time of my life

The commencement celebrations were a weekend-long affair and the first thing I did was...

get my nails in order

Class Day was on Sunday, May 23rd and it is a tradition on this day to wear crazy/silly/funny hats to the event.  Every year, Class Day is organized by the Senior Class Council and it is a day to hang out with friends and less formally recognize the graduating students.  

my roommates

a gaggle of girls

her grandmother made this for her- I mean, how awesome is this hat?!

twins

this is a hat modeled off our bell tower- the most detailed hat I saw!

This year, we were lucky enough to have Tom Hanks as our Class Day speaker.  One of the first things he told us was not to put away our phones, and to instead tweet about his speech or post it on Facebook!  Funny guy! :D

The official commencement ceremony was the next day.  First all of the schools at Yale (undergraduate and graduate) assembled together, then us undergraduates split off into our residential colleges to attend a more intimate graduation there.

my sister and I

my parents. don't worry, my dad is not angry, he just rarely smiles in pictures!

my family- left to right: brother, mom, me, dad, brother, sister, godmother

waiting for my name to be called

diploma in hand, feeling good!

So now it's been a couple of weeks since all this happened, but I have to say...it hasn't really hit me yet.  I said my "see you later's" and my goodbyes to both friends and acquaintances, but I haven't really come to terms with the fact that this chapter of my life has officially ended.  There is still a part of me that thinks I am on a temporary break and will return to school soon.  I (as well as many other graduates, I'm sure) am wondering, "What's next?"  How about I get back to you on that?  ;)

now I can be a real person again

everything except boots- forever 21, boos- GoJane

my happy nail polish color

Hiya! I missed you guys!  For most of this week, I have been locked in my room, furiously working on my senior essays.  Since I am a double major, I have to write two separate essays, one in Spanish and one in English which has meant twice the fun...not!  My suitemates have only seen me on my way to shower, get food, or go to the bathroom.  As of thirty minutes ago, I have submitted a draft of each paper to my senior advisers, so now I just have to get their comments, hopefully do only a little light editing, and turn in the final copies!  In the meantime, I am feeling quite light and free, so I can be a real person again!  I'll be taking the weekend to catch up on all the tweets, posts, and comments that I missed while I was in my bubble and I can't wait!  Plus it is supposed to be nice and sunny here tomorrow so hopefully that will mean some knitting outdoors.  I'm so excited to NOT think about anything academic for a couple of days!  See you soon! =)

Sally Hansen Nail Polish Strips Review

Poof!  Two weeks just passed in the blink of an eye! I certainly didn't mean to take a two-week hiatus, but a few things kept me away from the blog, some good and some not so good.  I can't wait to share my spring break adventures with you guys, but in the meantime I thought I'd just pop in to show you that I'm alive and leave you with this little product review.

sorry for the blurry iPhone pic, it's the only one I took!

I saw the Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips in a magazine a couple of weeks back and dogeared the page as a reminder to give them a try sometime.  Then, when I was visiting a friend in the Bay Area, we popped in to a local Walgreens and saw these sets, so I decided to pick one up.  The store I went to didn't have much selection but I eventually settled on this pattern, which is called Misbehaved.

Pros:

- really easy to apply.  It took me a little while the first time, but that's just because I was following the instructions to the letter.  Basically, you select the strip that best matches the shape of your nail, peel of the back and apply, and file off the part that hangs past your nail. Easy peasy!

- looks professionally done.  I got so many compliments on these nails and people asked me where I got them done.  They were really surprised when I told them I did them myself in a bedroom in about 15 minutes!

- so many awesome patterns and no dry time needed.  I don't have the skill to draw these patterns myself, so it's really cool that I can apply these strips instead.  There is actually quite a bit of selection if you look on their website and I really love the patterns as well as the glittery polishes.  And it doesn't have to dry!  Perfect way to avoid all the times that I've spent an hour doing my nails only to mess it up in one minute!

- lasts the amount of time it says it will.  I would say that my nails looked pretty good up until the 7th day or so and this is with normal wear and tear.  I wasn't delicate with these and did everything I would normally do in my daily activities.

Cons:

- cost.  I bought my set for $9.99, which is pretty steep for the girl that only likes to buy the cheap 99-cent polishes.

Bottom Line: I would buy them again and recommend them to other people!  I don't regret my purchase at all and got what I expected out of them!  Maybe the next time I buy them though, I might wait until my local drugstore is having a sale or I believe I have read that they are slightly cheaper at Walmart.

Tell me- have any of you guys tried these nail polish strips?  If so, what was your experience?

P.S. I'm planning on slowly catching up on all the comments and such that I missed while I was gone, but I am currently trying to knock out a draft for one of my senior theses, so that certainly takes priority.  That means I probably won't be able to post again until I get back to school on Monday.  I'm going to get back on twitter though (I've been away too long and I've missed you guys!) so if you want to chat, hit me up there!  Seriously, it will be a welcome distraction for me :D

new year, new you

Aaaand, I'm back.  I totally did not mean to take a one-week hiatus from blogging, but that's what happened.  First off I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year!  I'm so glad that I started this blog last year and got to cyber 'meet' all of you and I can't wait to see what 2011 brings!  I have a good feeling about this year =)  I spent my NYE at a party with my friends and it was a blast!  I wore one of my new tops, which I got for 1 penny at the Wet Seal Buy-One-Get-One-for-1 cent sale and paired it with this leather skirt which I snagged a month ago at Forever 21 for a little over $15.  Add a boyfriend blazer and tights for warmth and my new favorite wedges (which are much more comfortable once I added some Dr. Scholl's inner soles) and my outfit is complete!  Oh, and a new nail polish to ring in the new year!  How was your new year's eve?

sheer blouse- Wet Seal, black lace cami (underneath),
skirt, tights- forever 21, wedges- Urban Original

Also wearing some makeup, which I rarely do because I'm rather lazy ;)

blazer- Filene's Basement

I've got a little less than a week before I head back to school and since many of my friends had to go back, I plan to spend a lot of this last week relaxing and taking care of business.  Probably no more shopping because I've spent almost all of my Christmas money (woops!), but you'll definitely be seeing some of my new and thrifted purchases in upcoming posts.

