Sunday, April 28, 2013

The Little Black Dress (How To Style Lace)



"Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure." - Oprah Winfrey.

Hello, darlings! Today I'm truly resonating with the quote above. Lately I have been quite stressed due to certain things going on in my life, but sometimes it's very important to remind ourselves every now and then to just let go and breathe. Hopefully now that we've officially entered Spring, that process will be a whole lot easier. Yay! Talking about Spring, I'm so excited about exploring some of the fashion trends this Spring, which is why I have on a black lace dress with nude accessories (I wore this outfit with a nude clutch, not sure why it's not included in the pictures lol). I adore the lovely balance that this dress strikes between conservative and coquettish. Overall, I felt very comfortable and feminine in this dress, and I can't explain how much I'm loving the sun!

 What's your take on lace dresses? Do you think playful colors counter the naughtiness of the lace? 





I love these Ankara earrings! Lately I've been really into print accessories. 





                                                                   Glee!!!

                                                                  
--Outfit--
Black Lace Dress - Asos
Nude Tiered Bow Belt - Forever 21 (similar here)
Nude Heels - Payless (similar here)
Ankara XLarge Stud Earrings - Akilah Accessories 

Xoxo,
Onivie

Friday, April 26, 2013

This Week's Nerdly Beautiful - Sheryl Sandberg


Hey guys! Today's post is slightly different from the norm, as I present to you someone who truly inspires me, and is indeed a "nerdy beautiful!" - Sheryl Sandberg!

A brief history: Sheryl Sandberg is an American business executive who served as the chief operating officer of Facebook since 2008. In June 2012, she was also elected to the board of directors by the existing board members, becoming the first woman to serve on its board.

 Before Facebook, Sandberg was Vice President of Global Online Sales and Operations at Google. She also was involved in launching Google's philanthropic arm Google.org. Before Google, she served as achief of staff for the United States Department of the Treasury. In 2012, she was named in Time 100, an annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world assembled by Time! As a woman in computing, I aspire to be some day as successful and as influential as she is. :)



Sandberg is also the author of the bestselling book Lean In. After observing plenty of when rise and stall on their way up the leadership ladder, she draws upon these experiences and keen insights in Lean In. She examines women's struggles with leadership, dissects the causes of real-ife career roadblocks and empowers women to "lean in" to reach their full potential. I'm yet to read this book, but it's on my to-do list for this summer! 

Check out her TED talk here on why we have too few women leaders.



Who inspires you? I'd love to know! Leave a comment below :)

Xoxo,
Onivie



Thursday, April 11, 2013

Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies



Hello, darlings!The other day a friend of mine told me about this recipe and suggested we gave it a try. Beforehand, I had never thought of making red velvet cookies, which is odd seeing that I absolutely love red-velvet, but I was used to the idea of having it served in a cake/cupcake form. We made this delicious recipe for a girls night in, and it came out really well and as always, I thought I'd share it with you guys! Lol. For the original recipe we used, check out here. Now, on to the recipe.

Total Time: 30 minutes
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Level: Easy
Yield: 2 dozens
Meal Type: A deep red, chewy cookie that has a delicate crackled crust dusted with a touch of powdered sugar!

   Ingredients
  • 1 box of Duncan Hines red velvet cake mix
  • 2 tablespoons of all purpose flour
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 1 cup of Hershey's white chocolate chips
  • Powdered sugar for rolling the cookies
Directions

Step 1: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. If you will be using baking sheets, line them up with parchment paper and set aside (we didn't use baking sheets and the cookies still came out well).

Step 2: In a large bowl, mix together cake mix, flour, eggs, vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Mix well until you get a smooth batter. 




                         Step 3: Stir in white chocolate chips, and mix properly until well combined.



                              Step 4: Take about one tablespoon of the dough and roll it into a ball. 


Step 5: Roll the ball in powdered sugar until it is fully coated. Place the coated balls on a buttered cookie-pan (you could also use baking sheets for this step).


Step 6: Bake for 10 minutes until the edges are set and the cookies begin to crinkle. And you're done! Feel free to sprinkle more powdered sugar over the cookies. :)



   Bon Appetit,
   Onivie

Saturday, April 6, 2013

For The Love Of Denim ♥

 
Quote of the Day: "Assume that whatever situation you are facing at the moment, however difficult it may be, is exactly the right situation you need to ultimately be successful. This situation has been sent." - Brian Tracy.
 
Hello darlings! Just thought I'd drop in and say a quick hello.  
 
     I love the detailing of this skirt (as seen in the picture above). Unfortunately it doesn't look as detailed below because it was a sunny day and I hadn't gotten around maneuvering the settings of my camera at the time lol. I wore this very basic outfit to the mall with my siblings, and got a lot of compliments (especially for the skirt :D).

 


    --Outfit--
  Denim Shirt - Sears
 Skirt - Forever 21
 Nude Flats - Payless

Thanks for reading!

Xoxo,
Onivie