spring trends

Spring Trends 2016 by lilyflor featuring an 80s shirt

For some reason, I am very excited about springtime this year, even though as I write there are a few inches of snow in my backyard. Nevertheless, the sun is shining promising a very exciting season which I am more than ready to embrace. Especially since some of the trends we are going to see are actually some of my staples. 

Stripes are going to be so in you're going to see them everywhere in every shape and form. I already got a few styles to get my french-chic on. And if you add a bold color for your lips you're in business, my friend! 

Cold shoulder tops have always been in my closet. We all know that trends come back right? I feel like everyone is copying me now! So I will be taking mines out and adding some new ones I'm going to be getting for my collection.

The white top redo. You will be seeing the classic white top but deconstructed in different styles. I like the one I chose for this graphic since it reminded me of one I used to have as a teen. Pair it with black denim and pumps and you're ready for Saturday night at the movies or the bar scene. 

I also included a wrap skirt since that's also going to be in style for this spring. In dresses and blouses as well. What I like about using wrap anything is that it does tend to give you a more slimming look. And although the high-rise shorts were not part of the fashion shows. I included it because I know it's another big trend you'll be seeing and hopefully embracing! I'm tired of the very low rise bottoms! It is time to get comfortable!

Hopefully, you'll share your styles with me. Make sure to add me on Polyvore or any of my social media. 

Topshop white long sleeve shirt
nordstrom.com

George crochets lace top
$14 - direct.asda.com

White Top
1stdibs.com

River Island high-rise shorts
$29 - riverisland.com

Topshop navy skirt
$56 - topshop.com

WithChic high-rise jeans
$38 - withchic.com

"At age 20, we worry about what others think of us. At 40, we don't care what they think of us. At 60, we discover they haven't been thinking of us at all". - Ann Landers

I have been thinking  profoundly about me turning 40 in a few days, and I must confess that it's not as scary to me as it was when I turned 30.

At 29, I remember being concerned about leaving my twenties behind, I felt as if my youth was slowly running away from me. I started wondering if I accomplished enough if I had learned from my mistakes and if I was ready at all to be at that stage in my life. I also started worrying about my appearance, will I soon get wrinkles around my eyes? Should I start dressing differently? Are others expecting me to act more mature? I definitely had many questions and didn't really know what to do.

Fortunately, I had a talk with my boss at the time who happened to be a 40 something Asian lady (who didn't even look anywhere past 35 by the way) She had some insight about my concerns. She told me that my worries were valid but that I shouldn't be scared. She said that for her, the thirties were the best years so far, because; when you're in your twenties, you really don't have a clue about what you want to do with your life yet, you're just trying to figure that out. But at thirty, you start getting a clear idea of what you want your goals to be and have a better sense of how you plan to achieve them. Then she added that it's not until you turn 40 that you actually get a better understanding of your life, that you stop pretending to be who you're not, your mind is made up and by this time you have learned to accept yourself the way you clearly are. She also said you stop giving a damn about what others think. Needless to say, the lady was wise beyond her years and truly looked accomplished and happy. I remember wishing then how I would love to be able to say the same thing when It was my turn to be 40. 

Now that I've finally reached that point I have to admit that I don't feel that much different (more grown up) than I did when I was about to turn 30. Yes, as I said earlier I don't feel scared, I accepted that turning 40 is a fact and that it's something I have no control over it and should embrace it. I'm also not worrying about getting wrinkles and I won't be trying to change the way I act or the way I dress. However, I still have concerns about where my life is heading. I will like to have a clearer perspective on my long term goals. I would like to already have the rest of my life plan. I'm talking about, having my retirement fund secure, making sure my daughter will have enough to go to college, and knowing that she and my love ones will be safe if anything was to happen to me. 

I am aware that most of these concerns can be solved, but they're something I will continue to work on. Meanwhile, now, I also started worrying about how soon the next decade will come! And it is extremely scary to ponder about! I will be a 50-year-old woman! 
My gynecologist recently told me that, even though I felt that going from 30 to 40 happened so fast, that I will notice how slowly time will go from 40 to 50 and I have to say I really hope she's right! And I know that when the time comes I will be prepared! 

