Last week one of my new favorite bloggers, Seersucker Sass, tagged me in her Liebster Award post. For those of you who don't know, the Liebster Award is a virtual award that is often given to blogs with smaller followings, and with the award come some questions that the recipient is supposed to answer on their blog, as a way for followers to learn more about them. I was honored to be nominated for the Liebster a few times on my old blog, and a couple times with this blog as well! So thank-you SS for nominating me again, it's always so sweet to be thought of!
Anyways, as I was getting ready to fill out my questions for this most recent Liebster Award, I realized to my both sadness and excitment that I no longer qualify for it!! It is supposed to be given to blogs with 200 or fewer followers, and between my GFC and Blog Lovin' followers I have now surpassed this amount! It did make me happy to see that my blog has grown so much lately, and I hope that it only continues to grow!
But I really liked a few of SS's blogging related Liebster questions, so I decided that I will answer them anyways! :-)
1. What was your favorite post to write? I have two answers to this, since I would consider my blog to be both a fashion and lifestyle blog. My favorite fashion post to plan/write was definitely my collaboration a few months back with Pink Bubbly Shop! I love so many of the things that I receive through blogging, but the necklace that Michelle sent me to review was one of my all-time favorite items that I've gotten to review through blogging! I had so much fun styling the necklace and putting the post together, and it got a lot of great feedback.
As far as other types of posts, my other post was from June 2013 and titled "Guy Lessons From Reflection (part 1)". I definitely got very personal with this post, and in it I wrote in detail about a guy that I had fallen for at the start of my freshman year of college, only to realize that he wasn't what I expected. Both of us didn't consider each other's feelings in the best way when it fell apart, and it was definitely a learning experience for me. Finally blogging about all of it was a great stress relief and way to finally make closure with the situation.
2. What was your hardest post to write? The part 2 of Guy Lessons From Reflection. It was about a different guy then the first post in this series... and it took me many, many months just to build up the courage to write part two. Unlike part one, was written with the hope of encouraging other ladies who may be in similar situations, this was a post though that I had to write mostly for my own benefit. Blogging is a great stress relief for me sometimes, and writing this post definitely helped improve perspective on this situation.
3. Who/what was your inspiration to start a blog? My real life childhood friend Katie, who I actually just mentioned in another post on here recently! :-) Katie and I have known each other since elementary school- we were both homeschooled for most of our childhoods and our friendship is my oldest continual friendship! Anyways, through most of her high school years Katie always had a blog. She blogged more as a creative outlet, and I found her blog one day through Facebook during my junior year of high school and I was so inspired! At the time, I was spending way too much time on Facebook, and I wanted another online outlet that might have a more positive affect on me. I loved reading Katie's posts, and they inspired me to start my first blog, Confessions of a Maine Teenager. Even though I ended up starting this blog and ending my old one, I have continually stuck with blogging for over three years now, which I think is pretty cool! And Katie just recently got back into blogging, I'd love it if y'all stopped by her awesome new blog, Welcome to the Wackadoodles!
4. What advice do you have for new bloggers? First and foremost: be patient!! The followers, business offers, and blog friendships will come with time. Second, don't be afraid to blog about a lot of different things! I feel like a lot of bloggers use there blogs to only get really, really personal, or there's others that them solely on things like fashion or food. This might be just me but I like to see a mix between personal posts and interest related posts... posting diversity keeps things interesting. :-) And lastly, blogging is all about how much you put into it!
I would love to see any of your answers to these questions as well!! I love hearing what bloggers have to say about their blogs, and what blogging means to them. If you want to answer these questions then be sure to leave the link to your post in a comment so I can check it out! :-)
Hope that y'all are having a good Wednesday! It's a snow day for me here at school... the second one in the past couple of weeks! I guess my assumption that coming to college down south meant the end of snow days was wrong...
xoxo Miss ALK
Fashion, Travel & Lifestyle Blog || Est. 2012 || Virginia Beach, VA
February 11, 2014
Good things come to those who wait.
In March 2013, my mom and I were supposed to travel to Italy for Spring Break with a group of people from my former college. We committed to the trip in Fall 2012, and in January 2013 my mom even flew down to visit me at school to attend a special meeting for the trip. Long story short, we never ended up going, and the image below was my view for SB (which if you were wondering is the front yard of my house in early March).
