Summer Dress

I love wearing dresses in the summer, although I think most girls do. They're so flowy and cool in the hot, hot sun. I am always window shopping for them and have found some cute ones this year.

ModCloth is one of my absolute favorite stores! The prices have such a huge range and all of the clothes are so cute and unique. I'm somone who likes to wear trendy items but with a twist, so this is the perfect store for me. {dress 1, dress2}

These two dresses are from Forever21 and I picked them because they're a little different, but very wearable. I have made a rule for myself that I can no longer order dresses online from F21, because even when I double check the length it's never what I expect and it's usually much too short.{dress 1, dress 2}

Target was my last stop, they are alwasy the most comfortable in my opinion. They aren't as unique, but the colors are still bright and fun. {dress 1, dress 2}

Back In Black

I got back from my trip to Chicago last night and it was so wonderful; I love being such a short drive away from my sister. I'll be honest though, I crashed when I got home. I don't know if it I didn't sleep well or if it was something about the drive, but I was wiped out!

After my vacation and week of resting last week it is definitely time to get back to reality. And just in case I wasn't sure of that, I woke up to find my bathroom light fixture full of water and dripping on the floor!! So while I wait for my building manager to come I thought I should get to work on my blog.

I wanted to find some fun black items for summer. Black is the last thing I gravitate towards during these hot months, but it makes for a great accent piece and/or staple that could stay stylish for years to come.

I realize the nail polish and mascara are a stretch - but they are new finds for me that I really love! The Sephora matte top coat would also look amazing over black polish.

{find them here 1, 2, 3, 4}

My Life

I am officially done with my senior year - part 1. It's a little disheartening to see your friends graduate and know you still have a lot to go. That's life though, you just have to keep going!

Since I have finally reached an end with school I intentially took this week off. I wanted to rest up and just relax, not worry about a thing! and it's been really nice! I organized our storage closet, gave myself a pedicure, called friends and made dinners for the next week. Tim and I also celebrated our anniversary! It's crazy to think I've been married a year!

The following are pictures of a couple of things that have made me happy lately...

Tim and I went to our favorite restaurant, the place were Tim almost proposed to me - Payne's. I got a caramel latte and a salmon burger wrap, both were delicous!

These are two manicures I had - I apologize for the picture quality. The top is a press on and the bottom is a glitter gradient I did myself that I'm pretty proud of. 

MyGlam for May

I received my MyGlam bag this week! I was so excited for it to come, I had been tracking its shipping status for the last week. Once I opened it though, I was pretty disappointed. It felt like a $10 subscription (which it is), but I want to receive a bag that feels like a steal for that amount I'm paying.

This is the bag, I love the colors especially since neons are so big this season.

The first thing I pulled out was this perfume sample. It's not a scent I would choose for myself, it's hard to describe, but here's my attempt: I thought it was more of a floral scent but after looking it up I found it's described as a fruity smell. However, it just seems to be a heavy smell and I want something light and fresh for spring/summer. Not to mention the sample is an eau de toilette, I would expect an eau de parfum for such a small sample.

Then I found these nail designs. I was really excited at first because I love to try all nail things. Then I looked at them more and thought about wearing them... I realized it was no go. They are really juvenile and I would feel silly wearing them! I might consider doing one nail, but not all of them.

Then I pulled out this lipstick. The problem is: I'm not a lipstick girl. I love Revlon Lip Butters, but that's about all I can handle. However, this is a nice rosy nude color, so I think it was a safe color to send out. On the other hand, I would kind of like a funky color to try without buying it myself. The quality is nice though, the color it very pigmented and it goes on smoothly. Not to mention there's not smell - which I prefer.

The last item in the bag was two more brushes. These were described as a defining eyeliner brush and a concealer brush. I have to be honest, I'm getting sick of these brushes. They are soft but feel very synthetic-y - hopefully that makes sense. Also, there are only so many tiny brushes a girl can use. This concealer brush is freaking puny and the other eyeliner brush (from last month) has only gotten used a few times and it's 2x the size.

To be totally transparent I opened this package at the end of a hot/humid day, during which I had been out shopping in some very high heels. So my mood wasn't exactly perfect, but even now I'm still not thrilled with this month's bag.

