Happy Thanksgiving!

I, like most everyone else, am thankful for so many things in my life. I have a wonderful family. My mother, father, and grandfather in particular have given me so many amazing opportunities, namely the opportunity to go to a university that I truly love. If it weren't for them, I would be struggling to pay myself through school. I really can't express enough how grateful I am for that in particular. I'm also thankful for my brother, a friend who I will never grow apart from. Even though we bicker constantly, I am so grateful for his consistent support and friendship throughout the years I've known him. The rest of my family brings me so much joy every time I get to see them. I cannot imagine life without them and I don't care to.

I'm also so thankful for my friends, new and old. Having old friends is such a blessing. To come home from school after months of not seeing each other and to just pick up where you left off is amazing and beautiful to me. I love getting the opportunities to see them and I've loved seeing them over the past few days on my Thanksgiving break. My new friends at the University of Cincinnati are also so incredible. I'm pretty terrible at meeting new people, and the fact that the people I have met have been just the right people for me is amazing :) I adore them so much. They have made me feel so welcomed and so loved in this completely foreign environment that honestly scared me so much when I arrived (Adam, Rachel, Rachel, Kaitlin - I'm talking to you!) I can't forget talking about my boyfriend, who is one of the best people I have ever met. He is so caring about his friends and the people he is close with and goes out of his way to treat me and his other friends so well. I haven't been with him for very long, but I hope to spend a long, long time with him.

Everything else is such a blessing, as well. The opportunity to cultivate my education at such a wonderful university. The fact that I have a roof over my head now (at my parent's house) and at school. The fact that I have a job. The fact that I am happy with where my life is going and with what I am working for. I have so much to be thankful for and not enough room (or time for that matter) to write it all down. So, keep your blessings in mind this holiday and let the people you care about know that you're thankful for them. They may already know, but it can only spread happiness to tell them.

P.S. Eat so much turkey. 

Fall Favorites!

So, here we go with trying to do something beauty related! I love fall as much as everyone else, it seems. I look forward to it all year because although I'm not such a fan of bitter cold, I love the chilly weather for layering sweaters and scarves and I love the warmer and more muted colors. So, here I've found a few of my fall makeup, beauty and random favorites to share!

Essie Penny Talk, Revlon Bold Sangria, and one from Urban Outfitters whose name I removed because I'm a damn fool.

Nail Polish: I am kind of a nail polish junkie. My nails are usually painted (except for in the pictures later as you'll see, for whatever reason). I love darker and warm colors for fall and these three are amazing. Of course Essie is always amazing and this bronze color is shiny and wonderful. Revlon ColorStay is my favorite drugstore nail polish brand, however. The color stays and doesn't chip for the longest time and you really only need one (maybe two) coats to get an opaque color. Urban Outfitters also has really amazing nail polishes and they're really cheap!

Revlon Lip Butter (Raspberry Pie), Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain (001 Honey), Rimmel Kate Moss lipsticks (01 and 103)

Lip Color: Lipsticks are really nice for fall, I think, because lots more neutrals come out of our closets and it makes outfits a bit more exciting. I'm all about lasting power of lipsticks, and the Kissable Balm Stains and the Kate Moss lipsticks definitely have that! The colors are so nice and pigmented in both of these products and they don't dry out your lips or feel sticky and awful. The Lip Butters don't last as long as these other products, but I've found that if you blend them into your lips a little after putting them on, they kind of act like a stain. I love all of these colors for fall. 

Revlon ColorStay 16 Hour Eyeshadow Quad in 510 Precocious

Maybelline 24 Hour Color Tattoo in 25 Bad to the Bronze

Eyeshadows: I have blue eyes so I'm all about neutral colors all year round, but I think warmer colors are so nice for fall. My all time favorite eyeshadow is the Maybelline Color Tattoo shown above, layered with a few other colors from another Revlon eyeshadow quad in Decadent. Bronzy colors with blue eyes are lovely, I think. I also love using the two bottom colors from the Precocious quad above (the lighter and darker pink) on my eyes in fall. 

Bath and Body Works Stress Relief Lotion in Eucalyptus Spearmint

Lotion: My hands get fo realz super dry during this time of year, and this is my absolute favorite scent from Bath and Body Works. Seriously, go to Bath and Body Works and sniff it immediately. It's really relaxing and smells fresh and lovely. And it is really moisturizing so it's really beneficial for your skin.

Black Booties - H&M, Backpack - Urban Outfitters

Black Leather: Only just this fall, I've really started loving black leather. To me, it looks badass and sophisticated at once and is really a fall staple. These booties from H&M are really nice and make me feel really elegant. They add just a few inches of height, and as I'm about 5'2", I need all the help I can get. As I am a college student, I need a backpack and this one from Urban Outfitters is really sturdy and stylish.

Lipton Green Tea, Lilly Pulitzer mug

Tea: I can't drink coffee. I really don't like the taste and it makes me feel extremely sick (especially Starbucks). The only coffee I can drink is UDF French Vanilla coffee. Really random, but it's so delicious. ANYWAY. Instead of coffee, I drink so SO much green tea to get my caffeine fix for the day. It's also a lot better for you than coffee. I think it has something to do with antioxidants or something? I also always drink tea (and soda and all dark beverages) with a straw because it helps to not stain your teeth. I have a thing with my teeth...don't worry about it.

Starbucks Caramel Apple Spice: I know I just got done talking about how sick Starbucks makes me feel, but this little baby has no coffee in it so I could drink it all damn day if I wanted to. I'd probably die from all the sugar, but I would be in a wonderful-tasting heaven while I did it. This drink is absolutely amazing. It tastes like apples and caramel and vanilla and fall and amazing. I love it so much and you all should go out and try it right now!

Healthy Choice Top Chef Ravioli & Chicken Marinara meal

Easy Meals: Very random, I know. Like I've said before, I'm a college student and I hardly ever feel like cooking so meals like this save me. I particularly like this one because Italian food is my everything and it's actually really good. You wouldn't think that a "Healthy Choice" meal would be all that good, but I highly recommend it.

So, there are all my fall favorites! I hope you enjoyed them :) I'll post again soon! G'bye!

Figuring Life Out?

And now it's November and I'm terrible at this already haha. Oh well. At least I have come back to it. I just wanted to talk about life, what's been going on, and what I'm actually thinking about for this blog. 

I have begun my sophomore year at the University of Cincinnati, and despite some horrifyingly awful, senile professors minor stresses and struggles, it's been pretty solid lately. I'm progressing with my English Literary and Cultural Studies degree and I'm even thinking of adding a minor in French to my plate! I'm really excited to see where that takes me. I'm also the secretary of a theatre group on campus called DAFT (Dramatic Arts for Thespians), which is busy but rewarding and so much fun. I have some of the best friends ever and I recently found a wonderful boyfriend who makes me so happy. So, now that everything has settled down (as much as it possibly can at this point in the semester), I really want to turn my attention back to my blog.

I have always loved reading blogs, particularly beauty and fashion blogs, since I'm really into that kind of thing. I think I may want to give that kind of thing a go, since I do have some stuff to say and I think it would be so fun to share my style on the interwebz. My inspiration for this is Zoella, a beauty blogger online. She has a really wonderful blog and an awesome YouTube channel (I'll link both below) that I've really fell in love with and I've decided to (attempt to) follow in her footsteps and create a cool beauty and fashion blog with other bits and pieces from my life thrown in there, as well. So, there's my plan! I'm excited to begin and see where this might take me. Till next time! :)

http://www.zoella.co.uk/
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWRV5AVOlKJR1Flvgt310Cw