SPRING TIME

This post is basically just a mini photo shoot, because we snapped a few while filming for my latest YouTube video! As you probably already know, I'm a beauty/lifestyle YouTuber just like I am here on the blog, but during the season changes I like to put together an outfit inspiration video for that particular season! So far, I've been able to capture fall, winter, and now spring! This outfit is definitely my favorite so I'm glad I had my sister (a.k.a my photographer) take a few extra photos for me! Never thought I'd say this, but I'm loving the all spring colors lately. It's so cheery and makes everything seem more bright. What do you love about Spring?

FAVORITE SPRING NAIL POLISH

Nail polish is one thing I adore, and tend to mix up a lot. I love trying new designs, colors, brands, etc. After years of searching for the best suiting brand for my nails and taste, it's come down to Essie! Everytime I apply a coat of their polish, I receive so many compliments. Not only does it wear the best, but their shades of colors are pretty hard to beat if you ask me! In honor of Spring, I thought I'd give you a peek inside my go-to spring nail polishes at the moment!

1. The Girls Are Out - This color is a pretty light shade of pink! I absolutely hate pink on my nails but this polish is the perfect fit for my nails. This is definitely going to be on my nails this Easter.

2. Jam N' Jelly - Oh my is this color fun and bold! It's a super bright hot pink and I'd say almost neon. Surprisingly, I have a feeling I'm going to enjoy this color a lot. I always enjoy having these splurge- of-the moment polishes, because it's fun having them in my collection.

3. Lapiz of Luxury - Ahh this color is so beautiful. It is a very light shade of baby blue. It's very subtle and will definitely be my go-to color this spring!

4. Chinchilly - This is my favorite color I own in my collection! It's a beautiful purple/gray color, and it wears so nice on my nails. This is the polish I always receive compliments on. I love that I can wear it for any occasion and I never get tired of the color on my nails.

Life Lately

Happy With: The way my YouTube channel has been coming along. I love filming videos about tags, beauty, hauls, and style. Even if my views aren't a large number by any means, I enjoy learning more through this art and that's all that matters. Plus photography definitely comes into play with YouTube like the thumbnails. Thumbnails is the photo displayed on the video before you click to play it. Photo styling is my favorite thing in the whole world, so it's right up my alley for styling beauty products for the thumbnails. I'm quite proud of the way they've been turning out, because wheww are they hard to perfect!

Wanting To: Be productive in filming/editing & beginning some fun DIY's! Spring is here, which means a whole lot of inspiration especially through Pinterest and Instagram. I suppose that what happens when you follow companies like PB Teen, Anthropolgy, and Francessca's! I'd love to be able to share a few new tutorials from the crafts I do here on the blog so we shall see *fingers crossed*.

Excited About: Spring Break! Ahh I technically started today, and I'm looking forward to relaxing and doing absolutely nothing...yet still being productive in the hobbies I love haha. I'm trying to plan some fun outings with my girlfriends like coffee date, shopping, movie, lunch, all the good stuff :).

Watching: A lot of old classic movies lately. Classic I mean old 1800 type films such as Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Gone With the Wind, Wuthering Heights, & Jane Eyre. Ahh I just adore the beauty of these simple romance movies! Thank goodness I'm on spring break, haha.

Reading: Anne of Green Gables! The movie will forever be my favorite, so reading the book is so fun. Some would say that this would be a bummer but, when I read I can envision the characters from the movie. I typically enjoy creating my own characters and the setting, but I don't particularly mind in this case. Still an old classic, and a beautiful story I will always love.

1. spring is coming! Snapped this beauty while browsing in Trader Joes. // 2. With my girlfriend Emily, celebrating her 18th. // 3. A classic wall selfie with my main squeeze. // 4. some good eatin' at my favorite restaurant. // 5. With my wild and awesome friends at school. 


CHECK THIS OUT: 

1. //  Ultimate Spring Break Packing List! Just love this + will come in great use for this summer too.

2. //  Waiting to make these fun confetti sticks. When in doubt throw confetti around. :)

3. // Totally swooning over this calligraphy 101 ecourse! Would love to perfect my cursive/print penmanship.

DAILY MAKEUP ROUTINE

Today I'm kickin' it off with my makeup routine/go-to daily beauty products! I love makeup (always have), and I could spend thousands of dollars if I stayed inside Sephora too long, haha. I began wearing makeup in eighth grade and I've been experimenting ever since. My style has definitely changed over the years, and have added more to my makeup routine, so it's safe to say that my collection has ALOT. My favorite product to purchase is eyeshadow and I believe I own over forty different kinds. So not an addiction...amirite? And one thing I've added to my collection is a brush holder, which is this cute mason jar dipped in gold glitter! I'm obsessed, I think it works perfectly in my room. I love the concept of having my brushes separate from my makeup bag! You can find this mason jar here!  Anyways, enough of my rambling...into my daily routine!!

EYE SHADOW PRIMER: I own so many of these little tubes, yet I've just recently discovered the great need/benefit from these little guys! Yes, eye shadow primer is something I now finally treasure, and always use first thing.

EYESHADOW TIME: Once my lids are good to go, I select my eyeshadow for the day. I tend to stay close to neutrals because I have brown eyes + naturally tan skin...but I'll reach for some pink shades as well. Here in these photos I'm displaying my palette from BareMinerals which I believe is like two years old, but I still enjoy it, and use it a lot. My favorite shades are; first class (which is the green one), and truffle (the gold one).

