A quiet week, events, and looking forward

Hi guys!

It has been a crazy couple of weeks for me. Last week Dawn was on vacation with her family, my homestay parents were gone for vacation, and Ryan was out of the office for tour rehearsal, so I spent most of my week alone!

I got two graphic design projects started as well as various ad selling/building and research for some things. Mostly, though, I worked on the website because I hit a point where I needed direction! It was a good week, though.

Thursday night I went out to dinner with Ryan, Max, and Eric at Margaritas. It was nice to have some time with people my own age.

Dawn got back Friday, and I went in Saturday around 2 to finish preparing for our Shakespeare's 450th Birthday Bash event. Basically that involved nothing but free food and watching people recite Shakespeare or sing Shakespeare inspired songs. It was fun, but my introvert side was kind of over it after a while. Afterwards I went to the Knights with Ryan, Max, and Eric and played Hearts until way too late.

Sunday I slept WAY longer than I planned to and basically had enough time to grab breakfast and take a shower before I headed to the church to help set up for the Community Supper. After setting up, all I had to do was count people, so that was fine.

Now, after working all weekend, I'm pretty wiped out. I'm taking a half day tomorrow, though, and I get to go see one of our regular company members' show in Lewiston tomorrow night. I'm excited about having a real weekend, though. I'm thinking I'm gonna go to Portland on Saturday to use my Body Shop Groupon, go to Lush, and shop for my Color Swap Buddy!

I know that this weekend was nothing compared to what summer's going to be like. I'm really excited about it, but I'm feeling a little overwhelmed right now. Hopefully once my ad deadline hits on Friday, I can relax a little before jumping into crazy summer mode. And I get to go home to Baltimore for Memorial Day.

I think May is going to be a very good month.

April PopSugar Must Have Box

Hi guys!

Today would usually be an April Favorites post, but this month has been kind of scarce in terms of new products (don't worry - THAT'S gonna change!) so I'm devoting it to my April PopSugar Must Have Box instead!

The Must Have box is generally WAY out of my price range, even though I lust over it each month. This month, though, thanks to some lovely lady in one of my Facebook swap groups, I got it for $19.97 instead of the usual $39.

And man, did I hit the jackpot.

BlueAvocado (Eco) Shopper

A chic, reusable tote designed by Lauren Conrad. It's big enough to fit everything you need, but it zips into a convenient little size.

Graphic Image Pocket Notes

A mini notebook perfect for taking notes, making lists, and generally remembering things.

Caldrea Rosewater Driftwood Hand Soap

Hand soap! This stuff smells amazing.

Fresh Pastry Stand Totally Awesome Tea Towel Set

I love typography. These are awesome.

Naturebox PopSugar Must Have Mix

This is the only item I'm not totally excited about. I love Naturebox, just not the ingredients in this mix.


And, of course, the piece de resistance:

Too Faced Natural Eyes palette

This palette alone almost covers the cost of the entire box (without my discount). I've never tried any Too Faced before, but I'm quickly falling in love with this palette. A) I love neutrals B) The colors are ridiculously pigmented BUT C) They still blend super easily.

I'm sensing a new go-to palette for me!

I'm SO glad I got the chance to try this box. If I had the money, I'd definitely go for it every month. Unfortunately, it might just be a splurge when I find myself with a little extra money. Oh well.

Do you guys get the Must Have Box? Are you as in love as I am?

Color Swap Partner & Aerie Underwear Haul

Hey guys!

I got the email about my Color Swap partner on Monday, and I'm so excited!

Her name is Devon, and you can find her here:

Her favorite color is coral, and it makes my inner color nerd really happy that our favorite colors compliment each other. Her blog is lovely, and I'm really excited to get to know her and pick out pretty girly coral things for her! New blog friends are the best.

In other news, New Hampshire was really fun, but it definitely strained the money situation a little more than I thought it would. I've been trying to save money, but of course things happened, and I feel like I've been spending even MORE money than usual.

