (2.8k sheesh)

2. Whistles Fashion Knit - Love the color, but another sweater out of my price range (does anyone wanna give me a donation of a million buck? No? That's cool.)

3. Zara Poplin Collar Dress - A bit more affordable, definitely giving out some of those cool Wednesday Addams vibes. I dig it. 

4. Miu Miu Crystal Embellished Flats - Over $600 for a pair of shoes makes me cringe, but these are drool-worthy

5. Kate Spade Hanover Street Bag - Actually affordable and incredibly cute. I love, love, LOVE Kate Spade.

6. Kate Spade 'Fan Out' Studs - These are just too cute! Only $48, which I think isn't too bad - though I would probably have incredible buyers remorse if I got them!

7. Jeffrey Campbell Lilyn Stud Boots - UGH, JC you slay me. Obsessed.

8. Warehouse Pink Fluffy Cardi - God how cute and comfortable does this look? Gimme!

9. Topshop Borg Faux Fur Sweater - I love these 'fluffy' type sweaters, I want it!

10. Proenza Schouler PS Elliot Satchel - AGAIN, way too fucking expensive but god, it's sooooooo damn pretty!

♡

What's on your wish list?

xo Emily

Insta-Outfit / 9.29.14

It's weirdly hot today in New York (Isn't it supposed to be Autumn? Damn you East Coast!) so I popped on my kimono to dress up a favorite look of mine - jeans and a white tee!

Top: H&M |  Kimono: Nasty Gal | Pants:  Uniqlo Boyfriend Jeans | Shoes: Merona (similar style) | Necklace: Swank Boutique (similar style) | Lipstick: YSL Rouge Volupté 'Nude Beige'

♡

xo Emily

Getting Hella Theatrical!

Hello friends!

It's crazy to think about all the amazing things I am able to finally experience since I moved to New York and it baffles my mind that I even get to be near and breathe the same air that so many wonderful, creative, intelligent people do. I will never get over it so when I get to go out for a full night of just life, it overwhelms me. 

One of these nights happened about a week ago when my sister was visiting. She used to live here in New York with me but now is in D.C. so it was amazing to get to see her. She got us tickets to see 'This Is Our Youth' on Broadway and bought us dinner before it. It was a really wonderful night and I thank her so much for it!

We started out the night at Casellula, a small wine and cheese eatery in Hell's Kitchen near the Theater District - hella fancy stuff. My sister had eaten there before and I thought it looked good so we went there! We got olives, a cheese I can't remember the name to and a delicious salami called 'Gin and Juice'. It was all SO good holy MOLY. 

We also got their Bruschetta  - with tomatoes and a delicious Ricotta cheese. 

We also shared a F**king fantastic mac and cheese that almost made me float up into heaven right then and there. My mouth is dripping with saliva just thinking about it, UGH.

After that delectable dinner, we headed over to the Cort Theatre to take our seats. 

I'm wearing a TopShop Lace Camisole, a black Mango cardigan, Uniqlo Skinny Jeans, and Gianni Bini sandals! 

We had awesome seats - the first row in the balcony - and so our view was perfect. I love being in the front row of the balcony because you feel super cool and have no one in front of you to block your eyes!

The play itself was incredible. It was really funny - laugh out loud at a lot of moments - and the cast did wonderful. Kieran Culkin was my favorite performance, it didn't even feel like I was watching a play when he was saying his lines. It was also amazing to see Michael Cera in a more serious role - with all the funny moments from his character being portrayed so superbly. Also seeing one of my favorite people/a super cool cat Tavi Gevinson on Broadway was exciting! (Rookie Mag is a fave of mine!)

After the play, I waited around a bit to meet the cast. They all signed my playbill and Tavi and I even spoke for a minute. She was just so wonderful!!

AHHH, look at us!!!!

It was an amazing night! I love seeing plays and luckily it's pretty easy to get some student rush tickets. What a fun night!

♡

xo Emily

Sunday Stripes

Happy Sunday! Today I'm sharing a comfy and casual look that's perfect for the transition between summer and fall! 