While shopping out shopping in Charlotte one Sunday in February 2013, I started getting hit with the one of the most insane headaches that I've ever experienced in my life, and also getting weird chills. At the time I thought that I was just over tired, so I bought one of those Starbucks caffeinated fruit beverage things (I can't remember their name) at the mall, but it just made me feel worse. I still don't know how I made it back to school safely since my former college is over an hour away from the mall that I was at, but somehow I managed to drive back. I was feeling even worse by that night... and those symptoms lasted for almost a month. During that time I missed over two weeks of classes, and my whole break. I went to various doctors four times, and the emergency room once. I was tested for the flu, strep throat and mono, and all the tests came back negative. I still don't know what I was sick with last year. I had every symptom of mono, but both of my mono tests were negative so one of the doctors that I saw guessed that it was a freak virus that took on mono-like symptoms. (Here and here are links to posts that I wrote while I was sick.)
Two weeks after I got sick, I still wasn't much better. My sore throat had left, but the fever and terrible headaches remained. It wasn't looking likely that my mom and I would make it to Italy, but then a new problem arose: what I would do for Spring Break. I was so weak that I couldn't even drive (or barely even leave my room- I ate in the caf once during week two of being sick and all my energy just dissapeared) or really take care of myself, so my parents quickly booked a flight and flew me home to Maine. Getting myself through the airport took up what was left of my low energy levels, so I spent the rest of SB at home, in Maine, in bed. Near the end of my time at home, my mom tried to take me on a day trip to lunch and my favorite mall in Massachusetts, but even after almost three weeks I was still feeling so terribly that we had to leave shortly after getting there- and I never leave a mall early!
Last year's illness was one of the hardest things that I have ever had to go through. Not just because of the physical symptoms, but because of the inner turmoils that I was experiencing at the time. Transferring colleges had been something that I had been pondering since second semester started, but it was getting sick that actually finalized the decision for me that I would transfer. (I don't want to go into detail, but basically my former college was the worst possible place for an out-of-state student to get very sick at.) Anxiety is something that I've always struggled with, and being very sick and having to start the transferring process kicked my anxiety levels into high gear... and let's not even talk about the two-plus weeks of make-up homework and missed midterms that had to start on!
....
Goodness, that first part of the post ended up being wayyyy longer then I expected. Sorry, y'all. I'm not trying to be a huge Debby-Downer, I just want to be honest about how tough last year's Spring Break was for me. Anyways, I am a firm believer that good things come to those who wait. My Spring Break seemed ruined at the time, but I am grateful that my parents had the finances to be able to fly my home unexpectedly like that, and grateful that they supported my decision to transfer. Getting through all of the make-up work me work harder then I ever have before, and a little hard work is never a bad thing. And lastly, had my mom and I gone to Italy then my family never would have gone on our trip to England and Scotland this past Christmas!!
And the best news, I'm finally going to get my fun Spring Break! I'm so excited to share my plans with y'all. I blogged a little bit in this post about how a friend from Maine is coming to visit me! My sweet friend Shara is arriving a couple days before my Spring Break actually starts, so the fun of break will start early for me. :-) I'm actually happy that it worked out this way, because she'll get a real feel for what my day-to-day life is like at school, and most of my friends should still be around on the day that she arrives! The first weekend of my break will consist of showing Shara around the beautiful Queen's City, and also a couple of daytrips! That weekend will also be the annual pagaent at my former college, and I'm taking Shara out to meet some of my friends from there, and to cheer on all of the lovely ladies that I know who are doing the pagaent this year!
And on the day that I say good-bye to Shara, my dad arrives in Charlotte... and the next morning he and I are heading here:
My dad and I are headed to the Dominican Republic for some sun and relaxation!! I am SO excited. The only time that I have ever been to the Caribbean was on an ill-fated cruise that my mom's whole side of the family did when I was in second grade (the weather was so bad that even the ship's crew was seasick). Being from Maine, I get overexcited by things like aquamarine colored water and palm trees, so I have a feeling that this trip will be right up my alley! It will also be wonderful to have a vacation that is truly relaxing. My family's trip to England and Scotland over Christmas was great, but it was also one of the most stressful and busy things that I have ever done in my life. I can't wait to have a vacation that doesn't have a crazy agenda, and I'm most excited for WARM weather. It's supposed to snow in Charlotte this week for the second time this season... this Mainer is ready for some heat!
