New Lush, New Shoes, New High Prices!

Hey everyone! I am guilty of being so super busy lately that I have neglected this blog beyond reason. With the holidays and working overtime at work, I pretty much sleep, work, eat and repeat. Hopefully after the holidays things will slow down and I'll go back to my once a day post. I actually have been slightly frustrated with a business I've been recently trying to contact to order my shirts for Embrace Couture. They say that you can request a quote and send them e-mails and they respond within a business day or the for the quote within few business days. I've been trying to get in touch with them for a couple weeks now and no answer. Not the best way to run a successful business in my opinion.  I mean wouldn't you think when someone says they want the services you're making a living off of you would jump at the chance? I would! So I'm held up on that and it is pretty frustrating.
My Mistletoe candle has finally run its course and I'm relatively devastated about it. I now have this sucky candle that isn't burning right next to me and I don't smell anything! Christmas is only 8 days away so I didn't want to spend another $25 on a candle I can only burn for about a week. If I was to burn my Mistletoe candle after Christmas, I'm 100% sure I'd get depressed that the holidays are over so I'm not going to do that.
On a happy note, I'm going to LUSH this weekend! Oh! And big news! LUSH is opening a store in the Cherry Hill Mall! Yay! No more driving over the bridge and paying for parking! I realized with the $4 for the toll and the $2 for parking I could buy one big bath bomb! So I'm extremely happy about that. I have no idea when it is opening but it is coming eventually which is really exciting. I had planned on before I move into my apartment to go on a major LUSH shopping spree because money will get a little tighter and I'd love to start a LUSH collection for there. I'm hoping it will be open in Cherry Hill before then so I can go there and not into Philly. I don't love parking there one bit. I've been lucky enough to drag my mom with me every time so she does the parking but I have a feeling if she has a hard time parking again my LUSH ride is going to expire. Tomorrow when I get home I'll type up a LUSH haul and show you what I got. I'm thinking about sticking to their Christmas exclusives, the ones I haven't tried yet, so I don't have to wait a whole year to try them again but we'll see.
Is it just me or has the price of shoes skyrocketed lately? I am a die hard Steve Madden fan for the record. I will swear by his shoes until the day I die. I have one go to black pair that has taken a turn for the worst and looks pretty shabby right now. So I started to price new black heels for work and my god has Steve Madden gone from really affordable to "might have to wait til next paycheck" pricey. Don't get me wrong his pries aren't Jimmy Choo expensive but I was used to getting heels for under $100 and now it just isn't possible. I love shoes. They used to be my favorite thing to buy. Now my love is evenly distributed for everything, shirts, dresses, pants, jeans you name, it I love buying it. Besides underwear and bras. They are hands down my favorite thing to spend money on. I know it is a bit silly if you ask me too. That is just my addiction, can't explain it though. And that is when I turn to my shopping clubs. Luckily there is a sale today for Jessica Simpson black patent leather heels for $36. I'm just going to have to save Steve Madden until later and get these. Can't pass up gorgeous shoes for $36! Well I'll update again tomorrow! Until next time!

Much Love,
Christine for Embrace Couture

Oh YouTube and Your Favorite Videos...

Second blog post today! I'm on a roll! I was initially going to write this one up first but then as you can see below, I went nuts with a more personal blog. Oh well. If anyone else watches YouTube videos, especially the beauty gurus, you know what a favorites video is. It's when they get together all their favorite products of the month and just pretty much tell you about them. It doesn't sound all that great, but I actually look forward to these from the couple of girls that I follow. I just watched AllThatGlitters21, aka Elle Fowler's, favorite videos and of course it lowered my bank account once again. I am an avid online shopper, and avid shopper all together, but somehow almost every month one of the YouTube girls shows me something I didn't know about that I end up really wanting. This month Elle showed me this gorgeous slippers. Now with it getting so cold out all I can think about it how to keep warm. When she went on to say how they were the warmest slippers ever and how they had memory foam, I was like," Crap, now I have to go buy them." And I did. In the gorgeous color called Chino Frost, which is the color hers were. She had the boots version where I got ones that looked more like regular slippers because the bottom of the boots always seem to slide under my feet and I end up walking on top of the "heel" part of the boot and I just hate that. The slippers are made by DearFoams and I don't think I have ever seen them before. I have never really been a big slipper buyer before but it seems this year my house is a lot colder and I really need them! You can get your own at http://www.dearfoams.com/ and when they come in I'll let you know how great they are! So I am convinced these gurus do these favorite videos to make me spend more money and crave animal crackers. However, I will continue to watch them because I really enjoy them and maybe I'll make one someday soon! Until next time!

Much love,
Christine from Embrace Couture

Busy Life I've Been Leading!