Fifties here I come! This misbehaving woman will not stop at anything or for anyone and will be hard at work making my dreams a reality. 

How about you? How did you feel about turning 40 (or 30 or 50 or any new decade?) 

Let me know in the comments below, and don't forget to like the page on facebook and follow me on blogloving to keep connected. 

For those days when all you want to do is to curl up in your couch while wearing your most comfortable bottoms and watch one of those "feel good Movies".  Ice tea in your hands or better yet, some delicious wine.  Look no further than this list! They may not be popular and most don't have superstars in it. But the stories and characters will definitely leave you feeling great! If you do not have Netflix, you may try to get these titles on Red Box, Hulu or even Amazon Prime. 

1.


Frequencies
This movie makes us question about our own free will. Do things really happen because we make them happen?  Is there such a thing as destiny? If you want a good laugh and great dialogs with sci-fi in the mix. This is your movie! Probably rather slowly paced for some, but sweet for those, like me, who appreciate different and interesting plots and analogies.




2. 


In Your Eyes
This movie is definitively different. The story of how the protagonists met is unlike anything I ever read or seen before and it's what makes this tale interesting.  Lots of dialogs and romance and at times even a little queer. Don't know what to watch Friday night? Give this a try!






3.

Copenhagen 
This is the story of an American boy who travels to Copenhagen to look for his grandfather. But while there he meets a girl who is a couple of years younger than him.  Of course, she helps him along the way and the drama that unfolds is easily one of the most exciting and romantic I have caught in a while. The soundtrack is just wonderful. And, of course, you'll want to grab your bike and go for a long ride afterward.




4.

Take me Home 
This is the story of a guy who was recently evicted from his place and is now working as an unlicensed taxi driver. One night, a woman hails his cab and as it turns out, her life is not going great as well. She request to be driven all the way to California and as you can imagine, on the way there the drama of this story reveals itself. What you get is an awesome acting duo who also happens to be real-life husband and wife.  Needless to say, there is not doubt you will enjoy this flick.




5.

Timer
What if you knew the exact minute when you will meet your soul mate?  Would you wait as long as it takes for that to take place?  Or would you be impulsive and marry somebody else anyway?  This is precisely what this story is about!  I am surprised that it wasn't more popular because this movie was divine! Great characters, great romantic comedy and more important a different approach to love.

6.

The Pill
This is not your typical love story, in fact, it may not even be a love story.  Rather is the tale of evading love, sorta. Anyway, this is about a one night stand that extends due to the fact that the guy wants to make sure the girl he slept with, will take the two doses of the "morning-after pill". Of course, when the girl learns this is the only reason he stayed around she gets really upset.  However, it's enough time for both to get to know each other and recognize that maybe there could have been something more. 




7.

Falling Overnight *
Unfortunately, this is one of the movies you will no longer find on Netflix. But yet, this is where I first saw it a while ago and I loved it so much I watched it twice! Is the story of a guy who has a brain tumor. And of course as life will have it, he meets an interesting girl the night before he checks it for the surgery. If you haven't seen this amazing story you must go, right now!







8.

One Day
I must say this was the first film where I first heard Anne Hathaway, speaking with a rather good British accent. The story about a long relationship that spans 20 years between Emma and Dexter. Who are always a little bit more than friends, but never really lovers. Impressive and compellingly depicted. Watch this movie with your girlfriends or even your guy! 







9.

Stuck In Love
This is a great film that follows the life of the Borgen family for a whole year. It definitely has its flaws, but the acting here makes up for it. And yes, this one has a few well-known stars like Jennifer Connely, Lily Collins and surprisingly the awesome Nat Wolf. Who is to appear in the upcoming film Paper Towns.








10.

Barefoot
This is the crazy story about a guy who works as a janitor in a mental institution. There he meets Daisy, one of the patients, who he later brings to his brother's wedding to pose as his girlfriend. The story is fun and, of course, there is romance. Definitely a fresh and interesting story that you will hopefully enjoy as well.