I paired one of my favorite long tee's from Brandy Melville with tights and wedges (and a pop of color from some red lipstick) to make a night and daytime appropriate look. Since it's so casual and simple, I popped on a statement necklace - one of my favorites - to really dress it up a bit more. 

Even though I went dressy with this, It's also incredibly easy to dress it down. Pop on converse instead of wedges and put on some nude liptick and voila, instant casual!

I love this shirt and definitely think it'll be a good staple piece in my closet! 

Top: Brandy Melville |  Tights:  Macy's | Shoes: Mandee (similar style) | Necklace: Swank Boutique (similar style) | Lipstick: Rimmel Lasting Finish Matte 'Kiss of Life'

♡

Do you like this look? It's super comfortable, which I love, and is easy to style!

xo Emily

Bubble Tea and Cupcakes!

Yesterday, 2 of my roommates and I headed on a little Bubble Tea and Cupcake date to two of my favorite places! I'm positively obsessed with bubble tea and thankfully, we're not too far from Chinatown, where the absolute best of the best bubble tea lives!

(Do y'all like the dramatic liner? It's Stila's Liquid Liner! I'm obsessed!)

We stopped at Kung-Fu Tea off Canal Street in Chinatown and I got Taro Tea with bubbles and my roomies opted for Black Milk Tea with bubbles. They were so delicious!

We perused Chinatown for awhile then made our way to the Soho Brandy Melville, on Prince Street, and browsed around in there. It was such a fun walk from Chinatown over to Soho because there was just so much New York we got to experience and take in. We even passed the FRIENDS Central Perk pop-up shop; the line was ridiculous! 

Eventually we made our way over to one of my favorite Cupcake/Brunch/Lunch shops, Sweet Revenge, in the West Village. My sister used to work about a block away from the store so we would sometimes come in and get ourselves some cupcakes and chit-chat.

Today, I got the 'Crimson and Cream' Cupcake, which is one of my favorites. It's Raspberry Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and it's INSANE. I also got a Arnold Palmer (Half Iced Tea/Half Lemonade). My roomies opted for the 'Dirty' Cupcake, which is Valrhona Chocoalte Cake with Dark Chocoalte Truffle. It's amazing as well!

It was such a fun day and I was glad to share some of my favorite places with my roommates! It was also gorgeous outside and fun to just meander along the streets of New York and take everything in!

♡

Do you have a favorite cupcake shop in New York or in your hometown? I would love to know!

xo Emily

Day to Night Smoky Eye

Today's look is a day to night smoky eye, which I find myself favoring. Sometimes I'll wear the toned down version to class or work and then pump up the smokiness for a night out or dinner! I love how easy it is to just transition between the two.

To start out, give yourself a flawless base. I used the L'Oreal True Match Lumi Foundation in 'Classic Ivory' across my face, then applying Tarte's Creaseless Concealer in 'Fair' under my eyes. I set everything with my Maybelline Dream Wonder Powder, focusing on my T-Zone. I bronzed up my face with the N.Y.C. 'Sunny Bronzer' and then popped 'Rockateur' by Benefit on my cheeks and finished up with my current favorite highlighter/luminizer, The Balm's 'Mary-Lou Manizer'.

After my flawless base was completed and I sprayed it with a makeup setting spray, I moved onto creating this smoky eye look. To achieve this, it only takes a few easy steps.

The 'Day' Smoky Eye

1. Prime your eyes - we're going to be using a lot of shadow so we want to make sure it stays on all day and night. (I used L'Oreal's De-Crease EyeShadow Base, one of my favorites.)