I feel crazy blessed to have such amazing SB plans. And grateful to have a sweet friend who is coming to see me, and a dad who wants to spend time with me. I would much rather pick quality time with good friends and family over the stereotypical college student experience... y'all know what I mean. :-)
I'll be dreaming of palm trees and 80 degree temperatures as Charlotte begins to get more snow... which is supposedly starting tonight?!
xoxo Miss ALK
While shopping out shopping in Charlotte one Sunday in February 2013, I started getting hit with the one of the most insane headaches that I've ever experienced in my life, and also getting weird chills. At the time I thought that I was just over tired, so I bought one of those Starbucks caffeinated fruit beverage things (I can't remember their name) at the mall, but it just made me feel worse. I still don't know how I made it back to school safely since my former college is over an hour away from the mall that I was at, but somehow I managed to drive back. I was feeling even worse by that night... and those symptoms lasted for almost a month. During that time I missed over two weeks of classes, and my whole break. I went to various doctors four times, and the emergency room once. I was tested for the flu, strep throat and mono, and all the tests came back negative. I still don't know what I was sick with last year. I had every symptom of mono, but both of my mono tests were negative so one of the doctors that I saw guessed that it was a freak virus that took on mono-like symptoms. (Here and here are links to posts that I wrote while I was sick.)
Two weeks after I got sick, I still wasn't much better. My sore throat had left, but the fever and terrible headaches remained. It wasn't looking likely that my mom and I would make it to Italy, but then a new problem arose: what I would do for Spring Break. I was so weak that I couldn't even drive (or barely even leave my room- I ate in the caf once during week two of being sick and all my energy just dissapeared) or really take care of myself, so my parents quickly booked a flight and flew me home to Maine. Getting myself through the airport took up what was left of my low energy levels, so I spent the rest of SB at home, in Maine, in bed. Near the end of my time at home, my mom tried to take me on a day trip to lunch and my favorite mall in Massachusetts, but even after almost three weeks I was still feeling so terribly that we had to leave shortly after getting there- and I never leave a mall early!
Last year's illness was one of the hardest things that I have ever had to go through. Not just because of the physical symptoms, but because of the inner turmoils that I was experiencing at the time. Transferring colleges had been something that I had been pondering since second semester started, but it was getting sick that actually finalized the decision for me that I would transfer. (I don't want to go into detail, but basically my former college was the worst possible place for an out-of-state student to get very sick at.) Anxiety is something that I've always struggled with, and being very sick and having to start the transferring process kicked my anxiety levels into high gear... and let's not even talk about the two-plus weeks of make-up homework and missed midterms that had to start on!
....
Goodness, that first part of the post ended up being wayyyy longer then I expected. Sorry, y'all. I'm not trying to be a huge Debby-Downer, I just want to be honest about how tough last year's Spring Break was for me. Anyways, I am a firm believer that good things come to those who wait. My Spring Break seemed ruined at the time, but I am grateful that my parents had the finances to be able to fly my home unexpectedly like that, and grateful that they supported my decision to transfer. Getting through all of the make-up work me work harder then I ever have before, and a little hard work is never a bad thing. And lastly, had my mom and I gone to Italy then my family never would have gone on our trip to England and Scotland this past Christmas!!
And the best news, I'm finally going to get my fun Spring Break! I'm so excited to share my plans with y'all. I blogged a little bit in this post about how a friend from Maine is coming to visit me! My sweet friend Shara is arriving a couple days before my Spring Break actually starts, so the fun of break will start early for me. :-) I'm actually happy that it worked out this way, because she'll get a real feel for what my day-to-day life is like at school, and most of my friends should still be around on the day that she arrives! The first weekend of my break will consist of showing Shara around the beautiful Queen's City, and also a couple of daytrips! That weekend will also be the annual pagaent at my former college, and I'm taking Shara out to meet some of my friends from there, and to cheer on all of the lovely ladies that I know who are doing the pagaent this year!
