Make-up Run-down

  Workout in and blogging before 10 o’clock?! The world must be coming to an end…I am slowly but surely getting my sleep schedule somewhat back on track, and with that comes early blog posts. Yay! Now if I can just get this daily commitment thing down…it seriously shouldn’t be this hard! 

   I have recently been discussing blog topics with some of my fellow bloggers and friends and have decided to do a quick little make-up/skin care routine deal. Sooo if you’re a guy, this probably isn’t your cup of tea. Turn back while you can. Or if you want to enter a land uncharted, you’re more than welcome. This will be like learning a new language for you and you can understand our obsession and our pain haha

   I have came to the conclusion over the years that I am one of those people that have been cursed with oily skin. With this, comes a whole lot of “shine” and straight greasiness. Fun, right? I have tried pretty much everything under the sun to control breakouts and to keep my skin clean from Proactive, to Clinque, Avon/Mary Kay products and so many drug store products I couldn’t even count them on my fingers and toes. The one brand of cleansing product that I have found that works the best on my skin is Neutrogena. Hands down. I use the Oil-Free Acne Stress Control Power-Clear Scrub in the mornings to exfoliate my skin, and the Power Cream Wash at night to wash off all of the makeup, ect. This may be backward in the “skin-care” bible, but it’s what works for me…So, I don’t care. I also only use Neutrogena moisturizer at night and not in the mornings because it makes my oily skin even oilier…if that’s even a word. I also use it if I’m not doing my make-up and just sitting out by the pool in the sun because I know my skin will be ridiculously dried out. Moving on…

   Along with my preach about Neutrogena products, I will also throw out there that on a daily basis, this is the only foundation I will use. Right now I bounce back and forth between the Skin-Clearing liquid foundation (it has salicylic acid in it, so it keeps my break-outs in check) and the Nourishing Long Wear liquid foundation. Everyone has their preferences though on what works for their skin, (obviously) or else there wouldn’t be hundreds of different brands and types to choose from. 

   My favorite part of my face to do (as with most girls I’m sure) is my eyes. I have a daily routine just like anyone else where I’m in a rush, know I have exactly 5 minutes, throw on a basic neutral-light brown color, quick eyeliner and mascara and I’m out the door. When I have the time though, I like to blend 3+ colors together to do some version of a "smoky-eye” look. Always lighter on the inside corners and fade it out to dark on the outer lid. My absolute favorite eye-shadow palette I am using every day (mostly because every single color goes with my almost-black eyes) is the Naked 2 palette from Urban Decay. It is somewhat pricey-if you’re used to just picking up a quick $5-$10 eyeshadow from the drugstore or Walmart, but the quality is worth every penny. and every single color can be mixed and matched with each other. Trust me, I’ve tried. I could make an entire post on eyeshadows alone, but will spare you the time…for now haha

    There are a few things that I recommend when it comes to make-up, ect...

-On a daily basis, less is more. You don’t have to have 3 inches of make-up on your face to go to work. By the end of the day, it will be smeared and smudged and look like a hot mess. 

-Pluck your eyebrows right after a hot shower! It’s wayyy less painful.

-If you have to use concealer for under-eye darkness, never smear it, always dab. Smearing it forces it into the creases and gives the under eye a weird effect of looking too light. 

-Never pump your mascara wand. It dries out your mascara causing it to clump, and always toss it in the trash after you’ve had it around 3 months. 

You can never have too much blending when it comes to foundation, eyeshadow, bronzer, what have you. 

Filling your eyebrows completely in with pencil will make them appear very harsh. Using a powder instead  (that is a shade or two lighter than your brows) will fill them in and give them shape without making it so obvious. Especially with those blonde and lighter eyebrows.

-If you want to play up a feature, go for it! But one at a time. If you are going to do a bold lip, down-play the eyes and go for a more natural look. And the same goes for the eyes - if you are going to do a smoky or shimmery eye, show it off! But go with a more neutral lip so that the eyes is where the focus will be. Now, if you’re going to be walking down the red carpet then go all out! Eyes, lips, the whole shebang! That’s a different story :) 

-Find a good mascara. This will make all the difference in your eyes. I’ve tried a million different mascaras and buy every new one that comes out, pretty much. I will have to do an entire blog just on mascaras alone, but right now my favorite everyday drug store mascara is Loreal Voluminous mascara. No clumps and amazing volume - heat your eyelash curler up slightly before curling them and your eyelashes will look amazing and natural but not like falsies. I ordered a new mascara that I will review for that effect and let you know what I think when it is delivered :) 

  To be able to review most of these products, it would be so much easier to do a video…I think I just realized what I should do for my first vlog. Tutorials can be done this way too, but I’m not a make-up expert, I can just show you my way and the products I use. 