So I haven't written a blog post in about a week and I apologize. Around the holidays things can get a little crazy. I wrapped almost all of my Christmas presents, registered for classes, cooked my first successful meal, and worked on some Embrace Couture designs. So let me start by saying I love wrapping presents. I think I had a giant smile on my face and it just kept getting bigger and bigger with every present I wrapped. I'm still waiting on a couple of things to come in but the majority is in and wrapped. The problem has just been storing it. My kitty Edithanne, the most beautiful cat ever, seen in my profile picture, like to chew on beautifully wrapped gifts and ribbon. I've had a hard time keeping things looking as nicely as they did when I first wrapped them. A small price to pay for not panicking that Christmas is less than 3 weeks away because I am done the crazy part. Now I can just sit back, enjoy my Mistletoe candle, and bask in the holiday season.
I also registered for classes, which to me is a huge downer. I'm not really a big school person. I always had an easy time in high school but I wasn't someone who had ever planned to go to college, I was more told I was going. So I tried out several schools and none of them really seemed to be working for me. I liked to work more than I liked to learn but I have decided to go back. I think I have a lot of things going on in my personal life that is making me grow up a little bit more and making me really start to think about my future and what I would like to accomplish. I'll be going part time since I work a full time job and still want to work on Embrace Couture. It shouldn't be too bad, I'm just a little nervous I'll be the same unfocused student I was in previous colleges. Big procrastinator here!
I also made a very successful meal for my boyfriend, my mom, and my sister last week which took up my whole Thursday night. I had to get the stuff to make it and then cook it. My sister was there to keep me calm because I tend to get overwhelmed in the kitchen because I don't completely know what I am doing in there. She did wash the dishes for me which is extremely helpful. I made a fiery fried chicken recipe, sweet potatoes, buffalo mac and cheese and a Caesar salad with bacon and the most delicious croutons ever. I'm pretty sure JJ can't complain that only he can cook now because I proved that when I put my mind to it I can make a very tasty meal. I also made dessert! Smores brownies! Wasn't too fond of them myself but everyone else seemed to like them.
Embrace Couture is coming along quite nicely and I hope to have my first shirt on sale some time in January! I'm so excited. I picked out the shirt, the design, the tag design, and where I'm getting it done. Be on the look out for my website to be posted here and make sure you check it out when it is!
Wow, all that was pretty random and not what I wanted to do this blog post on! I think I'll just post this one and then I'll write up the other one and post it. Two in one day! That should make up for my absence! Until about 30 minutes from now!

Much love,
Christine for Embrace Couture

Victoria's Secret Fashion Show!

Another year gone by and another Victoria's Secret Fashion Show behind us. I love fashion shows all together but my extreme love for underwear makes the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show have a special place in my heart. As much as I missed Miranda Kerr and Heidi Klum this year the show was still amazing! This year wasn't my favorite but I loved the animal/safari part. Also before this show started I wasn't a big fan of Angel Rosie. Now after her personality showed and she didn't look as miserable as usual I have to say she is a lot better than I thought. She is much prettier when she smiles some too! So of course Adriana Lima looked amazing. You can't even tell she had a baby! Alessandra of course was up there too in the most stunning! However Candice might just be my favorite Angel this year. She seems to be much softer than some of the other girls and she just really stands out to me. Didn't lover her plaid outfit but her rocker black one in the beginning and her one with the wings really impressed me. The moment that stole the show had to be when Chanel was given her first set of wings and she started crying. I love all the backstage stuff they show for this fashion show and I really liked that we got to share that moment with her. I was insanely surprised they didn't spotlight the 3 million dollar bra more than they did. It just kind of fit in with the rest of the Swavorski Crystal ones. Either way Adriana looked good in it again. I know she had the honor of wearing it before too.

As far as performances go, Katy Perry didn't really do anything for me. She seemed to have trouble hitting some of her notes the second time she came out. I also can't stand the "California Gurls" song. I just don't like it. I love "Teenage Dream" and she didn't do very well with the 30 seconds she sang of that song. Akon did really well and the song he sang was perfect. Overall I'd give the show a very good review. It will always be a show that shouldn't be missed. Until next time!

Much love,
Christine for Embrace Couture

Does Anyone Else Make End of the Year Goals?

Hey everyone! How was Thanksgiving for everyone?! I for one had a great one. Nothing like sitting down and having dinner with the family. :) As the year goes on and 2010 slowly disappears, I find myself coming up with my end of the year goals, which is all the things I want to have accomplished by December 31, 2010 at 11:59:59. I like to ring in the new year knowing I got done what I wanted to get done last year. I rarely stick to my New Year's resolutions so I think in a way my end of the year ritual makes up for that. With Christmas, or whatever holiday you celebrate around the time of year, just around the corner I find myself getting pretty busy. most of my end of the year goals involve Embrace Couture. I want to release at least one shirt either by the end of December if money allows it or right in the beginning of the year. I'll have a link for my website in a couple of weeks where you can buy Embrace Couture merchandise. I have so much planned out for Embrace Couture, it is actually getting really close to not just being an idea or a sketch on a piece of paper. It is actually going to be real soon! Anyways, as soon as things become more finalized, I will be filling all of you in on more and more details and hopefully you'll show your support by continuing to follow me and support Embrace Couture.

