Gift Guide for Your Secret Santa Gift Exchange

December 9, 2016

hey all!

16 days till christmas

at my school we have ‘kris kinds’ all week which means that we give small gifts ($2-5) to a person anonymously, and we receive gifts anonymously. basically its super fun, and on friday we find out who our kris kinds are and get a biggger gift (around $20), and also my friend group is doing a secret santa for about $15-20 ish for gifts.
so today i wanted to share with you on my special friday posts a gift guide for a secret santa gift exchange, here we go!

‘fantastic cities’ coloring book – $15
ted baker colored pencils -$22
’tis the season’ mug – $5
‘jingle juice’ mug -$18
‘twilight’ bath bomb -$7
‘bomb’ bath bomb -$8
‘butterbear’ bath bomb -$5
ban.do ‘girl crush’ agenda -$14
kate spade ‘ spots and stripes’ pen set -$23
two faced ‘chocolate bon bon’ palette -$49
homemade gingerbread cookies (recipe) – pricele$$
kate spade ‘small square studs’ earrings – $38
kate spade ‘rise & shine’ stud earrings – $38
invisibobble ‘to be or nude to be’ set – $4
kate spade ‘pretty and witty’ candle -$57
diptyque ‘vanilla’ candle – $32

i hope y’all enjoyed and find this useful!
xoxo
(aka kate wins!)

Uncategorized

Fall in California: 3 Looks

October 25, 2016

hey all!
its already been a long week, and its only tuesday. it has rained TWICE in california within these past two weeks, which is really weird and a little uncommon, but rain tends to mean it is getting colder than it used to be, maybe it is finally fall in california!
anyway, whether it is cold or not i am gonna dress for fall. so i am gonna share with y’all today three special fall looks for when fall is still 70 degrees, here we go!
look #1:
screen-shot-2016-10-24-at-5-32-24-pm
shirt / jeans / shoes / purse / nail polish 1 / nail polish 2 / bangles / sunglasses / earrings
for a more casual look. perfect for windy days outside or walking around the inside mall in town. cool for lunch with friends and the top can easily be made into a fancy outfit with a skirt.
look #2:
screen-shot-2016-10-24-at-8-39-11-pm dress / shoes / purse / camera / sunglasses / watch / nail polish / palette / bangle
this is a cute look which is a little fancy dressed down. the shoes make it a bit dressed down, but this can also be dressed up by some ballet flats or tights and boots combo for under the dress.
screen-shot-2016-10-24-at-8-49-32-pm
shirt / skirt / shoes / backpack / earrings / bangle / sunglasses / nail polish
this is my favorite look of the post. i absolutely love the skirt, which is from j.crew factory (AND IS ON SALE RIGHT NOW) i think the skirt is super cute and could go with the top from the first image, and these shoes are super cute!
i hope y’all enjoyed my outfits!
xoxo
kwe monogram (aka kate wins!)

Uncategorized

Wanderlust: Provence, France

October 20, 2016

hey all!
welcome to another waunderlust!
today i will be taking y’all to provence, france and showing y’all photos of places that i would love to go!
lets get started!

ultimate-provence-8-la-bastide-de-gordes-XL-MAG0816.jpg — via*

i hope you enjoy provence!
xoxo

(aka kate wins!)

Uncategorized

Fall Recipes to Try

October 18, 2016

hey all!
happy tuesday! i hope y’all have been having a great week so far!
today i wanted to share with y’all some fall-y (maybe more like fall-ish) recipes that i wanted to try. i thought that i would share them with you so you would see what fall recipes i wanted to eat!
lets get started!
#1

butternut squash coffee cake from the pretend baker
first of all, i love coffee cake, but i am also a huge fan of butternut squash, so this is really the dessert for me! i think that the combination of the sugar and cinnamon would work really well with the butternut squash.
#2

butternut_squash_pasta_carbonara9 — that crispy bacon! YUM (*via)

butternut squash carbonara from cooking classy
i love carbonara sauce so much! this dish looks fantastic and seems to be a really cool combination of flavors.
#3:

no-yeast-pumpkin-cinnamon-rolls-2 — look at that glaze, just yum man! (via*)

quick pumpkin cinnamon rolls from dessert for two
this looks amazing, as i mentioned before, cinnamon and pumpkin is just perfect together. the flavors are just super ‘fall-ish’ you get what i mean!!
#4

rolo-stuffed-pumpkin-pudding-cookiesmain — that chocolate oozing down…(via*)

rolo stuffed pumpkin spice cookies from boys ahoy
these may just be a tad too sweet for me, but rolos are so good! so i feel like this might be REALLY good!
#5

those pumpkin seeds on top are enticing (via*)

pumpkin hummus from high heels and grills
so i really like hummus, like REALLY like hummus. i love edamame hummus and i think that pumpkin would truly be an interesting flavor to try with the hummus flavor.
#6

ravioli-with-pumpkin-alfredo-recipe-taste-and-tell-1 — (via*)

ravioli with pumpkin alfredo from taste and tell blog
i love ravioli and think that ravioli is super fall and winter, so the pumpkin sauce would work well with the ravioli!
i hope you enjoyed! please comment if you have tried any of these recipes or are interested in trying any of them!
xoxo
kwe monogram

(aka kate wins!)

