Summer Outfit Idea: Date Night!

Hey everyone! Hope your having a lovely Thursday! I am very excited because two friends are coming into town tomorrow. Even though finals week is approaching, surprisingly, I am not as stressed out as I should be because I was able to get a lot of things done this week. For those of you that are thinking of having a fun night out tomorrow to celebrate the end of a busy week, here's an outfit idea that I put together!

Hope you like! Let me know what you think below and thanks for all the support/advice on my last post!!!

 ♥ Joy ♥

Sunday Funday: Double Post!

Hi everyone! Just thought I would do a double post today. I just wanted to update everyone on some exciting changes! I started graduate school in the Fall of 2011. I heard that graduate assistant positions (you work with professors or school departments) are great funding opportunities, but difficult to come by. After trying for a whole year and not having much luck, I was feeling a bit down.

However, at the start of the summer this year, I did get a part-time job in my field of study, which made me feel a bit better. With the encouragement of my friends and family, I continued to apply for positions that came up through school. Towards the beginning of July, I was given an opportunity to interview for a graduate assistant position! Despite the previous rejections I received before, I stayed hopeful and just last week, I got a call letting me know I got the position! I'm excited, but apprehensive because of the time commitment it will entail.

My schedule will be as follows (starting in August)

Internship (required for school) - 3-6 hours

Part-time work - 12 hours

Graduate Assistantship - 20 hrs

Classes - 4 days a week; nighttime

Yes, it will be a crazy year!

Bonus: Even though it is almost the end of July and we're getting close to August, I thought I would still leave you with some cute ideas for the remainder of summer!

 

Have you girls had similar experiences or crazy schedules? I'd love to hear your thoughts! Let me know what you think of the outfit above and if you have questions about graduate school, feel free to leave them below as well!

♥ Joy ♥

Versatile Blogger Award

Hope everyone is having a lovely Sunday! I was nominated by the lovely Carlota for a blog award a while back and have not had the opportunity to post it. I truly appreciate the nomination and support as this has been a crazy and busy year!

For this award, I am supposed to post up 7 random facts about me. I will also nominate some other lovely bloggers for the award. Here goes!

Random facts:

1. My mom says my stomach is like a garbage can because I enjoy eating and trying new foods.

2. I am currently a graduate student, going into my second and final year of school (hopefully, I make it out alive).

3. I have been told I like "old people" candy because I enjoy eating lemonheads and strawberry filled hard candy.

4. My favorite scent is Marc Jacobs "Daisy." I get headaches with scents that are too strong.

5. I can only wear gold/platinum/white gold earrings for extended periods of time because my ears are really sensitive.

6. I love watching Disney classics! They never seem to get old.

7. My next major purchase goals will either be a new camera or a new phone (my phone is from several years back).

The lovely blogs I nominate:

fun beauty

Alis Volat Propiis

Am I hip now?!

Betzy's Makeup

Blow a Rainbow

CreoqueKim

Effy

Everything That Matters...

Girly and Glamorous

Nina Mia's DIY

One Creates Oneself

Simplement heureuse

something POSH

Sunshine & Pretty Things

The Wallflower

♥ Joy ♥

Last Day in Providence

Hiyas everyone! Hope you enjoyed my Boston pics. Today, I'm posting up my last day in Providence. My little sister and I decided to make our last meal count, so we visited one of the food trucks parked along the Brown campus streets. I had passed by Mama Kim's many times during my stay in Providence and I finally got to indulge in what the truck had to offer! Here's what we had....

To start, we ordered some delicious Fried Kimchi Dumplings. Since these were made fresh, they were absolutely delicious, but be careful, their hot!

Then we both ordered sliders. My little sister ordered the Portabella Bokkeum Slider (left) and I ordered the Chicken Gochujang Slider (right). Although the portions were smaller than your average burger, it think it was just the right amount of food before getting on my plane home. 

Have you tried Korean BBQ before? Do you like Korean cuisine? I look forward to seeing what you have tried. Let me know what you think below and as always, follow if you like!

Happy Thursday!

-Joy

Note: Products purchased with my own money and the reviews are 100% my own.

Trip to Boston!

Hello Hello! Hope everyone is having a lovely Wednesday! In today's post, I will be sharing a few pictures from my trip to Boston. Despite it being pretty hot outside that day, they were also preparing for a water parade of the boats in their harbor for Independence Day. From Providence to Boston, it was about an hour train ride. We started out the day by meeting up with a friend and grabbing some Dim Sum at Hei La Moon Restaurant in Boston Chinatown. The food was so yummy...I only realized at the end of the meal, that I forgot to take pictures. As we were leaving though, we saw this giant sitting in his tank...

That's my guy friend's hand used for comparison...

We decided after lunch, that we would take a "duck" tour (tour on land and water). Along the way, we passed by the Old State House where the US Constitution was read off the balcony for the first time.

