A few accomplishments

I wish I could have written this post on Sunday night instead of today but Sunday was a crazy day. I wish I could have written this Sunday because I wanted to say that my week had been "grool". You know, a combination of great and cool. It was October 3rd last week, which meant that it was sort of like the unofficial Mean Girls day and I was going to stretch it out for a week. If you don't live under a rock you'll know what I mean. Anyway, it has been no secret that I have had a couple up-and-down weeks in the past. In true Caroline fashion I had been freaking out about my future, my finances, my career choices, everything, but I have also been getting great advice from friends and family and feeling really grateful to have people in my life filled with so much wisdom*. This past week and into this week have felt good for me so far and I have actually accomplished a few things that have made me feel a lot more up than down**.

First off, which I think I have said before and that I didn't accomplish last week but still has made me feel extremely up is the internship I have had for a little over a month. I cannot convey how much I love that internship. Everyone I work with is so nice and welcoming and has never made me feel uncomfortable or made me not want to come in to work. The location is the best. All of the work I've been doing has been enjoyable, even the "boring" stuff. I am so fortunate to have gotten to intern there and have learned so much. I cannot say enough good things about it.

Secondly, I got my first out-of-school paying job. This is big because for a long time I thought the only job I could get was an un-paying one or none at all. Granted, this job will not pay a lot, but it is something. I had orientation the other day and the people I met and who will be working with part-time all seem really friendly and funny and makes me excited to start my job there. It's also in an amazing museum with amazing art. Who (I mean mostly just art history lovers when I say "who") could ask for more?

Thirdly, and finally, I ran my second ever half marathon on Sunday with my dad. I think this was my biggest accomplishment to date. My first half marathon, which wasn't exactly a legitimate one and you can go back and read about a few months ago, was something I was extremely proud of after training for so long in the cold and then in the heat with my running buddy. BUT this time was even better. I wasn't consistently training like I was last time and I even had to stop to walk a bit last time. This time I took off 20 minutes from my time and never stopped to walk after not training as much as I wish I did. A major reason why I did that is because my dad kept with me and motivated me to keep going. Also, he is old so if he just zoomed ahead of me that would just be so mortifying, right? Ha, I'm totally just kidding about that but he was much better trained than I was and he is a lot faster than I am. Crossing the finish line was the best feeling in the world (although for the next few days I had a really hard time moving my legs) and it definitely felt like my biggest accomplishment. I sort of have that, "I can do anything" mentality now. Sort of.

These ups have made me happy to be where I am in life. The hopelessness has gone away for a bit and I can breath easier. And, in true Bilbo Baggins fashion, I think I am quite ready for another adventure.

Until next time,

Caroline


*Don't worry, I am still going to have periods of extreme downs and ups. They always find a way into my life to make my feelings awfully bipolar. This is not the end.

**If all had gone to plan I wouldn't have been writing this post after last night's heartbreaking finale for the Nats. My heart actually felt broken. Last night I didn't want to talk to anyone about it and I still don't want to but as a friend told me today, "baseball never lets you down." That is a little out of context but what he meant is that it will return next year and be there for me again and again and while we seemingly failed last night we have more chances to come back and eventually be the team that everyone expects us to be. It made me feel better.

one step at a time

I have fantastic news. I was offered a job today! It's part-time so it works well with my schedule now and it is in a lovely museum where I will be surrounded by some of the most famous modern art in the world!! It's almost the exact same job I had while at school, but still, wow. It makes me happy to think I'll be doing something (part-time) in an amazing place where I'll get paid. Time will tell if I end up loving it like I think I will. I will report back on the subject.

While that is great news I also have some sort of not really fantastic news. Late last night, before I knew I had the job, I was thinking about how much it will cost me to get to the museum and then I was thinking about how much of my paycheck that will be and then how I don't know if I want to do something like this for the rest of my life and then how I need to save for graduate school and then what exactly I wanted to study in graduate school and then about all of the prerequisites I don't have to get into some programs and how am I going to save for graduate school and then how am I going to save for a car at the same time. That run-on sentence is exactly how my mind was working but maybe 10x worse. I pretty much had a mini panic attack at 1 in the morning. I am going to start this job which is awesome, I have been writing this whole time about how getting a job will make me feel better, but it has pretty much just made me even more scared for the future. I said the future was bright a few posts ago but now it was starting to look a little bleak. I am on a roller coaster with my feelings, no doubt.

Today my mom and I had a conversation about what I was thinking about last night and of course she had comforting words because she is my mom and she always does. She said that I need to take things once at a time and that I'm young and I have a lot of time to do things. I need to remember that I am young and if somethings don't work out I have my whole life ahead of me to figure things out. This doesn't just go for jobs, it goes for everything. I think working at art camp with 5-11 year olds has made me feel way older than I actually am. Thanks, children, I am not that much older than you! She also said that she and my dad (and of course everyone else in my family) were there for me and it made me really thankful to have such a great home.

From now on I will try to take a step back, breathe, and take things one at a time. You should try that too.

Until next time,

Caroline

September beauty favorites

So it's been a very long time since I've written anything about makeup. Too long! I thought since it is the beginning of the month and I love seeing what products everyone loved for the month then I will post mine too. Some you have seen before if you are a long-time reader. Some are some exciting firsts. Let's see what I've got!

1. Wet n Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow palette trios in "Walking on Eggshells" and "Silent Treatment" - This month has been all about wearing eyeshadow for me, especially after the past few months where I only wore mascara on my eyes and then nothing at all. I have been loving it. I wear the eyelid color in "Walking on Eggshells" very often. That and some mascara and you are set! It is very nice. I also wore the eyelid color in "Silent Treatment" when I went out with some of my friends and I loved the look. It was subtly smokey, which is perfect because sometimes I am not a very confident makeup wearer. You have to be a pretty confident makeup wearer to pull off a smokey eye. One day I'll be that person. The formula of these eyeshadows are great, very nice pigmentation with limited fall-out (if you are careful, this pretty much goes for every eyeshadow I find)! They are also about $3 so you can't beat the price. 

2. & 3. Formula 10.0.6 Pores Be Pure Skin-Clarifying Mud Mask with Strawberry + Yarrow AND Freeman Feeling Beautiful Facial Polishing Mask with Charcoal and Black Sugar - Wow, what long titles those two have! I love the combination of these two face masks. I do this about once a week where I'll use the Strawberry mask then afterwards use the Charcoal mask. It might seem a little backwards but I find the Charcoal mask to be a little more moisturizing than the other one. Well, after wearing these two masks together I feel amazing. My skin is soft and looks clean while feeling so unbelievably clean. Afterwards, I will go in with my facial spray and my night moisturizer as I do everynight. I might be crazy but I think it has helped out my skin a little bit. You can get both at Ulta. I highly recommend! 

