Five Things

Posted on December 2, 2015 by 4evamaria

Hello all!

I can’t believe it’s already December.

I’ve had a bit of an unfortunate start to the winter season; the cold has finally caught up with the Bay Area, just in time for my thermostat to stop working. Before you ask, yes, I hit my heater repeatedly in an attempt to fix it. No, it did not work. That being said, I’ve spent many of my evenings at home lately wrapped up in my favorite heated blanket, pinning things on Pinterest for a much longer time than is healthy. I’ll admit it, I’ve finally caught the Pinterest bug and an intervention might be necessary sometime soon (in the meantime, you can find my Pinterest page here). I don’t know about you, dear readers, but I’m just about ready to be done with this year. Hellooooo 2016! To start, I’ll just take a functioning heater.

And with that rambling introduction, I give you this week’s Five Things!

Those of you who know me, know that I spend approximately 50% of my life in active wear or a leotard. Although quite pricey, some of the pieces I have from Lululemon are my tried and true favorites. I still frequently wear the very first jacket I ever purchased from them six years ago. This top, the Swiftly Tech Long-sleeve Crew, is my latest find. And I love the color- cant’ you tell? I somehow ended up in their dressing rooms wearing all violet/navy things without meaning to!

The little island I live on might not have much in the way of nightlife, but we do have one of the very best tiki bars in the Bay Area. If you’re ever around, Forbidden Island is a must. From left to right, I give you the Monkeypod, the Boo-Loo, and the infamous and delicious Painkiller.

Commuting can shave years off of your life, but being able to hop on a ferry and see this lovely view every week certainly makes up for it. Why spend time underground or stuck in traffic when you can bob along in the bay? They even have doughnuts. Ssh! It’s a secret.

These drinks from San Pellegrino have become some of my favorites lately. Bonus: they come in many flavors, all tasty. It’s easy enough to find your standard lemon or orange flavors in the grocery store, but some of my favorites include clementine, grapefruit, blood orange, and this rare prickly pear flavor! This peach-colored can did wonders for perking up an otherwise dull work day.

Oh, hello beautiful shoes. Unfortunately, these were no where near my size, so I had to settle for admiring them. At more than 50% off I started going through the list of friends I could potentially call who wore a size 6 1/2. What a steal! Also, in case you haven’t guessed it, I am most certainly the friend that enables extravagant purchases.

Life is short, buy the shoes.

EVA♥

Five Things

Posted on June 24, 2015 by 4evamaria

Hello all!

It’s time for Five Things, yet again. Quite honestly, life can get so cyclical sometimes that collecting my Five Things of the week acts as a time-stamp of sorts. Oh look- another week’s gone by! To give you all a quick, unbidden update, things have been quite interesting over the last few days. With the dance studio on summer schedule, I suddenly find myself working only one job. You know, a 9-to-5, like a normal person. What is this nonsense? I get to go home, and sit down? Highly unnatural behavior in Watch-Me-Juggle-land. It always takes a bit of getting used to, but the positive side is that I can sleep in two days in a row now, if I so choose. I can also check out that stand-up paddle boarding lesson off my to-do list this summer. I’m determined. It’s going to happen. Stay tuned for embarrassing photos of me falling off a surfboard.

In the meantime, here are this week’s Five Things as entertainment.

Once upon a time, I worked in a flower shop. I spent my days arranging flowers and even creating bridal bouquets. Though I found myself only with bunches of flowers and some ribbon (no floral tape, no pearl-topped pins) I made it work! There is something amazingly therapeutic about working with flowers, and I must do it more often.

In between answering phone calls, chugging coffee, and staring at spreadsheets today, I managed to find time to buy these spunky red flats from Topshop. They’re dead-ringers for Aquazzura’s Christy flats that retail for a whopping $675.

Did you know that my little island town is home to a winery? Because it is! Rock Wall winery has incredible views of the San Francisco skyline, and a mighty fine happy hour. While I’m not one to jump on the rosé bandwagon, their sparkling rosé is delicious.

I’ve found myself reminiscing over the goodies at Gayle’s Bakery in Capitola. A day trip is very much in store this summer.

Ever wonder how the marzipan in the Nutcracker get their multicolored shoes? Pointe shoes come in very few colors, and most companies have to special order their shoes if they need something other than the traditional pink satin. But, even then the options are limited. Two words: spray paint. It’s very high tech, I know.

