a week's worth of outfits...including one bum day

Hey! It's me! On a Thursday! I'm really excited to post these OOTD's for you guys. I made sure to get parts of my outfits since Monday to post today. I should try next time to get the entirety of the outfits. I only got the tip of the iceberg with these babies. Unfortunately, on Tuesdays and Thursdays because of my running class I have to dress in workout clothes for a good portion of the day. If there is one thing I do not like it is wearing workout clothes to classes. Maybe I'm a snob but it makes me feel like a straight up bum. I apologize to my bum readers. I have always been the one in my family to be all "dressed up". I'm sorry I like to put effort into my appearance! Sorry for that little rant and for all the apologies. Here are the outfits.

Monday I wore a shirt that I actually had on in my first outfit post...oops. I wore it differently this time! I paired it with this beautiful necklace my roommate got me for Christmas and black pants. It is still freezing so I wore a speckly gray sweater over it. It was very monochromatic and very cool.

Tuesday was the first bum day. I have a pair of soccer pants that my older sister doesn't wear anymore so I've been using them for when I run outside. Thankfully I bought the leggings from Target so I have another option. Praise! The t-shirt has the classic "Virginia is for Lovers" slogan. I bought this the first time I went downtown when I was a freshman. I miss those days.

Wednesday was a really cold day and a post snowy night day (huh?) so I wore this big black, white, and red sweater from Forever 21 with a blue button-down from Lands' End. I also wore my bean boots with light gray wool socks. I was going for a "I'm sort of a mountain lady" type look. I think I pulled it off nicely. 

Thursday was a two outfit day. Two outfits because I took a shower half-way through the day so I changed out of my bum clothes and into normal-er clothes. This Killers shirt was given to me as a gift and it is probably one of my favorite shirts ever. The Killers are my favorite band so how could it not! I wore a big gray sweater with it and jeans. Nothing too special for my night class.

I am just now realizing how much black and gray I wear. It's cool. It matches my black and gray heart. Ha! 

I hope everyone had a good Thursday and is ready for the weekend! I am.

Until tomorrow,

Caroline

Things coming up in February

I wasn't really sure what to post about today but I did see something about Valentine's Day and I thought, "what the heck!" I freaking love Valentine's Day. I've always loved Valentine's Day. When we were younger and passed out Valentine's during the parties we had in elementary school I felt so special looking over the cards and eating the candy from everyone. Everyone had to give everyone a card so everyone felt the love!

It was especially fun because my family and I would make the Valentines for our classes. My mom would buy pink and red and purple cardstock and we would cut hearts out of magazines or construct glittery masterpieces that were in the shapes of hearts and other Valentine's Day related shapes. We are a creative family. It's awesome.

For a long time I never had a boyfriend so it never was a truly romantic holiday for me. I just really like dressing up in pinks and reds and giving homemade cards to my friends. That's what it's all about to me. I've been looking through Pinterest for good card ideas and I think I found a few. Here's what I found:

Fortune Cookie Valentines
http://livingonloveandcents.com/2013/01/22/valentines-day-fortune-cookie-craft/

Paper Doily Envelope
http://sayyes.com/2013/02/diy-valentines-day-paper-doily-envelope.html

You Light Up My Life card
I don't know where this came from but omg so cute

V-Day Poppers
http://www.atthepicketfence.com/2014/01/diy-poppers-for-valentines-day.html

Aren't these all pretty cute?? I'm not sure what I want to do yet for my friends but when the day gets closer I'll make a decision.

Also, I really want to do both of these...so CUTE

I hope you had a great Wednesday! I'm excited for my post tomorrow. I'm actually posting tomorrow! Yay!

Until next time,

Caroline

Things that smell good

This Makeup Tuesday on TLS I wanted to write about my perfume. I don't have a huge collection but I do have a nice assortment of scents. Lot's of 's' sounds in there.

My first ever big girl perfume I ever got was Burberry Brit. I got this when I was in the 8th grade and it is my favorite perfume of all time. You know how scents are linked to memories we have? Well this one is linked to all the best memories ever. Well, I just get really happy smelling it. Probably my best memory was the New Year's Eve of 8th grade. A few friends came over and we played card games with my parents and grandpa whom I never see anymore. It was a really good time. The scent is definitely more of a wintery/nighttime smell. In my humble opinion it wouldn't really fit in the summertime. #summertimesadness

The next perfume I was given was YSL's Parisienne. This is definitely more of a springy scent. Ugh it smells so good. I feel kind of bad because the bottle has gotten a little beat up since I got it but I think that just attests to how much I love it. When I'm going somewhere nice and it is warmer out I will spray that bad boy everywhere.

