December Favorites

Hi everybody! So sadly, December is ending very soon but then comes January and a new year, 2016. Today I wanted to tell you what some of my favorite things from this month were. Let’s get started! 

Music

Alternative/pop:

• Tove Lo- Moments
• Lana Del Rey’s Ultraviolence CD- top favorite songs are Cruel World, Sad Girl, Pretty When You Cry, Money Power Glory, Old Money, and Black Beauty 
• Lana Del Rey’s Honeymoon CD- top favorite songs are Freak, Art Deco, and The Blackest Day
• The Weeknd ft. Lana Del Rey- Prisoner
• Lana Del Rey- Bel Air

Books

  

Hemlock series by Kathleen Peacock

I’ve only read the two books pictured so I don’t know if there are more books in the series or if there will be more books in the series but these are incredible. Usually I try to stay away from paranormal type books because they tend to end up cheesy or just bad but when I picked up these I didn’t read the description, so I didn’t know they had werewolves. However, this is one of the few paranormal books series that I actually like and I highly recommend this to people who like mysteries or just young adult books in general. Now I’ll just give you the summary of the first book so you can see if you’d like to read the series. 
Hemlock summary: 

Mackenzie and Amy were best friends. Until Amy was brutally murdered. Since then, Mac’s life has been turned upside down. She is being haunted by Amy in her dreams, and an extremist group called the Trackers has come to Mac’s hometown of Hemlock to hunt down Amy’s killer: A white werewolf. Lupine syndrome- also known as the werewolf virus- is on the rise across the country. Many of the infected try to hide their symptoms, but bloodlust is not easy to control. Wanting desperately to put an end to her nightmares, Mac decides to investigate Amy’s murder herself. She discovers secrets lurking in the shadows of Hemlock, secrets about Amy’s boyfriend, Jason, her good pal Kyle, and especially her late best friend. Mac is thrown into a maelstrom of violence and betrayal that puts her life at risk. 

Clothing

   

  
I got this nice black pea coat for my birthday. I saw the price tag and it said $20 which is amazing for a coat, but it came from forever 21 so I wasn’t that surprised at the cheap price. This is a nice thick and warm coat, and it’s black which is my favorite color and it matches everything. The hood and the inside of the coat are faux fur lined which is super soft. Then the insides of the sleeves are fleece lined which is great if you’re trying to stay warm. 

Others

I just want to show you some painting supplies that I got for Christmas. I’m really excited to use them since I’m already working on a painting right now. 

  
So first I got this pack of 7 medium-large canvases which is great because I know that they were on sale last time I went to the craft store, since supplies like this can be expensive. Now I have enough to last me a while. 
  
Next I got a huge set of paint brushes since I didn’t have any. As you can see, there’s a lot of variety in the shape and size of the brushes, so I can paint different details and textures more easily. 

   
 
Lastly I got this box of acrylic paints. I have some paint, but the tubes are very small and I’m running out. So when I saw the variety in the colors of these, I was very happy. (Even though I prefer to mix my own colors, this is more convenient and it takes way less time)
That’s all for today’s post. I hope you guys enjoyed it, and see you next time! 

Cute + Quick Winter Room Decor

Hello everyone! First off, I’m sorry I didn’t post last week but it was my birthday party so I needed a little break from work. But today’s post is super exciting and fun! I know I haven’t done a DIY/room decor post for a while now, and I’ve found some really cute ideas on Pinterest that I kind of put my own spin on, so I’ll be showing you how to make them. Let’s get started!

1) Ping Pong Ball Multicolored Lights

Original Pinterest Post Photo:

  

What you will need:

• Multicolored battery powered lasting lights (I used a 10 count, but you can use however many you want)
• As many Ping-Pong Balls as lights you have, with a few extras (preferably with no logo, but if it has a small logo then it’s ok)
• An X-Acto knife or some small scissors (like sewing scissors)
• Batteries to power the lights

Step 1- Put batteries in the lights and check to see if they all work. 

Step 2- Take your knife or scissors and poke a crisscross (like an x) in the ping pong ball. (If your balls have logos just poke the holes over the logo) Continue with this step for each ball. 

Step 3- Push a ball over a lightbulb, but don’t use too much pressure or the hole might get bigger. You can always make he hole bigger if it’s too small. Do this for every ball and bulb. 

Step 4- Find somewhere to hang your light strand and turn it on. 

This is a really unique alternative to the general lights that many people hang in their rooms. This is also something you can keep up all year, it’s just a holiday type DIY because these lights are easier to find around Christmas. I love how quickly this took, and how easy it was, yet it looks very expensive and fancy. 

