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