Estée Lauder Haul

I recently went to Nordstroms to get a new foundation. I finished my Chanel foundation and although I really liked the formula, it was a little more sheer than I wanted. Perfect for the spring and summer. I had heard quite a bit about the Estée Lauder Double Wear 'Stay in Place' foundation and I was eager to try it out. Nordstroms is having a gift with purchase when you spend $45. So I had to add on the 'Stay in Place' concealer so I hit the minimum and got the amazing gift. Check it out below! P.s. day 4 of wearing the foundation/ concealer duo. In LOVE. My pores seem to have disappeared, it has great lasting power, doesn't rub off or onto clothes, and still looks great 10-12 hours after application.

I wear the shade 1N2 Ecru 

$37 

I am in the shade LIGHT 

$24 

Current Gift with Purchase:

($165 value)

Includes: 

-Perfectly Clean Multi-Action Foam Cleanser/Purifying Mask (1 oz.) -Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Recovery Complex II (0.3 oz.) -Advanced Time Zone Reversing Line/Wrinkle Creme (0.5 oz.) -Advanced Time Zone Night Reversing Line/Wrinkle Creme (0.5 oz.) -Full-Size Pure Color Lipstick in Rubellite -Pure Color Gloss in Orchard Passion (0.2 oz.) -Sumptuous Bold Volume Lifting Mascara in Black -Cosmetics Bag

Make sure you use the promotion code REPAIR 

during checkout at Nordstroms when you spend $45 

Good Morning Beautiful

As my one year approaches in December, I am reminiscing over my relationship. I’m a scientist, we analyze. S was never part of my picture. He came into my life at the most inopportune time and was the last thing I was looking for or wanted. But something clicked. Immediately. He and I although very similar, complement each other on our differences. While I tend to be feisty and easy to battle, he is laid back and refuses to fight. He doesn’t do well with tears, I hate crying; I’ve cried twice in front of him. He likes to overanalyze and read into things, I pick my battles. But the best compliment my boyfriend gives me is the simplest form of love and worth. Every morning, I wake up to a “good morning beautiful” text. He has done this, every day, since our first date (maybe earlier). And although my hard exterior hates romantic stuff or lovey stuff, I read those texts with a soft smile and only love in my heart. I wake up in a good mood. He starts my day with a reminder of my self-worth. Although I don’t need him to tell me that I am pretty, it’s always much appreciated. It’s always the little things that mean the most. 

So if no one has told you today…. “Good morning, beautiful.”

Oh Deer! Halloween Makeup

For the past six years, I have spent my Halloween down in Charleston, SC. Crazy enough, I will actually be down there for this Halloween as well. So I am so excited to partake in the Barberry Woods Happy Hour/ Halloween festivities. Lots of Hot Toddies, chik fil a, and candy. Typical. But tonight, I am working the Halloween event at the Country Club. And as usual all the employees have to dress up but pretty PG, maybe PG-13. I saw a few tutorials online for a bambi deer look that I loved! I was able to recreate the look with makeup from my bathroom and two sticks from my yard. Easiest DIY costume! Here are a few pictures from my look and hopefully I can post a picture later of my sister and I. She's going as a skeleton.

Everything I needed for this look. Eye liner: white, black, and brown 

Nyx- Eye Shadows, Sephora white eye shadow, NYX jumbo Milk crayon

  

Happy Halloween! 