My Results: 

With other lights on:

  
With lights turned off:

   
   

2) Shadow Box Scene

Original Pinterest Post Photo:

  

I definitely modified this to my own style, but it’s something that you can really make however you’d like. 
What you will need:

• A shadow box (11 in by 14 in is what I got for about $30 from Michaels which is kind of pricey, but their shadow boxes were buy one get one free, so I got another one for another craft hopefully)

   
  
 

• Fake Snow (cotton) or cotton balls

  

• Some small fake trees and other wintery objects

   
    
 

• A hot glue gun 
• Some copper wire fairy lights (optional) 

Step 1- Arrange your objects how you would like them, making sure that they’re in the front of the box and that you can slide the box closed at the end. 

Step 2- Using the hot glue gun, glue down your objects. 

Step 3- Make sure you can fit the cotton in the edges of the box and in front of the bases of your trees and your objects, making it look natural. 

Step 4- Carefully put hot glue where you would put your snow and glue down the cotton. (If you’re using cotton balls, stretch them out first so they’re not in a ball shape)

Step 5- Glue down more snow behind your objects so it looks more realistic. 

Step 6- Add lights if you would like (I didn’t). Just be sure to hide the battery pack under some snow if you can and string the lights on the backboard or around your objects. 

Step 7- Close the box. 

And you’re done! This is an adorable holiday DIY that is perfect for the winter season. You could also add a cute wintery patterned paper to the backboard if you don’t want it to be just brown. This is a really cool craft that you can customize to your own tastes. 
My Results:

   

 
That’s all for today’s post! I hope you guys enjoyed it, and see you next time. 

5 Winter Outfit Ideas ❄️

Hello everyone! I haven’t done an outfits post in a while, so I thought I’d share one with you guys today. Here are some ideas for winter outfits. Of course you can try to replicate them, or give them your own personal twist. Here they are!

Outfit 1:

   

   
Fuzzy Thick Pale Grey Sweater: Kohls, on sale for $25

High Waisted Pink Jeans: Charlotte Russe, $35

Black Quilted Knee-High Boots: Target, $35

I think is a pretty simple outfit, with a cute girly touch to it. This sweater is super soft and surprisingly thick, so it’s great for wintertime. I am also obsessed with these boots! I’ve worn them nearly everyday since it started getting colder. Also, they’re really cute and I got them for a great price. 

Outfit 2:

   

 
Mottled Green Mock-Neck Long-Sleeved Thin Sweater: TJ Maxx, $8

Camel Faux Suede Button-Up Skirt: JCPenney’s, $30

Black Tights: Target, $5

Shiny Black Combat Boots: Kohls, on sale for $16

This outfit has a really nice vintage vibe to it, especially with that skirt. The black tights and combat boots give it a bit more edginess. This is definitely an outfit for warmer winter weather, but if it is colder you can always add a leather jacket to spice it up a little and stay warmer. 

Outfit 3:

  

Blue and Red Plaid Crop Top With 3/4 Sleeves: Forever 21, $8

Black Faux Leather Jacket: TJ Maxx, $16

Black Sweater Skirt: Kohls, $30

Black Bow Tights: Loft, $10

Black Combat Boots: same as above

In case you can’t tell, I really love the combo of tights and a skirt with either a sweater or a top and a jacket. This is another more edgy outfit, but the bow tights give it a girly twist. I also think this skirt is awesome because it’s thick knit like a sweater so it’ll protect your legs if they get cold. 

Outfit 4:

  

Black Jeweled Sweater: Kohls, on sale for $25

Jeans: Charlotte Russe, $25

Boots: Same as outfit 1

This is another simple variation of the first outfit, just a sweater with jeans and boots. I really love they sweater because the jewels make it look nice and sophisticated, and you don’t even have to wear jewelry because it already has enough bling. 

Outfit 5:

  

Grey Knit Midi Dress: TJ Maxx, $15

Black Tights: Same as outfit 2

Black Lace-Back Sweater: Papaya, $10

Black Combat Boots: same as outfits  2 and 3

This outfit is a little more dressed up, and the combat boots make it a little more edgy.  But I definitely needed that sweater since this dress is short sleeved. 

That’s all for today’s post. I hope these outfits inspired you, and I hope you try some of them out. See you next time!

Quick Update

Hey guys, I just wanted to give you a quick update. I changed my domain/blog name (formerly nicolefemme2000) so if you don’t see any posts from this name, don’t be surprised or confused because I changed it.