Things That Are Not The Color They're Supposed to Be

When we first moved to Virginia, I was browsing on Pinterest for cool things to do around here, when I came across this image.

I have no idea what the original source is. I have looked and looked and looked.

And I immediately thought, "I want to go to there." The pin described it as "Cherry River, West Virginia." So I looked up Cherry River, saw it was a 2.5 hour drive from us, decided that we would go when spring came, and stopped thinking about it.

So. It's now spring. Last week, I told Matt I wanted to go see Cherry River on Sunday, now that things are blooming. And we searched high and low and could find NO MENTION of pink trees. No other photos from people who had been there. No travel blogs listing it as a place to see. I asked my boss, who is from West Virginia, and she said she'd never heard of this, but went ahead and asked some of her hometown friends, none of whom had ever seen anything like this either.

They suspected someone took a picture of a river and stuck a pink filter on it. Plus, none of the other photos of Cherry River I found look like this at all.

I was disappointed. LIES, ALL LIES.

But that's okay. Matt and I decided that we'd go out and do something new on Saturday instead, so we found ourselves at a roller derby bout in Roanoke. It was pretty awesome; I'd never been to see roller derby before, and it was a fun experience, the two of us trying to figure out how the game was scored and watching the derby girls try to hip-check each other out of the rink.

(Side story: Matt and I went for a walk after work yesterday, and I told him I wanted to do some blogging. He said, "About your hair?" and I said "No, about Cherry River," and he said, "You could call the post, 'Things That Are Not The Color They Are Supposed to Be,'" and I laughed and laughed, so there you go.)

BTdubs, I LOVE MY HAIR. I went in Saturday and it took like three hours to get all the bleaching done and lavender added, but it turned out so awesome and I love it, and my colorist said it would still look good as it fades into lighter purple, with shades of pink and silver and blonde. It's like My Little Pony in the best possible way. 

Also, thanks to the bleaching experience, I now know that a whole head of blonde is not something that looks good on me, so now I don't feel like I have to try that anymore.

Skin Care, or How Apathy Became Obsession

I have never had much interest in beauty products. I like lip colors a lot, and I wear a minimal amount of makeup everyday, but otherwise, you could pretty much guarantee that I was Not Interested. I routinely skipped past advertisements and recommendations for new treatments in the Beauty section of the few magazines I subscribe to, and I was generally bored by discussions of omg wrinkles crow's feet laugh lines aaaaah.

But then … a couple of months ago, I came to a realization. My skin was looking rough. There's a picture from Christmas from when Matt and I visited Washington D.C., and I swear you can tell how dry my skin is just by looking at the picture. I'm 28. I never developed a skin care routine, unless you count routinely falling asleep without washing my face. I was starting to see some good-sized creases in my forehead that didn't go away when I stopped making faces, and my skin always felt super itchy and dry.

And I thought maybe I was worrying about nothing, so I asked some friends about their skincare routines, and that's when I learned that I have been doing my entire life wrong. I didn't even know what my correct skin type was, so I don't know what I expected to happen when I bought face products. The few products that I had used and liked are, apparently, The Worst for your skin, according to people who pay attention to that kind of thing, and all the good habits I never developed are, apparently, Super Important. Things like, remove your makeup before bed! and Wear sunscreen every day! and If your skin is already dry, stop using things that dry it out more!

I bought moisturizers for day time and moisturizers for nighttime, cleansers that don't have skin-destroying plastic scrubby things in them, sunscreen that doesn't feel slimy and look greasy. I finally pulled the trigger and used a gift card to buy one of those face-scrub brushes that I've been thinking about since before we got married (… almost five years ago). I've become a tiny bit obsessed with reading about Korean skin care products, and got a subscription to the Jini Beauty Box so I can try out some of the products suggested by people who know what they're doing.

For years I pooh-poohed the idea of skin care because there's nothing wrong with aging and I'm going to look the way I'm going to look whether I spend money on face cream or not and  it all seems so complicated and I have other things to think about. (At my sister's bachelorette party, I compared skin care "routines" with both the bride and my cousin, and discovered that NONE of us had ever removed our makeup before bedtime.)

But it makes a difference. In how my skin looks and how it feels. And how I feel about myself. I'm a convert.

I'm still early enough in the process that I'm hesitant to share my favorite items yet (plus, discovering new ones all the time!), but maybe I will over the next few months. My sister has asked for recommendations when I find things I like, so I'm excited that maybe my trial and error will be helpful to someone that is still as apathetic as I used to be about the whole thing.

What are your favorite beauty items? At what age did you start to get serious about your skin?

Dear Spa Castle, You're Awesome

In general, I have a hard time splurging on myself. I don't particularly like spending money, especially on something that I deem frivolous, which is most everything. A few months ago, my sister basically had to talk me into spending money on myself for something I really wanted (Versace Eros Pour Femme perfume. It's lovely, but I hate how expensive fragrant water is!). I always ask Matt for massage gift certificates for my birthday each year, and that is the only time I end up going to day spas.

So when my sister's other Maid of Honor, Christina, announced that Rachel's bachelorette party would be at Spa Castle in Carrollton, Texas (suburb of Dallas), I was SO excited. A built-in excuse to splurge and unwind!

