Sun Free Summer Bronze

If you are like me, your time in the sun is rare! 

Here are a few of my favorite bronzing products to help you fake a summer tan.

Nature's Gate Glow Lotion

This is a great paraben free lotion that you can use everyday.  There is virtually no smell, and it has great moisturizers.  Tan Towels come in two shades, one for light skin tones and one for medium skin tones.  You will see results in about 3-5 days.  The ONLY downside is that when I workout with a white tee shirt on, the lotion comes off of you shirt.  I have found this happens with all gradual daily lotions.  Just wear a dark top, and you will be good!

Tan Towel

These are my absolute favorite! They are great for a quick fix for a special event or weekend.  The name literally speaks for itself. It looks like an over-sized wet-nap, and comes in two shades, fair to med, and med to dark.  All you do is rub the towelette all over your body in a circular motion, and in two hours will be perfectly bronzed.  I use it after I shower, and about an hour before I get dressed.  Be cautious to get every spot on your body.  Color lasts for about a week, but gets lighter everytime you shower.  

Clinique True Bronze Pressed Powder

This is a lightweight powder bronzer that comes in three different shades.  I use this product every day, and one compact has lasted me almost a year!  Some bronzers can get cakey and make you look orange, but this doesn't at all.  It is also long wearing, so will only have to put it on once a night.

Hope you like these products as much as I do!  Happy "tanning"!!

Summer Essential - Denim Cut Offs

There are a handful of items that I consider essential for summer, 

and Denim Cut Offs are one of them!

Here are a few to fit everyone's style.

Basic from AE

Dip Dye from UO

For those of you that aren't into the shortie shorts...

Mid-Length from Asos

Loving...the Colored from AE

Printed from Asos

Stay tuned next week for my post on How-To Make Your Own Denim Cut Offs!!!

Sunday Night Healthy Mexican

I love making Mexican food at home!

There is so much you can do with some simple ingredients, and make it healthy!!

Here is a simple recipe that I made up for a waistline friendly, Sunday Night Meal.

My take on a Fajita Salad.

Ingredients:

Black Beans, Lettuce, Tri-Color Peppers, Onion, Grape Tomatoes, Avocado

3 Easy Steps:

1.  Wash, Prep, and Cut your lettuce, tomatoes, peppers and avocado.

Slice avocado, tomatoes in half, and peppers and onions in strips.

2.  Saute peppers and onions in canola oil.  After veggies are soft, add blacks beans into skillet to heat up.  At this point you can add some seasoning of you liking to the veggies and beans.

I added a sprinkling of cumin, chili power, salt and pepper.

3.  Assemble you salad with the lettuce on the bottom, then the veggies and beans, and lastly the tomatoes and avocado.

You could just eat the salad like this, with maybe some salsa and a bit of light sour cream.

I made a simple vinaigrette with the juice of half a lime, 1/4c. extra virgin olive oil, and a squeeze of honey.  

Yumm!  There you have an easy, healthy Sunday night meal!

FYI...I used a half a can of black beans for one salad, but a whole can would be perfect for two.

Hope you enjoyed the beautiful weather this weekend!!

Trend to Keep - Grunge

You may have seen my earlier post HERE for a great summer trend, Modern Grunge.

Well, according to the Women's Wear Daily April cover story, 

this trend will be sticking around for Fall 2012!

Hang on to those lace items, plaid, denim, black tights and combat boots!!

Happy Tuesday!  Hope you are having a great week, and enjoying this beautiful weather!

XOXO

A few little things

Just a few little things I wanted to share from the past couple weeks...

NEW Zara Cream Crochet Shorts I just got.  Cannot wait to style these for summer!

1/2 Pistachio, 1/2 Choc Mint Cayenne Gelato I had from the Cleveland Food Show from 

Lakewood's Own The Sweet Spot.  Soooo yummy!!!

Photo from the Pawsibilities, Humane Society of Greater Akron event at Room 9 Boutique.

Great night for a great cause.  Rachel from For the Birds had a lovely write up, read more about  it here.

Found this while I was reading magazines at the nail salon.

Loving this...Caviar Manicure Kit at sephora.com

My summer investment piece!  Got it at Nordy's (Nordstrom) <3 <3

Hope you enjoyed My Few Little Things!

**DON'T FORGET!!**

Tomorrow is the last day that you can enter for a chance to win this 

FREE stacked bracelet set from Dogwood Design.

See previous post HERE for details on entry!

NOTO FASHION SHOW

Last Saturday was the NOTO Fashion Show!  

We walked in, and were immediately handed a gift bag :)

In the gift bags were, some reading materials, business cards(mine included),

sunglasses, and locally made Noto hand lotion.

The show started with a local designer showcase challenge.

It was really cool, because we all got to vote via smart phones for our favorite!

The well-deserved winner was Kent State student, Natalie Sullinger, 

who will get to sell her clothing at Noto this summer.

Next, the show went straight into the Noto Summer 2012 line.

The line was full of really great dresses and skirts in fun prints and colors.

All of the jewelry was from Dogwood Design, who I featured in my post last Friday.

Here are just a few looks from the show.

Immediately following the show, Lauren pulled back the curtains to reveal her pop-up store!

The store was flooded with attendees wanting to grab that dress that they loved from the show.

I really liked a lot of the dresses, and could have seen myself 

in just about all of them this summer, but limited myself to one.

I got a cream and red print dress with cutouts on the sides, and a blue & gold

spike necklace from Dogwood.

Here are a few friends and I before the show.

My outfit: Top and skirt from H&M, Calvin Klein Shoes, watch Nixon, 

bracelets and necklaces various

Dogwood Design GIVEAWAY

Dogwood Design is a super cute, trendy jewelry line handmade by the 

extremely talented Akronite, Sara Candle.

When...

Sara stared her line in February 2007, when she was stuck at home with the chicken pox!

Meaning Behind the Name...

The name was inspired by Dogwood Trees, because they have always had a special meaning to Sara.  Her grand parents are avid nature lovers, and used to hand out saplings of the tree at her school for kids to plant.  Also, her family had a big beautiful tree in their backyard growing up that her and her brother would play on and climb.

Inspiration...

Sara draws inspiration from lots of things like travel, nature, antiques, and art.  She loves to deconstruct elements and re-purpose them into something new.  Rehabbing older pieces started with her grandmothers jewelry box, and has grown from there!  The best part about Dogwood, is that you will never really find two pieces exactly alike!!  As well as being a great jewelry designer, Sara is also an amazing photographer.

Where...

Dogwood Design is sold on Etsy at dogwooddesign.etsy.com, and also at the local 

Akron boutique, Noto.  She does some shows in the summer at wineries and art sales. 

You can stay up to date on those happenings on her Facebook page here.

TOMORROW she will be the featured jewelry designer at the 

Akron fashion event of the year, the Noto Fashion Show.

Sara has been kind enough to donate a bracelet for a giveaway to one of you lovely readers!

Look a this great stacked bracelet set!! She knows me well :)

Here is what you have to do to enter to win this bracelet set from Dogwood Design:

1.  LIKE Greige Dreams on Facebook HERE

2.  LIKE Dogwood Design on Facebook HERE

3.  FOLLOW me on Greige Dreams (on the right)

4.  Comment on this post with your email address when you have completed steps 1-3

Entry for this giveaway starts today, and will end on Friday, May 11th at midnight.

At the close of the entry, I will then draw one name of all those who have entered!  

I will contact the lucky winner via email for your address!!

Good Luck!