The final higher end perfume I own is just a roller ball but one day I think I'll splurge to get the full sized bottle. It's Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh and it is just oh so fresh! I think this has really become my everyday scent. I bought this over the summer and it also smells. SO. GOOD. It is a small bottle so I will probably use it up quick. It is the most floraly of the bunch and definitely the most casual smelling. If a smell could be casual? I really like a lot of Marc Jacobs' perfumes. Dot and Honey smell incredible. Now that I think about it I want to get the roller ball of Dot before I commit to a big Daisy.

I recently got a sample of Chloe's Roses de Chloe and oooooh weeee that is also very nice. I'm sad I got the sample because I'm going to use it up quickly but I'll try to savor it. I have an event Friday that I'll wear it too. I'm really excited to put it back on.

I hope everyone had a great Makeup Tuesday!

Until tomorrow,

Caroline

running

I used to run a lot when I was in high school. I was on the track team and the cross country team so almost every single day I would run during practice or in a meet. I wasn't the fastest runner on either team but I got great exercise and stayed in pretty good shape. Fast forward to college. I stopped running all together. I got into a routine of using the elliptical and the bike and the stair-master and just completely ditched it. During my junior year my roommate would want to go on runs so I decided it was time to get back into running. At first it was very painful. I couldn't run for more than 20 minutes and afterwards my knees would be killing me. Any time I would go downhill my left knee especially would be in extreme pain. It was awful. I went home for spring break and got new shoes and that was the beginning of my road to recovery. Since then I slowly got back into running regularly. I've been mostly running on a treadmill which isn't the most ideal way to get back into the swing of things but it's better than nothing.

These past two semesters have really been good for me running-wise. I've been switching between running indoors and running outdoors and I ran in a 5k and an 8k! Next up, either a 10k or a half-marathon! The individual exercise class I'm in now is actually a training for a half-marathon but it isn't mandatory to sign up for one. The final exam is actually running 13.1 miles. Ha! That will definitely be the most challenging but probably the most fun final exam I'll take in college.

I need to buy more running clothes which is annoying because it can get expensive but I am really in need of a pair of leggings. I'll be going to Target or someplace soon for a pair. Maybe lululemon could sponsor my blog ;-) . I'm thinking of committing to this pair:

Or to this pair:

Both are pretty inexpensive and will probably do the trick. Now I just need to get to Target...

Running can be fun! 

Until next time,

Caroline

learning Italian

This semester I decided to start learning Italian. I should have started this a little earlier...oh well. I loved learning Spanish and I wasn't too bad at it so I thought picking up Italian would be quite easy. It is and it isn't. Some things are so similar. The word for book is the same and the numbers are almost the same. Some things...are not at all. Like the letter g. I want to say it softly or silently but no!!! The word in Italian for January is gennaio so I have to say "GEN-ay-o". It's very odd. Also the double l sounds like how us Amurcans say l words and the letter c is always pronounced "chi" unless it is before an a and h. That is confusing.

I have really enjoyed my few Italian classes so far but it is only going to get harder from here. I just finished the first part of my lab due on Wednesday; there is a lot of repetition.

Oh spirits of Donatello, Masaccio, Botticelli, and Piero della Francesca, save me!

Until tomorrow,

Caroline

it's cold

The past two weeks have been filled with polar vortexes, snow, water proof everything, thousands of layers, and the driest skin you ever did see. My skin has not been happy at all. Now that I think about it my skin is never happy. In the winter it's too dry, in the summer it's too oily. I can never have it all...Well this winter I have been using a few products to turn my dry skin into skin that is not so dry. I've been trying them out and they seem to be working alright. Here are a few things that are helping me out.

1. Coconut oil
I got a jar of coconut oil from Giant after hearing a girl on YouTube rave about it. I did some research and it is supposed to be really good for you. It's kind of weird putting it on for the first time. It is solid until you press down on it with your fingers. It will melt a bit and you can break a little off. That little bit will melt even more quickly from the warmth of your hands and then you can put it where ever you want to moisturize. I've been primarily using it on my face but the other day I put some on my legs and they felt so soft. It's sad that I don't really know if it has been working well but I think my skin has been drying out so quickly because of the air in my apartment. I have been in my apartment so much since I've gotten back to school so everything has felt extra dry. It does feel nice after I put some on so I think it has been working...? Are you confused? I am too. I think if I continue to use it I will see positive results.

2. Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream - Original
I think this stuff is a miracle worker. My skin gets really dry when it gets colder out but my hands get so dry that they crack and start to bleed. It is so bad and it hurts. Last winter is when I really started to notice how badly my hands were dried up. It made everything miserable. My friend once told me that she got this hand cream that fixed her dry hands the second she put it on. I was desperate so I went out and got it. As you might have guessed it was the Neutrogena hand cream. I was shocked to see how inexpensive it was. I am pretty sure it was under $4! I don't think I'll ever use any other hand cream in the winter. It makes my hands soft, fixes any dry spots, and smells so good. I recommend to everyone.

