Author: Rena

Holiday Shopping Survival Guide


Welcome to December stylish sweets!

There are officially 23 days left til Christmas, can you believe it?!

If you still have any shopping left to do, then this guide is for you!

Last year, we went over what to buy those special people in your life with the Gift Giving at Any Budget GuideThis year, I’m doing it little differently. The following tips and ideas are perfect for getting you through that quick mall trip that turns into a three-four hour event!

The most important thing: COMFORT! You do not want to wander around the mall for hours in heels, a dress, a skirt, a heavy coat, or even tight jeans for that matter (unless of course they’re stretch!)

The following outfit is great for doing everything you need to do.

Holiday Shopping Survival Guide: 1

A crossbody bag that’s big enough to hold your scarf and gloves but not too big that it gets in your way. Think “hands-free”.

Leggings, yes curvy girls, leggings! Don’t let anyone tell you you can’t wear leggings! These are the best thing to happen to the fashion world since….since….well, you get the idea! Make sure you’re wearing a top long enough so that it covers your butt. That’s very important, especially if you happen to have a pair of leggings that aren’t Lululemon proof.

Next, you want to have bobby pins….no brainer, right?!

Finally, the footwear. You want to be stylish but comfortable not stylish and in pain. A flat biker boot is the way to go.

I know you’re probably thinking…what about a coat?! Here’s the thing about coats…they’re hot, bulky, and cumbersome. If you wear a coat, you’re going to take it off eventually, then you’re stuck carrying it…you don’t want that. I say, try your best to get a close parking spot and make a run for the door! Or there’s always those mall lockers if they’re available at your location, definitely use one of those if a coat is a must!

Now, if you’re going to have a purse during your shopping adventure, make sure it’s a cross body bag. For the obvious reasons like hands free shopping, it’s a great safety measure. No matter what town, city or suburb you live in, thieves are right around the corner and it’s best to protect yourself any way you can.

By wearing a crossbody bag, a would be thief will have a harder time snatching it off your body. It’s also great because carrying a heavier tote or clutch…just isn’t a comfy idea.

 

Holiday Shopping Survival Guide: 2

So, what is mandatory for your shopping event?

Nothing that’ll weigh your shoulders or the bag down. Just make sure you have the essentials. For me, that includes a travel sized brush, hair ties, lotion & body spray, a long lasting colored lip gloss, a wallet, hand sanitizer, and sunglasses. Those are pretty much everyday items for me, I never ever ever leave home without them. You want to try to look as fresh leaving the mall than when you came in.

I’ve been that chick that leaves the mall looking haggered. I get home and people are asking me if I’m ok, are you feeling alright, do you need water?! You don’t want that. You’re tired, annoyed, hot and bothered and trust me, looking how you feel at that moment is the pits! You walked into the mall to get things done so feeling accomplished is the look you’re going for. A quick moisture spray and foundation touch-up somewhere between Macy’s and the Food Court mid-adventure should do the trick.

At that point, you’re halfway done or heading towards the door.

That means….

Once you’re done…you’re done!

 

Curvy Beauty: LornaLitz Baez


Back to business as usual stylish sweets! Today, take a look at the beautiful full figured curvy girl. Also known as Curves And Coffee’s “Curvy Beauty”. I love to feature plus size models and regular women with curves as much as possible. We have to remember that everyone is beautiful in the skin that they’re in.

 

Meet the lovely…

 

 

 

LornaLitz Baez

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

photos via Heffner Management

 

 

 

 

 

 

photo by Nichole Alex

 

 

Morning Linkage: Cup 34


Guess who’s baaaack?!

 

It’s me!

 

Good morning stylish sweets!

 

 

Sorry I’ve been away. My GrandPaPa is in the hospital and still recovering. I have to be on call and available 24 hours a day…imagine that stress for a person that barely gets sleep in the first place. So needless to say, I had to take a quick break from everything and just try my best to relax. It’s been a hard and long moment in time but I think I’m finally adjusting to the circumstances put in front of me. With that said, I’m going to try my best to start posting regularly again. Thanks for being patient and sending all of your good vibes my way 🙂

 

 

So, now that you guys are updated, let’s jump back into the swing of things, shall we?!

 

 

Owl Pilgrims @ CafePress

 

 

Grab your coffee for todays Morning Linkage!

 

 

Regular Women + Curvy Bodies + Lingerie = The most amazing show of confidence I’ve ever seen! See why us curvy girls rock! ~ Huffington Post Women 

 

 

Read and see more about Curvy Girl Lingerie owner Chrystal Bougon ~ Plus Size Lingerie

 

 

Looking for another way to use your extra coffee (that is of course, IF you have extra coffee) around the house? Look no further! ~ Bruce Lubin

 

 

I. Am. So. Doing. This. Buy and/or sell your plus size clothing on Twice! ~ Twice

 

 

Lady Gaga is Donatella Versace these days and I’m loving it! ~ Fashionista

 

 

In case you never lived during the 1920’s and we haven’t, The Thought Catalog has compiled a list of awesome phrases from the era to use today! ~ Thought Catalog

 

 

That’s all for today!

 

 Hope your Monday is great!

Coffee Break


(meant to post this sooner) 

Due to a family emergency, I’m going to be away from the blog for short period of time. I ask that everyone bear with me during this busy and stressful time.

