Friday Favorites: September Favorites

Today instead of doing just one favorite, I thought I would share some of my many favorites that I found and enjoyed through the month of September. I know we are over a week into October, but I guess it's better late than never. I'm hopefully going to keep my descriptions a bit shorter than the ones in my Summer Staples.

1. Maybelline's Dream Smooth Mousse

I hate trying out drug store foundation because you can't try it on before buying it and I almost always pick the wrong color. I had heard people on the internet ranting and raving about this stuff, so I finally put my hate aside and tried it out. Luckily (and seriously, this never happens) I ended up picking the perfect color. And I love it. I've worn this product almost every day since I bought it! It's definitely smooth and gives great coverage - the packaging is kind of weird in that you have to screw open the top to get to the product. If you want to give it a try go to Walmart - it would be the cheapest there or keep a check on your local drug stores. They usually put two to three brands each week on a sale like 40% off or BOGO.

2. St Ives Fresh Skin Invigorating Apricot Scrub

That's a mouth-full. I used this scrub a while back and recently re-purchased it. It smells delicious, it's gentile enough to use every other day, and it does a great job at exfoliating. You may already have or want to add into your routine a scrub that works a bit harder for once a week use, but this stuff is perfect for that constant exfoliating that your skin needs.

3. Lorac Baked Matte Satin Blush in Exposed

The color of this blush is a gorgeous pink-peach. Which I love. This particular product is highly pigmented (which you want so that you use less product making it last longer), it wears well throughout the day, and it's very easy to blend. It's pricey, but like I said above, the fact that it's highly pigmented causes you to use less each time it's worn, thus lasting longer. 

4. Elf Studio Complexion Brush

Maybe you have heard of ELF, maybe you haven't. The line used to be solely online, but now it's in Target and I've also seen it in Kmart. It's a super cheap line that offers decent products. I like the eye shadows because they are $1 and are well pigmented. To the brush - if you use brushes to apply makeup, you know they can cost quite a bit of money. Elf's regular brushes are $1 and their Studio brushes are $3. I decided to give the Studio Complexion brush a try because... it was $3... there's barely anything to lose. It's a great brush because it can be used with wet or dry product and the brush is so, so soft! The only thing I can complain about is its density, but it's still an awesome brush for the price. I think the studio line is a great place to start if you don't use brushes and you want to give them a try. The price is low and the quality is high. 

5. Softlips PURE 100% Natural Lip Polish

I searched every drug store around, Walmart, Target, and Kmart for this stuff. Couldn't find it. The all of a sudden it was in front of my face at Target - I had just been looking on the wrong aisle. It's not where the medicines is - usually around the medicine there is a lip balm section for sick people - like carmex - no, it was in the makeup section of target. Anyway this stuff is great! I use it every other day. It's packed with lots of different natural oils and made with sugar - so if you accidentally get some in your mouth, it's sweet. Once you scrub, your lips are packed with oils and are super smooth. I usually follow with a generous coat of Vaseline and go to bed. 

6. NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils

I like these for many reason. They come in so many wonderful colors, they can be used by themselves as eye shadow color or they can be used as a base for eye shadow, and they are easy to blend out and into shadows. They are usually around $4 each and you can find them in Ulta, online, and sometimes in certain drug stores. Generally, like mentioned above, drugstores and Ulta will have sales going on for certain brands. I waited to buy mine when Ulta had NYX products 50% off. I will warn... use an eye shadow primer if you use these. I've always used a primer while wearing these, so it hasn't happened to me, but I've heard these pencils will crease up in your eye lid badly if you don't have a primer on. Creasing can ruin your look, especially if you planned on wearing your makeup throughout the day. So make sure to do that, or you may end up hating these!

7. MAC Paint Pot in Rubenesque 

These paint pots come in several different colors - from natural matte, to iridescent, and to black - it just depends on what you want. The rubenesque color I have is a pink/gold iridescent color. I told the guy working at MAC that day that I generally wear neutrals on my eyes and this was just the color he recommended. And I love it. It's such a pretty color I can even wear it by itself. I use it as a base. I first put on my eye shadow primer, then the pain pot, then my eye shadows. What it does as a base is it helps, like my primer, to keep the color where it is supposed to be and avoid creasing, it also really intensifies the colors of the shadows that I put on. (If I remember, I will take pictures of swatches with the paint pot and without so you can see what it does). This stuff will last forever too because it is highly pigmented and you use very little to cover your lid. 

