My Top 10 Things of 2012

10. Miley Cyrus
- Hannah Montana.. uh, er... I mean Miley has had quite the year. And by quite the year I mean she got the haircut that stopped the nation and became engaged to the finest hunk of man candy out there, Liam Hemsworth. Although her haircut has had many objections, her fiance has been protested by no one.. ever.

9. Lace
- Although lace has been out there forever, I love it more and more with age. It is so elegant, so vintage. Lace is earning more of my devotion by the second.

8. My Polaroid Camera
- I j'adore my Polaroid. No one can look ugly through her lens. It is truly a miracle. Although it can be quite pricey, costing about a dollar per picture, it is totally worth it. The unique look they provide for my room is unreplicable.

7. Cut Outs
- Not the trashy skin cutouts, the cut outs underlined with things like mesh and lace. They give the slightest little tease of skin. My favorite shirt is a simple long sleeved black t, accented with mesh underlined cutouts up from the top of the shoulder to the wrist. An unexpected hint of sass.

6. My Dad 
- I have the greatest dad in the history of great dads. He is easily one of the kindest people to grace this planet. Me and my daddy have always been very close but we particularly became closer this year, with my broken back incident, my brother leaving, and my moms illness. He truly is the best.

5. Florence + the Machine
- In late September I went to the Florence + the Machine concert in Houston. At first I was like "...what is this." but then I became totally enthralled with her. Florence's voice is stunning, her dress was stunning, and her set was stunning. It was amazing, I even ended up on someones shoulders.

4. Black
- Black has always been my color, but now I find myself wearing black on black and looking chic, not goth. If I could wear black everywhere I seriously think I would. Its my color, so I embrace it.

3. Coffee
- Coffee= life. Without coffee I would most likely have no personality.

2. Ryan Gosling
- <3 I have butterflies in my tummy just thinking about Ryan. In case The Notebook doesn't make you swoon, I would highly recommend watching Crazy Stupid Love. His abs... His face... ugh I'm dying.

1. Gossip Girl
- Caroline told me for years that I needed to watch GG so one long weekend off of school I decided to give it a shot. Two seasons were watching in a matter of three days. My life was changed. Blair has seriously changed my wardrobe perception. Serena taught me how to pick up guys (still working on that one). Chuck taught me how to fall madly, deeply in love with TV show character. The perfect evening in my definition is to take a hot bath, put on comfy pj's, make some hot tea, and lay in my comfy bed watching Gossip Girl. It's seriously my therapy.

xoxo

my brother

Well, my brother is my hero. He is the must humble and loving person I know. Recently he left to join the US Air Force. This is the first time in my seventeen years that we have been apart. As proud as I am of him, I can be very selfish and think, "Why now? Don't leave me when I need you most". Then I make myself snap out of it because he is doing something that is bigger than my selfish needs and bigger than the fact that I miss him more and more every day. He is serving our country and I do not think I could be any happier to call myself his sister. Some people are not as close to their siblings as I am to mine, but please do not take them for granted. I only get to talk to him once a week for about 3 minutes, but I look forward to his call. I can hardly wait to be reunited with him. He is my rock and one of my best friends, and it took for him to leave for me to finally realize that. Don't miss out on every opportunity you have to spend with your brothers or sisters because you will most certainly miss them the most when you can't have them.

xoxo

IM BAAAACK

Hello beauties! I know you all have suffered from severe anxiety due to the lack of posts I've been providing but no need to fret, I am back and it's for good. I had to take a minor break from providing my bows&bliss junkies their daily dose of Claire due to midterms <just typing that word makes me want to vomit a little.

So for all you people having withdrawals... I thought I would kick things off with a "What Would Claire Wear?"! The inevitable question to be answered is... What would Claire wear to a dirty santa party? So for all of you wondering, This is exactly what I would wear. In fact I DID wear it and I looked fabulous:

Top: I was having a shirt crisis that evening. So much clothes yet nothing to wear... always the problem. So I ended up borrowing this little number from Liz. Very sassy and feminine. It brightens up a relatively dark outfit.

Bottoms: I borrowed Caroline's black high waisted shorts (I'm guilty of borrowing a lot). I paired them with my FAVORITE tights. They are sheer black and have black bow accents on them. They have a few rips and holes but I think it gives them character. When doubting the choice of my bottoms and contemplated putting on my high waisted black jeans Elizabeth talked me out of it saying "jeans are common, the tights are just a little something extra". That my friends, is the truth.

Shoes: I wore some taupe ankle booties. They had just a little heel on them. Maybe 3 inches. But they really added something to the outfit.

Hair & Makeup: Confession... I cheered at a basketball game before the party and didn't even touch my hair after. But I really do think the high pony worked for this emsemble. My makeup was very me. I wore everything very subtle. I used my favorite color in the Naked 2 palette, it's called "Bootycall" (ha). I did a quick little sweep of black liquid eyeliner and then I brought in the big guns. The best lipstick I have every purchased. It is by Revlon and the color is "Plum Perfect". The shade is best for people with light skin and dark features, like myself.


I hope my outfit scheme helped someone out this holiday season!
Remember:
keep the Christ in Christmas
keep the season merry
& keep santa dirty
xoxo

Stress

You guys.. sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. I have been BEYOND stressed, like loosing my hair stressed. But over the X-mas break I will be sure to fill you guys in on my thoughts on all of the crazy things going on in the world... Kate Middletons pregnancy, my brother leaving for the Air Force, the VS fashion show! Ugh I have missed out on so much! But don't fret, I will return soon! Sorry for the lack of Claire in your life... xoxo

'Tis the Season

Merry Christmas yall!

In honor of the first day of December I'm going to list my favorite things about the holidays. I could seriously write about this for days but I have decided to save you all the boredom and just narrow it down to my top five.

5. Holiday coffees at Starbucks. The BEST flavor this season is easily the caramel brulee latte. Its amazing. Not only is it decadent and totally awesome, they put little sugars in it like the ones that are caramelized on the top of creme brulee. mmmmm. One of the best parts is the card they give you when you buy a holiday coffee. They put a sticker on it each time you buy one, once you get five stickers you get a free coffee!!!

4. Presents. Not to be spoiled or stuck up but I love receiving presents. I have always made a little Christmas list of items I want, including a URL to it and the size/color needed. My extended family makes fun of me behind my back about it (even though I can obviously hear them). But I mean come on... if your going to get me a gift at least get me something I would want. However, presents work both ways. You have to give as well. I love giving gifts, and shopping for them. Getting someone something you know they will love is probably one of the best feelings ever.

3. Dirty Santa parties are always invigorating. I really enjoy stealing a good gift, clearly dubbing me the dirtiest of them all (HA). Most of the girls in my grade have a dirty Santa every year. We get dressed really over the top and cute, then go to someones house and eat a little dinner, then unleash the dirty gals when the games begin! Always so fun and always so festive.

2. Christmas Music... some people find it annoying. But those people are the Scrooges of our generation. I find myself singing Christmas tunes in the ides of July. They are just so darn catchy. A few of my personal favorites are "Santa Baby", "O Holy Night", and "The First Noel".

1. 25 Days of Christmas on ABC Family. This is probably the greatest thing ever. Since I was a little tot my family has watched every single night of the 25 days. Im now seventeen and my brother is twenty, yet we still gather in my living room with my parents, our Christmas tree lit, and a fire roaring in the fireplace, and watch the Christmas classics. My favorites have to be Santa Claus is Coming to Town, The Grinch, and Holiday in Candcuffs.

So have a fabulous holidays dolls! Xoxo