I mean, a night in a nice hotel and two days where the sole purpose is relaxing? Uh, THERE. (And uh, also a chance to see my sister…)

It was SUCH a nice experience. There were pools with swim-up bars and massaging jets, saunas of varying face-melting temperatures (up to 186 degrees! plus one "ice" sauna that was like, 59 degrees), heated relaxation rooms, and hot tubs all over the place. And that was before we even got to the actual spa services!

For all my typical high-strung-itude, I don't know that I had ever felt so chill. We hung out in the various pools and hot tubs. We explored all the warm rooms and struggled to breathe normally for two minutes inside some of the hotter ones. I got a 30-minute Korean "chair" massage that was actually on a table, and it was delicious. (I thought my sister had booked my Swedish massage, and she thought I had booked my own, so the 30-minute one was the only one they had that was at the same time as both Rachel's and my cousin Autumn's 60-minute massages.) Plus, awkward, but it turns out butt massages are like, really awesome?!

After we'd spent sufficient time in the spa, we went to find our hotel room, which Christina had decorated and loaded with candy, games and a veil and crown for Rachel! Plus, we got robes and slippers to relax in for later!

We got dressed up and went out for dinner at BJ's Brewhouse before heading back to the room to hang out and play bachelorette games.

Pretty bridesmaids and friends!

Me, Rachel and Autumn. You can't really tell, but I'm wearing my beautiful yellow heels.

(Also, the Spa Castle hotel room was awesome. All seven of us crammed into this two-room suite, with blow-up mattresses in addition to the beds the room had. Rachel and Autumn and I all ended up sharing this giant memory-foam bed, and I slept like a rock. In the morning, once both of them were awake, I tried jumping on the bed to see if they noticed, like in the commercials! And they said they barely felt any movement!)

We did go back to the spa right before it closed at midnight, and then again the next morning for pedicures. That's when we decided that we needed to come back here the day or two before Rachel's wedding to make sure she relaxes! We might try to drag my mother, who would probably hate it because she doesn't like nudity (a lot of naked people hanging around the changing rooms and ladies-only saunas) or massages (because she doesn't want people she doesn't know to touch her). Plus we basically had to drag her for a manicure a few Christmases ago.

But yeah, I pretty much can't wait to go back. Why did I never know this place existed when I was, you know, LIVING IN DFW?!

What is the best bachelorette party you've been to? How do you like to relax? And what was the last thing you did to splurge on yourself?

The One Where I Get Totally Irrational About a Pair of Shoes

Do you ever do or say something that makes total sense to you, but kind of accidentally goes against everything you are?

I had one of those moments yesterday.

See, on Saturday, Matt and I went shoe shopping. He needed new running shoes for his upcoming half marathon, and I needed to get some new Skechers Go Walks since the ones I bought in Chicago a few years ago are starting to wear out.

I wear them ALL THE TIME, and they are the PERFECT SHOES and so of course Skechers doesn't make them anymore. Now they sell Go Walks 2 and Go Walks 3 and Go Walk Flex and a bunch of others that are NOT THE SAME and DON'T FIT RIGHT.

(I especially need new ones because … I'm going to get to go on a business trip to Europe in a few months!!! I'll get a day to explore on either end of my trip — one of those days in Amsterdam, and one in Milan! I AM SO EXCITED! And I plan to do lots of walking!)

So I tried on every pair of Go Walk Not-Original-Flavor they had at Shoe Dept, and was huffing about how none of them were right. Instead, I bought a pair of Saucony gel-insert lace-up shoes, which were a fine alternative, but not what I wanted.

On Sunday, Matt came home from lunch and I was wearing the Saucony shoes around the house, to make sure I even really liked them. And I told him I had found the original Go Walks (in limited colors and sizes) on Amazon, and that I wanted to buy like, seven pairs and stockpile them so I never have to be without them.

I swear, I am not a hoarder. At all. I hate stockpiling things. It's stupid. I like getting rid of things. But that's how much I love and adore those shoes. I would stockpile them for years and years and years.

Matt told me I didn't need to buy seven pairs, and that one pair was fine.

(Three Years in the Future Matt is going to be kicking Current Matt for this.)

What are your favorite shoes? Any recommendations for things that are must-sees/dos/eats in Amsterdam or Milan?

Is Life Without Chocolate Even Worth Living?

I think chocolate is making me break out.

I know that this is a fairly controversial statement. Some doctors say that what you eat has no effect on the oiliness or dryness of your skin, and other doctors say that what you eat absolutely affects your face.

My mom and my sister have always complained that they can't eat chocolate because it makes them break out, and my mom has gone so far as to tell people she's allergic to it. And Past Allie always thought this was silly, because I've never heard of a few pimples counting as an "allergic reaction."

But you know how much I love Nutella? I started noticing that every time I eat it, within a day or two I get huge cystic acne flares. I thought it was because Nutella is quite oily, and decided maybe I shouldn't buy it anymore. But my skin was still flaring up every time I ate regular chocolate too.

This was kind of mind-boggling to me. I've been a Proactiv user for years and years because I had bad acne as a teenager, and when I tried to stop using it as an adult, my skin freaked out again, and so I've been back on it ever since. I figured adult acne was just my cross to bear. So the idea that maybe I could control my skin a little better by cutting out chocolate was intriguing.