So those are some of my favorites from September. I guess I failed at keeping each description to a minimum, but I wanted to make sure I said everything I wanted  and what I thought you would need to hear about each product. 

In 25

So many wonderful things took place in the year of 25 and I wanted to share a few that stand out. Here we go:

1. I planned our wedding.
I started planning our wedding the summer before I turned 25, but the majority of the planning took place when I was 25. It was stressful, exciting, and rewarding. I could write and write all day about the planning of the wedding, but I will save that for my Bride's Eye View posts (that - I promise - are coming soon!).

2. I got married!
This is by far one of the best things that happened in my 25th year of life. It was the most exciting day of my life. It's almost too surreal to put into words the feelings and emotions that overcome you on that special day. And then waking up the next morning - all I could do was smile. I was married to the man I love, my best friend. It was nothing less than perfect.

3. (in keeping with the wedding theme) I got to try on wedding dresses.
This was such a fun day. I remember it like it was yesterday. It's something every bride-to-be looks forward to. I went to a small boutique that offered a variety of dresses. So I was able to pick out exactly what I wanted, but also had the one-on-one I needed. It was perfect.

4. I completed graduate school and got my M.S in speech-language pathology. 
I look back sometimes and can't believe I did it. The idea of going to grad school was intimidating and about a year into my undergraduate studies for Language and Communication Disorders I considered changing majors just so I wouldn't have to go to grad school. But I got through and did well. I worked hard and pushed through with the close group of friends I acquired there and we made it. It's something I am so proud of because it's not something everyone has and I ofter doubtful that I could do it.

5. I researched, wrote, and presented my master's project.
Now, I was weary about getting through grad school and it's mainly because of this guy - the master's project.  Not only is it scary enough to go through the entire process that is the master's project, but one of the professors on my committee was probably the most well educated, published, on his own level of thinking, and intimidating professor in our program. Perfect. But I did it. I rocked it, and ended up getting 43/44 combined from the written portion and presentation.

6. I went out of the county for the first time.
Now, I technically have been out of the country before now. I've been to Canada, twice, but I tend not to count those trips. For our honeymoon we went to St. Lucia. It was beautiful and such a memorable time. I hope we can go back.

7. I said goodbye to the dog that I grew up with. 
I can't write too much about this sweet little girl because when I spend too much time thinking about her, I shed tears. Tears that eventually turn into compulsive sobbing. That being said, she was with me from middle school through the beginning of this past summer. All the crucial years of my life. She was so sweet and the perfect dog. I miss her and think about her constantly.

8. I left North Carolina behind. 
Initially, this is not wonderful. I love NC. It is the only state I have lived in up until our big move to AL. I have visited my fair share of states in this country, and NC still hold the key to my heart. We both love NC. We both hope to make it back to NC. That being said, this move is big for us. Chris has an amazing job that he is doing so well with and it was worth the move in the long run.

9. We became "grown ups"
That's right. We pay for our rent, our water, our electricity, our food, our clothes, our gas. We bought a washer and dryer. We bought a cell phone plan. (Now that I am re-reading this, seems like to be a grown up all you have to do is pay for things. That sucks.)

10. I realized that making life-long friends doesn't require some extensive amount of time of knowing them. 

11. I passed the Praxis.
The horrible, dreaded Praxis. It sucked. Studying for it, talking about it, thinking about it, taking it, coming out of it knowing you failed, waiting for weeks to get the scores back... but even after all of that, I passed. This test had so much riding on it and created so much anxiety for me. I remember waking up and getting a text from Michael saying Praxis scores are online. I sat there and contemplated whether I should look because if I didn't pass, I didn't want to have to sit through four classes with all my friends who (had probably) passed. But I decided to look. To get it over with and face the possibility that I may be taking it again. I logged in. Clicked on check scores. And there it was... PASSED. I cried. And cried. So much anxiety was lifted away. Meg walked in my room and assumed I failed. I had to pull it together to talk and let her know I passed. It was a great day.