4. NYC Sunny Bronzer - I have definitely put this in a favorites post before. This is such old news but I love this bronzer. I actually use it more as an eyeshadow than a bronzer and it is the perfect color (remember, this has been the month of loving eyeshadow??). I put it all over the lid with a little more in the crease and it gives my eyes nice definition AND if you also pat on some of the brow bone color from the "Walking on Eggshells" palette with your finger on the middle of the lid it looks beautiful. Stick on some mascara after that and you've got another winning look. 

5. Sponges - I only started doing this recently but I am very impressed. My mom gave me a few sponges to apply my foundation with since I had told her I only use a brush to do it. She pretty much only uses a sponge so I thought I would try it out. It is a lovely finish! Looks very natural and I love that. I have only two gripes; 1. I feel like I have to use more product to evenly apply it all over my face and 2. I'm not sure how cleaning will go. I'll give cleaning a go soon and report back. Besides those two gripes I am very much enjoying the sponge. 

6. Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in "As You Want, Victoria" - I think saved the best for last. This is amazing. I saw it in Target a few weeks ago and could not stop thinking about it. I finally bought it and immediately wore it to the grocery store with my friend just to try it out and I was first amazed by the pigmentation and also amazed by the color. It is a pretty bright pink fuchsia color. In fact, it is the color of bright pink fuchsia roses! I have a picture as evidence. I told you it is amazing! I want to try out more colors from this line. One day when I have a paying job I will!  

Wow, I didn't think I would write so much but last month was a fun one for beauty products. Again, mostly because for the duration of art camp I was wearing little-to-no makeup. It is awfully refreshing to not wear makeup but it is just too much fun to look at and apply and try out new things to never wear it! I will forever love it. 

Until next time,

Caroline

the future is bright

It seems I am at a stage in my life where opportunities are flying my way and I am so excited for the future and then things take a 180 and I feel utterly hopeless about everything and nothing seems to be going anywhere and vice versa. It's strange. I don't know if I am either very happy or very depressed. I have been running a lot (and I mean a lot, I have a half marathon in less than two weeks!) so maybe my endorphins have been doing an alright job at combating the depression but who really knows. Anyway, it is a very strange stage in my life.

I say that stuff about feeling depressed but now that I think about it my endorphins recently have been doing a great job because the good definitely outweighs the bad. I get excited more than I get mopey.

This must not just be a me thing - people my age have to be feeling the same way. At the end of college my friends and I were so ready to graduate but still very sad to be leaving. There were lots of tears. Lots. But there was also talk about moving on to bigger and maybe seemingly better things. I think all transitional stages are like this and that's just where I've found myself again!

All of this being said, I have an interview on Tuesday that sounds pretty great (it would be an actual paying job !!!!!) and I was just sent a job listing from a friend (who is the best!) that I am for sure applying for that sounds absolutely amazing. Will either of these work out? I don't know. Maybe not! But they sure make the future seem pretty bright.

Until tomorrow,

Caroline

Being honest with myself

It's hard to be honest with yourself sometimes. It's like if someone punches you (I don't mean really punching you, c'mon! Not cool to joke about with all this NFL stuff going on) and you say, "hey, that hurts!" and then the person who does it says, "no it doesn't! I'll do it to myself!" Then they might try to recreate the hit but it's definitely not the same. Yeah, you can never actually do it to yourself because you're not going to hurt yourself. Well, yes, that long drawn out story was actually a great comparison to being honest with yourself. Sometimes, we can't be honest with ourselves because we don't want to admit what's true.

I posted a while ago that there are things that I don't like to admit to myself and then after admitting them on here I felt better. Well, here is another thing that I don't like to admit, I sometimes don't like to be honest with myself because I don't want to get hurt. I don't feel as much better as I did last time.

We all gotta own up eventually and be honest with ourselves.

I'm gonna try and sleep now.

Until next time,

Caroline

You can be the juiciest peach, but...

I recently have come to grips that some people will just not like other people. Or some people will find some things that people do cute or charming while others do not. It's just like what they say: "You can be the sweetest, juiciest peach in the world, but there will always be someone who doesn't like peaches." A few weeks ago I went to a Nationals game with two of my friends from high school and a bunch of their friends from college. I ended up sitting at the end so when two of my friend's friends came late they both sat next to me. I tried to strike up a conversation with the guy who had been so lucky to be seated next to me, but he was just not having it. He was an Orioles fan so I tried to bring up things about the team, I know a few things, but he would give me short answers and then talk to his friend on the other side of him about who knows what not including me. I mean, maybe he was nervous and shy but maybe he was an outgoing guy who just didn't want to have anything to do with me. He could be one of the ones who doesn't like peaches I suppose.

It's not completely weird that someone wasn't jumping at the chance to become great friends with me. I can think of a couple of times when someone has decided that they didn't like me after not really knowing me. One girl, who was in a high school spanish class of mine, once said to some other girl that said to me, "I just don't like her because she's too nice." That was the first time I'd heard that someone didn't like another person because they were, "too nice" and that was definitely completely weird to me. How can someone not like someone for being too nice?? I guess if they were too nice in a creepy way but I didn't think I was creepy. It was just very bizarre.

I don't think I am very delusional, actually, I think I am usually pretty perceptive about how people are feeling. I can take a hint...usually. But, there are times when I think someone is a peach person and it turns out they ended up taking to a new fruit, perhaps nectarines, without me taking the hint! That, I did not understand so well and now have to get used to. I guess we all have tastebuds that mature or we can lose taste in things. If we didn't lose taste in things we'd all still be wearing cavemen clothing! Or worse, I'd still be listening to Yellowcard on repeat! It can be a good thing in the long run. Change can be scary but there are bigger and better things out there for us, like good music, for example.

Just something to think about and be grateful for.

Until next time,

Caroline    

SatC + Running

I meant to post this Friday. I got a little distracted Friday. Here it is today!

I've found that the most enjoyable part of my week has been running on the treadmill while watching Sex and the City. I've seen Sex and the City a few times. I knew who the characters were and their main significant others but I didn't know how much I'd like it and even relate to the show. That's really weird to say because I am not living on my own in New York with Manolos and I am not doing anything in the show that the women are doing but for some reason I just really relate. I think it's because it's a show about women and I am a woman. A young woman but a woman nonetheless. It's funny when I watch because there are lots of moments where I cringe a bit or I have to look away or I have to kind of squeal and then I remember I am in a gym with mostly elderly people around so I need to take it down a notch. I am a dramatic show watcher. My friends can attest to that.

