How I Stay Organized

Hello! I cannot believe 2014 is almost over. For 2015, one of my New Years Resolutions is to stay more organized. In efforts, I was on a hunt for a cute, but functional planner. I have used planners before for school, but they weren't exactly what I needed in a planner. I have also tried using calendar apps on my phone, but I find that I will use it more if I write it down. 2015 is going to be a little all over the place for me with work. For one, I work at the Credit Union a few days a week, and I also substitute teach. With subbing I can be in a different grade or at a different school each day and it is important that I can quickly see where I need to be on a particular day. I spend a while trying to find a planner. I almost bought an Erin Condren Life Planner, but decided against it because of the size. I wanted something I could easily fit in my purse. I also couldn't justify spending $50 on a planner I can use one year. I found the planner I purchased at Barnes and Nobles. It measures 4.5x6.2, so it is perfect to take on the go. I spend about $13 on it.

The inside is adorable too. It has a few pages with pictures and/or quotes on it. There is also note pages which is nice. There are some note pages throughout the planner, and a few at the very back. In the back there is a space to write: Highlights of the year, things to do, places to visit, books to read and movies to see, restaurants to try. I'm not sure if I will use these pages or not, but they are cute.

In the front of the planner there is a calendar page for each month. I like to use this space for my blogging schedule. I like to keep this separate so I can easily see everything blog related. On the very first page I keep sticky notes. All I did was cut a sticky note smaller to fit on one day on the calendar. Since it is a sticky note, it can easily be moved to another day if I need to switch something up.

On the daily calendar, I write down my work schedule, bills due, and any appointments or events we have planned. I know some people color code their planner, but I have tried it before and it didn't work for me. 
 I hope this post is helpful. I know when looking for a planner to purchase and filling out a planner, you need to find what works for you. This is what works for me :)
How do you stay organized?

ColourPop Lippies Review

Hello ladies! I know Colourpop Lippies have gotten a huge amount of attention lately. And justifiably so, because they are amazing. I first heard about them from KathleenLights on Youtube. She is awesome and created one of the colors I purchased. I have mentioned quite a few times that Revlon Kissable Lip Stain in Honey is my holy grail lip product. It is a beautiful mauve color. When I saw the one KathleenLights created, I knew I would like it because it is similar to Honey. I prefer to wear colors that are a "your lip but better" color.

The color on the left is Lumiere, created by KathleenLights. This is my favorite color of the 2. A thin layer can be applied for a more natural color, or it is buildable for a darker application. 
The color on the right is called Brink and was inspired by the famous Kylie Jenner lip. I got the lip pencil and lippie stix for both colors, and they are both matte. My lips normally are too dry to wear matte colors, so I will usually apply a thin layer of chapstick underneath the lippie. I sometimes leave it matte, but often times I will apply a chapstick on top as well.

Lumiere

These lip products aren't extremely drying, but I wouldn't say that they are hydrating either. They are creamy and go on smoothly. The lip pencils are very creamy too. Sometimes I just wear the lip pencil and it has an amazing lasting power. I can wear it for hours and it still looks the same.
The packaging is simple, but nice for both products. The lippies twist up, while the pencils need to be sharpened.

Brink

The best part about these lippies, is they are only $5. I definitely plan on purchasing more soon. They also recently came out with matte eyeshadows that I am interested in trying. 
If you have tried Colourpop what are your favorite products/colors?
Thanks for visiting!

Throwing a Jonah Off the Ship

Hello! I hope everyone is having a great weekend. This post is quite different from what I normally write. I wrote it a couple of months ago, but wasn't sure if I wanted to post it or not. I decided I would post it because it might help someone with a similar situation.

 Sometimes I consider myself too nice for my own good. I have a hard time saying "no" and sometimes try too hard to make everyone happy. Growing up, I had a  "best friend" that tended to take advantage of that. Looking back, I can't believe some of the things I dealt with. I don't want to go too much into detail, but some of the things this person said and did are things that you wouldn't say or do to a friend. I constantly felt like I was being pulled down, but I did nothing about it for years. In my mind I always justified what she did.  
During this time, our pastor taught a message on "Throwing Jonah off the Ship." You don't have to be a Christian to take something from this post because It is a good relationship analogy. The message was good, but it wasn't until years later that it really hit and I applied it to the situation. If you aren't familiar with the story, it is about Jonah who was told by God to go into the city of Nineveh. This city was known for its wickedness and Jonah tried to run from God, instead of going to this city. Instead, he headed in the opposite direction on a ship. Consequently, God sent violent storms. The crew of the ship determined that it was Jonah that was causing the storms, and threw him overboard in hopes of calming things. Immediately the sea calmed.

