Inspire me!

A couple of inspirations for today

Click me ^

Evil eye symbols are something I grew up with, it is part of my culture! Lately, it became very popular and almost everyone around the globe owns an evil eye piece or has seen it in some piece of art. I personally own a few pieces. I will be listing new jewelry pieces featuring the Evil Eye to my Etsy store within the next month. Stay Tuned!

Image from Zhush – click me ^

I am loving the color combo in this picture. Purple has been one of my top favorite colors. I love the paint color and how it is accented with the deep turquoise sofa, while both colors are brought together in that tufted ottaman. Briliant!

HomeGoods Haul

HomeGoods has to be one of my favorite stores for the home. If you are not familiar with HomeGoods, it is like TJMaxx and Marshalls, but for the house and furniture. In fact, all three of them are different branches of one company. That explains why you might see the same piece at all three stores, and all sharing the same prices.

I moved into my new house at the beginning of September,2011. Even though the hubby and I have been in that house for almost nine months now, the house is far from being complete. I still have rooms with no furniture, naked walls, and empty bathrooms. In the past week, I made a few purchases that I will share with you, in future posts, once I receive them. Today, however, I’d like to share with you the little things I bought from Home Goods.

 

I am so in love with the smell of Au Lait. It is so soft and relaxing. I got soap, hand moisturizer, and body butter.

I normally try to avoid purchasing books, but I was in the mood for some and they were informative and cute.

My house is missing so many pictures. Therefore, I decided to start framing some.

I thought these would look so cute on the tray in one of my bathrooms.

I absolutely love this. Once I saw this, I instantly knew where it is going to go and it made me decide on the color scheme fro my powder room.

These will match the powder room theme.

 

 

I will keep you posted on the updates around my house.

Arki

My Glorious Monday

If you don’t know yet, I am off on Mondays since I work 10 hours a day Tuesday- Friday. I love my work schedule and my 3-day weekends!

Yesterday, the weather was gorgeous; therefore, my sister and I decided to go to George Town, DC.

G Town is one of my favorite spots in the DC Metropolitan area. If you ever visit DC, you have to spend at least a day at George Town to visit all the cute little shops, the boutiques, the landmarks and historic sites.

 

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am looking for furniture pieces for my office. We decided to visit CB2 & WestElm and I decided on the pieces I need!

We also stopped at Chipotle and had burritos for lunch, Zara 9where I tried to “control” my spending),  Urban Outfitters, and finally the cutest coffee shop Muncheez Mania, where we had the best crepes!

 

 

Hope you enjoyed the pictures from my Monday

 

 

Arki

 

My weekend

First time using Sally Hansen’s sticker nail polish..

Designer of the week: Dannijo

If you haven’t gotten the hint from my previous post, Dannijo is the designer of this week. It is founded by sisters Danielle and Jodie Snyder in 2008, and hand-made in New York! They have amazing designs that I am absolutely in love with. Their recent collection, Mr. Dannijo, a collaboration with Man Repeller, is definitely my favorite.

Click me to find me.. 

It is finally Friday!

Arki

Bustier

A bustier is one of the many clothing articles you need to own, especially for this summer. It is everywhere!

I mean, what a better piece can a girl own? No matter how edgy the piece is, it screams feminine when put on, especially with a high waisted bottom!

Click me to find me.. 

Ladies, take your bustiers out and flaunt those curves.

MR. DANNIJO <3

I am loving these new evil eye designs from Man Repeller and DANNIJO, which they call MR. DANNIJO!
FABULOUS

More items to add to my wishlist!

Office Room

Eight months ago, the hubby and I moved into our new townhouse. We knew that furnishing a house takes so much time and effort. However, we were very energetic at the beginning and got all the main rooms furnished in a couple months. After that, especially during the winter season, we got lazy and didn’t do any furnishing or decorating. It is spring now and I am tired of having the rest of the rooms used as storage! Having boxes laying around is not quite the prettiest scene for the eye; therefore, I decided to start working on one of the rooms this weekend.

The room has a full bathroom attached; therefore, it can make a great guest room as well. We’ve both decided on making that room into our office/guest room. It is the first room you see when entering the house, so I decided on a colorful and fun theme for it.

