....Guys. It's Week 8.

NOOOO! I've been doing this for two months. THAT IS NOT OKAY. I REPEAT, THAT IS NOT OKAY.

I'm mildly freaking out here.

I need a time machine. Or a Fountain of Youth. Or something. Help.

Monday:

 THIS. SOUNDTRACK. IS. AMAZING. I am such a huge Fansie. Oh my gosh. Even if you're not a big Broadway fan, listen to this soundtrack. It is incredible and emotional and motivating and agh. Literal perfection.

Tuesday:

I need to have a Harry Potter movie night VERY SOON.

Wednesday:

gUYS. I am in shock. My friend gave me the Naked 3 palette!!!!!!!! Agh!!!!!!!! Have I mentioned how completely and totally AMAZINGGGG she is? Because she is. I'm kind of obsessed with this palette. I'm going to have to do a whole post on it. But yeah, I'm insanely happy. I LOVE YOU, S!!!!


Thursday:

Now, I'm aware that this is a horrible picture. But it was the only one I could get because the color was kind of light. Guys. I chalked my hair!!!! It was really fun. Thankfully it washed out, although the blue kind of gave my hair a bit of a greenish tint for a few days....needless to say, that was slightly unnerving. Otherwise, I love it! I may have to do a bunch of my hair pink one day...that one washed out easily!!!!!

Friday:

 I'm developing a bit of an obsession with Pottermore. This is a problem.

Saturday:

  Can we just agree that these pajamas are seriously fabulous? Forever 21 has the best sassy pj's on the planet. I absolutely adore them. And seriously- sarcasm is probably the main reason that I'm on the planet. It's possibly the only thing I'm actually good at. xD

Sunday:

My family decided to take a three-day trip to Charlotte, North Carolina to do a bunch of shopping, and this was the view from our hotel. Isn't it beautiful? This is completely unfiltered, just complete, natural gorgeousness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

How was your week?

~Magic~

When I was younger, I had an obsession with fairies- Neverland fairies in particular. 

I read the fairy novels by Gail Carson Levine cover to cover countless times. I still remember one afternoon, my entire family was outside- except for me. I read one of those novels in its entirety over the course of the afternoon, transported to Neverland. 

For those of you who haven't read these books, they take you deep into the fairies' world, even following a descendant of Wendy as she explored Neverland for herself. And for me, they were total magic. I felt like I could just see Neverland. For a little girl who could recite almost every fairy's name, knew all the technicalities of the fairy world, and spent the springtime building fairy huts in the backyard for visiting fairies, they were particularly incredible. 

But as I've gotten older, I think that I've come to love Neverland even more. See, the older you get, the less magic there is in the world. Realms of imagination and fun are replaced with school, responsibilities, and drama. But in Neverland, none of that exists. 

I'm not saying that we should run away from growing up, ignoring the responsibilities in front of us, and pretending to be kids forever. I'm just saying- does it really hurt to keep a little magic in your life?

Maybe Peter Pan isn't going to come and whisk us away to a perfect world, full of mermaids and fairies, pirates and dragons. But then again, do we also have to give in to monotony?

Don't lose your sense of adventure.

 Don't abandon your imagination. 

I don't know about you, but I think that this world can use all the imagination it can get. That's why I like to write. My imagination takes off, and I can go anywhere that I want to. Even Neverland. 

Maybe sometime I'll make another one of those fairy huts. My nine-year-old self would be proud. And who knows? Perhaps a visiting fairy will stop by from Neverland. 

Summer Photo Challenge- Week 7!!!

Week 7?? Already?? This is not okay!!! Ugh. Can summer just last forever? Please?

Monday:

Does anyone else have a passionate hatred for these things? Like....agh. Don't get me wrong. I love nail art. I adore it. A few years ago, I went through this phase when I was constantly doing penguins or flowers or sparkles or something on my nails. But these pens...dear lord. They are evil. First off, let me just throw this out there. I am NOT an artist. At all. My art skills are equivalent to 0%. So using a pen on something as small as a nail is already difficult. But then, occasionally I can finally get my nail to look decent. So I patiently wait for them to dry, and then go about my daily business. In under ten minutes, I can guarantee that they will be smudged. Even if I let them dry for 45 minutes, they still smudge. It is the most frustrating thing in the world.

Tuesday:

A slumber party isn't a slumber party without balloons! And if you have balloons, you have to try an take a picture of it in midair, even if it turns out really lame.

Wednesday:

That's right, I did it. I started Deathly Hallows today. (edit - I may or may not have finished it by Saturday. IT WAS SO GOOD! More on that later. I'm probably going to do a Harry Potter themed post later, even though the books have been out for ages. I need to get my thoughts out there.)

