I'm so excited to be sharing my new colorful dress with you. I got it about a month ago and I'm absolutely obsessed! The colors are stunning and remind me of Taylor Swift's Lover album, which makes me love it even more. Keep scrolling to find out how I like to style it and learn more about the fit and quality. 

This pastel dress is different than anything I have. It's the Magnolia Place Pastel Rainbow Ombre Ray Swing Dress from Unique Vintage. Unique Vintage actually has a collection called "The Happiest Collection on Earth," and this piece was part fo it! It was designed to match the Tokyo Disneyland pastel ears. I don't know about you, but I think that is SO cool! Also, another reason why I had to have it. 

How to Style

When I styled this dress, I wanted to keep all of the attention on the actual dress, obviously, so I opted to keep everything else really simple. I added a cropped cardigan from the brand Grace Karin that I got on Amazon. 

If you couldn't tell by now, pink is my favorite color! However, I also chose this color for the cardigan because the exact pink hue is in the middle of the skirt. I thought this was the perfect way to make the color stand out even more. I love pairing cardigans like this with my high waisted dresses because they hit my waist at the perfect height without interfering with the skirt. Plus, they're practical for cooler days too.

My Accessories

For my shoes, I wanted to fully embrace the colorful pastel look. I chose these tie-dye Keds in the washable Chillax style. I bought these Keds six years ago, so unfortunately they aren't available anymore, but here are the same style in a different print. I really like this style because they're very slim and the color doesn't take away from the dress. They're pretty comfortable too (definitely a bonus when living in New York)!

When it came to other accessories, like jewelry and headbands, I opted to keep both pretty simple. I do this in general, but I made sure to make an extra effort to not wear anything that would be too distracting from my dress. I decided to go with my rose gold Minnie Mouse necklace. This is my absolute favorite necklace, so I bet it's no surprise that I chose this one. For my. headband--since I'm almost always wearing some type of hair accessory--I went with a solid pink bow headband. 

Quality and Fit

When I first tried on the dress, I was super impressed with the quality and fit. For reference, I ordered a size small, which is my standard size. I was a little worried if it actually would fit right, but it turned out I had nothing to worry about! I have a little room in the top, but other than that it fits like a glove. I think sizing down would have made the dress too small. 

One of the most common reviews I saw were people saying that the torso was an odd length and didn't hit at the correct spot. My torso is on the longer side, but I didn't have this issue at all; it hits exactly at my natural waist. 

The dress is really great quality too. It's thicker than a silky polyester/chiffon material, but it isn't as thick as the dresses from The Dress Shop at Disney Springs (if you're familiar with those), which makes it the perfect weight for summer. It's also lined which is really nice. You know the best part of all?! It has pockets! Whenever a dress has pockets it instantly gets even better for me. I honestly only use pockets once in a while, but these are deep enough to fit my phone.

Overall, I'm absolutely thrilled with my dress! It may be my first clothing item from Unique Vintage, but it certainly won't be my last. Everything from the colors to style to fit is perfect. You have no idea how excited I am to wear this to Magic Kingdom with my pastel ears next time I go to Disney World. 

Let me know in the comments or send me a message on Instagram if you have this dress, plan on ordering it, or just love Unique Vintage too! 

 

Minnie Mouse Hair Scrunchies

Hi everyone! I recently ordered Minnie Mouse scrunchies from Hot Topic and I had to share! When I saw these scrunchies, it was one of the quickest impulse purchases I made. So keep scrolling to find my review and how I like to style them. 

The Review

Photo Credit: Hottopic.com

To start, these scrunchies came in a set. They're only $9.90, but I had a code for 30% off, so they ended up being about $7.00. Personally, I think that's a great price for two scrunchies, especially a set that have Minnie ears. 

When these scrunchies came in the mail, I was surprised by how big they were. For some reason I was expecting the ears to be smaller, so I was a little hesitant on how I could make this work with an everyday outfit, but I was determined to find away. 

As far as the actual scrunchies goes, it's great quality! Both scrunchies are velvet and the ears and bow are great quality too. They're not too floppy, but also not too stiff. 