2. Put either a light shimmery or light matte shade across your entire lid. (I used Urban Decay's 'Venus')

3. Define your crease with a matte taupe shade (I used UD 'Naked 2')

4. Further define your crease by bringing in another shade to define the crease, this time darker. (I used UD 'Faint' and 'Darkhorse')

5. Go back to your lid with a shimmery shade, lighter then your crease, but darker then the original shade you used across your shade. (I used UD 'Sidecar')

6. Go back to your crease and use just a small amount of a black shadow to define it and make it a bit more smoky. Be careful not to go overboard and BLEND BLEND BLEND! (I used UD 'Crave')

That's all the eyeshadow done but to amp up a bit more smokiness, without going overboard, I used Urban Decay's 24/7 Glide-On Eyeliner in 'Zero' and used a pencil brush to smudge this out on both my upper and lower lash line! To finish everything off, I used a few coatings of the Smashbox 'Full Exposure' mascara. 

The final step is a bit of daytime appropriate lipstick. I popped on Bite Beauty's 'Musk' which I've been loving. It's perfect for the transition into Autumn and is great for an everyday look! 

To go from day to night:

The 'Night' Smoky Eye

To go from the appropriate day smoky eye, to a more sultry version of it, it only takes a few simple steps. First off, I'm going to coat my lid with a darker shimmery shade. This time I'm patting on 'Smog' by Urban Decay. Then I'm going back into the crease with more of 'Crave' and then going in with the darker, more shimmery 'Creep'. To really amp up the smoke, just take a bit of the shadow on a fluffy brush and add it slowly, building up the intensity after each application. I also swept that black shadow down to my lower lash line to really give it a more smoky look. To finish this off, I tightlined my eyes and added a dramatic cat-eye with the Kat Von D 'Tattoo Liner' and copious amounts of mascara. 

To really finish this off and make it a definitive 'Night' look, I went with a classic red for the lips. This is Makeup Forever's 'Matte Red 8' and then added Kate Moss' Rimmel Lipstick in '111 Kiss of Life' to add a bit more. 

I really love how it turned out! It's a great transition look that I think looks great on anyone. It's also got a lot of versatility; you can amp up the smoke or lessen it and even add fun colors (I love using dark purples for this same look!)

♡

How do you like day-to-night looks? Which is your favorite?

xo Emily

Insta-Outfit / 9.23.14

Quick outfit of the day for you, featuring my favorite vintage lace tee. Happy Tuesday!

Top: Vintage |  Sweater: Macy's (similar style) | Pants:  Uniqulo Boyfriend Jeans | Shoes: Madden Girl | Necklace: Swank Boutique (similar style) | Lipstick: YSL Rouge Volupté 'Nude Beige'

♡

xo Emily

Floral and Lace

When I first started my blog I toyed with many names. I didn't want to pick something I knew I would get tired of and eventually I settled on this, Meow Emily, which I think is pretty much me. But before that, I seriously considered calling it 'Floral and Lace' because those are probably two of my favorite things to wear/have around. I adore flowers, nature, and all things green and about half of my wardrobe has a hint of lace on it; so I thought it would be fitting.

Today is my first "official" outfit post, and I know it's not really that great and the quality of the photos aren't really that great but I'm trying. 

For awhile, I approached this blog only doing my beauty posts, which I feel that I have some modicum of expertise on. I wanted to branch out into fashion posts for the longest time but because of insecurities about my body, etc, I was a bit scared and nervous to share my outfits. 

It's taken me  a bit of time to be more secure and confident with how I dress and how I express it, and I've finally gotten to the point where I don't really care what people say, as long as I'm having fun. 

So that's a long-winded intro to this post, but here it is, a look with Floral and Lace...

♡

I break fashion rules. Probably because I don't really know many fashion rules, so I have no problem with wearing Florals as winter comes along.

I really love this pants. As a short girl, with short legs, I always wanted to wear these 'pajama' type soft pants and I finally found a pretty cute and comfortable pair.

A little more detail into the makeup and earrings. 

Top: Arizona Lace Hem Top | Pants:  Decree Elastic-Cuff Soft Floral Pants | Shoes: Madden Girl | Earring: Forever 21 (similar style) | Lipstick: Bite Beauty 'Cava'

Hope you (maybe) enjoyed this? 

