2013 In Review: Instagram

1. i started the new year by spending it pittsburgh with some of my best friends from IUP, needless to say it wasn't one of the best new years i have had

2. starting the new year right by spending the 12th in the hospital after waking up at 3:30 with shooting pains in my stomach and finally calling a friend to come pick me up to drive me to the hospital. i then spent 4.5 hours there.

3. i came home one weekend and spent the day with bailey in georgetown where i bought my first sprinkles cupcake. if i remember we went for a smores one but they were out so i settled for this one, still wishing i had that smores one but none the less the cupcake i had was good. yet i'm still obsessed with georgetown for some reason...

4. like everyone else i told myself i wanted to start a healthy lifestyle (which i can say i stuck to it the whole year! may have been a little lenient during summer but still tried) i have kept working out and watching what i eat and i can happily say i'm happy with the path i'm on. i recently just bought my first size small shirt for the first time in forever the other day! :)

5. after spending valentines day with my roommate getting free drinks at a bar my dad gave me his gift that weekend when i came home. chocolate covered strawberries yumm!

6. i spent spring break in new york city with my mom and met up with my best friend a couple days where we went on a sex and the city tour, had lunch at the plaza, and had gossip girl inspired drinks at the empire hotel

7. this is where i first fell in love with hockey. i attended my first capitals game with amazing seats, out friends have season tickets 10 rows away from the ice. i love having connections. i have now become a huge hockey fan because of this game. c-a-p-s CAPS CAPS CAPS!

8. as always i went back up to iup for IUPatty's weekend. it was probably one of the best weekends at IUP (besides homecoming of course)

9. easter weekend i spent with just my dad and i while my mom and sister were in florida for lacrosse. since it was just my dad and i we decided to go look at some bulldogs! this is the day my dad became obsessed with getting another dog, and if i might add i don't hate it.

10. i went to my first ever JMU hosted concert and it was macklemore. to this day still one of the best concerts i have ever been too! he is an amazing performer and puts on an amazing show.

11. the best roommate i have ever had graduated last semester! i'm so proud of her and the rando roommate we got is nowhere as amazing as her! ps. she just got engaged on christmas!!!!!!

12. i went to my first ever nationals game, needless to say it was miserable and boring. i never want to attend another baseball game in my lifetime.

13. when i moved to the beach this summer the first week was spent with 2 friends from IUP. needless to say it was the start to a very interesting summer filled with a ton of highs and lows

14. after a week of being spoiled by my friends who cooked for me almost every day they visited i finally had to cook on my own again. i cooked my first steak this summer! i made a steak with sweet potato fries and green beans, it was a great meal.

15. this summer was filled with plenty of firsts! i paddle boarded for the first time, its definitely hard and an amazing work out. i also learned how to skurf, extremely proud of myself.

16. we got a truck this year (my family finally listened to me) and i drove it on the beach almost every day i could. it was the best decision my family has made in awhile

17. dear sunshine crepes, you make the best crepes i have ever had. keep doin' you. as the summer was winding down i had to get my last crepe of the summer

18. this picture was from my last trip to the beach, it was also that last summer i will be living and working at the beach *brb as i cry*

19. i came home from the beach early to take a quick (but not at all quick) bus ride up to nyc for the night to take my friend to his ring dance for the merchant marine academy. it was... interesting and it is definitely a story for the books

20. i went to my first ever washington redskins game with a couple of friends. it was a lot of fun with a ton of memories. i swear this year was the year of sports, i went to almost every possible washington team sporting event for the first time this year

21. this semester i started to get into my groove at JMU and making great connections with new friends. i surprisingly only went to a few JMU football games this season.

22. i found a new love for printmaking. although i had many sleepless nights because of this class i wish i knew about this earlier. i'm taking an advanced class next semester just for fun

23. i also made the most brilliant decision to join the art honors fraternity, kappa pi. i'm pretty mad at myself for not joining earlier. i have the best big ever and am a triplet! one of my triplets is my best friend :)

24. i surprisingly went to a keith urban concert during the winter, i never allow myself to listen to country music unless its the summer. i also went to a ton of other concerts this winter including, mistletoe madness and jingle ball where i got to see some of my favorite artists such as backstreet boys, gavin degraw, fall out boy, and miley cyrus. i also went to WMZQ at the beginning of the summer

25. at the beginning of this winter break my car was in need for some fixing up. it was so bad it was to the point where my dad almost threw in the towel on marvin (my car) but seeing as we just got a paint job for him my dad decided it was worth fixing him up! i almost cried when i found out i wouldn't be getting him back so when i did the first thing to do was hug him

going back through my instagram brought back a ton of memories. i didn't realize how much of my life i actually documented through instagram. i had an amazing 2013 filled with lots of memories. bring it on 2014!

NOTD | Essie Wicked & The New Black Demi Lovato Safari

For the past couple months I have been on the hunt for a deep red wine colored nail polish, i found the color wicked by essie and thought i would try it out. not quite what i wanted because 1 coat is to sheer and after 2 coats you might as well be wearing a black nail polish. i don't regret the purchase though because when i don't want to go as harsh as black i can wear this color. for my accent nail i used the glitter polish from demi lovato's nail polish line with the new black, from the collection safari. the color is absolutely stunning, i would describe it as gold, green, and turquoise flakes. the polish isnt glitter its more like different size flakes, which i'm in love with. I received 2 of her collections for my birthday and plan on reviewing both very soon!

does anyone have any suggestions of red wine colored nail polish? i would love to find my perfect red wine color!

