Everyday Makeup Look

I'm slowly being sucked down the makeup rabbit hole, thanks to my favorite Youtubers and college friends.  Beauty is something I enjoy, but that I'm not very knowledgeable about, so here's to learning!! Today I'm sharing the makeup routine I use just about every day...unless I'm feeling crazy and I switch it up ;)

Products:
Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser Primer

Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation in Light Ivory (091)
Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in Fair (15)
True Match Blush in Baby Blossom (C1-2)
elf Baked Highlight in Blush Gems
Sonia Kashiuk Eyeshadow Quad in Shimmering Sands (16)
Revlon Ultimate All In One Mascara

Milani Eye Tech Extreme Liquid Liner in Blackest Black
Burt's Bees Strawberry Lip Balm

Tools:

Real Techniques Beauty Blender

elf Blush Brush

elf C Eyeshadow brush            

Real Techniques Powder Brush

1. First I apply my primer (When I don't prime my face, my foundation creases and powders up really bad. ) Then for my foundation, I put some on my hand, then dab the flat side of my beauty blender into the product and apply to my face. Beauty blenders are *magic.* Concealer, my best friend. I apply over any annoying spot, down my nose, inner corners of my eyes, and sometimes forehead. Blend it out with your beauty blender.

2. Blush and highlighter, in that order. Blush should be on the cheekbones (obvs) and highlight slightly above.

3. For my eyes, it depends on the look I want to do. I always make sure to brighten the inner corners with a light matte eyeshadow. Then for lashes, sometimes I go a week straight doing a crazy cateye flick, and sometimes just a swipe of mascara is enough. Here I used a lighter, more natural looking mascara, and then went over and did a quick touch of eyeliner. Nothing fancy, just trying to darken up my blonde lashes, lol.

4. I'm funny about lipstick, so generally the extent of my lip look is some burt's bees. I always make sure to do something though--even the extra shine of some lip balm brings out the natural color of my lips and finishes the look.

Ta da!

Smoothie Bowls

{Berry Smoothie Bowls}

{Smoothie}
1/2 cup Orange Juice
1/2 cup Greens (I like spinach!)
1/2 cup Yogurt (Sometimes my mom uses nut butter instead)
1 tbsp Chia Seeds (optional, if you like a little more texture)
1 tbsp Shredded Coconut (again, optional)
1 Banana
2/3 cup Frozen Fruit (I used blueberries)

{Toppings}
Fresh Fruit (My fave is berries + bananas)
Granola
Shredded Coconut
Nuts
Honey or Agave

{Instructions}
Dump all your ingredients in your blender--but make sure your frozen stuff is added last (that way your blender doesn't make that awful grinding noise!)

I have a Blendtech, so all I do is press the smoothie button and presto! If you don't have a magic button, I'd say a minute or two is long enough.

pour into a bowl and go to town with your toppings! This time around I did some raspberries, blackberries, homemade granola, and shredded coconut.

Enjoy your treat on the porch with a nice book. Or sit in your bed watching Netflix like I did. Hehe.

A Day In D.C.

This past weekend I was in D.C. with friends for the March for Life. We were given all Saturday to explore the city, so I thought I'd share some bits from my trip :)

We had a 22 hour bus ride to D.C. from Florida, which provided a lot of time for bonding. I do NOT sleep well on road trips, so by the end of the trip I was quite literally a zombie. Thursday night we attended mass at the Basilica, but it was so crowded that there was no real opportunity for pictures. 

The morning of the March, I was up at 5am. We went to the Mass/youth rally at the Verizon Center, which was crazy! Then it was on to the rally before the March, where we heard lots of cool speakers (but let me tell you, standing out in the cold for two hours was not fun, but #forthebabies.)

After the March we went in search of dinner, which led us to the Shake Shack in Union Station. After seven straight hours of walking in the cold, and twelve hours without food...that burger was king. 

roomies :)

The next day was a free day in D.C. so we basically wondered from place to place. First we went to Eastern Market, which was *amazing.* It's basically a year round art fair with tons of amazing food. I had the best chocolate croissant of my liiiiiiife, yall.

Figuring out the metro. lol.

Then we headed to the National Portrait Gallery, and technically I wasn't supposed to take any photos, but...do it for the insta, amirite?

