The Reality of Moving

This past month has been a whirlwind of sorts. I was always coming and going and working and stressing. I've been absent and I swore this blog wouldn't be this way. But that's life. I can't promise posts.  I worked a lot in February. I can't remember many days off in a row, except for that one long weekend spent on a cruise to Mexico with my family and their coworkers. That was a serious blessing. Overall, I'm thankful for the tired nights and feeling over worked because it was worth it when Rachel came into town last Saturday.

I could go into a whole spiel about how awesome Rachel is and how excited I was to finally meet her, but that will come in the next few days. (Plus you can find that on every other social networking site that I'm on!) It will be awesome to talk about someone that I first connected with through our posts on Blogger.

I've chosen to come back to my blog mostly because right now, I don't know how to effectively communicate my feelings to anyone else. For me, words have always flowed easiest from pen to notebook and keyboard to screen. I'm 20. I don't know very many others my age still in the predicament of living at home. There are some blessings to it, there really are: not having to spend AS much money on food, no rent, no utilities, someone to do your laundry, a fairly well stocked pantry/fridge etc. But I always imagined the next time I moved it would be into an apartment with a roommate or even on my own. My mom's decision to buy a new house came to me as a shock and honestly I was stunned. I've lived in this same house since the summer before my freshman year of high school. Don't get me wrong, I love this house, but it's just the fact that I'll be 21 in 3 months from tomorrow and instead of moving out on my own, we're just moving out.

I've sort of resisted the whole idea. Every time we went to see houses, I was uninterested and complained most of the time. I don't know why I thought that if I pouted enough, she would decide otherwise. How mature of me... I have yet to actually see the house she is purchasing because quite frankly, I'm trying to pretend like it isn't a reality. But it really really is. They took pictures of my furniture today to sell and we're having a garage sale next weekend. I'm trying to embrace it, but I'm struggling. I'm hoping through blogging about it that I will find the positive in all of this and maybe even find some excitement? Ha, one can dream right?

xx - Dan

Valentine's Day

(via KateSpade)

Happy Valentine's Day, darlings. I'd love to say that I'll be doing really fun lovey dovey stuff, but I'll be at work tonight catering to those who are. haha. Take time today to celebrate all of those wonderful people you're so happy to have and let them know you love them. Having that reminder is always nice. I happen to love Valentine's Day because why not enjoy a day to celebrate love, even though everyday should be full of love. :)

xx - Dan

Totally and completely exhausted.

Hello dolls. It's been quite the long week. Is it finally Friday? Yes. Only one more shift at work for me before the weekend! I worked Dinner on Tuesday night, a double Lunch/Dinner on Wednesday, another double today, and just one more Lunch tomorrow. Needless to say, my feet hurt, I'm tired of smiling, and oh yeah today I completely lost my voice. I've been laughed at 4 times tonight, not including how many times I was laughed at by my family and my loves. It's fabulous sounding like a teenage boy. I'm just about to enjoy a Starbucks French Vanilla Latte and watch The Princess Diaries. I'm excited to get some blogs up this weekend!

xx- Dan

Bamboo Organizer for Makeup

I have a love/hate relationship with organization. I love love love buying organizational pieces and the really clean look of a freshly organized space, but I truly hate the actual process of organizing. It's usually tedious and time consuming. Since the pros do outweigh the cons, organizing is helpful. I'm constantly looking for new ways to store my makeup collection. I think I enjoy watching youtube beauty gurus storage and collection videos far too much. A lot of them have a dedicated space on or in their desks/vanities dedicated to their everyday/most used makeup products. I thought about how much time it would save me if I did that myself.

I've been on the hunt for a kitchen flatware organizer that would suit my needs and budget well. Today at Walmart after picking up a few plastic flimsy ones, I found an expandable bamboo one for only $8 called the Anchor Hocking Bamboo Expandable Junk Drawer Organizer. Similar pieces actually retail for upwards of $20 or $30 on Amazon, which is crazy.

The organizer is very sturdy, but not too heavy. As you can tell, it expands to have two longer compartments on the side. All of the little dividers are actually removable to create custom size spaces for your specific needs, which is really unique to this piece. It holds so much and fits nicely on my desk. One of my favorite things about it are the middle compartments because I use the top one to fit both of my NAKED palettes stacked perfectly!! 

I love that I can separate items like my face brushes, eye brushes, lipsticks, eye bases, and concealers. It makes things so much easier and less annoying to dig through in my drawers. I know it seems ridiculous to be excited about something so trivial, but when you find something that suits your needs so well, you can't help, but want to tell everyone. :)

xx - Dan

Office Loving

My free time is frequently spent on Pinterest and other blogs. Besides the obvious makeup and beauty product blogs, the next most frequented ones for me are home decor and interior design. There's something about a well put together living room that absolutely makes me swoon. As most of you know, I unfortunately still live at home. Besides having freedom, I really cannot wait to decorate my apartment and home one day. That's what I'm really most excited about. Once and awhile you'll see posts like this one showcasing really great interior design ideas, so I have one solid place for my favorite pictures one day when I need the inspiration.

Lately I've had a crazy desire to have an office. I truly have no need for an office right now, but there is something so elegant and fun about them. (I'm sure when I have my own bakery and I'm constantly in there doing paperwork, I won't think that.) I love really simple and classic designs with cute accents and colors.

These three pictures are from one office, Emily's, from Cupcakes and Cashmere. If you've never visited her blog, you must. She's fabulous. I love her style of home decor. It's all unique and different in each room, but together it's cohesive. These pictures are from her apartment tour with Apartment Therapy. I will also include some of my favorites I've pinned too. 

