Seeing Red

The cooler weather is coming around so we thought we'd start off by doing a fall outfit look. As you can see, the true spirit of fall has yet to hit the land of Evansville, but a girl a can dream.

My favorite part about cooler weather is all the cute little accessories you can pair with an outfit to give it that pizzaz.  I have termed these accessories "completing pieces" because they finish off an outfit. Let's be honest, you just can't be as creative during the summer because you're dying from the heat. In this particular one, the sweater hat is my completing piece. My brother says it makes me look like a Paris hobo but I love it. 

Ps. If you like the boots I'm wearing, I got them for super cheap at an online retailer--after hours and hours of googling different variations of the phrase "cheap knee high slouch boots." Fortunately for you, I've provided the website at the end of this post so you don't have to do all that tedious searching. Enjoy!

red sweater dress-h&m (10 bucks!)

sweater beret-charlotte russe

leggings-h&m

brown knee-length boots- buy here. 

cage/bird necklace-forever 21 (it's Hera's)

Giveaway 1 Winner!

First of all, we would like to thank everyone that entered! We got a great response for our first giveaway. We will definitely plan more in the near future so keep a look out and don't lose hope if you didn't win this time. :)

So now we would like to announce the winner of this first giveaway. And the winner is... dun dun daaa.... *drum rolls* MS. JANET! Congratulations on winning the gorgeous clutch made by Nicole!

Thanks again everyone for entering and we will definitely have more goodies to give away soon! And a special thanks to Nicole for allowing us to giveaway one her beautiful creations for our first giveaway! Don't forget to check out Nicole's site here and check out the pretty clutches you could own!

Until next time,
Naz and Hera

The New Face of Poverty

I just read this super depressing article --here-- on the effect of the rising poverty rates on everyday Americans. Some of you have probably seen it because it was featured on the Yahoo page (I hate to admit it, but that's how I get most of my information). It's very long and sad but the gist of of it is that more and more middle class Americans are falling into poverty and can't get out.

And frankly, it pisses me off. I know there's a lot of factors contributing to the rising rate of the unemployment, but it baffles me that a father has to make a decision on whether or not to pay the phone bill or buy groceries just because some government officials thought it was a good idea bail out banks in 2008. So here are some random thoughts that came to me while I was reading this:

1.) So far, my family has been fortunate enough not to be really affected by the recession. But, I'm not naive enough to think that it couldn't. Looking at those normal families in this article showed me that no one is immune. It makes me worried, but it mostly makes me angry. My family were immigrants to the US. We came here for the reason many immigrants do; to have the life our native country couldn't give us. But now, it seems the US is failing us in that. That may seem unpatriotic, but I'm not one to blindly follow my country. I completely believe in duty to one's country but only if a country fulfills its duty to its citizens first. 

2.) A lot of people seem to blame Obama for not getting out out of the recession and making it worse by increasing spending. I think people need to realize there is no miracle solution for getting us out of what Bush got us into. To put it bluntly, unnecessary war+ bailout of 2008=monstrous disaster for the masses. The last time I checked, Obama didn't claim to be a magic fairy who could save us from the mess we've gotten into by a wave of his wand. It takes time and effort, and I believe he's doing the best he can to help the people, even if that means more spending. In fact, we NEED to spend in order to help those affected by the recession anyway.

3.) In the 2012 election, I will finally be able to vote for president and you can definitely count on me voting Democrat. I've had enough of Republican's "less spending" strategy. If we spend less, we're not going to be able to help those who were devastated by the failing economy and those people deserve to be helped. Hopefully I'll be a doctor someday and I don't want to turn people away because they can't pay. I don't want to live in a country where the top 1% can do whatever they like and the rest of us pay the consequences. I don't want to live in a country where we punish people for being poor. Being from a capitalistic society, I realize its our instinct to do so, but that needs to change. We're all human beings and we have a duty to each other.

4.) In the meantime, I will be doing my part to earn a degree in order to arm myself against the recession. The article was saying how some of these newly impoverished people have multiple college degrees. Well, I hate to break it to you, but a masters in cheese making isn't going to get you anywhere these days. It's important to do what you love, but also do what is useful. No one cares that you can design them their dream kitchen if they don't have the money to buy food. So big lesson: if you're going to spend the time and money to go to school, do something useful and marketable.

I apologize for the long rant. Also, I'm not a political expert.

Keep it classy folks,
Naz

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Name: The Bang Bang Club
Sounds like: Noah and the Whale, Empire of the Sun
Start with: "Chemistry" click here

I'm not going to lie. The main reason I like this single "Chemistry" so much is mainly because of the music video. Call me a snob, but I love music videos that are more artistic than have storyline. I would rather see clips of people dancing dressed in feathers than see an actual story in a video. Maybe it's because the need to overanalyze obscure symbols and motifs has been engraved in my brain by my junior IB English teacher. For example:

Perhaps the juxtaposition of the bright paint with the black and white background represents the ever-growing chaos in narrator's mind. However, he enjoys this chaos because of the situation he was in before was making him feel oppressed, represented by the Burlesque woman. The African dancer adds to this by, symbolizing the narrator's want to be free of his oppression.

