Sammydress Haul + Giveaway

   21 DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS! (3 weeks!) 

About a month ago, I was approached by Sammydress to do a review and sponsor a giveaway on my blog. I watch a good deal of youtube videos and read blogs so I already have heard of Sammydress. I was interested in trying them out, but like with any foreign online store, I get nervous about the fit and quality of their clothes. So when I was approached by Sammydress to get anything any items totaling under $20 to review, I jumped on the opportunity! I have heard mixed reviews about the site and after my own experience, I would say that my experience at Sammydress would have to be a positive one! I got all the items I ordered, and for the most part, they matched their stock photos.  (clicking on photo or caption will bring you to the item on the site =)

One thing that interested me was the way that my clothes were packaged. They weren't shipped to me in a box, but rather a bag. It was a tinier bad than I expected and when I saw how small the bag was, I thought that there was no way all my items fit in there.. but it did! I kinda liked the packaging like this though as I feel like it uses less materials and is more environmentally friendly.

Gorgeous V-Neck Long Sleeves Cable Knit Special Cut Solid Color Acrylic Fibers Cardigan For Women

Rating- 4 out of 5

The first item I got is this lovely mint colored cardigan. As you can tell from the pictures, it does closely resemble the stock photos. The knitting and color matches really well. In fact, the knitting is done really well. It's very thick and perfect for winter. I love the way it feels on my skin and the color is just beautiful. The only thing about this cardigan that threw me off was the size though that is probably my fault. On the site, it mentioned that this cardigan was "one size." Seeing how this was from an Asian store and Asian clothing sizes are a bit smaller than other countries, I assumed that the "one size" would either fit me or be too small... Well I was wrong about this. The  cardigan was actually quite big/baggy on me (as it also does on the model) and while it still looked cute, I prefer tighter fit cardigans. I really wish it was a better fit on me because I would totally snatch it for myself, but instead, I will be giving it to my mommy! She really likes the color and she looks beautiful in it!

Sweet Retro Style Tiny Dot Jacquard Pattern Silk Stockings For Women

The second item I chose to get was this pair of stockings. I have been dying to get a pair of stockings lately but I have not come across one that I like. So when I saw that I could get one from Sammydress, I chose to get it. The pair that I chose to get is black with polka dots. I really like the stockings I got and it matches the picture perfetly. I personally don't think you can go wrong with stocking though hehe.

    Fashion Colorful Rhinestoned Flower Pendant Necklace For Women

The next two pieces I got are jewelry pieces. I had With the stockings and the cardigan, I was under $20 and needed something else so I asked my sister for help. I asked her what she liked and told her that she would be able to keep whatever she picked. She chose her favorite jewlery piece which was this necklace. It's a pendant shaped as a flower. The petals of the flower are rhinestones in many colors. I really love the way the rhinestones look on the necklace. They don't really look like rhinestones, but rather real gems! The chain for this necklace is very thin, but sturdy. My sister doesn't like chunky chains so this one was perfect!

 

       Ablaze Variable Silvering Ring with Butterfly Shaped Adornment (White)

The last piece I got was one chosen by my sister and I. We had I think about 1.50 or so left to spend so as we looked through the jewelry  online, this adorable ring caught my eye. It's a dainty ring with a butterfly shaped crystal in the center. I noticed in the stock photos on the site that the butterfly seemed to catch the light very nicely and the little charm dangling was so cute which is why I chose to get it. After receiving the ring, I would have to say that it is very much like the stock photos as well. It catches the light a lot better than I imagined. When the light hits the crystal, you can see a lot of colors inside the crystal. It's super pretty!

