The first sure symptom of a mind in health is rest of heart and pleasure felt at home.

In the recent weeks, I have been focusing more on domestic beauty. 

I strongly believe that home is where your heart is; if you are not happy at home, it's hard to be happy anywhere else.

So I had been meaning to give my room a much needed makeover, but had been procrastinating for quite some time.  Luckily, I was given a lovely white wardrobe and dresser for my birthday which sparked this interior makeover.

My goal is to end up with a simple yet chic, all-white with colorful accents, French Country style boudoir.

When surfing the web for ideas, I always end up looking through photos of ‘Shabby Chic’ style bedrooms.  It’s so me!  I like to think of it as French Country meets Bohemian. Kind of like Anthropologie and Free People, but in a bedroom.  Romantic and elegant, just like myself!  Or so I'd like to think.

There's something warm, rich, and inviting about this style.  I love the rich textiles, soft yet bright colors, and feminine patterns; the combination of white furniture with pops of colorful accents gives me great comfort.

'Shabby Chic' is all about finding beauty in the old; being "perfectly imperfect".

Rachel Ashwell is the inspirational name synonymous with ‘Shabby Chic’.  

According to Wikipedia:

During an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show on January 1, 2006, Oprah was quoted saying "Rachel Ashwell single-handedly turned shabby into chic and it caught on like wildfire!".  When Ashwell's home sold in July 2010, the Los Angeles Times covered the sale, describing Ashwell as "the creator of the Shabby Chic brand."

Rachel offers design inspiration, flea market finds, and creative ideas on her blog and in several of her published books.

I found some great photos I wanted to share with you all.  These photos are from Rachel Ashwell’s site, and/or blog. 

To view more things ‘Shabby Chic’, check out Rachel Ashwell's official site, blog, or her shop site.

Rachel also sells more affordable items in her 'Simple Shabby Chic' line, available at Target. Be sure to check it out here.

As for my bedroom, I'm seriously considering the following items- with the exception of the garbage can because it was sold :(

'Simply Shabby Chic' bedding

This is the prettiest garbage can I've ever seen!

This is a project that will take me quite some time.  Once its all done, I might post photos showing the progression.

Let me know if that's something you guys would be interested in seeing!

Have a great weekend!

The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.

Every once in a while, it's good to unplug from life and enjoy its simplicities.

This weekend kicked off with me going to South Street Seaport in Manhattan on Friday; Saturday my bestie Liz, and I went to a farm and picked peaches and berries, and also enjoyed ourselves walking around a really old town filled with cute boutiques and antique shops; Sunday I went back to the farm and town, then finished the weekend with a mini-hike (I had flip flops on) at a local state park, where I sat on some rocks and soaked my toes.  It was really hot out, so the cold stream felt amazing!  It couldn't have been more perfect.

It had to be one of the most relaxing and positive weekends thus far this summer.

There's nothing like spending time with your best friend, and reflecting.

@ South Street Seaport

Finally wearing my JC Lita Spikes! ♥

        ♥ her

Goats have slimy tongues.  Gross!

Having fun picking peaches, and climbing trees in my American Flag Converse by John Varvatos Chuck Taylor

We climbed the 'Giant Haystack'! 

Eager little goat!

Top: View of the barns; Bottom Left: Apple Orchard; Bottom Right: Blueberry Bush

The lake @ the local state park

Dipping my tootsies in the refreshing stream

Here's a video of me pulling Liz around the farm, in a wagon- and almost taking us both out while going down a hill ☺

FOTD Birthday Edition!

Today is my official birthday!

I want to thank all of my close friends for coming out and surprising me on Saturday.  It touched my heart beyond what words can express.

Unfortunately, I had too much "fun" at dinner and did not take any pictures of this surprise, or my dress!

The only photos I have were taken with my iPhone, so they are not the best quality, and of course they are of my makeup.  I was very happy with the outcome.  It was a very simple, yet sexy look that focused on playing up the eyes.  Exactly what I was going for. 