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I love love love Tiffany blue (Robins Egg Blue). It's one of the prettiest colors and I love the way it looks on the walls in this room with the white furniture. They pair perfectly together.

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This color combination is so simple, but unexpected. I am dying over the bright pink desk. It's so great.

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Again with the white furniture, haha. I love the picture frames on the shelves behind the desk and the really fun floral rug. 

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This desk is simply organized and the big whiteboard really is a great addition above the desk for easy viewing. 

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I love collages, so I was instantly draw to this one for an inspiration board of sorts. It would be really easy to brainstorm having a lot of pictures and clip outs pinned on there. Again a white desk. haha. 

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UGH. While this is only a desk, lamp, and chair, the setting is ideal. That view is to die and if I can't have a kitchen overlooking the ocean or water one day, it will be my office that has that spectacular view. 

There are some of my office picks. I hope you enjoyed a peek into my decor style.

xx- Dan

January Beauty Favorites

^Yes that's me up there! I make beauty videos on Youtube. I'm still fairly new to it and only have a few subscribers, but it's one of my favorite things to do. I love sharing my reviews and opinions on products because that's how I find my products as well, from other girls doing the very same. My favorite videos to film are ironically, my monthly favorites. I'm usually pretty on top of it and this month was no exception because I had a lot to talk about. I'm not going to go into any detail because I'm definitely detailed in the video. But I will list all the products for y'all below! Enjoy and please subscribe if you like hearing me say the word, "fabulous," or listening to my fabulous Glee ringtone in the middle of the video.

• E.L.F. Tinted Moisturizer in Beige
• Sonia Kashuk Hidden Agenda Concealer Palette
• E.L.F. Powder Blush in Candid Coral
• MAC MSF in Semi Precious Crystal Pink
• Ulta Eye Crayon in Birthday Girl
• Maybelline Master Drama Eyeliner in Bold Brown
• Maybelline Eyestudio 24 Hour Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze 
• Urban Decay NAKED 2
• MAC Eyeshadows in Cork and Saddle
• NYX Round Lipstick in Goddess
• MAC Lipsticks in Pillowtalk and Party Parrot
• Revlon Colorburst Lipglosses in Peony and Rosegold
• Urban Decay Lip Junkie in Naked

AND you'll also get to see my haircut as second day voluminous messy amazingness. Yay! :)

xx- Dan

Wishlist Wednesday

Hi everyone! Another Wednesday is upon us, but before the Wishlist. I have a few exciting things to share. The first thing is I got my hair cut! Okay, so trimmed, but whatever. I was super inspired by Lea Michele at the SAG Awards last Sunday. Her long layers were to die and I knew I had to have it. While my hair is a little shorter, I know the second day hair voluminous look will still be able to be achieved! :)

I also have decided to embark on the February Photo a Day Challenge, which is going to be so much fun! I will be doing this on my tumblr and also on my twitter. I haven't decided if I'm just gonna switch it up or post on both. I have no idea, so follow both for those updates! 

Now onto what y'all have been waiting for, Wishlist Wednesday! I am going to try to include less makeup, but that might end up back firing on me because I'll be wishing for it even more than usual. I decided that for the month of February I will not be purchasing any makeup. Few have succeeded on this challenge, but we will surely see. 

Jewelmint Topaz Palace Dome Ring- I never thought I'd be obsessed with JM like I am. I constantly find inexpensive (all $29.99), unique high quality jewelry on that site. This cocktail ring is to die. I love the color which is perfect for Spring. If you've never heard of Jewelmint, I made a video here. STAY TUNED for a video featuring my newest pieces with a coupon code available too!

NARS Blush in Gaiety- NARS blushes are by far the best blushes out there hands down. This one is a bright candy pink that is brand new for the Spring collection. I absolutely love how bright and pretty it is. 

Dove Style+Care Line- As I said earlier, I cut my hair after Lea Michele's hair style at the SAG Awards and some of these happen to be the Dove products her stylist used on her. I actually won the full line via a contest on Beautylish which ROCKS! (I love that website!) This line will be available in March in drugstores. 

Black & White Striped Giant Floppy Hat- As some of you know, I'll be going on a cruise to Mexico over President's Day weekend and I think a large floppy hat blowing in the wind would be a perfect travel addition for my style that weekend. 

Diana F+ Mr. Pink- I have a crazy desire to take pictures lately and I know it should be about the quality of the camera, but I absolutely love how adorable this vintage style Diana is AND IT'S PINK! 

Tiffany & Co. Tiffany Locks heart lock ring- I just love how simple and elegant this ring is. It will go with everything and everyone knows how obsessed with rose gold I am. (I think it will be a requirement every W.W. to find something Rose Gold.) I just love this one so so much. 

Wildfox Couture Eight Days Baggy Beach Jumper- I've been lusting after one of these ever since that famous T.Swift picture of her in the white one with the sparkly red heart. They're so ridiculously expensive, but ugh so cute. I love this one because it has the lyrics to the first Beatles song I ever heard on it and the Beatles are my all time fave. 

Philosophy Purity Made Simple- Honestly, it's on my wishlist because I just ran out of my 1 oz. size that I got in November and I reeeeaaaallly want the 32 oz with the pump. It's totally an amazing cleanser for all skin types and a little goes a long long way. I wrote a rave review about it here. If you're in need of a good face cleanser, definitely check out this one. It's creamy and cleans deep and works great with a Clarisonic too!

So that's what I've been wishing for this Wednesday! Leave me a comment with something you're lusting after today! :)

xx - Dan