Happy Wednesday everyone!

EVA♥

Five Things

Posted on March 25, 2015 by 4evamaria

Hi all!

If you’re relatively new to Watch Me Juggle, there’s a distinct pattern here you might notice. Every week, usually on a Wednesday, I like to do a little post called “Five Things.” Originally inspired by one of my favorite blogs, Cupcakes and Cashmere, these generally feature five glimpses into my life. Glimpses of things that have caught my eye, made me laugh, or made me think- sometimes a combination of all three. Oh, and also “Five Things” sometimes turns into a stream-of-consciousness post that contains everything that possibly comes to mind at the moment. Makes sense, right? We all have to put those things somewhere.

This week’s “Five Things” contains a little bit of everything from my many moments out and about. So.. let’s get to it!

In the wake of the big gala I helped organize at work, I took myself out for a little mani-pedi. I’m the worst when it comes to committing to a color (it’s embarrassing how long it takes me, really), so, I thought it was only appropriate to do a ballet-themed manicure. The two colors pictured are from OPI: I Love Applause, topped with Pirouette My Whistle. Maybe it’s totally crazy, but it made me happy!

On my way to work one afternoon, I decided to treat myself to a little Pinkberry. I don’t tend to vary my toppings up too much. I’m a fan of the chocolate-strawberry combination, if you couldn’t already tell! it turned out so beautifully, I had to be a ridiculous girl and take a picture of my yogurt. Again, embarrassing behavior, I know…

(Excuse my scary dancer feet- they’re not as bad as they used to be!)

My sore feet and I finally caved and bought some “practical” shoes at the Nordstrom triple point sale this last weekend. These are the Silver and Pearl White Gizeh sandals from Birkenstock. I ended up buying the white and love how comfortable they are!

Deal of the day! Nordstrom has been featuring these exclusive, pre-set Mac Pro-palettes lately. If I didn’t already own more eyeshadow than I knew what to do with, I would have absolutely snatched this beautiful, neutral palette up.

There’s a new trend beginning in restaurants: tip-included dining. I experienced this first-hand on my visit to Bar Agricole in San Francisco over the weekend. Carefully-crafted cocktails and a rustic food menu make it well worth a trip. Pictured above is their signature brandy “Sleepyhead” cocktail. Brady, champagne, ginger and mint- delicious!

EVA♥

Oops, I Did It Again

Posted on November 25, 2014 by 4evamaria

Hello everyone!

I apologize for the ridiculously cheesy headline, but it was the first/best thing I could think of at the time. Who doesn’t like a 90’s Britney Spears reference worked into their day?

Well, ladies and gentlemen: I did it again. Want to see my latest, most fabulous love? These puppies:

Yes, I purchased yet another pair of shoes. If you have any complaints, please call 1-800-SORRYNOTSORRY. Thank you.

Of course, when I got home I slapped them right on and commenced taking photos.

Valentino photo c/o Avenue K. Photo on right brought to you by yours truly, in embarrassingly rolled-up jeans.

If you, like me, love perusing the internet for fashion inspiration, you’ve probably seen these Valentino Rockstuds absolutely everywhere. I certainly have, both in real life and online. I’ve passed them countless times going in and out of the local Nordstroms, pausing each time to look at the variety of styles and colors. They’re quite the statement shoe. Unfortunately, the statement comes with a hefty price tag. As much as I would like to strut around San Francisco in a pair of these babies, I would have to relocate for three months in order to pay for them. So, what’s a girl to do?

Well, as luck would have it, I was poking around the DSW website in search of new (unnecessary) boots and I discovered these shoes from BCBG. Hello! I had to have them. Not only were they the deal of the century, they turned out to be ridiculously comfortable despite their intense appearance. I was apprehensive of the style at first, since most pointed-toe pumps make me feel like I’m wearing elf shoes, but these were really quite flattering on. I’ve been brainstorming ways to style these, and I can’t wait to pair them up with jeans and a crisp white shirt, or even to toughen up my favorite fit-n-flare dresses. If you need any more style inspiration, you can find some here, here, and here.

There’s just something wonderful about shoes that many people don’t understand. Wasn’t it Marilyn Monroe who said “give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world?”No matter how you feel, or what you decided to wear that day, a good pair of shoes can make all the difference. As silly as it sounds, they’re one thing you can depend on. Plus, they’re often pretty fabulous.