11.

Elsa And Fred
I had already seen this movie in Spanish before. (Set in Argentina)  Nevertheless, I still wanted to see this version and I genuinely enjoyed it. It is the story of an older woman who wants an opportunity to do all the things she didn't get a chance to do while young. And she meets a nice gentleman that immediately falls for her charms and wants to make her dreams come true. Even the craziest ones! 





12.

Last Love
I am planning to do a list of awesome foreign films to watch on Netflix, and I almost saved this movie for that. However, I decided I will include it here since the story was so compelling and beautifully written. And despite being set in France and there being lots of french spoken, the movie is not classified as international. The one thing I can say about it, is that I enjoyed it a lot. The story is the improbable tale about an older American retired teacher that meets a pretty, younger french dance instructor. She takes him under her wing as he is battling with depression due to the recent death of his wife. Slow paced at times and a very unexpected turn of events at the end that will probably leave you wanting a little bit more. 

13.

See Girl Run
What if your high school sweetheart was really the one meant for you? We may all have wondered about this at some point, right? Well, this story is a little bit about that. A New Yorker Emmie, runs away from a stale marriage and encounters her old boyfriend, Scott, who is now working as a cartoonist with not much success. A little awkward at times and not the ending I was expecting, but still a story that makes you think about all that could have been and wasn't.




14.

Waiting For Forever
This was such a great story! I really love letter writing and this movie has lots of it! I think is probably the highlight of the whole story. Will, is a sort of a homeless free-spirit guy who makes a living as a juggler and still has feelings for his childhood love. She is a somewhat successful actress who moved on and it's unaware that he follows her around wherever she travels.  Urged by his friends and family, he finally gets the courage to tell her his feelings. But she doesn't appear to be too happy about his confession. However, later on, the story gets back to their unlikely romance. 


15.

Boy Meets Girl 

Incredibly fresh and romantic comedy about a transgender woman named Ricky and her quest for love. Compelling and inspirational, especially related to our times now. You should not miss this movie!

I really hope you get to enjoy this great movies! Let me know in the comments below if you do watch them and of course your impression of them. 

Please like, comment and share if you found this of benefit to you! Like the page on Facebook and follow me on Blogloving or Instagram, let's stay connected!

Disclaimer: All Movie poster images provided by their respective websites.

When I first decided I needed a medium to merge all my blogs into one I didn’t realize it would be so hard.

The good thing is I already knew that I will be using blogger as my platform. You may ask, why?
And the reason is because it is a user-friendly platform, particularly if I compared it to Wordpress. Yes, I have tried Wordpress, and it was so difficult to know how to even begin. How do you upload your template? How do you even make your first post? Never mind all the different plugins and other stuff like fonts and titles etc. I did spend a few hours trying to understand it, but I couldn’t figure it out! So I came right back to my remarkably easy Blogger Platform and I love it!
I do know Wordpress is supposed to be the best out there for your content, mainly if you want to have control over the ownership of your site. However, so far, Blogger does its job for me and I don’t see them closing it anytime soon. (Like they did with Google Reader and Adsense for feeds)
Besides, most of the reviews I have read for Blogger don’t really do it justice or are outdated. They mostly talk about how plain and not impressive the templates are, and I must disagree as there are many custom templates created by different developers and offered for a small amount or even for free that are highly dynamic and have everything I have seen in the Wordpress ones, and at least I wouldn’t be able to tell if I was on a different platform, primarily if the blog in question has their own domain.
With Blogger, you have the advantage of knowing your content is secure and you don’t need to worry about managing any server resources. However, if Google decided they will no longer host your blog, they can shut it down without warning or reason. So I recommend you back it up regularly and save all your images.
Keep in mind there are several reasons why Blogger may decide to shut you down.
Example: Someone is claiming you are using copyrighted material (Text, video or images)
To prevent this from happening, make sure all your content is original and utilize, royalty free images from places like:

1. Unsplash
2. Pixabay
3. Gratisography

With Blogger, you certainly don’t have to spend a great deal of money, unless you buy your own template and a domain which I recommend you do to give your blog image a professional look. However, I have read many successful blogs, with a blogspot.com address so I guess it truly just comes down to being consistent in your postings and, of course, publishing interesting stuff for your readers.
With Wordpress.org, you need to pay a monthly fee for hosting and if you’re just starting out and have little or no money to invest, Blogger is the better choice as hosting is completely free!
Also with Blogger you have integration with Google Adsense account so you can start monetizing right away.