Here is my first inspiration board for the office room. This weekend, I want to hit West Elm, CB2, and possibly Z Gallerie for some furniture shopping. I cannot wait for the room to come to life!

Arki

Denim storage

I think I just figured the best economical way to store my jeans. I rolled each one and stacked it in this pretty pink storage box from ikea!
So far I love it!
There is no mess as long as you know which pants your going for and you put it in a place where you can reach easily 🙂

Less maintenance = happy me!

Arki

Neon Kate Spade

I must say, I am loving Kate Spade’s collection of all the neon goodness!

Just looking at these pieces draws a smile on my face, imagine owning them all?!

Pinterest me!

Find me on Pinterest to follow my interests! 🙂

New piece

A new addition to the shop. A two tone bracelet that was requested by one of my customers.

For more pieces check out Arki Jewelry on Etsy shop.

 

From Basura to Art

Details will be up soon..

Best of Shoe trends

So many great styles, trends, and pieces for the next two seasons. I am loving everything about those trends!

Click on the image for more details.

More DIY

I couldn’t stop! I had to make more earrings out of those gorgeous buttons. I think I just found myself a new obsession.

Arki

DIY Vintage Chanel Inspired Earings

I don’t know about you, but Chanel is my favorite designer. Their vintage jewelry are super glamourous, super gorgeous, and super expensive! Every time I see a pair online, I start drooling over it and day dreaming about it.

Today, I felt very crafty and went to both Michael’s and Jo-ann Fabrics. I was just wandering around their isles, and hoping for ideas and inspirations to pop out… and there it was.. the best looking buttons I have seen a while. They looked so fab and vintage inspired. They desperately needed to be more than just buttons. they wanted to be statement pieces, they wanted to be noticed, and most importantly, they wanted me to make them into beautiful stud earrings!

Revamping them into earrings was so easy!

What you need:

1. a pair of cute buttons

2. A metal/plastic cutter

3. Brass Earrings’ backings

4. Hot glue gun + Glue Stick

Follow these easy steps:

1. Remove the little loop-hole from the back of the button.

2. Add a dot of the hot glue in the center of the button (Where the loop-hole used to be).

3. Immediately, place the earring’s backing in the center on top of the glue, wait a few seconds, and Viola!

It cost me less than $5.00, aren’t they gorgeous?

 

 

happy Crafty Day!

Arki

Today’s Hautelook Deal

Hautelook has some amazing deals once in a while. What caught my attention today is this Case-Mate Cross-Body bag. It fits all your necessities for a night out in the town. I love how it has a designated pocket for the cellphone. It will fit my IPhone perfectly. In addition, it can be worn as a clutch!

Plus the color blocking on these babies is super cute. I love all those colors, it’s a hard decision to pick just one!

Recommendation: If interested, get it before they sell out.

Gold Digger

I used to hate gold tone accessories. In a fact, I didn’t own any piece of jewelry in gold tone. I always thought it was for older women and never got to like it. However, for the past couple seasons, gold tones started attracting me more and more everyday.

Now, I am totally obsessed with gold tones. I do not wear silver toned jewelry as much anymore! Actually, many times I find myself not wearing my wedding band & engagement ring simply because it doesn’t match!

Since I have olive skin tone, I love how the gold accessories compliment my skin. Here are some beautiful pieces I came across. My wishlist keeps expanding everyday. My wallet and I are in a huge trouble!

 

Click on me for more details and where to find these pieces.

I found a $1000!!!

So If I found a $1000.00 right now, I would get all those gorgeous pieces!
click for more detail

The New Clutch

One trend I am absolutely loving this season is the Box Clutch.

Now, we girls tend to love our enormous bags where we carry all our life in. It doesn’t matter how many promises you make, to yourself,  not to carry your whole closet in there, somehow someway it ends up happening. Huge bags are so fabulous, but they are not too fab when you are trying to find your car keys that get  stashed, all the way at the bottom of the bag, with load and loads of unnecessary items on top!

Other time, logging that huge bag with you while shopping, walking around, even a night out with the friends can become very tedious. With all what’s in it, you will probably feel like you are working out your arm muscles. Seriously, many times,  this huge bag can become a substitute for an 8 pounds dumbbells, if not heavier.

