Summer 2013 Trends: The Return of the 90s

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You are a 90s child if you grew up listening to the sweet sounds of boy bands, reveled in the viewing of TV teen/family sitcoms, and adorned yourself with the clothing of the modernizing world.  The 90s did not only give birth to the many luxuries that we enjoy today, but it also birthed a new fashion movement. With the rise in media, fashion was not only something a select few could enjoy, which is quite ironic because the 90s also gave rise to the "anti - fashion" or grunge movement. Anyways, it was something any Tom, Dick, and Harry could embrace. Who can forget the famous Rachel Green's (aka the lovely Jennifer Aniston's) haircut? Or Brittney Spears school girl and leather ensemble in her hits Baby One More Time and Oops I Did It Again? Or the Tanner girls ubiquitous scrunchie, the ultimate hair accessory? Or the overalls that was a staple fashion piece in shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel Air? Or Sabrina's eclectic style? Or the Spice Girls' British invasion and all the Union Jack clothing?The 90s had it all from sporty to preppy, ultra chic to grunge, neons to pastels, plaid to florals. Whatever it was, 90s fashion has left an impact on our generation. And I'm glad to say, it is back, well at least for now.

So, let's get right to it!
Here are my 6 favorites that have risen back up from the 90s graveyard!

1) JELLYS! Ah who can forget these. Jelly shoes were worn and loved by all, and now a decade later, they have made a comeback - with a modern twist.
Ultimate T

These Stella McCartney heel sandals are my favorite.


A Blast From The Past: The Return of Jelly Shoes

The fabulous Kourtney Kardashian is wearing a pair of Givenchy jelly sandals.

2) Leather
Leather pants do not only scream N'Sync and Lunchables, but they symbolized the end of the 90s fashion trends. And yes my friends, leather is back! This season, my favorite way to wear leather is as short skirts and shorts - the girls from Clueless would drool all over them.
 
This model is also wearing jelly heels with this short blue leather skirt.

 
Not only is this model bringing back leather, but she is bringing back that 90s anti - fashion, grunge motif.



3) Florals and plaid patterns. TOGETHER. This season patterns are taking a leap into the unconventional and joining forces. Who can forget Kelly (from Saved by the Bell) and her awesome floral pants? And Cher's (from Clueless) plaid yellow ensemble?
Floral jeans - saved by the bell                  

This is the offspring of Kelly's pants and Cher's plaid outfit. I present to you an original from the Nanette Lepore collection.


4) Overalls. I can almost guarantee you that if you had met me in elementary school, one day out of the week, I would definitely be wearing my pink overalls. I was beyond ecstatic to see this trend come back.



5) Holographic Attire.
Remember those holographic bags and clothing like these.



Well the 2013 version of this trend has arrived.

These are  from the Jonathan Saunders's Spring/Summer 2013 line.



  
This is a Meile Bianco clutch.




 
This is a Miista Zoe Oxford Shoe, from her 2013 Summer Collection.

6) Lastly, the good ole' crop top. The 90s pushed the boundaries by popularizing the crop top. Although it lost its momentum into the early 2000s, this trend is back with a bang.



This is from the Tibi Spring/Summer 2013 collection.


Hope you guys all enjoyed this flashback to the 90s. 2013 has been the ultimate throwback year.

Stay fabulous!

Comment below to tell me your favorite trends of summer 2013 and the 90s. Also, don't forget to follow me on all my social media sites.

XOXO S

Homemade Healthy Ranch Dressing

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I am in love with salads. One would think it's because I'm a vegetarian, but no my friends, that is not why. I am obsessed with ranch dressing. Ever since I was little, I have taken to ranch to make my salads delicious. I blame my cousin for this obsession. Whenever the family went out to eat at Mexican restaurants, she always ordered ranch dip, so thank you Komal (if you are reading this) for making ranch dressing a weakness of mine. 

However, as I grew, I started learning how unhealthy ranch dressing is and that, even though the bottle may say fat free, it is defeating the purpose of a healthy diet. If you haven't guessed so already, I am really into finding homemade healthier alternatives to my meals, and I am glad to say I have found one for ranch dressing as well.