AND TERRIBLE. I decided I should try an experiment to see if my skin clears up when I avoid chocolate, and on the first day, I came home and wailed to Matt that I didn't think life without chocolate was worth living. (He was obviously super thrilled with this assessment of my life.)

I just discovered Japanese green tea chocolate! How can you take this deliciousness away from me?!

Since then, I have managed to go two or three days at a time, but I keep forgetting that I'm not eating chocolate and then accidentally eat it. (On Sunday I scarfed two Andes mints at Olive Garden before I remembered that Andes mints are chocolate. Gah. Life without Andes mints isn't worth living.)

I am still interested in the results of this experiment though, if I can ever display enough self-control to actually avoid cocoa for more than a few days at a time. I'm half-scared that my skin will be perfect sans chocolate and that I'll have to give it up forever, and half-scared that it won't have any effect and that my skin just sucks.

Do you think the things you eat affect your skin? What couldn't you live without?

Let's Look at Pretty Dresses!

While we were in town over Christmas, my sister had scheduled two appointments back to back: one for her to try on wedding dresses, and another for my cousin Autumn and myself to try on bridesmaid dresses.

Now, because my sister is a fashion designer, she already had plans to design and sew her own wedding dress. She already had a box of fabric delivered to my parents' house and everything, but she wanted to try on a few dresses just to make sure she was 100 percent sold on the color she wanted (champagne) and the cut of the dress (strapless with an illusion-netting-and-lace neckline).

But for convenience's sake, the bridesmaids' dresses are coming from David's Bridal, so we trooped down to the mall with my mom, my aunt, my cousin, and the mother-of-the-groom. Before the appointment, Rachel had texted me photos of her two other bridesmaids who had tried on this dress, and as a decent-sized-chested lady, I had immediate concerns.

I mean, if Model McNoBoobs has a cleavage line…

Oh, That's Just Me Making Your Trip to Target Awkward

Because I am the social one (between me 'n Matt, that is), the second I got to town I set about to finding fun things for us to do so that we might make friends and not be sad lonely hermits. Matt was perfectly happy with his level of hermit-atude before I got here, but I am sad when I don't know people, so out we went.

And it was during one of these outings (to get Viet-Thai food!) that it started to get pretty chilly in the evening. I was wearing a three-quarter-sleeve tee shirt and a furry vest, and I was FREEZING as we walked a few doors down to get dessert. That's when I was informed that, in addition to winter clothes and varying thicknesses of coats, I'd need to invest in some thermal underwear.

Whaaaat. This winter thing is crazy, ya'll.

So I went down to Target the other day to look for long johns. (That's what my mom always called thermals, and when I was a kid she wore them all year round, in Texas, because she's weird. Hi Mom!) It took me an awfully long time to find them, and when I did, there were so many options I didn't have any clue where to start. I was crouching there in the aisle looking helplessly at package after package of Cuddl Duds (that's the brand name Target carried) that came in like seven patterns and four colors, and crew-neck and scoop-neck and henley, and some of them are silky and some of them are waffle-y (as in, waffle-square-quilted, not actually pants made of waffles, which would be weird, but also delicious).

And there's this woman in the same aisle as I'm in, and she's facing the opposite shelf. I glance over at her, probably with this awkward, red face, and she catches my eye. So I say:

I have a question for you.

And she was like, for me?

And I said yes, I just moved here from Texas, and I have been informed that I'm going to need thermal underwear for winter, and I don't know what I'm doing. Is it better to have the silky kind or the waffle-y kind?

She said the silky kind feels nicer and is better for not bunching up under your clothes.

And I said thank you, and I picked up two pairs of the silky thermal pants, and one soft, silky top.

Yeah, uh huh, I'm suuuuure that a snow day is the perfect time to go galavanting in long underwear and cute vests.

(Is that going to be enough? Are thermals like regular underwear in which you need enough pairs to wear a different pair every single day between laundry days?! Or can you wear them multiple times between washes, like jeans?)

Tell me about what you wear in winter to keep warm! And if you live somewhere warm, tell me about how beautiful and hot it is outside so I can live vicariously through you, because I am so not ready for this.

Coffee Date

I'm so glad we have this chance to sit down together now and then. This month has been crazy, ya'll. CRAZY. And I was basically running on fumes last week, but this weekend was really nice and fairly calm, and I feel much more relaxed going into this week.

I miss hanging out with you, so I'm glad I have a few minutes to catch up. But let's be honest — I didn't go get coffee. I drank sangria instead. So no shame, if you'd rather have a sangria date. It's all good.

My new job is going really well. But working two jobs is kind of overwhelming me. Several clients I was convinced I wasn't going to hear from again got in touch the second I stopped being available all the time. So that's awesome and kind of stressful, but I think I've figured out a good schedule where I only freelance an hour or two in the evenings, so I can keep everyone happy and not burn myself out. Plus, maybe I'll actually get to spend time with Matt again sometimes?

Know something else interesting I've learned? Everyone, but EVERYONE in this town is doing something on the side. So that makes me feel better about what could be a weird situation. But it also makes me wonder why so many of us do that to ourselves. Do we all have dreams that are just too big for College Station? Or is it something else?