If you're looking to add magic into your everyday look or maybe you want an alternative ear option for the parks, I definitely recommend these scrunchies!

How to Style

After trying out the scrunchies, I found that simple hairstyles work best for me since the accessory is such a statement. Two styles I like wearing the most is a low ponytail and half-updo. 

When wearing the scrunchie, I personally didn't want people to see it when looking at me from the front. I thought it looked a little odd with the ears sticking out, so by keeping my styles low, I was able to solve that problem. But hey, if you don't mind the ears poking out from behind your head then wear all the high ponytails you want! 

I also think that the low updos allow the scrunchies to be seen easier from behind, making it the focal point of your style. 

Would you try out these Minnie Mouse scrunchies? Let me know in the comments or on Instagram!

My Goals for 2021 and How to Achieve Yours

 When it comes to New Year's resolutions, I feel like they get the reputation of being very cliché, but I personally love the idea of setting new goals for the year. I'm a goal-oriented person, so I love the feeling of finally achieving something I've worked really hard for. Having new goals gives me an opportunity to grow and better myself, which I'm all about. However, I think it's so important to make sure the goals I do make are actually attainable. 

Often times people set lofty goals, which is absolutely amazing, but then don't know where to start and end up getting overwhelmed, so they quit. Or, people will set numbered based goals, like hit X number of followers on Instagram or loose X pounds. It's great if you want to improve these things, but if people don't hit that exact number, they often feel like they failed even when they've made incredible progress! This is why I wanted to be more realistic with my goals this year and break them down so it's easier for me to achieve throughout the year. 

Keep scrolling to find out what I'm hoping to accomplish this year, and my tips on how you can start making your goals attainable in 2021. 

1. Reduce My Screen Time

I may be the only person who likes this, but I think it's so good that iPhones have the screen time option now. It made me realize how much unnecessary time I'm spending endlessly scrolling on social media. I go on social media the most in the morning and before bed, which are probably the worst times to do this. It can feel so draining, which is not how I want to start my day. Then on the other hand, it can make it harder for me to fall asleep after scrolling on my phone for a while.

To do this, I'm trying not to go on social media for at least the first 30 minutes I'm awake in the morning. At night, I set the downtime option on my phone to start at 10pm and last until 7am. That way when I go to check an app, I'm reminded not to. Trust me, it can be easy to just tap the "15 more minutes" button, but I'm going to try my hardest not to. Hopefully I'll get out of the habit of even wanting to check my phone at night. 

2. Post Consistently on My YouTube Channel and Blog

I'll admit, over the last year or two my blog has been on the back burner a bit. While I've never had a big following, I've always enjoyed doing it and love having a space where I can be creative, share my style, and whatever I want about fashion and beauty. 

When it comes to YouTube, I had always wanted to start my own channel after watching Bethany Mota and so many beauty gurus around that time. I was always too afraid of what people would think, but I finally started posting on my channel in 2019. I uploaded videos for a bit, but didn't for a while, and then recently got back into posting mostly regularly over the past few months. Personally, I'm more likely to watch a video over reading a blog post for certain topics, and video is so popular right now anyway. Plus, this is another way I can be creative that's a little more different  from work. 

To be more consistent, I'm aiming to post one blog or video a week. Ideally, I'd like to do one of each, but  that can be a lot while working full-time. I also don't want to put too much pressure on myself because that takes the fun out of it, but I have a lot of video ideas now, so don't be surprised if you see slightly more videos over blog posts. Basically, I just want to improve both of these all around and see what happens!

3. Journal and Meditate in the Morning

So I have the Calm app that use basically every night, but I want to start using it in the morning too. I recently realized how much better I feel starting my day off with one of the guided meditations on the app and then writing down how I'm feeling and basically anything that comes to mind. 

I feel so much more refreshed just by spending 20 minutes doing this every morning as opposed to scrolling on Instagram or TikTok. This will probably take some getting used to, but I'm looking forward to making this a daily habit!