Looks yummy right?

Let us get on to the shopping talk! I went to LUSH this weekend, I know, again. I got a few things for myself this time and 1 other present that I can not mention until after Christmas. I picked out one bath bomb, one bubble bar I have been wanting, and a shampoo bar for myself. The bath bomb is called So White and it is an apple scented bath bomb. I read some reviews on it and it seems to have a snow effect on your water which sounds pretty nice. It just has this crisp smell to it and I can't wait to try it. The bubble bar I picked out is the Gingerbread House. It looks like a cupcake and I kind of wish it was edible because it smells and looks absolutely delicious. It looks like it has icing on the top of it and I love love love icing. The last thing I bought was a shampoo bar and the name of it was Seanik. I have to say I was a little skeptical of a shampoo bar but after using it once I am in love. All you do is stroke your hair three times, both sides and from the scalp to the bottom of your hair, with the shampoo bar, lather your hair and rinse. You wouldn't think you would get that much of a lather from a solid shampoo but you really do. Maybe even more so than liquid shampoos. I asked for one that would give my hair some volume and shine, I haven't seen a difference yet but I have also only used it once. I'm not sure if I will continue buying shampoo bars but I do not feel I wasted my $10 at all. Another thing that was bought for me, not by me though, by my Mom was the Flying Fox shower gel. I worked my magic and got her to pick it up for me for Christmas. The Flying Fox shower gel is really for honey and jasmine lovers. As I think I have said before, my Honey I Washed the Kids soap is my absolute favorite from there so I picked up a bottle to smell it and man does honey and jasmine smell good together. Kind of a floral and sweeter scent. I was very happy with my LUSH trip even though I didn't go with very much money and my Mom almost killed my sister and I running a red light. :)

So does anyone else make end of the year goals? Let me know in the comments if you do or if I'm the only opposite person around! Tell people about Embrace Couture and if you aren't following me already please do. Also follow me on twitter: Chr1st1neScally! Thanks! Until next time!

Much love,
Christine for Embrace Couture

Embrace Couture's Sexiest Man!

I had a dream last night, which is what made me think of this blog subject. I was originally going to write a LUSH bath bomb review because I took a bath last night and used Cinders bath bomb but I think this might be a more fun subject. It is that time of year where People Magazine picks their sexiest man. They never seem to award the men I would give it to and sometimes the really gorgeous ones aren't even in the running which always upsets me. Now for those of you who know me, you probably think you already know who number 1 is. Although James Marsters will always be number one in my heart, I'm not going to include him just to change it up and surprise some people with my choices. And yes, I am a huge Buffy fan. :) I'm going to give you the top 10 I believe should have the honor of being called sexiest man and of course number 1 will be Embrace Couture's sexiest man! I might actually do up a little badge on the computer and do a t-shirt in honor of him. That sounds fun and every time People picks their sexiest man, I'll do a list of my own. Some of my picks however do match People's second choices but hey, sexy is sexy.

10. Taye Diggs- I have to admit I'm an Addison/Sam fan on Private Practice. I know shoot me, but I am. But only because when he smiles, I smile.

9. Brian Austin Green- He got a hottie like Megan Fox to settle down. Come on, he's gorgeous. And I'm a big sucker for his tattoos.

8. Ryan Madson- My sexy sports guy! Ok, so if you don't watch the Phillies or know anything about the Philadelphia Baseball team you're probably like who the heck is Ryan Madson? He is a pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies and the most underrated Phillie I might add. Chase Utley is beautiful but lets show a  little love for the other good looking guy. Plus, I saw him in person- tall, handsome, and a great smile. And I had to use this picture, look how long his legs are. But please, Google his face too.

7. Isiah Mustafa- He's the funny guy on the list! Come on ladies, he turns tickets into diamonds and I bet sometimes you wish your man was him!

6. Daniel Craig- He's our "George Clooney" on the list. Older, smoldering good lucks, his eyes are freaking breath-taking.

5. Heath Ledger- Ok, I know what you're thinking but he is forever beautiful and should still be honored even though he is gone. Plus, my heart breaks every time I think there will never be a new Heath Ledger movie. :(

4. Eric Dane- McSteamy! The facial hair on this man is perfection.

3. Bradley Cooper- I know. Painfully obvious choice but he got me in the Hangover. I like the long hair. He actually isn't that impressive with short. I'm just going to pretend it was always long and will always be long.

2. Joseph-Gordon Levitt- This might be the big surprise of the list but have you seen Inception? He has come an extremely long way from being awkward in 10 Things I Hate About You. I'm not sure if it's because he played kind of a wall-crawling bad ass or how he still managed to be adorable when he kissed that chick from Juno.

DRUMROLL PLEASE...............................................................................................................

