Birthday Braggery: I Have The Greatest Friends and Family EVER

Sorry I've been a little MIA as of late, but I have been celebrating a lot (soooo much cake)! I had my birthday last Saturday, my dad's was last Monday, and my mom's was today so there have been lots of gift giving and receiving! Since I'm the luckiest girl on earth, I got all kinds of cool stuff from my friends and family. They know what's up! My mom and I have a little shopping trip the Friday before my name-day and I picked up a few (too many) cool things! Commence photo-collage!

 Started off the blessed week with some much-needed Trader Joe's sale-flowers to lighten the mood 

My mom and I went to World Market where I found this sweet bag for $22! I've been looking for something like it, but have found that some similar bags can cost a chunk of change. This was an ultimate find! (I apologize for my messy room and poor-quality selfie)

Went a little shoe insane here! I don't know if Toms are cool or uncool, all I know is that they have some really cool prints (hello, palm trees!) and I love them so all the haters can take a frickin' number. The Vans are also really cool. They're like a sunwashed coral color and look like they belong on the inside of a watermelon! I really likes the blue and white pair because they are almost shibori-like and serape printed flats have been on my must-get-eventually list for quite some time. Quadruple shoe-score!

I was kicked-in-the-butt-by-love by these tops from H&M's new Concious collection. They're partially made from recycled materials and are super soft and silky. Great for summer time sweat problems (people have them!). They come in these great earthy tones that are richly pigmented and look great with lots of cool accessories! I was afraid this blouse would make me look like Jerry Seinfeld and his Puffy Shirt, but it looked really good when I wore it out for my birthday dinner with my friends!

 

I also picked up two tank tops from the same collection, one in orange and this creamy colored one. I can't wait to pair it with some cut-off shorts and sandals once it gets a little warmer out. Great for nights out when you know it's going to be hot (no pit stains!). 

Not super exciting, but still really cool are these Andy Warhol sticky notes that I picked up at World Market. That place is like a dream come true. It has stationary, it has candles, it has jewelry, it has beer, it has English chocolate; what more could you want?! I am always using post-its and these sticky notes were just too cute to pass by!

And last, but not least, my friends spoiled me rotten with some really cool stuff! I got a custom painting with all of my favorite colors, a book all about shibori dying techniques, a loaded Starbucks card for my iced caramel "Ralph Machiattos", and a protein powder that has COFFEE IN IT to keep me hyped and ripped at the gym! But, the best present of all was getting to hang out with them all night, eating Mexican food, quoting Team America, and just shooting the shit. Because really, what more do you need?!

I had a great birthday, but it wouldn't have been a fraction as good as it was if I didn't have the great friends and family I have to celebrate it with. Those are really the greatest gifts of all! If you're special day is coming up, or if you just feel like celebrating, hit up your friends and enjoy what you've already got! Happy Sunday, everyone!

Give it to Me Baby: H&M Fall Collection

H&M Fall Collection by elbonner featuring short sleeve shirts

Just when I thought I really hated fall, H&M comes out with a fall collection that makes me feel okay about never having any extra money ever again. Pending the upcoming Isabel Marant for h&m collaboration, the Swedish retailer has put forth the cooooooolest collection of Marant-ish pieces for those of us not blessed with a store big enough to get any of the collab pieces. My local stores never get any of the designer collections, so seeing this display in the front of the store made me okay with not having to beat another 20something to death for a pair of boots. Everything is just soo stinkin' cool; like wearing-fancy-sunglasses-sipping-espresso-reading-nietzche-at-an-outdoor-cafe cool. PS, I understand the overuse of the dash! What I'm trying to say is, go out, get yourself some of these pieces, and have some great fall/winter pieces that won't cost you an arm and a leg. Get to shopping fools!

Short Story: Summer Short Trends

Short Story: Summer Short Trends by elbonner featuring h&m

A few years ago you wouldn't catch me dead in a pair of shorts. I have thunder thighs, the odd lump and bump, and legs the length of a Red Vine which all made me feel as if shorts were just a bad idea. After summers full of "let's wear jeans when it's 95 out" mistakes, I got over my self consciousness and got back into shorts. What a world I had been missing out on! The shorts that are popular this season are so cute and can work on anyone. I love cut-offs (there are dozens of us!) and now they come in every color, print, and level of destruction which makes me want to buy them all. I've even been making some of my old shorts and jeans into cut-offs, complete with strategic bleaching and rips I didn't get from going into a controlled slide on my hog! I also like the fancy, dress-up shorts that I've been seeing all over the place, especially flowy, printed pajama-like shorts. I can imagine them being incredibly comfortable in very hot weather, but still really fashionable. I'm loving lacey shorts too, it's just another excuse to wear shorts everywhere you go! Slap on a pair of gladiator sandals and you're good to go! To make a long story short, shorts aren't just for wedgies and the beach anymore! 

L-R

H&M 
H&M 
Rag & Bone 

Zara 
J. Crew 
H&M 

Spring Favorites!

Spring Favorites by elbonner featuring plus size tops

Every beauty-related YouTube phenomenon has made some sort of monthly favorites video. I usually don't go for that sort of thing because I feel as though it promotes irresponsible spending and rampant materialism, but then I remind myself, I HAVE A BLOG THAT IS ALMOST ENTIRELY ABOUT THE ACT OF WANTING AND/OR HAVING STUFF. I can go ahead see myself out of the self-righteous, a-hole door and do my own monthly favorites post featuring a wide breadth of things I have encountered and liked in the month of March. 