Here's what else I've been loving this week. Likes:
1. Cooking with friends
2. My starred playlist on Spotify
3. Ice water with lemons and cucumbers

Dislikes:
1. Being home by myself
2. Being jealous
3. Feeling hopeless

And for all of you who are wondering, I am definitely a Carrie.

Until next time,

Caroline

Knuckleball!

Last night I was in the mood to watch a documentary so I scrolled through Netflix and found Knuckleball!, which told the story of two recent knuckleballers and their baseball careers. One, Tim Wakefield, was until a few years ago a long-time pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and the other, R.A. Dickey, is currently a starting pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays but the documentary told his story of success with the New York Mets. It started off a little slow but by the end I was pretty moved. You hear about all these pitchers who are known for their power and fastballs but these two guys, developed a pitch that doesn't involve a lot of strength or velocity but brought them great success and notoriety. This being the knuckleball, of course. What made the documentary interesting was that both men didn't experience much success at first. Really, it was a lot like a roller coaster. They both ran into a lot of rejection and I mean a lot.

The documentary goes into why the knuckleball is a very unusual pitch and the uncertainty of its result. While it is a very deceiving pitch traveling at sometimes as slow as 60 MPH it can also be a wild pitch that is very hard to catch and can hurt as much as it can help. Many pitchers today do not have the knuckleball in their cache of pitches and don't ever learn it.

Tim Wakefield was on top of the world when he first became a pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates, which was after he completely failed at hitting and a coach noticed his knuckleball as he was goofing off with a teammate. He switched to pitching and won an astounding number of games that year becoming a knuckleball legend but the very next year he lost more than won was cut from the team. When he signed with the Red Sox not too long after his career took off but was demoted from starting pitcher to the guy who would come in if one of the other starting pitchers weren't performing as well as the could for a long time. During one game, he fills in for a starter who had been out for the flu and completely shocks everyone with an unbelievable outing. Once again, he became a starting pitcher and eventually won 200 games by the end of his career at the age of 44.

The documentary obviously fills in the gaps I left out about the ups and downs of his pitching career but I'll leave that for you to learn by watching it. Something that really stuck with me and applies so well to the careers of both Tim Wakefield and R.A. Dickey and probably to everything else anyone can do is to accept defeat but do not be defeated. If you love something, stick with it. Work on it. Persevere. If you are rejected one time or many times don't give up. If Tim Wakefield gave up when he was not performing as a position player he would have never even gotten the chance to be a pitcher and win any games let alone 200 games. I'm going to try my hardest to remember that whenever I experience defeat or rejection or failure. It's something we should all think about.

I'm going to leave it at that. It's about time for me to go to my internship.

Until next time,

Caroline

Freefest 2014

So last year I went to Virgin Mobile Freefest at Merriweather Post Pavilion. Oh my gosh it was an amazing day. I saw a bunch of cool bands with a few of my friends. What could be better? Well, this year Freefest was cancelled due to reasons I still am not very sure of. My friends loved last year's Freefest so they put on their own today with my friend's band, Little League Champs, as the headliner. It was so much fun. I drank (lots of water I'm not joking, it was so hot), danced, and made friends with people I didn't know.

The real Freefest would have been awesome to go to again but I think this was probably better. Here is my favorite picture from the day:

"You on candid camera now!"

If you've seen Scary Movie 1 you know that quote. Anyway, that is my friend who I told to turn around and jam out. I think it turned out great! It's on my instagram if you care to know!

Afterwards my friend (above pictured) and my other friend (not pictured) went to get dinner and then I came home before a thunderstorm broke out. It was a fun day and I'm glad there was some sort of Freefest put on this year!

Until next time,

Caroline 

summer likes + dislikes

I haven't been posting regularly in a long time so I haven't been able to write down my likes and dislikes of the week regularly! I really missed thinking up those. It was fun to go back and see what I really liked and what I really disliked on those past Fridays...well now I can pick it right back up. I'm going to do things a little bit differently this time. Since I haven't done it in a long time I'm going to do my likes and dislikes of the summer. I'll write my 15 likes and 10 dislikes. I'm trying to keep things more on the positive side.

Likes:
1. 90.9 WETA - that is the classical radio station I listened to everyday and still do!
2. Keeping up with the news via the NPR news breaks every half hour on WETA
3. Nationals in 1st place + going to Nats' games
4. Coffee crap (coffee creamer, that's just what my parents call it because they think it's crap)
5. One Direction
6. Essiebutton vlogs - They went on a trip through Scandinavia that they vlogged and I watched every single episode. It was so good, I didn't want it to end.
7. Sally Hansen base coat + top coat - Wow, kept my nail polish on for so long.
8. my two h&m basic t-shirts that I wore to death
9. My cream colored Converse sneakers I bought before my internship started
10. The unbelievably cool summer weather
11. DC trips with my friends
12. My fellow interns who worked at camp with me and everyone who worked at the camp. Also, the people at my internship I started last week.
13. Guardians of the Galaxy - Chris Pratt...I don't need to say any more.
14. Going to the batting cages and the driving range with my dad
15. Seeing a lot of my family in beautiful California
Extra!!! 16. This Cuyana bag

Dislikes:
1. Period cramps - Yep, we're getting right to it.
2. Bratty kids
3. Black paint
4. Some of the side effects of coffee...you know the ones. Not cool.
5. The wifi at my house - Thankfully now we have a new modem or router, I forget which is which. The internet works great now.
6. Attending funerals
7. Being hungover at work - Yes, that did happen once. I will never again do that.
8. Making sucky life choices - Hopefully I can make less in the future.
9. Not having a regularly paid job
10. Just knowing that I won't be going back to school this fall. Oh, that's the worst of them all.

It was nice to think back on the things that happened while I wasn't blogging. Keep an eye out for next Friday when I go over my likes and dislikes of just the past week.

Until next time,

Caroline

life updates + exciting new Spotify playlist

Here are a few life updates: I gave up coffee this week and I've been running! Another update: I made a September 3.0 Spotify playlist. I'm going to a few concerts in the upcoming weeks so I put in a few songs by each of the artists I'll be seeing. They're all going to be so much fun. My first concert is in about two weeks (maybe sooner?) and then the last one is on Halloween. I'm very excited.

