emmy's love list

So I'm finally back from my blogger break! Thanks to all you lovelies who waited so patiently while I was away. I have a ton of wonderful posts coming up soon! Like "20 little black dresses for $20", a ton of "lovely little find" posts, and some pumpkin themed recipe posts just to name a few! 

This past weekend I took a trip to the big apple for a bachlorette party and will do a small little post on that this week, but first I thought I'd share some of my favorite looks from the Emmy's in this quick little eye candy post! 

There are dozens of studies that prove men are more attracted to women who wear red. 

Though I don't think these women really need any help there.

And these lovely ladies looked simple yet stunning in soft pinks. 

Absolutely love this shade, especially for fall!

You lovelies already know how much I adore lace, and I love the 

unique take on it in these dresses.

Every time I see Kelly Osbourne I can't get over how amazing she looks. This color 

is to-die-for! She has such amazing bone structure, and this dress really shows that off.

And last but not least, Anna Faris in this killer tribal print dress. I would normally put one of the lace looks as my number one but this dress is just so unique and beautiful. Plus Anna looks stunning in it.

Which dress is your favorite?

lovely little guest post

Hello to all of Lyndsey's lovely little readers! I'm Jessica from Dresses For Dinner. Lyndsey is in NYC and asked me to guest post! I was honored and at a loss for a topic, but if there's one thing I know, it's thrifting!

It's easy to write thirfting off. Either it's too trendy or it's too much work and dirty. Shopping should be fun and thirfting takes time and a special eye. The pay off, however, is just as rewarding as walking into a department store and scoring your most coveted item on sale.

A trip to the thrift store is never a quick adventure. I go down every aisle and I make sure to pull out pieces based on color and fabric. I check for rips, stains, durability, and then for the size. If it's only  a couple sizes bigger, I know I can make it smaller or wear a belt. Length? The longer, the better! The long skirt section is my favorite. I find wonderful fabrics and prints and I first wear them as dresses and second, chop them into fashionable mini skirts.

I've never been much of a designer lady. Not that I don't want to be, but because I cannot afford it and I know there are alternatives, but I've been known to score impeccable gems at the local thrift. Who would have thought?

This dress still has the department store tag on it. $395. The thrift had it marked down to $18. Which is a steal in itself, but it's color tag was half off. I spent $9 and I can turn this around for a minimum of $180. It's never been worn and it's beautiful.

These BCBG shoes were at the thrift for $10. There isn't a single scratch or scuff on them. They've either never been worn or very gently worn. They happened to be my size, so I scooped them up. These retail for around $200-$300.

Both of these designer gems were tucked in with all the other discarded items. It took time to discover these, but I'm glad I did. I've also found Betsey Johnson, Urban Outfitters, Forever 21, Banana Republic, J.Crew and tons of other name brand items.

It's safe to say 89.9% of my wardrobe is from the thrift store and I have a blog centered around my wardrobe. It takes time, patience, and a little imagination. But in my opinion, the thrift knocks the socks off of any retail department store.

Happy thrifting!

lovely little recipe

Mini Oreo Cheesecakes

When I first heard of this recipe I knew it was the perfect recipe for my boyfriends birthday treat. It combined two of his favorite things, cheesecakes and Oreos. It was my first attempt at cheesecake anything but it was so easy, and declicous!

Cheesecake Ingredients:

Makes 24

3 Packages - 8 oz Each of Cream Cheese, Softened 

(softened means to leave it out for an hour or so)

24 Oreo Cookies
8-12 Additional Cookies, Chopped

(one pack of Oreos is enough for this recipe but if you are planning on doubling you will need more)

3 Eggs

3/4 Cup Sugar

1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Don't forget cupcake liners!

-Preheat Oven to 350*
-Place a single Oreo in each cupcake liner.
-You will also want to clear space in the refrigerator for your 
cheesecakes when they come out of the oven.

-Place your additional Oreo's (I used 12) into a plastic baggy and crumble them up.

-Mix cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract together until well blended. 

-Add in eggs one at a time. Mix well.

(I highly recommend using an electric mixer for this recipe)

-Add in your Oreo crumbles.

-Using a tablespoon, spoon the cheesecake mixture into your Oreo cups.

-Bake them at 350* for 15-20 minutes.

-Let your cheesecakes cool on the counter for bout 10 minutes.

-Place cheesecakes in fridge for at least one hour.