Uncategorized

DIY Snapchat Filter Halloween Costume Ideas

October 16, 2016

hey all!
its halloween season!
yay! or not? I am not sure
I am not sure if i really like halloween or not, i am really not sure because i always like the idea of dressing up, but with the idea of continuing being ‘brilliant’ this month so whether i like it or not, its coming, and its coming soon.
so i really would really love to put together my own costume, because buying a costume is not my deal.
so here we go!

i really like the idea of a snapchat filter as a costume because i can kinda think its super chill because its really up to interpretation and you can kinda wear anything as a base outfit and do makeup or hair to make it costumed.
hope you enjoy these ideas!
xoxo
kwe monogram (aka kate wins!)

Uncategorized

October 2016: Fab Five

October 11, 2016

hey all!
its time for another fab five!
here we go guys!

hope y’all are having a great day!
xoxo
(aka kate wins!)

Uncategorized

Highlighter Sticks – The Best Makeup Invention Known to Man

October 9, 2016

hey y’all!
it’s kate! happy sunday I hope you all had a great week last week.
today, I was inspired by (some may say overuse) my use of highlighter.
if you are unaware of what highlighter is, highlighter is a makeup product, it basically adds shine to your face and can be applied in certain spots to create a certain look of dewy glow.
i love using highlighter on my face because i feel like it helps me add that extra “glow” that looks good for my face. I love using highlighter ‘sticks’ (in stick more solid form rather than powder) because they are much simpler to apply (and for me) they tend to look better.
so today i wanted to share with y’all my favorite stick highlighters, or stick highlighter that I have been wanting to try…
let’s get started!

glossier haloscope bronzer -$22
milk makeup highlighter -$24
clinique chubby stick sculpting highlight -$23
milk makeup holographic stick -$28
nars ‘the mulitiple’ -$39
benefit ‘watts up’ cream highlighter -$30
benefit ‘girl meets pearl’ -$30

i hope that you enjoy my post today!
xoxo
kwe monogram (aka kate wins!)

Uncategorized

My GlamGlow 'ThirstyMud' Review

October 6, 2016

hey all!
happy thursday!
y’all probably don’t remember, but a long time ago (like in january 2015) i wrote this post here about glam glow.
first of all, if you do not know what glam glow is, glam glow is a beauty company that makes skincare products.
i have been using their ‘supermud’ for more than a year (as you can see from my very old blog post) i typically use it once per week in spot treatments on my chin or nose because the price point is really not one i would like to make very often, and i have only bought this product twice, so i have been extremely lucky (or just been able to extend as long as possible).
so recently i decided to try out glam glow’s ‘thirstymud‘ product…
i typically have a combination face, with an oily t-zone (my forehead, nose and chin) i usually get black/white heads in those spots (caused by over oil production and clogged pores). i was extremely skeptical of this product because i really don’t need that ‘moisture’ because typically only have dry spots on my cheeks, which i use moisturizer for.
the product claims to be “THIRSTYMUD™ uses the newest, most advanced, and extreme hydration active technologies. It moisturizes, restores, replenishes, and calms the skin. Dewdration™ boosts and locks in moisture for a dewy and youthful result while HydraPack™ leaves skin with an instant silky, soft, and supple feel. GreenEnergy™ smooths and energizes the skin, giving you a healthy-looking, glowing complexion.” (according to Sephora)
so first i opened the package…

and its really pretty. i love the color, the metallic blue and the star, its very minimal, something i am sure y’all know that i love.
so i tested the mask…
i typically use very drying products because i need my oily t-zone to be less oily to not only get rid of the oil, but also the pimples. this creates a total drying effect on my face.
this mask totally restored moisture to my face. i am not kidding, my face feels moist, but not only, which is a total win for me, because when my face is not oily it is completely dry.
s0 i am super excited to continue using this because i have only used it once.
i hope you enjoyed!
xoxo
(aka kate wins!)

Uncategorized

Disney Day + Outfit

October 4, 2016

hey all!
happy tuesday!
this past friday i had a day off school, and i was fortunate enough to be able to take a little disney day with my friend!!

we had so much fun, and i basically found my go-to disney outfit, which is super exciting and VERY COMFORTABLE.
so now i will share some photos!!

now for the outfit!

so i got a dress from forever 21, it was 14.90 i didn’t think i would like it this much, but i seriously love it. i also love love love this backpack because it is water resistant and for water rides this is perfect to keep your stuff dry!
dress (similar-print no longer exists) / shoes / backpack / mickey ears
i hope y’all enjoyed my photos and my outfit!
xoxo
kwe monogram

(aka kate wins!)

Uncategorized

Brunch Babes

September 22, 2016

hey all!
so on one of these past sundays, i went to a birthday part brunch for one of my best friends! so i am gonna share pictures of my outfit and also

here are pictures of me and my friends and we had so much fun and obviously had to take a ton of cute photos! the first one is me and my friend carly, the second one is me and my friend rachel and the last one is meg, natalie and i!
here is a few group shots of all of us!

i love going out to brunch with my friends, and i think that brunch is a super cute birthday party idea and its super easy to plan and always turns out super well!
so i wore my lilly pulitzer dress (no longer in stock / similar) with my steve madden wedges
well i hoped you enjoyed!
xoxo
kwe monogram (aka kate wins!)