Chobani Greek Yogurt: I love Greek yogurt, I eat it almost every morning for breakfast and since my neighborhood grocery store had fruit-flavored Chobanis on sale for 5-for-$5, you bet your ass I got like 10 of them. My only beef is that all the fruit is on the bottom, and I can't understand why they can't just mix it in. It pains me to have to do it myself, how much can a yogurt/fruit mixer cost Chobani?! Why must you make me work to enjoy you?! My favorite flavors: passion fruit, blood orange, banana, and good ol' strawberry! At 140 calories per container they make a great add-on when your Lean Cuisine just ain't cuttin' it!

Kate Somerville"ExfoliKate":I have said this before; this stuff literally eats your face. Not the way a ravenous zombie on AMC does, but the enzymes, along with scrubbies, get off all the dead skin and make you feel like you took the skin off of someones face that you thought was better than yours and replaced it with theirs. Wow, lots of cannibalistic zombie references in that one, must mean it's good stuff!

Target Stuff: Target can do almost no wrong this season. I have bought so much crap from them I'm almost embarrassed to walk in the store because I'm just plastered in their stuff. It's like wearing the t-shirt of a band you're going to see to their concert. My mom (a school teacher) recently alerted me that the cool kids all wear miss-matched socks and of course Target, being its awesome self, is selling packs of even numbered, obnoxiously colored socks. Just how I like them! Now I have an excuse to look like I dressed in the dark, because I actually do! PS- I'm wearing that ombre sweatshirt RIGHT NOW! #ballerstatus

Tone It Up "Beach Babe Workout": Guess who's feeling fat (points to self whilst crying). Instead of actually crying into a bowl of chocolate chips covered in Cool Whip Frosting, I've been working on my fitness with this great little video. I can mix things up since this video has 7 different mini workouts to choose from. They can be done individually if you really don't want to work out but are forcing yourself, or they have longer ones when you are actually motivated. Plus, it's set on a Hawaiian beach and the instructors hair is the stuff of legends.

H&M Conscious Collection: H&M has done something that every store I like should do: give me coupons for bringing them my old crap. H&M is taking your old clothes(2 shopping bags-worth per day) and giving you a 15% off coupon (good for one item) per bag of clothes! Your old clothes go in a box at the registers and are donated or recycled for use in other industries. The Conscious Collection is this seasons featured collection and it focuses on sustainable fashion. H&M was just named the biggest user of organic cotton simultaneously making their client happy and their competitors feel like panda-murderers. 

Lush "Uluru" Bath Bomb: This bath bomb transformed what could have been the most boring bath of all time, complete with amplified farts and ashamed at the cleanliness of my tub, into a sunset-hued, citrus dream-scape. I love fun bath things and this bath bomb is like about as much fun as an adult can have in the bathtub without Clueless playing on the iPad and a pint of Half-Baked.

Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco: Did you know you could get these inside of a Cheesy Gordita Crunch?! If you get them on their own, and skip lunch, you can technically justify eating 4 of these babiesand not feel like you're chair is about to give way. I say, forget the cheesy nacho Dorito taco, Cool Ranch is the only one worth getting. If you disagree, we can't be friends. 

I know, I know. It's not a typical monthly favorites where I swatch the 50 lipsticks, eye shadows, and blushes I put a second mortgage on my house to pay for, but this is what brought me joy in the month of March!  If this wasn't the most pointless thing you've ever read I can do this more often, but who knows, it could spiral down into dish soap and drain cleaner, not that there's anything wrong with that! Happy April Dudes!

PS- Here's a bonus photo of me in crazy glasses!

 (Instagram: @elbonner86)

Photo Diary: A Day At The Beach

Okay, like half an hour at the beach. I was down close to the oceanfront doing some errands and thought to myself "Self, why not get some juice and go to the beach!". I miss going to the beach soooo much in the winter time. Since this is my week off all of my coworkers went on vacation to warmer places (Florida, South Carolina, The British Virgin Islands, Fuck you guys!), and since I just didn't have the time or energy to plan a whole vacation I just decided to have a staycation. I have since made lots of good meals, had a Downton Abbey marathon, done my taxes, painted my nails, scrunched the bottoms of a few of my bikinis, colored my hair, and all in just a few days! I'd say that was pretty productive. I've also been to the gym every day and I am so friggin sore. All-in-all, it's been a nice week so far. Here are a few pictures from my beach trip today, nothing fancy, just some stuff from my point of view!

(boots: Minnetonka)

 (necklace: Rockabella)

(jacket: Fjallraven, sweater: Nixon, jeans: Levis, glasses: Ray-Ban)

 (bag: Copper River Bags, blanket: Roxy)

 

(scarf: H&M, glasses: Ray-Ban)

I know it's no great feat of photography, but I had no tripod and some guy was walking his dog and I didn't want to look stupid taking a bunch of selfies. Anyway, hope you all have a good week!

BACK TO WORK :(

Labor day is over and done. Wish this past weekend was a bit happier, but I can't complain with going tothe beach twice, eating ice cream twice and Mexican twice! Hung out with some wild toddlers that exhausted my boyfriend and I and even got some shopping time in for me.

I really want a for real leather jack, but they are so expensive. I don't want to opt out and get a crappy leather one from some no name place just because it kind of looks like what I want, but I keep finding all these faux-leather jackets that are just toooo cute! I went to H&M Monday morning and found a really cool biker jacket for $50, but I couldn't bring myself to buy it because I already have a black faux-leather jacket. I'm kind of regretting it now.

Not the best picture in the world (and no I'm not taking a picture with an ice cream sandwich!), but it's got quilted shoulders, zippers, and all that other stuff that makes leather jackets cool.It seems like it would be warmer than my current ones because it felt like it had some sort of insulation in it. I don't know what to do! Should I shut up and buy it already or hold steady and save for a really awesome one? I NEED ANSWERS!