NYC Will Always Have My Heart

I cannot believe it, but my NYC summer experience has come to an end. Unbelievable, right?

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New York City became my home this summer and I feel like I legitimately left a piece of my heart there. When I first arrived in the city, I kept saying “I think I am going to have a great summer but I definitely do not see myself here after graduation.” WELL, I WAS WRONG. This summer my heart grew fonder as the days went on.

From learning the subway to mastering the different areas of Manhattan, to becoming closer with girls in the classes and internship to discovering so many amazing restaurants, my summer in NYC is one I will never forget.

I lived in the Upper West Side, which I always compared to the suburbs of the city. My internship was in the Flatiron District and my classes were in Midtown. I loved my classes and I definitely learned a lot of about myself and what I want out of my future at my internship.

I interned at a fashion PR firm, which was definitely an experience I always dreamed about. For the past three years I have said my dream was to work in fashion PR, but after interning in a fashion PR firm, I learned that I LIKE fashion PR, but I don’t LOVE it. I am so grateful for the experience I had at the agency I interned for. I was able to work at both New York Men’s Day (the opening event for NYFW) and at New York Men’s Fashion Week.

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This summer was amazing, and I think one of my absolute favorite things was getting to try all the different trendy foods that were all over Facebook and the internet this summer. For example, Frosé, the roll-up ice cream and I went to the bakery , Union Fare, which sells the rainbow croissants, but they were sold out by the time I got there so I tried their cookies and cream croissant, which was just as fabulous!

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Exploring was also amazing. You would think in the eight weeks I was there, I would have been able to do everything I wanted to, but I didn’t. If I did not have class or my internship, I probably could have, but I know that I will definitely have to do the things I wanted to do this summer first as soon as I am back in the city!

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Another thing I loved about being in NYC, everyone wants to come and visit! My sister, Payton and best friend, Amanda came twice, my friend Mary came with Payton and Amanda on their second trip and my friend Erin came up for a weekend trip. The FUNNIEST thing was Erin and I sleeping in my twin sized bed in my dorm room, haha!

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During my friend’s visits we explored all around Manhattan and went to Brooklyn! In Brooklyn, we adventured in Williamsburg and DUMBO, which is in the picture below.

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DUMBO: Down Under the Manhattan Brooklyn Overpass 

Dumbo was gorgeous! The architecture, the view of the Manhattan Skyline and the view of the Brooklyn bridge are out of this world. The area is located right in the middle of the Manhattan bridge and the Brooklyn bridge.

This summer also included going to Her Conference. Her Conference is a conference hosted by Her Campus, an online magazine for women in college. I am a writer for Her Campus Kent State and I am also in their blogging network! They hosted a kick-off event, hosted by Rebecca Minkoff. I attended the event and had the chance to meet her. I fan-girled so hard! She was so sweet and even signed the inside of the bag I purchased that evening.

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I cannot believe all of the things I did within these past eight weeks. These were just a few highlights from my summer. I truly cannot believe this summer is almost over. Summer 2016 is definitely my favorite summer yet!

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BYOB- Build Your Own Birchbox! + A Giveaway!

Birchbox is the queen of all monthly boxes! We all know how popular these monthly boxes have become over the past year, and there is no stopping them.

I am fascinated how Birchbox continuously revolutionizes the monthly boxes and how customers try new products. I know so many who subscribe to their boxes, and now I am one of those people after visiting their store in Soho. In the last week, I have visited the store THREE times…you could say I am addicted.

This past time, I went with my two new friends, Morgan  of Mostlymorgan.com and Lara of Seafoananddiamonds.com! We went and created our own, customized Birchboxes.

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Me, Morgan (Middle) and Lara (Right)! 

Let me just start off by saying how adorable the Birchbox store is! Take a look at these pictures:

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Can you see all of the yellow? You all know I am in LOVE with the interior of the store, I mean how could I not be? It is YELLOW and MAKEUP!

After Morgan, Lara and I wondered around the store for a little bit, we decided to get to cracking and build our own boxes. Let’s take a look at the process~

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First, you choose one of the extremely cute box to put all of your items in, I chose the one in the middle!

