Thursday, July 31, 2014

video: plogerpalooza in 30 seconds

My blogging is all sortsa out of order from real life right now! I've been trying to get as much done in the small amounts of time I have each day, so chronology is not something I'm worried about. [It's currently my 12th hour in the office for the day after 16 spent here yesterday. Not complaining because I know I love my job and I'll have a reckless weekend to make up for it, but this is the excuse I use for lack of blogs.]

Do I still have ya? Okay, phew. That was close. ANYWAY.

I've shared things from Plogerpalooza before. It's my family's epic annual party. Multiple bands. Yard games. 200+ Jello shots. Belly flops. Rocket car racing. A moonbounce to sleep in. Classy white trash dancing in the driveway. And this year- coozies and a "photobooth."

My brother finally edited his first GoPro video to show ya some of the fun, but the truth is: No video will ever do it justice.




Here's a look at my ghetto DIY photobooth. Some streamers, a tripod, a camera with a timer, and all sorts of props in the box beside it. 

As always, so many props to my parents who are forever young and know how to throw a good party... and obviously taught me my ways of living! :)

love,
elizabethany

Monday, July 28, 2014

photo diary: popping my los angeles cherry

No one believed me when I won "Never Have I Ever" by saying "I've never been to the West Coast," but it was true! LA has always been a magical mystery land to me, and I kinda wanted to leave it that way... or maybe it was just because I've been welfare poor my whole life. 

Thanks to a wedding [which I'll post about later], I finally had an excuse to go. 

Everything was against me... my mouth that got infected a week before forcing me to get emergency wisdom teeth surgery, my wardrobe that didn't seem good enough.... okay, that's about it. 

Finally..... it happened. And it was one of the best vacations I've ever had. I explored and hung out with friends and saw shows and ran into celebs.... and took a lot of selfies because when you travel alone, that's your only option. 

Taking selfies while not looking, as dozens of people walk by is pretty awkward... but worth it for this view of the whole city. 

Let's please talk about this house. 

Mandatory Hollywood sign picture. 

My most mandatory stop: Ellen's star. I took an Uber directly to it. No shame.

The red carpet locations really are in the middle of the streets... One day I'll be there when a lot more red is involved.


Just for fun: This is the track and field at Hollywood High.

I had time to go to one beach for a couple hours... which one do you think I picked?

Laguna, DUH.
Seaweed was everywhere and it wasn't exactly as pretty as I remember on the show, but the scenery with all the houses on the hills and then people playing basketball right in the middle of everything was pretty awesome.


Also got to make a trip to Disneyland thanks to my girl Brooke! 
Beers at Disney- surprisingly cheap and making the small world a more magical place. 

CarsLand was my favorite. It's like walking right through the movie!

In N Out cherry also popped! Luckily I remembered to Google the fun ways to order the food since the menu is the plainest of plain. Also delicious: That Nutella martini. It was the best kind of dessert for a vacation.

You may not know who this guy is, but he's a big effing deal in the radio world- the program director of KIIS in LA. [AKA Seacrest's boss] It was surreal to see the station and meet people like Sisanie and JoJo who I've emailed and studied while trying to grow my own career. It was a little terrifying to meet this here John Ivey, but he actually likes me! Whattt. 

And for my final night, I met up with some people I met while in College Station! Alora and Steve both made the "here goes nothin'" move to LA and they're on their way to extreme greatness. 

It's still a bit unbelievable to me I got to explore LA, and everything I got to do! Sometimes traveling alone is the best way to travel, even if it means selfies. I wasn't always alone, though. I have to give SO MANY THANKS to my girls Alex and Brooke who let me crash their life for the week.


Next on the to-do list: Nashville.

love,
elizabethany

PS: #1 thing I learned: if you're searching for celebs, don't look for the pretty people. Look for the ones who look a bit ratchet. There's someone famous somewhere under that bare face.

Friday, July 25, 2014

exclusive interview: the best rapper alive, ja rule

If you follow me on Twitter, I'm assuming you've seen a fair share of tweets proclaiming Ja Rule as the best rapper alive. I mean it.

I can't believe I was actually sent his new book and had the opportunity to talk to him. I may have been doped up on pain killers, the equipment in the studio didn't work, but I was still able to find out some info on an upcoming album [with Ashanti involved!] and "his boyfriend" Bubba.

Forgive the quality of this, please.


How easy was that?!? Gah, I fangirled hard and I APOLOGIZE FOR NOTHING.

But seriously.... how excited are we for a new album?!

Check out the first page of his book here.. it's hilarious.

love,
elizabethany

Thursday, July 24, 2014

wearing: my los angeles style

Great news! I survived my first trip to LA without getting arrested for stalking a celebrity!

I'll have a whole post of all the fun things I did coming up, but first I thought I'd do a round-up of some of my outfits. 

I swore it'd be easy to have all these awesome outfit pics around the city, but I did most of my traveling alone, and when I wasn't, I was too busy having fun to pause for a photoshoot. These will have to do, my dears. 

Before we get started, I'd like to point out that each outfit is under $50 total and I'm hella proud of that.

For traveling TO the city: 


If you're ever traveling- WEAR A MAXI. It's the most comfortable thing ever and you'll feel like you're naked under a blanket while trying to sleep on a plane. 
-Dress from TJ Maxx
-sandals from Papaya
-all brown jewelry from BlueLans
-entire outfit cost under $35. 