3. Nivea Lip Butter
As the temperatures drop I am always getting chapped lips. When I get chapped lips I can't use any lip products because it looks absolutely horrible. Seriously, the grossest thing in the world is putting on a tinted lip product with chapped lips. Ew. I know of this because I have tried it before. I used to use my EOS lip balm in sweet mint but surprisingly I used up all of it so I needed a new lip balm. I got two Nivea Lip Butters in a little tin for Christmas and I decided to give them a try. My lips have never been so smooth! I don't think it works as quickly as the Neutrogena hand cream but I did see results not long after trying it out. I think they are pretty inexpensive as well and come in a few different flavors so there is one for everyone! Go try them out.

I hope everyone is staying warm and moisturized. Or at least trying like me.

Until tomorrow,

Caroline

I'm a horrible blogger

I've skipped two Thursdays in a row now...this is bad. I apologize to my ardent subscribers. I'm going to have to do another two for the price of one thing. I decided instead of posting a picture of myself I'd do another person's picture! I came across this picture on Pinterest and sorta fell in love. Karlie Kloss is a flawless person. Girl crush? Maybe. Probably. OK FINE, YES, SHE IS. I've been following her career since she started! I had the Teen Vogue she debuted in! When she was getting in to the fashion world at like, age 15 (???) I was a weird 16 year-old not getting into the fashion world. I tried to think of something better I was doing but I guess that does sum up much of my life. Actually, all of my life. Enough about me, until later, muaha. Here is my face of the day. #FOTD

So the real reason I am obsessed with this picture is the glasses. I wish I wore glasses so badly. Unfortunately, I was cursed with perfect vision. If I did wear glasses I'd have cool, quirky glasses like these. Definitely tortoise shell, no doubt about that. It would be so flipping geek chic and I'd be so flipping cool. She can definitely work this pair. Kudos to you, Karlie. 

Now, since it is Friday, here are the weekly likes and dislikes:

Likes:

1. Hanging out with friends I haven't seen in a long time

2. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao 

3. helping out at the galleries

Dislikes:

1. Chipped nail polish

2. Walking home from my night class in almost sub zero temperatures 

3. Skipping days on The Last Semester :-/

Next Thursday, I promise, there will be an OOTD post. 

Until tomorrow,

Caroline

my one-woman show

So as a deal the other day I had to put on a one-woman show of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. The deal was if my friend bought me a large, very nice smelling candle I would have to act out the movie all on my own. One of the last weeks of the fall semester he surprised everyone by buying the candle and told me I had to or else!! I don't really remember what I had to do if I failed to recreate the masterpiece but I know it was scary so I kept it in the back of my mind all winter break. We had a long weekend because Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day so I planned for the first part to be that night. I set up a stage area, got my props together, and watched the first half of the movie to prepare. I definitely forgot how long the movie is. Also, I forgot how much actually goes on. I guess when you want to recreate something you have to pay attention to absolutely everything. The first half of the play went great! I got lots of laughs and everyone who watched approved. My favorite part was recreating the scene in Dumbledore's office when Harry sees the phoenix Fawks burst into flames then rise again out of the ashes. I used my Screech pillow pet as a replacement for the phoenix and had him turn into a pillow then back into his pet stage. Yes, I am very clever.

Tomorrow night will be the second half and I am expecting a few more spectators. It's going to be a fun time. I'll post how it goes on Friday.

I hope your day was magical!

Until next time,

Caroline

life in rose colored eyeshadow

We had the day off! Thank you, snow! Tuesdays are all about makeup so let's get on to the makeup. Today I wanted to talk about something that has been tickling my fancy in this new year. It is Wet n Wild's Walking on Eggshells eyeshadow trio. Wowee. I love this little palette. To be honest I love the palette but I really, really love the pinkish lid color. It is absolutely beautiful! Not too long ago the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette came out and everyone and their mother raved about the rosy toned colors. If I wasn't broke and if I didn't already have enough eyeshadows I would have gone and gotten it but alas, I am broke and I have the Naked 2 palette so no Naked 3 for me. This small palette would fit right in with Naked 3 and it was only $2.99! It has a lighter highlight color for your browbone or in your inner corner, the rosy color I love oh so much, and a bronze color for your crease or as eyeliner or whatever you like. I have been really just using the rose color and that's all. Here are some pictures.

There is a swatch for all you people who need to see it somewhere other than in the pot. It looks really nice on the eyelids. The texture of the shadow is also really nice. I want to go and try out more of the Wet n Wild trios. Maybe if we have class sometime soon I will put some on!