1. ALEXANDER SKARSGARD- I know I got a vampire in here but it isn't Robert Pattinson so be happy. He is probably on of the real reasons I watch True Blood. He's foreign, he's dangerous, he can pull of long or short hair. Need I say more? Because I can. This was the guy my dream was about and I, am of course, happy he entered my dreams. Sure he tried to kill me but he looked good doing it! His eyes showed he didn't really want to. HAHA! Just stare at his picture for a second. He takes your breath away doesn't he? And that gay sex scene he had on True Blood, umm ladies did you read the response on that the day after it aired? If not, find it. And find the scene itself. You won't be sorry.

That is my list and Alexander is my guy. I had a very hard time not putting James up here. Go look at his picture too and you'll see why he always tops my list. It's the cheekbones. Give me some of your top sexy men in the comments. Is everyone a Alexander fan like I am or do you agree with People putting Ryan Reynolds at number 1? Until next time!

Much love,
Christine for Embrace Couture

Mistletoe, Black Friday, and Embrace Couture Update!

Hey everyone! I started writing this blog Sunday night and did not like how it was turning out, so I am starting over now and apologizing for not posting this weekend like I said I would. First off, I want to tell everyone about something I bought this weekend. I actually bought a lot this weekend, beauty products mostly, but my favorite thing has to be the Mistletoe Candle I bought at Bed, Bath, an Beyond. It is a Yankee Candle Christmas Collection candle and it is Christmas Heaven in a jar. If only one smell could sum up Christmas it would be Mistletoe by Yankee Candle. It has a lot of the same scent that a balsam candle would have but there is something extra about this smell. It isn't just Christmas Tree it HAS to have something else in it to make it even more to die for! So if you need a candle that IS Christmas go buy this Mistletoe Candle. It is regularly $25 but it is on sale at Bed. Bath, and Beyond for $18 and some change. Luckily I had a $5 off coupon so it only came to $13 and change but they send out those 20% off coupons out on a daily basis it seems, so make sure to cash one of them in when you're getting it!

Black Friday is in a couple days and if you are as big as  a shopaholic as I am you've been counting down the days until your favorite stores open. Now last year me and my mom got up at 4am so we could be at Target by 5am for the insanely cheap DVD sales. I'm talking all the Weeds seasons regularly $40 for $9!! That to me is worth getting up in the dark. However, this year we are doing things a bit differently. Macy's and countless stores in the mall closest to my house are opening at midnight! I'm going to go on record saying I love love love Macy's. (And every store in the mall!) We are definitely starting at midnight this year! I actually have bought almost everything already. Amazon had some of the DVDs I needed for people on sale already so I snagged them up so Target is an optional place to stop. I just love being out on Black Friday. Sure the people are crazy and rude and sometimes an entire store just stops walking and no one can go anywhere, but we are all there for the same reason. We love deals and we love the holidays! You can't hate people near the holidays! I would love to go to LUSH on Black Friday but I'm not sure I'd love the city on Black Friday. Might be a little scary over there.
I also have an update on the reason I started this blog, Embrace Couture! I just got my tax id number so I can buy from this wholesale retailer I found and as soon as pay day comes, I'm also going to be purchasing my domain name and get started on the website. Black Friday will also be a research day for Embrace Couture. I think I am going to give up sleep for the day. So much to do, so little time. So as you can tell I am pretty excited and my excitement will only increase as Christmas gets closer and I get to work more and more on the clothing line. Also, I need to invest in a good sewing machine. What kind would be good to work with lace and more delicate materials. Also would like it to be able to work on denim and any other materials. I know I'm greedy! Well let me know in the comments or in an e-mail if you have any suggestions for a good one! Thanks! Until next time!

Much love,
Christine for Embrace Couture

It's Winter In My Bath!

Hey everyone! So sorry for ignoring this blog for a couple days! I missed writing for it! I've been busy getting ready for the holidays and trying to make my room a place where I can actually walk, which is a pretty big challenge. It has been a little hectic around my house and work so I decided to take a nice hot bath the other night. I had just gotten in some of the LUSH products I ordered and I was extremely excited to take a bath. I picked the Winter Bath bath bomb because the other two products I got were Christmas Eve, which will be used on Christmas Eve, and Cinders which is supposed to have a fireplace feel to it and I just felt like something more soothing than having my water crackle the whole time. Winter Bath has clove bud oil and ginger oil as its main ingredients. LUSH'S description is "Everyone needs a good, hot winter bath every once in a while to keep the cold at bay, but they can dry your skin out if they are too hot. That's where we step in with our Winter Bath. This Bath Bomb is actually made with a little of our bath melt mixture, too, to keep skin moisturized. We've also mixed in some soothing, softening soya milk powder, which disperses in the water to create a milky bath." This was a very soothing bath and I don't know if I just had it in my head or if the smells gave me this feeling of snow coming down outside and it being at the height of winter. I think it was the smells that went to my head. They just had that snow kind of feeling to them. It gave the water kind of a milky green color to it which was nicer than I thought it would be and the small suds it made did stick to me in the water but that resulted in smelling like the bath bomb until I showered the next day which was really nice. The scent really lingered and I really liked that. After all I did just take a $4 bath, so I'd like some kind of proof I took a bath with a bath bomb and not just a regular free bath. Unfortunately, this bath bomb didn't have a little baby surprise in it like some of them do but overall it was still a very nice LUSH experience. I want to make sure I go buy up the rest of the Christmas Editions at LUSH so I don't have to wait a whole year to get them again but I can;t spend anymore money on myself until Black Friday is over! I did type of my list of presents I have left to buy and I only have a couple left which makes me smile from ear to ear! I feel like I wasn't the procrastinator I usually am. I got up off my big behind and got my things done ahead of time! Yay me! This was super short but I will write up something this weekend! Promise! Until next time!