And on the day that I say good-bye to Shara, my dad arrives in Charlotte... and the next morning he and I are heading here:
My dad and I are headed to the Dominican Republic for some sun and relaxation!! I am SO excited. The only time that I have ever been to the Caribbean was on an ill-fated cruise that my mom's whole side of the family did when I was in second grade (the weather was so bad that even the ship's crew was seasick). Being from Maine, I get overexcited by things like aquamarine colored water and palm trees, so I have a feeling that this trip will be right up my alley! It will also be wonderful to have a vacation that is truly relaxing. My family's trip to England and Scotland over Christmas was great, but it was also one of the most stressful and busy things that I have ever done in my life. I can't wait to have a vacation that doesn't have a crazy agenda, and I'm most excited for WARM weather. It's supposed to snow in Charlotte this week for the second time this season... this Mainer is ready for some heat!
I feel crazy blessed to have such amazing SB plans. And grateful to have a sweet friend who is coming to see me, and a dad who wants to spend time with me. I would much rather pick quality time with good friends and family over the stereotypical college student experience... y'all know what I mean. :-)
I'll be dreaming of palm trees and 80 degree temperatures as Charlotte begins to get more snow... which is supposedly starting tonight?!
xoxo Miss ALK
February 10, 2014
(Swing) Dancin' the night away.
Two things are official: Friday night was the best night that I've had so far during my sophomore year of college, and I have rediscovered my love for swing dancing.
Swing dancing was something that I didn't really know much about before coming to college. My first exposure to it was at my former college's homecoming dance in October 2012. The theme of the dance was 1920s, and the school had several students that were talented swing dancers offer free dance lessons at the start of the evening. The swing dance lessons were my favorite part of that homecoming, and after the dance I got in contact with one of the guys who was giving the lessons.
The swing dance guy that I stayed in contact with after homecoming ended up organizing a few more fun swing dance nights throughout spring semester. I went to as many as I could and always had a wonderful time! I love dancing, but am not a fan of the disgusting "dance styles" that are found at most school dances or clubs these days, so to me it was awesome to find a group of people that loved to actually dance!
But as y'all know, I didn't stay at my former college, and once I transferred to my current school I didn't hear anything about swing dancing. I figured that swing was something that probably was only still enjoyed by college students at rural Christian colleges like my old school. To be quite honest, I kind of forgot all about swing dancing!
I'm a member of CRU (Campus Crusade for Christ) at my new school, and a couple weeks ago I found out that our CRU group was going to a swing dance event here in Charlotte with the much larger CRU group from nearby university UNC Charlotte. It sounded like a fun event and something to do, so I decided to go. I was under the impression that the UNC students were hosting it and that it would be only our two schools' CRU groups.
Well, the swing dancing event completely blew away my expectations, and was seriously some of the most fun that I've had so far in college! First off, let me say that this was most certainly not just a CRU event... I'm guessing that there were between 150-250 people there, ranging from high schoolers to elderly folks! In addition to the two CRU groups, there was also a different UNC group, a large group from Charlotte's popular Elevation Church, and many singles, couples and friend groups! There was a live band playing wonderful music, and the dance hall was decorated with the prettiest lights. The evening began with a basic lesson in swing dance, and then the rest of the night was free dance time.
The wonderful group that put on this event was called Gotta Swing Charlotte! On the first Friday of every month, they hold a $5 swing dance event that's open to anyone, and that's what we were at. I will definitely be going back- sadly I cannot attend next month's because of Spring Break, but I can guarantee that I will be back! :-) It was such a great and fun workout, and also a time to get some very affordable dance instruction! As well as getting to bond more with my CRU friends and new friends from UNCC!
Swing dancing is also a great way to meet guys! Throughout the course of the night I must have danced with close to 30 guys. Some of them were way older or way younger then me, but a bunch of them were college aged guys. This event helped to restore my faith that there still are nice guys my age that actually enjoy real dancing and not just "getting some" at the club. ;-)
If you live anywhere near Charlotte then I would highly recommend checking out the wonderful and affordable dance opportunities that Gotta Swing Charlotte offers! Or if you live elsewhere, I would reccomend trying to find some swing dance opportunities near your home! I can't rave enough about how much I love swing dancing, and I'm so happy that I was able to rediscover how much fun it is.
xoxo Miss ALK
Swing dancing was something that I didn't really know much about before coming to college. My first exposure to it was at my former college's homecoming dance in October 2012. The theme of the dance was 1920s, and the school had several students that were talented swing dancers offer free dance lessons at the start of the evening. The swing dance lessons were my favorite part of that homecoming, and after the dance I got in contact with one of the guys who was giving the lessons.