To summarize, if you’re just starting up and want to give blogging a try without investing a lot, Blogger is all you need.

- It is easy to use (Mostly drag and drop)
- You can customize your template or buy a premium
- There are many widgets you can add to make it function and look how you want it.
- Integration with Google+ and Adsense
- Implementing your own domain is fairly easy
- If you need support you can find it on the forums.
The only reason why I would choose to move my content to a different platform in the future would be the issue Blogger currently has with the space. You only get 1G so that means you have to be careful with how big your images are. And if you desire a fast loading site so your readers are more likely to stay this is something you want to pay attention to.
Other than that, I am a happy blogger right now and have many plans and ideas to continue to post and hopefully to help some of you.
Happy Blogging!

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Mother's Day Gift Ideas by lilyflor featuring cappucino cups.

Mothers day is just around the corner so if you haven't  purchased the gifts for those especial mommy's in your life, you're still in time to go out and get them something fabulous! And for that, I created this essential list of ideas.

 There is something for everyone! Perfume could not be left out of this list, as what mom does not wish to smell great? Jewelry, of course, had to make this list, all women, especially moms love to get some glam pieces to add to their collection. Bags or handbags are always welcome on these particular occasions, they are a little bit like shoes, you can never have too many.

I included a denim jacket, for those days when it's not warm enough, a nice cup with a Paris votive to brighten up her day as she reaches for her morning coffee. Also a plant pot for those moms who love to do some gardening. Other ideas are, books, nail polish, make-up brushes, flowers, a day to get pampered at a spa for a massage or a facial and even better, make it a date and join her! You deserve to be spoiled as well! What better opportunity than this one? 

I hope you find this list of ideas helpful, and I want to wish all the moms reading this blog a very Happy Mothers Day! Even though, I insist that every day should be celebrated as our day! 

Black bucket bag
dailylook.com

FOSSIL studded jewelry
fossil.com

Drop necklace
$13 - colettehayman.com.au

Jewel Exclusive sterling silver infinity jewelry
jewelexclusive.com

Makeup brush
sheinside.com

Marc Jacobs fruity perfume
lordandtaylor.com

Fresh paraben free skin care
sephora.com

L Occitane body moisturizer
beauty.com

Donna Karan eau de perfume
macys.com

Deborah lippmann nail color
gilt.com

Lancôme eau de perfume
$68 - selfridges.com

Giorgio Armani eau de perfume
giorgioarmanibeauty-usa.com

Beauty product
bathandbodyworks.com

Eiffel tower decal
kidsroomtreasures.com

Outdoor garden decor
blisshomeanddesign.com

Sur La Table cappucino cup
surlatable.com

H M white paper napkin
$3.07 - hm.com

 

Maurices blue cropped jacket
maurices.com

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Are you ready for summertime fun? Did you already set aside your winter and spring clothes? If you haven't, then this is definitely for you!  I am presenting the ultimate, get ready for summer beauty guide.

I recognize we still have a few days before the actual summer time, but I think that is never too early to begin preparing for it since we all experienced one of the worst winters ever, particularly on the east coast.  As you should be aware of, in the winter months our skin and hair tends to dry out due to the cold wind, heating system, and other elements, so taking special care now will really pay off when warmer weather begins.  Now is also an excellent opportunity to start off the season on the right foot by organizing your personal spaces and putting aside all winter and spring stuff. 

I was simply amazed and moved to tears when I saw the trailer for the upcoming movie based on my favorite book of all times, THE LITTLE PRINCE. 

