Wantable Accessories July Box

Hi guys!

Another fantastic early birthday present from someone who apparently thinks I deserve to be completely showered with gifts.

This is the July Accessories Wantable Box. It came ridiculously fast, and I’m so happy with it.

My preferences are (in case you’re curious):

Love – Rock ‘n Roll, Boho, Mix ‘n Match, Earrings, Necklaces, Rings, Silver Tone, Multi Tone

Like – Classic, Glam, Watches, Sunglasses, Scarves

Dislike – Bracelets, Hair Accessories, Gold Tone

The whole idea is you’re most likely to receive products you love, and you’ll never receive products you dislike. So, really, you should at least like, if not love, everything in your box. Here’s what was in mine!

Francesca Necklace

There wasn’t an “I Love Trees” option, but somehow Wantable knew anyway! I totally love this necklace.

Anna Earrings

I don’t wear big dangly earrings all that often, but I sure do love them. And these are turquoise (my favorite color) to boot!

Kate Necklace

I love how delicate this necklace is. It’s definitely on my list to wear to an opening night party. Or maybe I already have!

Angela Watch

This is super cool and once I master how to put it on, it will be even cooler! I love the studded look and the wrap look. Put them both together and count me in!

I get two more Wantable Box birthday gifts (how did I get so lucky!?) so I think my next one will be a makeup box and then, depending on how that goes, I’ll choose between the two for my last one. Presents are exciting, y’all!

Second week madness

Well, I've survived another week! Administrative land is crazy, but lots of fun.

This week I:

• Created a post card for Twelfth Night which included lots of fighting with Photoshop
• Finished writing a press release for Twelfth Night
• Created an ad for Patience in about half an hour
• Started creating a poster for Twelfth Night which included lots of fighting with InDesign
• Made Facebook cover photos for both Twelfth Night and This Wonderful Life
• Spent a day looking at Wordpress and its capabilities as it's the platform for our new website
• Had a photo shoot with Matt for the show where ridiculous pictures ensued
• Learned how to and then (I think) successfully closed the box office

And in non-work land, I went for my first run for my couch to 5k program. It was raining and dark, but I kind of loved it. I was going to go for my second run today, but I might put it off until tomorrow. My legs are still sore from the first one (and my heel wearing last night) and I don't want to overdo it.

Also, I live with a couple who're in the musical, and they announced last night that she's pregnant! Very exciting news.

And finally, we went out for Marie's birthday last night. There was a band playing in a bar a few towns over, and they were awesome. There was lots of drinking and general merriment. It was nice to be out with people my own age.

Matt and I, rocking it out

Next week should prove to be even crazier, since the show opens! I'm excited to see what my friends have been working on! For now, though, I'm off to Augusta to do a little bit of beauty shopping (Ulta 21 days, anyone?)

Sephora Haul

Since becoming a Beauty Inside at Sephora, I try every year to buy at least something for myself as a birthday gift and so I can get Sephora's free birthday gift. 

This year, I bought myself an acne spot treatment from Origins. I also received my birthday gift: a mini size of Benefit's They're Real mascara and Watts Up highlighter and three samples, two Bumble and Bumble shampoo and conditioner (one gentle/super rich, one surf foam wash) and an Ole Henriksen CC cream.

I was a little thrown off by the size of the spot treatment because it's TINY. After doing a little researching and trying it out, though, they were not kidding when they say a little goes a long way. This stuff is crazy powerful and brings down redness and fades dark spots. I hope it continues to be effective for me. I have a problem with acne medications after continued usage.

I used the BB gentle/super rich shampoo and conditioner sample when I was on my way to Monmouth. I normally lament the amount of conditioner in a little foil packet (I'm kind of a conditioner whore), but I was impressed with how well the amount I had worked. Plus, it smelled really good.

The only other thing I've tried so far is the Benefit minis. I like the They're Real, but I wasn't blown away. There was too much product on the brush for me, and the brush itself wasn't the same style I like. I tend to go for a more natural lash look. As for the Watts Up, it might be a really great product, but it's definitely not for oily skin. I spend so much of my time trying to reduce shine that adding a stick high lighter wasn't going to help. I used it a few times before giving up hope.