Much love,
Christine for Embrace Couture

I Can Smell Christmas Right Around The Corner :)

It is Monday, November 15 which means we are already half way through November. Insane right?! I have no idea where the time is going. All I do know is that Christmas 2010 is already poking its way into our hearts. I am 20 years old but when it comes to the holidays I revert back to my 5 year old self again. I can't sleep Christmas Eve and when I do fall asleep it is only for 2 hours because I'm up at 5am jumping on my (younger) sister so we can go downstairs and open our presents. This will be my last Christmas at home, next year I'll be in my own place so I'm going to have to tame the 5 year old within. I even bought a Lush bath bomb called "Christmas Eve" that is supposed to calm and soothe you even if you are so pumped up for Christmas morning. I swear by Lush and if this can put ME to sleep on Christmas Eve, I am buying stock in Lush! Christmas is pretty big in my family. I tend to get spoiled on Christmas and I also love to spoil the people I am buying for. My extreme happiness tends to hurt my bank account but I figure Christmas is one time a year. This year I think I might know every gift my mom has gotten me. Maybe because every time I saw something I wanted when my bank account said $0 and I said, "Mom, can you pleeeeaaasseeee buy me this for Christmas?"

Looks comfy right?

This being my last year at home, I realized that I have nothing one would need for an apartment. Nothing! So for a little while now I have been collecting a few odds and ends here and there for my apartment but I did ask for a lot to decorate with for Christmas. One thing I am extremely excited for I'll have to wait until after Christmas to talk about when I tell my boyfriend my plan because it is kind of a surprise for him. Now I love to decorate, I love furniture, pictures, anything that adds something special to a space. So, luckily my boyfriend is super easy going with how our place is going to look. He just wants things comfy and relaxing. Easy peasy, I say. I did ask for some things for Christmas that I am more doing for him once we move in but if they make him happy, I'm happy. I am in love with the store Anthropologie, especially the "home" department. If you haven't been in an Anthropologie yet, please go in one soon! The whole atmosphere is gorgeous and it is my exact style for a home. It is a little pricey so I am going to have to work up to affording all of this but I won't have room for everything I want in an apartment anyways. They have my dream bed and that is all that I am thinking of at the moment.
Christmas lists are something I start making in August. I'm not going to bore anyone with specifics but so far I want most of my items from these places: Anthropologie, Victoria's Secret, Lush, Steve Madden, Wildfox, LnA, Urban Outfitters, Singer22, and the list could probably go on forever. My birthday isn't far behind Christmas anyway it is February 20, so I don't have a long wait for more presents. :) This was a bit pointless but I'm super excited for Christmas. I'm pretty sure I could watch ELF everyday from now until Christmas and not get sick of it. I already have my Christmas candles burning and I want to hang my stocking! In the comments below, tell me what you want for Christmas! Until next time!

Much Love,
Christine for Embrace Couture

Focus Fridays!

Hey everybody! I was thinking about this blog instead of writing yesterday, as you can see, but I actually think it was beneficial. I came up with a new idea for this blog and I'm going to call it Focus Fridays! I'm going to pick one celebrity or I'll also take requests and focus on them for at least 3 Focus Fridays. So for example, for the first 3 Focus Fridays I am going to focus on Megan Fox. (I love her!) I might do 3, maybe 4 or 5 Fridays focusing on her style and clothes. I figure to make this kind of special I should do it for more than 1 because if it's only 1 what makes it different than any other blog post I write up? If anyone gives me requests I'll probably just do 3 on her even though when it comes to fashion I could write about her for at least 20 weeks! Sound like a good idea? It also makes me definitely write on Friday. Like for most people, I have a tough time getting through Friday. It's the end of the week and the work day just won't end and you end up not getting much accomplished. Now I have something that is really fun and easy to write about. :) Sadly, I'll probably start this next week not today unless I get some free time tonight. I want to do the first one justice so I want to be more prepared and really write up something good.
As you can see on my side bar I got accepted into two organizations because of this blog, Independent Fashion Bloggers and FashionsBlogs. I am extremely honored to be apart of both of these and I can only hope that it helps Embrace Couture's message to be spread. Positive body image is something girls really struggle to have. Also you can follow me on BlogLovin' if you do not have a Blogger account to follow me with. Like I said, any support helps and motivates me. I also have a video camera coming to me pretty soon, not sure if it is gong to be a Christmas gift or just a present but when I get that I'm going to start posting YouTube videos up. I'll probably just start with some hauls and stuff, maybe a Christmas haul until I can get some of my clothes made. Then I can show them off there as well. Show me some love and click some follow buttons on the side bars. Pretty please with marshmallows on top! ( I hate cherries!) Until next time!