Let's get to it!!

Calories: Approximately 15 calories for 3 tablespoons
Preparation time: less than 10 minutes
Serves about 20 people

Ingredients:
1 cup of fat free plain yogurt

1 tbsp of dried parsley flakes
1 tbsp of oregano 
2 cloves of garlic
0.5 of an onion
0.5 cups of chopped jalapenos
Nutribullet or any food processor

Steps: 
1. Place onions, jalapenos, and garlic cloves in the nutribullet and blend everything to a paste. 
2. Add the yogurt, parsley, and oregano. 
3. Blend until it is a creamy paste. 
4. Enjoy with a salad or as a dip. 



I enjoyed my ranch dressing with a salad, some tortilla chips, and a collard vegetable wrap (recipe for which will be posted soon).


Bon appétit!

XOXO S


Love for Makeup and Youtube Beauty Guru of the Week: GetglamwithLO

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Hello beautiful people!
If you are like me and grew up in the technologically savy generation, then you certainly realize the importance YouTube has had on our lives. Going through those splendid years of puberty in the 2000s, I didn't have to succumb to embarrassment as often as I expected. If I wanted to learn how to put on eyeliner or do my hair, I no longer needed to turn to my mother for help. Instead, I took comfort in the cyber world. Via YouTube, I learned many of my beauty/hair tricks. Ever since I remember, I have loved makeup. This can be attributed to my mom's love for cosmetic shopping and many years of dancing, where I had no choice but to wear tons and tons of makeup. One of my fondest memories was when I was three years old and my sister was just born, I went through all my moms lipsticks and made myself and all my barbie dolls over. A disaster, nonetheless, but that was the day my love for beauty sprouted. Fast forward several years. I remember it was 2007, the beginning of my freshmen year of high school. I was not allowed to wear an extensive amount of makeup. Actually, I was allowed to only wear eyeliner, and that was about it. I didn't even know how to wear it correctly. My mom taught me a way to wear it, but frankly, the way she wore eyeliner definitely did not suit me. I experimented myself. I went from having raccoon eyes to looking like the poster child of an 80s sitcom. Clearly, I had no idea what I was doing. So, like any other good fourteen year old, I turned to google for help. I searched "how to wear natural looking makeup" and I was redirected to Michelle Phan's youtube video (the link to which is here). I was mesmerized. A year or two went by and I still could not get enough. Then, I received my first CHI hair straightener for my 16th birthday. Yet again, I turned to YouTube and discovered Andreaschoice 70s Angel hairstyle video (the link to which is here). Thus sparked the fire for my YouTube fashion/beauty guru addiction.
It was the summer of 2009, and I even recorded a couple of my own videos, but never uploaded them for fear of being ridiculed by my peers. I also was constantly being told by school administrators and teachers that colleges can search everything online that has to do with you. At that time, I thought having these videos would decrease my chances of having a future. So not true. Whenever I made those videos, I felt a sudden rush of confidence that was oh so foreign to me at that time of my life. YouTube and my videos were my escape, but as my high school years went by, so did the suppression of my passion. That has to be my biggest regret. I always told myself that the quality of my videos are awful, nobody would watch them. Now when you look at gurus and their older videos, they all started from the beginning. No one really knew what they were doing or what would become of their videos when they first started. They uploaded videos because they enjoyed it, and that should be enough. I wish I uploaded them when I did, but, I promise you, by the end of this year I will clear my regrets and upload my videos.

Anyways, although there is still some time for me to appear on the YouTube beauty scene, I thought it would be cool to share with you my current favorite YouTube gurus. So, every week I will share a new and upcoming guru. We all know and love the legends: DulceCandy87, Andreaschoice, MichellePhan, Blair and Elle Fowler, and MacBarbie07, but we often forget that there are others out there as well. I recently came across Lauren aka GetglamwithLO's channel (her youtube channel is linked here). I happened to click on her How To Wear Bright Lips video (link is here), and soon I found myself having watched all her videos on her channel. What I love about her is that she is very relatable. She clearly loves what she is sharing, and that is what makes watching her videos a pleasure. She is new to YouTube, but appears to be a natural in all her videos. Her monthly favorites videos truly carry some great advice. She shows an incredible amount of great potential; she will surely find success through her videos. My favorite video of her's is one of her Get Ready with Me|Glowing Skin and Coral Lips video (the link is here). I love the look she created. It is so chic and perfect for the summer/spring. From must haves to favorites, from hair styles to get ready with me videos, she has it all. So if you are the hunt for something new and enjoyable on the beauty/fashion front of YouTube, check out her channel! Great job Lauren, can't wait to see what coming next!!






