We'll take a cup of kindness yet

New Year's Resolutions

• Stop picking at my nails.
• Do at least 5 minutes of some form of workout a day.
• Eat healthier. No more junk food.
• Do everything without complaining.
• Set a budget for myself so I can afford a vacation.
• BE HAPPY.

I'm sure I'll think of more but for now these are them. I hope I can actually stick to all of them this coming year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Melissa

"I hope we shall drink down all unkindness" William Shakespeare

Hello!
I've been really busy with the holidays, work, and spending time with my boyfriend that I haven't had much time to post but I think today is the perfect day to. My Christmas went extremely well. I spent Christmas eve with my dad's side of my family eating lots of seafood. Definitely my favorite tradition. I spent Christmas day at my aunt's house on my mom's side. We ate so much food and watched undercover boss all day.

Tomorrow is New Year's Eve and I couldn't be more excited and optimistic for a new year than I am now. 2012 has been the hardest and worst year of my life. I've been through a lot this year and I can't imagine it getting much worse. I'm hoping 2013 is much better than this past year. May the new year be better for all of you also!

Melissa

Christmas Eve 

<3 Ladybug

Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress in to a positive one. - Hans Selye

Hello!
So Christmas is approaching faster than I accepted and I haven't finished my shopping yet. I have ideas for gifts to get but no funds at all. Hopefully I can buy the last of my gifts today and then only have to wrap and be done. Last night my mom and I baked some cookies. We made thumbprint cookies, which my boyfriend loves, and my mom made her seven layer cookies. The finishing touches will go on those today. I can't wait to eat them.

Speaking of food, the diet has been going very badly. I've been eating so much bad food and I haven't worked out yet. I've decided to wait until after New Year's. I'm going to make an inspiration wall in both my bedroom and my dorm room. I'm hoping that will motivate me. I think that because I'm looking at my motivational pictures it will keep me in track. I would also like to keep some reminders on my fridge at home. I think that will keep me from eating unhealthy food.

I cannot wait for the new year. I'm trying to be hopeful that 2013 will bring nothing but happiness. 2012 has been the worst year of my life, even though I'm going to the school of my dreams, have an amazing boyfriend, family, and friends who have supported me through everything, and I've started to gain some confidence. A lot of bad has come from 2012 and I'm more than ready for it to end. I'm going to live 2013 right. My New Year's resolutions are to stay fit and healthy, to start each day with a happy thought and to think about what I'm grateful for, to try and not spend a lot of money so I can hopefully afford a vacation, and to only say good things. High hopes for the new year. I'm going to start my new year cleaning today. Hopefully I can get my room organized completely!
Melissa

Thumbprint cookies with raspberry jelly.

Need more coffee.

Hello!
First day of winter break has been non-eventful. All I did was work and a little shopping at target with my mom. Tomorrow begins day one of eating better and working out. I'm definitely doing pilates in the morning and might even do some cardio at the gym. No more being upset with how I look. It's time to change it. On another note, I picked out some great stocking stuffers today. I bought Pixi Magic Tink Tint Lip Gloss in Happy Thoughts. It goes on so nicely and the color is great. It changes to make the perfect shade for your natural lip color. I also purchased Revlon Color Burst Lip Butter in Cotton Candy. I really like the lip butter and how nicely it goes on, but I might have chosen a bad color for myself. The purchase I'm in love with is Revlon's Super Lustrous Lipcolor in Fire and Ice. The color is not extremely red which is great for me because I feel like I have a hard time pulling off red. I was never really in to makeup until the beginning of this semester. Now I can't stop. I just want to keep trying out new makeup! Well today I've been nothing but exhausted so I'm going to make a cup of coffee and go watch Killers.
Melissa

Keep it kind, keep it good, keep it right.

Hey guys!
First and most importantly I'd like to express how tragic the current event in Newtown, Connecticut is. It's devastating that an elementary school isn't a safe place for children to go anymore. The families that were affected by this tragedy are in my thoughts and prayers.

Secondly, my first semester here at FIT is finished. I just have one more pilates class tomorrow morning and then I'm heading home. I'm excited to be going home. I'm even more excited for sleeping in. I haven't started packing yet to head home. I definitely need to start that soon. Also, as soon as I get home I need to finish my Christmas shopping and clean my room until it's spotless. As soon as it is I'll show you guys what it looks like. As cool as my room can be sometimes, I hate it. It's the attic and I have an extremely slanted ceiling which makes about half of my room usable and the other half is storage for everything else. Time to get the clutter extremely organized. I need to be more organized desperately.

Another thing I really need to do as soon as I get back is start going to the gym! I'm slacking in the working out and eating healthy department. Over the past year (about) I've lost roughly 30 pounds. I cannot let myself slip back. I have to keep it going. I'm about 10 pounds away from my goal weight, although the way I see myself says differently. I went from a size 14 to a 6 or 8 depending on the brand and style of the jeans. I went from a large in tops to now a small or medium. I can see the weight loss on the scale and in my clothes but when I look in the mirror I don't see it at all. I'm definitely not bathing suit ready. It's hard to eat healthy at school. Without working I can't afford to eat out and the cafeteria only sells so many options. Maybe next semester I'll get a job here in the city that can hopefully be seasonal and work well with my class schedule, that way I can earn some money. There's no where for me to really cook food but maybe I can go to Whole Foods and make healthier purchases. I also need to make time to work out during the spring semester. Time to start getting back on track.
Melissa

Fashion, put it all on me

Hey everyone!
It's finals week here at FIT. Thankfully, two of my finals are open notes and another is all multiple choice. There's really only one final that I'm stressing about but I'm trying to remain hopeful. I cannot wait for this semester to be over. It's been a real stressful one. I just need some time to relax, not worry about school, and work. I'm in desperate need of money. I'm gonna try to save every little bit that I can so I can hopefully go away with my boyfriend over the summer. We really really need a vacation.