Thursday:

 Can we just take a moment to appreciate how much fun it is to play this song? It's made me love piano all over again.

Friday:

 Now, I have a confession. I honestly wasn't a big fan of the movie Into The Woods. I watched it a couple of months ago, and frankly I found it to be kind of weird. Nevertheless, I got the soundtrack, and I LOVE it. I'm beginning to drive my family insane.

Saturday:

 Okay, I know that this isn't a new picture. But I finished this book, and I wanted to talk about it, so I'm just reusing a picture this one time. So sue me.
In this post, I told you all how excited I was to read this book. I have to admit, however, I was somewhat disappointed. It was a good book, don't get me wrong, but I didn't feel like it was anywhere close to how incredible the original novel was. The plotline was cool, and I could have really gotten into it, but I didn't feel like the writing itself was as good this time. Has anyone else read this book? What are your thoughts?

Sunday:

So, this dress has a really awesome story behind it. Several months ago, I was shopping with a friend, and I found this dress at American Eagle. One problem. It was like, 30-40 dollars. Sorry, but I really didn't want to spend that on a dress. So then a few weeks ago, my mom and I were looking online, and we found it on sale for $16! Best. Day. Ever.

Hope you all had a fabulous week! What did you do this week?

Target Haul!

Hello! :) A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that I did a bit of shopping at Target. Their beauty section is the besttttttt. I actually picked up some really good stuff, and I wanted to share my finds with y'all!

I'd run out of foundation, so I had to pick up a bottle of it while I was at Target. I've been using this foundation for the past year now, and I still really like it. It does a fabulous job- I definitely recommend picking up a bottle!

This was a new product that I decided to try, and although I usually love E.L.F. products, I was kind of disappointed by this powder. I was hoping for a translucent powder, but this was really white and I honestly hated it. It left my face looking super chalky. If you're looking for a powder, I wouldn't recommend trying this one. 

 

^^^THESE. EYESHADOWS. OH MY GOSH. They are phenomenal. They're both by Covergirl; the first is in the shade "Champagne" and the second is "Tapestry Taupe". I honestly can't get over the quality of these two shadows. Champagne is now one of my favorite shadows that I own, it's gorgeous and shimmery, and it also works great to highlight the inner corners of my eyes. What I've been doing the last several days is applying Champagne all over my eyelid, and then using Tapestry Taupe in the crease and outer corner. The result is this gorgeous shimmery natural look that I'm in love with. The formula for these shadows is great too, it's not to powdery and it's super pigmented. I really want to go and get some more of these!! Needless to say, I definitely recommend them!

This is another amazing product, the Garnier Fructis Flat Iron Perfector Straightening Mist. It's fabulous! A little information about my hair, it's pretty long, and it has this bizarre wave-thing going on, especially in the back. It's that awkward half straight/half wavy stage, and it's the most annoying thing on earth. So naturally, I want to straighten it, but the waves are really stubborn and do. not. like. to. straighten. So when I was at Target I saw this and thought, "Hey, it's worth a shot. I'm kind of desperate here..." Basically, you spray the product all over your hair directly before straightening. Let me tell you- it works. My hair straightened a lot easier than usual, and it stayed a lot longer. Sometimes it fizzles out after a few hours, but it actually stayed straight for two days. It also smells really good haha xD If you have wavy hair, I would definitely recommend trying this product!

Have you tried any new products lately?

Summer Photo Challenge- Week 6!!

 Is it just me, or has the summer been absolutely flying by? The fact that I'm posting my sixth week of summer photos just feels bizarre. It's been a really nice summer so far, I'm looking forward to the next few weeks that I have left!

Monday:

 Hello, little bird. How are you?

Tuesday:

 Am I the only one who finds things they bought months ago and gets super excited? It's like getting a present from yourself!!

Wednesday:

 "Where words fail, music speaks"

Thursday:

 Okay, my mom is amazing. SHE GOT THE SEQUEL OF PRINCESS ACADEMY FOR ME FROM THE LIBRARY!!!! A bit of backstory, I'm somewhat obsessed with the original Princess Academy novel. As in, I've read it like, four times. Yeah. Obsessed. Anyways, so of course when she brought this home, I was THRILLED. Like, jumping up and down thrilled. :D I can't wait to read it!!!!! Fingers crossed that they don't break up my ship- they're adorable!

Friday:

On Friday, we decided to do some shopping, which was super fun:) I found this adorable pillow, and while I didn't buy it (it was way overpriced), I'd really like to paint this quote on a canvas. I might try to do the feather too, but my artistic skills are less than stellar, so I may stick to the quote! XD I'm hoping to redo my room, and I want to make a bunch of plaques. I'll have to post pictures if I do!!

