Things I Love: The Royal Wedding

History was made early this morning and I didn't let a 3am wake-up time scare me. I was determined to watch the royal wedding live and make a morning of it. Armed with cucumber sandwiches, tea, and donning a fascinator and Louboutins (a nod to Mrs. Beckham) I was watched the Royal wedding in awe. It was all that I imagined and the dress was just perfect! Kate has so much poise and grace; she is a perfectly regal princess.. Growing up I remember seeing footage from the Diana's wedding so I was most excited about finally watching a royal wedding. I grew up adoring the family, my middle name is even Diana because William and I were born just a few days apart, and this event seemed to bring everything full circle. It such an exciting morning!

Royal wedding viewing necessities:
tea, reading material, and Royal Wedding iPad app

Cucumber tea sandwiches.

Because even princesses must eat.

Getting up at 3am was rough -- but worth it!

What are your thoughts on the royal wedding? Are you royal struck like me?

Things I Love: Pretty, Pretty Princesses

In my books, 3 am (us West Coasters had to go hard core to watch it live!) has never been so regal or glamorous before. I am still glued to the TV and am in awe of the world's newest Princess but all I can say is wow, just wow. Princess Cathrine was stunning. Still waiting for the kiss. I'll be back later when I have had more tea and have more thoughts! Cheers!!

Who else is watching it??

Look of the Day: Elbows Up, Side to Side

When I see stripes, I must buy them. And when I am at a loss of what to wear, I wear stripes. There is just something about them that makes me happy and put together when I wear them. When I saw this black and white striped sweater with elbow patches, I knew I needed it in my collection.

And maybe it's all this royal wedding talk buzzing in my head but the elboh patches made me feel ahh bit British. Crickey! You aaare lucky you aare readin' this, because one is writing this in their best (worst) English Accent, can't one tell? I'm terribly sorry but one could not be more excited about the royal wedding tomorroh, one plans to make aah deay out of it. Complete with cucumbah sandwiches and tea. So shall we tweet together tomorroh about the wedding? One does hope we shall. Splendid!

Now I just need to decide on the perfect Royal Wedding viewing outfit.
Temperlay? McQueen? Oh the Choices...

H&M Sweater (Similar striped sweater with elbow patches, and a cute Urban sweater with elbow patches), J Brand lovestory jeans, Fendi Purse, Forever 21 Pendant necklace and Heels from Target.

What are your Royal Wedding Viewing plans?

Things I Love: Peeps

I'm just coming down from my jelly bean induced sugar high that occurred this weekend. Seriously, I ate a ton of them. I had a fabulous weekend spent with old friends, new friends, and my family. On Sunday I hosted my annual Easter party which is heavy on spending fun and quality time with my family and friends. The glitter was plentiful and so were the laughs. And of course, as always, I found the most eggs during our hunt -- even with plots against me to knock me from my throne!

My sister's dog Sawyer made the trip up too, he's a cutie!

At my house, you can never have too much glitter.

And glitter eggs, we did.

Glitter + Jelly Beans = 10 year old Amber

When the sun comes out, so do my sandals.

Both the jelly beans and glitter fueled my winning hunt.

Undefeated.

Nay nay and I.

And two of my best friends in the world, Matt Johnson and Jen.

wearing: parker cami dress
All in all it was a fabulous time.
And yes, I'm in my twenties and still proudly hunt for Easter eggs.

Amber's {FWM} Notebook: Linguine and Clams

To celebrate my good friend's, Vanessa and Annie's Bon Voyages, Vanessa's parents had us all over for her father's famous linguine and clams. I've been over for many meals, but never one this indulgent and fabulous. Completed with a fresh squeeze of garden lemon and a plentiful dusting of Parmesan, this meal was the perfect one to send V and Annie off with. I'm still dreaming about it now. Thank you to Mrs & Mrs V for having us over for a fabulous meal!
This meal was definitely FWM {Food Worth Mentioning} in my notebook.

Tried and true recipe, made many a time at Vanessa's house.

Simmering away.

Only the freshest organic ingredients are used in the V's kitchen.

Wine from a recent wine tasting trip.

Final prep.

And dinner is served.

Cheers!

Miss you V and Annie!

Things I Love: Mother Earth

Happy Earth Day

Living a green lifestyle is something that is very important to me. At one point I may or may not have had a blog about my green efforts although after a substantial break, I now shop at Forever 21.
So it's so cool to see how Earth Day has grown and how many companies get involved now -- lots of free coffee refills for people with reusable cups today to fuel you through your Friday today!

I know you're seeing this all over the web but
Here are my Favorite ways to stay green:
#1. Reusable Shopping Bags:
they are everywhere now. I keep some in my trunk and some stashed in my purse. Or at least when shopping reuse the bags you get at places like H&M and Forever 21 or don't get a new bag at every place you shop at.

#2. Reuse THEN Recycle:
I try to reuse things before just putting them in the recycling bin.
For example, jars. I save almost every glass I use. I use them in my kitchen to store things like lentils, rice, grains, and oatmeal. I think they make my pantry look so much nicer and I can see what exactly I have, and when you paint the lids they look really cute! I also use glass jars to store my crafting items and as vases. They are also perfect to make DIY cookie mixes and such for Christmas. I could go on and on, seriously, I never recycle my jars until they break, and I can never have enough of them I always find a use for them.

#3. Eat Local and organic:
It doesn't matter if it's one item in your cart that is local or organic or just one herb or plant on your windowsill, or go to one restaurant because they serve local food. It's something.
Go to farmers markets, plant a garden, put a tomato plant in a pot, read your labels. Think about starting with what you put into your own body, and let it domino from there.

