healthy eating

i find grocery shopping to be rather exciting if i'm with someone. otherwise, it's completely boring when i'm alone. after putting it off for quite some time, i finally took a trip to my local kroger. i love kroger most for it's organic section, where i usually buy frozen pasta meals and burritos. my regular items consist of plenty of vegetables, grapes, romaine lettuce and things for salad, dried vegetable chips, humus and wholegrain pita, and salmon.

when my apartment isn't filled with groceries i end up consuming way too much taco bell. so you can see why i'm exceptionally motivated to improve my diet after i've gone grocery shopping. here is what i ate for lunch recently.



grilled mushrooms, onions, green and red peppers on a whole wheat pita pocket with shredded cheddar. mmm! i definitely forgot to add sundried tomatoes, which would have made the mix that much more delicious.

only on rare occasion do i feel like cooking, so i love healthy meals that are quick and easy to prepare. please share if you have an idea for a simple, healthy dish!

amazon kindle; my new obsession

in the middle of reading breaking dawn, i purchased a kindle. i have a huge love for books and this seemed like the perfect little device for me to own; so i bought it. the problem was that i wasn't keen on the idea of interrupting breaking dawn with a new e-book. so, i downloaded breaking dawn for 9.99 on my kindle, and it has been a wonderful experience!

the kindle is a convenient way to carry a current book, along with many others, where ever you may go. now that school has started up again, i read in between classes. textbooks are heavy as it  is and if it weren't for the kindle i'd have to carry all 754 pages of breaking dawn around with me...or not get as much reading done.





after registering your kindle online, browsing the kindle store and downloading e-books is extremely quick and simple. where ever you can access wifi, it's possible to search for books and add them to your wishlist or buy them without re-entering your credit card number. the books available on the kindle are usually cheaper than buying them new in-store. i'm ok with paying for the convenience of an e-book on my kindle. it makes reading more enjoyable.

amazon also makes a black, leather case for the kindle that includes a pull-out light. the light is activated by the battery provided by the kindle. there's no need to purchase batteries or carry around a separate light. if your kindle is always in it's case, you'll never forget it! the case provides a substantial amount of light, so it's been easy to read at night in the car or in bed.



other benefits include the matte, non-glare screen and crazy battery life. the kindle let's you know how much of the book you've completed at the bottom of your screen and saves your place for you. if you're interested in technology like this simply for books, go with the kindle instead of another tablet. i'm obsessed!

everyday eye

i love neutral pigments and warm tones. i wear this eye makeup everyday to school, work, or where ever. the look is simple, using only 3 shadows. i always skip liner, because i just don't have the patience for it. sometimes i think the simplicity of just shadow is beautiful. if this look were for going out at night, liner could always be added for more a more dramatic eye.



i start by using mac's bare study paint pot as a base. with my finger, i blend bare study all over the lid and up to the brow bone. this paint pot is gorgeous alone with mascara for super quick makeup.



urban decay's naked palette contains absolutely gorgeous pigments. for this look, i use both naked and sidecar. sidecar contains some glitter and can often result in fallout when applying the shadow with a brush. i use my finger to place this color all over the lid. then using a blending brush, i take naked to blend and diffuse the color towards the brow bone.



taking mac's bravado, i use the same blending brush to place and blend the color into the crease. this color is from mac's earlier quad take wing, which is amazing. i don't think bravado is a part of mac's permanent line, but it's easy to find similar colors.



i finish off with revlon's fabulash mascara, which is my favorite at the moment, and i'm done!

                                     bravado. sidecar. naked.

products i do not recommend

after work one night, a few of my co-workers and i decided to go out. my hair was a little flat and i couldn't have that; so i went to pick up a small can of hairspray in order to tease the bejesus out of my hair. i purchaed l'oreal's elnett and figured that it would perform well due to it's infinite positive reviews.

i can understand the hype that comes from elnett. it gives a firm hold that lasts without leaving your hair feeling heavy, sticky, or too crisp. after spraying this product, it's easy to brush through hair for re-styling. sounds great, right? except that when i got back into my car to style my hair, i felt like i was trapped inside of big foot's dutch oven from hell within the first spritz. okay, even if it may not have been that bad, the smell was pretty horrendous.

i'm not normally sensitive to smells and can appreciate a product that works regardless of scent. elnett just smells like a potent chemical bomb that cannot be healthy for the lungs even from a mile away. because of this, i would not repurchase. would not recommend. no, thank you.

neutrogena healthy skin liquid makeup interested me because many had compared it to nars sheer glow.

i think they were joking because this foundation does not even begin to compare to the texture, coverage, or quality of sheer glow. i get that it is a drugstore foundation, but this healthy skin liquid makeup has horrible pigmentation. aside from the lack of coverage, it's finish left my skin a bit dull.

if you're looking to get a quality foundation for a small amount of cash, i would recommend revlon photoready over anything else.

you can click here to read my review on photoready.

java mauve-a

back to school essentials

this summer has been great, but the fall semester is right around the corner. to be honest, i'm a little excited about it. i know that i'll soon regret saying that but i've been a bit bored with work and lounging. i picked up a few school essentials on tax free weekend to save a few pennies.



i always buy a 3 inch binder for school. this is because i love keeping all of my subjects in one place. some may argue that it's a bit of a hassle to carry around a heavy binder, but i don't mind it. i find it to be quite convenient and i never forget anything.

