Arts and Crafts

Happy Monday, guys! It's snowing already here in Northwest Arkansas this morning, so I can only imagine what's to come this afternoon. According to our local news, we're expected to receive up to 8 inches by 5:00 p.m. Ya know, my cute high heels are getting really tired of sitting in my closet...can't spring just get here already?!

Ok, well hopefully the following items will help put us all in the mood for warmer weather. Elle Decor is featuring a spread in their March 2010 issue about the Arts and Crafts trend in fashion/home decor/lifestyle items.

These aren't your popsicle stick photo frames from summer camp, though. This trend takes arts and crafts to a high-fashion level. In the words of Burger King, "I'm loving it."

Doesn't this Prada frock just make you want to grab a glue gun and a Bedazzler? Yeah, me neither. But it does make me want to scour the web for a great knock-off of this cute little dress!

Printed silk viscose dress by Prada



As usual, our friends over at LuLu's have some terrific options for this trend. So wearable and so utterly affordable! Oh, and don't forget that all Blonde Ambitioners get 15% off everything from LuLu's this month! Just type in promo code BLONDE at checkout!!


Wonderful World dress by LuLu's




Apple of My Eye dress by LuLu's




I personally am loving the cool use of textiles and prints that home decor stores like Wild & Wolf, Target and Osburne & Little are using.

Honeysuckle blend linen tablecloth by Osburne & Little; Annie thermos by Wild & Wolf Teal peacock coffee cup by Target; Kennet alarm clock by Wild & Wolf



And natch, when we talk about Arts and Crafts, Urban Outfitters is one of the first stores that comes to mind. The dress, pillow and rug below are perfection.





Nettie Floral Dress by Urban Outfitters




Basket Weave round pillow by Urban Outfitters



Spin art rug by Urban Outfitters


So channel your inner Martha Stewart and get crafty! Er, um, just shop for crafty-looking things. Either way...



P.S.- I just had to show you guys my new shoes that I'm wearing today...they aren't the most comfortable things on Earth, but I do feel pretty cute wearing them ; ) Baker's for $30, ya'll!


P.P.S.- I'll have a new blog button up tomorrow morning, so be sure to grab it! Thanks Danielle!!




Photo credits: Elle Decor, Urban Outfitters, LuLu's

Show Us Your Life: Beauty Edition

Happy Friday, Blonde Ambitioners! It's snowing here in Northwest Arkansas, but my office is toasty warm. One of my co-workers and I are celebrating our last day in our current office, (we're moving to another part of the building), and our entire department has been partying hard, gorging ourselves on chips, queso, hot tortillas, guacomole, brownies and more ALL MORNING LONG. So good...

Today I'm taking part in Show Us Your Life over at Kelly's Korner and the topic is beauty!

I wanted to share with you guys about some of my personal favorite products for stayin' pretty : ) I'll be the first to admit, I'm a product junkie. In my opinion, a girl can never have too many beauty products in her arsenal.

Let's start with skin:

I love Cindy Crawford's entire Meaningful Beauty line. You've probably seen infomercials for this product line on TV and wondered if it really worked. Let me tell you...from the cleanser and moisterizer, to the anti-aging eye cream and clay mask, everything is miraculous.

I'm also a fan of Sephora's Face 30 line of eye make-up remover disques for washing away hard-to-remove waterproof mascara or eyeliner. It's gentle and totally safe for sensitive skin.

Next, a few of my make-up staples:

NARS makes the best blush on the planet, as I'm sure many of you know. My favorite colors are Amour (peachy pink) and Sin (berry with gold shimmer).

When it comes to lashes, I'm obsessed with Fiberwig mascara, a top-selling mascara in Japan that is now available in the States through Sephora. So what's so great about it? Fiberwig contains real microfibers that help to build your lashes to perfection with every swipe. It's totally smudge-proof and great for contact lense wearers like myself!

We all need a little pick-me-up in the mornings and sometimes, caffeine alone just won't cut it. Enter Smashbox High Definition Concealer. This soft, liquid formula masks dark circles and imperfections, like redness and blemishes. Best of all, it contains soft focus "pearls" that deflect light to minimize the appearance of fine lines. Not that we have those or anything, but...

Some of my favorite products for the body are:

Yves Saint Laurent's new Parisienne fragrance is positively heavenly. It's not too heavy, but the notes of blackberry, damask rose and sandalwood will linger on your skin all day.