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Second, look through all of the products and choose one from each other their sections: makeup, hair, fragrance, skincare and body.

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If you ever get the experience to go to the store, you will need at least 30 minutes to build a box because they have so many great products, it’s insane.

Here is a preview of the boxes that are full of sample size products for you to choose from!

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Birchbox has so many amazing options to choose from, especially things that you would be too nervous to buy a large bottle of, like a bee venom face mask.

We had a blast making each of our boxes. It was difficult to choose from each area of products. The only area that was not difficult for me was the hair section, because as most of you know, I get my hair washed once a week, so I do not need my own shampoo and conditioner etc., but I got this amazing hair tie made by L. Erickson.

At the end of a really fun hour and a half in the store, we had three amazing completed boxes! Lara’s boyfriend joined us and even made his own customized box in the Birchbox Men section of the store!

My box included: a Banana Hand Milk cream, a Stila liquid lipstick in the shade Fiore, a Ceramidin liquid skin moisturizer, which I used this morning and it is AMAZING, my L. Erickson hair tie and a Sud Pacifique Vanille Abricot perfume.

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We love our boxes so much that we have decided to gift one to our amazing followers because we love you all so much! <3

We are gifting one of the Radiant Finish Kits. The picture below describes all of the products inside of the box. The summer is the perfect time to have that dewy, luminous skin that we all want! It even has a full-size beauty blender!

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To enter to win the Radiant Finish Kit all you have to do is enter down below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The giveaway will start today at 6 p.m. and go until July 13 until 6 p.m.!

We are so excited about this giveaway and we hope you all are as well. I will announce the winner on July 13 on my Instagram: @Danieminor13.

After our trip to Birchbox, we had an amazing afternoon full of yummy food and photoshoots! I am so glad that this summer I met these two amazing women! I cannot see where the future takes our friendship.

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Cannot wait to announce the winner of our giveaway!

XODanieSparkle

Defining Danie takes NYC week 1

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So I know a lot of people who follow me on Instagram have been wondering WHAT IS DANIE DOING IN NYC?! I am not in my usual home, Annapolis for the summer because I am interning and taking classes at Kent State’s NYC Studio. I am taking a Fashion in the Media class and a tour class, where we get to tour around various places in NYC including The Met and the FFANY show. I am interning at the fashion PR agency, Agentry!

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Getting to know the city this week has been an event in itself. Being from right outside D.C., I am used to the city life, and I LOVE it, but being IN the city 24/7, it’s definitely an adjustment.

In addition to beginning my new classes and my new internship, week one has consisted of:

  • Finding amazing food on every corner of the city
  • Figuring out the Subway…the D.C. Metro is so much easier
  • Making some awesome friends at my internship
  • Attending a beautiful service at a new Synagogue
  • Attending a free preview of Ferris Bueler’s Day Off with a friend I haven’t seen in over a year! (I also had never seen the movie…I know I’m awful!)
  • Finding an adorable, on-the-road Flower truck called Uprooted (I posted an adorable picture on Twitter! @danieminor13)
  • And the coolest… My Roomie and I stumbled upon the Tony Awards and watched all the celebrities go into the show!

 

I cannot wait to see what the rest of the summer holds for me! I will be posting weekly updates of my time, so check back on Sunday evenings for weekly recaps.

XODanieSparkle

 

Thrifty Thursday: Getting Ready for Vacation!

I cannot believe I have not done a Thrifty Thursday in over two months! To be honest, I had to take a break because at school my closet was overflowing with the awesome deals I was finding! This week I decided I would head over to my favorite consignment store, Oh My Darling in Annapolis, Md. to see what deals they had going on.

They recently posted on Instagram a photo of a few pairs of pineapple earrings and I knew that I had to have these for the summer!

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Amy, the owner of Oh My Darling also posted today about a sale she had today if you mentioned you saw it on her Instagram.

Even though I originally went to the store for just the earrings, I knew I would not only be leaving with just one thing… I also found the perfect dress for a trip I have coming up this weekend to the Bahamas!