Summary-
Site- I would say that that Sammydress is 100% legit. This is based on my own experiences though because I have read about people not receiving the items that they ordered. I would just be cautious of what you are ordering and not to spend too much on each order you put out.
Quality- I think the quality of the items you get really depend on what you choose to buy. For the most part, my items were good quality and did resemble their stock photos. I would say that the jewelry has some of the best quality on the site. The clothes are what I would say are forever 21 type quality, but for a bit cheaper!
Shipping- The shipping is slightly a downside for the site. I chose standard shipping and it took a little under 3 weeks to get here. It's not bad, but just as a warning to you guys, if you need an item quickly, you should probably avoid this site. However if you have lots of time to wait, and want cheap/cute items, go for it!
Tips- Look for deal/coupon codes! They are always available!
          Don't spend too much on each order and pay attention to the shipping price b/c it could get high pretty quickly!
          Look for reviews of the item before ordering if they are available! =)
_________________________________________________________________________________
Now, the time you guys have probably been waiting for. I will be giving one of my lucky readers a chance to try out the site for yourself! I am holding a giveaway where one lucky winner can get $20 to spend on sammydress.

All you have to do to enter is to like Sammydress's fb page, their blog, and comment on the item you like the most from their site!Everything else is extra! =)
The giveaway starts today and will end Friday, December 20. I will announce the winner on the 22nd (maybe 20th depending on how things work with my trip to NY!!!) and contact the winner via email address.

a Rafflecopter giveaway Which item is your favorite from this haul?
Have you ever heard of Sammydress?

Thanksgiving And Black Friday!

 HAPPY DECEMBER!! ....24 DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS!! =)
hehe, I just had to say that! I am beyond excited! 

 I had another post planned out today (my Sammydress haul!) but I ran out of time to do it... well actually my post is coming a bit late today as well! The reason behind this lateness is because my cousin's had an impromptu visit to out house Saturday night! They called us on Friday night telling us that they wanted to hang out on Saturday and to stay over our house for the night. Who knew that we would be hanging out with them on Sunday as well! hehe, I'm not complaining at all since I love them!!! (though it would've been nice if I didn't put off all my hw till tonight to do lol)
 They got here yesterday and we went out to dinner at Olive Garden!! It was super good and they had the best costumer service there that I have seen! They slept over our house afterwards and I got to show the kids my hamster! They loved her! Today after we woke up, we went out to breakfast at Panara Bread and then spent some time at other family's homes just catching up. It was really nice because personally I don't see my family that often since we are always so busy with our lives. Afterwards, we went to Mohegan sun and had lunch at Pepe's Pizza and explored the casino!!
 Mohegan sun had all their Christmas decorations up and I did not bring my camera!! I was so angry at myself for forgetting my camera because it was just ohh so pretty there. Luckily my cousin snapped several photos and I am going to bug him to send them to me! I also really want to go back to the casino one more time before Christmas to get some pictures of my own!! =)

Now onto my Thanksgiving and Black Friday recap-

I spent thanksgiving at one of my mom's friend's home. It's a lot better that way because there is more people to celebrate with! They had quite a bit of food there. It was a mix between Asian and American. We had biscuits, mashed potatoes (so good), sweet potatoes, noodles (chinese style), rice, vegetables, apple cider, turkey, and turkey stuffed with rice!! (I am a vegetarian so I don't eat turkey, but it was interesting how it was stuffed with rice! It's a great way to mix 2 different cultures hehe)

For dessert, there were several different pies for us to have! In the past, I have been a huge dessert person, often eating 4-5 slices of pie! This year, I had some more self control and had a slice and a half of HOMEMADE cheesecake (the cheesecake was so popular that it was gone as soon as it came out) and half a slice of pumpkin pie.

Besides eating on Thanksgiving, we also hung out a bit and talked. We usually separate into two different groups when we are together. One group is the adults and the other is the children. I often feel like though that I don't know which group I belong too. I am 17 and I am kinda of an adult and a kid still. It sucks being in the middle because I feel a bit too mature for the kids, yet the adults bore me a bit with their talking. (in a nice way.. I just don't enjoy talking about retirement and paychecks and back pain yet...) I just kinda floated around and eventually settled down with the 2 dogs. The owner of the house has two dogs and they are just  so adorable. I fed the dogs some of my potatoes and then we just played together.
After dinner, we found out that one of the people there was an expert on balloon making and gave us a demo on making balloon animals... It looked easy till I had to do it for myself hehe!