How to Survive an All-Nighter Part 3

The last thing that you want to think about the morning after a late night is what to wear. If you don't have something planned you will inevitably end up in either sweat pants or some dumpy outfit that you chose soley because of its comfort level.

The best way to avoid these problems is to have preplanned outfits that are held in reserve for rushed mornings or mornings when you don't have the brain power to pick anything out. I would suggest having two or three of these outfits, this way if you have a couple of bad mornings in a week one outfit will be clean. I also pick outfits that will be comfortable and nothing that I will be fussing with during the day. However I pick something that is still stylish, I may be dead tired but I don't want my clothes to show it.

This first outfit is one of my favorites! I wear my favorite dark wash jeans, a long white tank top and this scarf from Forever21. I don't know how that scarf is still available, it's incredibly light weight and matches with everything. As you can see below I can even match it w/ a patterned sweater. With all of these outfits I have a sweater in mind to layer with incase it's cold.

            

The next outfit is a more colorful option. Again, it's my favorite dark wash jeans with a long tank top, but this time the top is a bright coral color. I wear a long black and white scarf with it and black flip flops. The gray sweater I paired with it is my absolute favorite!! And it's actualy from the men's department at Forever21!

This last outfit is my very last fall back plan. It's black skinny leggings from Victoria's Secret with an long tank top that will cover my booty and a sweater. I try to cover at least most of my butt if I'm wearing leggings as pants. And I put a really simple white sweater on top; you can see my plan is always long tank top with a sweater.

How To Survive an All-Nighter Part 2

This part is a bit shorter and really can be summed up in one sentence: Drink lots of water! It may be tempting to load up on caffeine and sugary foods, but those aren't doing anything for your body. In fact, the low you'll feel after the caffeine and sugar wears off will make you feel even more tired and yucky.

I know that I will be drinking coffee if I stay up late, so to help with that I drink two cups of water for every one cup of coffee. I also try to drink a smoothie (check out my smoothie recipe) or an organic juice; just make sure the juice doesn't have a lot of sugar in it. I also skip the twizzlers and chips and have some braided pretzel twists, these seem to have less salt than other brands. Or I have an apple (which supposedly helps wake you up better than coffee) or carrots or some other healthy snack that's crunchy.

The basic rule here is to fill your body with nourishing things, rather than junkcso your body has fuel to work off of the next day. I also make sure to drink lots of water during class too. The action helps me stay awake, this way I don't slump and drift off in my chair. Plus the water helps me feel a little more refreshed so I can make it until nap time.

Pinterest Love

I love Pinterest! I spend lots of time on there finding adorable outfits and cute craft ideas, there are so many awesome pictures out there. I literally have over 2000 pins, so I wanted to share a couple of favorites at the moment with you.

Don't worry more the Surviving a Late Night will continue, I just wanted to still do these smaller posts too.

How to Survive an All-Nighter Part 1

It's been a while since I posted anything and that is because my weeks have been busy with school - so busy that I've had to stay up reaaally late. On one of these late nights it occurred to me that after a few years in college I've learned some great tips and tricks to feel and look better the next morning. Hopefully I can save you from learning the hard way!

 As soon as your know it's going to be a late night head to the bathroom to wash your face! I start by taking off my makeup, I use either Soap & Glory wipes or Neutragena wipes. Then wash your face, I use the Mary Kay cleanser from their TimeWise line with my Clarisonic. Then I follow up with an exfoliator; I'm currently using Burt's Bees Deep Pore Scrub and I surprisingly really like it. After that I top it all off with toner. It's a long process, but you really will feel the difference in the morning.

Make sure you finish with a moisturizer. This last step is extremely important because when you sleep your body is working hard to refresh your skin cells and move out the dead ones. Since you're not going to get the sleep, you have to fake it! Also, I'd recommend using an eye cream as well. This is another step I often forget, but it will help for the same reasons as the moisturizer. I use Mary Kay's moisturizer, also from the TimeWise line, and a sample of Origins eye cream which I received with another purchase.

There are more tips to come! Good luck with all of your late nights!