FOTD Catch Up #5439503

I seem to always have a backlog of FOTD's to show.  I take pictures of what I wear fairly frequently, but as for updating them here....well that obviously hasn't been going so well.

Here is a backlog of some FOTD's that I've done in the past couple months.  I honestly can't remember some of what I used, but I did my best to list whatever I did use!  Something in common with all of these photos is that I used the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder Palette.  It has definitely aided in giving me a more flawless glowy look.  I never thought I would fall for the hype, but the palette is a total must-have in my routine! 

For this first one, the focus is on the lips - I used a pair from my  January favorites, the Clinique Berry Freeze lipstick with the Milani Crystal Gloss in Baby Love layered over it.

 

To see more faces and the products I used, click below!

January Favorites

Ever on time as always, I present to you my favorite products from January!  

January was a hectic month in terms of real life, but ever since I decided to go on a no-buy, I've definitely been shopping my stash more.  

Beauty-wise, this month has been all about skin!  (hint: many dewy skin products ahead!) When I haven't been in the mood (or had the time) to go all out on my eyes, I focused on having flawless and GLOWY skin.  I know winter is usually the season for mattes, but something about the cold weather makes me want to look as dewy as possible.  

Since I was always rushing, I didn't do much in the way of lips this month, but my Too Faced palette and face products got a fair bit of use...

A Developing Obsession......

If you looked at me a year ago, even six months ago, you would see some small differences than if you see me now.  For one thing, I'm a lot more jingly.  Another, I'm more likely to wear a statement necklace (which I had previously sworn off of) instead of a dainty little necklace.

Up until a couple months ago (read: December), the only accessories I wore was a dainty necklace - usually my Dogeared Infinity Necklace, a small pair of stud earrings, my white Michael Kors watch, and a small silver ring.  That's it.  I went for the minimalist and made it my signature.  Part of it was because I am extremely picky with my jewelry.  Every detail has to be absolutely perfect, and it has to go with everything.  However, as much as I liked the look of layered bracelets, my small wrists made it difficult for me to buy bracelets without them nearly falling off my hand.  Trust me, I tried.

And I was finally successful.  The past few months, I seem to have found a ton of jewelry that suits me perfectly.  I've found some new jewelry to add to my self-defined "signature" look, as well as some extra pieces to rotate through, which I honestly never really did before.

Here is my latest arsenal of jewelry, old and new:

 Although it seems like I lean toward gold jewelry, I actually like both silver and gold equally.  I tend to wear more gold in the summer and silver in the winter, but the rose gold details on my watch have me leaning towards gold bracelets while I typically wear a silver necklace.

Rings have always been my favorite piece of jewelry, and this small selection still reflects the variety that I like to keep on hand.  I am always picky with rings as they have to be the perfect dainty-ness and uniqueness, but I'm loving my current selection.

Starting from the far left, I have my Kate Spade Bow Ring. I bought this about 2 years ago as a birthday present to myself.  I love it to pieces and wear it all the time as it is the perfect dainty accessory to pair with anything I wear.  The only gripe I have with this is the gold wearing off - I knew it was only a gold-plated ring and I wear at least several times a week, but seeing the gold wear off after only about 6 months of wear was a little disappointing.  That said, I still love this ring.  I just don't know if I would buy another one from Kate Spade to replace it.

The next ring is a silver evil eye-inspired ring that I snagged for $1 at H&M back in December. I love the way it adds something different to my plainer rings, and I tend to wear this layered with other rings.  I typically wear this with the Kate Spade Scalloped Ring to provide contrast to the pave detail.

The next two chain detail rings are also from H&M.  I usually never find jewelry that I like from there, but I have been really impressed with their selection lately!  It's not great quality, but for some cheap costume jewelry, I'm willing to make the sacrifice.  These two rings have an industrial type look that I tend to gravitate towards.

Lastly, on the far right is the Kate Spade Scallop Pave Ring.  This was my Christmas/post finals treat to myself, and I absolutely ADORE it.  It's simple, but also adds a bit of glam to my look.  The only (self-imposed) problem is that I never know what finger to wear it on.  I tend to wear rings on my left ring finger (is that supposed to be bad luck??) since it's the most comfortable place for me to wear my rings, but I've been trying to switch to wearing rings on my right ring to avoid any awkward engagement confusion.  The only problem is that I hate how rings feel on my right hand - they feel awkward and I actually lost my favorite ring this way because I must have taken it off and then dropped it somewhere.  I wear this ring in a size 6, but I think I would prefer a size 7 to wear it on my middle finger instead. I've recently just given up and worn it on my left hand anyway....no use in being overly superstitious, right?


 As far as bracelets go, these two have become staples.  I've lusted after Alex and Ani bangles for years, but have never purchased one until now.  I finally decided to just go for it and buy the April birthstone one, and I already have several others on my mind, including the zodiac one.  I love how simple these bangles look and the variety of different designs and charms available mean a layering heaven.  

For Christmas, I received the Madewell Glider Bangle in Light Worn Gold, and absolutely LOVE this.  It has the minimalist look that I love and fits my small wrists perfectly.  The simplicity of this bangle just called out to me and is really unique.  I've kind of always overlooked Madewell jewelry, but their bracelets and bangles are exactly my style.

Now on another note, does anyone else love mixing medals?  Since I wear both silver and gold equally, I tend to just wear them together.  It's not surprising to see me wearing gold bangles with silver rings because most of the time, I can't decide what to wear.  It also makes jewelry shopping a bit more tricky since I have to hold myself back from buying doubles of everything...

Now that I've discovered jewelry that I love, I'm up for more jewelry recommendations!  What are you favorite pieces and places to shop? Let me know, and until next time!