   I also have 3 favorite beauty gurus on YouTube that you should check out and watch a couple of their videos if you have time. Their tutorials are easy to follow, and their videos are addicting! You can learn sooo much about the make-up world from these girls! This should get you started...

Jacklyn Hill http://youtu.be/Khwwml8xY_M - bought the eyeshadow in this video and it is AMAZING!!

Carli Bybel http://youtu.be/966fMTcjgVU

Taylor Bee http://youtu.be/Xm9p_a07KiQ

Questions? Comments? This was definitely a quick run-down, and feel like it was all over the place, but kinda gives you a little bit of info on a few of the products I use since I get comments on my make-up frequently. I will work on a product soon, or at least a blog with more pictures when I have time to compile all of my favorites! Is there anything that you would like to know about in particular? What is your beauty routine? What are some products that you love or would recommend? I’m always up for trying out new things, especially when it comes to make-up!! 

***When this blog finally hits over 2,000 views, to go along with this beauty theme, I am going to give away the newest Urban Decay Naked 3 palette! Who doesn’t love free stuff and free make-up to play with! To enter, comment below on this post ONLY with some of your favorite beauty products that you use or tricks that you’ve learned, along with contact information if you are the one randomly selected! I’m doing a 25 entry minimum this time (we came close last time) so you guys have to hit that mark for someone to win! So, invite all the ladies you know to enter, and good luck! xo

Random Thought Thursday

 Since I’ve taken a hiatus from blogging the past couple days, I figured it was time to get back at it. Recent events in my life have caused me to be in the worst mood possible and then suddenly the best mood I’ve been in for quite sometime. No one wants to hear about the negatives, so I’m not going to write about them and do my best to erase them from my mind. However, positive is always a good great thing. Things are looking really great for my future right now and I’m pretty excited and looking forward to making big plans. There will be more to follow when I feel like the time is right to fill everyone in. For now, you can’t wipe the smile off of my face or put me in a bad mood no matter how hard you tried :)

   I spent the day, feeling as if I have made a slight impact on a few people in my life and spent the evening with one of my favorite people that I have ever met. I’m so thankful that he is in my life and we always can pick right up where we left off no matter how much time has passed. Our conversations are never dull and part of the evening was spent talking about things on our bucket list. Apparently his bucket list is not technically a list but more like something will hit his brain and he’ll decide he wants to cross it off his “list”. That’s not how I roll. I have an honest-to-goodness complete bucket list (that I am constantly adding too) that I have been writing down on just plain notebook paper for years now. I’m creeping up on 200 different things on my list, some related, but mostly just random. Crossing things off my list feels like a major accomplishment to me, because after all - you only live once. I want to be able to say years from now that I lived a full life and had many amazing experiences with great stories to tell.

   I’ll share some of the things on my list that I have crossed off along with things I have yet to (but will) cross off:

Accomplished

• Meet someone famous
• Own my own car
• Fall in love
• Finish an entire tube of chapstick (this one might be the hardest one to accomplish! No joke)
• Ride an elephant
• Climb steps of the Mayan ruins
• Go zip-lining - cannot wait to do this again! 
• Convince someone to start their own bucket list
• Name a star
• Go snorkeling
• Play golf
• Be on the radio
• Live past December 21st, 2012 - when everyone’s heads were exploding because they were sure it was the end of the world. Puh-lease. 
• Own every version of the iPhone - so far, so good
• Become a nurse
• Get accepted into RN school…and graduate
• Move out on my own
• See LA
• Get a passport
• Make 5 recipes from Pinterest
• Figure out who I am - this one took me a minute…
• Travel out of the country
• Donate to a charity and sign up to volunteer if possible - ROWW (Reach Out World Wide)
• Start a blog

Those are just a few that I have been excited to cross off :) 

