Polka-Dots and Stripes?

I love this whole trend going on right now that is about mixing up patterns and textures, however I find myself wondering if it is easier said than done. I have studied the texts (Glamour, Elle, InStyle, etc...) like a good student, but I am still unsure as to how its done.  I have a skirt and top that I really like separately, and according to "fashion experts" they should work together fabulously..... but I am simply not convinced... what do you think?

(skirt is from Anne Taylor Loft $49, top is from Old Navy $15 (on sale))

Wading Your Way Through The Dating Pool

I would like to start off by saying that I am by no means the perfect girlfriend (if you don't believe me ask Ryan, he will be more than happy to tell you!).  I am, however, the best girlfriend that I know how to be. While I'm only beginning on my journey towards being a couples counselor/sex therapist, I have a few pieces of information that I feel is quite useful when navigating through this crazy thing called dating.  I have a few friends, who will remain anonymous, who have the most impossible time finding/keeping a guy.  These are smart, gorgeous and witty women, women that most men would pine over, so why are they having so much difficulty.  After much thought, and interrogation, I have come to the conclusion that they are so busy looking for "Mr. Perfect" that they look over "Mr. Damn-Near-Perfect" when he comes knocking on their door.  I hate to break it to you, but perfect is ideal, meaning that it is a standard that is purposely impossible to achieve all so that we can continue to strive towards self-betterment.  So here is the advice that I give to my girlfriends "give the poor guy a break"! When navigating through the dating pool I recommend employing the following tactic that I find to be incredibly helpful, I like to call it "Yes, No, Maybe".  Compile a list of 5 things that your ideal mate must have/be, 5 things that they must not have/be, and the rest of your wants go in a "wish list" of sorts.  So for me, my "Yes, No, Maybe" would look a little bit like this:


YES
1. Intelligent
2.  Kind
3. Funny
4. Motivated
5. Considerate
..... these are 5 things that I cannot live without in a partner


NO
1. Drug User (of any sort, legal and illegal)
2. Narrow-minded
3. Self-Righteous 
4. Lies
5. Not Supportive
...... these are 5 things that would be deal breakers for me, even if the man was George Clooney (RAWRRRR)


These "YES" and "NO" lists help you to qualify your potential partner.  If they do not have all of your "YES"s or they have even one of your"NO"s, WALK AWAY.  So often I find people trying to change someone, and let me tell you something, that is a wasted effort.  Who we are at our core is pretty much wholly formed around age 8, so unless you are dating an 8 year-old (which mind you is illegal) good luck! The rest of the qualities that you would like, but do not necessarily have to have, fall into your "MAYBE" category. Although these qualities are not must haves, your partner should have the majority of them, shoot for 80%ish.... Your "MAYBE" list can be as long as you like, but here are a few of mine:


MAYBE
1. Family-oriented
2. Established
3. Successful
4. Spontaneous
5. Likes animals
6. Cooks (since I don't)
7.  Relaxed
8.  Tall(er) than me 
9. Assertive
10. Man who can be a man (so sexy)
.... these are all things that I would really like to have in a partner, but they are not necessarily things that would be deal-breakers for me.  


Is this making sense?


If I have said it once, I have said it a million times, but here we go again.... LIFE IS ALL ABOUT PERSPECTIVE.  By mapping out a list like the one above, you are allowing yourself to gain perspective into what really matters in a partner, which allows you to seek out those qualities.  This also allows you to give someone a boot in the ass as soon as you see they do not have what you are looking for.  This strategy prevents lost time and broken hearts, and is something that I wish I had known about a few boyfriends ago (you know who I am talking about).  So, what do you think, has something like this worked for you? 

Que Sera, Sera

Today in my practicum class we were talking about stress as it relates to our clients and a question was posed to us: How do we manage stress.  Personally, I think I do a good job of taking everything in stride, but always seem to find my calmness being perceived as "not caring" which couldn't be further from the truth.  In fact I do care, I care a whole hell of a lot.  However, the difference between myself and a lot of other people is that I know what is worth stressing about and what is not. I feel that we need to give our energy to things that truly deserve it, things that matter in the long run, not these piddly every day tasks that everyone seems to get so caught up in. Anyways, one of my classmates who shares my opinion drew an illustration on the board that I felt did a damn good job of explaining this stance....

Got a problem? Nope! Good for you, relax!

Got a problem? Yup! Can you fix it? Nope! The problem is out of your hands, relax!

Got a problem? Yup! Can you fix it? Yup! Good for you, problem solved, relax!

The moral of this story is to relax, or as my grandma would say "Que Sera, Sera" which means whatever will be, will be. We need to be able to change what we can, all the while remaining at peace with the fact that some things are simply out of our control. If I have learned one thing after everything that I have been through it is this:

Life is all about perspective, we can have everything we want, as long as we learn to want what we already have. 

Be loving. Be kind. Be Grateful. We are all blessed beyond belief.

Doris Day singing "Que Sera, Sera" 

What Would You Do With $5,000?

