I often complain about my hometown, but I am thankful that I grew up in an area that experiences all 4 seasons, with plenty of trees and hills and mountains to admire. I don’t have to wonder what a budding tree looks like, how gorgeous fall foliage is, or how snow feels.
Fall is a truly gorgeous time. Everything appears to be on fire. A final burst of life before it passes on for a while.
All photos edited with VSCO Cam.
I know I’m not alone in saying that times have been tough lately. At least, I hope I’m not. I’m not trying to say I want us all to be miserable, but I suppose I want to know that we all go through it and we all come back on the other side.
I could go on a tangent telling you every little/big/stupid/important thing that is bothering me right now, but what’s the point?
Complaining won’t help anything. And worrying will only hurt the situation. So what do you do?
I’ve recently had to (and continue to have to) really consider what I need/want in life. I can’t be frivolous with money.
I can’t have everything I want. I am not perfect. I won’t ever be.
It’s good to accept these things, but it doesn’t stop you from getting funky from time to time.
So what do you do? How do you make it better?
I could very easily lay in bed every night after I come home from work, stay in sweatpants for the majority of my days, eating terribly unhealthy junk food, skip showers for days at a time, and not give a hoot about my life in general. And honestly, that’s sometimes what I feel like doing. Like giving up, to put it in simply.
But you can’t do that. So here I am.
I look at job websites everyday, keeping my eyes open for new endeavors.
I make choices, even if they suck, so that I can have money for gas and bills and necessities and not overly-fret about being broke.
I embrace my creative side by plotting blog posts, attempting to be crafty, and daydreaming (no one should ever stop daydreaming!).
I lose myself in the books I stock up on and always have handy so I never go a day without reading something.
I take time to breathe and enjoy the world, enjoy the sky and the trees, the things I can enjoy no matter what.
I spend time with my family, friends, with Brad, talking and enjoying company.
And I enjoy my own company. I like to be alone. Sometimes, it’s all I want. And I don’t think that’s a bad thing.
This is my life right now, and I’m going with the flow. It’s not how I want it to be, by a long shot, but if anything, I want to appreciate the fact that I have what I do have, that it could always be worse, and even so, it will always get better.
Hey, guys, Halloween is just about 2 weeks away! Have you picked out your costumes? Have you decorated your home? Have you purchased candy for trick-or-treaters only to find yourself eating all of it? If not, you better start!
Okay, I haven’t done any of that either. In fact, I’m not sure I’ll be dressing up/celebrating Halloween this year.
But I still love everything about it. Why not? It’s fun!
Anyway, I decided to share some Halloween-centric items from my Etsy favorites this month. The thing is, things like this are expected this time of year, but it’s perfect normal and awesome to want to get creepy at any time during the year. Live everyday like it’s Halloween.
Or some days. Life’s too short.
I have been lusting over sweater clips/sweater guards for a while now. They are just so awesome and add an unexpected charm to your outfit.
This Skeleton Key Sweater Clip is super chic with just the perfect amount of creep. I have love skeleton hand jewelry and hair pieces, and I love the pizazz these have been given. You can find them on the super-awesome Etsy store Rabbit Heart Designs.
Speaking of Rabbit Heart Designs, I follow Sara’s Instagram and I fell in love with the coffin ring she wears that you can see here.
Unfortunately, she doesn’t make those rings (it was a purchase from a long while ago) so I had to set out and see if I can find some myself. That’s when I found these from Alice, Dear. They make coffins super cute, no?
Peter Pan Collar necklaces are all over the place right now, and with great purpose. They are super cute! I was looking at a variety when this one caught my eye. I love the multi-colored skulls. It’s like creepy candy. Once again, this is something you could wear year round.
This one is available on Sultry Affair, along with other Peter Pan necklaces and lots of cool jewelry.
I have never played with a Ouija board in my life for the sheer fact that they are so frightening. Despite that, they are pretty cool-looking.
This iPhone case is quite awesome and can be found on Undead Pinups.
I couldn’t have a Halloween-centric post without a shout out to my favorite mystical (real?) creatures, vampires!
I love these decorative signs from Slippin’ Southern. You can guarantee those fangs would be up 24/7/365.
That’s all for now!
Don’t forget to click on the pics for direct links to the items!
After all the craziness of last weekend, it was nice to have a quiet weekend in. I stayed in sweats/pajamas about 75% of the time, watched (and cried the whole time) Never Let Me Go, and I got nice and crafty! It was fun to sit down with a couple of Gin and Tonics (my simple and tasty favorite drink of the moment), some music, and work with my hands. I started off with some simple t-shirt scarves (I used this video as my guide, but kept mine very simple to start. I want to try and make more and incorporate different materials into it.
