Nicki Minaj on the Cover of V!

Have you seen the V shoot with Nicki Minaj? I personally thought that the styling and art direction was very lazy. Nicki is CRAZY, they could have done so much more and had so much more fun.  Some people were saying that that bottom was the only thing they could fit her booty into...oh come on. She looks fabulous of course, but they could have had SO much more fun with it! The theme was supposed to be a sort of witch doctor thing, which I thought was a bit random. Maybe because she's into the whole spooky thing? Okay, so they could have gone SO crazy with that! The makeup to me also looks more Mexican Dia de los Muertos themed than witch doctor...

Even still, I love her and she looks fabulous. 

What do you think?

Thing I Love This Week

Helloooo lovelies.  How are you today?

 "Finchè c'è vita c'è speranza"

Where there's life, there's hope.

 Here are some things I am lovinnnn this week:

♥ Planning trips! (Spring break in LA?! June in INDIA?!)  

 ♥ Tumblr. - I finally got one and I'm obsessed. Ahh! ♥ Hazelnut coffee ♥ Positivity I am so excited for this year. ♥ the snow was so pretty to walk home in from SoHo the other night ♥ Interning I am learning lots and it's nice to be doing something productive with my winter break. ♥ Gift Cards I recieved some for Christmas and I just used one on the Victoria's Secret site...major sales going on there right now hurry up and check it out! Which brings me to ♥ Sales and coupon codes. Word up student budget.  ♥ catching up with friends after being apart for weeks or more ♥ Skype! I still think that it's pretty much the greatest invention ever. So genius!  I have friends and family who live all over the world, and I use it every day. ♥ Organizing makes me feel productive..I am not such an organized person in general but right now I feel like I am :] ♥ Pajamas, soft winter clothes and fluffy hats. They are the bestttt

♥ Nicki Minaj. uhh can't stop listening. SHE CRAZY. ♥ Creating for fun. I love winter break because I have the time to explore my own creative ideas. I can spend half a day drawing out some whim just for fun. I did this in Illustrator the other day just for kicks:

♥ planning outfits with friends for an event or going out :] "What are you wearing?" "AGHH I DON'T KNOW" story of my life... 

 My favorite was when this happened: Me and Mika discussing an outfit- "Well I really like this, the tough grungy shirt balances out the prettiness of the dress..I guess it just depends on the shoes.." etc

Our roommate's reaction: "Whatttt are you guys talking about? It sounds like you're speaking another language."

♥ SKINS. Oh my gosh I am obsessed with this show, it is so good. Season One is the best though.

What are you loving this weeeeeeeeek

I want to go to Disney World

And wear this

DISNEY 1 by nikkidee featuring polka dot dresses

All Day Errday

Gala Darling wrote about her daily routine, and it made me think about my mornings as well. I realized that I don't really have a daily routine and while that may be nice for some people, it would probably keep me more organized to have one. Organization skills are something that I'm lacking a bit in and I'm always looking for ways to get better at it.  I am in college, and while I can pretend that gives me the excuse to stay up until 4 am on a Saturday and sleep 'til noon, that doesn't make me feel too great! My routine changes constantly and is still changing... I hope to perfect it this semester!

So, during school, this is my average morning/daily routine:

picture from here

• ignore my first alarm on my clock at 7:20 am. wake up when my phone alarm goes off at 7:45. (this is why i set 2 ;] )
• fall haphazardly off my bed (it's lofted off the ground so my desk fits underneath, because i share a bedroom with 2 other people. Dorms/NYC apartments, amiright?) Check the internets, get ready for class, chuck art supplies into my bag, make some coffee or tea to bring with me. grab my lunch and water bottle from the fridge, and around 8:30 sprint to the subway to get to class at 9
• class all day
• projects, food, nap, homework homework homework until i collapse

Oh man.

However, here are some things I swear by for keeping me sane and healthy:

♥ Have some idea of what you are going to wear the next day, the night before. I often dress by how I feel that day, but since in the morning I usually feel cold, tired and grumpy when I immediately awaken, it helps to set out clothes, or at least options, the night before. I see many of my classmates get trapped into the artist's uniform of all black, especially in the winter- tights, sweater, scarf, boots... I don't own a lot of black but I do usually end up wearing the same outfit every day in the winter: gray tights, one of my older brother's sweaters, boots, hair in a bun. Picking out clothes the day before often helps me shake up my routine and wear some bright and less sleep-inducing outfits.

Also, it helps to take the time to do your hair or swipe on some make-up. It's a fact that when you look better, you feel better.

picture from here

♥ drink SO MUCH water. Especially if you drink coffee. Last semester I tried to replace some of my coffee with tea and water, and I did feel a lot better throughout the day. It also helps coffee work a lot better when you actually drink it. I actually had some for the first time in weeks today, because I needed to kick-start my brain a bit, and LOOK HOW PRODUCTIVE I'M BEING I'M WRITING A BLOG POST

picturefromhere

♥ EXERCISE.  I used to dance every day- I took class from when I was 3 or 4 years old so it felt natural to be in dance class exercising for hours every day. When I came to college and stopped dancing or exercising at all, I felt completely awful! I put on unnecessary weight, got sick more often, and felt tired all the time. Now I try to either go to the gym, run, or do yoga a few times a week and I feel way healthier! I am also looking to start up some dance classes again so if you know anywhere good to take dance class in NYC, please let me know!

picbyme

♥ eat generally healthy. This is super-tough to do on a student budget, I know, and ramen is delicious. But it makes me feel gross. Dude, I am Italian and Cuban so I could never do the raw food thing- pasta is like 80% of my diet and I'm addicted to the moduros at the Cuban restaurant across from my building. Also I love sugar. Weee! But eating a little healthier never hurt anyone- I love Naked brand green juice. It tastes like apple juice but it has spinach and all kinds of healthy veggies in it.

♥ have a real conversation. I spend a lot of time on the computer, or engrossed in my projects, or with headphones on in the subway. It's nice to have a substantial conversation with roomies, or skype a friend from home, or talk to someone new :]

♥ find something that you like to do that has nothing to do with school or work. for some people I know it's skating, for some people it is singing in a choir...I love to go to concerts.  It makes my feel happy and refreshed in so many ways.

♥ take some quiet time. I like to take some creative me-time every so often. I hide myself in my room or in the stairwell and sketch, read, finger-paint, write, whateva!

Alternative to this is walking around the city, especially very early in the morning. It makes me feel happy and exploring is the most funnnnnnn thing for me. yaaay.

♥  Another alternative ;] is FUN TIME instead of quiet time...

my friends and I went out for much-needed karaoke after finals

heck yes we're singing Britney Spears "Womanizer"

What's your daily routine?