Out and About

Yesterday my sister and I went around town doing errands and just random gallivanting at the stores, so I thought I'd share what we were up to throughout the day! 

Murakami Collection

I've never particularly enjoyed reading as a hobby. Even as a child, I don't remember ever reading that often. Most of the books I've ever read were required readings for school, so I always felt like I was forced to read all these books instead of reading for my own personal enjoyment. I vaguely enjoyed "The Great Gatsby" in high school though, from what I remember. Seeing the movie last May made me want to re-read it because well, I don't know. I don't think I was in the right mindset back then to actually pay attention to what I was reading, or fully grasp it for that matter. As pathetic as it sounds, I just wanted to find the answers for my homework and be done with it. Was anyone else like that or is it just me?

Now that I've gotten older and have a sense of what I do like to read, I want to start reading more. I think it's safe to say that Haruki Murakami is becoming one of my favorite authors. I've only read "Norwegian Wood" and "South of the Border, West of the Sun", but I enjoyed both of them. I felt connected to the main characters in both novels and could also sort of relate to them as well. From what I've heard or read online, most of Murakami's novels deal with surrealism and surrealist themes, so I think "Norwegian Wood" and "South of the Border, West of the Sun" are some of his more realistic works. I plan on reading "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" next. It's definitely going to be a shift from the previous two, but hopefully it'll be a good read! Some of his other novels that I want to read include "Sputnik Sweetheart", "After Dark", and "Dance Dance Dance", so I hope to get those in the near future. 

Besides Murakami, I've heard great things about "Looking for Alaska" and "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green, so I've been wanting to read those as well. Actually, scratch what I said previously about not reading much; I just remembered that I read the entire Twilight series (I was one of those die hard Twilight fans at one point). And as embarrassed as I am to admit this, I also read two out of three of the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy...but let's just disregard both of those series because honestly, the writing was terrible in both. I'll try to redeem myself now and say that I've read and enjoyed "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and "The Perks of Being a Wallflower". Did that make up for it? I don't know..hopefully, but whatever! If you get passed the bad writing in 50 Shades, the story is kinda interesting to follow (please someone agree with me on this). Anyways, if you have any other good book recommendations, leave them below and maybe I'll check them out! 

Products in this post: "Norwegian Wood", "South of the Border, West of the Sun", "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" by Haruki Murakami

Glam Nails

Contrary to my previous post on how to achieve festive nails the lazy way, I did my nails the other day a more difficult way.. (everything was fun up until applying the glitter). I was inspired to do my nails like this because of one of my favorite Youtubers, Claire Marshall. She did something similar to her nails in this vlog, and hers look ten times better than mine, but I thought I would still try to recreate the look and I think I achieved what I was aiming for! You of course don't have to use actual specks of glitter, but that's just what I had on hand. In fact, I'd advise you to just buy a gold glittery nail polish like she did if you want to avoid the mess. But I'll go ahead and tell you the steps I took to achieve these nails:

1.)  Apply 1-2 coats of a dark blue nail polish (black would work as well) and let it dry.  

2.) Take a wedge sponge and apply a dark metallic gold nail polish (a metallic silver would look great as well if you want some contrast) to the tip and dab lightly starting from base of nails going about halfway up and let it dry.

3.) Working on one nail at a time, apply top coat on entire nail then apply glitter slowly to base of nail to about halfway up. Tap nail slightly to remove excess glitter. Repeat on all nails. (Again, a glittery nail polish would be better for this to avoid making a mess, so if that's what you have just apply it starting from the base to about halfway up). 

4.) Apply a topcoat and you're done!

These nails are definitely a statement and they'd be great for holiday parties, New Year's, or any special occasion really. I almost wish I did my nails like this for Christmas, but I guess I'll just have to wait until next Christmas to do them like this again! At least they'll be like this for New Years!