EYELINER: Eyeliner is one item I could never go without no matter how much time I had to spend on doing my makeup. It's the one beauty product that really makes me look awake and alert. I admit (as much as I hate it) I will step out for the day with only mascara and eyeliner on...and if it wasn't for my black maybelline gel liner, would I be in trouble! My gel liner certainly does the trick, so applying this above my top eyelashes definitely completes my look. I also love Urban Decay's gold glitter eye liner. I filmed a glitter liner tutorial on my YouTube so go check it out!



MASCARA: Now if you have watched my YouTube videos, you will have already heard this little story of how I feel about mascara in general...but if you haven't then let me tell you that finding a good mascara is so difficult for me, and sometimes just plain impossible. My lashes are so black that when I do wear mascara sometimes I feel like it doesn't make a difference. So I had to splurge and buy a non drug store brand. I purchased the Clinique black mascara along with the lengthening. volumizer. I'm so glad I discovered that bottle, because I have a feeling It will always be in my collection.

Learning Along The Way

Lately I've noticed a trend in the comment section of the blogosphere and social media, and even my own blog. You receive those comments that say "If only I wasn't an awful cook," "Oh I wish I could do that," "I'd love to try that out."

Here's the thing, you guys. You don't just create a blog and automatically become the most skilled photographer, or number one in fashion posts. When you were born you had to learn from the very beginning and teach yourself. Of course certain skills weren't developed from the start, it took practice and then more practice. The same goes for blogging. Blogging is a process of continual growth and new opportunities. You can do anything you want for there are no limits, you just have to do it.

Everyone is born with talent and natural gifts. Sure, talent gives those an advantage but it can only take you as far as your hard work does to get there. Practice and hard work is what makes people successful. As a blogger I didn't know anything about natural light, or using manual on my camera, I had to be taught. I had to figure it out on my own and learn for myself. I had to figure out what works best for me. Blogging doesn't come with a manual of instructions, therefore the sky is the limit. You can make anything happen if you want it bad enough.



I think that's the problem with our society today; we don't want it bad enough. Imagine what would happen if we stopped saying "Oh if only I could do that," or I'd love to do that." Sometimes fear of failure holds us back more than we realize. I know it does for me. Scared of people judging and rejecting, therefore our wishes and dreams are put on the backfire because we'd rather go without than suffer from embarrassment. But here's the thing. Through our mistakes, or the things we aren't gifted at we learn so much. We are able to grow from it and change dramatically. Practice only makes perfect. If we simply do not try, then how do we know that we suck? How do we know for sure we can't do it?

Let's not quit before we start. Don't put your goals and dreams on the backfire. Let yourself be bad at things. I think most of the time we don't see people's progress, but rather their immediate success and accomplishments. We can't see their practices, failed projects, or ruined pieces. A blogger isn't going to post a terrible outfit post with bad lighting, and horrible angles. Nor recipes that turned out awful. But through this post are a few photos to prove that even us bloggers mess up all the time, and are still learning. I believe there is great strength in weakness. These photos are of my room when I haven't touched it for days, french macaroons I couldn't perfect, and an outfit photo that turned out super bad because of the lighting.

These photos prove that I started out with no idea of what I was doing. Again, I had to figure it out, and compare my work with others to see where I needed improvement! I am constantly comparing my blog, photography skills, and writing with other bloggers, and I have to admit it discourages me all the time to sit down and begin blogging! Sometimes I feel like what I have to share isn't good enough, or worth sharing. I mean who is going to really read my stuff and be inspired by it? But honestly if I never opened my laptop and started jotting down by ideas on a blank white page...I would never have started a blog. Remember to not compare someone's process with your beginnings.

I encourage you to start a blog, etsy shop, youtube account, or photography even if your scared. I still can be embarrassed about people reading my blog, because I cannot see their reaction, nor know if they are ripping it apart. Whenever my friends tell me they watched my latest YouTube video, I cringe in my seat because of the fear of negative comments. One thing that keeps me going and that I have to remember whenever I put myself out there for others to see is; I blog, and make videos for my own enjoyment. If I love writing my thoughts down, or sharing my latest makeup routine than I cannot let anybody's opinions stop me from making it happen! 

TIPS FOR JOURNALING

Remember that post I did a while back about journaling? Well I thought that now I've shared with you my reasons for journaling, I would throw out a few tips as well! If you're thinking about starting a journal but don't know what to write, what it should look like, not sure if you really have time, then these tips are to convince you to YES start one!

1. FIND A QUIET SPACE. // This is key for me. I would never think of journaling around people, or in a loud environment. I love to crawl up into a small space in my room and write away! It can be anywhere you love and any type of space that makes your thoughts clear, and open. Ideas could be like; wilderness, coffee shop, library, or room.

2. WRITE EVERYTHING. // People will often worry about what in the world to write. My advice is to write everything. Write about your long day at school, coffee date with your mom, first day of driving, college activities, work problems, funny stories, movie nights, etc. Have fun with it, and include details and special things that matter to you.

3. BE VULNERABLE // I think the biggest statement of all is "I would be so embarrassed if someone read that." I know I've felt this way sometimes, I mean what if someone stole my journal and read all about my crushes?! That would be pretty sad, but you know what I think that's all apart of the risk. I truly believe it can be embarrassing to go back and read how I felt about something that I thought mattered so much at the time, but journaling the problem or feeling makes me feel so much better afterwards, it's worth it! Part of keeping a journal is to be open and free to writing anything and everything! Don't hold back because you're afraid it's going to sound stupid, or ridiculous.

4. JOURNAL OFTEN. // This is important, because you don't want to forget anything! I've noticed that when I journal right after something happened, the words are more clear and meaningful. Compared to when I will journal an event that happened a month ago, because then journaling that event seems more like a chore than a special thing for me!