Saturday:

 I'm pretty sure that my cat is plotting my death...like, look at those eyes... O.o

Sunday:

 Am I the only one who keeps pretty jewelry on display? I mean yes, this is just a costume piece from Icing that I got for five dollars, but it's so beaUTIFUL!

How was your week?

June Favorites!!!

 

Hello!! Gosh, I haven't done a favorites post in ages. This past spring, I really just didn't have time, and on the rare occasion I decided to try to squeeze one in, I couldn't come up with any favorites! I know, it's pathetic. I just really didn't do a lot of shopping these last few month, and everything I could come up with was either just bizarre or I've posted about it before.

I'm calling these my June Favorites, but there may be some things included that I've been loving for the past several months, and I just never got around to posting it. Anyways, without further ado, let's dive in!

Beauty:

I got this angled makeup brush a few months ago for Christmas, and at the time I really didn't use it all that much because I'm so horrible with eyeliner. But over the last month, I've been really trying to get better at it (you can ask my friend, I've been sending her pictures constantly of my successes and failures. Quite frankly I'm not sure how she puts up with me), and this brush has made eyeliner a lot easier. I can actually make it look halfway decent, a fact that I'm very proud of!

 (First off, I'm sorry for this horrible picture. My camera has been acting really weird lately and it's driving me insane.) This stuff. This. Stuff. Oh my gosh. I am in love. It's the E.L.F. Studio Makeup Mist and Set, which I purchased for $3.00 at Target. It's honestly one of the best purchases I have made recently. I always set my makeup with it before I walk out the door in the morning, and it honestly saves my life. My makeup almost never runs, even in the Southern heat. I don't get mascara smears under my eyes, and my foundation actually stays in place. This is honestly my makeup lifesaver for summer. GO GET SOME NOW. LIKE, RIGHT NOW. WELL, YOU CAN FINISH READING MY POST FIRST. BUT THEN GO GET IT. YOU'LL THANK ME LATER.

Food:

Note that I'm not using my own photo for this. That's because I don't have any left to photograph. This is the most delicious thing created. I believe that the angels dropped it down from heaven. Guys.

It's better than Nutella.

I know, I know, shocking. But this is truly the most glorious substance created. I could just eat it plain out of the jar. (It's really good on graham crackers, FYI. Or on Ritz. Or on a spoon. Y'know, whatever floats your boat.)

Books:

As I mentioned in my Summer Book List post, I never read Harry Potter when I was growing up. But over the last several months, I have become totally obsessed. Which house are you? I'm a Gryffindor:)

TV:

^^ I. LOVE. THIS. SHOW!!!! Agh. Again, I never watched this when I was younger, but I have fallen head over heels in love with Boy Meets World. It is such a good show!! I know, most of you are sitting here rolling your eyes over my new-found love of a 90's show, but that's just too bad. I. Love. It.

Music:

Y'all know that I'm obsessed with Broadway, and the Aladdin soundtrack is my latest obsession. The music in this show is just incredible. If you ever want to listen to some fabulous songs, I suggest One Jump Ahead, A Million Miles Away, and all of the different versions of Proud of Your Boy (reprises, etc.) Seriously, Proud of Your Boy is absolutely incredible. Alan Menken has done it again.

I don't have a picture for this one, but I absolutely adore the song Shut Up And Dance With Me. It's so catchy, and just so much fun to listen to. At a recent dance, my friends and I probably requested that song six times!!!

Last up, I've mentioned this artist before, but I just keep falling in love over and over again with Ed Sheeran's music. It's so beautiful and raw. I could listen to it all day!

I hope that you've enjoyed this post!! What were some of your favorites in June?

Walmart Summer Beauty Box!

Hola, chicas!!! I'm not exactly sure why I'm doing Spanish today. Okay then. Anyways, last week, I received my Walmart Summer Beauty Box in the mail! I have to say, I'm much happier with it this time around than I was last time. :) AND I'M ACTUALLY POSTING ON TIME! IT'S A MIRACLE!!!

If you aren't familiar with the program, or you haven't read my last post, the Walmart Beauty Box program is pretty simple. You pay a fee of $5 seasonally, and once every three months you're shipped a box full of samples and trial beauty products. Sometimes you get really great stuff, and sometimes it's honestly not worth it, so it really depends on the month. But hey, for only five dollars, it's worth a shot.

(Warning- I was taking these shots as the sun was going in and out, and my camera was being weird, so some of these pictures aren't as great as I would have liked. I'm sorry!)

It's here!!!

This month's goodies!

Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy Complete Care Nourishing Anti-Dandruff Shampoo. I don't really want anti-dandruff shampoo, so I don't plan on using this. It smells pretty good though!