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The dress is made by Just Be… I tried to find how much the dress was sold for originally, but I was unable to find it. I can tell the dress is made with a quality cotton though, so I am guessing it was definitely sold for more than I bought it. I purchased this dress for $16!

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The lightweight cotton will be perfect for the hot weather in the Bahamas!

Out of the two things I purchased today, I would definitely say the earrings would be my favorite. I am in love with the pineapples. I am currently obsessing over anything pineapple related!

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I also love the earrings because they were made by a local jewelry designer! Here is her information if you are interested in purchasing this pair of earrings or looking to see if she sells something similar:

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I left the store today only spending a total of $45!

For all of my Annapolis area readers, Oh My Darling is having their biggest shopping event yet that you will not want to miss! Coming up on June 20, they are hosting an event called The Longest Day, which is raising money for Alzheimer’s awareness.

Leading up to the event, they will be having their #30DaysofDresses fundraiser. For every dress sold from May 21-June 20, Oh My Darling will donate 10 percent of the sale to their Longest Day team. If you go into the store and try on a dress and use the hashtags #30DaysofDresses and #THELONGESTDAY, they will donate $1 to their team.

 

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If this didn’t sound intriguing enough for you… on June 20 if you make a $5 or $10 donation to their team, you will receive an empty Oh My Darling shopping bag, which you can fill with anything you can fit into the bag and receive 10 percent or 20 percent off of the items in the bag!

For more information about the event you can contact Oh My Darling’s owner, Amy Darling at amy@shopohmydarling.com!

It felt so great to thrift again! I am glad that I broke my thrifting drought at Oh My Darling!

XODanieSparkle

 

 

Beautycon Monthly Subscription Box Unveiling!

So, I have written about Beautycon before, but to refresh your memory it is a convention that combines social media and beauty into one! There is a panel of social media influencers who speak about various topics throughout the entire day and you can also buy products with brands who attend and have a booth.

It is always a GREAT day. I have been to one in London and one in NYC! Well…They created a monthly subscription box that is curated each month by famous social media influencers with some of their favorite products and I wanted to share my box that I received with you. 🙂

Let me know what you think of this video! If you want to see more like this, please comment below. I had a lot of fun making this video. I hope you have a great week ahead of you.

 

XODanieSparkle

Quit Tanning Before You Even Begin!

As we are gearing up for the last few weeks of the semester, we are getting ready for some summer fun! During the past few weeks of school, I had so many friends talking about a very common topic that comes about during this time of the year…tanning. I know I have talked about this before, but I really felt the need to again.

When my friends talk about tanning multiple times per week (or even at all) it honestly terrifies me because I know that my friends and so many young adults know the harm that tanning can cause them, but they continue to do it every week.

I wanted to share some facts with you all:

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Other than skin cancer, tanning leads to so many other harmful side effects. If you look at many people who have tanned for a long time, you can usually tell that they have been effected by it based off how their skin appears. They have spots and more wrinkles at their age than they probably wouldn’t have had if they did not always strive to be tanner than the rest.

If you are currently someone who tans, do NOT think that skin cancer and melanoma are something that cannot affect you now. On my last post about skin cancer, I talked about how I have never tanned before but I had surgery on my back because I had a mole that was “pre-melanoma,” also known as an atypical nevi.

During my surgery I was not put asleep and they just numbed my back. When I asked how many stitches I had, my doctor estimated somewhere around 250, so it was not just as simple as removing the mole and then I was done.

While skin cancer is the most treatable of all of the cancers, it is also one that spreads very fast if not caught early enough. I am so grateful for the doctor who saw the mole on my back and realized that it was not a healthy mole.

I know that for a lot of people they “don’t care” what happens to them as long as they are tan, but I just wanted to point out some facts for you incase you did not actually know some of the harmful side effects!

Also, one last thing…in my opinion fake tanning does not look good, people are either orange or they look burned.

I would love to hear your opinions of tanning in a tanning bed!

