What Would Claire Wear... to Homecoming**

I just attended my final homecoming dance at my school, and let me tell ya... at St Thomas More Catholic High School the girls do not wear gaudy typical homecoming attire. This is like a cocktail style event. I have seen some unbelievably priced dresses and some from Forever 21. However, I must say everyone really pulled through this year. I saw some superb style. This year I wanted to go for understated glam, take a look at my attempt. 

 

Dress- Romantic off the shoulder (and BLACK:]) Very comfortable and no one had a dress like it. I got this dress from Nasty Gal.

Shoes-  I wore THE shoes. The shoes that I wear everywhere. They are my safety net. I loveeee them. Very tall and verrrrry uncomfortable. Worth it? I think yes. 

Jewelry- I am not a huge jewelry person but I must say, my earrings really completed the look. They added just a hint of sparkle to a relatively plain outfit. I also had a vintage gold clutch that was my grandmothers.

Hair & Makeup- I did my hair loose and wavy, half up half down. It dressed up the outfit in the slightest sense. I did my own makeup, which was sort of plain. I had on various sparkly eye shadows with black cat- eyeliner. The best part of my makeup in my opinion was my lip stain. It was a perfect wine color. I would highly recommend investing in it. I got it in "wine to five". 

 

I had a wonderful time dressing up for my homecoming and I loved loved loved seeing everyone's outfits, the good, the fab, and the gaudy.

xoxo 

*Precious Pumpkin Ideas*

I love Halloween. Period.
It is one of my favorite holidays. The best part for me is carving (or decorating) pumpkins.  Here are few modern ideas for a classic Halloween activity!

Melting crayons over the top of a pumpkin as seen on The Swell Life

Put a lace stocking over it (as seen by Lauren Conrad)

Personalized pumpkins like BHG does

Make a cutesie little "BOO" pumpkin as seen on BHG

and my personal favorite that I will be doing this Halloween...

GLITTER PUMPKINS<3 HGTV has the cutest ideas! 

Hope this inspires you to make fabulous pumpkins! I cannot wait to decorate mine.

xoxo

Autumn Agenda

I don't know if you guys could be remotely as excited as I am about the weather changing. I love (LOVE LOVE) cool weather. The crisp air of Fall is orgasmic to me. Coming with Autumn are many fun activities to try out. My agenda for October:

• Go to a haunted house 
• There is bound to be a haunted house in your community. I am the person who yells profanities at the people in the house... I can't help it, in my mind the monsters will leave me alone when all 4'11 of me tells them rot in hell. 

• Make caramel apples
• Extra points if you picked the apples yourself (another fun activity that south Louisiana cannot provide). Here is a great recipe! 

• Go to the pumpkin patch
• Pumpkins are the signature fall staple. I love to pick my very own little veggie from the local pumpkin patch. The best is carving/decorating them. Like how much more festive can one get? I also like to roast the pumpkin seeds. Just simply wash them off, salt them, and stick them in the oven until golden.  

• Have a Hocus Pocus party 
• Not everyone will admit to it but that is by FAR the best Halloween movie. I mean come on, Sarah Jessica Parker pre Sex and the City people!! To make your party that much better, wear Halloween attire and eat spooky foods!
• Attire wise could either be a full on costume or just your festive Halloween panties (mine say "Boo-ty" ;]
• Lauren Conrad has tons of cute Halloween food ideas on her website 

•  Wear sweaters... tons and tons of sweaters.

xoxo

Gift Guide

Throughout my group of friends I am known as a phenomenal gift giver. It really is a talent of mine. Although sometimes it can seriously be a struggle of mine to find the perfect something. I have made a little guide on gift giving based on my friends personalities. The list includes a book, a candle, and a miscellaneous gift. Hope it helps!

• The Bestfriend
• Best friends deserve more heartfelt gifts. They would be happy with just about anything (but know you have something awesome up your sleeve). They are your sweet companion in life and their gifts should reflect your gratitude towards them.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cupcakes-and-cashmere-emily-schuman/1112147357?ean=9781419702105

http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/productdetail.jsp?navAction=jump&id=28520153&color=060&cm_mmc=Google-_-PLA-_-US+-+Generic+-+PLAs-_-Brand+-+Illume&device=c&network=g&matchtype=&utm_medium=ppc&gclid=CP3evYPAlroCFTFo7AodKkgAIQ

http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=29388014&parentid=SEARCH+RESULTS&color=001

 **Concert tickets, a surprise weekend trip, and a personalized phone case (can be made at Shutterfly) would also be an awesome gift for a best friend.