I've been trying to find a self-defense class in town, with little luck. It seems like all the available classes are either included in a martial arts curriculum, or involve taking Krav Maga. I don't really want to do a whole new type of activity like that, but I would like to feel stronger and safer. I had an incident on my third day of work where I was eating my lunch outside, and a homeless man yelled at me and told me I was evil because I said I didn't have anything to give him. I felt trapped, and it really shook me up, and ever since then, I've been a little bit freaked out walking the two blocks from the parking lot to my office. I have my stun gun, but I have never taken any self-defense classes, and I think I would feel better if I knew of more ways to protect myself, especially in situations where I'm not actually being physically threatened.

I tried a couple of new foods in the past few weeks! The first was a fresh fig, and while it was kind of weirdly crunchy, it blew the socks off whatever that blech crap is in Fig Newton filling. I also bought hatch chilies, because HEB runs a special on them every summer, and the ones I got were from the "mild" bin. And they were so spicy that neither Matt nor I could eat more than a couple of bites. So we won't be doing that again.

I also ended up joining a kickball league for this fall. Which should be incredibly entertaining, considering I haven't played kickball since middle school.

Last weekend, we went to visit some friends in Dallas, and we went to visit the George W. Bush Presidential Library. The museum was hosting an Oscar de la Renta exhibit (still going through Oct. 5)! There were several gowns that de la Renta designed for first ladies Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton, but there were also a lot of fabulous, intricate, gorgeous dresses on display. It was fantastic. If you'd like to check them out virtually, you can do so here. (Otherwise, we were slightly disappointed with the museum itself, though the Sept. 11 tribute was incredibly well done.)

My mom and sister came down to visit us over tax-free weekend, and we basically left Matt to his own devices and spent two whole days shopping. It was a lot of fun, and I got two awesome dresses — designer! — on sale for under $50 apiece, and they're prettyyyyy. I've already worn both of them and felt glamorous all day. The fabrics are just so luxurious compared to the stuff I normally buy.

L: Ralph Lauren from TJMaxx. R: Gianni Bini from Dillards.

I took another belly dancing class last week. Did you know that your abs are supposed to have three distinct muscles that you can contract and roll? I don't have any of those muscles. I looked like a fool, for sure, and wound up sucking my stomach in further and further since my weenie ab muscles didn't want to function as separate units. Damn you, Pilates! But it looked cool when the instructor did it.

What's going on in your world? Have you gone shopping lately? Did you have any fun trips this summer? What new things have you tried?

Suit Up!

You guys! Today you get a guest post from Matt! This is his first ever post on Everyday Adventures, and I'm thrilled that he wanted to share one of his own experiences. I hope you enjoy. :) 

When I graduated with my Ph.D. a few months back, I was humbled by how generous my friends and family were to me. Several people gave me financial gifts and encouraged me to “enjoy myself” or “have some fun.”

So, I spent some of the money framing my diploma. I spent a portion of the money on a pool-side graduation party with some friends. But I decided to spend the majority of the money on a clothing item I desperately needed: a black suit.

Prior to buying this suit, I only owned one suit. I purchased a gray suit off the rack at a men’s clothing store three years ago, and I only had the length of the pants altered. The suit fits me pretty well, and I have worn it to several events (conferences, weddings, inteviews, you name it).  I figure a black suit will be a little more formal and give me another option for fancy occasions.

Other than my one gray suit, I feel incredibly uncomfortable and unconfident in all of my dress clothes. I don’t have the “typical” male shape, and thus most dress clothes just don’t fit me properly. Whether it’s pants that don’t have the right seat/waist combination or shirts that would better fit a body-builder than an athletically-challenged engineer, typical dress clothes just don’t fit me correctly. Given this, I decided to go bold and get a custom suit.

The next question: where should I get my suit? I first learned about Black Lapel from two of my co-workers a few months back. They were both happy with the suits/tuxes that they had ordered online, so I decided to give this custom-suit startup a try. The prices seemed reasonable to me (slightly more than rack prices), and I was excited to get custom dress clothes that fit.

The Black Lapel website was very easy to use and lead me through the process step by step. I ended up ordering a black three-piece suit and two dress shirts. After I chose the design of my suit and shirts, it was time to input measurements. There were videos and instructions to take all of the different measurements, and Allie worked the cloth tape measure for me. The Black Lapel concierge and I exchanged a few emails to confirm my order and their tailors started working on my suit the next day.

My suit and shirts arrived in the mail four weeks later. While I was unpacking my suit, Allie said I smiled like it was Christmas morning. I promptly tried on all of the different components. The pants, vest, and jacket all fit perfectly. I am most impressed with the dress shirts. I have never had a dress shirt that fit me this well. The sleeves are not too big, the shoulders hit me in the right place, and there is just the right amount of material around the waist.

I got to try out my new suit at my seminar at Virginia Tech. I got several compliments regarding my attire. More importantly, I didn’t have to worry about how I looked or how comfortable I was in my dress clothes. That realization confirmed that the custom suit/shirts were worth it.

Do you or your better half have any experience with custom clothing?

Neither of us received any compensation from Black Lapel.

How Often Do You Clean Out Your Closet?

My answer is NEVER. I keep EVERYTHING. I wear EVERYTHING. (Kind of.) I never get rid of ANYTHING, even if it should have been long gone.

My logic is, I have to keep everything, because I haven't gotten around to replacing everything that really should be replaced. And therefore, my closet is filled with things that are ill-fitting, shrunk from the wash, falling apart or covered in those nubby little pills.