This past weekend, my mom, my sister, my boyfriend and I went shopping at the outlets by us. I am so in love with those outlets it's crazy. If I was rich I would go crazy in BCBG, Michael Kors, Kate Spade, Coach, and so many more stores. Oh how I wish I was rich. I tried on a dress at BCBG. It was a high low dress with a shorter sequin dress attached underneath. It was strapless but I kept my bra straps up. It was gorgeous but I have no occasion to wear it so I refrained from buying it. Also, my Michael Kors wool coat made an appearance for the first time! I wore it shopping. My coat has really turned me on to the black and gold combination. I'm kind of falling in love with it. I love the Michael Kors black bag with the gold embellishments. Such a beautiful combination. Although I didn't buy anything, I almost did. In Kate Spade there was a gorgeous plain black tote that was such a great price but I'm really trying not to spend money. I was never really in to Kate Spade too much until I went in the store. Now I'm addicted. Also, on pinterest I just saw the most amazing pair of Michael Kors sneakers. Usually I'm not in to his sneakers but this are so my style. I'm just going to love this gorgeous items from afar.
Melissa

Love the giver more than the gift. - Brigham Young

Hey everyone!

I've been super busy lately preparing for finals and cannot wait for winter break, even though mine only consists of a few weeks because I'm taking a winter class. I'm so excited for the wonderful Christmas celebrations and traditions of my family. The tree is up and has been up since the day after Thanksgiving, the snowbabies are on display, the stockings are hung on the railing of the stairs, and the snowflake shower curtain has made its way to the bathroom. Probably my favorite part out of all of the decorations is the snowbabies. I love love love them! My mom decorates them beautifully with white fluff underneath them with lights underneath that. It's my favorite part about the holidays. Aside from decorations, my other favorite tradition, which is definitely going to stay a tradition for me, is the feast of the seven fishes. It's the most delicious tradition ever, aside from stuffing at Thanksgiving. I have a wonderful love for seafood. Of course another main part of the holidays is gift giving! I love to see the expressions on people's faces when they receive gifts. I haven't fully decided yet what I'm getting my boyfriend or the majority of his family yet but I know it will be great! I would also like to make donations this year. I live in an area that was effected by Hurricane Sandy. It would really mean a lot to me to be able to make some donations to those in need. So many people were effected badly from the storm and many don't even have the option of celebrating the holidays. For any readers who would also like to donate to those in need, please don't hesitate! I'll write again soon!

Melissa

This used to be covered by sand dunes and only the top portion of the fence and poll used to be exposed.

The only damage that my house thankfully had was a fallen fence.

This pictures shows how far the water reached in our backyard. The water height reached our bottom step in the front of our house.

This is my boyfriend's house. A very large tree fell on their roof and now they have a whole in their attic and a whole where a skylight used to be. They are still without heat.

Fashion and Fitness

Hello again,
So I've been overly excited about the collaboration between Target and Neiman Marcus and have been going crazy about it for months and today was the day! I was unsure about what time it would be available online since I wouldn't be able to actually get to Target until late afternoon so I waited until after midnight and it still wasn't available. I found it it wouldn't be available until "early morning" so I went to bed. I randomly woke up at 3 am and decided to check the website on my phone and found out that it was available so I quickly opened my laptop and bought a couple things. I purchased the Diane Von Furstenberg yoga mat, the Oscar de la Renta tote, and the Lela Rose dress. So excited and cannot wait until they arrive!

I got home from school today and found my Michael Kors coat has arrived from Macy's! It's the most gorgeous coat I've ever owned. I'll post pictures of it tomorrow.

On another note, I've been really disappointed lately that I haven't been focused on eating as healthy as I was and I haven't been working out often. Today was day one of a change. I'm taking a pilates class at school and I went to class this morning which just added to my disappointment. Before Thanksgiving break I was actually getting really really good at it and wasn't struggling at all. Today was the complete opposite. I'm going to do pilates on my own more often, at least 3 times a week, and hopefully get better soon. I also am going to start going to the gym as often as possible. My major problem areas are my butt and thighs so I'm definitely going to do lunges often too. Hopefully I'll reach my goal by the summer. As for eating healthy, thats hard. Being at school in the city with very little money makes eating at the cafeteria the easiest. There aren't many options of food to choose from. I decided I'm going to have cereal for breakfast, choose lunch daily, and have salad and/or soup for dinner.

One "craft" that I want to do during my short winter break is to make an inspiration board. While I'm completely obsessed with Pinterest, I need a board that I'm forced to see as soon as I wake up and all throughout the day. It's going to consist of workout images, women who I inspire to look like and women who I inspire to be like, and fashion images. Hopefully this will keep me focused on my main goal.

If any readers have any thoughts or suggestions about how they stay focused on eating healthy and working out please let me know! I love hearing about new ways to achieve goals!

Hope all is well. Melissa

Hello Bonjour Hola Ciao Aloha !

Hello blogging world!
I finally caved in and started blogging! I'm so excited to be a part of all of you fellow bloggers! First, here's a little background about me. My name is Melissa, I'm 22 years old, and I'm studying fashion merchandising management at FIT! I attended community college first and was a graphic design major and I have an associates degree in art. After transferring for graphic design I realized art was not the right career path for me. I've always had an interest in fashion and the freedom to express who you are in such a creative way. It took me a long time to develop my style and I'm still working on it. I'm still learning some things and hopefully I'll learn more from you fellow bloggers and hopefully you can watch my progress through my posts. While fashion is my main focus, I'm also really interested in art, music, health, and fitness and I will also create posts about what's inspiring me at the moment. I hope you all enjoy my blog!!