• The Fashionista  
•  We all have that friend who is right on cue with literally everything she wears. It can be hard to find something as glam as they are but I have found a few things that would meet the expectations of Rachel Zoe. Try to stick with blacks, golds, and nude tones for this friend. These colors are always in style.  

http://www.shopbop.com/style-book-fashionable-inspirations-books/vp/v=1/845524441917289.htm?folderID=2534374302182580&fm=other-shopbysize-viewall&colorId=13153

http://www.tylercandlestore.com/high-maintenance.html

http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=23476617&parentid=W_APP_BRAS

**This friend enjoys the finer details in things so pretty fabrics are also good gifts, as well as jewelry (depending on the friends taste), and sweaters.

• The Sporty Gal
• Total opposite of me,it was hard to establish at first what this friend may want. But workout clothes can be chic too! Try to find things with beachy scents and blue tones. 

 It can be difficult to find a fun book for a sporty friend but a great alternative to that would be a subscription to a fitness magazine, my suggestion would be "Women's Fitness"

http://www.yankeecandle.com/detail/beach-walk/1129791

http://store.nike.com/us/en_us/pd/nike-premiere-maria-tennis-tank-top/pid-775505/pgid-775504

**Athletic clothes and accessories are a great gift for this friend.

• The Old Soul
• This friend is convinced she is born in the wrong era. She enjoys pastel color palettes,  can also be a bit quirky and enjoys the little things in life, like Zooey Deschanel. 

http://www.modcloth.com/shop/books/raising-unicorns

https://www.davlinswoods.com/product.php?productid=21996&cat=345&page=1

http://www.interstatemusic.com/896415-She-And-Him-Volume-3-Vinyl-673855047416.aspx?sku=LPS673855047416&source=Google+Base_CASCIO&source=Google+Base_Cascio&utm_source=google&utm_medium=product&utm_campaign=gbase&gclid=CLf-j9HblroCFRPl7AodbhUAyQ#

**Old fashion things like Vinyl (as seen above) and lace attire are great gifts. She also loves incense and vintage furniture.

• The Classy Chick 
• This girl is the modern day Audrey. She is a class act and finding gifts for her can be quite the task. Now a days it is difficult to find things worthy of a doll like her. Black, white, and reds are great color palettes and a strong perfumed scent would be good for her as well.  

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-to-be-lovely-melissa-hellstern/1100311347?ean=9780525948230

http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/product/home-candle/993090.jsp?cm_sp=Fluid-_-993090-_-Regular_48

http://www.chanel.com/en_US/fragrance-beauty/Makeup-Lipstick-ROUGE-ALLURE-130969

**She enjoys the finer things in life, she is about quality not quantity. So splurge on one gift instead of buying a lot of cheap ones.

• The Party Girl  
• The life of the party, always surprising me with her wit and spontaneous spirit!  She is totally a fan of bright colors and spicy scents. 

This friend would appreciate a magazine subscription compared to a lifestyle book. 
I would get her a years subscription to Cosmopolitan magazine. 
Always a good read ;]

http://www.pier1.com/Sugared-Cinnamon-Sizzlewick%E2%84%A2-Candle/2695230,default,pd.html?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=PLA&utm_campaign=google_pla&utm_content=2695230&s_cid=pla0000001&kpid=2695230

http://www.urbandecay.com/urban-decay/eye-makeup/smoked-eyeshadow-palette/333.html

**A fun shot glass, pretty jewelry, and bright colored clothing would also make an awesome gift for this party girl.


Hope my gift guide inspires you for all of the fabulous gifts you will be giving for all of your fabulous friends. Whether it is Christmas, Birthdays, or a "just because" gift, these presents will be a hit! Happy shopping, much love.

xoxo

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year*

No no, not Christmas (although I am a sucker for the Xmas season)... it is the aftermath of the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. After the week of lavish fashions has passed, seeing all of the pictures being posted and albums being uploaded to the website, take a look (http://www.mbfashionweek.com/photos_and_videos), I feel a sense of inspiration when it comes to fashion. Take a peek at a few of my favorites.

Joanna Mastroianni

Herve Leger

Zimmerman

Rachel Zoe

Michael Kors **My absolute favorite 

I cannot wait to start basing my spring '14 wardrobe off of these fabulous pieces. Black will be a major trend, which I am obviously excited about. Go check out Rachel Zoe's and Michael Kors' collection, those were the two that really got me. Have fun stalking the styles!

xoxo