Will Accomplish

• See the 7 wonders of the world
• Attend Mardi Gras
• Whale watching in Alaska
• NYE in Time’s Square
• Run a marathon (full or half)
• Ride in a hot air balloon
• Experience zero gravity
• White water rafting
• Learn a new language
• Swim with dolphins
• Visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (and drink a butter beer!) 
• Eat a pizza in Italy
• See a lantern festival
• Order a dessert first at a restaurant (this should be easy)
• Write a letter to a serial killer
• Ride a mechanical bull
• Write on the before I die wall in New Orleans
• Spend time volunteering in Africa
• New York fashion week
• Drink coffee in Seattle and put a piece of gum on the gum wall
• Shop in Paris
• Witness a miracle
• Try everything on the menu at a restaurant (obviously not all at once haha)

   Obviously this list will be never-ending, but it’s awesome to see some of the random things that I get to cross of of this list of randomness and I can’t wait to continue crossing things off. Some of those things I will get to cross off during this summer and I will definitely share those with everyone. Do you have your own real-life bucket list? Is there certain things that you want to accomplish in your life or things that you want to see? Make the time to do those things no matter how big or small. You only live once and having regrets is hard…make the most of the time you have :)

I will be updating everyone on the giveaway soon, so stay tuned for that as well. xo

Food (but mostly just drinks) Friday

   With another work week down, I'm thankful that it is finally Friday. I have waited all week for the weekend to get here so I can relax by the pool and do absolutely nothing :) Summer is definitely my favorite season and I love nothing more than throwing some food on the grill and having a drink in my hand on a hot day. Tonight I'm gonna share some recipes that I found online, (along with some links so you can make them yourself) but they're not food recipes...just mostly drinks. So you know what I'll be doing on my lovely Saturday! Eeeek! Can't wait to try some of these out! 

I found this one on Pinterest and just took a screen shot because it had the recipie under the picture. You can find the full recipe on twokidscooking.com

I'm pretty sure all of these are screenshots from Pinterest...I need to go to rehab for as many hours as I waste on there. This one called "Hippie Juice" sounded super yummy and the recipie is listed right under the picture, but I couldn't find where this originally came from to give anyone credit...

And for those of you that are looking for some tasty non-alcoholic drinks -

Highheelsandgrills.com and there is a list and link to every one of these drinks in the picture. There's some pretty amazing stuff in this list, including a recipe for butter beer! That's definitely one I'll have to try, but probably during one of my Harry Potter marathons and not while lounging by the pool haha

  Hope these drinks listed help to spice up a cookout, or make your relaxing day by the pool even more amazing! Have a great go-to drink that you love? I'd love to hear about it! 

  Have an amazing, safe, and fabulous weekend!  xo 

First Milestone!!!

  Just wanted to write a blog to say THANK YOU to everyone who has been taking the time to read my posts! You guys rock!! I have now reached my first milestone/goal for this blog by hitting 1,000 views :) Amazeballs. I am going to extend the giveaway entries until midnight tonight because it was brought to my attention that you need a gmail/AIM/Wordpress ect. account to even be able to comment, which is stupid and I apologize. So if you don't want to mess with creating an account and still want to enter, just e-mail me directly - k.crabtree321@gmail.com or if we're Facebook friends, send me a message!! Again thanks sooo much, and I will post the winner tomorrow morning so keep an eye out for that. And thanks to those who have commented so far...keep them coming! You all are awesome :) xo

Tacky Tuesday

  For today, I am going to use this as a raw “gotta get some stuff off my chest and vent” post. What could be more tacky than talking about relationships and putting yourself on blast? I feel like I need to put all of this in writing to get it out of my head. So, if you don’t want to hear about my thoughts or failed relationships, I’d advise you to stop reading now - I will not use anyone’s name in this blog either. We’re not gonna be that tacky today…. And I don’t foresee much humor in this post, unless you find it funny how completely dysfunctional my life has been at times.

   I am just going to start out by saying, I love my family. I have no other choice. They are my family, will always be my family, and I will choose them over anyone any day because through every single bit of the ups and downs I have had in my life, they have been my support system - my backbone. They are absolutely amazing. But they can also be the biggest pain and headache imaginable. My relationship with my parents has always been very strong but has never come without it’s problems, differences, and endless bickering. I think this is where I have come to learn that if you love someone and truly care about someone, you don’t just give up on them because you have a disagreement, or argument, or a knock-down drag-out fight. You forgive them, learn to admit when you're wrong (which sometimes I have a very hard time doing) and realize that not everyone is perfect.

