OOTD: Bicycle Shorts

I am late to the bicycle party because I'll admit, I though they looked stupid. It just looked too much like shape wear to me. Then, I saw some photos of the late Princess Diana rocking them and I was inspired. Princess Di rocked athleisure like nobody's business!

blazer & belt bag: Boohoo, shorts: Forever21, shoes & tee: Zara

I decided to wear mine with a loose fitting blazer because I just feel weird about having my crotch exposed and plus I didn't want the look to be so form-fitting.I added another trend as an accessory, le fanny pack (or belt bag for you Gen Zers). With some kitten heels, the look was polished, yet comfy. 

I would probably wear them more often as a layering piece. I was feeling the retro vibe it gave.

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Hav & The City

The flower brooch made another appearance. I wore it again with the asymmetrical bodysuit I had on in this post. This time, I paired it with a ruffled skirt that I received from Chicwish. I've been into mixing patterns lately so I accessorized with my leopard clutch. The stripes in the skirt were sublte enough for the outfit not too look too busy.

I'm loving this skirt. I love the ruffles and the romantic feel it has to it. The skirt is not made with a stretchy material so it cinches the waist making you look extra snatched. So far, I've only worn it with heels to elongate the leg. I will try wearing it with flat shoes to see how it looks.

top: Forever21; brooch: Zara; skirt: Chicwish; clutch: eBay; shoes: Topshop

Once again, I collaborated with the lovely Milli Stephania. It is always a blast working with her. Her keen eye and attention to detail is like no other. If you ever need a photographer, you should definitely check her out!

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My Cake Smash Photoshoot

As I am turning thirty, I decided to have a photoshoot to commemorate this moment. While searching for ideas, I came across the adult cake smash theme. I found it to be super cute and decided to have that be my theme. I loved the "young at heart" message that it portrayed because at the end of the day: age is just a number. Jeremy is turning ten next month so he joined the photoshoot party as well. Entering the double digits is a big moment too!

top: Boohoo, skirt: Amazon, shoes: Christian Louboutin 

The lovely Melissa of  Ragdoll Films did a fantastic job commemorating these moments. I took these photos in the comfort of my home. We did the outdoor shots close to my apartment. The original plan was to go to the park but March weather was like "nope!" so we did some street shots instead. I think they came out great anyway. She is an absolute doll. Super patient and really wants to make sure to get some good shots. Getting the confetti shots took a lot of takes. You have to blow the confetti a certain way and  have a large amount  to make sure it shows in the photo. Our perseverance was rewarded with some pretty amazing shots.

Setting up the photoshoot was a lot of fun. I'd like to try my hand at styling more photoshoots. It was fun putting al these props together.  I purchased the "Hello 30" banner from Etsy and the cake was from Crystal of Slice of Heaven NYC. She makes truly amazing cakes which you can check out on her IG, @sliceofheavennyc.

I DIY'd a lot of stuff because that's how I roll.  For the signs, I framed some foam poster board and used chalk markers for the lettering. I took advantage of having nice penmanship and freehanded most of it.  The cake stand was homemade from a candle stick and plate I got from Dollar Tree. The cake Crystal made included the "H&J" cake topper. I made the "thirty" cake topper by using an online stencil maker and printing it out on card stock. I then used an X-acto knife to cut it out. I then covered it in glue and put gold glitter over it.

t-shirt: Etsy, skirt: Altazurra for Target

Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Cheap & Easy Boob Hacks

This is another post dedicated to a fashion hack. Taping up your boobs is something that is done throughout Hollywood. Kim Kardashian has shared a picture on her Instagram demonstrating her method in lifting her breasts in low cut clothing. This method is incredibly useful if your boobs hang a little low or if you simply want to give them a little boost. I'm a little self-conscious about mine so I was really happy when I discovered this hack.

A lot of people use duct tape but I honestly find that a little too sticky, which can make the removing process a little painful. I have found that athletic tape works really well and it is a lot easier to remove. For reference, I am a full B/small C. Fuller bust Mamis might have to use a little more tape but it will be just as effective. As a precaution, you might want to cover your nipples with some cotton pads or use nipple covers before placing tape over them. Otherwise, you might be in for a lot of pain. You also want to make sure that your skin is free of any oils and lotions. Otherwise the tape will not stick as well and might come out really wrinkly.

In the video below, I show two different ways in you can tape your breasts up to achieve a fuller and perkier bust. I hope you find the video useful and don't forget to pass it along to a friend in need :).




Thanks for watching!