Here's my Face Of The Day- Birthday Edition!

Face

[NARS] Laguna (contour)

[NARS] blush in Dolce Vita

[Too Faced] Pink Leopard bronzer

[Yves Saint Laurent] TOUCHE ÉCLAT luminizing pen

Eyes

[MAC] Sand & Sun {LE from three summers ago}

[Lancôme] ARTLINER - Precision Point eye liner in Noir

[NARS] Marie-Galante {LE} blue side- lightly on outer v

[MAC] Soft brown

[Revlon] Fantasy Length Lashes in 99500 Intensifying

Eyebrows

[Anastasia] Brow gel in Espresso

[Anastasia] Brow Express

[Anastasia] Brow Express (highlighter)

[Dior] Brow Pencil

Lips

[Yves Saint Laurent]  Golden Gloss #50

Nails of the evening: 

Nail decals by Kiss in Gown

Unfortunately, these do not stay on for too long.  But they're so cute!

Rawr! :)

Pictures from Sunday's BBQ.  We're so silly :P

Pictures taken on one of our stops.  A small attempt to stall the birthday girl :)

Or...a simple excuse to feed my Instagram addiction!

Ciatè Caviar Manicure: Review

Good day everyone!

I meant to post this review about two months ago, but in true Stephie form- I forgot!

I'm sure everyone is pretty much familiar with Ciatè's Caviar Manicure™  (yep, I believe they are applying to trademark the term! Read about it here if you're interested)

After seeing this on Good Morning America, I knew I had to get my hands on it.  

Read full post for review and more pictures!

➜➜ Read Full Post! ➜➜

Wedding in Mexico Part 2!

Pictures of the lovely bride's sisters have surfaced and I am so pleased with the way their makeup turned out!

It's not like they needed much anyway since they are blessed with natural beauty!

I also did the hair of these two ADORABLE little beauties.  They're just so darn cute!

Just some soft beachy waves and curls to go with the beach wedding :)

I love this picture!  I feel like it belongs in an advertisement or something.
So much personality in this shot.  Love it♥

Resort pool

Resort beach

Hey, it happens to the best of us

Universal look of confusion

Wedding in Mexico!

Hello lovelies!

I was fortunate enough to have the privilege of going to a wedding in the lovely country of Mexico!  With the exception of Tijuana (which isn't exactly Mexico's finest), I've never been to Mexico.  What a beautiful place! 

Although I can't say that I'm excited to be back home, I am excited to share photos of my trip with you all :)

It was a beautiful beach wedding that was literally blessed!

Check out this picture!  Absolutely no editing was done to the clouds.

How insane is that?!

Now, onto the wedding...

The already gorgeous bride looked stunning in her lace gown as she wed her tall and handsome hubbie.

As if being invited to this exotic wedding wasn't awesome enough, I was asked to do the makeup for the bridal party!

They are such insanely beautiful sisters; what an honor it was to do their makeup on such an important day.

We were in such a rush that I was unable to take photos of the final results.  I'll have to keep an eye out for pictures that may surface from others that attended.  I'm sure someone took some pictures because they looked marvelous!

I also went on a tour to Xichen-Itza, one of the new 7 wonders of the world!  The tour included trips to Valladolid, and the Mayan Cenote Zaci 

a cenote is a deep natural pit, or sinkhole, characteristic of Mexico, resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes groundwater underneath- Wikepedia

Dweeb alert!  It was so hot out that looking cute was obviously the furthest thing from my mind

My adorable amiga Disha outside her awesome room!  It was literally feet away from the pool and bar.

Picture taken the day I left :(

Found this stellar iguana bracelet!  My arm swag was fuego!

Well lovelies, I hope you enjoyed these pictures as much as I enjoyed sharing them!  And I hope you're enjoying your summer :)

Two weddings down, one more to go (next weekend).