Until tomorrow,

Caroline

what makes me happy

I wasn't feeling too good today. When I was thinking about what I wanted to write about I thought, "maybe I'll write about how I'm feeling." I then immediately put it off but when I got to writing I thought, "no, I should write about things that make me happy!" This ought to turn that frown upside-down! Brainstorming a list has definitely helped lighten my mood. Here is a list of things that will probably always make me happy. Hopefully it makes you happy too.

1. Candy cane Hershey's Kisses
2. Frenchie Butt
3. Cleaning my face
4. Cleaning my room
5. Painting my nails
6. The television shows I can watch over and over again i.e. 30 Rock, Arrested Development, Parks and Rec
7. Sparkly things
8. The movies I can watch over and over again i.e. Midnight in Paris, 500 Days of Summer, Just Friends
9. Exercising
10. Talking to my sisters
11. Spending 10 minutes-hours on Pinterest
12. Some of my favorite YouTubers, right now they are Estée, Leighann, Jack and Finn, and Smarthistory
13. Going outside
14. Cool clouds - haha!
15. Searching through Instagram

There are of course lots of other things that make me happy but these are probably the most accessible most of the time. I have a tendency to get in a mood and then sort of take it out on the people around me. It is a really nasty tendency and it is something I do not like about myself and something I am trying to work on. If I just remember to take a minute, breathe, and think about these things I can hopefully break out of that bad mood and settle into a good one.

Frenchie Butt is something that will always make me happy. Always.

Until next time,

Caroline

long weekend

MLK day means that tomorrow we don't have class. Long weekends are the best thing ever invented in the history of the universe. Let's recap this weekend:

- Thursday (cuz that's the beginning of the weekend for us cool college kids): I finished class around 8:30 and came home, ate, then went to our friend's house before caravan-ing to a bar downtown. We danced, danced, and danced. It was a grand old time. When we came back I ate more food and passed out with my makeup on. Like you do (no).

- Friday: I had my first Friday shift at the gallery! I came back around 4:15 and lied around until my roommate wanted to get up. My roommate and I have had a tradition where on Fridays we would get dinner and eat it while watching The Vampire Diaries and then The Originals. It's nice especially if the morning was a little rough because then we just get to chill out! People tell me it's boring but you know what? I am an old woman. I am not that 19 year old who can party every night. Actually, I don't think I ever was. My other roommate was gone on a trip to Baltimore for a math convention. 

- Saturday: I work Saturdays now at the galleries too so on Saturday I woke up at like 11:45 and proceeded to run around like a chicken with its head cut off getting ready for work. I chugged coffee, stuffed food in my face, and threw makeup on. My roommate was kind enough to drive me to the gallery but right as she was driving away I remembered that I forgot my wallet in my room that had my ID in it. GOOD JOB. I had to tell a police officer my birthday, social security number, where I was on the night of June 25th, 1974, and other things like that. When my shift was over I came home and my ex-roommate along with my roommate who went to Baltimore were there so we just sat around, talked about spring break, and watched the Help. Afterwards we took a few shots, went to our friend's house, and got kicked out an hour later. It was a really successful evening. Afterwards we watched Talladega Nights and Letters to Juliet and ate lots of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Then passed out. 

- Today!!!!!: Today it's only noon so I don't know exactly what is going to happen later on. I have an internship application I will work on and then the rest of the day is my oyster. I know I have to watch Harry Potter at some point and take notes. I will probably write about my one woman show later. We will see how this goes.

Or like Sunday afternoon!

I hope everyone is having a good long weekend. 

Until tomorrow,

Caroline 

I want to travel

This spring break my friends and I are planning on taking a trip down to Charleston for a few days. Plans aren't actually set in stone but we all are pretty serious about going so I think soon we are going to book a room in a hostel. This is my first big-girl trip and I can't wait. Also, I can't wait to do some traveling on my own. I always see blog posts or articles about traveling by yourself. I have been studying some non-western art for a long time now and have begun to make a long list of places I need to go (preferably in the next 5-10 years.

1. The Yucatan
I studied Pre-Colombian art two semesters ago and now I am dying to see some of the Mayan ruins in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras. These places are always swarmed with tourists so I have to do some research and find out what time the off-season will be. I want to see Tikal, Palenque, Yaxchilan and Bonampak, and then up to Uxmal. The Mayan people were amazing artists and architects, it would be amazing to see the temples and ancient cities they created.

2. India
Oh my goodness, India has been on my radar for a long time now. My sister's friend apparently went to India with a professor to do research then was ditched by the professor and spent the rest of the time traveling India alone. What a cool predicament to be in. I want to see so much in India. I want to see the Taj Mahal and every single Buddha statue in the country. I'm sure that would be impossible but I'd like to see many of them. I am just starting to learn about art in India so I will find more locations soon.