#4 Buy Used or Vintage
It's fun, cool, interesting and so rewarding. I love buying something that has a history to it.

#5 Make one Goal or Change
Examine your lifestyle and make one minor change or adjustment.
Turn your shower off when you shave. Buy a reusable water bottle or coffee mug. Plan your shopping trips out so you're not driving all over town. Start reading the newspaper online (I just read the already read on at work and my mom shares her Sunday paper with me) Buy a used book on Amazon instead of a new on at Barnes and Noble. Make an effort to be concious of how much you use, how much you waste and what changes you can make.

I could go on but I'll stop there, I love new ideas so please tell me what are your favorite ways to stay to stay green or what is one new thing you will be doing to stay green?
Have a happy and green Friday everyone!!

Look of the Day: He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

The weather right now is like that guy you crushed on in high school. No, I don't mean cool and hot -- but he was that too. I mean, I can't tell if he is gong to make his mind up on what he wants, and it's driving me nuts. All I want to do is wear cute dresses and skirts, but he's dragging things out, making me guess what he wants and is just confusing the heck out of me (Are you there God? It's me, Amber).
The weather reports these days include a cornucopia of rain, sun and weather that just isn't quite warm enough for me. It's sunny one day, rainy the next; it's enough to make my head spin. Trying to guess what the weather will be is like trying to guess what that dude is thinking. So I guess I just have to sit back, wait things out and hope he, I mean the weather, will come around eventually. I suppose when my sunny days and 75' degree (though I'd prefer 85') weather finally show up, I'll be as giddy as a high schooler when she finally get word that he likes her. He really likes her.

Rain requires closed toe shoes (over them!), and brisk weather requires a cardigan (really, again?). I almost gave up but I threw some pink and ruffles in there for kicks, but you know I didn't want to give him any satisfaction and try too hard.

Anthropologie top, Lauren Conrad for Kohls cardigan, J brand Jeggings, Deena and Ozzy boots.

Bumming it's not warmer to expose more skin.

Alright I'm window shopping my Thursday away on twitter #comejoinme.

Flowers of the Week: Outside Lands

I recently mentioned that I wanted to put some time and effort in to my backyard garden and I seemed to get together just in time for my annual Easter Egg Hunt & Party. So instead of focusing on my flowers inside I have instead been trying to enjoy my newly planted flowers that brighten up my backyard. I love watering my vegetable garden and enjoying my view from my sitting area's in my newly spruced up backyard. Now if only the weather would get back to feeling like spring.

Flowers picked from my backyard.

My sunning area surrouned by fun things growing.

Some of my favorites.

Looking forward to spending many summer nights here.

With Earth Day just around the corner have you thought about planting some of your herbs, vegetables or flowers?
Even the smallest bit helps.

Amber's {outfit} Notebook: Little Honey Natural Bee

On Saturday I went out to the park to play kickball and celebrate one of my good friend's 30th birthdays. We had a blast kicking the ball around and soaking up the amazing weather we had on Saturday. I packed a bag of clothes in case we we headed out after the park, and sure enough at about 4:00 we all had a good dose of sun (thankfully I was one of the few who remembered to use Sunscreen!). So we headed to a local joint to cool off and cheers to our friend as we cheered on the Giants. I threw this outfit in my backpack without ever trying it on first, luckily it turned out. From the flowly skirt to the black, white and yellow this outfit made me feel like a bumble bee -- and I loved it.

Excuse the post kickball high pony.

Forever 21 top and this Forever 21 black and white striped skirt, and Kenneth Cole wedges.

It maybe Wednesday but I am already excited for the weekend.
I have a Giant's game and my Easter party on the agenda. Plus my sister and one of my very best friends are coming into town, so I'm super stoked.

What are you looking forward to this week?

Things I Love: Feeling the Festivals

After seeing some the fabulous Coachella looks from this past weekend I am longing for hot weather, festival season and a perfectly bohemian outfit to bounce around in (kind of like I was doing here). Here are some of my favorite Free People look that I am lusting over, and will hopefully recreate.

Click images to be linked

Ahh, summer I can't wait for you.

Amber's {outfit} Notebook: Rainbow Bright

When I pulled this blouse out of my closet I had planned on wearing the same way I always wear it - with high waisted flare jeans (like here), but that seemed so boring. While the blouse makes a statement in it's self because of the color, I decided I might as well pair it with an equally bright skirt. The bright on bright on look was the perfect combination.

Juicy blouse, Urban Outfitters skirt and heels.
For a similar look try pairing this blouse with this skirt.

I added even more color when I grabbed my Marc by Marc Jacobs purse and my gym bag.
And this use of color blocking was perfect for Pretty Shiny Sparkly's Bloggers Do it Better Color blocking challenge!

How do you color block?

Amber's {outfit} Notebook: Sugar & Spice, and Everything nice

When it comes to my clothes and getting dressed, I don't like to stick to one style or feel like I wear the same thing everyday - because I can get in a jeans and blouse rut real quick. While my style range may not be that diverse I still like to change it up a bit. After a day of wearing bell bottoms and a leopard print blouse I felt the need to take my outfit in a different direction, so instead I went girly by wearing puffy sleeves, lace and a skirt. I did, however, wear the exact same accessories as I did yesterday, so maybe I need to keep something the same in order to keep it different.

I felt so girly with the puffy shoulders and lace skirt.

Forever 21 skirt, Urban outfitters blouse and heels, Nordstrom BP cardigan, Forever 21 pendant.

And for the prefect girly outfit be sure to enter my Shabby Apple Spanish Steps dress giveaway.