And that just wouldn't do. I was about to start a job in which people probably would care what I looked like, and so I should probably be presentable. (The dress code is basically business casual.)

So two weeks ago (on a Friday night, because I'm super cool), I finally pulled out all my shoes, and all my clothes, and threw everything on the bed so I could try every single piece on. I called my sister, because making fun of me for still having crap from high school is one of her favorite activities, and I needed that kick in the pants to finally get rid of the stuff that I keep insisting is still fine, but really should have retired a long time ago.

Like shoes. I haven't bought flats since I first moved to College Station in 2009 (whaaaa). I asked Rachel what she would consider too worn out to keep. And she said if they were majorly scuffed up or damaged, or had holes in them and couldn't be repaired, they should get tossed.

Goodbye shoes.

Goodbye pants that don't zip, and shirt that never went with a single thing I owned, and "Boobs Akimbo" dress (22-year-old Allie may not have had a problem with you, but now the ladies need a little more wrangling than that).

Bye, things Rachel made for design school that are model-sized and not Allie-sized.

I am pretty proud of myself for finally being willing to part with so much that I've held onto. And hey! Now you know I wasn't lying when I said pretty much everything I own is pink. But now my closet is empty and sad and I am having problems putting together anything decent to wear. I am the worst at clothing.

I think I'm getting to a point in my life where I'd rather invest in quality than buy cheap-o junk that's going to fall apart within a few months. And I think I'm getting to a point where I actually do see the value in hand-washing pieces instead of just throwing everything in together (ahem, shrunken clothing).

But I'm also in this weird place in life right now, where I'm not quite sure what types of pieces to invest in, because so much is still dependant on Future Allie. I'm no longer just waiting for us to move somewhere else, but it's still something in the back of my mind — will this piece I buy now be relevant to my future life? Future job? Future climate? I know that's kind of silly right now, but I hate wasting money. So it's definitely a consideration.

So here are my questions for you:
• How do you feel about investment pieces?
• What articles of clothing do you think are "worth" investing more in? (Shoes and accessories? Jackets and completer pieces? Work wear vs. casual wear vs. formal wear? etc.)
• What are your favorite stores for purchasing higher-quality pieces?
• Do you think this whole quality-over-quantity thing is a load of crap? (I'm open to hearing all opinions, seriously, because all I know about shopping is that every time I go, my sister tells me I have horrible taste.)

Etheria: The Fashion Show

Remember when we went to my sister's fashion show last year? Well, her senior show was last week, and this year she had her own entire collection to send down the runway!

She had five looks total in the show — four in her wedding gown/bridesmaid dress collection, and one separate look (a red jacket and skirt suit) that walked separately, during one of the previous six sections of the show.

Ways in Which I Am Still a Teenager

I read an article the other day in the May 2014 issue of Glamour that I thought was kind of interesting. In it, the author talked about how different scents can remind you of different times in your life, and proceeded to chronicle the perfumes she had owned and used during many of those times — in high school, studying abroad, falling in love, welcoming a first child. Some of them were inexpensive scents, like the author's favorite in high school — Victoria's Secret Pear Glacé — and others maxed out at $160 for less than 2 oz. of liquid.

And I got kind of curious. I am 26 years old, and every scent I own still comes from Victoria's Secret, where you can get a very large amount of good-smelling stuff for a very reasonable price. I have never owned anything that adults would qualify as perfume, and it made me wonder if I'm the only one who never jumped on the bandwagon of buying really expensive water? Then I started wondering what other things other people "graduated" to that I never did.

I keep all my scents on my dresser on this cute dish my mother-in-law gave me a few years ago. I think it makes my dresser look more sophisticated.

Beauty Products I Use That Are Beloved By All Ladies in the 16-and-Under Set

Body Mist
I have three or four different scents of the Victoria's Secret Body Mist that I've collected over the years, and it literally takes me years to get through a bottle of this stuff. Case in point? I have a bottle of Desire that I owned for at least two years before my wedding ... and I wore it at the wedding ... and I still wear it all the time, almost three years later. And I'm still only a quarter of the way through the bottle. How is this taking me so long?

(By the way, this IS a step up from High School Allie's collection. Back then I had a Mary Kate & Ashley two-scents-in-one set, and I was a big fan of that Calgon spray stuff that smelled like the beach.)

Lip Products
Yep, I still primarily use Bonne Bell LipSmackers when my lips are dry or chapped. I bought my first tube of actual Chapstick-brand chapstick earlier this year. They're exactly the same to me, except that LipSmackers comes in better flavors and you can get an eight-pack at a time so you don't have to buy more of it for a good long while.

Makeup
With the exception of my Mary Kay products (most of which my mom bought for me), I have no makeup from fancy stores. Everything I buy comes from Target, and most of it is by CoverGirl or Maybelline. I've been in a Sephora exactly once, and that was when my sister told me that I needed a new lipstick for my wedding. (The one I bought ended up being too brown, and I've hardly worn it since.)

At what age/point in your life did you start buying the "good"/"grown up" products? Do you still love any products you used as a teenager? What is your favorite fragrance?

Some Stuff I Did

This post is just a lot of things I've done over the last two weeks that were awesome, but that don't get their own blog posts, because I either don't have pictures and/or a whole post worth of things to say about them.

