04.13.2018

2018 Spring Beauty Favorites

beauty faves

Spring has brought some magical new beauty products into my life, and brought back a few former faves too! Several of these products are organic and several of them aren’t. Per usual, the Gemini in me wants ALL of the things.

Live Botanical Hyaluronic Acid Serum  - This is the green beauty equivalent of Rodan & Fields’ popular Active Hydration Serum. While I love it, R&F’s breaks me out if I use it too often! The minimal and clean ingredients in Live Botanical’s serum don’t irritate my skin and it works great as a primer. Plus it’s a fraction of the cost and contains just as much product!

Rodan & Fields Redefine Daily Cleansing Mask – This is my favorite face cleanser right now! It’s from the Redefine line which is geared toward aging skin, but it’s great for acne-prone skin as well due to the kaolin clay in it. I prefer this over the Unblemish cleanser by far. It’s worth it!

100 Percent Pure Bright Eyes Mask – This eye mask is GOLD! It’s the most hydrating thing I’ve ever used on my eyes in my life. I wish it came as an eye cream too because I’m so obsessed with this! At 27, I do have some fine lines going on under my eyes. When I use this eye mask for an hour or so, they’re GONE for at least a day or two. This is a must-have for brides-to-be, or for any time you want to treat yourself.

100 Percent Pure Healthy Skin Foundation - This is one of the few liquid foundations I’ve actually repurchased! I used this last year in the palest shade (Alpine Rose), but this time I got it in Creme because of the golden undertones and it works much better for my skin tone. If you want a clean version of Estee Lauder Double Wear, this is as close as it gets! It looks really pretty with the Live Botanicals serum under it as a primer and some Alima Pure Satin Matte Foundation dusted on top.

Alima Pure Mineral Concealer - Speaking of Alima Pure, I finally tried their mineral concealer and I’m obsessed. The jar is tiny AF so at first I was like “uhhh?” but it doesn’t take much at all to get the brightening effect that I want! I layer this over my NARS concealer and it makes a huge difference.

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03.21.2018

How I Treated My Pityriasis Rosea

Photo Cred: Into the Gloss

Photo Cred: Into the Gloss

For the past 2+ months, I’ve been dealing with an obnoxious skin condition called pityriasis rosea (PR). PR is a red, scaly rash that looks similar to ringworm and has no proven cause or cure. It usually just vanishes by itself after 2 months or so without treatment. It starts with a large herald patch or two and then spreads from there. While it’s not contagious and doesn’t mean you have something wrong with you, it can take a toll on your self-esteem. The other sucky part is that there isn’t much a dermatologist can do for you besides assure you that it is PR and you’re not dying.

I could be wrong, but I believe mine might be linked to stress. The first time I had PR was shortly after Worsham and I got engaged and started wedding planning. It wasn’t that bad of an outbreak – I only had two or three larger spots on my stomach that went away after a month of using coconut oil and lavender essential oil.

This time, however, was another story. Mine has been on my stomach, back, arms, and even my neck (luckily, it spared my face). While it’s not completely gone yet (it’s still a tiny bit noticeable on my neck), it’s about 99 percent gone. Whether this is mostly due to time or what I’ve been doing, I can’t say for sure, BUT I noticed a significant and quick improvement using the products below. If you’re anywhere near Oklahoma, I highly recommend going to see Phyllis at Rock Creek Vitamins in Sapulpa. She’s an amazing iridologist and told me what supplements I needed to be using. I tried a million things before this and none of them worked as well as the products below. Seriously, I was so upset and desperate that I googled PR remedies every single day. I even went to a tanning salon and tanned once (it was free since I was a “new person” – little did they know I used to be addicted to tanning!). It did nothing except remind me why I stopped tanning in the first place. Spare yourself the effort and at least try the supplements. Also, if you’re itchy take some Benadryl at night!

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02.18.2018

We Bought A House!