The perfect solution to all this trouble is the new box clutch. They come in different sizes, styles, with and without shoulder straps, cross body strap, etc. Bottom line, you can find one that fits your style and purpose. These fabulous clutches carry the necessary items you would normally NEED. There will no room for all that extra “crap”. This is perfect for a night out, clubbing, a dinner, or even shopping. All you need in life in your credit card, a few dollars just in case, your phone, and lipstick for touch ups. We tend to over exaggerate and think we need a whole lot more, but trust me, that’s all what we need.

Here are a few clutches I fell in love with:

Click me for more details, and to find out where to find me.

Must Haves

Here are few of the pieces I would like to own before the spring. You can see it has most of my current obsessions: neon colors, spikes, rhinestones, chains, yellow, animal prints, cuffs, and finally one of my favorite jewelry designers Iosselliani. [click on the board to get directed to the different pieces]

Indulge Yourself in Sweetness..

Last weekend, I hosted a spa party for my girls. A skin analyst specialist was there featuring an amazing machine that analyzes up to three layers of the skin. Through that machine, you get to know your skin better, learn where your trouble spots are, get educated on their condition, and get help and recommendations for treating them.

Many of the girls learn that their skin wasn’t actually the type they’ve always thought it was. For example, my sister had always the impression that her skin was oily to combination. However, it turned out that her skin is Normal to dry! They were all impressed with the machine and the products that were promoted. A few things I love about their products: they are all natural, cruelty free, work amazingly, and are made in the United States. [I will have more in depth review on the products]

One tip I need to share with you here is, Please Use Sunscreen Every Day of Your Life! This small step can save you so much in the future. Sunscreen now = Less Wrinkles in the future. Trust me!

Other than impressing my guests with the special facial treatments, they were all in love with the other treats. Dessert. Something you need to know about me is that I absolutely LOVE Red Velvet! That weekend was the one following Valentine’s Day, so what a better way to celebrate than having Red Velvet treats everywhere?

I love decorating; therefore, I enjoyed making a cute display out of those delicious treats. I got so many compliments on the dessert and the food. It always feels good when you leave a great impression on others. These little things make you, and the others around you, so Happy.

The menu was:

Red Velvet mini cups

Strawberry Dipped in Chocolate

Pink Champagne

Vitamin Shots

Avocado Cherry Tomato Salad

Caesar Salad

Margarita Pizza

Wings

[My family owns a few pizzerias; therefore, our guests always request having pizza and wings at our parties, because they are that delicious]

The day went by fast and everyone enjoyed their time. It was great having the girls over. I haven’t hung out with them since my wedding. We had a fantastic day together and hopefully will be planning another get together soon.

Seriously, what’s a better day than relaxing, sipping champagne, and indulging in deliciousness?

I cannot get over the Red Velvet!

❤

ArKI

Meeting the President

Monday the 19th of February, businesses and schools were all closed celebrating the United States’ President’s Day. I moved to the U.S. seven years ago; therefore, I am not a native to this country and I do not know a lot about its history.

The hubby has a friend who is fascinating. He is basically an open history encyclopedia! History is his passion. His knowledge does not stop to the history of the U.S., but it stretches out to the other side of the world, to the side I came from.

Since we live in Virginia, we thought it would be a great opportunity to go with him to Mt. Vernon and visit George Washington’s house, especially when its free to get in on that day. I have never been there, and I do not know much about G.W. except that he was the first president of the U.S.

Early in the morning

Our field trip started early on Monday morning, before it got crowded in Mt. Vernon. We were accompanied with a couple other friends of the hubby. Since we are in mid February, you can imagine how cold it is in VA in the mornings. It was so cold that I felt like my nose and ears were going to fall off while we were waiting for them to open the gate. The gate opened at 8 a.m. and we immediately started walking towards G.W.’s house. We did the house tour, which was very interesting. We were in the same rooms, walked through the hallways this man walked, and touched the stair rails he touched hundreds of years ago! They explained that everything in the house was original, even the vivid green pain that most of the rooms were painted with. Did you know that the color green was a symbol of wealth during that time?

G.W. Porch

A few hours later, the weather turned out to be gorgeous. We enjoyed walking around his land, through the forest trails, and beside the Potomac River. We saw such gorgeous scenery and enjoyed learning about G.W.