Ohh, and some new year's resolutions!

1. Don't be afraid to tell people how I feel.

2. Work to keep in touch with friends because I know
it will be easy to lose contact when we graduate.

3. Continue working to improve my blog.

Any resolutions that you care to share? I hope you all had a lovely start to the New Year! =)

P.S. I'm thinking of adding a weekly feature here on the blog (I think it would help me post more regularly, if I have a goal to work towards) so I turn to you readers and
ask, what sort of feature would you like see/read here?

casual pants sunday

First of all, I'd like to share that - woot!  It's finally sunny here!  When I'm lounging around on the weekend, I don't usually get too fussy with my outfits and I throw on a casual top and pants.  Then if I need to run out and grab something, I just put on some shoes and I'm ready to go!

cardigan, top (underneath), necklace, shoes- forever 21, jeggings- plato's closet

top- plato's closet, pants- forever 21, boots- GoJane

Christmas yesterday was very chill and enjoyable.  My brothers woke me up (as usual), we opened presents, lounged about, stuffed our faces, and watched movies.  I think I was successful with my gifts this year.  I gave my mom and dad a photo calendar with pictures of our family in the various months,  I gave my sister a beginner knitter's "survival kit" because she has just taken up knitting (which I'm really excited about!) and I gave my brothers one of those videocameras like the Flip.  They all seemed to really like their presents, which made me happy.  :)  I want to hear all about your Christmas!  How did you spend the day?

Also, update on the Forever 21 nail polish that I mentioned a couple posts ago.  I've had it on my nails since Wednesday and it has barely chipped (this is without even doing any touch-ups with a top coat).  There are only little tiny chips at the top of the nail, which you don't even really notice unless you are looking for them, and one tiny chip on my index finger.  So far, it is holding up really well, much better than the $1 nail polish that I'm used to!

gray days

Continuing my series of old outfits, these two outfits are really weather appropriate in the sense that all the gray matches the sky outside.  It still hasn't stopped raining here.

cardigan, grey dress, braided belt, tights- forever 21, sweater dress- rave, boots- thom brown, flats- target

Also, I bought a new nail polish from Forever 21.  I don't know about the quality yet because this is my first time using one of their polishes, but I love the color.  It is a deep green, like a forest green.

Yesterday, I got a chance to see Black Swan and I loved it!  I know I've seen a good movie when the movie ends and they turn the lights back on and I'm a bit dazed because I was so engrossed in the movie and it takes me a second to remember where I am.  From the costumes to the music to the plot, I thought it was well worth the $5 bucks I paid.  I say, go see it if you haven't already!

Tonight I'm going to a mini-reunion with some of my friends from high school.  I'm still close with my good friend who organized the get-together, but I haven't seen or spoken to most of the other guys since we graduated, which was more than 3 years ago!  I'm just hoping it won't be too awkward...

festive nails

Here are some festive nails to get you in the holiday mood (I was inspired by Sophi's nails!)  I just painted a bright red on my nails and then on top of that, I added a layer of gold shimmer nail polish.  A little something special for everyday and a great accompaniment to a holiday look!  I also wanted to say thank you to all of my new followers- it really makes my day chatting with you guys and reading all of your comments!  Also, I have exciting stuff planned for the holiday season, including a new look and my first giveaway when I reach 50 followers!  Stay tuned! =)

oxfords and knee-highs, part 2!

Remember the outfit from yesterday? Well this is its sister outfit, but this time, I'm wearing my flat oxfords which were featured in an earlier post.

cardigan, lace dress- Forever 21, black slip dress (underneath)-
Charlotte Russe, knee-high socks- Target, oxford flats- Primark

I love this color nail polish!
cross ring- Forever 21

Right now, I'm eating some candy corn- nom nom, so yummy!! What is your favorite Halloween candy?

last laughs in london

I can't believe that tomorrow I will be back in the States! I feel like I just left the country yesterday! The funny thing is that I feel that this time next week, I probably will have settled into my routine and being abroad will feel so far away.  I've had a really good time in London, relaxing with my cousins and siblings, doing a little bit of shopping, and exploring a bit. Even though I'm seriously low on cash, I was able to pick up a few items:

I love nail polish, clearly! I'm excited to complete my rainbow (I needed yellow and orange) and also to snag that really bright blue color and the gunmetal color that I've been chasing after for months!

The H&M ring I wanted so badly! I finally tracked it down and I have to say I'm very happy :)

Black oxfords- I think these will be a great addition to my wardrobe. I can't wait to wear them!

Also, I got my hair done! Although it was admittedly a nice change having my natural hair out for a while, I really needed to get a no fuss hairdo done since school will be starting in a bit. In the pics below you can see the transition from afro to straightened natural hair to twist extensions. Fun fact- some of my really good friends have never seen my natural hair!

And last but not least, I promised some pictures of my day in central London. I'm going to miss this city and I can't wait to come back!

my cousin told me this is the "Times Square" of London

my cousin Ifee

lions, rain, and Trafalgar Square

The National Gallery

she smiled!

Big Ben

Love from London,
Nnenna