an update + pretty pictures

 I have not blogged in 27 days. That is horrifying. You know what else is horrifying? I just realized that every time I have said PIN number, I've been saying personal identification number number. If I ever say that again I think I am going to snap myself on the wrist with my hair tie. If you have ever made this mistake, or mispronounced  words like facade, epitome, or hyperbole, I suggest you watch Hank Green's video Stop Embarrassing Yourself.

I seem to be developing an addiction to Arizona Tea's Arnold Palmer Half and Half drinks. Half lemonade and half iced tea. 50 calories in a serving. Unfortunately I don't think Dr. Phil would approve.

I am including pictures in between every paragraph not because they are relevant, but because I have a surplus of pretty pictures that I think the world should see.

I threw away seven of my old journals. They were all from about seventh and eighth grade and today I realized they were crap. They content was crap, the physical condition was crap, and the person I was then, or at least wrote about being, was crap. They were simply taking up space and the few times I would reread them, it would just make me unhappy. I did keep two journals though, from freshman and sophomore year. These ones I actually read. I feel like by this time, I was finally figuring out who I am.

my morning routine

I am a morning person, but to me, morning means about 8 am. To make it to the bus on time though, I need to be up 5:50 every day. I try to keep my routine very simple and accomplish as much as I can the night before.

The night before

-Wash face

-Lay out outfit

-Shower

-Style hair—straighten or scrunch with mousse

Morning

-Wash face

            Makeup

            -yellow NYC concealer under eyes

-Lorac foundation mixed with moisturizer

-brown Covergirl eyeliner, smudged

            -Revlon lipstick

-Touch up hair

-Eat breakfast

-Take multivitamin

-Brush teeth

-Chill for a few minutes or race out the door

I am blessed with hair that is very easy to take care of, so I don’t even have to brush it. Every night I wash it and then usually I style it with some mousse (Curls Rock by Bed Head) before I go to sleep.  When I wake up, I have some really pretty loose waves. I understand that not everyone can do this, but for me it is a huge timesaver.

Usually I don’t bother with eye shadow, because I am lazy, or blush, because I feel like it highlights my acne. Also I recently discovered yellow concealer, which is pretty much a lifesaver because I have an incurable case of dark under eye circles. I just rub it in with my fingers and put tinted moisturizer over it.

Tinted moisturizer is a great way to combine the steps of moisturizing and applying foundation, as long as you aren’t looking for full coverage. And if you don’t want to go out and buy new products, all that you have to do is mix the foundation and moisturizer you already own. I just apply it with my fingers, though you can use whatever application method you prefer.

In conclusion: If you have a hard time getting up in the morning, the key to being ready on time is simplicity and preparation.

Sometimes others say it better than you do—Lemon Soda has a great article called Looking Decent On No Sleep that also has great tips. 

the list

I finally finished my 101 list. Actually, I finished it a few days ago, but that is beside the point. My challenge began August 22 and is due to be finished on May 19, 2013. Right now that seems pretty far away, but I think it might come sooner than I think.