Day of meetings and exploring: 


I wanted to look fun but not show too much for my meeting, and this tank is one of my new go-to's! 
-tank from TJ Maxx
-pants from H&M [for $5!!]
-sandals from Charlotte Russe
-earrings from BlueLans
-sunglasses from the streets of LA

For a night out at the clurb: 


I was a bit shocked by how cold it gets in LA as soon as the sun goes down! My legs are meaty enough to handle it, but my arms freeze, so this worked! It's 100% see-through lace in the back, and I thought the wedges were fun to roughen up the lace/gold earrings. [Even though I still have a love/hate relationship with these shoes]
-top and shorts from Forever21

For Disneyland: 


Disney [or any theme park] calls for something comfortable, but fun. I decided to try a little monochromatic look with some blingage. 
-gold studs and necklace from BlueLans
-top from Ross
-shorts [that are a light coral/pink color] from H&M
-sandals from Charlotte Russe

I stressed for a long time trying to come up with really stylish outfits to bring, but I didn't even wear most of this. It's true that anything goes in Los Angeles, but the biggest lesson I learned/did not prepare for was to always have a jacket ready to go once 8:00 hits. Now it makes sense why the celebs are always wearing long sleeves or pants even though the weather is always nice there.

Also... no matter what you wear, you'll probably look better than any celebs you stumble upon... but more on that later.

love,
elizabethany

Monday, July 14, 2014

new vox box: all for weddings!

I took a quiz on Influenster at the beginning of the summer to see if I'd be a good fit for a box, and they knew exactly which one to send me! I'm so obsessed with everything they sent in the "Vow VoxBox."

This wedding season is my craziest yet, as I've mentioned, and I'm traveling to see four couples tie the knot. They sent me the essentials!



  • Pure Silk shaving cream: I've never been one to use shaving cream. I typically use an Intuition razor, so I don't need it, but those are becoming more and more expensive, so I have switched... but still never thought about getting shaving cream. This stuff is the bomb. I tried it on only one leg at first, and definitely got more moisture on the leg and a closer shave. Bonus: it smells fantastic. 
  • ecotools Pure complexion facial sponge: I've been trying to get my acne under control lately, so I was pumped to try this. I don't think it helped my face any, but I used it on my body for exfoliation and it was great for that. Also made my shave even smoother on my legs because of the exfoliation first. 
  • Olay degenerist luminous perfecting cream: I'm still using Clean & Clear moisturizer because I'm a teenager at heart [which is probably having something to do with the acne...] but this stuff makes me feel like a whole new woman. It doesn't agree with my psoriasis patches and pretty much rolls right off of those areas, and it also doesn't love being combined with my BB cream, but it's great for days I go bare faced. 
  • Tide to go stain remover: Does this need an explanation? I'm a messy girl who doesn't like washing her cheap clothes. Of course this is a godsend. 
  • Sally Hansen Salon nail polish: Something blue! While the shade is very different than anything I have ever worn, it's definitely pretty, and this brand is great. Definitely an exciting item to get. 
They're all full size, and they're all free as long as I talk about them.... so I'm even more happy with Influenster right now. I don't always go out and buy the free things I receive once I run out, but I'll be stocking up on 60% of this stuff for a long time. 

love,
elizabethany


Tuesday, July 8, 2014

what ya wearin 4th of july 2014

I am more than excited to bring back "What Ya Wearin" for holidays! So I hope you always remember to send me your pictures on special occasions... and what better fashion holiday than the 4th of July?!?!

Let's get our 'Merica on.

@kmartin9 had the perfect "time to get star spangled hammered" tank and bandana on, and I'm also loving all of her friends' outfits!

 A red bandana is all you need sometimes, as @ameliasullivan shows.

How awesome is @justjem24's entire ensemble?! The shirt, the headband, YES GIRL.

Have you ever seen more epically-American shirts than these on @shayna1532, @kmay703 and friends.

@laceyy_peterson even got her pups involved!

I am loving the fringe and skirt combo on @angie__i, and all of her friends!

She's got the American tank, but I mostly love @rodecvt's make-up!

I don't think I could be any more obsessed with @layne_xox's skirt than I am.

More crop tops and appropriate colored dresses with @_lalalyndsey

Doesn't get more AMURICAN than @thedjty's outfit

@Bradlisan was the only one to send nails this year! But they're goooddd. 

Loving all the DIYness of @britterz09's outfit!

@kbabayyy and her man went all BSpears and JT on us with the matching outfits, and I'm so not mad at it.

DAY. DRUNK. FOR. AMERICA. YES, @ksnedegar.

And her sis @amsnedegar did a red scarf right, with a dress and a blue tank/white shorts!

I think this is the best submission for a WYW post I've ever gotten and ever will. PROPS, @meganspiveyy

@merrmerrbear deserves some props too for these DIY shoes!

Loving @canadiancutieee06's hair... and dog.

And @its_foreign_yoshi put on his fancy pants for the special occasion!

As for me, I spent most of the day in the studio, but I did get to go to a BBQ for a couple hours beforehand. Decided to bust out my handydandy American flag scarf as a shirt, and the skater skirt that you've probably seen me wear at least a dozen times.

-scarf from Jane.com
-skirt from ASOS
-sandals from GoJane
-earrings from BlueLans and Charlotte Russe
-bracelets from BlueLans
-must have fanny pack from an event


I should have taken a picture from the back, but all I did was tie the scarf in a knot and tuck the ends into my bra around the side. I think I'll be doing this a lot more with my scarves.

BONUS, in case you missed this from my Instagram... my USA outfit from earlier in the week.

-same scarf as above
-tank from F21

Thanks for another fun WYW day, and sorry for the delay in getting it posted! Turns out I need emergency mouth surgery for "bone deconstruction" this week. Yay.

love,
elizabethany