Topping Ingredients:

Whip Cream

Mini Oreo's

(you can also use Oreo crumbles or chocolate drizzle)

To present mine, I took my cheesecakes out of the wrappers.

I would possibly change how hard the Oreo crust at the bottom is. 

Maybe adding a teaspoon of milk onto each Oreo before the mixture goes on top.

I will say that a few days later the bottom was much softer. 

Overall super duper easy to make and yummy!

I hope you lovelies enjoy!

swuni in depth

I recently posted about the wonderful concept and website of...

After posting I received a few e-mails inquiring more details about the website and what it was all about.  
So I sat down with the men behind it Dave + Steven (yes ladies I did say men) and had them 
fill me in on Swuni and how this genius idea came to be. 

First a Brief History:

Two guys, a women’s world, ONE problem and how they’re solving it. 

Sure, there have been times in my life when I was asked to pick up a box or two, having a mom, a little sister, and fiancée. Tampons to me, are obviously foreign and there were times when I would come home with the wrong ones.  I never gave it too much thought, in terms of a solution for the problem until many years later.  

My fiancée and I were having dinner with another couple one evening when Dave, who is an entrepreneur at heart, pitched me the craziest idea I had ever heard. He said, “Tampads, a tampon and maxi pad subscription service for women”. I say crazy because we are two guys, talking about that very thing we know little about.  Initially I shrugged it off, thought of it as nothing more than a conversation…  

Rewind, a little background about me first.  I have always been an internal thinker.  The reason this is important is because I have the ability to talk myself out of every idea I have ever had. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but when you aspire to be an entrepreneur, overly analytical can be a huge crutch. You tend to find every minuscule problem that has the potential to bring the whole project down. Aborting the mission before it begins. 

About one week goes by after Dave proposes this idea to me and I can’t stop thinking about it. So I sent him a message through Facebook on December 3^rd 2010 “I can’t stop thinking about your Tampon internet sales idea... I think it's brilliant... There is nothing like it on the internet, perhaps we can brainstorm some more about it... Seriously”.  To which he responded, “that would be excellent, are you free tomorrow”.  We went to work, discussing all the potential ways in which we could set the business model up, what our mission would be and how would we distinguish ourselves not just as company that sold tampons and maxi pads but as something more personal, an experience.  

The Breakdown:

Swuni.com was born out of the acronym “Stuff” When U Need It and the “stuff” would refer to the products that are sometimes embarrassing to say. Dave and I also decided that part of our mission would be to donate a percentage of every sale that we make to communities and nonprofits.  We truly believe in helping people in need and thought that this would be a great platform to establish our philanthropic philosophy.  Not only do we think that it is important to give back to our communities, country and humanity, we also believe in taking care of the people who support us.  So we implemented a couple things that really benefit the consumer.  

• First, it is important to us that our customers know how much they mean to us, so we take extra special care of the packaging.  Each tampon or maxi pad box is wrapped with tissue paper and extra special surprises are added when available. The idea behind this is that even though these five or so days are not the greatest, we want our package to show up and give you a smile!
• Secondly, your first month is FREE! As soon as you sign up for the Swuni Tampon Subscription Service ™ your first box of tampons is free.  All you have to do is check out and the discount will be applied to your total. 
• Third, free doesn’t stop there! Once you become a subscribing member, we send you a special referral code that you can share with your friends! Just have your friends use that unique code when they check out and everyone YOU sign up gets YOU one month free, there is NO LIMIT!  

Swuni is in the beta stage and we are working hard to bring you great things.  We are adding products every day and partnering with other companies that will benefit you! Please let us know if you can’t find your product and we will add it!  Thanks for all of your support thus far and SPREAD THE WORD!!!

I can not say enough great things about

I signed up to receive my "stuff" every other month, and not only is it fun to receive a box wrapped with love in the mail but I feel good knowing part of my purchase is going directly to an non-profit I'm passionate about.

Plus the first 6 readers who sign up for Swuni through my blog will get a FREE Swuni vinyl and sticker that you can put wherever you want.

What do you have to lose? Costs no more that your local grocery store, first month is free, get more people to sign up and receive more free months, donate to a good cause, and not to mention they have great contests running on their Facebook page for Swuni subscribers!

little loves

This week was wonderful! Not only because it was my birthday week (and my boyfriends birthday week) but because I got to spend quality time with my friends and family. On Monday I went and saw "The Help" with my best friend. We laughed and we cried. It was wonderful and I would recommend it to anyone. Tuesday was my actual birthday and my friend at work surprised me with a pink ombre cake. 