+ Fake Mood. My sister is in her last semester of her fashion design program, and is getting ready to send her collection down the runway in this year's fashion show! Rachel is still working on her garments though, so when I went up to visit the other weekend, she took me to this wholesale designer fabric store in Dallas called Golden D'or (pronounced "Dior," according to her). And because I've seen so many episodes of Project Runway, all I could think about was designers running through Mood (the fabric store they use on the show). Except that this was less stressful, and we spent more time waiting around for people to come help us with the giant rolls of satin. (I tried to convince her she should make a dress out of this lovely, soft white faux fur I found, or something really bright with sequins, but it's probably a good thing that she never listens to me.) There were so many beautiful fabrics, I don't know what I would have chosen if I'd had a project to make!

+ The Primaries. I volunteered to be an election worker for the primaries earlier this week. I loved the idea of being able to contribute and do my part in our country's democratic processes, and was excited to be there, but I was kind of bummed that I was working in such a remote precinct. I was there for seven hours and we didn't really have all that many people turn up to vote, which was disappointing.

+ Salsa Dancing. A few weeks ago, while Matt was working on his dissertation, my friend Amy invited me out to go salsa dancing. I hadn't gone out dancing in a really long time, so thank goodness the night included a class so I could remember some of the moves! There was a good mix of guys and girls there, so there were plenty of people to dance with (some better than others). I actually had a guy — that had clearly been taking lessons for a long time — tell me to stop trying to lead and let him do it! Ha! I'm used to dancing with Matt, and he doesn't mind when I lead because he doesn't know what he's doing. :) After the lesson, they opened up the floor for freestyle salsa and merengue, which is much easier than salsa since it's basically just walking in time to the music. I'm really glad Amy convinced me to go, and hopefully we'll get to go again sometime.

+ Visiting My Grandparents. Again, on a day Matt was hunkered down over his keyboard, my grandma invited me and Rachel to come to visit her and my grandpa. Rachel wasn't able to make it, but I went anyway and had lunch with them and hung out for a while. My grandma showed me her wedding album, which I had never seen before; even though I'm no longer blogging about weddings, I still love looking at pictures of them! I also went on a bike ride with my grandpa, though not too far since I had been out of practice and it was pretty warm out. It was so nice to get outside. I love getting to visit them. :)

+ Graduation. A few months ago, I found out that Rachel was going to be graduating with her B.A. in May. Fantastic! It's been a long time coming for her, and I am so proud of her. But I was also concerned, because Matt will also be graduating in May with his Ph.D., and both commencements were scheduled for the same weekend. In waiting for the actual graduation dates and times to be released, I agonized over what I would do if they fell on the same day, or even at the same time. Rachel wants me to be at hers really badly; Matt says he doesn't mind if I miss his, but a Ph.D. is a really big deal and I want to be there to celebrate with him! Last weekend, I finally found out — they're on the same day. Rachel's will be first, and Matt's will be six hours later. It's a four-hour drive between the two schools, if traffic ceases to exist that day, which on a graduation weekend is — let's face it — extremely  unlikely. I don't mind celebrating Rachel's the day before and leaving as soon as her name is called and truckin' it down to College Station again, but since doctoral candidates usually go first during commencement, I would worry that I would accidentally miss Matt graduating, and that me driving like a bat out of hell wouldn't be worth it. So I've booked a flight back to College Station. It's less than an hour long. Dear air travel, I appreciate you, even though I hate flying.

What's going on in your world?

Vlog: The Sassy Shoe Social

A couple weekends ago, I attended a charity event called the Sassy Shoe Social. There was Top Modeling involved. And, well, I figured a vlog was in order. :)

I was a little nervous beforehand, but it was so much fun. I had a few ladies tell me that I did an awesome job, so obviously all that practice worked! Haha.

For more information about Phoebe's Home, you can check out their website.

If given the chance, would you rock the runway?

Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Closet

I have a friend who is considering becoming a Stella & Dot stylist, so last weekend, she hosted a trunk show for their jewelry and accessories lines, and I was really psyched to get an invite. I had never seen any of their jewelry in person, but I've followed fashion bloggers who either loved the line or were brand stylists themselves, and everyone raves about the products all the time. I was eager to see all the goods in person and get to try them on!

Isn't the packaging cute?!

The party was pretty cool because a lot of the pieces were laid out for us to play dress-up with, and the sales consultant/stylist showed us the different types of pieces and how you could wear some of the necklaces in several different ways. Plus there was cake. :)

I really wanted to buy a whole lot of stuff, but I kept my wallet in check and only got two pieces, the Soiree Stud earrings, and the Renegade bracelet. As seen on my BFF Katy Perry.

via

When I first saw the bracelet, I was a little worried it was going to be too edgy for me. But then I put it on, and then I put a lot of other bracelets on, and then I took all the other bracelets off except that one and wore it for the rest of the party, to the point that a different friend was afraid I was going to accidentally take it home with me.

But I didn't. This one's mine! (Along with a J.Crew bangle and some thin bracelets from Forever 21.)

The whole "arm party" thing has always been a trend that I've been kind of awkward about, but this bracelet makes me want to get on board! (P.S. Could we not think of a better idiom than "arm party"? It's just weird.)