Relationship Books

For some reason Barnes and Noble always puts the self-help, relationship section across the aisle from my romance novel section. Always. No matter what state or city, the layout of Barnes and Noble states: put the books about sex, growth, and love across from Rachelle’s fiction romantic heroine books. I have avoided those sections my entire life. Until one day two years ago, I saw a book called “The Secret Lives of Wives” by Iris Krasnow. Iris Krasnow, a “wife of 23 years, and the more than 200 women she interviewed (married anywhere from 15-70 years) challenge the traditional way of thinking about what it takes to achieve “happily ever after” and invite women to define for themselves what constitutes a satisfying relationship”.  I was curious and intrigued; I definitely bought the book by its cover. But I loved it. I looked at relationships and marriage from many different points of view. Marriage used to make me feel panicked and suffocated. This book showed me the women that had jobs and did their own thing but were still happily married. It gave me a little peace of mind. After reading this book, I was a little more open to relationship books. Then I read “Committed” by Elizabeth Gilbert, the sequel to “Eat, Pray, Love”, which I never read- but I watched the movie. This book was one of the most powerful and moving books I have ever read. Definitely top three of my all-time favorite books.  The advice, the insight, everything, literally leaves me enthralled and settled every time I reread it. Quotes such as “My love affair with (him) had a wonderful element of romance to it, which I will always cherish. But it was not an infatuation, and here’s how I can tell: because I did not demand that he become my Great Emancipator or my Source of All Life, nor did I immediately vanish into that man’s chest cavity like a twisted, unrecognizable, parasitical homonculus. During our long period of courtship, I remained intact within my own personality, and I allowed myself to meet (him) for who he was.” And “the cold ugly fact is that marriage does not benefit women as much as it benefits men. From studies, married men perform dazzingly better in life, live longer, accumulate more, excel at careers, report to be happier, less likely to die from a violent death, suffer less from alcoholism, drug abuse, and depression than single man…The reverse is not true. In fact, every fact is reverse, single women fare much better than married women. On average, married women take a 7% pay cut. All of this adds up to what Sociologists called the “Marriage Benefit Imbalance”…It is important to pause here and inspect why so women long for it (marriage) so deeply.” Again, my panicked self, read this book slowly and with a need to soak up every word, again calming my fears. Currently I am reading “The Five Love Languages” by Gary D. Chapman. I took the quiz weeks ago, knowing that my love language is ‘time’.  I show I love and care for others by giving them my time and energy and in turn I feel loved when others give me their time. I don’t need gifts, flowery words, public displays of affection, or touch. I need time. Knowing how you and your significant other show and receive love makes communication barriers disappear.

I don’t religiously read relationship books, it happens about twice a year. But I find I learn so much from others experiences. I hope this helps one of my readers. And if you have any books that you would suggest, let me know. I am always open for suggestions.

And just because I have a small fan-girl love for Elizabeth Gilbert… 

Things you can do when you live alone

I love living alone. I adore my best friend from college and we lived together for three years in the barracks. But I prefer to live alone. I like having my own space. I don’t know what I am going to do when Steve and I eventually live together. I hate feeling suffocated. But here are some awesome aspects about living along:

1.       My fridge is only stocked with things I like. And no one touches my food or drinks my beer or wine. I know exactly where things are placed and I always know there will be ice cream in my freezer.

2.       My bathroom has all my essentials laid out by the sink. It’s just me. I can do what I want and leave my stuff in strategic places. Sometimes I don’t put the toilet paper on the roll, I eventually will, but when I feel like that.

3.       I can eat the same meal for days. I eat lox, cream cheese, and sesame bagels and omelettes almost daily. Sometimes for breakfast, lunch, or dinner or even snack. No one else has to eat it, just me. Can’t judge the weird concoctions I make sometimes. Or if I eat a bowl of pasta, that’s sitting on my chest, on my couch in sweats. Can’t judge me if you don’t know it happens.

4.       The first thing I do when I get to my apartment, get out of my clothes and into the most unattractive and comfortable clothes I can find. Don’t match, no problem. Who cares if my hair is in a topknot and headband?

5.       Old country songs you used to sing with your mom when you were three? Yea, they get played in my apartment, I still sing along. My neighbors must hate me. And periodically Taylor Swift and Dixie Chicks make it into the mix.

6.       I decorate my place seasonally. Just how I like it. The décor of my whole place. All mine. No input necessary because it’s my place. I am the only one who has to live here. I don’t have to take a roommates “work of art” and display it on the wall and hate it for a year.

7.       I get to the dishes when I want. Even though I hate going to bed with dirty dishes in the sink so they end up being washed. And making my bed happens…..for the most part.

8.       The best part, when people come over, they eventually leave. Hello, peace and quiet. 

Moving on after a breakup

I always feel like I need to put a disclaimer before ever offering advice or my opinion. And I will probably continuing doing it, because like everyone else in the world, I am young and still learning. I probably would laugh at most of the things I said five or even two years ago. But having friends who go through rough times and offering advice over the years, I want to share some things that can help.