3. Florence
My ex-roommate just studied abroad in Florence and got to see all of the art I studied. The art of the early Italian Renaissance was pretty much all in Florence so I have to go see Santa Maria Novella, Santa Croce, the Uffizi, The Medici Palace, the Rucellai Palace, and Orsanmichele! I have to see the sculptures, frescoes, and churches in person after staring at pictures for so long. I went to Florence when I was about 14 but I didn't quite appreciate the art like I would now. Thankfully at the National Gallery in DC there are a few early Italian Renaissance paintings that I got to look at while on break. Now it's time to cross the pond and see the others.

4. Japan
In my Buddhist art class I took awhile ago we learned about some of the Buddhist art in Japan. This included Buddhist shrines, many Buddhist shrines. They are so beautiful. The Horyu-ji shrine with the Shaka Triad by the legendary Tori Busshi would be incredible to see in person. I'd like to experience a tea ceremony too. So much work goes into the simple act of drinking tea. I want to see the big cities of Japan too. Kyoto and Asuka would be definite spots to see as well as Tokyo. I wanna go so bad!!

5. Barcelona
Back to Europe - I went to Barcelona when I was 16 and got to see only the exterior of the Sagrada Familia. I want to see the interior!! Gaudi is my favorite architect (sorry Mies) and I have to look inside his masterpiece. If I don't I might scream.

6. Machu Picchu
I've already written about going. It. Has. To. Happen. NOW. Well, soon.

So there you have it. I need to go to these places ASAP.

2 for the price of one!

I didn't get to post yesterday so this post will be my outfit of the day and my likes and dislikes of the week! Are you as excited as I am to get two posts for the price of one?! Like probably everyone else in the world, I love a good bargain.

"As far as I'm concerned, leopard is a neutral."

For a long time now I have been a huge fan of leopard print shoes. When I was in 9th grade I got my first pair and wore them on the first day of school with skinny jeans, a purple cowl neck sweater, and a bunch of bracelets. I think that was my favorite first day of school outfit. So chic! Once those wore out I got another pair that lasted me until about two years ago. I was devastated when I had to retire those. I wore them every chance I got. They were my babies. For a long time after that I was leopard print-less. Wandering the streets in a daze because they had been out of my life for far too long. Actually there was no aimless wandering so that's good. I was missing them a lot though. For my birthday last year my mom got me these loafers from Land's End. I was ecstatic. The loafer style was so in (I think they still are in style!) and now I had a new pair of flats to wear all the time! They were so uncomfortable at first. I have had many bloody ankles because of this pair of shoes. They have stretched out a lot but still are a little uncomfortable on my pinky toes. I still have faith that if I keep wearing them they will one day sliding these on will be like emerging my feet into a pair of shoe shaped clouds. Ahhhh. 

Here are the likes and dislikes now, I won't add leopard print shoes because that is a given. Duh!

Likes:

1. ALL of my classes. Jeez, for my last semester it will be a very good one!

2. Geographer 

3. oreo truffles 

Dislikes: 

1. Work schedule revisions. I think I finally got it sorted out though! 

2. frigid cold weather

3. hangovers

Tomorrow I'll have a fun post about something put up! Stay tuned.

Until then,

Caroline

anxiety

One time a friend (not really a friend anymore) said that I didn't hang out with her as much because I had anxiety about leaving my house. I don't remember her ever getting her PhD in psychology but after thinking about what she said I've become much more aware of things I do have anxiety about (I am self-diagnosing myself now). One thing that I've written about before has been graduating. I get a little panicky when I remember that it is only in a matter of months. Probably the next biggest thing I get anxious about is money. I wrote that one of my New Year's resolutions was to be better with my money and I guess that means also trying to calm down about it. If I act smarter about what I spend my money on then I will calm down about it. So far I have been good but it has only been two weeks into the new year.

I want to get a job after I graduate and I want to make money and I want to not have to depend on other people. That's just another thing to add to the long list of things I get anxious about. I feel like if I was totally self-sufficient I wouldn't be like this. If that ever happens I will let you all know if the feeling has changed. 

Listening to music really helps calm myself down. When I want to be alone I put in my headphones and it creates a sort of barrier between myself and the world. Any anxiety subsides and I can breathe easier. Cleaning my makeup brushes has always been therapeutic too. Also lying on my back with my feet propped up over my head is comforting. Haha I'm weird but hey, whatever works, right? 

Anxiety doesn't have to be something that disables me. If I work hard I can reach my goals. I can get a job after I graduate and I can get out of debt! It's time to do homework.

Until next time,

Caroline

the perfect lip color

I thought I had found the perfect lip color when I first applied Revlon's Lip Butter in Pink Truffle. I also thought I had found the perfect lip color when I first applied YSL's Volupté Sheer Candy in Sweet Fig. Both times I was mistaken.