XODanieSparkle

 

Thrifty Thursday: Consignment Edition

Consignment stores are definitely considered a “thrift store.” The difference between a consignment store and a thrift store is that a consignment store will offer you money for your clothes so they can sell them in their store. What could be better than that? (I mean donating clothes to your local thrift store is also amazing!)

I haven’t posted a Thrifty Thursday is a while, but no fear, this week’s post is amazing!

The day after Christmas, one of my favorite consignment stores in Maryland, Oh My Darling posted a glorious photo on their Instagram (@shopohmydarling):

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…If you look closely you can see that I commented almost immediately on this photo, haha! I knew I had to see these magical bags in person. One in particular… the Alma MM.

After seeing the bag in person, I knew I wanted it, but I didn’t know if I could afford the bag in full that day. Well, Amy, the owner let me know that she has a layaway program set up for college and high school students so they can also own these designer products.

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I was sold on this layaway plan! I paid some on the spot, some online through Paypal and then some when I picked up the bag right before I came back for spring semester. Amy really worked with me so I could own my dream bag!

Oh My Darling has very reasonable prices, so this 1997 (oh my gosh, this bag is the same age as my sister!) Alma MM was $495. Originally, this bag costs… $1,810 brand new.

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I know that this is an updated version of the bag, but the concept is the closest that they have of my bag.

For me, I personally like that this bag was older because I like the way the leather handles and leather accents look better than on a new bag. The leather is a cream color rather than the light brown that it becomes over time.

If you choose to look for your next designer bag in a consignment store definitely ask if the bag has been authenticated and ask to see something to prove they are being truthful.

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I am beyond excited about my new Louis Vuitton bag! Make sure to check out Oh My Darling’s online shop, which is frequently updated.

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/Scarf: Lucky Brand/

This was not a sponsored post. I paid for the purse in full. 

Why Nashville Should Be on YOUR bucket list!

Do you dream of visiting the home of country music? The home of the Ryman? Don’t know what the Ryman is… well that’s the reason you definitely need to go!

Nashville has a young vibe with a certain charm that cannot be compared to any other city I’ve been to. My sister, dad and I went to Nashville for four days, which was just the right amount to see Nashville and a couple of surrounding cities around it!

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Broadway Street 

Broadway Street is the main tourist street. It has all of the Honky Tonk bars, where people are performing live music all day. You can walk into any of these bars and there will be a great performance! Along with the Honky Tonk bars are pieces of history, amazing restaurants and many stores that sell cowboy boots.

You will not miss this on your trip to Nashville! It is in the heart of downtown.

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Broadway at night time! The purple building is the infamous Tootsies Orchid Lounge. 

Nashville is definitely a Yuppie/Yopro City 

Yuppie/Yopro: Young Professional

In every area, Nashville had some sort of building going on. Whether is was a new apartment complex or a new bar, there were many new things coming there, which is always a good sight to see! A lot of the city was renovated, which is what many millennials love to see but it had a southern charm.

I never thought I could see myself in a southern city before. I have always dreamt of living in Washington D.C. or NYC, but now Nashville has been added to this list!

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Something that I loved was an area called “12 South,” which is where Reese Witherspoon’s store, Draper James is. Reese Witherspoon’s hometown is Nashville, so of course she had to have her store in one of Nashville’s hottest neighborhoods!

Right next door to Draper James is Sprinkles cupcakes, which included their Cupcake ATM (I was in heaven!). If you haven’t experienced the Cupcake ATM, then you must get to your closest Sprinkles Cupcakes pronto!

On every corner there was another cool store to go into including White’s Mercantile. While walking past White’s Mercantile my sister and I weren’t sure what the store was going to be so it made it even more exciting. We walked into a young adult’s heaven. It was a clothing store and a gift store stocked with unnecessary things. They had adorable clothing, real leather purses, jewelry, Hudson Bay blankets… you can basically see that my sister and I were in heaven while this was not my dad’s ideal spot, haha!

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12 South is also home of the “I believe in Nashville” wall! This wall was painted in 2012 by an artist named DCXV to create a unifying symbol for Nashville, for native and newcomer alike.

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Some of the History 

We did two touristy tours to learn more about the rich history that Nashville holds. My family and I toured the Ryman and we visited Hatch Printing.

