12 June 2010

Goddess of .. Flirty, Fun and Fabulous !

The three imperative "F"s :

Flirty.
Fun.
F*ckin' Fabulous !

That's my new motto, for the summer. Why you ask ?
Why not, I say. Because I can, Because I want to, Because I will be.


I'm tired of whining about stuff.
I'm tired of being depressed.
I'm tired of being tired.

It's time to be happy now.
I'm 25 years old.

I'm healthy.
I'm happy.
and I'm pretty.

Yay !*
*Fine, maybe I overdid it when I decided to have a coffee at 10pm. Oh well.

I have a new list up on Shoptopia :





That means following the three "F"s this summer, Bloggies.

If you're happily married : Flirt with your husband ! 
If you're self-conscious : Challenge yourself to act confident and have fun with it !

No more excuses, just be happy.
Just do it.
Yes, that means now :)

19 May 2010

Goddess of .. Twenty-five candles !

On Saturday, May 8th 2010 .. I celebrated my long awaited (and kinda dreaded) 25th birthday.

Well, to be exact, I celebrated my very last day & night being 24 years old because my birthday is May 9th. Seriously, I wasn't going to just slip into my mid-twenties without mourning my early twenties an itsy bit. Except that it wasn't so much a "mourning" as it was a "celebration of life".. but I digress.

I definitely had a wonderful time on saturday and
I hope that my birthday celebrations are a reflection of
how much fun the next year is going to be
because I had a BLAST!


First, there were drinks and appetizers at my place. Lolita, Violet and the whole bunch of my girlfriends from high school were there.. about 10 of us crazies in all.

Mandatory rosé wine or sparkling pink lemonade for everyone.. alongside some delicious appetizers (arancinis, veggies & dip, all kinds of cheese, puff pastry hors d'oeuvres, etc.).

I was showered with gifts from my extremely generous friends (gift cards, beauty products, scarf, purse, chocolates, etc.).

By the way, I'm totally aware that posting pictures with stickers on everyone's face is pretty much pointless but I worry about anonymity.. so here goes. I hope it still gives you a vague notion of how much fun we had :o)

I was super happy that all the girls from the high school bunch made it .. because 3 of them weren't suppose to come until later.. but finally, they were able to make it !!!

It made all the difference in the world, I was so glad to have all of them over at my house because we rarely do this and mostly meet up in restaurants or at the movies.


I also got to spend some really fun times with Lolita & Violet. They hadn't seen each other since .. sometime in February or March.. when we went out to one of our favorite bars and ended up crashing attending a stranger's birthday party around 3-4 am.

It was fun to see them kind of catch up and mingle.

Afterwards, we headed to my favorite thai restaurant around 9pm, for a late dinner. I ordered one of my usuals .. the sweet & sour chicken (tomatoes, onions, red and green bell peppers & pineapple) with sticky rice. Lolita enjoyed my other favorite, the sauteed chicken with peanut sauce & crispy spinach .. so delicious !


I bought a delicious cake (tasted like Ferrero Rocher or Bacci chocolates) that I brought to the restaurant and they served it to us as dessert.

The staff was so nice and funny .. they were really young and friendly to us, they even switched my candles on the cake when they brought it out and it read : Happy 52nd birthday Aritza !!

They put them back in the right order when they served me my piece of cake thought, thank God.

I'm having a hard enough time dealing with being 25 .. there's no way I want to skip to 52 right away.

Once we were done with dinner, I said goodbye to my highschool friends .. who are not at all the type to go out to bars .. and Violet, Lolita & Myself headed to our home (the bar that Violet & I often go to on thursday nights). We've developped a sort of customer-friendship with the bartenders there .. so they were happy we stopped by for my birthday. I was offered a complimentary glass of bubbly from one bartender and another one offered us a celebratory round of shots (Jack Daniels topped with a slice of orange, the usual). All in all, a very good time !

We then met up with Ari and his friends, Frantz and David, at another bar nearby.

Violet, Lolita, Myself, Ari, Frantz and David had a really really fun time and all of them made it a birthday that I'll never forget. I had met Frantz before (super funny and super friendly guy) and I had heard a little bit about David (funny and sarcastic, self-proclaimed asshole) before through Lolita.

At the bar, David proceeded to yell at the barman to get me free shots for my birthday .. it was super rude and I thought he was a real asshole.. but it worked and I think he actually knew the barman or became friends with him afterwards .. so no real harm done there. Dr.Frantz spoon-fed me Jack Daniels & Coke as a cure to aging.. and it was hilarious.

Frantz, David and I talked and joked all night long and it was really cool.