Right after dinner, we went home and just kinda plopped ourselves there. We weren't expecting to go out shopping till the next day, but then we realized that Brookstone was opening at 8 at our local mall. My mom has been dying to get a foot massager so we had to go. I kinda dislike how Black Friday isn't even on Friday anymore. I wouldn't mind if the sales started exactly at 12, but there is no need to be having sales at 6 pm when people are suppose to be with their families and enjoying dinner!! Poor workers. On the other hand though, the sales that they offer at the earlier times are so nice that it kinda makes me feel like I have to go!! I personally would not miss Thanksgiving Dinner to go shopping, but I guess if I have finished dinner and gone home, then shopping is okay.

As soon as we got to the mall, I brought my sister and my mom to Brookstone to pick out the foot massager. It is the first time in 3 + years that either of them have been to the mall! I go about once every few months with my friends, but my mom doesn't go that often because it requires driving on the highway. Now she is brave enough to do it so yay mom!! As my mom was picking out the foot massager that she wanted, I took my sister to Forever 21, Charollotte Russe, H&M, rue 21, and all those fun stores. I had to run back and forth between my sister and my mom so I could help translate for my mom and help my sister find items that she liked. It was very tiring because Brookstone and the other stores are on opposite ends of each other! 

I personally did not need much more clothes and because of having to go to college next year, money is a bit tight. My mom really wants me to come out of college debt free (at 25000-35000 a year.. I'm not sure) and if I choose to go to Uconn, I could have 2 of my 4/5 years paid for which is very nice! One thing I really do want though is a red coat and I tried on some coats at Rue 21. I didn't end up getting any of them. I did leave however with some new jewelry pieces which I will post about next week! 

After our shopping trip, it was ~11 at night and we were a bit hungry since we finished dinner before 6. All the running I did through the mall def. built up my hunger.  I chose to get some ice cream from Dairy Cream while my sister had a smoothie from Dairy Queen and my mom had some soft pretzel pieces! As I said in my last post , I love Ice cream and anything in the dairy food group for that matter!

Did you have a nice Thanksgiving? How did you celebrate the holiday?
Did any of you go Black Friday Shopping? What did you buy? =)

My Visit To Uconn

Last Friday, (11/22/13) I went on my first ever college tour!... Yes I know I am a senior and that it's kinda late to be touring colleges, but I do already have my list of 8. I've already sent off my SAT scores and transcript today and all I need now is to send off my common app and complete my supplements! Just getting my SAT scores and transcript sent off feels like a huge weight off my shoulders! 

The college I went to tour was our local college - The University of Connecticut aka. Uconn! 

My feelings about this school are quite mixed. I do love it and as you can tell by the map above, the school is HUGE! It's over 4000 acres large!! They offer buses to get around campus and according to my friend who gave me a personal tour, it can take 20 min. to walk from her dorm to one of her classes! Uconn is sort f a city of it's own! The reason I am against it is because of it's location. I have always wanted to give city life a try and Uconn is sort of the opposite of a city.... it's located in a farmland. Ever since a trip to NY in 8th grade, I have fallen in love with NY and dying for a chance to live there!

Our GPS told us to turn right here.....? =0

Unfortunately for my mom and I, the day we chose to go for the tour, the weather wasn't the best. It was literally pouring in the morning and driving there was a challenge. My mom is afraid of the highway so getting there was a bit rough. We kinda had mini heart attacks along the way, but we made it there alive! Kudos to my mommy for being able to get me there! She has never driven that long on a highway before!