I saw on a beauty guru's YouTube video that she loved Clinique's Almost Lipstick in Black Honey. She put it on her lips and I was in awe. How could something be so beautiful?? I did a little bit of research and saw that this was a highly praised item. On Sephora.com it got a 4.5 rating out of 5 and countless people raved about how it was the perfect color for them. I got a $20 giftcard to Nordstrom and it was $15 so I decided to try out this legendary product. I don't know how I lived my life without it. I love the color on me. Here is a before and after picture of it on my lips:

*Oh and fyi, it is really dark in the tube. The color does not apply that dark at all.*

Before (ugh, shoddy editing job):

After:

Love:

I think it is a gorgeous natural color. Well, I think it works well for me. Do you like my pictures? #nofilter

What lip products do you love?

Until next time,

Caroline

btw, the color on my nails is Revlon's Urban

Internships

I just sent off my resume as well as cover letters to two different organizations today. It marks the beginning of the long list of emails I will send over the course of the next month to galleries and museums for internships this summer. It is going to be so much work I makes me a little sick to my stomach but I know if I just sit down and concentrate I can get a lot accomplished.

I got pretty lucky with my internship I had last summer. I was the only one who applied! It was a great internship. I had to set up two summer art camps for children. The kids were hilarious, snobby, weird, and awesome all at the same time. We learned about 'outsider art' and did many activities that pertained to outsider art. I also learned what outsider art is. We all won.

One of the internships I sent my resume to is another summer art camp with kids, right down my alley! The other has to do more with putting together exhibits. Also, right down my alley. If there was some way to do both I absolutely would. I love kids and I love art galleries.

Over the next few months I am probably going to be facing a lot of rejection, which is going to hurt but if I start mentally preparing now it will soften the blows! I'll be ok.

Until tomorrow,

Caroline

NOW I'm back

Last night I didn't get back to school like I thought I was. Weather conditions were not ideal for driving down the highway so my roommate and I stayed at my house for the night. We watched the US women's figure skating championships and then a few episodes of Friends. The figure skating was amazing. I love figure skating so much. When my sisters and I were younger we used to figure skate in the unfinished part of my basement. We would wear rollerblades and skate around the ping pong table that was placed in the middle of the room. It was so much fun.

I was really sucked into the story of the top two favorite skaters' rival. The girl who was the favorite to win and then promptly head over to Sochi was Ashley Wagner. She is actually from my area and went to the same community college I took biology at one summer. Wagner's rival, Gracie Gold (ugh you would have that name), was a surprise front runner in this competition. The other day was the first part of the competition and while Wagner finished in 4th place Gold had a spectacular routine that catapulted her to the first place. NBC had a little piece about their rival and it was really interesting. I kind of hope they both go to the Olympics so we can all see how their rival evolves. Well, they both performed their longer program, or "free skate", last night and once again Gold skated with incredible grace (ha) with one little slip-up while Wagner fell twice and fell short of placing. I'm on point with the puns today. If only I were talking about ballet.

The costumes were beautiful and so was the music. I can't wait for the Olympics!

Until next time,

Caroline

the beginning of the end

I'm heading back to school later today. This is it. The beginning of the end. The last first day of classes. THE END'S NOT NEAR IT'S HERE. I'm struggling to get my packing done right now. My roommate is picking me up in a few hours and hopefully we'll miss some of the highway traffic. I have to remember to bring Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets to school so I can prepare for my one woman show a week from today. It's a long story.

Tomorrow's post will be longer and more interesting.

Until then,

Caroline

my job

For the past 5 semesters I have been a gallery monitor at my school's on-campus gallery. I pretty much was a security guard for the gallery. I have told many people to not touch the art. So. Many. People. Lots of old people, which has always seemed weird to me...Anyway this past semester the student coordinator had to step down and she asked me to take over! I was so surprised I was chosen to take over. There is a lot that goes into this job and I am a little nervous I am going to screw this up but I am also excited. This will be good for my resume and my experience in galleries. I will probably post monthly updates on how the job is going.

This is going to now segue into my likes and dislikes because it is Friday and because I like traditions. Here we go:

Likes:
1. my new job
2. getting things in the mail
3. Teen Wolf, mostly just Stiles though. Dylan O'Brien. I love you.

I know if we ever met and decided to get married or something we'd both be like this the whole time

Dislikes:
1. accidentally getting cologne on me (I smelled like a man earlier. A good smelling man that is, which I don't have that big a deal with but I'd rather smell like a lady)
2. revising schedules
3. the movie Endless Love. Oh my gosh that movie looks horrible and I have now seen a million ads for it and it just looks awkward and not good and I know it is going to get under 15% on Rotten Tomatoes

I hope you had a good week!