Strikethrough=completed    Bold=work in progress

1. Go to a concert.

2. Write a letter to myself to open in 10 years.

3. Learn to drive.

4. Get a job.

5. Go for a walk in the rain.

6. Be kissed.

7. Stop drinking soda.

8. Plant an herb garden.

9. Become an organ donor.

10. Learn to cook 10 new recipes.

11. Go bowling. 8/22/10

12. Read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

13. Go to a restaurant by myself.

14. Take my parents out to dinner.

15. Go for a walk in the rain.

16. Learn to make sushi.

17. Give myself a henna tattoo.

18. Buy a pair of good heels.

19. Leave an inspirational note in a library book.

20. Become a registered voter.

21. Complete the 50 Book Challenge.

22. Buy 10 new pairs of earrings.

23. Spend a day shopping with my mom & sister.

24. Complete a coloring book.

25. Get something other than my ears pierced.

26. Write a good poem.

27. Improve my memory.

28. Go swimming.

29. Buy a copy of Wreck This Journal. Wreck it.

30. Donate clothes every six months.

31. Continue blogging until 1001 days are up.

32. Buy a pair of Doc Martens.

33. Create a wardrobe of only clothes I love.

34. Go to the zoo.

35. Pass every AP test I take.

36. Find a way to organize external hard drive.

37. Back up computers once a week.

38. Start using my bank account again.

39. Make a playlist of my 101 favorite songs.

40. Eat a pomegranate.

41. Get my eyebrows waxed.

42. Put bright red streaks in my hair.

43. Turn my computer off every night for six months.

44. Drink only water for one month.

45. Write 30 blogs about topics.

46. Celebrate my birthday.

47. Write a list of my favorite things & seal it. Open it in 10 years.

48. Fill a notebook with inspiring quotes & leave it for someone else to find.

49. Buy one purse I absolutely love.

50. Re-learn cursive.

51. Write something for The F Bomb.

52. Get followers on my blog.

53. Fill my new journal cover to cover.

54. Keep my bed made for a month.

55. Get rid of my acne.

56. Spend a day riding the bus around town.

57. Buy nice perfume.

58. Write someone a handwritten thank you note.

59. Subscribe to a magazine.

60. Learn to paint my own fingernails.

61. Sleep under the stars.

62. Bake cookies.

63. Enter an essay contest.

64. Start listening to 10 new bands.

65. Comment on 1 blog every week for a month.

66. Learn 5 inspirational quotes by heart.

67. Make a pie from scratch—crust & all.

68. Dance in the rain.

69. Make a new friend.

70. Send a letter to an old friend.

71. Graduate.

72. Tie a note to a balloon & let it go.

73. Write my fears on a piece of paper & burn it afterwards.

74. Learn 50 new words.

75. Get a new hobby.

76. Delete my MySpace account. 8/22/10

77. See a movie by myself.

78. Plant a flower.

79. Write a six-word memoir.

80. Start a journal of quotes.

81. Go without tv for a week.

82. Find a cause I am passionate about.

83. See the sunrise.

84. See the sunset.

85. Watch every episode of Freaks & Geeks and My So-Called Life.

86. Leave a ‘you are beautiful’ note somewhere.

87. Try to like tea.

88. List 25 things I like about myself.

89. Smile at a stranger every day for a month.

90. Identify 100 things that make me happy.

91. Learn to ride my bike.

92. Go to the park and have a picnic.

93. Buy good makeup.

94. Develop my own clothing style.

95. Buy 10 new cds.

96. Make my family a nice dinner.

97. Buy myself flowers.

98. Start saving for college.

99. Take a bubble bath.

100. Lose at least one jeans size.

101. Make another list of 101 things.

ikea & my barbie dream house

Today I got an Ikea catalog in the mail and given my crappy first day of school, it was the highlight of my day. I immediately grabbed a stack of sticky notes and sat down to mark all of the amazing items, spreads, and general awesomeness that I found. The whole book is now littered with florescent orange post its. I confess, I could live in Ikea. It is such an amazing store, plus they have plenty of food.  Anyway, flipping through my catalog inspiring me to create a list of all of the features I would have in my dream house, so here it goes.

General:

I envision it being sort of a small house, but with spacious rooms. I don’t need 4 bedrooms, but I do like white space. It also has lots of windows because natural light rocks. The color scheme is pretty simple, just lots of white with black accents and stainless steel. I don’t need tons of color. The carpets would be white. Also, most of the furniture. Last but not least, I would have a kitten. Adopted from the animal shelter of course.

Kitchen:

Firstly, all of the appliances are brand new and stainless steel. There is a magnetic knife rack . . . somewhere. I don’t know where, but this is very important to me. I’ve always wanted one, plus it makes a cool sound when you take the knives off of it. Also, I want a small window box with herbs above the sink. I’m terrible at keeping plants alive, but hopefully this would be the exception.

Living Room:

Books are amazing. I have a lot of them, but not nearly enough. Someday I am going to have black bookshelves covering an entire wall in my living room, along with a rad world map. Also, because I take my entertainment every seriously, there would be a stereo system, a tv & dvd player, and a large dvd rack.

Bedroom:

The most important part of any bedroom is of course the bed. Mine would be a queen size bed with a white comforter set. On the wall opposite my bed would be a small tv, probably a 22”. I think that would be big enough. I also want to have a Jackson Pollack print on one of the walls and a desk with my computer and lots of storage area next to it. Last, my closet. Maybe this should be in its own category, because I have a lot of requirements. I want a walk in closet with lots of room for my shoes and shelves for folded items. I also want space to put a full length mirror inside so that I can lock myself in there and play dress up. Even when I am a grown woman, I am sure that I will still enjoy doing this.

Bathroom:

This is for the master bath, which would hopefully be right off of the main bedroom. I would like a large vanity with a big mirror and lots of storage for the expensive makeup I hope I will someday own. Also, I want a large shower and tub with a really fancy shower head. Maybe one of those ones that sprays water 8 different ways and feels like you are getting a massage.

See, I am really not asking for much. Anyway, this is just what my dream house would be like.

Your turn: What would your Barbie dream house look like? Do you already have it?

my rainy day list

• Bake chocolate chip cookies.
• Curl up under a blanket & watch your favorite tv show for a few hours.
• Look for pretty pictures on We Heart It.
• Create your dream outfit on Polyvore. Maybe you’ll never be able to buy it (most of the clothes are designer) but the items sure is beautiful.
• Try a new recipe.
• Clean your whole house. Vacuum out the bottom of your closet, do all of your laundry, dust every surface, and clean your sink.
• Go for a drive with a great cd and no destination in mind.
• Drink a cup of coffee or tea and read something from your To Be Read shelf.

Your turn:  What do you do on a rainy day?

post less, write more

I've written 12 posts and 9 days. I am not okay with that. There is a reason most bloggers only post one or two times a week--they aim for quality instead of quantity. Because of this, I am going to try to slow down on the blogging, write fuller posts, and publish instead of just posting. By that I mean going to go through the whole writing process--editing and rewriting included.

What I'm working on:

• Compiling a list for the 50 Book Challenge. Basically, you have one year to read 50 books. I used to practically devour books, but now I have the attention span of a goldfish, so this will really be a challenge for me.
• The 1001 Day Project. This is the new bucket list. You make a list of 101 tasks to complete. Then you try to do all of them in 1001 days. Right now I'm just creating my list, but as soon as I finish writing it I will begin working on it and blog as I go.
• Some people fantasize about their dream wedding. I fantasize about my dream house. Soon, I'm hoping to post a blog about mine.