Much love,
Christine for Embrace Couture

People, People, People

Hey everyone! I'm going to try to keep posting everyday in the week because I know on the weekend I usually have a lot going on and I surprisingly don't touch my computer once! I have a Blackberry that sends all of my e-mails to my phone so I never need to touch my laptop and the weekend feeling totally wins over and I'm either running errands or napping and eating on and off. The problem with my laptop is that for some reason the almost damage resistant Mac Book decided that I would be one customer, that after only two years of having it and taking care of it like I would a child, that would suffer the pain of my battery being destroyed. Now it only will stay on if it is plugged into the outlet, which considering it is a magnetic charger, it can be a real pain in the butt. The slightest tug pulls it out and I have to reboot my computer all over again. It looks like it is going to cost around $250 to fix but with my Christmas shopping like a maniac, it will have to wait until later. By the way, it is time to start watching ELF four times a week in my opinion.

So that isn't all I planned on writing today. I read the headlines of People.com on a regular basis. I know celebrities up and down and I'm proud of it. As some people may know on People.com under the style section you can rate star's looks as hits or misses. A couple stuck out to me today but I chose to talk about Eva Longoria's obvious HIT of a dress! Not only is it Emilio Pucci but it looks absolutely gorgeous on her. She is so tiny, not that I have room to talk, and she has found her style in this dress! The color looks great on her because of her honey tan skin tone and she looks sexy! To me, she has always dressed more conservative than I would pick for her. Maybe I think she would dress more racy because of her Desperate Housewives character but she just has that look to me that says she should be in these kinds of dresses all the time. Her gowns are always gorgeous, yes, but they don't show off her tiny frame! I love the tie up feature in the front and the short in the front and long in the back has always been one of my favorite styles. Actually one of the first designs I had ever thought up was this big cream gown that was mid thigh in the front and floor length in the back. Maybe that's why this look on her holds a special place in my heart. Or maybe it's because it rocks THAT much! Either way, I voted HIT on this and sadly only 49% of the people did the same. Open your eyes my friends, open your eyes. This is beautiful!

I'd like to actually try to redraw that cream gown of mine up. If I get it looking good enough I can post it up here. Would anyone like a look at it? My first gown drawing for Embrace Couture, now I can't wait to try and work on it! Until next time!

Much love,

Christine for Embrace Couture

Glamour Delivery!

My monthly Glamour came today! I am an avid magazine reader. I think I have about 8 different subscriptions to fashion magazines and Glamour is my all time favorite. It is that time for "Women of the Year," in Glamour and I didn't get to thoroughly read it on my lunch break but I skimmed through it and I can already tell you there is going to be tons of pages I am going to have to tag for things I want to buy! Now I am not sure if this is in the actual magazine but I also frequently go to glamour.com and they have The Top 10 Women of the Year Awards Red Carpet Looks Of All Time on their site. I have to say I was surprised with some of their picks. I agree with Rihanna's daring prism-like dress. She can pull that off. The others however are lacking to me. I mean, out of all the red carpet looks you can pick from you're going to pick Katie Holmes in a red dress that is anything but glamorous and in fact might be one of her most boring looks. Also, Jennifer Garner is gorgeous but her dress...not so much. Even Britney Spears has rocked much better looks than the one hey have her in here. I just don't agree in saying these are the best red carpet looks of all time. Am I alone in feeling this way? Check it out: http://www.glamour.com/fashion/blogs/slaves-to-fashion/2010/11/best-dressed-awards-the-top-10.html. I think most of you will agree in saying we could come up with 100 better looks than most of these.

For instance, an actress that has a special place in my heart as one of my favorites, Rachel McAdams. She isn't just one of the best actresses in Hollywood right now, she is one of the most beautiful and one of the most best dressed in my opinion. Sure she's been known to put a pale pink streak in her hair but look at Iman's dress in the list above! And I love the Chanel jacket on Kerry Washington but you ruined Chanel with that skirt! Do you hear me Kerry? That skirt ruined CHANEL. Who would mix that together? So I think Glamour should ponder on over to Google and type in "Rachel McAdams Red Carpet" to see one of the best red carpet looks of all time. I love these two looks because they show two sides of her style. Her one more feisty look in the short white Eimilio Pucci dress with the plunging neckline and the other shows the Rachel McAdams we all seem to be more familiar with. The gorgeous, flowing Elie Saab gown seems to capture the personality that made her one of America's Sweethearts. She stole movie watchers hearts, (male and female), in The Notebook, and she stole fashion bloggers hearts with the stunning gown.