Here's what the playlist looks like:

So, a few things about the playlist: I'm not going to see Ralph Vaughan Williams in concert. He is an English composer who is not alive anymore. That song, Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, is quite possibly the most beautiful thing I have ever heard. During my commute to my internship and back I would only listen to classical music and it's kind of become a habit for me to now only listen to classical music in the car. If there's a game on I will also listen to that but if not, then you know what's going to be playing in my car. Anyhoo, I heard that song the other day when I wasn't feeling well and I think it sort of subsided my headache a little bit. It was magical. I loved it so much I added it to the playlist. 

Also, there are a few repeats from past playlists. Oops. 

Finally, I will be adding a lot more to this playlist. These are just a few noteworthy songs I will be hearing live (except for Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis of course). 

I'm still trying to figure out how to put a link of some sort to my Spotify page. Can it even be done? Am I just going crazy for no reason over this? Please help.

Until next time,

Caroline

fall accessories wishlist

Remember when I posted about my fall fashion wishlist and I said I would possibly post something about what accessories I had my eyes on for fall? Well, this is it guys!

If I posted every single thing necklace, shoe, and bag that I have been loving then we'd be here for the rest of eternity so I decided on just a few different picks.

Holy cow these boots are amazing (this is funny because they're leather!! Ha!). They're See by Chloe and very expensive but my goodness does it get any better than this? I am a huge believer that black and brown can be mixed and I think this boot is a perfect example. I honestly think I would wear these everyday. There's also a bootie version of this shoe and it is also beautiful. 

I saw this bag on an email that I got from Kate Spade and I thought it was so cute. It might be the black and brown thing, or in this case, black and taupe thing that really drew me to this. I think that's it. I'm sensing a trend here, people. I have a larger tote bag and I have a small cross body bag so this sort of bag that fits somewhere between the two sizes would be great for those in-between days.

Ugh I'm so bummed this picture won't be able to show off the necklace that well but definitely go check it out on the website. It is super cool. While working this summer in an 'Old Town' I walked past many unique door knockers. Some were lions like this necklace, some where pineapples, and some were anchors. All were super cute. I am looking forward to picking out my door knocker for my historical townhouse one day...one day...

Here's something I might actually pick up. These oxfords are from Target and are pretty inexpensive. I tried to get a pair of oxfords last fall but I decided against it to buy groceries or something unimportant like that. I regretted that decision ever since. I just love the way they look. I think I am going to actually commit this fall. I'm excited.

Lastly, I wanted to add in this scarf from h&m because when it gets cold a scarf would be nice to have. This one has such nice colors and go well with both jackets I picked out in my previous post. I am imagining it now...

Those are my accessory picks for fall 2014. If I could afford everything then I'd be purchasing them all right now. Unfortunately, I am a lowly intern who doesn't make any money. I'm hoping that will change soon. Maybe this gave you a few ideas for upcoming birthday presents to me or maybe someone else in your life. 

Until next time,

Caroline

Always. Drink. Water.

Today was my first day of my internship with the organization I internshipped for over the summer's gallery. It started off fine until I felt the beginnings of my period. Remember when I wrote that I get awful craps from my period?? Well, today they struck again but with a vengeance. I guess after being outside yesterday and just generally not drinking enough water I got very dehydrated and almost passed out in the bathroom this morning at my internship. I sat on the ground of the bathroom for about half an hour in pain, sweating up a storm. It was so weird and I never want to feel that again.

Unfortunately, I will still get horrible cramps. I don't think there is much I can do about that but what I can do something about is staying well hydrated. That is why, from now on I vow to drink at least three water bottles a day. Can I do it?? Oh, yes I can! This doesn't seem like a huge challenge but for some reason I'm not already doing this. Last summer I was so unbelievably good at drinking water. What happened??? I really need to get back into that habit.

I'm gonna drink some more of my water bottle right now! Go me.

Until tomorrow,

Caroline

fall fashion wishlist

I sort of went shopping yesterday and I found just about a million things in h&m that I wanted in my closet for the fall. Let me just add this in really quick: h&m is quite possibly the greatest moderately priced clothing store ever created. I am thinking about only shopping there for the rest of my life but of course I am not going to do that because that is not logical and I know places like Target and Anthropologie exist. Ok, I'm done.

This weekend is Labor Day weekend so there are a million and a half sales going on. Here are some things I would absolutely love to wear this fall. Some things are a part of the sales and some are not:

Yas yas yas. This skirt is exactly what I need. It is the perfect length. What you can't see from this picture is that is has a slight texture to it. I saw it in stores a couple of weeks ago and I thought it looked and felt much more expensive than it is. I just got a black and white striped shirt that I want to pair with it. Heck, I'd pair anything with it. 

I think I'm going to need this jacket when the weather starts to get cooler. It looks a little bit like J Crew's Cocoon jacket (or it doesn't at all, I just looked at the J Crew jacket and I'm not sure what I was thinking) and I could see myself wearing it to death. The color is great, the cut is great, and probably more importantly, Karlie Kloss looks great. #girlcrush. 

While we're on the subject of J Crew, this jacket also is amazing and I could definitely see myself wearing it a lot.

While we're still on the subject of J Crew, I will be looking for something like this shirt in this color for fall. 

Here's something a little out of my price-range. This Valentino dress is stunning and has all of my favorite colors...and BUTTERFLIES. How perfect, right? I'd pair it with a while button-down shirt underneath because that's how anyone would style it and wear it underneath the h&m coat. If it got too cold I'd wear black stockings with it. Sigh, if only. 

Something a wee bit more in my price-range but strangely enough also will be sold at Net-A-Porter.com is this Altuzarra for Target dress. The whole line looks fantastic and I'd wear it all but when I saw this dress I immediately knew it was my favorite. If for some reason I actually buy this dress then I'd probably never wear it for fear that I would spill something on it or ruin it. This line comes out September 14th.

Those are the really noteworthy things I am currently wishing I had in my closet for the fall. I think sometime this week I'll do something about accessories and shoes or something. We shall see. If you're my friend you'd buy me everything I mentioned. Just saying. 

Until next time,

Caroline 

Saying goodbye

I recently said goodbye to a few inches of my hair and even though it wasn't done professionally and it wasn't completely even it made me feel so good. My hair was so long and I was so ready to get it chopped off. Chopped off might sound a little deceiving. It was, as I said before, only a few inches but I think those inches made a world of difference. Freedom!

I really recently, like earlier today recently, said goodbye to my friend who is moving far away to go home before moving to England for graduate school. Oh my goodness, I am so unbelievably jealous of her. My friend and I chipped in on a new Kate Spade agenda for her because we wanted to give her a going away present that she'd use a lot and she wanted to get one of these agendas, so voila! I'm really going to miss hanging out with her. I'm kinda bummed we didn't start hanging out more before our senior year of college but, alas, that is how things go.