 |
| Homecoming 2012 at my former college |
The swing dance guy that I stayed in contact with after homecoming ended up organizing a few more fun swing dance nights throughout spring semester. I went to as many as I could and always had a wonderful time! I love dancing, but am not a fan of the disgusting "dance styles" that are found at most school dances or clubs these days, so to me it was awesome to find a group of people that loved to actually dance!
 |
| Some of my friends from my former school at a swing dance night. |
 |
| Taking a swing break to do the Cha Cha slide. (I'm out in the back left!) |
But as y'all know, I didn't stay at my former college, and once I transferred to my current school I didn't hear anything about swing dancing. I figured that swing was something that probably was only still enjoyed by college students at rural Christian colleges like my old school. To be quite honest, I kind of forgot all about swing dancing!
I'm a member of CRU (Campus Crusade for Christ) at my new school, and a couple weeks ago I found out that our CRU group was going to a swing dance event here in Charlotte with the much larger CRU group from nearby university UNC Charlotte. It sounded like a fun event and something to do, so I decided to go. I was under the impression that the UNC students were hosting it and that it would be only our two schools' CRU groups.
 |
| The swing dancers from my school's CRU group! |
Well, the swing dancing event completely blew away my expectations, and was seriously some of the most fun that I've had so far in college! First off, let me say that this was most certainly not just a CRU event... I'm guessing that there were between 150-250 people there, ranging from high schoolers to elderly folks! In addition to the two CRU groups, there was also a different UNC group, a large group from Charlotte's popular Elevation Church, and many singles, couples and friend groups! There was a live band playing wonderful music, and the dance hall was decorated with the prettiest lights. The evening began with a basic lesson in swing dance, and then the rest of the night was free dance time.
The wonderful group that put on this event was called Gotta Swing Charlotte! On the first Friday of every month, they hold a $5 swing dance event that's open to anyone, and that's what we were at. I will definitely be going back- sadly I cannot attend next month's because of Spring Break, but I can guarantee that I will be back! :-) It was such a great and fun workout, and also a time to get some very affordable dance instruction! As well as getting to bond more with my CRU friends and new friends from UNCC!
 |
| The CRU groups from my school and UNCC. |
Swing dancing is also a great way to meet guys! Throughout the course of the night I must have danced with close to 30 guys. Some of them were way older or way younger then me, but a bunch of them were college aged guys. This event helped to restore my faith that there still are nice guys my age that actually enjoy real dancing and not just "getting some" at the club. ;-)
If you live anywhere near Charlotte then I would highly recommend checking out the wonderful and affordable dance opportunities that Gotta Swing Charlotte offers! Or if you live elsewhere, I would reccomend trying to find some swing dance opportunities near your home! I can't rave enough about how much I love swing dancing, and I'm so happy that I was able to rediscover how much fun it is.
xoxo Miss ALK
February 7, 2014
January (Bargain!) Beauty Favorites.
This post is coming a few days later then I would have liked, but that sometimes happens with my ever-changing college schedule. ;-) Anyways, here are some of my new favorite beauty products that I discovered in the past month! This month they all happen to be drugstore products, and all are under $5!
Wet N' Wild Mega Slicks Lip Balm Stain in A Stiff Pink (Drugstores, $3)
This product wasn't only one of the best makeup bargains that I've ever gotten, but I think it's also one of my all-time favorite drugstore products (which is a pretty big honor for something that I only discovered a few weeks ago!). In my Beauty Misses of 2013 post , I wrote about my strong dislike for e.l.f.'s version of this product. Because of that, I was hesitant to try this Wet N' Wild version, but I'm so glad that I did! This product actually is a balm, and did an amazing job of moisterizing my lips! And the COLOR. Y'all, this pink color comes out way brighter then it looks, but it is such and amazing and pigmented dark hot pink! Below is a picture of when I wore this balm stain when I went out for dinner with friends from my former college a couple weeks ago... the picture was taken at least two hours after I had applied the product (and after eating a full dinner with it on!):
So basically, I love and would highly reccomend this new lip product from Wet N' Wild! I loved the shade "A Stiff Pink" so much that I went out and bought a second color, a lighter pink called "Pinky Promise." Also- right now at Rite Aid all of these products come with a coupon attatched to them to instantly get $1 off! :-)
CoverGirl Outlast Stay Brilliant Nail Polish in Skylight (Drugstores, Ulta, $4.95)
First, I have to say that the image above is NOT what this polish color looks like!! That is the only picture that I could find of it online, and I'm so dissapointed in the color of it in that image- because the main reason that I bought this polish was for the beautiful color!! The actual color is the prettiest pastel baby blue that I have ever seen. But even though it's a pastel, it is still super rich and beautiful.