For the shower, I like Sexy Little Things Noir Shower Cream from Victoria's Secret. It's a super rich, luxurious formula that won't dry out your skin and the smell is simply divine. You'll definitely feel a bit more sexy after using this product ; )

On my hair, I'm all about Aveda.

I'm not even gonna play, I wreak havoc on my hair. Between the highlights, flat-ironing, blow-drying and teasing, my hair takes a beating on a weekly basis. Aveda to the rescue! I use a combination of the Color Conserve shampoo, which keeps my color fresh between trips to the salon, and the Damage Remedy conditioner, which makes my hair oh-so-soft and shiny.

Finally, for nails I prefer the natural look.

I love Essie polishes, mainly because they don't chip easily and it only takes 1 or 2 coats to cover the nail completely.

My favorite colors, (or non-colors, I guess), are Limo-Scene and Allure.

As far as actual beauty routine goes, I keep it simple. I try to wash my face and moisterize every single night before I go to bed. There's nothing worse than the feeling of day-old mascara caked on your eyes in the morning.

Also, and this is super important, I make sure to go through my make-up bag every month and throw out old products. Make-up and skincare products age and expire just like anything else, so be sure to keep a mental list of what needs to be tossed.

Lastly, I always use a foundation brush versus a sponge or cosmetic wedge. Sponges soak up tons of icky bacteria, which can result in breakouts (yikes!) Be sure to wash your foundation brush at least once a week with a mild shampoo or soap to squelch any residing germs.

Got any winning beauty tips or make-up advice? Hop on over to Kelly's and play along!

Alright, I guess that about wraps it up. Have a great weekend and I'll be seeing you guys Monday!

Trend Watch Wednesday: Short Story

Hellooooooo there. So glad you stopped by for this, another smashing edition of Trend Watch Wednesday! For the record, I'm glad you stop by everyday...it makes this blonde feel all warm and snuggly to read your sweet and hilarious comments and emails : )

Now, I know it's not exactly balmy outside and I know that some of us are still dealing with the delights of winter weather phenomena like "freezing drizzle" and "freezing fog". But that doesn't mean that we Blonde Ambitioners can't prepare for warmer weather in advance.

So, instead of wanting to punch that hater Punxsutawney Phil in his cute, furry face, let's all just look at this additional 6 weeks of winter weather as extra time to score a fantabulous spring wardrobe.

....starting with shorts.

You might want to go ahead and cash in that gift card to your local fitness center A.S.A.P. because ladies, the shorts this spring are short.

But, ohhhhhhhh they make me excited!

My faves so far are these from Gap, which I found last night online. I'm loving how they created a really cool, rustic look with the suede ankle boots, too.

For dressier shorts, designer Vanessa Bruno has done it right. These two looks would be perfect for a fun night out with the girls or a date with your main squeeze.

Of course our friends at J.Crew never disappoint, either. Model Erin Wasson shows off some of the seasons best short-shorts for their Spring 2010 online catalog.

F.Y.I.-Gucci does shorts, too. These would probably cost 2 months of rent, but they're fab, nonetheless.

Remember the skort? Oh yeah, it's back, too. Hermes said so.

Alright so, more big news today! Get excited.

Remember that post a few weeks ago about Spool No. 72? Well, Spool's Creative Director will be doing an exclusive fashion Q & A for a blog posting with yours truly and, the best part, you guys can ask the questions!

Got any burning questions about spring trends? Need some advice on what accessories you should buy for this season or if last year's tote bag is still "in"? Submit your questions in the comments field below OR email me at askblondeambition@gmail.com. I'll be compiling questions submitted from you guys to give to Spool and we'll hear all the answers directly from the pros themselves in an exclusive post here!

So ask away! Can't wait to read your fashion questions!

Friday's Forecast:

It's all about beauty, ladies! We'll be participating in Show Us Your Life with Kelly's Korner and talking about our fave beauty products.

Two Spoons, Please

Good Morning and good graces! I wish I had a clever opening statement today, but my brain has maxed out all its creative thinking power on a new website for work. So you'll have to excuse my rough segue. OMG, has it been a good 24 hours though! I mean, I won the giveaway over at Juliana's blog, (yay for a new iPod!!), and Colleen from LuLu's just emailed me back about a little something for you guys. But more on that at the end of the post... ; )

This is definitely a departure from what I usually write about, but I'm a bit of a nerd when it comes to music and thought just one little music write-up wouldn't hurt. Don't worry, I'm not turning into a full-time music critic...I just call em' like I see em'.