Until next time,

Caroline

layer up

For today's outfit post I have this little beauty from earlier this week. It's been freezing here and I can't go anywhere without wearing at least 4 layers. The button up was a present from my grandparents for my birthday. It's from Land's End. The shirt over it is a thicker shirt from Old Navy. I found it the other day looking for a coat. It was $7! It looks cute paired over a button up shirt like how I wore it here or just by itself.

The crescent shaped beaded bib is like an added on necklace! It's two for the price of one! Big statement necklaces have been pretty trendy so I could not pass up getting this shirt. It's also very sparkly and I am very partial to anything very sparkly, I get it from my mom. I kind of want to wear this outfit everyday for the rest of my life. 

Happy Thursday!

Until next time,

Caroline

some mixed emotions

Winter break is ending this week :-( / :-(

School is starting next week :-( / :-)

I have some mixed emotions about going back to school and finishing my undergraduate career but I'm also excited to see how things play out. I recently got promoted (uh, I don't know if you could even call it that) at my job at school and that will be a lot more responsibility. I recently made a schedule! I color coated it too!* And I may have some exciting projects coming up that are also going to be a lot of responsibility! AND I may even go on my first big girl spring break trip in a few months. Wow, look at you Caroline. You might not be a failure after all! Ok, I don't actually think I'm a failure. 

It's always hard leaving home though. I love my family and I love spending time with them. I don't go to school very far from home but I don't really come home too often other than for long breaks. And, going away for spring break means I probably won't see my parents or siblings for a really long time. I guess that's ok because after this semester they'll be seeing a lot of me. Muahahaa. 

School will also be cool because my ex-roommate is coming back from Italy and I've missed her and I just like seeing my current roommates everyday and I like being on a schedule and other things too. This has kind of been a rambly post so I'm going to leave it here. 

I'm in a good mood today.

Until tomorrow,

Caroline 

*SOMEONE HIRE ME

MAKEUP

I love makeup. I love it so much. I love looking at new makeup. I love experimenting with makeup. Oh man, I have had a whirlwind romance with makeup for years now. Well, a sort of one-sided romance. I used to look through my mom's makeup when I was younger and ooooh and ahhhh at her lipsticks and whatever else she had. Now I have a small collection of my own products (my sisters would say I have a huge collection...uh no. Have you seen beauty bloggers' collections?!?). Tuesdays will be about makeup here on The Last Semester so today I've decided to share a few of my current favorite makeup and beauty products. Most of these will be budget friendly pieces. Remeber, I'm broke.

this is the best brush ever created

This Real Techniques stippling brush is a miracle worker. It applies my foundation so nicely. I got this for Chirstmas but it is already my favorite.

I have oily skin

To keep oil at bay I apply this to my T zone with a powder brush. It is super cheap and is in a translucent color so it is a pretty no fuss product. I think this is my third Stay Matte powder. I love it!

Rimmel makes the best kohl eyeliners, THEY REALLY DO

The Rimmel Scandeleyes eyeliners are amazing. I use both for my bottom waterline. The nude color opens up my eyes and brightens them while the taupe color gives some really nice, subtle definition. I hate (repeat HATE) wearing black eyeliner on my bottom waterline. It is way too harsh and is a pain in the butt to get off. The taupe color is perfection. Ahhhh.

Marc Jacobs?! Designer, high-end mascara???? I THOUGHT YOU WERE BROKE

Hold on there cowboy (cowgirl?), I am broke. I didn't lie to you! I got this as a free sample from Sephora after buying a friend a birthday gift. I've tried other samples of high-end mascaras but this is my favorite. It is called the Lash Lifter Gel formula and yeah, it lifts those suckers. It also gives me nice volume too. It doesn't smudge or flake and comes off pretty easily. It won me over! Will I buy the full sized product, no. But, I would happily accept sponsorship from Marc Jacobs Beauty, or any of these brands for that matter ;-).

What beauty products are you loving?

Until next time,

Caroline

a chilly day in DC

On Saturday I went to DC with my sister and our two friends to meet another friend and see an exhibit at the Botanical Gardens of buildings around the Mall made entirely out of plants. We saw the Washington Monument, the White House, the Library of Congress, and others. It was so cool. While we were there we took lots of pictures of us in "band pictures". I suggested our band be "Caroline and the Turds" but no one really went for that. I don't know why. Afterwards we went ice skating at a rink near Nats Park. We went last year while it was completely deserted. This year it was crawling with people. We still enjoyed it though. Here are a few pictures from the day. It was so cold but so much fun.

it's the Capitol Building!

Brett levitating in front of the Capitol Building 

It's the Lincoln Memorial! 

here's one band picture

I practiced my ice dancing and speed skating. I'm ready for Sochi! 

I hope you had a great weekend!