Have you tried any of these products? What do you think? What's worth and hype and what's not?

Birthday Haul

As you know, my birthday was a week ago. I thought I'd show you the goodies I got! As I get older, it's harder and harder to tell people what I want for gifts, but this year was definitely one of the best!

My mom got me these beautiful pearl earrings from Kripalu in the Catskills when she did a yoga retreat there. She also got me $100 to Amazon, which I'm really excited about.

My aunt got me this backpack from Victoria's Secret. It's got two of my favorite things: mint green and studs! Unfortunately, the magnetic clasp is a little messed up, so I have to go exchange it. She also got me $100 to Ulta. Literally I could not be more excited. Now to figure out what to spend it on!

My grandmother got me a full size bottle of my favorite perfume, Victoria's Secret PINK in Fresh & Clean. She also sent me $100 which I've already used some of to buy my next thing.

I've been looking for a good reusable water bottle, and I fell in love with this one. It's glass, so it's a little heavy, but I love the size, and I think it's adorable. I got it off ModCloth, but you can also get it straight from the Faucet Face website. And the best part? The money I spent goes toward building BioSand filters to help people in Maharashtra, India.

Last, but certainly not least, there's Alex. She called me at midnight on my birthday, and I opened her present right then because she told me I wasn't allowed to until my birthday. Remember when we went shopping together? Girl paid attention! Apparently I mentioned not being able to justify buying either of these things when we were in Forever 21, so she went and bought them for me! The first is this cute dress with another one of my favorite things: skulls! The second is this cute little coral cross body bag which has studs lining the bottom. I'm super excited about both of them.

So awesome, right? I love everything, and I'm really excited to use the gift cards! Over the next few posts, I'll be sharing some more of the things that I've purchased with the money or the gift cards I've gotten. I figured I'd start sharing some of the awesome stuff now and break it up a little, though!

The end of the end

I know I've been MIA for about a week now, but I was not at all prepared for the explosion that was the last week in Monmouth.

Let's start with my birthday: Thursday, August 15th

It was also Write On day, and I spent from 2 pm until around 7 pm running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Seriously, I spent the hour of Velveteen Rabbit working, then helped change over, then spent until 3 working furiously. From 3 to 5:30 we teched all the shows which meant that I was running back and forth between the booth and the stage, making notes, talking to directors, and performing. At 5:30 I ran to the dining hall to shove food down my throat before high tailing it back to Toad to work furiously from 6 until about 6:45 when I ran over to the theater to put the finishing touches on all the shows plus preshow and intermission music before the house opened at 7. From 7 until 7:30, Hannah did my hair and makeup.

Birthday selfie with Bethy!

Despite (or maybe because of) the crazy day, the show actually ended up great! There was one mishap sound-wise, but everyone was really great about what happened, and I was really impressed with myself. In previous similar situations, I would've been a raving bitch, and while I was frazzled as all get out, there was no bitch to be seen. I'm (finally) learning to handle stress!

Then we went back to Toad and celebrated my birthday for real. You guys. There was so much alcohol. We made what we lovingly called "theatre juice" (see around 4:33 for the inspiration) and it was ridiculous. I've never been so drunk.

Friday and Saturday were normal two-show days, and I spent any down time recovering and/or packing for my trip home. Sunday Amadi, Beth, and I went to Slates for the last time and had a lovely brunch before coming back to do our last Shrew ever.

Afterwards was strike and cleaning for everyone. I stowed most of the sound equipment, restored the old board, took some stuff back to HMH, and then tidied the booth. Monday I helped electrics haul equipment and take apart instruments for parts. The best part was getting to throw old instruments off the fire escape into the parking lot. Destroying stuff is fun.

I had my exit interview at 4 and said goodbye to a lot of people. Then the rest of us sat on the porch and watched cars go by.

The Leftovers

This group (minus Luke because he'd already left) went out to dinner at Margaritas, and then came back and cleaned the hell out of Toad. Our kitchen was disgusting.

Yesterday morning I woke up, put up the fall index page for the website (after AD helped me break into the office because it was locked and Dawn had a meeting) and then got on my way. I'm back in Baltimore now.

