Night Time Coffee Stops

In every city there is an abundance of coffee shops, so sometimes it can be really hard to pick the right one to go to. I'm no expert on which coffee shops to go to in Phoenix/Tempe, but I can guarantee that Cartel Coffee Lab in Tempe is amazing! The atmosphere in the shop is relaxed, which is what I love about it. I also love how it's designed. The coffee shop has sacks and sacks of coffee beans on one side and couches, tables, and chairs all around the shop. As soon as I walked into the shop, a strong smell of coffee hit me and that's when I knew that whatever I ordered was going to be great.

Cartel is known mainly for their coffee, obviously, but because I'm more of a tea fan I decided to get some hot Chai tea. I had the option of adding espresso to it, but since it was pretty late I decided to go with normal Chai tea. The thing that I loved about their Chai tea was the thick, creamy foam that was on top of it. This aspect of the tea is probably why I think that it was one of the best Chai teas that I've ever had!

So if you ever find yourself in Tempe, be sure to visit Cartel Coffee Lab. There's also a location in Downtown Phoenix!

Missguided and Urban Outfitters Haul

Hello there lovelies! I decided to mix it up a little bit today and do a haul post. This haul consists of Missguided and Urban Outfitters.

First off, let's start with Urban Outfitters! I literally am obsessed with Urban Outfitters and usually
have a hard time leaving the store. This time around I went in and probably tried on 10-15 clothing items and ended up buying only three items. It's not that I didn't love the other items, it's just that if I were to buy everything I wanted in that store I would end up penniless!

I ended up purchasing this super cute Kimchi Blue lace dress in maroon, BDG high rise black skinny jeans, and a Kimchi Blue sweater. All of which I'm in love with.

This was my first time buying anything from Missguided so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I can easily say that I would definitely buy something from them again. One thing that did have me a little frustrated though was the fact that I never received an email stating whether or not my package had been shipped. However, I was able to view my order online and track it, so it ended up working just fine.

I ended up purchasing the super cute Dot Shift Dress from them and a simple pair of Kelly Leggings in black. I'm very fond of the dress, and can't wait to wear it out! The leggings are a little baggy in certain areas, however, they're super comfortable so I'm definitely keeping them.

Urban Outfitters: 

Kimchi Blue Lace Jan Jan Mini Dress

Kimchi Blue Sweater in Ivory

BDG High-Rise Jean

Missguided: 

Willow Woven Dot Shift Dress

Kelly Leggings in Black

Here On The Corner Fashion Event

Here On The Corner is a local shop located in Tempe that sells men and women clothing from local designers, and it has become one of my favorite places to visit. So when I heard that they were holding an event for fashion lovers on November 12th, I had to go!

That night Here On The Corner was full of bloggers, students, and fashion enthusiasts. Besides the shop being full of fashion lovers, there were cookies, hot chocolate, and covered marshmallows that were there for the taking.

When I went to check in for the event we were asked who our fashion idol is. I however had no idea who to pick because there are so many! I ended up going with Alexa Chung. They then handed me a name tag that read Alexa Chung on it. There were people walking around with name tags reading Beyonce, Alex Turner, Jay-Z, and any other person you could imagine.

Before leaving, I had to make a purchase, because I've taken it upon myself to buy one item whenever I walk into that store. This time around I got sunglasses, because you can never have too many sunglasses!

Keep checking back for more blog posts! I plan to start reviewing products as well, so if you're interested in having me review your product send me an email.

#MelTakesFlagstaff

I finally got around to putting together the Flagstaff video. It can now be found on the YouTube channel: racquelandmel or you can watch it here! I hope you guys like it.

#MelTakesFlagstaff

This wasn't the first time I had been to Flagstaff, but the experience this time around was a lot different.

I was only there for a weekend, which wasn't long enough. However, in that short amount of time I fell in love with the city. It is such a wonderful place to go if you love nature and want to experience that whole small town feel, but without it being extremely small.

One of my favorite parts of the trip was going to Downtown Flagstaff, because it had so many interesting shops and restaurants. Everywhere you went was a little treasure on its own.

My other favorite part was the fact that no matter where I looked I would be able to see some form of forest or a mountain. It was like every nature lovers dream. Not to mention that Flagstaff has the San Francisco Peaks, where Humphreys Peak resides, which is the highest natural point in all of Arizona. I wasn't able to hike the great peak that weekend but plan to the next time I visit.

If you ever find yourself in Flagstaff here are a few places you should check out:
- Mars Hill
- Humphreys Peak
- Lowell Observatory
- Crystal Magic in Downtown Flagstaff
- Armadilla Wax Works in Downton Flagstaff
- Basically all of Downtown Flagstaff

Here are a few pictures from Flagstaff. I'll be posting a video soon as well!

#MelTakesGirne

I'm aware that this post is long overdue, but I've finally had time to put together the footage from my time in Girne, Cyprus, together in one nice video. The trip to Cyprus was amazing and I honestly would love to go back there again. The video shows a glimpse of some of the historic places found on the island. I also have included a few photos so you can understand how beautiful it is in Girne.

Fall Is In The Air

Fall has officially arrived and with that comes new styles and of course pumpkin being used in everything from Starbucks drinks to cookies.
Something I think I should make clear is that I love Fall. I love everything about it. It's one of my favorite seasons along with Winter. The two seasons where you can bundle up and sit by a fireplace and drink hot chocolate.
Enough with my ramble about how much I love Fall, let's talk about the main reason why I'm making this post. The main reason being that I would just like to talk about how you can take a popular trend of the summer and make it a Fall trend.
Over the summer I noticed that many people were wearing black and white striped dresses and I don't know about you, but I am still loving that trend, so why not just add a few items like boots and a jacket and maybe even a dark colored lipstick, and BAM! There you have it a Fall outfit!

What do you think about this outfit? Would you wear it?