How to Stretch Out Shoes That Are Too Tight

Have you ever purchased the most perfect pair of shoes that are your size but just a little bit too tight? This was my scenario when I purchased my first pair of Louboutins. Louboutins are known for running narrow and my feet are kind of wide so I knew I would have to visit this babies in store versus ordering them online.  For such an investment, I wanted to make sure they fit.

The style I purchased are the Jonatina sandals. Turns out, I had to go up a whole size. A size 40 fit me fine but I had some slight tightness around my pinky toe. I considered getting them professionally stretched but I decided to just try my go-to method.

What You'll Need:

• Your shoes
• Thick Socks (athletic socks work best)
• Hair Dryer

Steps:

• Put on your socks. I had some thick wool socks on in the photo, gym socks work great as well. If you do not have any thick socks, you can wear 2-3 pairs of regular socks at a time to get the same results.
• Put your feet inside the shoes.
• Blast your dryer on high and pass it over your feet while flexing your feet and toes. Keep doing this for about two minutes. Keep moving the dryer back and forth because you could burn yourself if you direct it at one spot for too long.
• Wait until your shoes and socks cool before removing them. Take the socks off and try slipping into your shoes. It usually works after one go but you can do another round if it feels too tight.
• As an added bonus, I like to put the socks back on and just wear the shoes around my house for a coupe of hours to really break them in.

This works really great on leather shoes. I have also used this on faux and vegan leather with successful results.I did have to do a couple of rounds on faux leather because it doesn't stretch as easily.

I hope this little fashion hack worked well for you all. Here's to beautiful shoes and happy feet!

OOTD: What I Wore On My Birthday (Cute & Cheap Ass Outfits)

Last week I celebrated my birthday by going out to dinner.Then I went to a brunch the following weekend. I wore dresses to both places, and I got them both for the low low ;).

Silver Pleated Skirt OOTD (Cute & Cheap Ass Outfits)

Hope everybody had a wonderful Christmas. Just wanted to share what I wore. I had a quick photo shoot in the hallway of my building. I wasn't trying to be all artistic and gritty haha.

Sueños Benefit at the 40/40 Club

Two days ago, I attended the Sueños Benefit at the 40/40 club. The event was hosted by The Dream Project, an organization that is dedicated to improving education for the children of the Dominican Republic. This year, the benefit was honoring Dascha Polanco (of Orange is The New Black) for recognition of her charitable work. You can read more on The Dream Project in this post.

DIY Feather Sandals

Feather heels have been spotted nearly everywhere-from high-end to fast fashion. I decided to make my own pair from a pair of pink, strappy heels that I own. I got these from GoJane. The feathers, I got from ebay. I typed in "marabou feather boa" in the search box and chose the color I felt would look nice on the sandals. I love how they came out. I feel like these shoes are super girly and fun and definitely eye-catching. Keep reading for step-by-step instructions on how to make them.

OOTD: Lazy Saturday With Camo

Joggers are for the most part, glorified sweat pants. They are insanely comfortable though. I threw these camo-print ones to get a manicure and decided to dress them up a little at the last minute. A leather jacket and lace-up block heels made this look a bit more polished.

OOTD: Paisley Pants

Printed pants are all the rage now. I have these in a paisley print, that I have worn before in this previous post. There's no need to be intimidated because of the print. There are very versatile, not to mention comfy!

New Look zippered tank
F21 paisley-print pants
Glaze sandals
Urban Outfitters sunnies
DIY clutch

Packing Tips for Short Trips

As I mentioned in my previous post, I went to Miami for a weekend for my cousin's baby shower. I'm pretty sure there's a lot of women out there that share my packing woes. Yes, I was only going away for four days but a girl needs options! And I didn't want to spend time digging around in my suitcase so I organized my outfits using this cool little system. It also saves you some space as well since there's this certain airline that only allows a carry-on and ONE personal item. ONE!

So for this system you need Ziploc bags in two sizes: quart and the small snack sizes. The quart sizes are for your clothes and the snack sizes are for your accessories.

So what I did was pack each outfit in a quart-sized Ziploc bag. These bags were cool because it gave you a little space for you to label. And me being all OCD, I labeled them for the occasion.

I used the smaller bags for the accessories to the corresponding outfit and once I was done, I put the smaller bag into the larger one. This made everything so easy! All my outfits were super-organized and it made getting ready a breeze!

Everything fit perfectly into the suitcase, just be sure to let all the air out of the bags before closing them. And that's packing made easy.