The dock of Mt. Vernon

I definitely recommend visiting Mt. Vernon especially on a nice day!

View of the Potomac River

It is such a beautiful place to visit. We had a great time with the friends and learned a lot. It sure makes a huge difference when you have a friend full of knowledge. We will definitely make another trip to Mt. Vernon in the future!

 

Roasting a chicken with Thyme and Rosemarie.

 

I hope you enjoyed the few pictures I took to document the beauty of that place.

 

❤

ArKi

 

My new goodies

Stay tuned for detailed post..

Outfit of the Day

Its Wednesday and the weekend is almost here! Today I was in the fun and bright mood and this outfit was the outcome:
Faux fur vest from Forever21, Lime Yellow Green shirt from Forever21, black dressy pants from Express, leopard pointed toe heels from TJ Maxx, chain necklace from Arki Jewelry on Etsy, bracelet from Target, Huge love knot earrings from Asos, stackable pyramid rings from Shop Akira, and large clutch bag from Urban Outfitters.

Happy Wednesday loves,
ArKi

Blazer Love

I have been obsessed with blazers lately. However, those two for to be my absolute favorites. They combine both my love for blazers and bright neon colors. I love everything about them: the color, the shoulder pads, the cut, and the hardware. I cannot wait to pair them with jeggings, cute shoes/ boots, a simple T shirt, and one of my jewelry pieces.

ArKi

Cutest purchase!

I am so in love with those two pieces I scored yesterday. A bright lime yellowish green and a faux fur vest! The cutest combo ever.

❤ aRKI

HELP!

Please, help me pick one. I love the bags from Paul’s Boutique and I think it is time for a new one. I own two of his designs so far. So, now, which one you like the best?

Organization tips: recycled bags

I’d like to share with you some of my organization tips and ideas I’ve learned through out the years.
Let’s start with recycling the grocery bags. I’ve been using this technique for over 9 years now.

Storing Grocery bags can be overwhelming as well as messy sometimes. Therefore, sometimes we just end up throwing them because we don’t want to deal with that. This idea will make storing them easy, neat, and accessible.

Follow these easy steps:
1. Lay the bag flat.
2. Start folding it vertically as pictured into 3 to 4 folds.
3. Grab one of the bottom corners and fold it to form a triangle.
4. Keep forming mini triangles until you reach the point where the bag handles begin to form.
5. Now take the handles and stuff them inside the triangle pocket on the other side. Viola!

Now store it wherever you like. You can put it in a cute container or vase for easy access, or in my case, I store them under my sink.

Happy Organization!
ArKi

Lips is Details

So here is a detailed post about those lip colors from the previous post.

Those three colors are:

Divine Divine 330 by Cover Girl

Gumdrop 060 by Revlon Color burst Lip Butter

Unending Kiss 112 by L’Oreal Infallible

These products are amazing. First of all, my absolute favorite is Divine Divine. Beside the gorgeous purplish pink color, it has a great staying power. By great, I mean 24 hours, I wake up sometimes in the morning and I can still see it on lips even after washing it off! I’ve always had that dilemma of my lips eating the lipstick. I’ve always struggled trying to find a lip product that would stay on my lips for at least an hour. Everything melts off or gets absorbed within a few minutes of applying it. Well, not this one! This lip product is absolutely AhMazing!

I currently own 3 colors from that line of Cover Girl. This weekend I am planning on visiting a drug store and purchasing a few more colors. I am not sure if it is advertised as a long lasting lip product, but it sure does work 100 times better than any other product that claims it has a long lasting power.

Now, the Revlon lip butter. Those are amazing as well. They do not have the same staying power as the Cover Girl product, and even though they are lip butters, they still stay on for quite a while and definitely longer than other brands I’ve tried. Not to mention, the color is super cute. Its almost as if its an icy pink color; however, it doesn’t wash you out. I have an olive skin tone and it looks gorgeous on!

Last but not least, the L’Oreal Unending Kiss. This is such a gorgeous nude color. It is definitely warm nude that doesn’t wash you out. Its staying power is not bad, however, it is a bit drying on my lips. Nonetheless, I love the color!

I hope you enjoyed my little review. I highly suggest checking out the Cover Girl line. It is fabulous!

❤

ArKi

Go Green!