Until next time,

Caroline

Spotify January playlist

At the beginning of every month I make a new playlist on Spotify with songs I've really been liking and am willing to listen to about a million times. This month I think I definitely picked some winners. This list here is just a starting off point, over the month I'll add songs that I hear on the radio or in stores or where ever. I wish I could actually put the playlist on here somehow but because I don't know anything here is a screenshot of the playlist.

I was listening to Tether when I took the screenshot. Oops! I got a lot of the songs from the 100 Best Tracks list that Pitchfork just put out. 

Hope you take a listen! Until tomorrow,

Caroline

I'm broke

I wrote that one of my resolutions would be to be better with my money and I think that is a great segue into today's post about me being broke. It's true, I am broker than my kindergarten self's arm when my little sister fell on it and it snapped in half. I gave it a little bit of thought and here are a few ways I will be better with my money in 2014!

1. Do not buy drinks at bars - that's what sleezy guys are for, right?! I'm just kidding about that. It's time for me to not feel the need to drink so much to have a good time. On New Year's Eve I tried this out and I still had a great time! I wasn't hungover the next day either. Win.

2. DO NOT be tempted by Target - oooooh I said the T word. I love Target. Who doesn't? It is a magical place filled with magical things that would fill my life with magic and wonder. I'll go in and find at least one thing that I don't need that I end up buying. My roommate and I are going to police each other more next semester. I feel like she will be saying something like, "C'mon Caroline! You need to buy food later on! You don't need that ________ (random thing found at Target)" a few times in the near future. I do need to get razors though.

3. Plan out the food I want to eat at home and then what I'll be eating on campus - I do still have a meal plan so some of my meals are taken care of but there are also many meals that are not taken care of. I need to plan out in advance the meals that won't be eaten on campus and make sure I don't go to the grocery store and just go crazy over jalapeño flavored kettle chips. Omg...why did I just write that. *craves commence*  

4. Shop my closet - I don't need new clothes. I just need to figure out how to wear my old clothes in new ways! I do need a coat though...bad.

Well there ya have it! The 4 ways I will attempt to save myself money in the spring semester/2014! Soon I will make posts with more pictures. I promise.

Until tomorrow,

Caroline

a few thank yous...

I have a few thank you notes to write so yesterday I sat down and wrote them while watching the new Sherlock episode. It was a bit tough because I had to stream it off the internet but boy, do I love me some Benedict Cumberbatch. I showed my mom the first episode of Sherlock and she thought it was dumb...I s'ed mh for a long time. It is one of my favorite shows! I'll be honest though, I didn't really pay attention to about half of the episode. I'll rewatch it later. Community also came on tonight! It was really good. I'm so happy these shows are back.

I said last week that Fridays were going to be my likes and dislikes so here goes.

Likes:
1. Returning shows, Sherlock, Community, Teen Wolf, Pretty Little Liars, I watch a lot of television
2. Nivea's Lip Butter in Raspberry Rose Kiss
3. Snow

Dislikes:
1. Saying goodbye
2. Bruises (there have been a lot in the past week. I had one but so did many others...)
3. Snow

It also snowed tonight. I really love snow but it messes up plans.

Until next time,

Caroline

polka dots and sparkles

Thursdays on The Last Semester will be about my outfits I decide to post. Some will be good. Some will be bad. Some will be not mine. Muahaha you'll have to wait and see what pops up.

I got this sparkly nail polish for Christmas from my relatives in New York and I absolutely love it! It was a nice touch to my New Year's outfit and nicely matched this polka dot shirt. We weren't doing too much today so I just put on a sweater and jeans to do things around the house. We did end up going to see the movie "Her" so I put on boots and a pea coat. It was a very easy-going outfit. 

Wow I didn't post a goodbye. Well, until tomorrow,

Caroline

resolutions

Happy New Year! I have a few resolutions that I wanted to share on here. I know that people say that making resolutions are dumb because why wait until the new year to start making yourself a better person? Well, I don't care if you think they're dumb because I have a snazzy list.

1. keep drinking water - over the summer and during the fall semester I got on a real water drinking kick and I hope that in 2014 I can keep it up. I think that will be pretty doable.

2. don't fall asleep with my laptop open on my bed - I might be the only person making this resolution but it has really become a problem and I got to stop doing that. I actually started last night!

3. figure out how I'm feeling - I say "I don't know" so often. Why don't I know?? I have to figure out how to word my feelings and communicate them better. I feel like more people would have this one that the previous one.

4. stay active - cliche but so necessary. I'll be taking a physical education class at school this semester so that will be relatively easy.

5. be better with my money - I have to save for things...real world...my future children's college fund...retirement...that sort of stuff.

I hope everyone had a great New Year's Eve and 2014 will be a glorious year!

Until next time,

Caroline