12. I dressed up for Halloween for the first time as an adult. 
That's right. Since starting college back in 2003 I had never done the whole "it's Halloween, looks like I have an excuse to dress like a tramp tonight." Nope, never did that. In fact, if you couldn't tell already, it really get's on my nerves. It's unoriginal and not an excuse. Dorthy, a referee, Rainbow Bright, Strawberry Shortcake? Those aren't costumes, those are reasons 21 year old girls get prego. So anyway, I decided to be Beyonce from her video of All The Single Ladies. And yeah, I guess it was a little revealing, but it wasn't any different than a bathing suit. An extremely conservative one piece bathing suit. I wore a leotard, y'all. And hose. I poofed up my hair. And wore big hoop earrings. It was fabulous.


So those are my main events of 25. There are so many more things I would love to share - emotions, experiences, friendships. That's another time. I remember being scared of 25. I also remember shortly after turning 25 deciding and feeling that it was going to be good. And it was.

Hello 26!

I took yesterday off from blogging. To have "Linley time*" and to enjoy my birthday. The day was wonderful and, as always, I am thankful to welcome a new year.

I spent the majority of the day (because Chris is off at work) by myself just roaming around the town. I went to Michaels for some home decor, scored some amazing skincare products on clearance at Sephora (80% off!), and bought my new favorite purse with a gift card from TJMaxx. Later in the afternoon my friend Brynn and I sat outside, drank a glass of red wine, and let our puppies run around and get out their energies. When Chris got home, he and I drove to Old Cloverdale in Montgomery and ate at a yummy restaurant called Sinclair's. It was delicious and cute, and I can't wait to share it with visitors! When we got home I got to open really sweet cards from Chris and Maeby that made my day!

So, hello 26! You have a lot to live up to as 25 has been the best year of my life so far. Good luck and let's get going!

*Linley time - time to myself. doing things i want to do. it can be sitting around the house in my pj's watching re-runs of jersey shore and keeping up with the kardashians, it could be going to sephora and playing with everything in the store, it could be driving around and exploring; it can be anything of the sort. take your pick. 

Attention All Crafters!

I caught the second half of the Oprah show today. It was random as I'm not necessarily a daily Oprah watcher. I do try to catch shows where people or subjects of interest are featured. Anyway. Martha Stewart, the goddess of all crafts, decors, and cooking, was on the entire show. She shared tips and demonstrations throughout the hour and it was fabulous.

I especially loved and appreciated the segment on How to Fold a Fitted Sheet. I don't know about you, but I suck at folding a fitted sheet, and more times than not it turns into a ball of disaster that gets shoved somewhere until it's ready to go on a bed. And when it goes on the bed it's horribly wrinkled. If you want to see that tutorial click here (and then just click the tutorial link on the right). It's a super old video, and when she showed it today she folded it a bit differently, but both ways work. I'll keep a look out for a clip from the show today.

Back to the reason for the post. As the show ended the audience received a fabulous package full of crafting goodies from Martha and Michaels. For us viewers, a 50% off coupon for any one Martha Stewart item from Michaels!! If you are interested in using this coupon do so QUICKLY! It's only printable for a 24-hour period which ends tomorrow night and is redeemable between now and October 16th. She has so many fabulous things in her line at Michaels and I'm eye-balling her Punch Around the Page tools which are fabulous for scrapbooking, card making, or any thing else where pretty paper is necessary. 

Glittery Pumpkins

Not too long ago I posted on a Martha Stewart craft that turned boring orange plastic pumpkins into glittery and beautiful decorations for Halloween and Thanksgiving. Early last week I tackled the project and I'm ready to share!

I bought a large white pumpkin and two smaller orange pumpkins. As far as the glitter, when I walked into Michaels there was a basket stand full of $1 goodies. One of the $1 goodies was a pack of four different fine, colored glitter. The colors were gold, purple, dark pink, and pink. I decided to buy seven of these and I essentially got a decent amount of four different colors for seven bucks. Quite the deal. The pay off was great, but it was a pain to open each packet to pull out a color every time I ran out. And the tops to each little container just sat on the top, it wasn't secure. And I spilled a lot. And made a mess.

 But the task is over and I think they look fantastic! I'm not completely satisfied with what I've done with the centerpiece. I think this particular set up would look great on a hallway table or the top of a entertainment center that's under a hanging flat screen, but not the dining table. It's not dramatic enough. So I'm either going to completely move it somewhere else and find something better for the table OR I'm going to try out some candle sticks to give it some height. Whatever happens, I still absolutely love the results!