I know we haven’t gotten one single decent snow storm yet, but I like to keep thinking how Spring is approaching. I am looking forward to that. Spring has got to be my favorite season!

In spring everything turns green, flowers and trees blossom, life returns to the nature, our mood gets lifted, and our days become brighter!

I always associate Spring with pastel colors, my birthday, Easter, and finally the color Green! What a better color to symbolize the Spring season than Green?

Green is definitely a cheerful lively color that symbolizes life and nature. It has this positive energy when looking at it, and it brings this sense of relaxation to your mind as well. I love Green! It has been one of my top favorite colors.

Now, let’s talk fashion. Green color is big in fashion trends this year/spring. Especially, lime green shades and neon greens. They are quite fabulous colors! I have so many favorite pieces I am planning on purchasing soon. Seriously, what a better color to welcome the spring?

Enjoy the little inspiration board I put together. You can click on it to direct you to the individual pieces.

Valentine’s Pink

Usually we associate red color with Valentine’s day. Well, not this year!

This year has been the year for bright neon colors, and the Hot Pink color has definitely proven to be the color of choice for many clothing articles and accessories out there. I am not a pink girl (shocking!), but I am definitely a Hot Pink fan. It makes everything look sophisticated, glamorous, pretty, yet edgy!

Hot Pink is definitely one of my favorite colors. It is such a beautiful color and it brings glow to my skin. It definitely suits my olive skin tone. If you are not brave enough to rock a Hot Pink outfit, well, this Valentine’s day should be your excuse! Everything out there is in that Hot Neon Pink color, go grab a piece and rock out wearing it on February the 14th.

Happy Hot Pink Day!

ArKi

Blurbed out!

So who knows about Blurb? Have you designed an album on that site?
I love pictures and love how you can re-live those moments through a photo. However, these days everything is digitalized and most likely most of your pictures are saved on your hard drive, flash card, or even still on your camera’s memory card. Every time I think of that, I get disturbed. What if a glitch occurs and that device, I am trusting, won’t work again!? What happens with all those memories I have stored?
Thats why I am trying my best now to have those hard copy pictures physically in front of me.
In an attempt to do that I joined Blurb community and I’ve been on that site a little over 6 months. However, I haven’t ordered one single album yet!
The reason is because I’ve been so busy lately and I feel that designing an album needs time and artistic mood. Let’s face it, we don’t always feel artistic and we are always time challenged. However, I am determined to work on these albums intensively in the next couple weeks, and I am planning on ordering one of them first as a test of quality and outcome.

I cannot wait to have those albums around my house, bringing back memories and putting a smile on our faces.

Took a shot!

Since I was a little girl, I had this artistic gift. I never really worked on it to improve it and take it to the next step, but it always feels good when I create a piece on my own or design an item. Handmade pieces mean so much. Love, care, and thought is always invested in the piece.
Today is one of those days where I felt artistic and wanted to play with colors. I know I didn’t create a master piece, but I created the cutest piece. I am into more of abstract paintings. Painting one is fun, yet relaxing. Since this is February and Valentine’s day is on the corner, the brush led itself and started painting hearts. I am in love with cute outcome.

Happy Monday!
ArKi

On my Finger

What’s your favorite statement ring?

A couple months ago, I purchased few rings from HauteLook. They are absolutely my all time favorite statement rings!

If you do not know what Hautelook is, it is a website where you can purchase designer/name brand items for 50-75% off, all you have to do is sign up! Everyday they introduce and bring a new brand name. It is incredible as you can snag your favorite designer items for less, and sometimes get introduced to a new brand that becomes your absolute favorite. In my case, “Beyond Rings” became my favorite. I am obsessed with all of their rings’ designs, and the price is AMAZING!

I already own rings 1, 6, and 8. They are absolutely even more beautiful in person!

xoxo

ArKi

 

I cannot help it but..

I cannot help it, but keep looking and searching for vibrant color clothing items. I guess its how they say, you wont know the meaning of something until you lose it. Same here, I think because its the winter season, you start to see less and less of those vibrant colors, you start noticing browns, blacks, and greys all around and surrounding you. Well I miss Color, I miss it so much and want it back in my life!

Stack Me Up!

I can never get enough Neon!