Not only was it beautiful but it was delicious! 

Then I went out for sushi + shoes with my mom, grandmother, and aunt. 

We feasted on sushi (the asparagus tempura is to die for) from Big Eye, my favorite place.

My mom surprised me at sushi with my birthday gift.  

This stunning rose gold Michael Kors watch. I am so in love with it.

Then we hit up the nearest DSW and I picked out these Nine West lace up booties and these Madden Girl lace up wedges. I have never been more excited for fall to get here.

 I haven't taken this color off since I got it last week . The new "lady like" color from Essie's fall collection. It is a purplish mauve color. I think this is probably my favorite Essie color to date.

And I ended my week with a Pumpkin Spice Chai from Starbucks. 

Perfect way to end a perfect week.

fashions night out

When you think of Fashions Night Out I'm sure you think of New York City. But I have news for you, Fashions Night Out is a global event, in which cities all over the world participate. And yep, if you can believe it some of those events are right in your back yard! 

On Thursday September 8th I will be heading to two of these local events and I'm taking my readers with me! You heard me right. I'll be vlogging, tweeting, and posting throughout the entire night. But if that's not quite good enough for you, my readers can also gain access to these amazing events! 

Why go you ask? First off who doesn't like to get all dolled up and have an amazing time? And if that doesn't sell you then how about great causes, food, drinks, freebies, gift bags, people, and fashion!

To start off the night I'll be heading to Saks Fifth Avenue at Beachwood. The event sounds so amazing I couldn't imagine why anyone wouldn't go. The event cost $50 but in return you get a $50 gift card to spend at Saks that evening. There will also be a blogger lounge where you can mingle with your favorite local bloggers. As if it could get any better 10% of the evenings sales go directly to the Aids Taskforce of Greater Cleveland.  

If you are interested in attending this event follow me on Twitter or Facebook and I will send out the formal e-vite next week.

After that I'll be heading directly to my own stomping ground Akron for an event that I wouldn't miss for the world. My favorite local boutique Noto and the acclaimed MC Hair Consultants Salon teamed together to put together an event that not only benefits a great cause but celebrates fashion and beauty. Proceeds form this event go to ACCESS women's shelter in Akron. 

If you are interested in attending this event simply click HERE to purchase tickets.

lovely little recipe

Pesto, Mozzarella, Tomato, + Arugula Pizza

(Sorry for the awful quality of the picture above, I was too excited to eat.)

I actually had the idea for this pizza while enjoying my favorite grilled cheese at The Lockview (they consist of almost the same ingredients). The dough is a recipe from a friends mom who knows the best recipe for anything you need. The dough is so soft and delicious, and so easy! Do not attempt to make this pizza with store bought dough, it will not live up to this homemade heaven! This pizza is to-die-for! Make me this and I could easily be convinced to do anything you wanted.

Dough Ingredients:

3 Cups of Warm Water

1 1/2 Table Spoons Yeast
3/4 Table Spoons of Kosher Salt
6 1/2 Cups of Unbleached Flour

 (2.5 of Whole Wheat + 4 Regular)

Combine ingredients into large bowl. 

Mix until there are no more lumps of flour. 

Leave out in warm area for 2 hrs.

Dough will rise like in the picture above. 

Use or refrigerate after that.

(I keep mine in the fridge overnight so it can rise some more.) 

Topping Ingredients:

Baby Arugula

Marinara Pizza Sauce

Pesto

Fresh Mozzarella 

Roma Tomato's 

(I swear no other tomato's taste as good as these)

When you are ready to use your dough, don't knead it! Use a bit of flour and form it into the shape you want. I usually don't use foil under my dough (was at a friends house and had to compromise) just put directly onto pan or pizza stone. Trust me do not use foil!

Preheat oven to 350*.

Drizzle a bit of extra virgin olive oil on the dough if you have it at hand. 

Cover the dough in pesto, and then a layer of marinara.

Slice your tomatoes and mozzarella and scatter over the pizza.

Fresh garlic is also delicious to add to this pizza.

Let pizza cook for about 20-30 minutes until dough is crisp to the touch. 

Don't get ahead of yourself and take it out before its ready because your middle pieces will be doughy! 

Sprinkle your baby Arugula on top after you pizza is out of the oven.

Cut, Serve, and Enjoy!