I'm going to try to keep putting up personal posts, but those might be few and far between until I get back to Monmouth in early September. I'm not sure how much I'll have going on here. But never fear! There are a lot of beauty posts ready to be written. Next up is my birthday haul, so be ready for that! (I promise it'll actually happen this time.) I enjoyed this summer a lot, but I'm glad to be home and relaxing for a little while, and I'm excited to start doing the marketing thing when I get back!

The beginning of the end

What good is a schedule if I don't stick to it!?

It has been so crazy here. With the end of the season rapidly approaching, there's been a ton of drama and work, and I don't know where it all came from!

So, I'll give you the headlines since ain't nobody got time for everything I have to say.

• Write On - It's this Thursday (also my birthday) and I feel totally overwhelmed. Designing one show at a time is hard enough, but 9 different shows with sound effects and music has just been ridiculous.
• My mom and Doug - they visited this past weekend! They got to explore Portland some, and they came and saw Shrew on Saturday night. We went to Fast Eddies beforehand, and on Sunday morning they took me, Beka, Beth, and Amadi to brunch at Slates. 
• Sound - running the shows has been good except that the monitors have started to cut out during the shows. I think I've identified the problem, but I had to rig the cable and the monitor microphone today. Hopefully I did a good enough job to keep it the way it needs to be
• Marketing - I officially performed my first marketing duty! Dawn gave me the content, but I put together an eBlast and sent it out to the education list we have.
• My birthday! - As I said, it's coming up on Thursday - it doesn't feel like it's time for me to have another birthday yet. I just keep getting older and older!
• Alissa's wedding - My first roommate at PSU is getting married at the beginning of September, and now that I'm staying here, I can go! Now I just have to book a hotel room, buy a gift, and find a dress in three weeks. Whee!
• Date - I went on a date yesterday. Technically Beth, Beka, and I went on a date, but he was there for me. We walked around Brunswick and the Bowdoin campus and got ice cream. It was really fun, and he seems like a really cool, genuine guy. It might be nice to have someone I know once everyone leaves.

I think that's everything! It's been a hell of a couple of weeks. I keep waiting for things to settle down, and they never do! On Thursday I'll be posting the first half of my birthday haul if I don't get super bogged down in Write On stuff. The best birthday present is that it will be over!

I meant to post earlier, but it's been a rough day.

I'm having some personal things happening, and it's really wearing me down.

The good news is The Velveteen Rabbit opens tonight! We did our final dress earlier, and it seems like it's going to be a pretty good show. It's only 50 minutes, so the tech process was very easy and went very smoothly. And now the show opens and will run until my birthday (with all the other shows in rep).

My view from the booth!

In Toad news, it's Beka's 21st birthday tomorrow, so we're having an opening night celebration/21st birthday party here tonight. Beth and I made a cake, and Beth bought alcohol and mixers. Beka's not a drinker, but she did say she'd drink at least some tonight. I probably will too to keep me from thinking about my life.

Tomorrow Amadi, Beth, and I are going to set off to buy me and Amadi bathing suits since we have a company party on Monday and neither of us owns one.

Other than that, it's been pretty quiet. I've had some time off because the show's opening and tech wasn't until the night, so Beth and I went grocery shopping, and I read and relaxed. We're *fingers crossed* hopefully getting a new router soon, so the internet won't be so awful.

I'm sure there are some of you who are as upset about Google Reader dying as I am. I've been trying out replacements, and I have to say, I really haven't liked any of them. I'm a creature of habit, so I wanted something that was as close to Google Reader as it could be. I tried Feedly; I tried Bloglovin, and I tried Netvibes. I probably looked into others, but finally yesterday I found something I could live with. It's called The Old Reader, and it was made in homage to Google Reader. It has a crappy name, but if you're looking for a replacement that's almost a clone, I'd suggest it.

I've gotten some new and exciting things, so I will post about those as soon as I can get pictures taken. I think it's kind of funny that my beauty posts are all lined up, but it's the personal posts I have issues with sometimes. There's just not all that much to report!

But never fear! I will find something to talk about! Even if it's not that exciting!