Thank you, Mrs. Blamey.

Literary analysis aside, this is one of the few bands that I've come across that is, for lack of a better word, fashionable. I mean, just look at these guys: they're super stylish. Any band that has a that kind of aesthetic is winner in my book. If I had to describe their sound, I would say indie pop.

So how did I come across such a random band? (I think this is their only single so far, actually) Well, when my brain has been throughly fried from studying so much biology, I like to wind down by intense Youtube/iTunes song and artist searching. The Bang Bang Club just came up as a recommended band for me so I thought I'd share them with you awesome peeps.

Check then out and let me know what you think!

Please remember you can convert any songs on Youtube to an mp3 file for your iPod, here.

Peace,

Naz

The Innovator

As many of you may have heard, Steve Jobs lost his long battle with cancer. If you don't know who Steve Jobs is (and you should be ashamed of yourself if you don't), he was the founder and former CEO of Apple, and the chief executive of Pixar Animation Studios (yup, there would be no Toy Story if it wasn't for this guy).

When I first found out of Steve Job's passing (ironically, on my beautiful white iPhone 4), I was shocked and kind of in disbelief. It shouldn't have came in surprise; I knew he was fighting pancreatic cancer for a long time and I knew his resignation as CEO in August of this year meant that he didn't have much time left. But for some odd reason, I felt like someone punched me in the stomach. My eyes welled.

Usually when some famous person passes away, I do the mandatory "R.I.P. so and so" Facebook status and tweet and then move on with my life. However, this time, I just couldn't stop thinking about him (hence, the reason why I am writing this blog post). Why? Why do I feel as if someone I knew left me?

And then I thought about it. This man was a genius. He was a perfectionist, with an eye for beauty. He changed the way society runs today. His advancement in technology is ridiculous. I am not even going to go into how his products have impacted the way we live today, because if I did, you would probably spend the next hour trying to finish reading this blog post.

He invented the personal computer and the mouse. I still remember when we got our first PC in our house when I was about four or five years old. That was because of him. I still remember winning an essay contest in eighth grade and using the money I won to buy the first generation iPod nano. I felt like the coolest kid on the block. That was because of him. I still remember being amazed by the fact that I could download any song I wanted without having to buy the whole CD. That was because of him. I still remember my sweet sixteen, when I was surprised with the first generation iPod touch. Again, I felt like the coolest kid on the block. That was because of him. I still remember being mad that my brother got an iPod touch the next month for his birthday. I remember taking ridiculous photos on Photo Booth instead of design a newspaper in class. That was because of him. I remember the excitement of getting the Mac my parents promised me after getting a college scholarship. That was because of him. And I remember feeling like an actual adult after spending my first paycheck on an iPhone 4. That was because of him. Oh, and we cannot forget the hundreds of Pixar movies we grew up watching (and still watch today!). That was because of him.

I feel honored to be able to experience this man's genius creativity first hand. He will be in the history books. Who knows how far technology will advance because of his passion to invent? No one can ever take his place, and I only hope that legacy and innovation goes on to inspire others to do the same.

Rest in peace, Steve Jobs. You will be missed.

Hera

Prize Giveaway 1

THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED. However, please feel free to check out our sponsor. Her information and the link to her website are listed below. 


Hey guys!

We're participating in our first ever blog giveaway!

Our contributor's name is Nicole Gaston and she owns a small purse business on the site etsy.com. You can access her account here

 If you guys haven't checked this site out, you need to. You can the most unique stuff on there from jewelry to clothes. Nicole's bags, however, stand out from the rest. They are all handmade and come in a variety of unique patterns and colors. Our favorite thing about them is the different pattern on the inside. Check them out:

These would make a great addition to any wardrobe because they are sophisticated yet small so you're not hauling around a huge bag--perfect for everyday use. They could also make excellent jewelry or makeup bags. I would even use it as a clutch to wear with fancier outfits depending on the pattern you choose.

Nicole first started making bags when she took a fashion class in high school. We think she's awesome at it! So we decided to team up with her and do a giveaway for one lucky reader!

The Giveaway

The bag Nicole is graciously allowing us to giveaway is this one:

So here are the requirements to win:

1.  Simply subscribe to the blog via your twitter, gmail, or yahoo account. If you don't have any these, you can like our Facebook page. Everything you need for that is to the right of this blog.
2. Comment on this post with your NAME and EMAIL. We have to have your email. 

That's it! We will then use a random number generator to see which comment wins!

The deadline for this is until Wednesday October 26. So register yourself to win ASAP!

If you don't win, don't despair! Remember, Nicole has a plethora of bags available on her etsy account. Just click 

Nicole's account. 

Good luck and happy shopping!

-Hera and Naz