There was one part of the trip where we got lost. It was really scary because our GPS had directed us to go down a narrow farm like road. We kept driving for a mile or 2 and reaches a dead end. We were hoping for our GPS to help us, but instead, it told us to turn right into the trees....? lol. That was when we realized we were on our own, but luckily, we were close enough the college where there were signs to direct us there!

Wow!! I didn't know frogs were so popular here hehe! =)

Sights as we drove.. not too interesting, but look at the cute ducks crossing!

Here are some sights from our drive there. We passed a bridge that featured lots of frogs. I was so confused, especially when we reached the other side of the bridge. Every building there had something to do with frogs! hehe It was super cute! On our drive, we also encountered a duck crossing! As we turned by, I noticed the ducks crossing the road and it was the most adorable thing ever! 

After an hour and a half, we reached Uconn! I thought our hunt for Uconn was over at that time, but us being the clueless people we always are (trust me, I am so bad at directions) I had no idea where the visitors center was. I had to ask several students for help and eventually after 15 min. we found it!! Uconn as I said before is humongous!! If I went there, I would probably get lost everyday lol. 

When we got there, we were slightly late, but the staff there was super nice. They directed us into the room where they were briefing us about the school. We watched a few videos and began our tour! It was quite fun and I really enjoyed seeing the school. I really love the way the campus was set up there and the atmosphere from the school was amazing. Everyone was so helpful and you could tell that they had pride in their school!

The only thing that sort of bothered me was the dorm size.. I might sound a bit spoiled here, but my room at home is pretty big and when I saw the size of that dorm, I was just shocked. The dorm was the size of my bathroom and I was just curious as to how 2 people could live in there... I wonder if other colleges have tiny dorms? I have to get used to living in smaller spaces for college!! I'm kinda scared because I'm pretty messy at home and I know I can't be like that in college.. or else my roommate would hate me!

My Friend And I

After the tour, I called my friend who is also a student at Uconn and she gave me her personal tour of the school. This also included getting to sit in on her sociology class! It was quite interesting to be in a college class. There was a lot of people and to be honest, the teacher and the students didn't even notice me!

After the tour with my friend, I went to visit one of the dining halls for lunch with my friend and mom. We were able to get in for free thanks to my friends and apparently Uconn offers a buffet style meal plan! This is awesome for a college student because I know I will never have to worry about food. 

The quality/choice of food at a college is very important to me because that is most likely what I will be eating for the next 4 years of my life. I need to like it and Uconn passed the test for me!!! They offered so much choices of food there!! Everything from your typical college food, to some freshly made options and there was even an all organic dining hall!! My favorite food there though was the ice cream!! 

For lunch that day, I sampled a lot of items, but eventually settled on a slice of pizza, some salad and lots of ice cream! 

My Mommy And I

After our meal, we checked out more of the school, including the education building (which I am interested in), the gym and pool, and we stopped at the Co-op to check it out. As I walked in there, I noticed that they were already in the holiday spirit there! They had lots of Christmas items and right in the front of the store were Christmas Trees. 

Our last stop of the day was Uconn's Dairy Bar! Yes they have a dairy bar there which is the best for me because dairy is my favorite food group! I could eat yogurt, froyo, and ice cream all day! I got a coupon for a free scoop of ice cream at the dairy bar and it was time to put it to good use. I chose to get the banana chocolate chip. They gave me a lot more than a scoop because I shared the ice cream between my friend and my mom and it was quite a lot. 

At the dairy bar, Uconn makes the ice cream there by hand. They raise their own cows and the milk for the ice cream comes from their own cows! How crazy is that. You could even see them turning the milk into cream. As I ate the ice cream, I could easily tell the difference between this ice cream and the ones at the store. Uconn's ice cream tasted a lot fresher and richer. ohh I could there all day if I went to Uconn! 