Lesson to be learned from this: never put down a passion of yours for the fear of what others might think. Anyways, I hope you enjoy her channel and let her know I sent you her way. Please comment/share and follow me on all my social media sites.

XOXO S

Smoothie Series: Healthy Green Smoothie - A Tropical Summer Delight

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Hello Beautiful People!

HAPPY JULY! I am back again with another green smoothie recipe. Like I said in my previous smoothie series post, I absolutely adore green smoothies!


 So, without any further ado, let's get to it.


This recipe calls for ingredients for one serving. Each serving has about 186 calories and the preparation time is about ten minutes.


Ingredients:

1 cup of organic spinach
0.5 cups of chopped up mango
0.5 cups of blueberries
4 medium sized strawberries chopped up
0.5 cups of pure coconut water (I used the brand Zico)
0.5 cups of ice
A nutribullet/magic bullet or any other blender



I purchased all my fruits from the local farmer's market, and the spinach from Sam's Club. The Zico pure coconut water was purchased from Trader Joe's.
Remember, as stated in the previous smoothie post, half of the smoothie serving needs to be comprised of greens. 



Steps:

1. Clean all the fruits and spinach thoroughly. 
2. Chop up the strawberries and unpeeled mango. 
3. Place the spinach, strawberries, blueberries, and mango in the nutribullet.
4. Add the a quarter of the Zico coconut water.
5. Blend the mixture until it forms a puree.
6. Add the remaining coconut water and ice.
7. Blend until it is the consistency of a smoothie. 

8. ENJOY!













This is an excellent green smoothie option. I already told you about all the benefits of spinach and strawberries (which you can read here). So, let me tell you about the benefits of blueberries, mango and coconut water. 


Blueberries are rich with antioxidants, which are vital for good health, making this juicy blue fruit a super food. The antioxidant properties of blueberry have been studied tremendously and have shown to reverse and prevent heart disease and cancer, as well as a whole other slew of ailments. Blueberries are also abundantly full of manganese, vitamin C, and fiber - to name a few. Manganese aids in strengthening your bones and metabolizing proteins, carbs, and fats. The vitamin C in blueberries is shown to protect your immune system, keep your gums healthy, maintain the health of your capillaries, as well as aid in the absorption of iron. The fiber in blueberries keeps your cholesterol leveled, which in return keeps your heart healthy. Fiber also keeps your digestive system regular, which is key for weight loss. 


Mangoes are personally my favorite fruit. I guess that is because of my inner Indian. During the summer, I am always anxiously waiting to indulge in the juicy decadency of mangoes. Along with blueberries, mangoes are also rich in antioxidants, fiber, and vitamin C. Additionally, they are full of several nutrients and vitamins that keep your body feeling fuller longer, which helps in weight loss. Mangoes are also a natural skin cleanser, clearing your pores.  They also have a low glycemic index (41-60), which helps in regulating diabetes. Mangoes also have vitamin A, which is essential in promoting good eye health. Mangoes have over 20 carotenoids that keep your immune system healthy. 


Pure coconut water is a natural sweetener. It is low in calories. It provides energy and a whole array of vitamins and minerals. Coconut water is a healthy alternative to any other juices or carbonated beverages. It keeps away fatigue. Coconut water contains no cholesterol. Also, it increases your metabolic rate, which proportionally speeds up weight loss. 




This is a great smoothie in boosting your overall health. It is quick to make and very delicious! 

If you try it, comment/share to let me know how it came out for you. Also, remember to follow me on all my social media sites.

Hope you all have a wonderful day and an even more wonderful month of July!



Bon appétit, mes amis!
XOXO S

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