  Personal “boyfriend-girlfriend” relationships have not always been my strong suit. To put it bluntly, I completely suck at them. I did have a relationship that lasted 4 years, (with multiple break-ups) but after looking back on it, I’m about 95% sure that it lasted as long as it did because I was not being myself. I was content in being a “water-downed” version of myself to make something last because I was in “love”. Did I care about him, absolutely. Will I always care about him? Of course I will. That was my first long-term relationship but it was NEVER meant to work - too many differences in opinions and it definitely is true that people “grow apart”. And it is also true that people “grow” in general. I am definitely not even CLOSE to the same person I was 10 years ago, or even 2 years ago…I met some people during the “break-up” periods and even before and after this particular relationship that have became really good friends or potential “love interests”. The timing for these situations just wasn’t right, and if I would have pursued them at that time I would have ended up hurting them and not having them still in my life today - and I am so thankful for that. Again, I am not the same person today that I was then…

  I have went through my “single life” phase. Did I “whore around”? No, because that’s not my style. But, I did go out on A LOT of dates. I had this idea in my head that there was nothing in particular that I was looking for, and maybe if I even gave someone a shot that I maybe wouldn’t have ever before, I would find something that was “missing”. Truth is, there was nothing “missing” from my life. I don't need a guy to make me happy. I just didn’t know what it was that made me happy at the time. That happens when you get out of a relationship - you develop a lot of the same interests and spend so much time together that you forget what YOUR interests are (girls in particular). I hurt a lot of people during this time. I know I did. I was cold and refused to let anyone get to close, deleted numbers, and completely cut off communication when I thought that they had crossed that "invisible line". I also did some things I never imagined I would do during this time. I hung-out with a married man off and on for a year, road tripping to Nashville every chance I had. My moral compass was definitely not pointing due north at this time...I was a mess. Even though I still can’t believe that I acted so utterly insane, I still feel like that I needed it. All of it. It made me realize that everyone is human and make mistakes, but also that they have feelings too. Especially when I had people hurt me…

      It took a long while before I decided to be in a relationship again. This one taught me so much more than any other relationship ever could have. It taught me how to open up to someone and allow myself to be vulnerable. It taught me how to let my guard down and allow someone else to take on the role of being my boyfriend and doing things for me and with me, when I was used to being so independent. It taught me how to be committed, and make sacrifices for people that you care about. But it also taught me about the importance of communication, it taught me about myself and how far I was willing to push people away and allow them to push me away, it taught me about the importance of family, and it taught me that no matter what someone says to you - actions speak so much louder than words. I can’t sit here and say that I regret any one situation in particular, because I have learned so much from each one of them individually that I feel like I have learned more about myself in the mean time, and I might not have otherwise.

  So, this evening I felt like I needed closure. I have allowed so many people to walk out of my life without ever speaking to them again. I can’t do the “let’s be friends” thing. It is too hard for me to go on having contact with someone that I have had feelings for….most of the time. I just felt like that this last one, I needed to apologize. It just ended - and that was that. I feel bad for the way things ended up, and I needed the closure to completely move on. It’s only fair to myself and other people involved. Does it make me feel better about the situation? No, not really. But it does at least allow me to put that piece of my past away, and make room for the future.

  After all of this heaviness, I leave you with this…Regardless of the situation you’re in, or the relationship you’re in at the time - if there is someone in your life that you can completely be yourself around, has been there for you for years regardless of what’s going on, has been your friend at your best and worst, and has never left…there’s a reason for that. I do truly believe that life is all about timing, and you can’t truly appreciate someone until there are other lessons that you have learned first - but if they’re still around after all that, don’t screw it up. Don’t let them go. If you do, there will always be that regret…is it worth it? Definitely not worth the regret…but might definitely be worth it in the end.

Movie Monday

   The start of a new month, and the start of a new week of blogging is finally here! Yay for June and yay for a brand new week! :) June is always a fun-filled month for our family because it’s birthdays galore. I think we’re now up to 7 or 8 birthdays this month and with Father’s Day thrown in there in the middle of June, our family has A LOT to celebrate. Anddd as much as we love to eat, we are always looking for a reason to have a cook-out or go out to dinner. Along with this new month and new week of blogging, I have decided to try to organize my madness. I’m going to try to narrow my posts down to some sort of daily theme so they aren’t so all over the place (like my brain). Here’s what I’ve come up with….