But they're (almost) all things that I need or they're presents for other people, and I'm not totally broke. I just need to rein it in a little. One of the things that I have needed for a while is more underwear, so I may have taken advantage of Aerie's 7 for $26.50 sale...

Practical and pretty is my favorite!

This isn't all of them, but I forgot to take screenshots while I was buying them, so I think the others I got are now sold out. Brightly colored underwear make me the happiest little girl.

I hope everyone is having a great week!

April 2014 Ipsy Bag

Hi guys!

I have my April Ipsy bag to show off today! This month's theme was Beauty Rocks!

In my bag, I received the following:

Cover FX Mattifying Primer with Anti-Acne Treatment

Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner in Black Velvet

City Color White Gold Shadow and Highlight Mousse

Demeter Roll On Perfume in Jasmine

Mary Kay at Play Lip Gloss in Teddy Bare

To be honest, the only thing I'm really excited about is the mattifying primer. I was more excited about lip gloss, but I tried it on Sunday, and it's ridiculously sticky.

Not the best bag this month, but it's the luck of the draw.

Chaotic Goddess Favorite Color Swap!

Hi guys!

Just a quick update to let you guys know that I'm taking part in:

I did a post swap with Chaotic Goddess in November, and I'm very excited about this one!

My favorite color is:

Turquoise

Check back Wednesday to see who I got paired up with and what color I'll be in search of!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Nail of the Week 4/7 & 4/14

Hi guys!

I am LOVING jumping into more spring-y colors. Unfortunately, the weather here hasn't quite decided that it's time yet. We had snow on Wednesday!

Last week I finally got around to wearing the Nicka K Classic Taupe I got in my December ipsy bag. I paired it with Julep's Love as an accent nail, and I really liked the combination. Neutral, but with a little bit of sparkle!

This week I, in celebration of Easter (since I knew that I wouldn't be able to paint my nails on Sunday this week) I went for Nicole by OPI's Roughles Collection in On What Grounds? I am so not a fan of textured nail polish, but I'm totally digging this color. The only thing about this polish is that I figured that because it was textured, it would act like the others I've worn and last really well. Unfortunately, I was wrong, and my right hand chipped almost immediately. Definitely not worth the texture in my opinion.

These next two weeks are very exciting in terms of polish colors. Pulling out my radiant orchid color and all my spring colors! Hooray!

There's a fine, fine line..

Hi guys!

It has been a crazy week so far!

This weekend, I went down to Plymouth to visit my alma mater and see Avenue Q. It was a crazy whirlwind of a weekend. I drove down Saturday morning, met up with Alex, her friends, Tyler, and Bob for lunch at Burrito Me, saw the show, grabbed ice cream with the gang and Kizer, wandered around campus, had dinner at Foster's, and finally crashed for the night.

On Sunday, I had breakfast at my favorite diner, grabbed vanilla chai from Cafe Monte Alto, popped into Burrito Me to catch up with Sarah for 5 minutes, and then got on the road. Stopped briefly in Conway to ride the Conway Scenic Railroad, and then set off back to Maine.

It was fun, but it was a lot of driving. Needless to say, I was already tired when I started this week. Then on Tuesday I had to get up two hours earlier than normal to volunteer at the Kennebec Valley Chamber of Commerce Member Appreciation Day.

Today was the start of everyone abandoning me. My homestay parents left for Hawaii for two weeks today; Dawn won't be in Friday because her family is leaving to go to Disney, and Ryan won't be in the office most of next week because of spring tour rehearsals.

It's kind of nice, though, because it means that everything is starting to gear up. I only hope I'm ready for this summer!

In beauty news: I have a lot of exciting things coming up! I'm looking forward to sharing them with you guys!

I hope everyone has a great rest of the week!

Two Radiant Orchid Products

Hi guys!

Today I just wanted to share with you a quick look at two of my favorite Radiant Orchid products.

Both of these came from emilynoel83 on Youtube's suggestions, and I'm loving them both! I'm kind of falling in love with both orchid flowers and the color.