So Glamour, please, reevaluate your previous list and give it to at least one woman that deserves it, Rachel McAdams. Until next time!

Much Love,

Christine for Embrace Couture

P.S. They had this on their list. THIS?!

Fall Cleaning!

Doesn't this closet look like heaven?! I must have one like this!

I might be one of the most messy girls I know. My room looks like a tornado hit it. I don't think I have seen much worse than my room as far as clutter goes. My friend Chelsea gives me a run for my money, but I still think I am worse! Love you Chels! Anyways, I really think my problem is that I have too many things. Things meaning clothes, shoes, furniture, any item I collected within the last couple years that I'm not going to take when I get my apartment next year. I might need a solid week to go through all of my things and weed out the things I want to keep and the things I have to part with. Unfortunately, I hate getting rid of things. I don't consider myself a hoarder because I get rid of boxes and things that don't work for me now. Problem is, I'm 5'1 and 100lbs and have fit in the same clothes since I was a sophomore in high school! I didn't have to get rid of clothes I got to tall for because I never got tall! So I have all these clothes I was once madly in love with and it is hard to get rid of things you are madly in love with, am I right? I'm not sure how to tackle this issue. My boyfriend, which by the way his name is JJ and that is just so much easier to type than my boyfriend all time, so JJ thinks I should keep on it and keep cleaning all the way until it is time to move me into an apartment. However, if you know me, if I clean one day it is messy again within 2 days and that is just a pain if you ask me. Also, JJ's family is insanely clean so I don't think he understands the mind of a messy person. So here is what I am thinking maybe when I plan on moving out I will take a couple days off work and just go through the place then. Good idea? Anyways, I think I need a walk in closet. I would love to be one of the people with a miraculously organized walk in closet that looks like a store but the way I see it is if I have a walk in closet the mess would probably be in there and it would not interrupt, ya know, walking in my room. So any advice from clean people?! :) Until next time!

Much Love,

Christine for Embrace Couture

Careless Man's Careful Daughter

I have to say I go back and forth on my opinion on Taylor Swift. I don't know what it is but I can't decide if I like her or not. Her music is pretty good, she has some songs that I really love to sing to in the shower or off key in my car. I'm like most girls, crazy about following celebrities, so when I found this picture of Taylor Swift, I was like, "Wow, they made her look pretty good!" She wasn't overdone in one of her gowns that drown her tiny frame an I really liked that. Her vest adds a cute tailored look to a simple t-shirt and jeans. She pulled off the cool laid back California girl look. I actually thinks she comes off a bit too innocent and she dwells on things but you know she gets a guy like Jake Gyllenhaal so she can't be all that bad.  This is super short but I am getting picked up to go out so I'm going to write a much longer one tomorrow! Feedback please! Also, does anyone know how to upload a color picture from a scanner? Do you have to have a color scanner? I need to upload my designs to give everyone a sneak peek! Until next time!

Much love,
Christine for Embrace Couture

Halloween Adventures!

Hey everybody! Tonight is my best friend's Halloween party and I am going as....drum roll please....Ke$ha! I have a great idea for what to wear, it is just matter of finding it in my room unfortunately, which could possibly take some time. I also think I might have underestimated the time I need to get ready. So hear this, you all know what Ke$ha looks like and how she wears her makeup and hair, relatively crazy and bed head like correct? So the predicament I am currently in is that I get home from work at 4, I can somewhat make my hair bed head like but not full on bed head because I have to drop off an application at Red Lobster, (getting a second job for more moolah), stop at Ulta and get NYX body glitter because I forgot to order online weeks ago! So going to Red Lobster and Ulta isn't really the deal breaker. One hour, I repeat one hour, before the Halloween Party starts I have to be at a meet-the-candidates dinner with my boyfriend's family because his uncle is running for council.I can't go looking like Ke$ha to that! That would embarrass everyone in his family! Ke$ha isn't really "meet-the-candidates appropriate", she's more "I'm going to a rave," appropriate. I don't mind going to this dinner at all, in fact I said I wanted to go and we could be late to the party which we can. No big deal. However, this is where I get stupid. So dinner at 8, party at 9. So maybe leave dinner at 930 and get to the party by 10. Sounded good in my head originally. Yeaaaa, Christine but what about the change of wardrobe and the complicated eye makeup you want to do? Hmm? Well I'll most likely post tomorrow and let you know how it goes hopefully with some pictures. This was probably a bit rambly so I apologize, I am nervous about getting everything done, I think that's a good excuse for rambly blog posts. I actually like reading the rambly ones. I think you get to know the writer better. So you can see I, Christine, am all over the place. Until next time!

Much love,
Christine for Embrace Couture




If anyone notices the change...