Products in this post: Rimmel London Lasting Finish Pro Nail Polish in 420 Midnight Blue (similar here), Zoya Nail Polish in Edyta, Jewel Glitter in Gold 

Hello Gorgeous

Here's a closer look at the Hello Gorgeous gift set my sister got me from Lush. I think if you're new to Lush and you want to try some of their products, the gift sets are a great way to do so! They have a plethora of different ones to choose from so you'll most likely find one that best suits your preferences. The minute I opened this box, all the wonderful scents flooded their way to my nose. I can't even explain a more pleasant sensation than to smell the products in this box (individually and as a whole). This set includes Rub Rub Rub Shower Scrub, Gorgeous Facial Moisturizer, Lemony Flutter Cuticle Cream, Vanilla Dee-Lite Body Lotion, Sakura Bath Bomb, and the Comforter Bubble Bar. I almost don't want to use any of the products because I don't want any of them to be gone! But it's inevitable and I'll have to try them eventually. I'm just going to cherish this box a little longer before I use any of the items!

Products in this post: Hello Gorgeous Gift Set, Rub Rub Rub Shower Scrub, Gorgeous Facial Moisturizer, Lemony Flutter Cuticle Cream, Vanilla Dee-Lite Body Lotion, Sakura Bath Bomb, Comforter Bubble Bar

Hair Dreams

I know the whole dip dyed hair trend has been long over done, but ever since I dyed my hair back to all one color (I did the whole half of my hair is another color thing, like this), I've been wanting to do something crazy with my hair again. I just feel like there's such a void with my hair. I don't know what to do with it and I'm not that great at styling it to begin with. Also, my wardrobe has basically just turned into a massive sea of neutral clothing, so I feel like a pop of color with my hair would add a little something to my boring, monochromatic outfits. I've been playing around with the idea of getting blueish-green ends (more so green) since I think August, and it actually almost happened in September, but that's a whole other story that isn't important. I think it's a good thing though that I haven't gone through with it yet because it's given me time to think about if I actually want to do it. As of now, I'd say about 75% of me wants to still do it, but I don't know. I guess I'll just have to think about it more.

Pictures from: Pinterest 

Lights

I had my iPod on shuffle the other day and I rediscovered my love for Ellie Goulding's song "Lights". It was instantly one of my favorite songs the first time I heard it and it got me to thinking how much I love Ellie Goulding. I've been a fan of hers since 2008 and she's definitely become one of my favorite artists today. It's insane to fathom her progression to popularity, especially since I started listening to her during the Myspace days when she only had two songs out, which were "Starry Eyed" and "Guns and Horses". I still remember the day I discovered her because I felt like I found a hidden gem. (As cliché as that sounds, but I just really, really loved Starry Eyed. Still do). I'm waiting for the chance to finally see her live in concert (still bummed that I missed her at Lollapalooza this past summer), but I know when I do it'll be a memory I'll never forget. 

Merry Late Christmas!

Merry late Christmas! I hope everyone's had a lovely Christmas and spent time with their loved ones eating, laughing, and enjoying each other's company! It hasn't sunk in yet that Christmas is already over. I think it started to dawn on me when my sister and I were flicking through the TV and could not find any Christmas movies to watch. Well, I guess we'll have to wait until next year again! Moving on, my Christmas was pretty chill this year, as it has been for most of my Christmases the past few years. My family usually just spends Christmas day eating, opening presents, and then relaxing for the rest of the day, which is fine by me. 

As I've gotten older, I don't really expect to receive that many gifts, (especially since I'm content with just getting money), but I'm still really grateful for anything I receive and it does excite me to see presents under the tree that are mine. I did mention a few particular things that I wanted, including all black Converse sneakers and Lush products, which I indeed received. I'm ecstatic to use everything! My sister bought me the Hello Gorgeous gift set from Lush, as well as some skincare products from Clinique and my mom and dad got me black Converse along with some other things like a beanie, socks, and a sweater. My best friend also got me a few things from Lush and a book by Haruki Murakami that I've been wanting to read. And then of course I just got money from various family members. I'm very, very pleased with everything I've gotten and hopefully you all got some nifty presents as well!

Anyways, I cannot believe there's barely a week left of 2013! Honestly, can time stop going by so quickly? It's astounding to think about where the year went and that another new year is approaching. There's only five days left, so I'll have to find a way to make the most of it!