Those vibrant colors make it easier for me while waiting for the spring/summer to arrive. I hate winter! It is such a depressing season where color disappears from everything. It even disappears from your complexion!

Those pastel and neon colors help bring it back into my life. All these stackable bracelets are on my to get list.

Cuff Love

My favorite piece of jewelry has always been the bracelet. I love stacking a bunch of bracelets with different dimensions and characteristic to create a unique look. Bracelets are definitely the arm candy!

What better candy than those neon vibrant colored cuffs. How about those studded cuffs with bold geometric shapes?

Those are a few of the many bracelets I am getting my inspirations from.

Outfit Of The Day

It’s casual Friday and here’s what I wore to work today:
. Pink Blouse from NastyGaL
. Dark blue Jeans from Forever21
. Grey suede boots from Nordstrom’s Rack
. Snake earrings from UrbanOutfitters
. Zaina the Mati Rosary from my Etsy’s shop.
. Neon Orange nail polish from UrbanOutfitters

Xoxo

Accessorize Me

Furnishing a house from scratch is not easy, it actually takes a long time. Our townhouse is a little over 1600 sq ft, and still we are not half way done furnishing it. I don’t think furnishing a house should happen in a day & night, it should be treated as an on going project. Just like when your mood changes, your appetite and cravings change. It is the same exact situation with your decorating and designing taste.

For instance, in my case, my whole color theme changed drastically from when we signed the contract, on the house, till the time we actually moved in. At first, I wanted to have leopard and animal prints around the house, I wanted brown and cream color palette around the house, but now it is nothing like that! In fact, I hate brown furniture and brown color palettes. I am so over the typical brown or cream couches, way over brown accents, and beyond over standard looking pottery barn-ish looking furniture. I went to the opposite direction, to the crisp white vibrant color palette, and I absolutely love it.

Another thing I hate is buying sets. I think it is absolutely boring when you buy a set for you living room, bedroom, or office. When doing so, you do not challenge your self to create a space that catches your personality, you’re only taking what “someone” thinks looks good and placing it in your space. That is NOT me. I live to be different and unique in everything I have and do. I like to be creative, and I love to challenge myself. It doesn’t bother me when it takes me longer to find something because I know I will love the end results.

One of the benefits of having white as the bases for your color palette, is that you can easily change the space up by changing only the accessories! Therefore, if the mood changes, and I want to spice things up, all I have to do is replace my accessories with new colors. How easy and cheap is that!?

Currently, my bedroom is only white. At first, I thought of adding a light lavender tones accessories to it, but that soon changed. By soon, I mean within a month! Thank God my furniture is white; otherwise, my wallet will be in big trouble if I wanted to change my color palettes as often as I wish. Well I decided on the accent colors for the room, Tiffany Blue and silver! Also, I decided to have my two favorite patterns: Chevron & Houndstooth as an accent as well.

Images are from Zgallerie

Excited!

My Etsy shop has been open for a week now and I just sold my first item! It is such a great feeling I have now. I woke up this morning and saw that my first transaction had gone through and I instantly felt butterflies in my stomach! I am feeling fantabulous today. The beautiful bracelet is cutely packaged and ready to be shipped to her owner. I hope she enjoys it as much as I enjoyed designing it.

Happy Monday everyone!
Arki

My Own Resort..

.. A post of what’s in my room will be coming your way soon.

Love to touch..

Currently, I am super obsessed with those two things: the Chevron pattern and Sheep skin throws. Those two things add so much character to my living and dinning area. I am in love ❤

Jewelry shop on Etsy

Yesterday was such a productive day for me. I was able to work on many projects that I have been putting on the shelf for a while. One of the most important projects was to start my Etsy shop. I’ve been planning for it, coming up with ideas, and working on some pieces for quite a while.
After I posted the first piece on Etsy, my heart skipped a beat. I was so excited, happy, and proud of myself for finally doing it. So far, I have only two designs on Etsy. I am planning on working extra hard this week/weekend to get more designs in my shop.
I have so many ideas to share with you, but at least I finally started!
I would like to thank my family and friends for their constant support and motivation. It means a lot to me.
I would also appreciate every thought, suggestion, and recommendation you may have for me. I am always up to learn more and broaden my knowledge.

Keep checking here and my shop for new designs, news, and announcements.

Have a fabulous day loves.
ArKi