I have heard my favorite Youtube beauty gurus, Eleventh Gorgeous, rave about this line of CoverGirl nail polishes for awhile, so I decided that I finally had to try one! Walgreens had a display of the new spring colors, and I fell in love with Skylight! After trying it out I can also say that I was pretty impressed with the nail polish formula! I wasn't too crazy about the brush and it was a little hard to apply, but it lasted for almost a week with no chipping (with my top coat), and once it was on my nails it looked stunning. I hope to try more of the nail polishes from this line in the future!
Jordana FabuBrow Eyebrow Pencil in Medium Brown (Kmart, Walgreens, $2.50)
This might sound weird, but my eyebrows are the part of my body that I hate the most. I don't like the look of overplucked or super tiny eyebrows, so I like the fact that mine are bold... but they just get very unruly! I have posted before about my love for Benefit's speed brow eyebrow gel, but in order for the gel to look really good I need to use a pencil beforehand. Previously I had been using one of Revlon's eyebrow pencils, which worked okay but wasn't something that I was in love with. The cheap price of this Jordana pencil caught my eye when I was in Kmart last month, and I decided to give it a try. I love it!! The medium brown shade of this pencil looks much better on my brows then whatever the shade was of the Revlon pencil that I had been using. It lasts all day once it's on, and I love how the cap comes with a little brush! This eyebrow pencil is a great buy that I will definitely be getting again in the future.
What new beauty products have you been using and loving? Do share in the comments!!
Hope that y'all will have a wonderful weekend! I have a crazy busy weekend coming up, but the thing that I'm most excited for is tonight! This evening I am going to a swing dance event with the CRU (Campus Crusade for Christ) bible study group here at school. They're having it with a CRU group from another college as well. I'm so excited for this- my former college used to have swing dancing nights a few times a semester, and I used to go and have so much fun!
xoxo Miss ALK
Wet N' Wild Mega Slicks Lip Balm Stain in A Stiff Pink (Drugstores, $3)
This product wasn't only one of the best makeup bargains that I've ever gotten, but I think it's also one of my all-time favorite drugstore products (which is a pretty big honor for something that I only discovered a few weeks ago!). In my Beauty Misses of 2013 post , I wrote about my strong dislike for e.l.f.'s version of this product. Because of that, I was hesitant to try this Wet N' Wild version, but I'm so glad that I did! This product actually is a balm, and did an amazing job of moisterizing my lips! And the COLOR. Y'all, this pink color comes out way brighter then it looks, but it is such and amazing and pigmented dark hot pink! Below is a picture of when I wore this balm stain when I went out for dinner with friends from my former college a couple weeks ago... the picture was taken at least two hours after I had applied the product (and after eating a full dinner with it on!):
So basically, I love and would highly reccomend this new lip product from Wet N' Wild! I loved the shade "A Stiff Pink" so much that I went out and bought a second color, a lighter pink called "Pinky Promise." Also- right now at Rite Aid all of these products come with a coupon attatched to them to instantly get $1 off! :-)
CoverGirl Outlast Stay Brilliant Nail Polish in Skylight (Drugstores, Ulta, $4.95)
First, I have to say that the image above is NOT what this polish color looks like!! That is the only picture that I could find of it online, and I'm so dissapointed in the color of it in that image- because the main reason that I bought this polish was for the beautiful color!! The actual color is the prettiest pastel baby blue that I have ever seen. But even though it's a pastel, it is still super rich and beautiful.
I have heard my favorite Youtube beauty gurus, Eleventh Gorgeous, rave about this line of CoverGirl nail polishes for awhile, so I decided that I finally had to try one! Walgreens had a display of the new spring colors, and I fell in love with Skylight! After trying it out I can also say that I was pretty impressed with the nail polish formula! I wasn't too crazy about the brush and it was a little hard to apply, but it lasted for almost a week with no chipping (with my top coat), and once it was on my nails it looked stunning. I hope to try more of the nail polishes from this line in the future!