By the time we finished our ice cream, it was beginning to get quite late. The visit to Uconn went by a lot faster than I thought it would and when it was time to say goodbye to my friend, I had this feeling in my stomach of sadness. It was the type of feeling you get when you leave a place or person you love a lot. I was surprised at how sad I got when we had to leave. I didn't know I would miss the college/my friend as much, but I really do. I haven't seen my friend in almost 2 years and when we first met up, it was like we were super close again. It just sucked to have to leave that day!

Overall my trip to Uconn was quite successful. The school is very nice and if I do end up going to college there, I know I will love it. 

My pros for Uconn are that it is close to home, MUCH cheaper, the great dining options, the program for education majors it offers, the prestige that it has, and of course the great friends I have there already!

My cons for the college are that the location isn't close to the city at all, it is too close to home (don't know how this can be a pro and a con, but it is for me hehe), and the dorm size.

If I get accepted to Uconn and the price it offers is a lot less than my other colleges, I will choose Uconn with little hesitation. My goal is to get into the city, but if doing so puts me in dept, I would rather wait 4-6 years!

Tell me about some of your college visits if you have ever been on?

What do you personally look for when choosing a college? for me it is cost, location, education level it gives, and the dining options!)

Has you GPS ever lead you to a dead end like ours? hehe.

It's Maxi Time

 I can't believe it is Sunday today and less than a week away from Thanksgiving!! The holidays seemed to have sprung up on me this year faster than ever. (despite Thanksgiving being later.) It must be all the work I have hehe. This Friday, I got to skip school to go on a college visit of Uconn. (University of Connecticut) Unfortunately it was raining, but I still managed to take a few photos which I will share with you guys in my next post after I get them uploaded and organized! I have to say though that the college was a lot different than I expected. I expected it to be boring and farm like, but it was the opposite. If I do go there for the next 4 years, I'm sure I will love it even though it's not in the city =) I'll also love graduating there without drowning in loans hehe. 

Despite it being the coldest day ever today, I decided to wear this outfit. It is very cute and as long as you are inside, you won't freeze! I've being trying to organize/clean my clothes... in fact my whole house... and I keep coming across cute summer clothes and ohh how I wish I could wear them now! I love summer for the cute clothes and freedom from school, but I love winter for the snow and holidays! I just can't stand freezing temperatures and looking like a snowman under my coats!

This maxi skirt is super comfortable and very sophisticated looking. It's white with black stripes. The fabric that this skirt is made from is super soft. Most maxi skirts I have come across are made from a chiffon type material and while they are still cute, chiffon is a bit uncomfortable and I am always afraid of ripping it. This skirt here is made from a cotton like material and is quite stretchy. It's also the perfect length for me!

Along with the maxi skirt, I chose to wear a black long sleeve top. Just like the skirt, this top is super soft and stretchy and even though the material is thin, it keeps me pretty warm! 

For my jewelry , I wore two rings- A band and a bow ring. I really love the way the bow ring looks. I had to do some retouching on my nail polish as you may notice. I painted them for senior portraits and despite the top coat, they chipped in 2 days. It happens all the time to me probably because I am rough with my hands and I tend to bite my nails when I am bored. (trying to fix this habit!) 

The shoes I wore are a pair of cute flip flops from Apt. 9. They are simple black flip flops with a set of sparkling crystals in front. 

 

A lot is going on this week for me including a cross country banquet, shopping for coach's gift, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and college applications due! I'm going to be very busy, however with only 2 and a half days of school, I can't complain! 

Top- Forever 21

Skirt- Modcloth

Ring- Similar @ Forever 21

Bow Ring- Similar @ Forever 21

Flop Flops- Kohls

Are you a fan of maxi skirts?