We also passed by the Children's Museum where I saw Arthur lounging on the roop...

Then we transitioned from land to water and sailed by the USS Constitution (black boat in the back). It is actually the oldest sailing ship (makes 1 trip a year on the 4th of July).

I love the older styled ships. I think they are always so majestic and pretty!

We also had the opportunity to see some naval ships in the harbor. I don't think they normally dock there, but again, due to the holidays we were lucky enough to see them.

After an eventful day, we wound down with some yummy food at Anthem. My friend purchase this sangria. I had never tried it before and am not partial to alcohol, but this actually tasted pretty good (I took a sip ^__^)!

My little sister and I shared a Mac n Cheese with butter poached lobster. The lobster was pretty good, but all of us agreed, we wished the sauce was thicker.

Of course, when in Boston, we had to get the Clam Chowda! This was absolutely delicious!

We returned back to Providence later that night and the next day, we bummed around and just chilled.

For dinner, we ate at La Creperie on Fones Alley. I took the "Connie" to go (Nutella and Banana crepe). I couldn't resist!

I think next time, I'd like to visit Salem, Massachusetts (1 day trip). Have you been to Salem or Boston before? Do you like trips to historical places? Let me know what you think! I'd love to hear your thoughts.

-Joy

Providence Day 2

Hiyas! Hope you all are having a lovely Sunday! Schedule-wise, the end of my week became a little hectic, so I didn't get a chance to put up the second installment of my Providence trip. This post will be a little bit pic heavy since we covered a lot on Day 2. Hope you all enjoy!

We started out the day by meeting up with our friend and grabbing breakfast at Loui's Family Restaurant on Brook St. My little sister said they had been featured on the Food Network on "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives", so we decided to give it a try. I has also visited Yelp.com to check for recommendations. Here's what we ordered...

 My lil sister had ordered a combo with 2 eggs, toast and homefries.

The three of us also shared a stack of pumpkin pancakes (yummy).

My friend and I both ordered the "Drunk Johnny" because that's what Guy Fieri (host of the show) ordered. Needless to say, if you like corn beef hash, this is a pretty delicious choice.

After leaving with our bellies full, my lil sister said she wanted to show us a pretty view over the Brown University campus. Along the way I saw...

Pretty flowers

 

 View of campus from the Sciences Library

Statue of Marcus Aurelius (Roman emperor)

Beautiful stained glass windows in Sayles Hall.

 

The largest Hutchings-Votey organ in the world is also housed in Sayles Hall. My little sister said she did some exploring in the basement with some friends and she came across a tombstone in one of the closets (o_O). We tried to go and see it, but sadly, there were people in the classroom that she had discovered it in.

Oldest building on campus, University Hall, built in 1770.

We then went on to visit the John Hay Library where we were told housed 3 books bound in human flesh. We spoke with the librarian and she showed us this one, the "Dance of Death." The other, which we didn't have a chance to see, was not surprisingly, on human anatomy...creepy...

I also saw this pretty clock in one of the library hallways and when I took a pic, it came out hauntingly beautiful.

After we finished exploring the library, we went on to visit the mall and saw "Magic Mike (yes, we dragged our male friend along, tehe ^__^)." Sadly, I didn't really think the movie turned out to be that great. 

We grabbed food quickly after the movie and went for an hour of archery (hadn't done it since 5th grade). I thought it was a lot of fun. It definitely requires technique. Thankfully, the staff gave us mini lessons and were extremely helpful.

We ended our day with some delicious sushi at Sakura.

My friend had the Sweetheart roll with 2 sides of Ikura.

My lil sister and I shared the sides of Miso soup and salad that came with...

Our Yam roll (this was delicious by the way)!

What do you like to do when you visit a new place? What's the most interesting place you've been? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Also, thank you everyone for helping me reach my goal of 100 readers! It really means a lot to me that I have such lovely, supportive readers ♥ and it always makes my day to read your comments. Next stop...Boston!

Providence Day 1

Last week, I mentioned I had gone to visit my little sister in Providence, Rhode Island. I got in pretty late on Wednesday, so we didn't have a chance to do too much, but we went thrifting on Thursday and had lunch at Kabob and Curry. While I didn't find anything at the thrift stores, we did have some delicious food at Kabob and Curry (held us over for the rest of the day)!

Here's what we ordered:

My little sister had the Goan Vegetable Curry with a side of Basmati Rice.

 I had the Chicken Tikka Masala with Paneer Cheese Naan (yummy bread ^__^).

The food was delicious! Of course, I tried her dish as well and liked hers too. Both of us also had a side of Mango Lassi (thick mango drink-yum). Later in the week, we had the buffet and it was also delectable! I would definitely say this place is a gem on Thayer St. If you're ever in the Providence area, definitely give this place a try! 

