Good for Health, Bad for Education

Greetings Readers of My Blog,

I hope you've had a lovely holiday season...I sure did!  I just arrived back in Chicago yesterday evening after a 2 week stint back home in Kansas.  I got to see lots of extended family, some friends from high school and college, and best of all my silly pets.

Today's post really has no overall theme or idea but just a few items I have recently aquired and really enjoy!

The most reoccuring item in this post is this grey wool and black leather cap.  I ALWAYS buy hats and never wear them, but I can tell you that I've already worn this religiously and with the wet snow that's in abundance here in Chicago it's a handy lil number.

Along with the hat, I purchased a Men's red polyester baseball jacket.  These items (of course, rather unnecessary) I snagged at the Urban Outfitters outlet here in Chicago.  In conjunction with the stuff being dirt cheap there anyway, UO had a 1/2 off sale happening for about a week so I couldn't resist buying them!

I also like that I now have a colored jacket I can wear when I want to.  I own a massive collection of "beautiful" grey and black and white clothes so throwing on a bright jacket gives me a little liveliness I probably lack with such a wardrobe.

My new favorite thing EVER is this Akira sweatshirt my bestest friend Tyler had printed up and gave me as a Christmas gift.  I can already tell after only having it in my possession for 6 days and having worn it at least half of those days that I'm going to need another 3 or 4 of them :)

(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ

Also, being home at my parents for a good amount of time, I got into all their stuff and made lots of messes.  Whenever I go home, I always dig through my mom's beauty products and lotions and nude colors of nail polish and use all of her expensive shampoo (shhh).  I came across a few things she wouldn't let me take (obviously I didn't beg hard enough) but items that I enjoyed so much I may find myself getting for myself anyway.

Like this nail polish:

the color is called "My Very First Knockwurst" by OPI.  Before I explain what Knockwurst is let me tell you how lovely I think this is.

Now let me tell you that knockwurst is, as you could guess, a kind of sausage like a bratwurst.  Why would you name a nail polish color this?  Now all I think of when I look at my fingers is little sausages!

Another item I can advocate for in these nastily cold winter months is a good ol body lotion.  

I am terrible when it comes to applying lotion to my whole body, but upon the New Year I suppose I'll make it some kind of resolution to treat my skin to some loving.  I have a minor skin condition called Keratosis Pilaris (where extra keratin protein is produced in skin) that appears on my upper arms and sometimes upper legs.  It's really common and it's more prominent in the winter months for people 

because there is less moisture in the air. 

 With this lotion by Aveeno my skin felt sooo soft for once, which is a beautiful thing!  It's nice too that it's a brand you can pick up at most any drugstore!

Keep warm out there if you're deep in piles of snow (If you are in LA or somewhere tropical please go away </3) xx

THREE-FER FOR THE PRICE OF ONE POST

To make up for lost time, today's post in a three-fer and lucky for me not really about outfits so I didn't even really have to dress myself today...MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

First off I have a bit of a beauty post, one I've been meaning to try out for months now and just finally attempted (with actual success, surprisingly)--

what is it, you ask?

THE TWO-TONE LIP has been pinned multiple times on my pinterest beauty board. Most tutorials say to use lip stains or the OCC lip tars.  I decided to dig in my treasure trove of lip products and see what would work.  I ended up using these:

Apparently I'm a Revlon rep, but their lip service is pretty on point.  For the top lip I used the ColorStay Ultimate Liquid Lipstick in Ultimate Orchid.  This stuff is really cool and I knew it would be perfect for this two-toned effect because it's very liquidy but dries quickly and stays put (just make sure you're lips are VERY moisturized before you put it on because it'll look crumbly in a hot second, if not). I opted for the Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Romantic for the bottom lip.  I have posted before about this series of balm stains and can't get enough--they're the only lipwear I want to wear during these brutal winter months because they are very moisturing but still allow you play with fun colors! I must say, however, for the two-toned lip you may want to stick with a more traditional stain so that it doesn't smudge as much as the balm stains.

OMG I LOVE IT (and hey, if it smudges a bit, you get an ombre effect so that's just a bonus in my book!)

As well, if you are wondering my polish on my nails is from American Apparel in the color Parakeet!

Let's move on the second part of this blog post...

THIS WINTER WEATHER...THIS CHICAGO WIND....IT IS NO JOKE.  As a Kansan my whole life I was like "shut up all you Chicagans (is that the correct identifier?) the weather is pretty much the same as Kansas."  But no, there is this nasty wind here that will eat your insides and rattle your fragile bones as you walk to and from your bus stop each morning and night.  So, against my redheaded stubborness I caved and became a big ol baby who needed some warmer winter wear. (Thankfully, winter apparel is "practical" so I didn't feel bad when I found these BEAUTIFUL items of warmth at H&M last week:

Nope, not a color balance issue...these bad boys are NAVY

There's something so fresh about the color navy this time of year and lately I've been into the idea of mixing things people have always told you not to mix--- like black and navy and even things like off-whites and whites. Although maybe not practical if you're in and out of places during your day, rings on the outside of your gloves (if they're pretty slim-fit gloves, such as these) looks like a million bucks.

These leather gloves are from H&M.  Also, be sure to get a pair that are a smidge tight on you because they're stretch out quite a bit after a little wear!

Thirdly, just a bit of a show and tell because I couldn't help myself:

This little beauty of a clutch magically appeared before me at the resale shop I work at last week, and you can bet your bottom dollar I put that on hold for myself the second I set eyes on it.  Normally, I'm a little hesitant to scream and shout to the world that "HEY GUYS, I'M A PHOTOGRAPHER" with camera related gadgets and apparel, what-have-you, but this is the exception....let me nerd out, okay.

In closing, I would like to thank my window for giving me the loveliest of light today and making my skin look wayyy less scaly than it actually is.  Let me know if you try out the two-toned lip and what colors or products you use, I will continue experimenting, too!