4. Dance More

Ever since I stopped dancing after I graduated high school, I never really got back into dance for a long period of time. I did some classes in college, and then started going to classes at the Broadway Dance Center. I loved doing that, but studio closed and switched to online for the pandemic. I wasn't sure how to feel about an online dance class (mostly because I live in a small NYC apartment) but I did a few classes while I was home for Christmas and it was so much fun dancing again! I'm not quite sure how easy it'll be to do anything other than ballet in my apartment, but I'll see how it goes! I want to try to do at least one dance class or dance workout a week. 

5. Save More Money

I get it, it's weird to talk about money. It often ends up being an uncomfortable conversation for anyone. If 2020 taught me anything, it's that you never know what can happen financially. I've been so lucky to have a job throughout the pandemic, but I figured it doesn't hurt to start saving more. 

In the past, I've always saved for something specific, like moving to NYC, going on a trip, or going to a concert. This time I'm not saving for anything in particular. My goal is to save at least $50.00 a month. I know it's not a lot, but it's better than nothing! Maybe once it's safe to travel I can use it to go on a trip, or maybe not, who knows? 

6.  Do a Photoshoot for My Blog

Having high quality photos for your blog and Instagram is so important when trying to grow. The iPhone camera takes great quality photos and videos, but it's not always the same as having professional photos. Don't get me wrong, it's how I shoot my content 100% of the time and what I'll continue to do. However, I've seen so many bloggers work with lifestyle photographers in New York, I always thought this would be fun try!

Since I don't have a large following, I've never been able to justify doing this before. However, I'm kind of just like, why not? Life is short and I want to grow my social media, so I know I won't regret doing it. I'll admit, it's hard and a little intimidating to take photos of my outfits by myself outside. Plus, I always feel like I'm being annoying if I ask friends to take photos for me.

I want to do this as a a treat myself/reward type of thing. I'm aiming to do this in the summertime when the weather is nice!

What You Can Do to Achieve Your Goals

Looking for ways to achieve your own goals this year? Keep scrolling for my top tips on how you can do this. 

1. Make Your Goals Attainable

You're probably thinking, well, this is obvious. However, I feel like this is why a lot of people end up quitting their goals after a short amount of time. I'm all for achieving anything you put your mind to and I truly believe that can happen, but it helps you're true to yourself. 

We've all heard this New Year's resolution: Go to the gym and get healthier. Maybe we know a friend or family member who said that or maybe that was you one year. For this specific goal, a lot of times people will go from never stepping foot in a gym, to feeling like they need to go five days a week. Obviously, it'll be hard to keep up with such a drastic change. Instead, make it more attainable. Aim for going two or three days a week, then work up to going more often. Whether it's saving money or trying to buy coffee less, this mindset can be applied to any goal you work towards

2. Set a Realistic Amount

Have you ever heard someone who has a laundry list of goals they want to achieve? If you set 20 goals, this can become overwhelming, make you not want to do the goals, and make you feeling bad about yourself if you don't do every single one. Let's face it, who wants to change 20 things in their life anyway?

If you only have one or two goals, that's totally okay! Achieving one goal and feeling really proud of yourself is way better than giving up on a really long list of goals. 

3. Create a Realistic End Date

Setting an end date or time frame for your goal can make it a lot easier to achieve. It's also important though to make sure you're realistic with yourself. For example, say you want to start a YouTube channel and gain 3,000 subscribers. If you give yourself one month to do that, you most likely won't achieve it in that short of time. Instead, give yourself a whole year. There's nothing wrong with that. You'll be able to have fun and enjoy it more, won't feel pressured to accomplish something so fast, and you'll still be conquering a big goal!

4. Breakdown Your Goals

So, you have a goal you want to achieve? That's great! It can be intimidating to know where to start, which is why I think it's best to breakdown your goals. Try breaking down your goals by figuring out what you need to do each month or week to achieve it. If you want to save $1,000 during the year, break it up by months or weeks so you know how to how much to set a side. This will make the goal seem way more doable. This seems pretty straight forward, but it actually isn't something I really thought to do until more recently over the past couple of years. 

No matter what goal or goals you're hoping to accomplish in 2021, remember not to be hard on yourself. This should be something that feels rewarding and you're proud of, you shouldn't dread it.