Outfit Outtakes by Jen Bou

Ahoy Mate

Played around on Polyvore and decided to pay homage to the nautical theme. One dress worn two ways equals a look for day and night!

Happy Monday!

The Gossip Corner with Stine

Happy almost TGIF everyone!!! Hope you all have some fun plans for the weekend! I will be getting ready for my last 2 summer courses before grad school so no super fun nights out for me lol. I do have some exciting news regarding future plans... I'm going to India for spring break!! It's part of my graduate program's annual international business trip, I can't wait to share more about this experience with you guys as the time gets closer!!


Well enough about me and let's talk about what is going on in this ever-changing world of ours shall we! 


-Leave it to Diane Sawyer and her team to uncover another scandal that the public needed to be aware of. Yes I'm talking about the USA Olympic Team uniforms being MADE IN CHINA. Being in the fashion industry, this did not come as a surprise to me, however I was disappointed that Ralph Lauren didn't try to have at least the scarves made in the US of A. Well have no fear because for the 2014 Winter Games and beyond RL has made a commitment to manufacture Team USA's apparel right at home. As for the design of the uniforms for the London games, they look a little too European and not enough American, maybe it's the beret? What do you think?

(Google Images)

-Tragedy struck a Colorado movie theater early this morning when a deranged 24 year-old man shot into the crowds of people who were there to see the new Batman movie The Dark Knight Rises. A man named, James Holmes, has been identified as the shooter who killed 12 and wounded 59 innocent people. Yahoo! News and GMA are reporting that he was a PhD student from a nearby college and was armed with bullet proof gear, smoke bombs, and multiple guns. Police and ATF agents quickly apprehended Holmes, but the damage was done. Warner Bros. has temporarily cancelled the premiere, interviews, and red carpet in Paris where the cast of the film are now. President Obama also made a statement expressing his condolences about this horrible tragedy.

Photo taken outside the movie complex (Google Images)

-Tom Cruise has already landed in NYC and got in some quality daddy-daughter time with Suri and it seems they had quite the adventure! Helicopter rides, a trip to the Hampton's, and gymnastics class were on the agenda. It looks like Mr. Cruise will be spending more time in NYC now that his ex Katie has enrolled Suri in an all-girls Catholic school. On a random side note, if you've ever wondered why Tom and Katie are always holding Suri during their outings, it's not because she's a spoiled little princess (although she has been known to throw a fit or two) it has to do with those dang paparazzi! Apparently Suri has been almost trampled and scared too death a number of times that it's safer for her parents to carry her, this I completely understand. 

(Google Images)

-I was reading this month's People Style Watch Magazine and found some cute trends that my favorite celebs have sporting. Obviously I can't try them all out but I did want to see if I could add some pop to my everyday look. Fun nail colors have been really popular this summer so I decided to try them out! On a recent trip to Ulta I picked up two new shades from OPI 

called: "Gargantuan Green Grape" and "Moon Over Mumbai" (I thought that was kinda fitting lol) I decided to alternate the colors, what do you think?

(Google Images)

The finished product! 

I definitely want to try out some more hot new trends that I saw in People so I will keep you posted on if I'm going to add them to my wardrobe :)

Well I don't want to make this post too long so have a great weekend everyone!!!

Trending Thursday's With Vicki Live

Spring & Summer Wedding Trends


Next weekend I am attending a wedding with my family in Chelmsford, MA for a close family friend, Nick, and his fiance Lauren.  Over the past 20 something years the Scott's & my family have been close. To me Nick was always my other big brother. Ironically, Nick and Lauren both attended the same college as I did. When they were seniors in college, I was a freshmen. 

I feel like in the past year more than every all I keep hearing about are people my age getting married, having babies, and growing up. For me, I'm absolutely content with my single lady life. But I couldn't be happier for those people who have found love and happiness and have decided to start their lives with their significant others.


Since I'm now a bridesmaid for Leanne's wedding next year, and I'm going to a wedding next weekend all I can think about are weddings! With weddings on the brain I decided I'd do some research on wedding trends for the spring & summer 2012. 


Here's a few trends I can share with you:

1.) Wedding Gown Trend: Elegance & Embracing Feminism (thanks to The Royal Wedding)

Sheknowsit.com

2.) Wedding Reception Desert: Macarons 

bellethemagazine.com

3.) Fun New Color Combo's: Hot Pink/Navy Blue/Cool Grey

blog.123.print.com

4.) Jewelry & Accessories: Crystals 

newfashiontrend.com

5.) Wedding Cake Trend: Painted Wedding Cakes

Wedsavvy.com

Happy Thursday!

