Summer Sunglasses Giveaway

Let your eyes win the prize this summer! By simply following Step Inside My Closet, you can win a pair of fabulous summer shades!  The giveaway starts today (6/29/13) and ends 7/6/13 at 11:59 EST. Ten lucky followers have the chance to win this giveaway. Each winner will win the prize of one pair of cute colorful sunglasses. After the giveaway has ended the winners will be announced and e-mailed within 48 hours of its ending. The more you follow, tweet, and share, the higher the possibility you might win! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Swinging Chevron Style

It's time to swing in the start of July with a summer nautical outfit! To prepare for the upcoming fourth of July festivities, I wanted to take a fun rest outside on one of my favorite swings. My new chevron blouse dress from The Shopping Bag is absolutely the main eye catching part of the outfit. I love that it's a blouse dress not only for style but, because it can keep you cool in the midst of the summer heat. To keep along with the nautical theme, I obviously had to put on my silver anchor earrings from Ann Taylor Loft. So simple, but so cute at the same time. To complete the look, I put on my braided seed bead necklace from Loft as well. The weight of the necklace is fantastic, not too heavy, but not too light either. Plus, it goes with the cute navy chevron pattern on the dress.

Chevron Dress: The Shopping Bag 

Necklace: Ann Taylor Loft (Similar)

Anchor Earrings: Ann Taylor Loft

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Live Happy & Be Free

Today's motto is all about living happy and being free. This motto completely inspired my whimsical outfit choice. It also clearly brought me to the location of the pictures. With the sun shining, and the waterfall, it was definitely relaxing. To add to the relaxation, this cute coral chevron printed teal maxi dress was extremely comfortable. The flowy bottom was perfect for the summer breeze that was coming through. To keep up with the happy colors and simple yet summer trendy outfit, I paired my maxi dress with a multi-colored bar necklace that had matching pink bar earrings. This necklace is incredibly unique, and really draws your eye to it immediately. Overall, this outfit made me feel happy and free.

Maxi Dress: The Shopping Bag 
Necklace & Earrings: The Shopping Bag

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by The Shopping Bag; all opinions are my own!

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Refreshing Watermelon Nail Art Tutorial

The official first day of summer begins this Friday, so I decided to kick off the start of the summer season with my very favorite summer time fruit (other than peaches) watermelon! Why not show my love for watermelon than by creating the fruit through nail art. It's an easy five step process that is cute for a barbeque, the beach, or any other summer adventure you have in store. You will need a neon pink nail polish, white nail polish, green nail polish, black nail polish, top coat, and an orange stick use to put on the seeds.

1. Paint your nails with your chose of pink nail polish, covering the whole nail.

2. Paint a thick line of green on the tips of your nails. It's sort of like doing a french, but a thicker line.

3. Take your white nail polish and pant a thin white line underneath the green line you just created.

4. With your orange stick, dot on the seeds with your black nail polish.

5. Swipe on some top coat and you have yourself a fabulous summer nail look!

Have fun and be fabulous,

Ann

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Birchbox Beauty

I've got mail! My favorite day of the month is when I spot my pink Birchbox box in the mail filled with new beauty products for me to try. This month's box was filled with the perfect beauty travel essentials, in a small size for transportation to wherever your summer adventures take you.

1. Color Club Nail Lacquer "Mod In Manhattan"  This nail lacquer is the perfect color for summer. The pastel shade is sure to go with any outfit, and just two shades gives it a stunning glossy look. Their other colors are perfect to add a pop of color to an outfit. 

2. Self-Tanning Intensive Towelettes These life saver towelettes are give you a great summer glow in just three hours. The smell isn't obnoxious either, which is a definite plus. These wipes don't streak, and give a tan that matches your skin tone, leaving you bikini beach ready. 

3. Lil' Lip Duo LAQA & Co.  I was so happy to see this in my Birchbox, since I have done a post about LAQA & Co. lip pencils before. I was glad that I finally have one that is small enough to travel with, and to slip easily in my purse. The pink color I received is very vibrant and gives a brighter color each time you swipe some on your lips. The shea butter makes it not just a lip pencil since it leaves you with a satiny finish. 

4. suki Exfoliate Foaming Cleanser This exfoliate cleanser has definitely become a favorite of mine. The smell is simply incredible. The lemongrass in it gives off a clean and refreshing smell, which is also what the cleanser did for my face. It left my face feeling super soft, even if you use a small amount. 

5. Tweezerman Matchbox Itty Bitty Nail Files Love these! The polka dot print on these nail files is very cute and simple. Plus, these can fit in your purse as you travel in case a nail breaking emergency manifests itself!

Have fun and be fabulous,

Ann

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Summer Time Accessory Essentials

Every outfit is not complete without a touch of jewelry to give it a shine. So, I thought I'd share with you a few of my favorite summer time accessories from my store. Starting with bracelets, these nautical themed ones give any outfit a perfect summer time theme. They're great by themselves or stacked like I usually wear them. The gold bow ring gives a nice girly touch to a bright outfit you have planned. Along with the mint bow earrings, since mint happens to be a favorite color in the fashion world this season. The round anchor studs and anchor dangle earrings show that you're up to date with the crazy anchor trend, while giving a nautical flare. Lastly, the ship wheel studs give a trendy boat look to a casual day time outfit. If any of these brought a sparkle to your eye, why not treat yourself to a little summer shopping spree by stepping inside my store here: www.stepinsidemycloset.storenvy.com

Have fun and be fabulous,

Ann

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Buckwheat Banana Pancake Recipe

Ah, Sunday mornings, the best time to make a delicious breakfast before the week begins. These vegan buckwheat and banana pancakes sweetened up my morning. Easy to make, healthy for you, and they taste great, a winning combination if you ask me. The pancakes have a grain-y taste, but the bananas and maple syrup (inside and on the pancake) really sweeten it up.  I got this recipe from Gwyenth Paltrow's cook book, It's All Good. I highly recommend you try out this yummy breakfast this summer.

Recipe (Serves 4):

1 1/4 cup of soy or rice milk (Any milk you put in these doesn't make the taste different!)

1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

1 tablespoon of good quality maple syrup

1/2 cup of buckwheat flour

1/2 cup of white spelt flour (or gluten free like I used)

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of sea salt

Any neutral oil for cooking

2 bananas thinly sliced

Okay, time to get cooking. The first thing you want to do is get one large bowl for your dry ingredients, and a small bowl for your wet ingredients. Pour your choice of milk, lemon juice, vegetable oil, and maple syrup into your small bowl and whisk the ingredients all together. In the larger bowl, whisk your flours, baking soda, and salt together. Then, combine the wet and dry ingredients together and mix until combined. Heat a nonstick skillet or griddle over medium-high heat and slick it with a bit of your oil for cooking. Ladle in as many pancakes you can fit comfortably. Place a few slices of your banana on to each of the pancakes. After 1 1/2 minutes of cooking (or until you see small bubbles arise and the other side is nicely browned) flip your pancake over and let cook for one minute. Serve your delicious pancakes stacked high with plenty of maple syrup and a hungry stomach! Enjoy!

Have fun and be fabulous,

Ann

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