Do you like Indian food (I know some people aren't particular to it)? If you do, what dishes have you tried and liked?

Note: Food was purchased with my own money and the reviews are 100% my own.

Summer Outfit Idea: Mix n Match Brights!

Hope everyone is having a lovely Sunday! With all this heat and hot weather, one of the best ways to cool off is by going for a swim. I love the bright colors on trend this summer and what better way to wear it than by incorporating it into your swimwear. Although we often opt to match our tops and bottoms, I thought it would be more fun to mix and match!

As always, I look forward to reading your thoughts and comments. Let me know what you think as well as what are some of your favorite summer activities!

The Liebster Blog Award

I was recently nominated for the Liebster blog award by Kimmy at CreoqueKim (Ty Ty!). I just thought this would be a fun way for you to get to know a little bit more about me. Although I started this blog a while ago, it has only been recently that I really began to post, so I greatly appreciate all the support and love I've received!

The Liebster Blog Award is given to upcoming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. The Meaning; Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome.

Here are the rules for receiving this award:

1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves

2. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you & create 11 questions for the people you've tagged to answer.

3. Choose 11 people and link them in your post.

4. Go to their page and tell them.

5. Remember, no tag backs!

11 Fun Facts

1. I can't swim =(

2. My favorite basketball team are the Bulls ♥

3. I am entering my second year of grad school (if you have questions about grad. school, feel free to ask)

4. My favorite book is "Rhapsody" by Elizabeth Hayden (this served as the inspiration for my blog name)

5. All my blog pictures are taken with a Canon Powershot SD1100 IS (non-DSLR)

6. I love to thrift!

7. Public speaking stresses me out >.<

8. I enjoy playing video/PC games even though I'm not great at it (LoL, Call of Duty ♥)

9. My favorite scent is "Daisy" by Marc Jacobs 

10. I love baths after a stressful day.

11. I enjoy experimenting and putting my own twist on the things I cook.

Kimmy's Questions

1. What is your favorite animal? Dragons!

2. Have you ever been in hospital, why? No for injuries, yes for work/school

3. Last time you laughed till you cried and at what?

4. Your dream job? Something in healthcare (maybe advocacy)

5. Top 3 favorite things to eat? Korean BBQ, Pastas & Indian dishes w/Naan ♥

6. Favorite cocktail? Not really a crazy drinker

7. Worst fear? Drowning

8. What is your zombie apocalypse plan? Make sure I have a health pack (like in Left for Dead), Make sure my friends and family are safe (like in the Walking Dead), Stock up on supplies

9. What do you wear to bed? shorts and a tank top =)

10. Favorite website to shop at? Amazon or Forever21 (wish H&M had an online shop =()

11. Your top 5 clothing brands? Forever21, H&M, Old Navy, Merona (Target), VS

My Questions

1. What is your favorite clothing item or accessory?

2. Favorite place to shop (online or store)?

3. Top 3 favorite foods?

4. What are 2 hobbies you enjoy?

5. Dream vacation?

6. Favorite book?

7. Favorite candy or dessert?

8. Favorite TV show?

9. Favorite scent?

10. Most love superhero?

11. Why do you enjoy blogging?

My Nominations

I'm passing this on to the following to spread the love, give support to new and upcoming blogs or just show a couple of blogs I love! (all have less than 200 followers).

Sara

Jyoti

Samily

Girlie and Glamorous

Nina Mia

Asilia

So Haute

Sharee

Jessica

The Jem Journal

Alex

With Each Passing Day

Bunnylicious

Hope you enjoyed & don't forget to pass the love along ♥

Happy 4th of July!

Hi everyone! For those of you who celebrate the holiday, have a safe and lovely 4th of July! 

xoxo,

Joy

Product Review: Wet n Wild Eyeshadow Palettes

Happy Monday everyone! So I'm getting ready to head home from my Providence trip. It is crazy how time flies when you're on vacation, but it does make me realize how much I love Chicago <3

Today, I wanted to show you some of the Wet n Wild palettes I picked up from CVS that I brought along on my trip. 

Walking on Eggshells (Left)

Knock on Wood (Right)

I picked these two palettes up specifically because one is a very neutral palette (wearable for the day) and the other is a darker palette (good for nighttime smokey eyes!)

 Pretty colors!

Swatches

(Swatches were made with one swipe; pics taken in natural light)

Pros

Very affordable

Soft shadow

Good color payoff

Wearable

Cons

Can produce a little fallout

Since shadows are so soft, the shadows might break if the package is dropped

Overall, I think these two palettes work really well! I would definitely consider purchasing some of Wet n Wild's other palettes in the future! Hope this review was useful. Let me know if you have tried Wet n Wild products before and if you liked them (I always look forward to reading your comments ^__^). Also, follow if you like <3

Note: Products were purchased with my own money and the reviews are 100% my own