I'm also saying goodbye to not running. That sentence sounded awkward but I wanted to say goodbye to one more thing. I'm going to the gym today to run 40 minutes again soon. I gotta get back into shape! It's funny how I thought I was "in shape" four months ago. I bet four months ago I thought I wasn't in shape. Again, that is just how things go.

Until tomorrow,

Caroline

Feeling hopeless

What's this? A second post in a row? What?! Yes. Believe the rumors! I am back, baby!

Pretty much the only reason why I'm posting again is because yesterday and today I've felt a little bit of anxiety over the "J" word. You know the one. I've found that it is very therapeutic to write about it instead of not. I really got anxious yesterday thinking about it and how I don't have one. Sure, I can get internships (ok, I can't even get internships!) but jobs? I don't think so! I just have the worst luck it seems. I can't help but feel hopeless about all of it.

So here's how I'm dealing with it: applying to jobs! Hey, that's pretty proactive! I've applied to a few jobs already this week! Applying helps me out with the hopeless feeling a little bit but then something will remind me that I don't have anything just yet and the feeling will return. I'm trying, people. I promise.

I think I'm also getting this feeling because my full-time internship is over and summer is almost over and everyone has gone back to school. Remember when I was still in school? That has to be the worst #tbt of all.

This is the plan for the rest of the day:
- look around LinkedIn one more time
- go to the gym and run because that will definitely help me
- get dinner ready
- watch the Nats play the Mariners
- pray that something works out

I just want to emphasize again, I'm trying. I really am. Does this sound a little bit like I'm in denial? It's starting to to me...

Until next time,

Caroline  

I haven't written anything in a long time...

Well hello strangers! I think I started off my last post with that as well. Ok, it's been awhile. I think I only posted once while I had my internship. It was pretty tiring. I got up really early, was on my feet all day, and yelled at kids a lot. When I say a lot I'm not exaggerating. I yelled to get kids to be quiet, clean up, go to lunch, go outside, pay attention while crossing the street, not to stab holes in the trays we gave them, etc. Looking back at everything I don't mind that I yelled a lot. This might sound a little cheesy but I think I found my voice through all that yelling. During one of my last classes I raised my voice because of some reason that has completely slipped my mind and the artist who was teaching the class said, "I know she means business because I've never heard her sound like that." I'm not really one to have a loud yelling voice. If you're like 20 feet away from me and it is mildly noisy in the room I wouldn't have been able to get your attention if I called out. I think now I would be able to get anyone's attention from some distance away. What I'm trying to say is that I think I can produce a substantial sound, which is something I could not do before. I think that is pretty cool.

That wasn't the only thing I gained from the internship. I also got really good at calming down kids who would start to cry. Oh my gosh, kids will cry over anything. They want their mommy/daddy, they don't feel well, they messed up on a project, the list goes on and on. Well I'll share my trick with you now so remember this: when a kid is crying, it is usually over something that is not a huge deal so the best way to get them to stop is to just ask them lots of questions about random things. I swear this works so well. One girl fell on the playground and was pretty torn up because she scrapped her shin. I got her to stop crying pretty quickly by asking her about Pixar movies. By the time I mentioned Ratatouille she was fine. Another girl was crying for some reason and I got her to stop by asking her if she wanted to play tic-tac-toe with me. Maybe this won't work for everyone but I found it pretty foolproof. A pretty thorough knowledge of Pixar movies would definitely help.

Aside from my internship during my second blog-writing hiatus I went to a few concerts, Nats games, and nights on the town. Pretty standard summer stuff. I soon start my next internship and hopefully I can find a job that actually pays me very soon. Wish me luck.

Until next time (soon?),

Caroline

it has been a while...

Well hello there strangers. It's certainly been a while since I've posted anything on TLS. Here's what's been happening to me:

My internship started and I have been waking up extremely early, going to work, coming home, eating dinner, and passing out soon after. Also I've been doing a lot of social interaction. A lot.

So that's pretty much it. It doesn't sound like a lot and it doesn't sound like it should have hindered my ability to write up posts but it sort of has. Ok, sometimes I come home and definitely have time to write something but then I get distracted but sometimes content just haven't been written because I'm too tired or I am away. Oh well! The time has come to get back into posting.

Stay tuned for more. You won't be too disappointed.

Until then,

Caroline

thank you notes and stationery

Since I just graduated college many friends and family have been so kind to send me presents and cards. And since they have been sending me things I have been so kind to write thank you notes back. Ha, ok, that was a joke! Writing thank you notes used to be such a chore but now it's kind of enjoyable. It is even more enjoyable when I love my stationery. When I use cards from my favorite stationery company, Rifle Paper Company, then it is an activity I very much look forward to.

I am obsessed with anything and everything made by RPCo. Here are some of my favorites:

It's Nefertiti! Those eyebrows!

I saw the equestrian set at a home decor store near a movie theatre I go to occasionally and fell in love. I also fell in love with the thank you note above so I got it for a note I wrote to my boyfriend's mom. I am in love with all of it. I got this social stationery set from Anthropologie last year and have been writing my thank you notes on those for my graduation gifts. I'm going to be really sad when they're all gone.

Just so dang cute.

I don't think stationery could get any better. 

Until tomorrow,

Caroline

things I don't like to admit

A long time ago a lot of things didn't bug me that do now. I don't like to admit it but it's true. I'm bugged by so many things. Yesterday my mom and I were talking about "text-iquette" and that turned into me ranting about things that I didn't like people texting me. After my rant my mom said to me, "wow, you are really sensitive." The worst thing is I think she's right and I really don't like to admit that. Who wants to be really sensitive?? No one! I want to be someone who doesn't let things get to them and who doesn't care about things but unfortunately I cannot just switch off my über sensitivity.

It is a little embarrassing to me that I am saying that I am but if I said I wasn't like that then I'd be lying.

Here are some other things I also don't like to admit: I'm very lazy, I procrastinate just about every single thing you could possibly procrastinate, I hate and avoid confrontation like it's my job, I am the master of passive aggression (don't those two go hand-in-hand?), and it is very hard for me to put how I'm feeling into words.

Writing all of that out was sort of cathartic in a weird way. Not so much embarrassing anymore. I feel a lot better.

I have posts lined up for this week so it won't be as sad as it was the last past week.