How excited are you for Thanksgiving and Black Friday?? =)

My XC Medal and Favorites

 I just got back from my senior portraits at school today and to be honest, I don't know how they turned out, but I personally think that the picture I took with my sister will look the best. I hope my school pictures turned out okay because I only had one shot at it and it's the one going in the yearbook. (Yes, I did wait till the last minute to take them with my school.. because I am a huge procrastinator.) I just didn't feel ready to take the pictures in the summer because I felt too tan and not like myself, but once school started I was too busy to have my pictures taken. November is the last time they come to my school so I jumped on the appointments as soon as they were available. I was able to secure a spot for today at 2:45!!

Last Friday, I went to my 2nd ever high school football game! (1st if you don't count me playing in powderpuff freshman year, which is basically flag football for females) I'm not much of a football fan and although it was a fun experience this Friday, I don't quite regret not going more though. hehe. I think there is a bit too much hype surrounding football in high school! I don't understand the game  and boy was it cold sitting in the stands that night!! It was warmer than the previous nights, but I was on a hill and the wind up there was crazy!
The only reason though that I went to the game that night though was to get this little baby-

It was quite hard trying to take a selfie with 1 hand ! =)

It's my ECC Sportsmanship medal. Even though it isn't an "All ECC" Medal, I am very proud of myself for receiving this! The medal came in a case with our names on the back. The medal itself is gold colored with the title Eastern Connecticut Conference on it and a picture of CT. It's also got some weight to it which makes me really happy! .. (remember the plastic/paper medals they use to give us when we were younger.. well this is not plastic!!)

 I blurred the photo for privacy reasons =)

All the sports that night were receiving our rewards during halftime and here I am with everyone! Sorry for the blurry photo. I had to throw my camera to a person to snap this photo of us. It was a super cool experience but embarrassing at the same time. I felt like everyone in the stands was staring and probably wondering what we were doing in the middle of the game lol.

Another item I got related to cross country is this adorable sports bra. Ever since my freshman year on the team, we have talked about getting a team sports bra and finally we have done it! The sports bra we designed is from Nike. It's all red with a falcon on the back! How cute?! It fits really nicely and like most of Nike's gear, it does exactly as it says.

This week, I also purchased an interesting looking product. It is a hair product by the name of Biosilk Silk Therapy. The results claimed by this product are similar to what is claimed by Garnier's Moroccan oil so I am quite excited to try it out. This one is an all liquid product and from my first impression, I noticed that it smells fantastic! The reviews online for this product seemed mostly positive so I am hoping that it will work the same for me!

I also purchased these two lip products today! They were on display and caught my attention as I passed by. I stopped and noticed that they were lipsticks from Revlon and it seemed to be a new product. The colors that I picked up were 135 provocateur femme fetale (the red one) and 125 flirtatious charameuse. (the pink one) Upon opening, I noticed that the pink color seemed to be quite dark and looked red to me hehe. The red is literally bright red so I don't know if I want to use that one, but I will be keeping the pink. This product reminds me a bit of the jumbo gloss balms by covergirl!

You might have noticed this color on my nails in the previous post, but the color I have on is a polish from Essie. The color is called lilacism. It's a sweet lavender color and I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it in the store. It reminds me more of a spring color, but it still works for the winter! I have two coats of it on in the picture above =)

 To end my post today, I really wanted to share this song I found with you guys. I know this is a long post, but I really think this song is beautiful. Everything from the lyrics to the music video speaks to me. It was filmed in Iceland!! The song is in chinese, but if you hit the little button on the bottom of the video, you can have youtube place english subtitles on it. If you want a better translation of the lyrics, you can check out this link. 
The singer of this song is Hebe Tien and her new album titled, 渺小  (Insignificance) is focused on the theme of global warming and it's impact on us! If you don't know, I am a huge supporter of taking care of the environment and I love animals so this song resonates with me. I'm glad that people are finally taking notice and spreading the word! 

Have you tried Biosilk silk therapy or the Revlon Lacquer colorburst before?
What color do you currently have on your nails?
What is your opinion on the song by Hebe? Do you like how the mv was shot?  I think it is genius and I'm really glad that she wrote about this issue!