And of course, this is just the beginning of my crafty nature. I bought a bunch of things at Michaels’ and I’m so excited to get deep.
Here are a couple of Instagram photos to show the final products.
Fun fun! Can’t wait to share more with you soon.
It’s been a while since I put a nice little meal together from (mostly) scratch. I’ve done a lot of tacos and chili, and I wanted to try something new for a change. I found this Betty Crocker recipe on Pinterest (but, of course!), and I would highly recommend it (even though it looks nothing like the pretty picture on the website…what ever does?).
This is comfort food at it’s finest, but it still has a nice kick from the wing sauce. Delicious!
Happy weekend!
Yesterday, I finished reading Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. For me, I had to spend a lot of time in quiet spaces by myself to read this. It’s very involved, so I had to allow myself some time to let it all settle in.
Never Let Me Go is the story of a young woman named Kathy H., her experiences at an exclusive school called Hailsham, and her complicated relationship with her friends Ruth and Tommy. The book is written in first-person, with Kathy recalling stories of her life from about age 7 to her current age, 31. She did not experience what we would call a common upbringing, and her life will not be lived or end like most of ours do.
The students of Hailsham spend most of their lives learning about how important and special they are, with very light knowledge about their futures as carers and, eventually, donors. Since this is the only life they really know, they go about their business as anyone would. Despite the somewhat fantastical/sci-fi aspect behind the truth of their lives, we are still reading about a young girl growing up, dealing with a bossy cliquey friends and ever-changing hormones. At it’s core, it’s a story about friendship and love and coming to term with ourselves.
I really enjoyed this book. I am now anxiously waiting to watch the movie.
One quarrel I had with the book is it’s winding storytelling. It is as if Kathy H. is actually attempting to have a conversation with the reader. I don’t know about you guys, but I have a tendency to run myself in circles, lose track of my thoughts, and get focused on one small detail of a story before getting to the point. This is exactly what Kathy does. It can be frustrating, but I suppose it really helps the reader connect with her every feeling and thought, and that can be helpful (even though it hurt for me a little bit).
Regardless, it’s such a beautiful story and it leaves you with a lot to think about.
I just wish I had a book club to discuss this one with!
Here is the second installment of A Look Inside. You can see the first one here.
The next couple will be getting to the meat and bones of my addiction: the products themselves.
I wanted to show the products I use every time (or most of the time) I paint my nails.
So let’s start with the beginning…
Since I paint my nails every Thursday, I always start by removing my nail polish from the prior week. I usually clip my nails every other week, because I have a tendency to cut them a little too short or jagged. I like to clip them after I’ve removed the polish so I can get an idea of how much I should take down. (I have been known to clip my nails with polish still on them. It’s like a second manicure! But I only usually do it when one of the nails breaks.) Nail polish remover isn’t something I’m stingy about. I like to go for more soothing kinds, but I’ve used acetone Cutex, which really helps remove polish quickly, especially with rough glitter polishes.
I suck at clipping my nails, so I usually have to file or buff parts to even things out.
I recently purchased this 7-in-1 filer/buffer and it is quite awesome. It was less than 2 dollars at Rite Aid. Steal!
And finally, before the fun begins, Essie’s Protein Base Coat. I have tried quite a few base coats, which is an oft-overlooked but super important part of an at-home manicure, especially if you do it as consistently as I do. My nails were in terrible shape before I picked up this base coat. When my polish would chip, it was often because a part of my nail was breaking. I am happy to report that this hasn’t been an issue since I picked up this base coat. It’s magical and I highly recommend it!
Onto the middle process.
These are my favorite items to have around me while I’m actually painting my nails or doing some nail art.
No matter what, you have to keep some cotton swabs nearby. I use them to clean up when I paint outside the lines. Which is almost always.
I bought the toothpicks, makeup sponges, and reinforcement stickers specifically for nail art.
The toothpicks are great for dotting. The sponge can be used to make a gradient (I’m still working on this).
And the reinforcement stickers are great for isolating spaces to make cool shapes and use different nail polishes on one nail.
Finally, my extremely messy striper/dotting tool. I don’t use the brush anymore.
But the dotting tool is great, and I’d love to pick up a couple more of these in different brush/dot sizes.
Finally, the end process.
My end products. Essie makes some great base/top coats. I won’t be straying from these two any time soon. Good to go! is an excellent top coat. Everything stays nice and even, it dries fast, and it has excellent shine. Before I started using the top coat, I purchased the
Nicole by O.P.I. Drying Drops. They are amazing. And the duo is hard to beat. I used to mess up my nails so often (I can’t help it, I’m impatient), but with these two products, I don’t have to worry beyond 30 minutes of being careful. Which is better than all dang day and night.
So these are my favorite products/must-haves. I highly recommend every product I’ve listed here.
Questions are welcome!