For my wonderful readers…thank you and can feel free to contact me at any time!

If you, your company, PR firms, or any advertisers need to get in touch…simply email me at [email protected] and I’ll do my best to respond as quickly as possible.

You can still find me anywhere in the social world…just click on the contact tab or click the social media icon to the right of this post.



Sincerely,

Rena xo

Favorite Bag Friday! (I’m feeling a little Lucky)


Have you guys just been dying to see the bag I won from Lucky Mag?! If you haven’t, trust me, I’ve done enough waiting and biting of my nails for ALL OF US!!

To catch some of you stylish sweets up (in case you missed it): I was invited to do a “Contributor Challenge” on LuckyMag.com a few months back for Seventh Generation. The purpose was to test out their new face serum and write a blog post that embodied “Natural Style Secrets”…you can see the original post here on Curves And Coffee or on the contributing section of Lucky Mag.

Of course, I didn’t expect to win anything, I just simply put my best foot er face forward and took a leap! Thankfully, you guys are the best readers/friends a chick could ever have! Without hesitation you shared, voted, and encouraged me to continue and for that, I am forever grateful.

Now to the good part…

I got an email in October, telling me I won the contest but me being the pessimistic cautious person that I am, there was some research and Googling going on before I believed the email. So after making sure everything was legit, signing an affidavit, getting it notarized, scanning it, emailing it,  then mailing said affidavit (yes, it was that serious…) Now, my expectations weren’t high at all. I was expecting a small clutch or cross body bag but…

BEHOLD!

At this point, I was literally hyperventilating trying to get through the tissue paper and remembering to take pics (blogger problems)

Nope! Our eyes aren’t playing tricks on us!

That/this is INDEED a leather MICHAEL Michael Kors Hamilton Chain Tote

(as seen here in black)

How I wore it:

Messy top knot, fuchsia lip, cat eye and grunged down…all the way down!

I took this pic while on my way out and running fashionably late (as usual…sometimes 😉 so never mind the pure look of “hurry up and take the pic” on my face!

The Details:

Camo Jacket (at least 10 years old so I couldn’t tell you how much it was!)

Lords Of Liverpool Tank ~ California Republic ~ Nordstrom ~ $38

Jeans ~ Debs ~ $16

Moto Buckle Boots ~  Dirty Laundry/Chinese Laundry  ~ (bought last year) ~ $89

And of course…THE BAG

Michael Kors Hamilton Tote ~ $298 ~ Gifted!

(see after a little filter magic…)

So, what does a “Social Engagement Winner” do? She engages with her social networks on a daily basis….I love you guys so of course I’m gonna talk to you and share juicy details everyday! But … This bag is HUGE! I could seriously live out of this bag for a weekend if need be. Oh and that lock….it’s heavy!

Take my word for it when I tell you…this is my NEW favorite bag!

 

Trick Or Treat


Sometimes I absolutely love Halloween and other times, I’m simply annoyed with the thought of dressing up. Luckily, 2013 was one of the years I wanted to utilize my creative juices! The theme of this years “spooktacular” was 1950. Now you see why the excitement hovered over me!! The 50’s are a great time period to emulate because there were so many different and styles…from extravagant to pin up or greaser to a Marine. I already had an idea in mind and couldn’t wait to see it come to life!

 

 

50's

 

 

 

black and white

 

black and white by curvesandcoffee featuring Merona

result

 

 

 

 

I kind of went a little crazy with the Halloween extras they added to Pixlr….it was fun!

 

Spooky DIY Halloween Nail Art

Hey there stylish sweets!

First, let me apologize for this post being a day late. I realized I hit “save” instead of publish as I was getting my flu shot Monday. If you’ve ever had one, you also know that once it kicks in, you’re pretty much useless later in the day. I’m here and it’s here now so let’s do it!

Welcome to the end of October, yes the END OF OCTOBER!
I know it’s been a week since you’ve seen me, just had a teeny tiny bit of stress. The previous two weeks were extremely busy on the “life” side of things and all I wanted to do was sleep, eat, and watch tv! Well, that’s what I did! Now I’m back full of energy, rested, and ready to get this show on the road.
First up for this week… MANI MONDAY…uh Tuesday! There’s no better holiday than Halloween to do a crazy over-the-top manicure…the creative possibilities are truly endless! Last year, I did a little bloody nailart that got rave reviews. This year, I wanted to do something way more elaborate…take a look!
Everything was done free-hand and I was a nervous wreck! Seriously, if there was an oops, I’d have to start all over again and you guys know that wasn’t happening LOL!
On the left hand:
Thumb ~ scary jack-o-lantern
Index ~ spider web
Middle ~ scared ghost
Ring ~ bloody mess
Pinky ~ EEK!
On the right hand:
Thumb ~ scary jack-o-lantern
Index ~ spider web
Middle ~ scared ghost
Ring ~ bloody mess
Pinky ~ BOO!
All nails have some sort of “glow in the dark” pattern which is sooo cute! Since I couldn’t figure out how to get the “glow” element to show up last week…..I did a little research. The answer is black light. Who has a random black light laying around? Lol not me. So I’m gonna go out and get one some time this week and hopefully it works! Til then…
Halloween Nail Art 2013 is in the books!