Small Card, Big Thanks

Today I received a letter from one of my best friends that lives in California. Opening it and seeing her handwriting made me feel so close to her, but it also made me realize that no one ever sends out letters anymore.  I'll admit to email or texting anyone when I need to talk to them quick, it seems like sending a letter just isn't practical, but it is so much fun to receive on in the mail. Whenever I get a letter I pin it up on my bulletin board as inspiration; inspiration to write more letters, or to just appreciate the little things in life. As I was looking for some stationary to send thank you cards out I came across Kate Spade's line of little greeting cards. They are so much fun and I wanted to buy them all, but right now I'm going to stick to this one set. It really gets the point of thank you across well and is very cute, plus the bright green is a nice change of pace with the gray weather we have been having lately. Who do you have big thanks for?

Red, White and Pink

Valentines day is coming around soon and I'm so excited. I love Valentines day, actually, I just love any holiday. Getting ready for even the smallest holiday is so much fun. I love it! Have I mentioned that yet?  I used to have so much fun planning out what I was going to pass out in class, then they took that away from me and i have to live vicariously through my little siblings.  Sad day.  We would always make home made Valentines, never the store bought cardboard ones with a little sticker and a Pixie Stick attached.  I would spend hours looking through the latest American Girl magazine dreaming up ideas that would leave the other kids in wow. In fact, I still love doing that for my friends.  The other half of the fun was picking out my outfit that had just enough oink and red, but not too much of either.  Looking back at an old Glamour (I guess that aspect of me has stuck around) I remembered an issue with Scarlett Johansson on the cover wearing a basic, white, over-sized shirt with rainbow colored pom-poms on it.  I loved that picture so much and it always reminds me of Valentines day.  Here are some shirts that have that same look to them, and, here's the best part, they are all under $50.

Forever 21 Sail Away Tank

Forever 21 Garfield Slouchy Top

Forever 21 Heart Balloon Long Sleeved Top

Forever 21 Painted Heart Sweat Shirt

Forever 21 Collage Heart V-Neck

Candy Colored

Hey all, I'm so sorry for being such a terrible blogger, but life has been so busy lately that I haven't had time to really sit down and think of something to write, I've been horrible.  I have seen such drab colors everywhere and it seems like January really needs a pop of color in the midst of all the neutrals.  I just bought my very first mini bag the other day, and absolutely love it. I was shocked that I could actually scale down all of my "necessities" to fit into this tiny little thing!  They seem like the perfect way to add a spring-y pop of color into the winter without over doing it.  The colors seem like candy to me, they are so addicting. I've had to stop myself from buying all of these. Which color is you favorite?

Forever 21 Fuchsia Bow Front Bag 

Modcloth Red Dually Knotted Chain Bag 

Marc by Marc Jacobs Yellow Quilted Bag 

Porenza Schouler  Green Mini Crossbody Pouch 

Mulberry Electric Blue Shoulder Bag 

Forever 21 Purple Small Shoulder Bag with Pleats

Chocolate (Sorta) Trifle

I've been dying to try out the idea to make a trifle and, since you really don't need a recipe for it, I decided to whip up some individual sized ones up yesterday. They were so easy and very tasty, so this is defiantly going to be made again in our house.  I already had chocolate cupcakes lying around, and we had a box of vanilla pudding that could be made in less then 20 minutes, so it seemed like the perfetct dessert to make on he snowy day inside. My intentions were to make a chocolate trifle, but since we didn't have chocolate pudding, that was cut to just having chocolate cake and chocolate chips in it. All you really do is layer chocolate cake, pudding, whipped cream, and any thing else you can think of (I layered chocolate chips in too, fo a harder texture in the mix which went really well with the other soft creamy ingredients).  I used wine glasses to put each in and I cut up a chocolate cupcake as the cake in each one. The rounded top of the cupcake fit perfectly in the bottom of the glass, and  they looked really nice too. The only thing I would do differently next time would be to use Cool Whip instead of whip cream from a bottle because that has a lot less air in it and after sitting in the fridge for only 10 minutes, the whip cream was flattened about halfway of what it had been. I think strawberries or some sort of fruit would have been nice too, but you can pretty much think up any combo of ingredients for this. It's a pretty fool-proof recipe for the non-chefs out there. Enjoy!

Happy New Year!

Happy new year everyone! I've had an amazing break at home with all of my family and just needed to be disconnected from the world, but I'm back and how I've missed posting here. I have set many resolutions for the year, and one big one is to do regular posting, which I'm horrible at, so, hopefully, I can carry that out (I will try my absolute hardest) and be a much better blogger. Here's to a new year!

Five Little Holiday Things

The whole month of December is always a crazy month, despite it being "the most wonderful time of the year."  This year especially, it seems to have flown by in the blink of an eye and I really haven't enjoyed it to it's fullest potential. With that being said, this past weekend I was really trying to focus on enjoying the fun little things that make up the holidays, like enjoying time with friends and staying indoors all day. I created a little "Five Things" post about what has made me smile all weekend, s here are the pictures of each little detail that's kept me in the holiday mood, I hope they keep you smiling like they've kept me.

{The row of gingerbread houses that have now been transferred to our island}

{Each and every one of our super sentimental ornaments)

{All of the Christmas cards we've received lately}

{My manicure (and pedicure) that I got yesterday in a Christmas-y red}

{The poinsettias that are scattered all over our house, clique, I know, but they radiate Christmas for me}

A Peek into my Make-Up Bag

I'm always curious to see what other people have in their make-up bags, so I thought that I should share to others what is in mine.  I'm always spilling my little bag all over my bathroom counter and it is rarely ever clean so last night as I was doing just that, I grabbed my camera and snapped a picture, these are my current favorites as of this moment.  What are your favorite make-up buys?

-Bag: Body Shop cosmetic bag from last year's Christmas, it had Satsuma lotions in it; my favorite scent from them.

-Eight-Color Eyeshadow Palette: From Claire's, this is so convenient so that I don't have to buy each and every bright color I want, I use this most in the summer though.

-Brown Eyeliner: Mary Kay brand, I really never use this, but it comes in handy when you are marking off two specific points to pluck your eyebrows in.

-Sonia Kashuk Brushes: I got this as a birthday present and I've loved it since the second I unwrapped it. Its really easy to put into a bag and take anywhere, and with five brushes, you'll never go wrong.

-Colossal Volume Mascara from Maybelline: This really fans out your lashes and makes them really dark.

-Mary Kay Foundation: I don't use this as foundation, I use this as concealer.  It covers up blemishes really easily and blends into my skin tone nicely. Plus, it doesn't clog pores which is a must for teenagers especially.

-Shimmer-y Gray Eyeshadow: I put it only under the crease in my eyes and it makes my blue eyes pop.

-Old Mascara wand: This comes in really handy when my mascara won't cooperate and clumps together.

-Mini Sephora Eyeshadow: I got this in their birthday package and it came in white which makes your eyes wider and look more awake.

-Smokey Eyeshadow Quad: I've been able to think up numerous looks with these four basic colors, it's now a staple to every day life.

-Lip Polish: This is from Maybelline called Girly Pink, that pretty much describes it. I can easily smooth a coat or two on when I'm running late and it gives me a fun yet polished look instantly, its just slightly pink-er then my natural lip color, so it's not a major pop.

-Three-Shade Blush Palette: I only use the lightest shade or the middle shade of this, but those two are perfect. The lighter shade also works as a bit of a highlighter and the two blend together well to give a perfect color for my skin tone.