Visiting the home of Hatch Printing was my favorite out of the two. Hatch Printing is the company who makes the iconic posters for advertising for many artists who came to Nashville. Hatch printing still currently makes posters for artists to sell at their shows! They have made posters for anyone from Elvis to Kanye.

It was so neat to be able to see the old machinery they use to hand-make all of these posters. They all become individuals, which is so great!

Me being the public relations major that I am, I loved getting to see the early advertising  that these artists used to promote their shows. My family and I even got to make our prints at the end of the tour.

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Food 

I had some of the best food while visiting! Whether it was at one their local coffee shops, Frothy Monkey, Merchant’s, a southern bistro (that is on Broadway!) or it was at Pancake Pantry, a legendary breakfast spot.

Definitely add Nashville to your bucket list! 

Even if it’s only for two days, you will not regret getting to this great city!

 

 

Introducing: Monday Mingles!

Good afternoon & happy Monday!

I have decided to introduce a new weekly post on my blog called Monday Mingles! Each post will be different. I am so excited to mingle with you all! I think I want each to have a certain topic and then have anyone who would like to, comment with their thoughts!

Being a bridesmaid

 

This weekend I was a bridesmaid for the first time. It was exciting, emotional and exhausting!

I cannot believe that a year and a half ago I was asked to be one of my friend’s bridesmaids. I received an email with a heart-felt note that ended with “Will you be my Bridesmaid?” Without even thinking about it, I of course said: YES.

When I said yes, I did not think of anything that was going to come about when being a bridesmaid, such as, money and time. Now, I did not mind spending my time and money on my friend Taylor’s wedding but if you are asked to be a bridesmaid, THINK ABOUT IT before you say yes.

You have to think about the dress, hair, nails, dress for the rehearsal and bachelorette weekend, etc.

Weddings aren’t cheap, but they are extremely special. I was fortunate to have my parent’s help throughout the whole process, but that is because I am still young. I know the next wedding I will probably be in will not be for a few more years, so I will be more financially-able to pay for it on my own.

Does this mean I will not want to be in their wedding because I have to pay for it on my own?

No.

But, this does mean that I will be more cautious if I agree to be in their wedding.

Does this make me selfish for not wanting to spend my money for being in my friends wedding? I don’t think so. I think this means that I am being realistic. The bride will most likely already feel a little bad that you’re spending so much money on her wedding, so she will most likely understand if you decline being her bridesmaid (unless she is your BFF or your sister!!).

I want to know your thoughts/experiences on being a bridesmaid!

Here are some photos from the wedding this weekend (as soon as I have the photographer’s photos I will share them with you!):

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Comment below with your thoughts and experiences with being in a wedding party!

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Thrifty Thursday: Summer to Fall Bag!

So, Defining Danie reader’s, it’s been a while. I’ve missed you all! School has been more than hectic, which is why I haven’t blogged in what feels like a lifetime.

Look at this amazing purchase that I found. The bag was originally $45 and at Goodwill it was being sold for $17, and then I got the student discount and ended up getting the bag for $15!

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This week’s Thrifty Thursday is based on a bag I found a few weeks ago that was originally from Target. Orange can go for either summer or fall, but adding this scarf definitely adds more a fall-feel. The bag was brand new and I bought it from Goodwill in Kent, Ohio. Goodwill and Target have a partnership where the Goodwill sells the clothing/accessories not sold during the time that they were being sold in Target so they have another chance to be sold again. The clothing/accessories are sold for a cheaper price than they would be sold in Target.

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Although the oranges are not the same, the scarf and bag still complement one-another. The bag has more of a coral undertone and the scarf has a darker orange, magenta, yellow and various colors of taupe! I love the scarf, which I got for only $1.00!

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Take a look inside this bag! It even has the perfect compartment for pencils and lipstick. 😉 And the polka dots are a lovely touch.

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Incorporating thrifted items into your daily outfits is not hard at all! It was a coincidence that I was actually wearing was thrifted over the summer.

I hope everyone is having a lovely start to fall!

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