I can only imagine how beautiful the whole movie will be and cannot wait to go see it!

It's also going to feature the amazing Marion Cottilard as The Rose, James Franco as The Fox and of course the talented Jeff Bridges as The Aviator.

The Two-Piece Dress by lilyflor featuring two piece dresses

HOT Trend Alert!

 I love the idea of showing off your abs which you spent the whole winter working so hard on! And this dress, it's perfect for it! So give make sure you give this sexy style a try this summer. You can always shop for the top and bottom separately, especially now that crop tops are so in.
Dare to bare!

Shop the entire set by clicking on the image above.

Did you know you don't need to spend lots of money to get a great hair treatment at home? Chances are all you need to have amazing shiny hair is sitting right in your kitchen! These alternative chemical free options will work wonders! So next time you need a deep fix for a hair problem, look no further than this guide. All treatments can be applied every two weeks and are great for any hair type unless stated differently.

Avocado

Beauty experts swear by the benefits of avocado, and not just to repair damaged and frizzy hair. Its oils and proteins possess the best combination of nutrients for smoothing down unruly hair. Also, it will give your hair a nice shiny and bouncy effect that will last for days.

To Use: Mash up half a ripe avocado and massage into clean, damp hair. Let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes before rinsing with water. Add a few tbsp of olive oil to amp, it's moisturizer power. You can use the whole avocado for longer hair or use the other half on a nice salad.

Banana

Bananas are a very rich source of potassium and vitamins A, E, and C, which make them the perfect choice for homemade deep conditioning hair treatment. It has also been said that bananas can help with hair growth.

To Use: Pick a soft and ripe banana, (two for longer hair) add enough tbsps of water to mash it up into a paste. Make sure this paste is very smooth so it's easy to remove later, you may use a blender to make the job easier. Apply it to your hair and cover it with a plastic cap or bag. Leave it on for about 15 to 20 minutes. Shampoo and condition as usual, rinse well. Your hair will look shiny and soft in no time!

Oatmeal

This hair treatment will help getting rid of excess oil in your hair. Use it regularly if you have dandruff, itchy scalp, and other scalp problems. 
It is very easy and quick to make, although it is a bit of a mess to clean up, but the results are so worth it! You'll love it!

To Use: Just mix half a cup of oats with a half a cup of almond milk and 1 or 2 tablespoons of almond oil or olive oil.  Mix everything together and apply to tangle free and dry hair. Start at the roots and work your way to the tips. Leave for about 20-25 minutes, rinse and  shampoo as usual.

Coconut Oil

Coconut oil it's a great hair treatment for dry and damaged hair. It also helps get rid of flaking left by excess product and dandruff. Your hair will be left feeling clean and shiny.

To Use: Heat two or three tablespoons of coconut oil (more if your hair is longer) for about 10 seconds (on the stove or microwave), then massage it into your hair from the roots to the tips you can put on a shower cap or bag and leave it on for 10-15 minutes, or as long as you want,  rinse with cool or warm water and shampoo as usual. 




Tomato Sauce

Tomato sauce is a known hair remedy, especially for blonde hair, it is said that it can help to remove green stains from hair due to pool chemicals and that it will make hair soft and shiny. However, due to its acidic and drying agents, it is not recommended for regular use. 

To Use: Wash hair as normal, then open and apply a can of tomato sauce all over your hair. Use as little or as much as you need depending on the length and thickness. Comb it through, and let sit for 20 to 30 minutes. Rinse thoroughly, then wash and condition as normal. 

Baking Soda

This simple pantry ingredient is great to get rid of product buildup, the sodium bicarbonate helps to break down anything acidic left on your tresses by the frequent use of hairspray, heat protectants, and other products.

To Use: Mix 2 to 3 Tbsp of baking soda with small drops of water until a thick paste forms. Massage into damp hair and let sit for 10 minutes. Rinse with water, then shampoo and condition as usual. 

There are lots of other ingredients and combinations that you can use right from your kitchen, a quick search and you will be able to find what you're looking for.  Please let me know in the comments below if you try one! 

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