Jergens Natural Glow 3 Days to Glow Moisturizer Medium to Tan Skin Tones. I'm not huge on foil packets, they're just kind of annoying in my opinion. I don't know that I'm going to try this either, tanning products kind of scare me, to be honest. I'm soooo pale that I'm always scared I'm going to end up orange. I don't know. Maybe I'll try this one at some point once I get a little more tan.

Ken Paves You Are Beautiful Volumizing Shampoo and Conditioner. More foil packets. Yay. Also, UGH I hate this picture so much. This was a really weird material though, and I just couldn't get a good photo to save my life. -_- Sorry about that. Despite my lack of affection for foil packets, I actually might try this, if there's enough for my hair. It's so long that I'm not sure if there's enough shampoo in the packet. I guess we'll find out!

Aveeno Protect + Hydrate Sunscreen, SPF 30. I was really impressed by this sample, the tube may be small but it is PACKED with sunscreen. You definitely get a lot out of it. I'm going to have to use this the next time I go outside, although I'm not sure if the SPF will be high enough. I burn so easily! #blondeproblems

Nivea Soft Moisturizing Creme. I really love this stuff! It's SUPER moisturizing, and it's not at all greasy. I'm definitely going to be using this sample quite a bit!

Neutrogena Healthy Volume Mascara. I was super excited to get this mascara! I absolutely LOVE mascara, it's a bit of an obsession, so I was thrilled to get to try this one. Unfortunately, it really wasn't my favorite. It did a good job of lengthening lashes, but it wasn't quite black enough for my tastes, and it didn't thicken the lashes at all. Honestly, it almost seemed like they looked thinner than usual. I'd like to try layering this with another mascara to see how that looks, but I probably won't wear this by itself very often. 

Neutrogena Healthy Skin Boosters Facial Cleanser. I haven't tried this cleanser yet, just because I like to wait to try skin care products until I don't have to go anywhere for a few days, in case it does something weird to my face. My skin is so sensitive that sometimes certain products will dry it out horribly, or it will break out really weird. Better to stay safe and wait. I'm interested to try this, though!

First off, I've just got to get this out there- it's so weird seeing Zayn on the packaging!!! It's so right and so wrong at the same time. I have to admit, this perfume actually smells pretty good. I can't use too much of it, as I learned earlier (oops!), but it does smell really good in very small amounts! I just can't use a ton, or I'll get a headache. Ugh. 

John Frieda Beachblonde Sea Waves Sea Salt Spray. I'm actually really excited to try this!!! I haven't gotten around to trying a salt spray yet, but I'd really like to see how it works. Perfect for summer- can't wait to try it!

NYC Big Bold Liquid Felt Tip Eyeliner. Guys. THEY GAVE ME A FULL EYELINER!!! Agh I'm so excited. And I actually somehow managed to lose my baby (aka my favorite liquid eyeliner), so I was going to have to go out and buy one. Well, now I don't!! This eyeliner has a really great 2-in-1 tip for really easy application. I tried it out, and it's SUPER easy to use. And that's coming from the most hopeless eyeliner girl ever. I'm looking forward to playing around with this a bit more. You do have to keep your eye closed for a moment after application to let the liner dry, but that's simple enough to learn. It also comes off extremely easily with a washcloth and water, which I love. I usually mess up so many times that easy removal is crucial. I don't want to look like a raccoon! I adore this product. :)

Overall, I'm really happy with this box. MUCH better than last season's! Did you order the Walmart Beauty Box? What did you think of it? If you didn't, are you interested in trying any of these products?

Summer Photo Challenge- Week 5!!!

Hey everybody!!! I'm so sorry about the lateness of this post, I know that I usually post my Summer Photo Challenge on Mondays. This weekend I really didn't have Wi-Fi except from my phone, and this post isn't something that I can pre-schedule or really do from my phone, so that's why it was late. Sorry about that!!! Anyways, let's do this!!!

Monday:

 Last summer, I started hand-designing bobby pins for fun. I found this old card of them that I did last summer, and I kind of want to start doing it again. Should I?

Tuesday:

Look what came in the mail...dun dun dun. Geometry. Yay. -_-

Wednesday:

 LOOK HOW LONG THIS NAIL IS! LIKE WTH?? Update: said nail has since broken. -_-

Thursday:

 My cat decided it would be fun to hide under the bed xD.

Friday:

 Prepping for the 4th!!!

Saturday:

We spent the 4th enjoying this beautiful view!!

Sunday:

 I really love this song!! The piano version is just so pretty. I always love piano/acoustic versions of songs, sometimes better than I like the actual version!!

Well, that was my day! Sorry again that this was so late. Hope you enjoyed!