Anywowzer, that's it my lovelies. Oh and Frantz wrote his phone number on a coaster and slipped it in my purse.. lol, I really cracked up when I got home and saw this. I sent him a little text message to thank him for the great evening and I added him on facebook. Such great people, I've really been blessed lately .. I've met such funny people, it's wonderful !

That was my birthday night, bloggies !


It certainly lived up to my standards of fun :o)
and I hope it lived up to your standards of an interesting blog post !!

15 May 2010

Goddess of .. The Mod Market Giveaway Winner !

I am preparing a long and detailed post about the celebrations that took place last saturday for my 25th birthday .. but before hittin' publish on that one, I want to announce the VERY LUCKY winner of the final (for this year) B'day Giveaway !


One reader will get this beautiful
Cream frayed rosette headband with pearl center
from my wonderfully generous sponsor : The Mod Market 
.. in the mail, very very soon !


And that The Mod Market winner is:



Congrats to the adorable
Siovhan The Siovhan Show !

Congrats girly ! This cream headband will look great in your gorgeous blond locks :o)
Send me an email with your home address and The Mod Market will send you your lovely prize very soon !

Thank you all for participating in My 25th Birthday giveaways !
I hope you liked the items that I featured here :o)


P.S. To my four lucky winners (Summer, Non Sequitur Chica, Sassy Chica & Siovhan) .. CONGRATS !

Oh ! And I just want to throw it out there, I am NOT receiving ANY kind of compensation for doing these giveaways. I support The Mod Market's etsy store simply and fully because I love every one of their items and I asked them to do a giveaway with me as a "Thank you" to my loyal followers.

7 May 2010

Goddess of .. B'day Giveaway #4 - The Mod Market !

::: THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED :::

Hey again bloggies ! The birthday weekend celebrations are about to begin but before I drop off the face of the blogosphere for a few days, I've got one last birthday giveaway for you :o) 

Yesterday, I revealed the winner of last week's NuvoNova gift. The winner will receive their choice of the seven necklaces offered , congrats !! Big thanks to Clara of NuvoNova for the wonderful giveaway :o)


.........................................................................................................

And now on to this week's giveaway :



The Mod Market is a brand-new Oregon based Etsy store, operated by the lovely Becca since April 2010. The Mod Market specializes in making rosette headbands for girls and women. If you remember correctly, I recently wrote a post about "Rosette" fashion for spring 2010, so I thought The Mod Market would make for a very fitting sponsor ! This Etsy store also sells cute crochet hats, sassy necklaces, stylish hairclips & belts .. all Rosette inspired :o) which makes me really really happy !

Let me share some of my favorite items with you :

I'd like my rosettes with a side of pearls, please ..

A gorgeous and trendy way to dress up a simple outfit ..


Flower headbands & little girls go together like peanut butter & jelly ..


The lucky winner will receive this beautiful rosette headband :



I love this headband so so SO much. To the future winner, I say : I am jealous !!

This cream colored headband is very versatile because of its color
and also, it is on a detachable clip, so it can be worn without the headband.

Fits most adults and children :o)

.........................................................................................................

Giveaway Rules
**Open to followers worldwide**

To enter this giveaway :
  1. Follow my blog (through Google Friend Connect)
  2. Visit The Mod Market's Etsy store and Tell me which item is your favorite !

For additional entries :

- Follow me on Twitter (1 extra entry)
- Be my friend on Facebook (1 extra entry)
- Blog / Twitter about the Mod Market giveaway (2 extra entries)
- Buy an item from The Mod Market's Etsy store (5 extra entries)

That's a total of 10 possible chances to win, so get on it.. Stat !

The giveaway is opened from Friday, May 7th 2010 to Thursday, May 13th 2010.
The winner will be announced next Friday, May 14th 2010.

Good luck, Bloggies !


P.S. Please note that I am not receiving ANY kind of compensation for doing this giveaway. I support The Mod Market's etsy store simply because I love their items and I asked for them to do a giveaway as a "Thank you" to my loyal followers.

6 May 2010

Goddess of .. NuvoNova Giveaway Winner !


Once again, a little late because of trouble with my laptop  .. but I've got a NuvoNova giveaway winner for you :o) There's also another giveaway coming up, the last one of the birthday giveaways .. as my birthday is this sunday. I will return to posting my regular rants & raves sometime next week .. I miss posting about regular stuff. I hope you enjoyed the giveaways and I loved giving back to you .. as you've given so much to me with your constant support !


The lucky winner of the NuvoNova necklace is :


Congrats to the wonderful
Sassy Chica Sassy Chica - the blog !