I simply do not understand why people on What Not To Wear complain about having to go shopping.  If someone came up to me and said "Hey, Quinn! Here is $5,000 to go shopping and get yourself a brand new wardrobe" I would think that I had died and gone to heaven.  This has gotten me thinking about items that I would like to have, but cannot necessarily afford on my broke-as-hell-grad-student budget.  As someone who is a little clothes/shoes/purse obsessed, I die for so many designer duds, but often I have to make due with finding their thriftier counterparts.  I prefer to skimp on "trendy" items (sequined dresses, studded heels, etc...) and choose to splurge on staples like a classic bag (LV, Chanel, Kate Spade, etc...) and a great pair of Italian leather riding boots.  I think that it is because of my shopping mantra that I am able to put together a ton of great "Designer Inspired" looks for a helluva lot less but still look like one rich bitch. But back to what I was talking about before I got sidetracked, what would I buy if I had an extra $5,000 that had to be spent on wardrobe? I would want to buy things that are classic and chic, things that are in style now and will be in style 20 years from now. Here are a few things that come to mind....

First thing is first, I have been yearning and pining for this Louis Vuitton "Delightful Monogram PM" but with a price tag of $890 I definitely cannot afford it right now.... or ever probably

The second thing I would buy would have to be these Tory Burch "Reva" ballet flats in a few different colors. With a price tag ranging from $195 upwards I would get these in 2 colors: "Tumbled Leather Bleach", "Black w/ Gold Decal"..... I would also buy a pair of "Amy" pumps for $250

So let's check in with how we are doing with our cash money$

$5,000- 890= $4,100-642= $3,458 left!!!!

I would also buy a Burberry "Giant Check Cashmere" scarf in "Camel" for $275

M Missoni "Window Pane Stripe Coat" for $795... So.Damn.Chic.

Let's see, we have spent $2,612 so we haveeee $2,388, hooray!


 M Missoni "Zigzag Stripe Tank Dress" ( $695) is a classic.  No doubt that it will be forever in style!

Next up is something that I have been searching for for quite a while, but currently I cannot find anyone who is selling them.  I would die and die again if I got my hands on a pair of Gucci Bamboo Ballerina flats for around $450

 I would also buy a few great pairs of jeans, right now I am loving Seven's "Roxanne Skinny Rise" jeans ($155) 

(granted my ass is 10x this big)

Alright, I have $1088 left and I can think of nothing I would rather spend this money on than a gorgeous piece of jewelry... or two. I am a huge fan of David Yurman, I feel that these pieces are so chic and so timeless, and the two-tone metal makes them super easy to wear! Loving these "Blue Topaz Albion" earrings for $575

I would also go ahead and get these Elsa Peretti "Diamonds by the Yard" earrings for $485

Alrighty, so I have purchased:

 1 Louis Vuitton "Delightful Monogram PM" purse for $890

 2 pairs of earrings (1 pair of David Yurman and 1 pair of Tiffany and Co) for $575 and $485 respectively

4 pairs of shoes (3 pairs of Tory Burch and 1 pair of Gucci) for $195, $195, $250 and $450 respectively

 1 pair of Seven jeans for $155

 1 M Missoni jacket for $795

 1 Burberry scarf for $275 

1 M Missoni dress for $695

 This makes for a grand total of $4,960 which leaves me with $40 in my pocket.  This extra cash is going to go towards lunch, because I don't know about you, but shopping until you drop leaves you utterly famished! 

What do you think about what I got? What would YOU buy if the opportunity presented itself? Let me know what you think!!

New Blog Design

Like the new blog? It is all from The Cutest Blog On The Block! This site offers tons of cute backgrounds, banners, buttons and accessories and best of all they are FREE! Here are two banners I made using their template, so cute and so easy!

10 Reasons I Am Loving Fall

10 reasons that  I am L-O-V-I-N-G Fall

10. Obnoxiously over-sized hair pieces 

9. Blazin' hot blazers

8. Fun, colorful, and eclectic scarfs blowin' in the air

Love this Missoni scarf

7. Dark lipstick is o-so-sexy

Doesn't Emma Watson look beyondddd

6.Chunky sweaters to hide chunky areas...and arses

J Crew

5. Bustin' out my riding boots

Love my boots! @ Urban Outfitters

4. Cardi Party ....cardigans that is

Tory Burch... btw, played field hockey with this girl in high school!

3. Leggings, jeggins, and tights are back on track

2. Dark nail polish is deemed acceptable

OPIs "Midnight in Moscow" my all time favorite color!

and the #1 resaon that I am loving fall iiiiiiiiiiiissssssss (drumroll)....

1. ROCKIN' MY VINTAGE CHANEL!!!!!

Thanks Uncle Terry!

So, what do YOU think? What are you loving about fall?

Polish Addicts Anonymous a.k.a. PAA

You know what, I'm just going to go ahead and say it.... I am an addict. I have an addiction.  This addiction keeps me awake at night because I simply cannot stop thinking about it.  This addiction forces me out of bed at obnoxious hours due to intense cravings.  This addiction has me meeting with my dealer tri-weekly so that I can get my next fix.  This addiction has cost me a lot of time and money, but it has made me insanely happy.  No one understands my fixation and to be honest, I really do not care.  Can you guess what I am talking about? NAILPOLISH! No, seriously, I am talking about nail polish.  Somehow I always find myself at Target or Walgreens now that they have started to sell Essie and OPI.  Today I picked up this little gem, called "Sew Psyched" and it is fabulous! I plan on doing the color as is, as well as trying it out with a matte polish to see how it would look like that as well!

Thanks Nailstah!

Lovely Labor Day Day-Date

We have had the most amazing weather here in KC, so Ryan and I decided to make the most of it and take Gus to the park and have a little pic-in-ic (in Yogi the Bear voice).  Overall, just a relaxing day laying out, eating Mr. Goodcents and drinking beer.... o, and chasing Gus when he tried to make a break for it! Hope everyone is having a wonderful Labor Day weekend/Monday!