From the second I saw these earrings, I loved them. And then I tried them on, and I couldn't stop grinning and looking at myself in the mirror, so I figured they were keepers. I don't have that many pairs of stud earrings; I have a set of triangle studs in six different colors that I got when I cut my hair into a pixie, since I figured studs would actually be visible with my shorter hair. (Most of the time, when my hair is longer I keep it down and straight, so earrings aren't that visible unless they're big.) I'm excited to have some glamorous new studs. Maybe now I'll actually style my hair so people can see them!

Hmph. My little point-and-shoot doesn't do them justice. 

I told my friend that when she becomes a stylist, I will be happy to throw a party so I can buy more goodies! Here are some other pieces that I loved and was sad to have to leave behind.

On The Mark Necklace  •  Cleopatra Studs  •  Avalon Perforated Tote  •  Rebel Pendant  •   Palm Springs Ikat Scarf 

(both necklaces also come in silver)

That scarf is the first thing on my list. The colors were even more vibrant and beautiful in person!

Have you ever attended a trunk show? What accessories brands do you love?

P.S. No one paid me for this post. But if anyone wants to pay me in free jewelry and pretty scarves, I could be on board. :)

Round One: Not Blonde

Well, this is rather anticlimactic. When I told you that I was going to do something big and exciting and new with my hair in the new year, my intention was to dye it blonde (and make my life instantly at least twice as much fun, because I've heard that happens).

My aunt has been a DIY bottle blonde my entire life. I don't even know what color her real hair is, but I'm thinking it's probably a medium-to-dark brown, based on the fact that just about every other woman in our family has dark hair. She pointed me in the direction of L'oreal Paris dye "in the pink box," since that's what she's always used. I figured if it could dye over her dark hair, then it shouldn't be a problem for me.

My friend Sara and I went and picked up our own pink box, and went to town. An hour later, it was for sure lighter, but definitely not blonde. Especially not as blonde as the box promised.

I mean, I wasn't expecting THAT, but at least a little lighter, right?? Look at the Before & Afters on the side!

In fact, Matt came home and asked me what color it had been before, because he couldn't see the difference. Though over the weekend, he said he thinks it keeps getting lighter, because he's finally noticing it. :)

I actually like the color it turned out to be, so now I'm second-guessing my resolve to go in for round two. I was thinking that because it's a bit lighter now, perhaps it'll be a easier to re-dye in a week or two, and that maybe the dye won't have such a hard time lightening my hair. But I've also been down this road before, and I don't want my hair to turn orange again if it doesn't work out. Maybe I should just wait until I can afford to get it done at the salon instead.

Have you ever done a DIY blonde job? What did you use to get the color right? Should I just suck it up and wait to see a colorist?

Flawed Logic, or I Can't Stop Setting Goals

I hate the idea of New Year's Resolutions — if you really feel committed about making a change in your life, why do you have to wait until January First to start? — but I'm going against my own logic and making a few resolutions this year.

Wear More Lipstick
I wear makeup most days. Not much, just powder, blush and mascara, mainly. Occasionally some eye shadow if it's a fancy day. But I've never felt that confident wearing lipstick. It gets outside my lip line, or I smile and it winds up on my protruding chin, so I'm afraid of wearing most colors. I have a ton of barely used lipsticks, and I would like to put them to better use, and become more comfortable about having a brighter smile.

L to R: Mary Kay "Toffee"; Revlon "Luminous Pink"; Mary Kay "Frosted Rose"; Clinique "All Heart";  Mary Kay "Apple Berry"; Bobbi Brown "Roseberry"; Mary Kay "Apricot Glaze"; Maybelline "Coral Crush"; Mary Kay "Whipped Berries"; Mary Kay Signature "Gold Dust."

Cut Back on Sugar
This is one that I really feel strongly about needing to do. Ya'll, I have no self-control when it comes to dessert foods. If there are five different dessert items at a party, I have to sample all of them. And then later, when I get hungry again, I go back and get seconds of my favorites. When I worked in an office, I was always all up in the candy jar by the receptionist's desk. (To the point where I was embarrassed, and would only go when she was away from her desk so no one would know how much candy I was eating. I'm embarrassed admitting that right now too.) I try not to keep desserts in the house, because I can't help but sit and eat them until they are gone.

I'm not willing to totally give up desserts (I still have 14 flavors of Bluebell to go!), but I really need to cut back and learn some self-control. I'm not quite sure how to go about doing this, but I am going to try.

I already don't eat a lot of processed foods, so I'm not super worried about sugars in foods I already eat. Except maybe cereal. I do eat sugary cereal. Frosted Flakes are da bomb. I should maybe eat less of those.

(P.S. This is not a weight thing or a body image thing. I like the way I look just fine, most of the time. But I'm married to a diabetic, and so ... you think about these things.)

Make an Effort to See Friends More Often
I love to entertain, but we rarely seem to have people over. Which would be okay if we made an effort to go see people other places, but we don't do that very often either, and before I know it, three weeks have rushed by and I haven't been out of the house long enough to have a good conversation with someone who isn't my husband. I want to make a point to invite people over for game nights, potluck dinners, girls' nights ... and also to plan fun things to do with them outside the house. We have lots of friends in town that we don't see all that often just because we don't seem to make an effort to schedule something. Well, I'm scheduling! When ya wanna hang out?