After that we split off into little groups. I ended up at touring the National Basilica again and eating the best pizza ever. ("The best *insert food*" seems to be a theme here...)

pretty ceilings!

We ended the day at the Jefferson Memorial. So cool guys. so cool.

Oh, and we stopped to take a very chic city mural photo, so that was cool.

Now I'm back in Florida, which is significantly warmer, but not as cultured. That's okay though :)

Until next time, D.C.!

My First College Semester: A Reflection

I can't believe that my first semester flew by so fast; back in September it felt like it would never end, and now I'm sitting here wondering where the time went. The fact that I finished the semester with relative success is a huge deal for me; I want to take some time to look back and share some of the things I've done and learned. Maybe one day I'll address my anxiety on a broader scale, but right now I want to focus on these past few months.

In August, about a week before I left Michigan, I posted a little blurb about my anxieties (you can read it here.) It was short and sweet, and pretty tame. What you don't know is that in reality, my emotions were not tame, at ALL. Moving to Florida is the biggest and scariest thing I have ever, ever done in my entire life, and I in no way felt ready. I'm a rather independent person; ask anyone who's known me since I was a kid. But all of a sudden, every ounce of independence in me shrank to the size of a pin head. All I wanted was to STAY HOME.

Regardless of all this, I willingly got on a plane and flew down to campus. I met my roommate (who is now one of my best friends) and went through orientation pretty painlessly. Then came my parent's last night in Florida. I said goodbye and went off to my activities with anxiety brewing thicker and deeper. An hour later, I snuck out of orientation to go see my parents again. The second I saw them I was in tears. We sat in the rental car for about an hour while I cried. I pretty much let out an entire summer's worth of anxiety and sludge. I was in hysterics, begging mom to take me home, telling her I couldn't handle this big of a step. Mom spoke a few encouraging words, but mainly she just let me cry.

Obviously I stayed at school, because otherwise I wouldn't be writing this. But the first month was some of the loneliest weeks of my life. I pretty much just existed; went to meals, went to classes, went to bed. Lots of crying myself to sleep, and lots of fears and doubts. Having my brother and countless other friends from home on campus was a huge blessing, but despite all of the support it provided, I still felt really really awful. That's really the only way to describe it; I hadn't been this deep in anxiety since middle school/the beginning of high school. The only real relief I got was from the sock hop dance that I went to with my roommate and a friend down the hall (as I said earlier, these two girls have become my closest sisters. What a blessing they are.) Even when I didn't seem anxious, I was. If any of my school friends are reading this, they're probably thinking "Whaaaat? But you seemed so calm?" Yep, I did seem cool on the outside. But the inside is a totally different story!

And then things started feeling better. I still didn't get out much, but at least I was happier. I did well in my classes, I had fun times with friends, and I learned to get out of my comfort zone a bit. Time has a funny way of fixing things up, even in seemingly unnoticeable ways, and making whatever it is just a little more bearable.

There was one point in the semester when I was hit with a huge thought. I was driving back to campus with friends, when I realized...a year ago, I didn't have my license, I was living at home, and I was missing out on countless opportunities, all because of fear. Yet here I am, living away from home, succeeding in my studies, driving on a crazy busy street-at night!! I started to think about how many years ago, in the thick of my anxiety, I told myself I'd never be able to go away to college. If only I could go back and tell my younger self about all the crazy adventures I was yet to have during my first semester. How amazing it would be if I could give her a hug and dry her tears. She has no clue how strong she is.

When I look at the challenges I'll face this coming semester (college algebra, I'm looking at you) and realize that despite these challenges, I'm *still* excited to go back...I realize how much has changed in me. I can honestly say I didn't do anything to exact this change in myself. It is all completely 100% Him. Christ came to me, through this beautiful struggle, and He helped me carry the weight until I was strong enough to take it on fully. Through this semester, He's shown me that I'm capable of anything, and I've learned what the true meaning of joy is. Of course, sometimes I start thinking about everything I *could* have done this semester, but that's just more lies.

This does *not* mean I've conquered all my fears, that I'm perpetually abiding in comfort and happiness, or anything like that. But it does mean that I have a renewed sense of hope for my future, and I wanted to share the lessons I've learned; I think everyone can apply them in one way or another. I'm looking forward to all the blessings to come. I've grown so incredibly in my faith, and I can't wait to see where it takes me.

Thanks for listening, friend :)