Wacky Wednesdays with Jenbiff

From Night to Day

Unfortunately because of my work sched and the fact that I don't live near ANY of my friends, I don't really go out much. I love what I have to go out in, but clearly don't really have places to wear them, so I came up with a plan on how to wear them in a normal day setting so I don't look like I'm doing the walk of shame. Here is one outfit that I converted from night to day. Ps, the heels can obvs be changed to flats or sandals:

Black t-shrit over a fun printed dress

Look! It even gives me a butt!

This is how normal people sit right?

Shirt: Candies for Kohl's
Dress: Material Girl for Macy's
Heels: LC Lauren Conrad for Kohl's
Bracelet: gift
Sunnies: Thrifted in Paris

Have you tried mixing up your wardrobe recently?

Quote of the Week: "If everthing is under control, you are going too slow."
Last Weeks Answer: Rod Seiger

KM Explains it All!

Summer Reading!


I have crossed another book off of my summer reading list!  Like I've mentioned before I'm almost always reading something so I'm trying to stick to the books that I mentioned earlier.  Just to forewarn anyone there are some spoilers in my discussion of this book so read at your own risk!

(photo taken from google.com)

A few weeks ago I finished Insurgent by Veronica Roth, the sequel to Divergent, and I loved it.  After I read the Hunger Games last summer I went on a hunt for similar books and Divergent popped up which is also set to be a trilogy.  The story takes place in a dystopian Chicago where everyone is separated into a different factions based on their most prominent virtue.  There's Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent).  The main character is a girl named Beatrice who is a member of the Abnegation community.  One day a year, all the sixteen year olds choose whether they want to stay in their faction or move to a different one.  To help them choose which faction they'd be best in they go through a simulation.  By the end it gives the name of the one faction you'd be best in.  During Beatrice's simulation something it off.  When she wakes she finds that she would fit in not only in her current faction but also in two others.  Beatrice is what the higher members of her society call a divergent.  She has to make the choice on where she thinks she will belong.  

(photo taken from google.com)

The first book talks about how she chose to become a member of the Dauntless community, changed her name to Tris, went through the Dauntless initiation which is a very dangerous one, falls in love, and helps in a rebellion of her entire society.  The second book picks up where the first one left off.  I don't want to go into too much detail because I want you to read this series.  What I can say is that there are twists and turns and a doozy of a twist at the end.  I don't want anyone going in thinking this is the Hunger Games because it is an entirely different story.  In my opinion this has the love story as a more prominent story line whereas in the Hunger Games it was a bit of a background story.  


The third and final book has yet to be titled but is set to be released in the Fall of 2013...I can't believe I have to wait that long to find out how it all ends!


Have you read anything good lately?  Let me know!!!

Outfit Outtakes by Jen Bou

Preppy Stripes

Pretty sure when I picked up this skirt a couple of weeks ago it was love at first sight. From sneaks to sandals, and tees to button downs, it's definitely going to be a staple in my wardrobe for the rest of the summer!

Wet Seal T-shirt | Loft Skirt | Payless Sneakers | Longchamp Bag

Happy Monday!!

The Gossip Corner with Stine

Happy One Year Anniversary!


Hey guys can you believe we're celebrating our 1 year anniversary of Is This Real Life?! I know the girls and I are super excited and want to thank you all for your support!!! Since we're doing a mini re-cap of this past year I'm going to share a couple of my favorite posts.


Now I know this is the Gossip Corner and we love to chat about celebrities and everything that's going on in their super exciting lives, but my faves don't all include celebs. I've really enjoyed sharing my personal stories and tips with you. 


Like my home renovation adventures! It was a really stressful experience but so worth it for the end results. What did you guys think? Did I inspire you to want to renovate a space in your house?

 Some pics of our home reno's

My travels around the country were so much fun! I love being able to go visit the girls up in Boston because we always have a blast and we don't get to see each other on a regular basis. I've also been fortunate enough to travel to some cool places for work, like my trip to Las Vegas for Magic. And going to Disney

A few shots from various trips

And interesting experiences with my family especially around the holidays! Everyone has different traditions they do with their family so it's nice to hear what those are. My family can be a little crazy at times but I still love them! What were your favorite fam moments?

 The holiday's at my house and going to the Auto Show with my daddy-o

Again I want to say how thankful we are to you guys for reading our blog and we are so excited to have made it to our one year anniversary!!! Have a great weekend everyone!!