Congrats girl ! The mini-key necklace & pouch you wanted are yours :o)
Send me an email with your home address and NuvoNova will send you your lovely prize very soon !

Thank you all for participating !

Oh ! And I just want to throw it out there, I am NOT receiving ANY kind of compensation for doing these giveaways. I support NuvoNova's etsy store simply and fully because I love every one of her items and I asked her to do a giveaway with me as a "Thank you" to my loyal followers.

Have a great week, bloggies !

I will be posting another wonderful giveaway later..
.. so come back and enter for your chance to win :)

29 April 2010

Goddess of.. Haute Couture!

Sunday was the best day of my weekend! Mom and I drove out of town to go see the museum exhibit on The Golden Age of Couture : Paris & London - 1947 to 1957.

The museum had over 215 pieces (most if not all came where shipped in from the Victoria & Albert museum in London) of "Haute Couture" fashion from the late '40s & '50s and they did not disappoint. It's no secret that I have a very profound interest in fashion so this exhibit was really wonderful for me.

The expression "golden age of couture" was coined by Dior and mainly refers to the post-WW2 period when the "new look" was created in reaction to the deprivation & sacrifices brought on by World War 2. The "new look" term came from Carmel Snow, editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar magazine, to describe this figure marked by a very thin waist & round and fleshy shoulders. In other words, the "new look" got rid of clothes that hid the female form.

Allow me to share some of the couture beauties that were on display.

Christian Dior
"Zémire" evening ensemble
fall / winter collection
1954-1955

Christian Dior
"Bar" suit and hat
About 1955

Christian Dior
"Cygne Noir" (Black swan) evening dress
1949

Cristóbal Balenciaga
"Barrel" suit
1951

Cristóbal Balenciaga
Evening dress (The bow is Dior inspired)
About 1955

Balmain
Dress and petticoat
About 1950

Balmain
Evening dress
About 1950

Jean Dessès
Evening dress
About 1953

Jean Dessès
Evening dress
1948

Jean Dessès
Evening dress
1951
 
There were many more but this is just a looksie for you, bloggies.

Happy thirst-day, bloggies !



** Don't forget to enter the NuvoNova jewelry Giveaway by CLICKING HERE **

27 April 2010

Goddess of .. B'day Giveaway #3 - NuvoNova !

::: THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED :::

Alrighty, so I'm a little late on posting this third giveaway.. but I will give you one more day to enter it ! Let's all continue to celebrate my upcoming 25th birthday (May 9th) by giving you some more presents, right ?!

Yesterday, I revealed the winner of last week's LouLouBell gift. The winner will receive the beautiful Classic Damask - Flat Bottom Zipper Pouch / Small Cosmetic Carry Along , congrats !! Big thanks to Lyndsay of LouLouBell for the wonderful giveaway :o)


.........................................................................................................

And now on to this week's giveaway :


NuvoNova is a London, UK based Etsy store, operated by the lovely Clara (who works as a Junior Designer for a UK fashion brand) since May 2008. NuvoNova sells necklaces with a wonderful vintage feel (all of them come in an adorable matching pouch), photo albums, ribbon-bound notebooks, womanswear (all made from scratch and adorned with a cute bow) and a variety of other items (tote bags, labels, printed cotton pouches, original prints, framed prints, pocket mirrors, stationnary and note/postcards). I love everything in her Etsy store, we definitely have very similar taste !

Let me share some of my favorite items with you :

Bows, roses and a feminine touch ..

Be sexy, Stay classy..

The cat's out of the bag now ..

There's nothing neutral about this shade of grey ..


The lucky winner will get to pick one of these 7 necklaces:



.........................................................................................................

NuvoNova
Giveaway Rules
**Open to followers worldwide**

To enter this giveaway :
  1. Follow my blog (through Google Friend Connect)
  2. Tell me which one of the 7 NuvoNova necklaces offered you would pick if you won ?

For additional entries :

- Follow me on Twitter (1 extra entry)
- Be my friend on Facebook (1 extra entry)
- Blog / Twitter about the NuvoNova giveaway (2 extra entries)
- Buy an item from NuvoNova's Etsy store (5 extra entries)

That's a total of 10 possible chances to win, so get on it.. Stat !

The giveaway is opened from Tuesday, April 27th 2010 to Monday, May 3rd 2010.
The winner will be announced next Tuesday, May 4th 2010.

Good luck, Bloggies !


P.S. Please note that I am not receiving ANY kind of compensation for doing this giveaway. I support NuvoNova's etsy store simply because I love their items and I asked for them to do a giveaway as a "Thank you" to my loyal followers.