Until tomorrow,

Caroline  

p.s. I wish I was still at Firefly.

things I learned from Firefly

Guess what everyone! I finally went to Firefly. I had an amazing weekend watching bands I knew, bands I didn't know very well, and bands I didn't know at all! I also had an amazing time with the group I went with. Everyone got along so great and was up for anything. I didn't want the weekend to end. I thought since I've been to music festivals before I had a pretty good idea of what Firefly was going to be like but it definitely exceeded my expectations. I even learned a few things!! I compiled a list of things that I learned that all definitely apply to music festivals but somethings also apply for life. Here's what I got:

1. Portable phone chargers are a great idea but make sure you know how to work them first: I went to Target the night before I left for Delaware to buy a few last minute things and one of the things on my list was a portable charger. On the box it said that the charger was already fully charged so I thought, "great, now I don't have to charge it tonight!" Strangely enough, when I got home I plugged it in to see if it worked. It did but I guess after I used it I forgot that I had to press a button to turn it off and when I went to charge my phone on Saturday my charger only had about 1/4 of its power left. Nice going.

2. Don't worry about who is going: Ok, this sounds weird but I seriously need to be more like this. A girl who went with our group only really knew three people out of our group of 9 and decided to come along with us anyway. Apparently what had happened was that she wanted to hang out with those three and they had decided to just ask if she wanted to come along to the festival and without hesitation she said yes. She didn't ask who was going or wasn't weirded out that she didn't know 2/3rd's of the group. This girl was the freaking definition of pleasant. Can we all be more like that?? We could make so many new friends so easily!

3. No one cares what you look like: This lesson is especially for things like Firefly. People wore some weird stuff but really no one cares. I think in just about every other situation no one really cares. If I go out in the world with no makeup on people might think for a second, "ew, gross" but then move on. Realistically, no one really cares about what anyone looks like except for themselves. Present company included.

4. Crowds can be very annoying but also very fun: There were a few times when I really liked being in a crowd seeing a show and then there were times when I wanted to get out as soon as possible. You gotta take the good with the bad. It's just a fact of life. Also, crowd surfing is the worst. I didn't learn that at Firefly but I did have lots of people fall on me and I did not like that very much.

5. Tents are very hot in the morning: I don't really have to go into this much further. I never camped in an open field before so I lived and I learned.

6. Silent raves are the best: I went to my first silent disco/rave/dance party. It was maybe my favorite memory of the festival.

I got home the other night and was so exhausted but so happy. It was truly a fantastic weekend.

Until tomorrow,

Caroline

I believe!

Believe it or not I was going to post this on Tuesday but then Tuesday rolled around and I was so tired and wanted to watch about 5 episodes of Game of Thrones instead of writing blog posts. Oops. That's how life has kind of been for me right now. I'm not quite adjusted to waking up at 6:30 every morning and then standing on my feet until 3:30. I will as times goes on though, hopefully, maybe. 

Then last night I had been getting ready for Firefly, which is today, and when I finally sat down to write something it started to thunderstorm really badly and the power went out. A huge tree fell in front of my neighborhood taking out a few power lines so lots of my neighborhood lost power. The thunderstorm was so scary. The lighting was so bright. The thunder was sort of loud, I don't really remember the thunder being that bad. So there are my excuses for no posts. 

In a few hours I will be getting in a car to go to Firefly and not shower for a few days. So now, I will write what I was going to write on Tuesday. 

So Monday night I went out to a bar called Cafe Citron in DC with my mom, dad, older sister, and some of my parents' friends. My mom and I got there early, ordered two mojitos, and watched as the bar got more and more crowded. It was amazing how early people got there to get good spots to watch the USA v. Ghana game. We ordered probably the tastiest thing I have ever eaten. It was called a Bolivian potato cake and is described on the menu as "2 mashed potato patties fried with beef marinated in spices and fried." That sounds pretty lackluster I guess but it was the most delicious thing I have ever beheld. Nomz city. 

Not too long after everyone else got there and the game started. It was an exciting game but USA was a little lacking in the offense category. Thankfully we struck hard and fast and won 2-1. Pretty much during the whole game the crowd of people that formed over time cheered and chanted. Probably my favorite was, "I believe that we will win!" We chanted that all night long afterwards. I really love the Wold Cup. I'm not really a huge soccer fan, I mean, I have my teams that I like but I don't really follow them too much but I still love the World Cup. All these people bring brought together from all over the world to play this game. It's funny after living in America my whole life how football (American) is so insignificant in the world and probably the most popular sport in America. Although, in my ages 5-7 art camp this week I'm sure they are all on soccer teams. I don't think any of them were aware the World Cup was on.

I'm gonna try to whip something up to be posted tomorrow and for the other days I will be gone. I guess you'll have to find out tomorrow!

Until then,

Caroline  

First day jitters + USA soccer

Today is my first day at my internship. I'm nervous because it's the first day but I am very happy that it's the first day. Getting back into a routine will be awesome. I will update all of you lovely people about my internship on Wednesday. I think I'll make Wednesdays my internship update days and what I'm working on future-wise. That'll be fun.

Tonight is the USA v. Ghana game and I am pretty pumped. I don't know too many of the players but I am meeting my parents (I'm super lame) at a bar in DC to watch the game so I'm mostly pumped for that. I also love my country so that's another reason why I'm pumped!

There's not much more to say today. I'll probably get home around 8-9 and I'll probably be exhausted and probably will just want to watch Game of Thrones. It's gonna be a long and exciting day.

Until tomorrow,

Caroline

Happy Father's Day

Today we have a cool day planned around things my dad likes. We're going to go to the batting cages, eat lunch, watch the Nats hopefully win a game, goof around, then go see the movie Million Dollar Arm. My dad is a big Jon Hamm fan and loves baseball so we must see it! Also, I think it got alright reviews.

I don't know if this is sad or lame but my dad is probably one of my best friends and I'm so happy he's my dad. He is the best! Wow, I got a little teary eyed writing that. It might be because I'm also listening to M83's Wait in the background. I already thought it was a pretty emotional song but then I saw The Fault in Our Stars and I'll probably tear up every time I hear it now. That was a good movie.

My sister, my dad, and me!!! We were on a mountain.

Until tomorrow,

Caroline

eyebrow game

Yesterday my mom said that my eyebrows looked great. That was probably the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. If you remember a long time ago I wrote that eyebrows were kind of a big deal to me and that it bugged me that people didn't take care of them. Well, I'm sorry if I offended anyone in any way. You are beautiful, no matter what they (I) say.

There are a few people who have clearly been blessed with amazing eyebrows and I wanted to dedicate a post to them because it must be tough to have perfect eyebrows. They are probably under a lot of pressure to keep them nice. Here are a few people who have eyebrows that I wish mine were more like.

Yes, that last one is Queen Nefertiti's bust. She had eyebrows for the ages. 