The first is the L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Burst into Bloom

I'm not usually a colorful eyeshadow person because the colors that look good on me (blue and green) are not necessarily the ones you want to use on your eyes. I love this color, though. The shadow is ridiculously creamy and fairly pigmented. It's the perfect amount of beautiful color without it being over the top and hard to work with. 

As a base, I generally use my Tini Beauty cream eyeshadow in Violette which I got in my February ipsy. I've been looking for a shadow to use with it, and I'm happy to say that I finally found a great one!

The other product is Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure Nail Polish in Punch Drunk

I haven't actually worn this yet, but I will be in the next few weeks. It is such an awesome, bright, in-your-face color. I'm totally digging getting out of winter colors and into spring and summer ones!

That's all I have today! If I find any more awesome Radiant Orchid products, I'll be sure to let you guys know! I'm feeling and Ulta/Sally Beauty trip in my future!

Life Update

It has been a crazy month, you guys.

I've pretty much been going non-stop since I got back to TAM.

Between ads (selling, buying, and building), graphic design work, website work, press releases, program rebuilding, and everything else, I've been working my butt off.

Every once in a while, though, I feel like I actually know what I'm doing. It's a cool feeling. I had my first real meeting. I have people call to talk to me, and I'm being given the freedom to make decisions. It's a really great feeling.

Dawn is really excellent at giving me enough responsibility without overwhelming me with it.

We had a Board Retreat on Saturday, and though it was long, I felt really good about being there. Coming from zero marketing background, I know I have a long way to go, but I'm in the perfect place where everyone is patient with me while I do.

I'm really looking forward to this season. I have a ton to do between now and then, but I'm excited to spend another summer at this lovely hidden gem of a theater in the middle of nowhere Maine.

This weekend I'm going to Plymouth to see Avenue Q and meet up with Alex, so I'm really excited about that.

It's been a busy, but productive, fabulous month. I hope everyone else feels the same way!

Sally Hansen Gift Bag

Hi guys! Sorry this is a little late. This weekend was crazy, and today was too. But I have something cool to talk about!

About a month ago, I received an email that I was a brand challenge winner from one of my Influenster boxes. It was a Sally Hansen challenge! They said I'd be receiving a gift bag worth $150. I was super excited because I thought it meant I would be getting a TON of nail polish.

What it ended up being was even more exciting.

Yes, I did receive a few nail polishes. I got one each from four of the lines:

XTreme Wear in Marine Scene

Insta-Dri in Racey Rouge

Complete Salon Manicure in Back to the Fuchsia

Salon Effects French Manicure Nail Polish Strips in Steel the Night

But the best part?

I got a Sally Hansen at Home Gel Polish Starter Kit!

These babies retail for upwards of $50! 

I love gel manicures, but they're too expensive to do a lot. I've been looking at the at-home gel kits, but they're fairly expensive too, so I was thrilled to find I got one for free!

Mine is in "Red my Lips" which is not the color I would've picked for myself, but I'm definitely not complaining! The kit comes with the LED light, the gel base coat, the gel top coat, the gel color an all the other accessories you'd need for a gel manicure.

In addition, I also received another gel polish in Commander in Chic.

I am seriously so excited to try this kit out. Plus, now that I have an LED light, I have even MORE nail polish I can buy because I can expand to gel polish. 

Clearly this is going to be terrible for my wallet.

But awesome for my obsession!

Nail of the Week 3/24 & 3/31

Hi guys! Sorry about Wednesday. It's been a crazy week for me, but I'm being very productive. And my nails are looking great, so that's a plus!

Last week I was wearing Essie's For the Twill of It, and, once again, it chipped before I could get a decent bottle shot. Still, this picture shows off the color better than I thought it might. Such a beautiful duochrome grey/purple - green.

This week I have Essie's Sable Collar which in the bottle looks reddish, while I was painting looked brownish, and in certain lights looks purplish. It switches colors so often, I'm not even sure what to call it! It's lasted amazingly well, though, given the previous two weeks. 

I'm super excited to be getting into spring colors soon! I've got a radiant orchid coming up that I've been dying to wear!