I had to switch my blog name and brand name today. I found out from the Trademark website that ScallyRags was already a name of another company. Even though the company had already folded up, I didn't really want any hassle if they were to open up again so I am just going to go with Embrace Couture. Which I still love just as much and I get to use the word Couture which always made me think of high fashion clothes. So I'm going to start the Trademark filing process for Embrace Couture! It is pretty exciting thinking up names for a clothing line, it is a pretty big step if you ask me, putting a name to all of your ideas. As clever and fun as ScallyRags was, since my last name is Scally, I like that Embrace will be a part of the main brand name because my main goal is to spread the word of healthy body image.

I want to go into why healthy body image became important to me, besides my own original hangups about my body. In high school I watched as several girls I knew went through periods of anorexia and of not being able to look at themselves in the mirror everyday without cringing. It really bothered me that these girls, some very close to me, had such a negative outlook on their bodies. It caused a lot of tears and a lot of pain and sometimes it didn't always get better. I hope that one day we will all see a world where anorexia isn't an issue in fashion or in high schools. Every girl should walk down the streets or their high school hallways with their heads held high and happy to be themselves and happy with the body they have. There's nothing wrong with wanting to change the way you look but do it the healthy way and try to love your body the way it is. Nothing is sexier on a girl than confidence and of course one of my future designs! ;)

Much love,
Christine for Embrace Couture

My Hope For Embrace Couture One Day

Not only do I love Megan Fox, but I love this dress and want it for myself! It is most likely a gazillion dollars so i hope that one day Embrace Couture can produce a great dress like this! Would I love Megan Fox to wear my clothes, who wouldn't? However, I'd rather girls like me be able to afford a dress that is as gorgeous as this! I have always wanted to be able to create gorgeous pieces that would make anyone feel beautiful in them, a line that works for any size girl, and that will be my line. My work-in-progress line of t-shirts for now. Eventually I will come out with things like this at affordable prices for girls like me.

I know this one was short but I'm going to try and post everyday so it won't be long until you hear from me again! If you're reading this tell your friends about this blog! Any extra encouragement only makes me work harder so thanks for the motivation!

Much love,
Christine for Embrace Couture

Embrace by Embrace Couture

Hey everybody! So this blog goes hand in hand with an idea I've had for quite some time now. I'm starting my own line of clothes called Embrace Couture that promotes healthy body image. This all started for me because of my own body shape actually. I'm not the most proportioned girl have measurements of 32-23-35. So another way you could put it is my upstairs doesn't match my downstairs! I always have had trouble finding jeans and underwear that can fit my big butt and tiny waist. Not to mention I'm also barely 5'1. So the jeans that fit my butt are too long for my legs and to big for my waist, and the jeans that fit my waist and are the perfect length for my legs don't give my hips and butt room to breathe! I first came up with my original idea "Embrace Your Booty" simply because I was so frustrated. However, there was a couple problems with that.

For one, like most 20 year old girls, I am a natural born shopper. I believe that God put me on this Earth to do just that, SHOP! I got a well paying job when I was 19 and had dropped out of college after my first year and kind of went spend crazy. Sure I have lots of gorgeous clothes and shoes to show for it but after almost two years at this job, I'm not rolling in any money...at all.

For two, I had no idea how to sew. Not only did I not have the funds, I also didn't have the skills to make my ideas come to life.

For three, can't draw to save my life. I've actually have gotten much better recently but still not very good.

So I had to think of another way to bring my ideas to life with those three things stacked against me. I won't go into the money end of it but instead of focusing on just "Embrace Your Booty," which only girls with larger backsides can relate to, I'm going to focus on positive and healthy body image for everyone. That's how I came up with "Embrace," which will just be a line off of my brand Embrace Couture. This line is just promoting healthy body image for all girls no matter what their body shape is. Every girl has some insecurities about the way they look but every girl is beautiful in her own way and should have a positive outlook on their body. Too many girls nowadays feel they need to change their bodies to be attractive and a lot of time they try to lose weight in unhealthy ways. I'm hoping to really reach out and help girls embrace their bodies and realize they are gorgeous no matter what size they are.

My line is going to start out strictly as t-shirts. I'm still in the process of making myself a better designer, (i.e. sewing classes, drawing classes, money management classes :), etc.), so other types of clothing will be available later on in my collection. The shirts will range from all sizes and colors with my different designs featuring the word Embrace. A website where you can buy these will be posted asap. I have taken the first couple necessary steps to get this started.

My main goal is to promote a healthy, confident, body image to all girls. If I can do that through my clothes I will be extremely happy. If you like my idea and would like to support me subscribe to this blog, http://www.embracecouture.blogspot.com/. I'll be keeping you informed about any updates on my line and I'm also going to keep it fun and blog about anything fashion, beauty, or FUN related! I'll definitely be letting everyone know a little more about me and my life also.

Please support healthy body image for all girls and subscribe! YouTube channel and website coming soon!

Much love,
Christine for Embrace Couture