I'm gonna go fill in my eyebrows more. 

Until tomorrow,

Caroline

blue + white

Since today is Friday and I post my likes and dislikes on Fridays I wanted to start off with something that I think I will love until the day I die. It is perhaps the most beautiful of the color combinations. It makes my heart sing. It is all that I aspire to wear in the spring and summer months forever and ever. Amen. It is the color combination of blue and white. I think this might be some sort of trend that's lasted a few years, I'm not really sure but it is definitely my favorite combination of colors. I've always been a fan of blue and white, navy and white striped shirts, dresses, shorts, anything are probably my favorite types of clothing. They go with just about everything. But this blue and white is more of a Grecian islands type blue and white, you know what I mean.

Wanderlustin' hard.

So when my friend gave me a blue and white paisley printed scarf as a graduation present I knew that it was going to be my favorite thing ever. I wore it yesterday with a striped shirt that had the same colors and those paired along with my white nails, amazeballs. Sorry. I will never say that again. But I will wear this outfit again!

It's Santorini in a scarf!

Now you know my first like. Actually, it's a love so I'll think up 3 other likes for the week. 

Likes:

1. Winning streaks, Nats are now in 1st in the NL East. Hopefully this lasts

2. St. Lucia

3. Surprise parties

Dislikes:

1. Very rainy weather

2. Procrastination 

3. West coast game times, too late for me

Monday marks the first real day of my internship. Should be interesting!

Until tomorrow,

Caroline

walking shoes

Last Friday, before my surprise party, I was walking around Old Town in a pair of sandals all day and by the time I said goodbye to my last guest and sat down for the night my feet were hurting so bad. I took that into account and now I've been trying to find a new pair of shoes I can walk around Old Town and keep up with a bunch of kids comfortably. I have a pair of Vans that I absolutely love but they are starting to come apart and I also have a pair of Keds but they are just plain old. The Keds I bought before my trip to Germany the summer before 9th grade. Yes, they are that old. I need shoes that are comfortable and cute.

Here's what I've been thinking:

So I love espadrilles and I found some that I think would be well made and at a reasonable price but I'm not sure how great they are for walking! They're by a brand called Soludos and they have some of the cutest designs. One pair in particular I sort of fell in love with but the sole seems to be made of tough material and I don't know if I want to buy a pair and then regret that decision by the end of my first day...and for the rest of my life!

While I am unsure about the espadrilles I know that a pair of Converse would work out fine. I've owned Converse before so I know they can be super comfortable and can be very versatile. I am leaning towards this pair, which I've seen on lots of people and are kind of classic. I would have little-to-no regrets buying these. But then every night I would lie awake thinking, "what if..."

Lastly, there is the great Toms debate. My sister just ordered a pair and they look so comfortable and would go with everything but I just don't know. I'm sure if I ordered them and wore them and got the full Toms experience I would be like, "dang, what took me so long??" but I don't know if I want to commit at the moment. Does anyone else have this sort of problem? If I did get Toms I would have to get something like this lace up pair. Also, they have some pretty sweet sunglasses.

Ugh, the age old which-shoe-should-I-get question. Gets ya every time. Someone help, please.

Until tomorrow,

Caroline

treat yourself 2014!

This is my last week of "doing nothing" (I use quotations because I have been doing things but I haven't been working everyday, ok??) so I decided that since today is Tuesday and since Tuesdays are beauty days I would do a little spa day + pamper day + treat yourself 2014 day. If you've seen Parks & Recreation then you'll know "Treat Yourself 2011!" I still can't believe that was 2011. Jeez. Well it will be a relaxing day full of Game of Thrones, nail polish, and a face mask. 

Side note: I went to the gym the morning and did other work today. Just wanted to put that out there.

Painting my nails is always something that makes me feel a little more put together. Whenever I'm not wearing nail polish I almost feel naked. It's strange, I know. I just got this Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear color in White On and I think it looks so clean and makes my hands look really tan. I had seen lots of YouTubers and bloggers painting their nails white so I guess this makes me pretty on trend, eh?

While I painted my nails I watched some Game of Thrones. I'm only a little more than halfway through season 2 so NO SPOILERS. Thanks.

When I bought the nail polish I also bought a new face mask/scrub that I was curious about. I've read a lot about how charcoal is very purifying and good for oily skin. Two things I suffer from are impurities (??) and oily skin so I thought, "let's do this!" The brand is called Freeman, a brand my roommate had used before and liked, and the mask/scrub is called the Feeling Beautiful Facial Polishing Mask with Charcoal and Black Sugar. I've only used it once before but it was quite exfoliating and by quite exfoliating I mean it could probably feel a little too harsh for frequent usage. It did leave my skin feeling extra smooth and clean when I eventually took it off. I'm saving this scrub for a once a week thing so if I hadn't used this so recently I would have done it today. Instead I opted for the St. Ives Oatmeal Scrub + Mask. I really like this mask/scrub because it is nourishing and not harsh at all. I can use this mask a few times a week and not have to worry. St. Ives is probably my favorite face and body product company.

It didn't occur to me until recently I had a thing for these two-in-one products. I want to try more!

I've also been drinking lots of water, which is a treat yourself thing everyone should do everyday.  

I'm going to get some more water now!

Until tomorrow,

Caroline

Zen and the Art of Happiness

I found this little book a few weeks ago and I started reading it every now and then when I had some time to spare. It's called Zen and the Art of Happiness by Chris Prentiss and I am very happy I started it. During my Asian art class we talked a lot about Zen Buddhism and what that entails so I had some previous knowledge of Zen Buddhism. As I started to read I learned that this book takes Zen beliefs and applies them to our everyday lives to teach us how to be happy, as you probably guessed. It is really amazing. The biggest thing I've taken from this book has been, "everything that has happened to me is the best possible event that could occur." I think everyone should think like this.

So what you might be thinking is, "Caroline, did you start this book because you're unhappy?" Well, the answer is no because I wouldn't say I'm unhappy. I have moments, well we all have moments, when we're sad or am in a bad place but I think if I keep this book in mind I can push through those bad feelings easily and go back to being cheerful. If we all had Zen thoughts all the time we could probably achieve world peace, or, at least decrease the amount of road rage on I-95. Those were both sort of jokes...sort of.

It is an interesting read and I recommend it to all. Even if you're already the happiest person in the world, I still suggest you check it out.