Save or Toss?

with the new year approaching fast this is usually the time when i go through all my makeup and throw out everything that is expired. i put together a little makeup expiration guide to help you go through your makeup products and decide whether to save or toss. just remember: when in doubt, if it smells rancid, throw it out!

Smashbox Full Exposure Palette

my birthday was on the 9th and for my birthday my parents got me the smashbox full exposure palette, i have been lusting over it for about a month. from looking at different reviews and swatches this palette has been a love hate relationship for most people. for me i love it. its actually quite different than my others.

this palette contains 7 shimmer and 7 matte shades, and when i say shimmer... i mean packed with shimmer/glitter. the palette also includes a dual ended brush and a sample of the full exposure mascara. this palette is a great neutral palette with equal warm and cool shades. for me i wish that not all the shimmer shades were packed with glitter, the only one thats not is the fourth color in (S4) which is more of a satin finish. I wish the palette had a combination of satin and shimmer finish, none the less this palette will be great with creating "going out" looks with the fine glitter packed into the shimmer shadows. speaking of all the glitter in the shimmer shadows they do tend to have a small bit of fallout, but what else do you expect with a heavily packed glitter shadow. but none the less the palette has great color pay off for both shimmer and matte colors that last me throughout the day! the matte shadows have a velvety fell to them, not so buttery as the lorac pro palette, so there is less fall out for the smashbox matte colors. i read some reviews where people thought that the shimmer colors were gritty, i didn't think so. yes, when you rub the product through your fingers over and over again it feels slightly gritty, but when applying them to the eye i had no problem.

the smashbox full exposure mascara come with a huge wand. for me this mascara wasn't amazing but it wasn't bad. it was a nice add to the palette but i don't think i would purchase it after this palette. the mascara separated my lashes and gave them some length and a tad bit of volume but I feel like there are better mascaras out there, but lets be real... i didn't want the palette for the mascara.

overall i really enjoy this palette! the packaging its a little bulky they probably could have made it skinnier but nothing thats going to weigh you bag down! for me i think this palette is a bit overlooked, i haven't heard much hype about it but hopefully more people will start falling in love with it!

have any more questions? feel free to ask!

Victoria's Secrets Fashion Show 2013

The iconic Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was last night, I watch it every year. The six themes of this years show were "British Invasion," "Birds of Paradise," "Parisian Nights," "Shipwrecked," "Snow Angels," and "PINK Nation." While everyone was gawking over the models (ok, i gawked a little) I was obsessing over the outfits. I don't think I enjoyed this years outfits as much as last years but they were definitely extravagant. Above were my six favorite outfits, as you can tell my favorite theme was Shipwrecked. The craftsmanship of these outfits are incredible, i always love the big wings, feathers, sparkles and colors throughout the show.

The performers for this years show were Taylor Swift, Fall Out Boy, A Great Big World, and Neon Jungle. I could have done without Taylor Swift... just not a fan of her anymore. Fall Out Boy was amazing, I wish they took over Taylor Swifts portion of the shows. A Great Big World world played during the Shipwreck theme of the show and Say Something went along perfectly with the tone of the show. Neon Jungle performed during the PINK Nation theme during the show, which wasn't really favorite part of the show... which is usually my favorite.

Overall this wasn't my favorite fashion show, also... did it seem like it was shorter than usual? I feel like usually its longer, maybe I just expected/wanted more so thats why I was so bummed.

Did you watch the show? How did you like it and did you have any favorite looks or moments?

Winter Favorites

seeing as it is snowing here i thought that my winter favorites would be a perfect comeback post! so lets get into it!

beanies // i'm a huge fan of beanies in the winter for three reasons; one, they keep you warm when its freezing outside. two, they are really cute. three, they are perfect for a bad hair day!

smokey makeup // during the winter i love that its socially acceptable to wear dark and smokey makeup on the daily basis. recently i have been loving the lorac pro palette, especially the colors pewter and garnet. i usually mix those two together and use them all over the lid and in the crease for a quick and easy look. another one of my favorite smokey makeup looks for winter is the maybelline color tattoo in gold shimmer (limited edition) and overtop that i use maybelline color tattoo pure pigment in improper copper.

moisturizer // a must have for me during winter is a great moisturizer, as you can tell i'm in need of a new one. my skin gets extremely dry during the winter so i need a moisturizer so my face doesn't look or feel like a sandbox. my favorite is Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentrè

candles // if you know anything about me its that i have an obsession with candles. during the winter it gets a billion times worse, winter candles have the best scents! i'm a huge fan of spiced scents so i'm all about winter candles.

dark nails // i'm not a person that wears a ton of color (my wardrobe consists of black, gray, and blue) so during winter dark nails are my jam. i usually add a glitter accent nail to give it a little umph. my favorite colors are OPI opi nein nein nein ok fine and for glitter polish i love essie beyond cozy.

starbucks // excuse me for my common white girl moment, but i had to. when its cold outside i love having a warm drink in hand, or sitting in bed with a candle lit and starbucks (can you tell what i'm doing right now?) my favorite starbucks drink is a caramel chai latte. but i don't always need starbucks, i also love hot chocolate and apple cider!

scarf // big cozy scarves. enough said right? i love infinity scarves, i wear a scarf with pretty much everything during the winter.

ps. my birthday is tomorrow, i turn 22. help, i'm getting so old! :(