Jordana FabuBrow Eyebrow Pencil in Medium Brown (Kmart, Walgreens, $2.50)
This might sound weird, but my eyebrows are the part of my body that I hate the most. I don't like the look of overplucked or super tiny eyebrows, so I like the fact that mine are bold... but they just get very unruly! I have posted before about my love for Benefit's speed brow eyebrow gel, but in order for the gel to look really good I need to use a pencil beforehand. Previously I had been using one of Revlon's eyebrow pencils, which worked okay but wasn't something that I was in love with. The cheap price of this Jordana pencil caught my eye when I was in Kmart last month, and I decided to give it a try. I love it!! The medium brown shade of this pencil looks much better on my brows then whatever the shade was of the Revlon pencil that I had been using. It lasts all day once it's on, and I love how the cap comes with a little brush! This eyebrow pencil is a great buy that I will definitely be getting again in the future.
What new beauty products have you been using and loving? Do share in the comments!!
Hope that y'all will have a wonderful weekend! I have a crazy busy weekend coming up, but the thing that I'm most excited for is tonight! This evening I am going to a swing dance event with the CRU (Campus Crusade for Christ) bible study group here at school. They're having it with a CRU group from another college as well. I'm so excited for this- my former college used to have swing dancing nights a few times a semester, and I used to go and have so much fun!
xoxo Miss ALK
February 5, 2014
Happy tears.
Do you ever have a day where everything just seems to go right? That was Tuesday, February 4, 2014 for me. (Aka, yesterday).
I woke up with a headache, which is never fun, but I was determined not to let that get the best of me. Right away I knew things were starting to look up when I did my make-up in the morning and my eyeliner came out perfectly. Perfectly, y'all. That doesn't happen very often! I was also excited because I started playing with a makeup palette that I had bought in England (from a European makeup brand), and I found a couple of beautiful rose gold shadows in there that looked similar to the colors in the very popular Urban Decay Naked3 palette. Now these two things probably don't seem that significant to all of you, but they got my mind off my headache, and that's when things started getting better and better!
Yesterday afternoon my wonderful internship boss had arranged for me and my fellow interns to take a tour of some of the major radio stations in Charlotte. We got to meet with several of the DJs and radio staff, and it was just awesome. I have loved the field of radio for a long time, and I've also blogged many times about my passion for radio. But yesterday during the tour, I just had this feeling of peace in my heart that radio is exactly what I'm supposed to be doing with my life. Kind of like how when I was a senior in high school I had an overwhelming feeling that I was supposed to go to school down South (and that certainly worked out!). And that feeling of peace was intensified when one of the DJs that we met with said that a skill that all aspiring radio personalities should have is a knowledge of blogging and basic web design.... I almost did a happy dance y'all! Who knew that this fun hobby of mine could someday help me with my job search?
My day got even better when I attended a small group sign-up event at the church that I've been going to over the past few months. After finally finding a church here in Charlotte that I felt at home in, I have been really wanting to get more connected in it (it's a very large church). I found a women's small group that will fit perfectly into my crazy schedule, and I have a feeling that this group is going to grow both my faith and myself as a person! I can't wait to see the blessings that will come from getting involved at my new church.
And lastly, I received some wonderful compliments yesterday. One was from my boss at my internship. I recently interviewed her for a short film that I had to make for one of my digital media classes, and she loved the finished product way more than I was expecting! I also sent the video to my parents and they were very impressed. And the other compliments came from a couple of my sweet sorority sisters. I know I have mentioned here before that I recently became the chaplain of my chapter of ADPi for 2014. Today I sent out my first "weekly encouragement" e-mail with a few bible verses and thoughts to my sisters, and the fact that a couple sisters wrote back letting me know how much they enjoyed that just made my day even better! :-)
All of these wonderful things combined lead me to crying happy tears on two seperate occasions yesterday! One was right after the radio station tour, I called my mom and started bawling because I was so overwhelmed with the fact that I know exactly what my passion is and what I want to do with my life. The other time was after reading those e-mail from my sorority sisters. The biggest passions in my life right now are my Christian faith, radio, and this blog, and I feel as though all three of those things played a part in my great day yesterday!