 When there is someone that is causing a storm in your life, it is okay to "throw them off of your ship." You don't have to be friends with someone who is bringing mostly negativity in your life. I still see this person occasionally, but I keep her at an arms length away. Distancing myself was easier to do after we had graduated high school, but I wish I had done it sooner. Don't get me wrong, we had a lot of good times together, but that didn't outweigh the bad. It hurts that we aren't close like we used to be, but it is such a relief to know that the friends I have now are true friends that want the best for me. 
You deserve people that treat you well and want you to be successful and happy. If you have anyone in your life that is dragging you down, don't be afraid to "Throw Jonah off the Ship." :)
Thanks for visiting!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas is my favorite holiday. I love spending time with family and doing all of our traditions. Today I wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas, and share a few of my favorite activities to do around the holiday.

• Movies- I love Christmas movies! Here are a few of my favorites:
• Elf
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas
• Christmas Vacation
• The Muppet Christmas Carol
• Cookies- For the past few years, my mom and I have made cookies for Christmas. We don't get to spend too much time together with just her and me, so it was nice to get together to make these.
  
• Lights- Where I live, downtown always has a nice park of lights. This year we went with a couple of our friends to walk through the lights and we rode the Holly Jolly Trolley through the area. It was a ton of fun, but so cold!
  
• Christmas service- One important thing we always do is go to a Christmas service. Sometimes it's on Christmas Eve., but this year it was on the Sunday before. While it is nice to go to Christmas parties and give and receive gifts, the real reason we celebrate Christmas is because of the birth of Jesus. Isaiah 9:2 says: The people walking in darkness have seen a great light, on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. In a world of darkness, he is the light- a hope for the world.
  
  From my family to yours- I hope you have a very Merry Christmas!
  
  
  

Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette Tutorial

Hello! I hope everyone had a great weekend. I can't believe Christmas is only a few days away. Today I wanted to share a look I have been wearing quite a bit from the Naked 3 palette.

Step 1: Normally, when I use this palette, I apply Limit in the crease. It is a lovely matte pink color. I think matte colors look best in the crease, so that's normally what I stick to. With this look it is no different. I started by applying Limit to the crease taking it almost to the inner corner.
Step 2: Apply Factory all over the lid. I make sure to not blend it in with Limit, because I didn't want Factory to be in the crease at all. 
Step 3: I use Nooner, which is a nice matte, taupe/brown to blend the 2 colors together. I make sure the colors are blended, but I focus it in the crease. I don't want to blend it too high because I still want Limit to be visible. 
Step 4: Apply Strange to the brow bone and inner corner.
Step 5: Apply liner to the top lid and mascara. 

This is normally how I wear this look, but if I am going for more of a night-time look, I will apply Darkside to the outer 'v' to darken up the look a little bit.

I hope you guys like this look! 
Thanks for visiting. 

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush Palette Review

Hello! I hope everyone is having a good week so far. Today I wanted to review the Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush Palette. I saw a palette similar to this one last year, but wasn't able to find it online or in stores. I was excited when I saw this one at Sephora. And it was the last one! 

Before this palette, I hadn't tried any of Tarte's Amazonian Clay Blushes. I heard nothing but good things about it, so I knew I would like them. I figured this palette was a good way to try a few different colors too. This palette comes with 5 limited-edition colors:
Breathless- pinky beige              
Embraced- plummy rose
Whimsy- light pink
Bashful- rosy peach
Irreplaceable- mauve rose
I looked to see if these colors were available in a single pan, but unfortunately they are not. Some of the colors look similar to ones that are available though.

I absolutely love these blushes. I probably use irreplaceable and bashful the most, but don't have any complaints about any of them. They blend nicely and the color can be applied to look natural, but is also buildable for a darker application. And the blush lasts all day! With other blushes I find myself needing to reapply mid-day, but not with these ones. Each blush has .158oz of color, and a single full size Amazonian Clay blush is .20 oz, so this palette is a good value. I paid $42 dollars for it.
I also like that these blushes are "formulated without: parbens and mineral oil."

The soft, clutch-like packaging is nice. It comes with the 2 hair pins (pictured) and it has a large mirror on this inside. The palette seems nicely made and snaps closed. It is kind of bulky, so it wouldn't be the best to travel with. 
Overall I am impressed and think it was worth the investment. I looked for this palette online, but wasn't able to find it on Sephora or Tartes website. I did find it at a Sephora store, so if you are interested in this palette I would check out Sephora. 
Thanks for visiting!

Graduation!!!

Hello! Wow, it has almost been a month since my last post. I have been so busy with finishing up the semester. But... I finally graduated!! I finally feel like I have time to breathe. I should be back to posting more regularly, but for today I just wanted to share a couple of pictures from graduation.

 I can't believe I am done. I don't know that it has completely sunk in yet that I never have to attend another class or take another exam (at least- for my undergrad.) I don't really have a plan right now. Since it is the middle of the school year, with not too many teaching jobs open, I think I am just going to sub. It's a good way to get some experience and get my name out there. We'll see how it goes. I also want to continue growing my blog. I enjoy it and am excited to have more time to write.

Thanks for being patient with me while I took some time off. I will be back later this week with a new post-or maybe 2 :)