If you had told me this time last year that we’d be homeowners before 2017 was up, I’d have laughed in your face. Buying a house was not even on our radar, much less buying a house in Oklahoma. In fact, 21-year-old me would probably have a mental breakdown if she knew what was to come. 27-year-old me, however, has finally learned that happiness doesn’t depend on where you live. Ultimately, it comes from within and from surrounding yourself with the right people.

It sounds like a really simple concept to grasp, but I struggled with it for years. Sure, I knew in theory that happiness wasn’t dependent on a certain location…and yet, it always seemed like it was. I almost felt like I was betraying a part of myself by not moving off to Boston after college like I planned. But I also wasn’t planning on not ending up with my ex-boyfriend who lived there either. That’s the funny thing about plans – the Universe doesn’t care if you make them.

This is all to say this: Some of the happiest times in your life will come from things you didn’t see coming. The ones you never planned for at all.

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02.12.2018

V-Day 2018

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Lip Kit // Coconut Melt // Bralette // Body Oil // Bath Salts // Gemstone Candles

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12.28.2017

Things I Loved About 2017

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New Years resolutions and I do not mix. While it can be fun to think of things you’d like to accomplish in the next year, it takes away from reflecting on all the things that you have to be grateful for. Here are some of my favorite things from 2017!

Favorite Podcast: My podcast obsession only got deeper this year with the discovery of The Love Bomb by Nico Tortorella. He did his final episode a couple of months ago, but there are so many great ones you can go listen to. He talks all about love and relationships of all kinds (gay, straight, trans, monogamous, polyamorous, etc.). It’s super interesting and enlightening.

Favorite Book: You know a book is good when it makes you cry. I read all the time, but my fave from this year was The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon. It follows the story of two teenagers who have absolutely nothing in common, but end up meeting and falling in love – all in the same day. If you’ve ever experienced falling in love in an insanely short amount of time, this one will hit home for you. The writing style is very unique too. It switches between Natasha’s view, Daniel’s view, and the Universe. It’s amazing and will give you all the feels!

Favorite Movie: Beauty and the Beast, of course! The remake was everything I wanted and more. I got to see it with my mom, one of my best friends, and my god daughter, which made it that much more special!

Favorite TV Show: This is Us. It’s not even a contest. This is the literal best thing on TV! If you haven’t seen it yet, binge it immediately.

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12.15.2017

Writing Career Spotlight: What Is Proposal Writing?

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So what do you do for a living?

I do proposal writing for a local government contractor!

Cool! So what does that entail?

Uh…well it’s kind of hard to explain…

This is usually how every conversation I have about my job starts out. I’m pretty sure that even my friends, family, and husband have no idea WTF my job actually consists of on a daily basis. In fact, I’d say most of the people outside of the business development department at my company don’t really know either. And I totally get it! I had no idea about proposal writing or the world of government contracting until I worked here either. It’s not a writing job that gets talked about very often. Let’s be real, it doesn’t sound as impressive as saying you’re an author (which I also am!), but proposal writing is a reliable and financially rewarding career path – which is something many writing jobs can’t claim. Writing majors get flack for not picking something that’s stable (insert eye rolls here), but proposal writing is one huge area that IS.

There are all kinds of contractors that need solid proposal writers on their team. In my case, I work for a government contractor that specializes in training development, information technology, equipment repair/maintenance, and professional support services. The first thing I was worried about when I interviewed here was if I had to have specialized knowledge in these areas or at least be familiar with government processes. Luckily, it wasn’t necessary! That won’t be the case with every company, but it’s worth applying for these types of jobs even if you don’t have the exact experience. As long as you’re a strong writer with a willingness to learn, you’ll do just fine!

So, what do I do all day?

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12.06.2017

Best of 2017: Skincare and Beauty

How are we already in the final month of 2017?! This year has flown by, especially these last couple of months. Worsham and I are closing on our first home later this month! If you’d have asked us this time last year if we were going to buy a house anytime soon, the answer would have been “hell nah.” But after a few insane events at our apartment this year (such as witnessing our neighbor’s literally insane girlfriend off of her meds at 3 a.m. on Halloween), we decided it was time. We’re so excited to finally have our own place together, and one that needs no updating and has a storm shelter at that!