1  1.   Going through a break up is tough. No matter how many breakups you go through. Depending on the time invested in the relationship, it can feel like your world is crashing around you. Your heart literally aches, it is a struggle to get through each day, and everyone feels sorry for you. Not a great combination. Give yourself time to grieve the relationship, whether you ended the relationship or they ended it. Give yourself time to lick your wounds, don’t wallow in your sorrows but take the time to recap and assess.

2 2.  It will get better. It won’t feel like it the first or maybe second week. But the day when you stop crying yourself to sleep and feel in control of your life again. You will know, it gets better.

3 3.   Stop making the same mistakes with each guy. If each date or relationship is saying the same thing, i.e. you’re too clingy, you can’t commit, you are moving too fast, listen to those comments. Because if it’s not the first time you heard it, they are probably right. And make an honest effort to understand why you are doing something, and work to fix the issues in order to move forward in your life.

4 4.   On the same hand, if a guy is a complete ass. Then screw him. If he cheated on you, made you feel worthless, and was a horrible boyfriend, you will realize it. Give it time and you will see all the red flags and why it NEVER would have worked out. You saved yourself the pain in the long run. (Feel sorry for the next girl he snags)

5 5.    The fairy tales and story book happy endings are not real. Your life is what you make of it. You can either blame others for things not going your way, or you can do something about it. My happy ending isn’t a relationship (although it’s nice) and get married and then “the end.” My fairy tale and “happily ever after” is doing what I love (Toxicology) surrounded by family and friends that I love. So get your head of the clouds and stop looking for your “prince charming.”

66.     In the darkest of times, you find yourself. Remember that.

77.   There is no timeline; you make your life as you go. Don’t feel like you need to be married by 23 or 25, because you might just be divorced by 30. Was it really worth it? Probably not.

88.   Your friends and family are your best support system. Unless you are crying over the same guy over and over that they are sick of hearing about, they will be supportive. Rely on them. They will give you the love and strength you need. You’re not the first person to go through a breakup, they might have some sage advice. And if not, they can show up with ice cream and chick flicks at your place.

99.   Everything will be ok. I promise. So smile and realize there is hope in the future and lessons from the past. 

Rainy Days..

I love the rain. I look forward to rainy days when I can sleep all day. I feel the same about snow. But it gets kind of old after day 4 or in my case, day 6 of rain. Especially when I need to trudge across campus for a meeting or class and the rain is really doing a number on my hair. But the one saving grace to rainy days are rain boots. My mom bought me a pair a few years ago, of actual nice rain boots. Coach rain boots that laced up at the top, absolutely adorable. She herself rocks the Hunters and my little sister has the Sperry rain boots. We take our rain seriously. After wearing the same pair of boots for a few days, and thinking for the past few months, I need to add another pair of boots to the mix. And as much as I adore my sisters, I want Hunters. Either black or dark green. So I can get the sock inserts and they can double as my snow boots this winter. Especially with Midwest snowfall, I am going to need them! I just love a good pair of classic rain boots and it is so much fun splashing through puddles without worrying about getting wet. Below are a few of my favorites you can find at Nordstroms. 

Burberry 'Birkback' Rain Boot $295.00

 

Hunter 'Original Tall' Rain Boots $148.00

BP "Splash" Rain Boots $69.95

Steve Madden "Dreench" Rain Boots $89.95

I'm back!

 Sorry guys! Life got a little busy and when I finally thought I could blog again, midterms hit so I was busy with the books. Glad to be back! Sometimes I just take too much on and it gets a little overwhelming. But thanks to amazing friends, family, and the boyfriend, I am feeling back to normal and ready to go.. New posts will begin again on Monday. Spending my weekend back in StL for work and another BBQ competition. So so so in love with the fall weather..

Have a great weekend and stay safe!

Time off

I am taking this week off from blogging, maybe next week too. I need a little space with life hitting me from every direction. Being a true Gemini, I feel too much, I carry too much, and it is truly exhausting. These are days that I would use the beach as my solace, just me and miles of quiet, dreary beach, waves hitting the shore slowly pulling away the pain and burdens. These are the days where I grab my favorite books with their worn sides and folded pages; they are my security blanket, my comfort. These are the days when I close myself off from everyone else so that I can regroup, re-energize, and pull myself out of the dark. These are the days when I have a heavy heart that aches from the overwhelming world...I just need some time and I will be back.