Products mentioned: Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star, Hello Gorgeous Gift Set, Amandopondo Bubble Bar, Magic Wand Bubble Bar,  "South of the Border, West of the Sun" by Haruki Murakami, Clinique Acne Solutions Cleansing Foam + Clinique Acne Solutions Spot Healing Gel 

Festive Nails (The Lazy Way)

Nail art has definitely exploded into a whole new level these days (reference these pictures). I certainly would love to have cool patterns and designs on my nails, but I just don't have the time, patience, or coordination to achieve that. Which is why a glittery top coat is the easy route you can take to getting festive nails in no time at all! There's no rhyme or reason to it; just pick any colored nail polish, a sparkly glitter polish and you're done! And don't forget the topcoat!

Since it's the holiday season, I went with a very shiny silver polish from the brand Nailtini and a multicolored glitter polish I got from Forever 21 last year. Then I just went with whatever topcoat I had on hand which in this case was a Sally Hansen one. I'd also like to add that this Nailtini polish is amazing! I'm very selective with nail polish because I hate when it's very runny or the brush is too small, but the consistency and brush size with this one was perfect! I'm going to have to check out some of their other polishes some time!

Products in this post: Nailtini polish in Caviar Cocktail, Forever 21 polish in Crystal/Multi (similar here), Sally Hansen Advanced Hard As Nails Strengthening Topcoat 

Mise en place

"Mise en place - (pronounced meez en plas) is a French phrase which means "putting in place", as in set up. It is used in professional kitchens to refer to organizing and arranging the ingredients..." 

I like to think that I'm fairly good at baking. I don't bake so often, but I'm definitely better at it than cooking normal, everyday dishes. I tried something new the other day when I was baking cookies. It's called mise en place (refer to definition above), and it's actually a really helpful step you can take when baking (or just cooking in general). I normally measure out ingredients as I'm reading the steps for a recipe, which you would think is normal, but I find that it just makes me triple check that I measured the right amount of everything. I learned about this preparation method from Benji, who is from one of my favorite daily vlog channels on Youtube, itsJudysLife. I'm still trying to perfect this cookie recipe (which I also got from Benji) because I keep overcooking them which makes them hard, so hopefully the next time around I'll get them right! 

Such hilarious

I'm sure many of you are familiar with the Doge memes that are always floating around on Tumblr, but I would just like to take a moment of appreciation because they're honestly so funny. Thank you to whoever started this whole internet sensation. Seriously. I get a good laugh out of most of them (by most of them I mean all of them). And if you aren't familiar with them (which if you're not, you must be living under a rock), it's basically just a picture of a Shiba Inu with surrounding text that is deliberately written in broken English in Comics Sans font. They are much amazing and very laughter. Here are some of my favorites:

If you've made it to the end, bravo. Sorry if this post is obnoxiously long. I couldn't decide which ones I liked the most because they're all so amusing to me, so I just included a bunch that I liked. You'll thank me later (I hope). And if you're wanting more, I went ahead and just made a Pinterest board of Doge Memes so if that's something that tickles you're fancy, well here you go. You can also search the 'doge meme' tag on Tumblr because that gap of the Internet is FILLED with them. And one last side note, there is a Doge meme generator app which I highly suggest you download this instant. (I've been having way too much fun with it). Is it sad that I'm this ecstatic about a meme that I had to write a blog post about it? Yeah probably.

I'm Gonna Get Fat

I've only been home for winter break for about a week, but I've already been digesting some good eats. After two and half years, I'm legitimately starting to get sick of my school's dining hall food (with the exception of their cookies and the whole bakery section basically). I'm definitely going to have to make the most out of being home for the next four weeks and try to go out and eat the foods I've missed as much as possible. Too bad I didn't get pictures from The Cheesecake Factory to include in this post 'cause I went there a few days ago and my sister and I had way too much ~delicious~ food. Does this post make me seem fat? Oh well, I can guarantee that I'm not alone. 

Lush Addiction