Favorite Products of 2013

So we're a month into 2014...how is everyone?  A new semester that was supposed to be more relaxed than the last has somehow ended up being even busier, but I'm remaining optimistic for the new challenges and adventures I'll be encountering!

It's taken me awhile to compile all of my 2013 favorites, but when it came down to it, I knew exactly what to reach for.

I definitely started trying new products this year and found new products that I couldn't live without.  I think the biggest change in my makeup routine has been adding bold lips into as many looks as I can.  I used to be so afraid of bold lips, and could have never imagined wearing a bright fuchsia lipstick out, let alone a dark vampy plum color!  I've learned to just rock it and wear what I want, whenever I want.  Do I get some weird looks for wearing bright red or a deep purple lip to the grocery store sometimes?  Yes.  Do I care? Not anymore!  Let them stare all they want.

I also had the chance to try out a bunch of new products this year, particularly because I was in Germany from January to April.  German beauty brands are not as well known, but they are just as fabulous as American brands.

Without getting into too much detail yet, here is the whole compilation of products:

To see more details, click to keep reading!

The Opposite of Losing My Cookies and (Healthy) Addictions featuring Avocados

I'm back.  And by "back," I mean I've been finally cooking again. More time = more experimenting.

A new year means new inspiration and ideas - and a fully stocked pantry is certainly giving me motivation to do something with it!  My obsessions recently are quinoa, sweet potatoes, chickpeas, and kale..convenient that I find a recipe using all of those!  But..not convenient that I didn't take a good picture of the AMAZING salad I put together incorporating all those ingredients.  Don't worry though, it'll come up again in the very near future.  Because I'm obsessed.

In the meantime, I tried out some recipes from a handy cookbook that I found recently.  It's the Gluten Free on a Shoestring: Quick and Easy by Nicole Hunn.  I know nothing about her, but I've been enjoying the quick and easy recipes in it.  I'm also not a gluten-free eater, but like to reduce my white carb intake in any way I can.  Here is her chicken fajita recipe that I modified into a pseudo fajita bowl...ish thing.

Read more to see the recipe, more food, and COOKIES!

Taking care of some "business"

You know that feeling when you have absolutely nothing to do - no deadlines, appointments, or major stressors?  Yeah.  That's what I'm feeling right now.  Less than a week before my semester starts again, I'm finally beginning my winter break after handing in something for a major deadline.

With some free time on my hands, I've been taking care of some things on my laptop - easily forgotten, shoved in a corner things like clearing up my never-ending bookmarked pages, cleaning up my emails, updating the little things on my blog (helllooo, I have a new about me, and a much cleaner consolidated "follow me" section for my various social media sites). They're things that don't necessarily take long on their own, but put together...I've been on my laptop non-stop all day.

One of the things I've been meaning to update is my Pinterest account.  I confess, it's not my most visited site, but it has its merits...like posting all my recipes in one place. I've updated all my boards with things I actually want (new wishlist), food ideas that I've found and tried in various places (breakfast ideas, desserts, and every other type of recipe), and I'm in the process of uploading my my own recipes.  This will be an easier way of finding everything food related without having to search through my entire blog.

I'm happy to say I'm still not addicted to Pinterest, even after spending the entire day on the site, but it's safe to say that I have a whole new appreciation for it!  I will eventually be adding other things, but for now, food has been a big-enough project.  

Now for the next couple days of break while I have time, I'll be busy working on some new posts, so stay tuned!

Reflections on 2013 and Looking Into 2014

Without a doubt, 2013 has been an incredible year for me. 

It was a transformative year of personal reflection, growth, and discovery.    Just to name a few things, I traveled abroad, explored a new culture, discovered a sense of belonging, set up new fitness goals and stuck with them, took on graduate school, and had an amazing internship experience.  None of these were without their challenges, but it is with these challenges that I have grown as a person and become a step closer to the person I want to be.  

 

While it seems like I disappeared off the earth to probably a lot of people (heck, it seems like I was more anti-social this year than ever before), I took time this year to focus on myself – to accomplish goals I had set for myself, to find and do what made ME happy, and not let other people affect what I believed was the right thing to do.  I could not have asked for a better year in making changes in my own life and being one step closer on a never-ending journey to discovering what makes me me.  

Here's a look at what I'm most proud of this year:

1. Finding a place and time where I was completely happy
2.  Experiencing new cultures and being spontaneous and living life to the fullest
3. Being accepted to my university’s graduate program and doing well in some of the most challenging courses I've ever taken
4. Eating clean 70-80% of the time and improving my cooking
5. Fitnessfitnessfitness.  Remaining completely dedicated; starting heavy-lifting even though I'm still learning, sticking to a good schedule  (and seeing its results!)
6. Getting an internship I’ve always wanted
7. Starting a blog!  A failed resolution from 2012...
8. Improving my time management (note: it takes some extreme organization to manage being a full-time student with graduate and undergraduate courses, having an internship, a part-time job, going to the gym 6 times a week, AND still getting sleep).

And here are my top moments in picture form - scattered in here are some of my happiest and most photo worthy moments with a heavy focus on my travel around Europe!

Now here's what I hope to do for 2014, with lots of room for interpretation:

1. Keep improving my fitness even more (specifically, my deadlifts, pull-ups, planks, and running)
2. Run some type of race – whether it is a 10k or even a 5k! I’m not sure I could manage a half marathon..yet.
3. Continue sticking with my clean eating, but this time with less stress eating - finals week I'm looking at you.
4. Travel to Europe again and travel on my own.
5. Take more risks without a fear of rejection - like applying for a totally out there internship or job without being held back by the fact that I feel under qualified.

I prefer not to call these "resolutions" because that decreases the chance of me actually doing them!  Stick around this year to see my goals accomplished? :)

Happy (late) New Years to everyone!