i couldn't go through the school year without a 3-hole punch. the one i have is from walmart and i believe i paid about 8 dollars for it. let me tell you, it is my holy grail product for the school year! it's nice to be able to place and organize all of your handouts into your binder instead of stuffing papers in random places.

i always have red pens in order to check my work during class if need be. it's easy to learn from errors when they're clearly corrected in red. also, "clicky" pens are a must-have as well. this way you aren't losing pen caps everywhere or getting ink all over your school bag. highlighters are also great to draw attention to key information in your notes. that's a pretty obvious one, but i'll mention it anyway.

this year, i bought a 5 subject notebook. if i don't need to carry my giant binder around, i can easily throw this into my school bag and then transfer my notes into my binder later. if you don't like this idea, you can just buy loose-leaf paper. don't forget your subject dividers!

i rarely use an agenda, but i'm thinking i might try an commit to one this year. we'll see.

scentsy

scentsy is a company that offers a variety of warmers that melt scented wax. this product provides a safe way to keep your home smelling wonderful without the hazard that comes with lighting candles. not only are the scents enjoyable, but the different styles and colors of the warmers can be the perfect decorative piece.



scentsy has full-size, mid-size, and plug-in warmers. i chose a plug-in warmer in groovy white. it's such a cute little source of light!




the company offers over 80 wickless candle fragrances in the form of bricks or bars. you simply cut out a square of the wax and place it onto your warmer. when the warmer is turned off, the wax solidifies until it's switched back on.

i have two scentsy bars in sugar cookie and citrus sun tea. both scents smell delicious and authentic and they absolutely fill a room with their fragrance. there are so many other bars that i want from scentsy including blueberry cheesecake, baked apple pie, oats and honey, cucumber lime, cherry limeade, white tea and cactus, autumn sunset, satin sheets, and thunderstorm. it's difficult deciding on which fragrances to order next!



my sister, aimee, is a scentsy representative. if you'd like to purchase anything from the company, please check out her website here: https://aimeelongo.scentsy.us/Buy

raspberry white chocolate scones

this is my first time ever making scones. the directions say to apply "heaping tablespoons of dough" to a baking sheet, and that is what i did. they ended up all attaching to one another but i'm not too fussy about that sort of thing;  probably because i am quite the culinarian.

the scones were freaking delicious for how easy they were to make; just add water to the scone mix, stir, then let the heaping begin. i baked mine for about 15 minutes, which is decent timing because i have terrible patience with any sort of task. the white chocolate and raspberry bits were rather tasty. consequentially, baking scones may become a habit of mine.

july loves

naked palette; naked, sidecar


revlon photoready; 001 ivory


nars; dolce vita. mac; bare study paint pot


elf; complexion brush


mac; hot gossip


tresemme; thermal creations volumizing mousse


h&m knit sweater

african black soap

shea moisture's african black soap shea butter lotion is extremely thick and moisturizing. although it's consistency is a little intense, it contains all natural ingredients and is gentle on skin; free of parabens, artificial fragrance, and a list of other undesirable ingredients. this organic product claims to aid oily, acne prone skin and eczema.

i like this product because of the moisture it gives. it feels soothing on my skin and doesn't sting during a breakout like other lotions can. aside from leaving my skin feeling smooth, the scent is extraordinary!

the only difficulty is getting it out of the bottle. the thickness of this shea butter lotion makes it frustrating to squeeze out of it's container. i managed some of the lotion into a jar from another product. you shouldn't have to do this, though; and it can be irritating if you don't have another container handy. still, i love this lotion and will continue to use it. i am also interested in trying some of shea moitsure's other skin care products.

shea moitsure is available at target and does not test on animals.

breaking dawn

i don't normally have the patience to sit in the tub, but today i was feeling a bit blah and needed to relax. so, i added some milk and oatmeal to my bath and read breaking dawn.

aside from english literature, fiction novels are not my first choice; but i bought twilight at a thrift store for 2 dollars to see what all the clamor was about. i can't say i hated the book and now i'm on breaking dawn. i'm reading through it slowly and i am compelled to finish it before the movie is released.

on another note, i lit this scrumptious candle that i have been obsessing over for the past few weeks; salty caramel by slatkin & co. the name's pretty awkward, but an accurate description. i'll literally sit with it in my lap and smell it while it's not burning.

although bath & body works is without a doubt one of my least favorite stores, i do love these candles. actually, i only really love this one and kitchen spice.

rage

after dying to try out orly's rage, i made a quick stop at sally's. i ran in and left the store with the polish in hand, satisfied that i had finally ended the procrastination on purchasing this gorgeous color.





rage is a silvery rose. this neutral, shimmery color is gorgeous on the nails. smooth application and opaque in two coats.


glitter nail (opi traffic)

mmm italiano

when i go to eat somewhere, i'll usually order some form of pasta. i love italian food and my boyfriend loves to make it. so when he received a birthday gift from world market including cheese-filled tortellini, i was probably more excited than he was.



la piana is an all natural italian brand that offers a variety of stuffed pastas. we prepared the tortellini with a vodka pasta sauce made from italian plum tomatoes; then added  grilled chicken, caramelized onions, chopped mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, herbs & spices.



squisito! (yes, i looked that up). the cheese filling was delightful.