EVA♥

Five Things

Posted on August 27, 2014 by 4evamaria

Hi everyone!

I somehow went into complete zombie mode yesterday, and I ended up abandoning my blog-post-in-progress about halfway through, which is something I rarely do. It was there to greet me this morning, however, and instill the appropriate amount of shame in me to get me rolling. And, here I am! It’s this week’s Five Things- a little photo-collage glimpse into my life over the last week.

I tend not to wear any ostentatious or noticeable colors on my nails when my classes are in session. I like to look appropriate and well-groomed, and, let’s face it, bright blue nail polish somehow screams “I’m a teenager!” to parents of prospective students. Solution: I wear the heck out of them in summertime. Pictured above are two of my favorites from Essie: Bikini So Teeny and Mint Candy Apple, which I have on my nails now.

I finally jumped on the fashion-blogger bandwagon and bought myself some skater shoes. These were such a steal, and I’ve gotten so many compliments already. Bonus points for the leopard print, they make me feel instantly chic even when I’m wearing sneakers and cutoffs to go grocery shopping.

My mother gifted me a refill of one of my favorite perfumes from Philosophy recently. I after finally cracking it open, I realized it was the exact same color as my bathroom walls. Coincidence? I think not.

I received a very cool, belated birthday card in the mail a while back from a good friend of mine. It took me about a week to finally realize that it wasn’t just awkwardly thick, but was in fact designed so that I could mount it on a wall like a piece of artwork. A very clever idea!

Here’s a little sneak preview of tomorrow’s blog. I may not be the biggest fan of sports, but I do enjoy the atmosphere of live sporting events. Sure, I use the majority of my time there to eat all of the junk food available to me and to gossip with my girlfriends in between doing the wave/the Bernie lean, but isn’t that what you’re supposed to do? I’m well aware that I”m a living female stereotype.

Don’t judge me.

EVA ♥

The Loot

Posted on August 7, 2014 by 4evamaria

Hello everyone!

Life has been crazy, as usual. Today I write to you after a late night commute, culminating in a breakfast-for-dinner concoction that I’m very proud of. I cannot praise frozen vegetables enough; if you have them in your freezer, along with some eggs, you’ll always have a filling, ready-to-go meal. In case you haven’t noticed, many of my blogs are introduced by an assortment of random facts, or a summation of my current state, which is also always random. Many of you may have noticed that I celebrated my birthday this last Tuesday, and, continuing with the “Forever Young” theme, I plan on celebrating this entire week. Here’s a little glimpse of some of the related festivities thus far.

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It’s been a longtime tradition for beauty and fashion bloggers to include “hauls” in their repertoire. I guess you couldn’t necessarily classify some good, old-fashioned birthday shopping as a “haul,” so I deem this the birthday “loot.”

The Fit ‘n Flare dress is from Banana Republic- here. They had a fantastic sale last weekend and it was too lovely to pass up. I was gifted some DV by Dolce Vita shoes, which were also a great find. They paired wonderfully with my favorite black leather jacket. Yes, this was my birthday outfit, and I felt very chic in it. Unfortunately, I was in too much of hurry to take the requisite selfies of myself that day.

The Clubmaster-style sunglasses and my favorite leopard scarf are not new, but I couldn’t help but include them in my photo. I was visually brainstorming outfits, and these staples couldn’t not be included. They are from Madewell and H&M, respectively. While wandering through Nordstrom, my mother and I perused the MAC counter, and I found my favorite new lipstick: Peach Blossom; as well as a fabulous mineralize eyeshadow duo in Spiced Metal. I’ve been wearing these almost nonstop since she treated me to them. Thanks mom! Additional newer items pictured are a refill of one of my favorite perfumes, Unconditional Love by Philosophy, in addition to a little something in a special blue box. The contents of which are pictured below:

Every woman should have exquisite and simple pieces that she can wear everyday, and that will live on her nightstand every night. Seeing as I survived my “scary age” birthday, I certainly have something to show for it. This little necklace is something I’ve wanted for a really long time. I’ve gotten so many compliments, and I’m hardly willing to take it off at the end of the day.

I hope, like me, the voyeur in you enjoyed my first ever “loot” post. Perhaps one day soon I’ll have another!

EVA♥