♡

xo Emily

10 Things I’ve Learned From Moving To New York From Missouri

A little insight into me, my home state, and my current state........or, 10 Things I've Learned From Moving To New York From Missouri

1. No matter how many times you tell someone you’re from Missouri, not Missoura, they will continue to pronounce it as Missoura, just to spite you: In fact, they will continue to use that godforsaken mispronunciation for years to come. Case in point, “Hey Emily! How was Missoura?” “It’s Missouri” “Haha okay, so how was it to kiss your cousin in Missoura?” Ah yes, thank you so much, boy I met one time at a bar Freshman year, for remembering this one fact about me and then using said fact to make me angry every time I see your dumb face. (Fun fact, while writing this, my computer tried to correct the spelling of Missouri multiple times, so at least I have spell check on my side.)
2. Also, no matter how many times you tell someone not to say “Misery” instead of “Missouri”, they again will continue to pronounce it as such: “Hey. Have you heard this one?” “No”, I answer, wondering if they’re about to tell me a fun joke.  “Missouri? More like Misery. (commence douchey snickering)” Why no, random stranger I met in Freshman Computer Science, I’ve actually NEVER heard that one.
3. No one actually knows where Missouri is: “So where is that again? Near Texas?” No, not really but thank you for having so much knowledge about the Country you are apparently from.
4. Continuing on that trend, no one actually has been to Missouri: It’s a fly over state, according to the world, and thus there is nothing to do here. “I think I’ve been to the St. Louis airport once, does that count?” NO, that does not count. Also...educate yourself, Missouri is great. We have the Arch. And baseball. Also Jon Hamm is from Missouri so you’re welcome, WORLD, for that bulge.
5. People forget that St. Louis is in Missouri: Apparently, St. Louis is its own city-state, with no affiliation with Missouri. Same goes for Kansas City, the other well-known city in Missouri. People are somehow surprised when you mention St. Louis actually being in Missouri. Where the heck else did you expect it to be?
6. If you’re not from Kansas City or St. Louis, people will not know where you come from: No one in the world knows where Columbia, Missouri is. Mention the Mizzou Tigers and maybe you’ll get a spark of recognition, but that’s about it for my place of birth.
7. I am not stylish: The bar on fashion and style is set pretty low in Missouri. Hollister, Abercrombie, and Aeropostale were pretty much the go-to styles during middle school. We transitioned to Forever 21 and American Eagle for high school, but absolutely no one wore Valentino or Prada or anything fancy in the slightest, especially in High School. Coming to New York, I’ve realized my wardrobe is really not that snazzy. I have to actually put effort in when I walk outside, especially in the West Village or Chelsea, where good-looking people are the norm and I look like a crumpled piece of lettuce walking in my $3 Old Navy flip flops and garage-saled dress. Oh, fashion...you fickle beast.
8. People will wonder how and why you’re in New York: During those stupid Freshman Icebreakers the script was; “Hi, I’m Emily, I’m a Freshman Communications major and I’m from Missouri.” I’ve never encountered a professor who hasn’t raised his eyebrows at that. Why are you so surprised that I’m here. New York is the city of everything!
9. Public transportation is kind of the worst: Missouri does not do public transportation. I’ve only been on a bus maybe twice before moving to NYC. Also, the subway is disgusting and crowded and smelly and there are way too many suspect things happening on the F train. I’m used to driving, blasting the A/C and parking my car. Ah, simplicity.
10. New York is absolutely incredible: All jokes aside about public transportation and how people perceive Missouri, New York is astounding. I can’t believe that I get to live and breathe this city. I’m thankful I get to be here and flabbergasted at what I get to experience on a day-to-day basis. For instance, a snow-covered central park changed my life (See photo above for proof) and seeing Saturday Night Live; LIVE in studio made me cry. I love Missouri. I love New York. I love that I’m not native to New York; it keeps the magic alive and makes me really appreciate everything I experience. I love everything about my life, from my roots in the middle of the middle of the United States to quite arguably the top of the top when it comes to cities of our great nation. So thank you mom and dad. Thank you Missouri. Thank you very much New York.

xo Emily