I just feel so crazy blessed to have my life be this good right now. I am in such a great place! After suffering with severe anxiety (and a semester of depression) during my high school years, this is a welcome change. Last year was a better year for me then high school, but it also brought it's own stressors which ultimately lead to me transferring colleges. And then there was last semester... which wasn't great on many levels. But finally 2014 is here, and it's already bringing so many amazing opportunities and experiences! I have finally come to a place where I have a love and appreciation for both my hometown and my former school, but am LOVING life in Charlotte.
I guess the only thing that isn't great in my life right now is the fact that I'm still singleand severely failing to mingle. But I can finally say that I'm so content with everything else in my life that I'm learning to enjoy singleness. I am trusting more than ever in God's plan for my love life, and just like the peace that I have about working in radio, I have a peace that He will bring me the right guy at the right time. And it's okay if right now isn't the time... goodness, I have plenty of other things to cry happy tears about! The guy can wait a little while, things already seem too good to be true. ;-)
"And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus." -Philippians 4:19 NIV
xoxo Miss ALK
I woke up with a headache, which is never fun, but I was determined not to let that get the best of me. Right away I knew things were starting to look up when I did my make-up in the morning and my eyeliner came out perfectly. Perfectly, y'all. That doesn't happen very often! I was also excited because I started playing with a makeup palette that I had bought in England (from a European makeup brand), and I found a couple of beautiful rose gold shadows in there that looked similar to the colors in the very popular Urban Decay Naked3 palette. Now these two things probably don't seem that significant to all of you, but they got my mind off my headache, and that's when things started getting better and better!
Yesterday afternoon my wonderful internship boss had arranged for me and my fellow interns to take a tour of some of the major radio stations in Charlotte. We got to meet with several of the DJs and radio staff, and it was just awesome. I have loved the field of radio for a long time, and I've also blogged many times about my passion for radio. But yesterday during the tour, I just had this feeling of peace in my heart that radio is exactly what I'm supposed to be doing with my life. Kind of like how when I was a senior in high school I had an overwhelming feeling that I was supposed to go to school down South (and that certainly worked out!). And that feeling of peace was intensified when one of the DJs that we met with said that a skill that all aspiring radio personalities should have is a knowledge of blogging and basic web design.... I almost did a happy dance y'all! Who knew that this fun hobby of mine could someday help me with my job search?
 |
| Me and my wonderful fellow interns!! |
My day got even better when I attended a small group sign-up event at the church that I've been going to over the past few months. After finally finding a church here in Charlotte that I felt at home in, I have been really wanting to get more connected in it (it's a very large church). I found a women's small group that will fit perfectly into my crazy schedule, and I have a feeling that this group is going to grow both my faith and myself as a person! I can't wait to see the blessings that will come from getting involved at my new church.
And lastly, I received some wonderful compliments yesterday. One was from my boss at my internship. I recently interviewed her for a short film that I had to make for one of my digital media classes, and she loved the finished product way more than I was expecting! I also sent the video to my parents and they were very impressed. And the other compliments came from a couple of my sweet sorority sisters. I know I have mentioned here before that I recently became the chaplain of my chapter of ADPi for 2014. Today I sent out my first "weekly encouragement" e-mail with a few bible verses and thoughts to my sisters, and the fact that a couple sisters wrote back letting me know how much they enjoyed that just made my day even better! :-)
All of these wonderful things combined lead me to crying happy tears on two seperate occasions yesterday! One was right after the radio station tour, I called my mom and started bawling because I was so overwhelmed with the fact that I know exactly what my passion is and what I want to do with my life. The other time was after reading those e-mail from my sorority sisters. The biggest passions in my life right now are my Christian faith, radio, and this blog, and I feel as though all three of those things played a part in my great day yesterday!
I just feel so crazy blessed to have my life be this good right now. I am in such a great place! After suffering with severe anxiety (and a semester of depression) during my high school years, this is a welcome change. Last year was a better year for me then high school, but it also brought it's own stressors which ultimately lead to me transferring colleges. And then there was last semester... which wasn't great on many levels. But finally 2014 is here, and it's already bringing so many amazing opportunities and experiences! I have finally come to a place where I have a love and appreciation for both my hometown and my former school, but am LOVING life in Charlotte.
I guess the only thing that isn't great in my life right now is the fact that I'm still single
"And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus." -Philippians 4:19 NIV
xoxo Miss ALK
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