Until tomorrow,

Caroline  

upcoming dates

I had a really great weekend and I wish it could last longer but alas, tomorrow is Monday, which means my internship starts soon and I have to keep looking for jobs and keep working on internship applications. There is a lot coming up so I wanted to list a few noteworthy upcoming dates:

June 10th-11th: Informational meeting with The Lorton Workhouse
June 12th: My half birthday!
June 13th: When I am making my personal statement for an internship due so I can email it to two of my professors for letters of recommendation
June 16th: My internship starts!
June 19th-22nd: Firefly
July 4th: July 4th! Ha...
July 15th: Freer internship application due
August 22nd: End of my internship

There are the dates I can think up off the top of my head. Maybe if I think up more I will update this post. Check back in a week or a month!

Until next time,

Caroline

surprise!!

Yesterday was kind of a busy day so I didn't have much time to post anything. I was going to do a weekly recap and then list my likes and dislikes of the week but when I got home last night from my meeting I had for my internship I was surprised by a few friends with a party my older sister planned and set up for my graduation. I was under the impression my mom was only having a few friends over to drink wine and see our new bathrooms so when everyone jumped out and yelled surprise at me I was a little confused. I wasn't really sure why so many people were there so my first response was, "for what?" Later I figured out that it was for my college graduation and then sort of my half birthday (I threw in that reason, I like celebrating my half birthday).

It was so much fun! I saw friends I hadn't seen in a really long time and my friend's band came to play. They sounded so good. It was so nicely decorated and around the backyard were sheets of paper hung up asking questions that people could answer with markers. It was so funny. The question that probably got the most answers was "How many ducks could Caroline beat up in 3 minutes...no water breaks." My favorite response was -10. There was also a mini photo booth set up! I took like two pictures in it.

My sister did such a good job and I am so thankful. She spent the entire night before (I am pretty sure) cutting out paper stars and attaching them to strings to create a garland that was strung out around my backyard. She even hung individual stars from the magnolia tree in the backyard. It was awesome. She is the best.

Also all of my friends are the best for not spilling the secret! My meeting was in Old Town Alexandria and only lasted till 4 so my two friends met me afterwards and spent time with me down there looking through lots of shops stalling so everyone could get the party ready. I had absolutely no idea. If I were one of my friends stalling me in Old Town I would have been going crazy trying to keep it together. They also did a good job.

I hate to say things like this but I am so blessed (blerssed) to have great friends and a great family. I really am. I had such a good time last night. It couldn't have been any better. Ok, I'm done gushing now.

Until tomorrow, maybe I'll post my likes and dislikes then.

Caroline

it all starts tomorrow

My training meeting for my internship starts tomorrow. Wahoo! I'm a little nervous but very excited. I just got back from my beach trip and I am exhausted so I am ending it here.

Until tomorrow,

Caroline

Packing for the beach

I'm going to the beach today for a quick two day getaway before my internship starts. I don't think I'll be getting much off time or I'm trying to not get off time so this will be my last hurrah before my 4th of July break and then until the end of August. It will be busy, but I think I am going to love it.

While I was getting together things for my trip I remembered that I do in fact burn quite easily and that for this beach trip I was going to try my hardest to protect my skin. Here are some of the essentials I packed:

- hat - I have this straw hat and a baseball hat at the ready.

- towel - duh essential #1.

- lotion with aloe vera - this will help after being out in the sun for a long time.

- sunglasses - duh essential #2.

- sunscreen with 50+ SPF. I found this with a coupon attached to it at Target so I said, "Why not?" This type is good because it is sweat-proof. Lawd knows I sweat a lot. 

- lip balm with SPF - your lips need protection too. I also got this with a coupon. 

- hair tie - my hair will get crazy.

- water bottle - gotta stay hydrated. I got this mason jar style water bottle at Wal Mart. It's huge, will keep me hydrated.

I didn't picture a book but I will be bringing something to read as well. I should also mention that something like a soccer ball or a frisbee would also be essential. 

Really, you can bring whatever you want! Be true to yourself!!!!! 

^ I'm not really sure

Until tomorrow,

Caroline

May Favorites

Wow, it seems like just two weeks ago I was posting my April favorites...I guess that's because I got around to posting that around two weeks ago. Oops. Sorry about that. Well here we are now at the beginning of a new month and I've been better about consistently posting so here are the products I've been very happy with this May. This post will be a little different than the other ones because most of the makeup I've been using and liking was in last month's post.

1. paper towels - I had this roll of paper towels saved from my apartment at school so when it came back with my stuff it went in my room. I used a few sheets to get some of the dust off of my desk then I remembered that I heard using paper towels instead of normal towels is a little more sanitary, unless you're washing all of your towels everyday. Well I don't do that and I know you don't either! I think using paper towels instead of the normal towels around my bathroom has helped my skin look a lot better. Well, I feel like it does. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be keeping up this method of drying my face off because it is definitely not environmentally friendly. Curse you, Good Guide!! There is no way paper towels get anything over a 0 rating for environment. 

2. Monistat Chafing Relief Powder Gel - speaking of Good Guide, remember this product got a 10 for health?? Well before I looked up this product I'd been using it a lot as my primer for my foundation. I started to really use it again this month. It is amazing. It is an exact dupe for Smashbox's Photo Finish primer (it has almost all the same ingredients) and Tarte's Clean Slate Poreless primer (it just feels really similar, I don't know if the ingredients are the same). It's kind of a funny product to use because it's for chafing but it's totally safe to put on your face. So if you have oily skin and want your foundation to stay on longer I recommend you try this. It's also like $7.

3. Real Techniques Essential Foundation Brush - I've been loving this brush with my normal Clinique foundation and my Rimmel bb cream I wrote about last time. It just works great! There's not much I can say about this. I apologize for not washing it before I took pictures. 

4. Maybelline Baby Lips in Cherry Me - Wow, I think this lip balm (I don't know if I can exactly call it that, it's more of a sheer tint) has been my most used lip product of all time. Before I kind of put it aside because I wanted to give others a chance (they have feelings too you know) but I've been pulling it out a lot this month. It's so easy to wear and so pretty. There is a swatch below. It gives off a really nice pinkish red color. It goes with almost everything. 

5. YSL Volupté Sheer Candy in Sweet Fig - I've also been loving this color a lot this month. You might look at this in the picture with all the other products and think, "uh, those are the same colors, CAROLINE." Well guess what, THEY'RE NOT. It is a much redder color and is described on the Sephora website as "sheer brick red". These sheer lip tints give about the same amount of color as the Baby Lips which is pretty great because the YSL ones are about 7 times the price. Nope, I did not buy this, it was a birthday gift. Look below, you can see how different they are.  

So that's it everyone! Paper towels and the same lip color! Who knows what will be featured next month. Stay tuned.

Until next time,

Caroline