What are your New Year's Resolutions? What's your favorite breakfast cereal? And do you have any secret miraculous ways to keep lipstick off your chin? Help a sister out!

Authentic Hair

I mentioned in my post last week — the one asking if blogs make you feel bad about yourself — that I've, unfortunately, got a gray hair or two. I asked whether or not you thought dyeing your hair to cover up gray was an inauthentic act.

I've come to the conclusion that it's not. And not just because I don't want to be gray-haired at 26.

For me, dyeing my hair is completely, 100% authentic. It's very much true to my personality type and attention span. I like my natural hair color, but I find dyeing my hair to be super FUN. Changing the color has always been a way for me to do something different without committing to a drastic new cut every time I get restless. In college, my besties and I would go to Walmart every couple of months for $6 boxes of dye, and spend an entire evening entertaining ourselves, coloring our hair in the dorm showers.

Some dye jobs were more successful than others. Some turned my hair funny colors. At one point, my hair was four-tone, and not on purpose.

(HAIR MONTAGE!)

Bottom-center was the four-tone one. If you look closely you can see four distinct colors.

Because I'm naturally dark-haired, I've typically stuck to varying shades of red and brown. And that one time it was pink/purple. But I've always wondered what it would look like to go lighter.

It's been quite a while since my hairstylist helped me color over the pink to get back to my natural color. My pixie cut has now completely grown out. It's about time I make another change, and I'm ready to try something different than I've ever done before. I've got big plans for the new year! (You know, after all the holidays are over, so in case it turns out horribly it won't be documented in family photos for all eternity.)

Do you ever color your hair just for fun? What makes you feel authentic?

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I'm linking up with Catherine from Walking With Cake. She recently made a big hair decision too, about what feels most authentic for her. Follow along with us; we'll be sharing updates from time to time!

A Bad Case of Elephant Hands

Every year, when temperatures drop, I become afflicted with this terrible problem.

I like to call it Elephant Hands. Matt does not believe this is a real thing, but it SO is. The skin on my hands gets really dry and hard and painful, and if I don't moisturize enough, it starts to crack and bleed. The dryness makes me itch, which leaves my hands all red and blotchy. Horribly unattractive.

You'd think that after years of this, I'd have learned to start moisturizing well before it gets cold, but ... well, this is Texas. You never know if the cold is here to stay. So here are the products I use to keep my hands feeling soothed and soft.

Gold Bond Ultimate Healing

This is my #1 winter product. It's Matt's least favorite thing ever, as he is totally grossed out by lotions, especially the sound it makes as I apply it. Every night before bed, I squirt a ton of it onto my hands and feet, and then I put on socks so it'll continue to soak in all night. (I don't put on gloves, though I suppose I could and that would make my hands feel even nicer!)

I've tried their hand creams, foot creams and standard formula, and they're all basically the same to me. Though I like their hand cream in particular just for the fact that it that if you have to get up in the middle of the night, it doesn't all rinse off when you wash your hands.

Bath and Body Works Body Cream

As a child of the '90s, I received many a gift basket from Bath and Body Works for various birthdays and Christmases. (My favorite scent ever was Strawberry Lemonade, which they only produced for a couple of seasons and then discontinued. Boo.) While I'm not crazy about their body lotions that comes in the little rectangular bottle (they absorb too quickly and leave your skin feeling dry again), their body creams that come in the tube are fantastic. They soak in fairly quickly so you're not stuck with sticky hands, but they also make your hands feel relieved instead of dry again. Throughout high school and college, I always kept a giant tube in my car so I could apply on my way to work or class.

Mary Kay Satin Hands

This stuff just feels nice. It's like giving yourself a manicure without having to pay a tech. The hand scrub has grainy stuff in it to exfoliate dead skin, which feels awesome. You apply cream afterwards, and the whole process feels totally luxurious. The kits come with a hand softener, hand scrub and hand cream, and comes in both peach and unscented varieties.

What are your favorite winter skin products?

None of these companies paid me. But they should, because I will shout this stuff from the rooftops all winter long.

"Pretty in Pink" is so Cliché

I know I don't normally do outfit posts anymore. In general, my clothes aren't that exciting. But I felt so pretty in my pink "suit" yesterday, I just had to take pictures.

Oh yeah, I got bored with my hair and cut bangs the other day.

Technically it's not even an actual suit. The jacket is from New York and Company, and the skirt is from Express, but the shades are SO close that I didn't figure anyone would notice that they're not identical.

And if they did, I don't care.

Jacket: New York & Co.; Skirt: Express; Top: White House Black Market; Shoes: Seychelles "Code"; Necklace: gift; Earrings: hand-me-downs.

I was going to a luncheon for my local chapter of the American Business Women's Association (of which I am on the local board), and every month the board agrees on a color for us to wear so that we'll be easily recognized if members or guests have questions about the organization.

This month, one of the ladies chose pink, and you guys? Pink is my favorite color ever. My sister makes fun of me because like, half the things in my closet are pink. And not really even baby pink or blush or medium pink. Hot pink. Hot pink is my happy.

(In fact, I had been looking for a pair of hot pink skinny jeans since colored jeans came into style. I finally got a pair the other day and I couldn't help but smile when I tried them on.)

What is your favorite color? What kind of outfits make you feel confident and pretty?