Spoon, one of my fave little indie rock bands from Austin, Texas, recently released their 7th album Transference, in stores and on iTunes now. In my opinion, it's probably their best since 2002's Kill the Moonlight.

These guys have been around since, I dunno, like 1993. So they're not exactly new to the scene, just new to the mainstream scene, I guess. If you like bands such as Wilco, Band of Horses or Arctic Monkeys, you will probably enjoy Spoon, too.

And if you are a non-indie rock girl, fear not. Their lead singer is a total cutie patootie. So even if you don't want to listen to them, check out the band's funny, candid pics on their official website, here.

My favorite tracks:

"The Mystery Zone"- Catchy, quick and oh-so-appropriate if you're trying to power through the stack of papers on your desk. Really, try it.

"Written in Reverse"- You've seen this one on my "Now playing on my iPod" side thingy here on the blog for awhile, simply because this song doesn't get old. It's rough-yet-sugary pop music at its finest. Plus, I haven't heard anyone give a sexier "yell" in a song than lead singer Britt Daniel does in this one in a long, long time.

"Before Destruction"- Rolling Stone says, "It sounds at first like Daniel built the song with spare parts from old Badfinger and Radiohead records." Yeah. Exactly.

"I Saw the Light"- The lyrics are gold and keyboardist Eric Harvey shines ever-so-brightly in his solo parts.

"Got 'Nuffin"- Say the title a few times to yourself. Ga' head, it will make you smile. And with the crazy drums and vocals in this frenetic, caffeine-infused number, this might be your new Monday morning anthem.

Give these Texas boys some love, won't you?

Now, let's talk LuLu's!!

Ok, starting today through the end of February, all followers of A Blonde Ambition can get 15% off on EVERYTHING on LuLu's by entering the following code upon checkout: BLONDE

I heart LuLu's and I know all of you fashionistas will, too! I'm going right now to take advantage of the discount and I suggest you do, as well. A big, blonde and perfectly highlighted thank you to Colleen at LuLu's for hooking us up!

Yes, I'm Alive...and Tweeting!

Oh. Em. Gee. What a cold, nasty, almost-intolerable couple of days it has been. The blizzard did indeed arrive and, 6 inches of snow and freezing rain later, we are beginning to thaw out here in Northwest Arkansas.

Ok, first let's count our blessings:

-The power never went out. Which means that this princess still had access to her VH1 reality TV and hair dryer/flat iron during the snow storm. Whew.

-I'm 3 pounds thinner. No lie. I had NOTHING but Lucky Charms and Ramen noodles in my pantry, so I was rationing my food like it was the apocolypse. And yes Mom, I should've gone to the grocery store PRIOR to the storm. Live and learn, ladies. Live and learn.

-Because I had absolutely nothing better to do, I turned into a cleaning fool! My apartment is spotless, ya'll.

Now, let's turn into a hater for a moment and talk about what we didn't like about the blizzard experience:

-I rented Angels and Demons on Pay-Per-View, (the follow-up to the trainwreck that was The DaVinci Code.) Yes, I'm ashamed. Yeah, I paid money for that hot mess. Why did I rent a sequel to a movie that was so awful? Boredom will drive you to do crazy things, I guess.

-I wasn't able to blog, as the internet was at a standstill. Sad face, tear and sniffle.

-If you are eating, skip this: So everyone at my apartment decided to let their dogs do their business right by the stairs, since it was 20 below and no one wanted to walk the additional 10 feet to the designated doggie bathroom area, (wow, run-on sentence.) This was super-great and thoughtful of them, since last night I was carrying my shopping bags up the stairs and stepped in a little present left by my neighbor's Pomeranian. Thanksssssss....

But anywho, I am alive and have discovered that I have a talent for driving on ice and snow. Who knew?

Now, for some cool news.....I'm Tweeting! Thanks to the encouragement of my dear, sweet blog followers, (awww, that's ya'll!), I decided to jump on the Twitter bandwagon. I actually opened a Twitter account about 6 months ago, but just couldn't get into it. However, now that I have so many Tweet-savvy new friends, I'm game to give it another shot!

My URL is http://twitter.com/ablondeambition

ID is ablondeambition

Easy enough, right? Let me know if you Tweet and we'll hook up online. That sounds kind of risque, doesn't it? haha.

P.S.- I have MORE fantastic news that will be coming later today on...gasp...Twitter. And I'll throw it on here, too. Hint: LuLu's might be giving A Blonde Ambition followers a leeeeettle discount on purchases this week. Just saying, stay tuned : )