• Monday = "Movie Monday” - This day will be used to discuss anything movie related. My favorite movies, favorite movie scenes, favorite movie quotes, movies I want to see, movies that I think suck, movies that I don’t understand why they have won so many awards…you get the idea. 
• Tuesday = “Tacky Tuesday” - This day will be used for the sole purpose of whatever I want to use it for. It doesn’t have to go with anything else, or match anything else, or even make sense for that matter (hence the word “tacky”). I’ll just take a topic or a story and run with it. No rules. 
• Wednesday = “What I Want Wednesday” - This day will be used to discuss what I want, obviously. That list is forever long. Trust me. I could write a post based from this topic alone on the daily, and still not run out of things to talk about. This post will be used until I get a vlog up and running. Stay tuned.
• Thursday = “Random Thought Thursday” - pretty self explanatory. Should be interesting…
• Friday = "Fitness/Food/Fashion/Photo Friday” or any of my other favorite “F” words. Could change weekly, or I could pick one and stick with it. But, probably not. Change is good. 
• Saturday and Sunday = No Blog posts. Sad Face. Have no “S” words that I like well enough to take time to write about it. 

   So, there you have it. “Themes” are subject to change. If you hate movies or random thoughts, you’ll know what days to skip out reading my blog. You’re welcome. 

   To fulfill the theme for today, I’m going to list my Top 10 Favorite Movies. These movies are in no particular order because I’m the most indecisive human being alive, and I don’t want to hurt any particular movie’s feelings. Plus, my mood changes and this list could be something completely different tomorrow and be a list full of “slasher” movies. 

1. The Notebook - I know what you all are thinking…very typical. So what. It’s the greatest friggin’ love story in movie form EVER. And I’ve watched it so many times that I can quote it word for word. http://youtu.be/E1I0hAxGFXw
2. Just Friends  - I could watch this movie over and over and laugh at the same things just as hard every single time. Anna Faris is hilarious along with Ryan Reynolds in this one. If you haven't watched it, I highly recommend this one if you have any sort of sense of humor. http://youtu.be/sU90ZsKlp_0
3. Horrible Bosses - Being the biggest “Friends” fanatic of all time, of course I had to watch this because of the gorgeous Jennifer Aniston. The fact that she plays this huge “perv” makes this even more funny because it’s not what you would expect from her, and that dude from It’s Always Sunny is just hilarious. He could just read the phone book and I would laugh. http://youtu.be/TCXFKo1UDjQ
4. Love and Basketball - Being the huge basketball fanatic that I am, of course this had to be on the list. http://youtu.be/vaxnNPii2TU
5. Breakfast at Tiffany’s - Classic Audrey Hepburn. Never gets old. She is my idol. http://youtu.be/4jsUIgchHXU
6. Harry Potter - Read every single book. Watched every single movie. Probably know more about Harry Potter than anything that is, or ever will happen in the U.S.. Yes, I am a “Potterhead”. No shame. http://youtu.be/16kFvNk1rXo
7. Wedding Crashers - Hilarious. No other words are necessary. http://youtu.be/3kaShGPva2Q
8. Mean Girls - Every girl in the history of girls loves this movie and is able to quote it on command. “You can’t sit with us!"http://youtu.be/W8_POt2KlfQ
9. Varsity Blues - After Pleasantville, this movie confirmed my obsession with Paul Walker. Paul Walker + Football = 2 things that I love to watch. I still have not fully recovered from my depression over his death….http://youtu.be/baaEei8WgDA
10. Titanic - Everyone loved this movie, as do I. http://youtu.be/1kqMI0gy4eU

There you have it. My top 10 from the top of my head tonight along with clips from the movies. Are any of these in your top 10? Have an opinion on my top 10? 

***Just wanted to remind you that we are creeping up on 1,000 views! YAY! with that comes the giveaway, so to participate and enter just enter your e-mail address in the comments under any of my blog posts so far :) 

  And on a more serious note, I would like to take a minute and ask for prayers for Sarah Davis. She is a fellow high school classmate of mine who is currently in ICU and prayers for my friend, Mallory (Sarah’s twin sister) who is dealing with something that I couldn’t imagine right now…Thanks so much in advance. 

Hope everyone made it through the dreaded Monday in one piece! One day down, four more to go :)