Anyways, the end of the year always gets me thinking about my fave skincare and beauty products! You may have read about some of these on here before, but there are some new gems on here as well. Enjoy!

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Skincare

Cleanser: CeraVe Foaming Cleanser

This is a more recent purchase of mine, but I’m loving it! I’ve been a fan of their PM moisturizer for a while now and this cleanser doesn’t disappoint. It’s simple, gentle, and has helped my face to get less oily throughout the day.

Moisturizer/Makeup Remover/Oil/Bath Bomb/Everything: Kopari Coconut Melt

THIS! Kopari’s Coconut Melt is probably my favorite discovery of this year. You can use it for literally everything and the jar lasts forever! It’s worth the higher price tag. I use it to take off my mascara, in my bath as a bath melt, as a scalp treatment, as face lotion, as body lotion, on cat scratches, as lip balm – you get the idea. It’s good for everything.

Acne Treatment: Rodan & Fields Unblemish Dual Intensive Acne Treatment

This stuff just can’t be beat! This is the power player of the entire Unblemish line. If you can only afford one item, get this one. I can’t stop buying it despite the price tag and the fact that you don’t really get that much product. It’s still worth it! Bye, pimples!

Face Mask: Herbivore Botanicals Blue Tansy Mask

I wanted to branch out from my usual masks designed just for acne, so I snatched this up at Sephora a while back! It does help with breakouts, but also exfoliates and helps fight signs of aging. Also it’s 100% organic and the jar will last for the rest of time. You barely need to use any product! My face is so soft after I use it.

Beauty Tool: Mount Lai Jade Roller

Jade rollers have been all over the place this year! I decided to cave and see what the craze is about. They’re so popular because of their ability to increase lymphatic drainage and the fact that they just feel good. It’s basically like a massage for your face. It could be all in my head, but I feel like my face looks thinner and my eyes look less puffy when I use it. Plus it’s an ancient Chinese beauty secret, and clearly they know what they’re doing.

Shampoo: Redken All Soft

An oldie but a goodie! This used to be my favorite in high school and I rediscovered its greatness this year. Still magical.

Probiotics: Garden of Life Raw Probiotics Women

Any skincare junkie knows that good skincare actually starts from the inside with a great probiotic. I had a probiotic-related breakdown this summer when my beloved PB8 changed up their formula and made my face explode with acne. I’m still pissed about it. If your face is being a douche and your probiotics have chicory root inulin in them, throw them in the trash immediately. BYE. Luckily, I tried out this gem and love it! It is on the pricier side (like, $50 I think), but well worth it. It has a million different vitamins in it too.

Collagen: Dr. Axe Multi Collagen Capsules

Another amazing find this year! In my quest to destroy cellulite, I came across these bad boys. I can honestly say I’ve seen a difference taking these every day for the past few months. Is my cellulite totally gone? No but it’s definitely improved. It also helps my occasional knee pain and helps keep my face clear. Also, I have to admit – I tried “fascia blasting” earlier this year too and all I ended up with was some bruised apple looking legs. Worsham called me “13 bruises why” for a while! I’m sure it would probably work if you’re consistent about it, but honestly who has time for that? Just take some collagen and be done with it.

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10.30.2017

Eureka Springs Travel Guide

One of my favorite places in the world is Eureka Springs, Arkansas. For those of you who are unfamiliar with northwest Arkansas, you’re probably thinking “ew, why?” But Arkansas, and Eureka Springs in particular, is one of the most beautiful places in the country. Eureka Springs is a bit of a tradition for my family. We started going to the 1886 Crescent Hotel for Thanksgiving back when I was 9 and have come back off and on for years. When Worsham and I started thinking about where to spend our first anniversary, Eureka Springs was an easy pick! We’re in the beginning stages of buying our first house so we wanted to go somewhere close (it’s under 3 hours from my mom’s house in Tulsa), affordable, and beautiful. Here are my Eureka faves:

Where to Stay

The coolest part of Eureka, in my opinion, is the Crescent Hotel. It’s a mountaintop hotel and spa with a crazy history. It was built back in the late 1800s as a swanky, invitation-only resort and was one of the most popular destinations of the time. The Crescent also saw its days as “Crescent College” – a girls-only school – during parts of the year. The weirdest part of the Crescent’s past, however, was when Norman Baker (a deluded psychopath “doctor”) bought the building around the Great Depression to open his cancer-curing hospital. He cured no one and many people died under his care, if you can call it that. Given the deaths that occurred during the building’s construction, one of the school girl’s apparent suicides, and all of the people who died in the hospital, the hotel is haunted AF. It’s one of the most haunted hotels in America, in fact. My husband would tell you otherwise, but I’ve had so many weird encounters there over the past 18 years that I have no doubt in my mind that some of the Crescent’s inhabitants never left. It’s a great place to stay if you’re into ghosts or just want to step back in time. The hotel has been preserved very well and looks almost exactly as it did back in 1886. Also, they have a resident cat – Jasper – who I love to see every time we visit. He’ll let guests pet him and even took a walk with me and Worsham one night. It was the cutest thing that’s ever happened.

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If you go, I recommend staying in the annex, which is also one of the most haunted parts of the hotel. It’s where they took all the near-death people to hang out until they died so no one would hear them screaming in pain and realize Dr. Baker was a total fraud. It’s also right above the morgue. Yes, there’s still the original morgue down the basement.

Anyway, I’ve stayed in the annex twice now (once during Thanksgiving a few years ago and this past time with Worsham). It’s definitely the nicest area I’ve ever stayed in at the Crescent. It’s spacious yet cozy and his a GIANT jetted bath tub in the middle of the room. That bathtub alone is worth the extra money! Worsham said it’s the first one he’s been able to fit in since he was a kid (he’s 6’3). The bed is super comfy as well.

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10.27.2017

How I Combat Menstrual Pain with CBD Oil

 

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For the past 500 years (it seems like), I’ve been searching for products to help with my terrible periods. I’d tried everything – progesterone cream, progesterone oil, copaiba, frankincense, basically everything else Young Living makes for pain, and birth control pills. The only thing that helped was the year that I was on Yaz in college. Unfortunately, it messed with my eyesight, which is a sign that it can eventually cause heart problems. My doctor had me stop taking it and told me she wouldn’t feel comfortable prescribing me any birth control pill without extensive heart tests. I decided the potential long-term effects weren’t worth it and accepted my fate of monthly doom.

The way I’ve dealt with my pain since then has been to pop mass quantities of Midol, relax on a heating pad, and slowly die in the bathroom. I’ll spare you the details, but it’s always been really painful and inconvenient. I was convinced I had endometriosis because the pain was so intense in high school that sometimes my mom would have to come find me in the school bathroom and take me home. That wasn’t it though according to my doctor, and I still have no idea why I can get so sick.

“Popping dollies” (as my husband nicknamed it) was my way of life. While they can take forever to really kick in, they worked better than anything else I’d tried. It always bothered me knowing how terrible taking that many Midols on a monthly basis is, but I didn’t have another choice – so I thought.

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10.10.2017

Three Lazy AF Fall Recipes

fall recipes

I don’t always cook (read: basically never), but when I do you can bet that it’s one of these three recipes. They’re super easy, super good, and will last you for days on end. What more can you ask for? I found these gems a long time ago on Pinterest and they do not disappoint.

Slow Cooker Vegetarian Tortilla Soup                            Effort Required: Basically Zero

1 can of pinto beans

1 can of kidney beans

1 can of black beans

1 can of corn

1 can of original Rotel

1 can of diced tomatoes

1 can of hatch green chiles

1 packet of ranch seasoning

1 packet of taco seasoning

Directions: Dump everything into a crock pot, stir, and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. It’s so easy an infant could do it. As it should be.

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