Things I Can't Live Without This Week.

I don't usually do introductions for the Things I Can't Live Without This Week posts, but it had been so long since I had done one, that it felt right. I've continued these types of posts after starting them on my old blog, and even used one as my first post for Instinct back in June. Anyway, reinstating these posts (even if they aren't exactly weekly) was a long time coming. Enjoy.


I received a gift card for Barnes and Noble from an aunt for Christmas, and used it at the perfect excuse to buy a foreign fashion magazine. I've never been able to justify the price to myself ($15.95 for Vogue Paris), but gift cards are a great push to buy something you've always wanted. Just knowing that I was in possession of the magazine was exciting, and it didn't matter that I couldn't read anything in the thing. (Why did I take three years of Spanish instead of French? Why!?) I don't think I'd be able to allow myself to routinely purchase foreign fashion magazines (no matter how fabulous), but on occasion it might start happening.

I also was exciting to see the issue I got (December/January) comes with the Vogue Paris calender. Too bad the calender is a little to risqué to hold a spot on my walls. I think it would cause a few too many parental heart attacks.


I joined twitter a while ago, but recently I've fond myself really getting into it. How could you not love hearing your favorite people's spur of the moment thoughts? I've even been drawn to start tweeting a little myself. This is my twitter, and let me know if you have one!


I'm only a junior now, but college is slowly creeping up on me. Right now I have my sights set on FIT. I've been looking at their website and their profile on the college board website a bit too often, and even ordered a book about the school. If you have any thoughts or experiences you'd like to share, you know I'd love to hear them.


I'm totally and utterly obsessed with candles lately. I particularly love ones with a citrus scent, although I'm also quite fond of a new one that is labeled as 'crisp bamboo'. I wish I had candles in those cute little ornate boxes, but I'm still quite happy with the lemon candle I have burning at the moment. A lot has changed since a few months ago when I had never even used a match. (They still make me nervous!)


And lastly, I cannot live without fashion. That doesn't mean I could have lived without it any other week, nor that I would want too. But I feel my inspiration creeping back this week, and my excitement about fashion feels as strong as ever. I've been catching up on magazine reading, working on my inspiration binder, and absorbing all the fashion I can get.

In The Works.

I hope everyone's is having an excellent holiday season! It's hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone, and now the new year is almost upon us.

My Christmas was great. A few present highlights include: CO Bigelow lemon candle, Beverly Hills 90210 seasons 2 and 3, House of Harlow Sunburst necklace (this didn't come in the mail in time, but I can't wait to get it), and the Sartorialist book.


I am having one little Christmas related dilemma. I received something from Piperlime that I've decided to return. I found two things I'm interested in. A House of Harlow 1960 ring, and a Marc Jacobs coin purse. They're both around the same price, and both are things I probably wouldn't be willing to purchase for myself. Now, I just have to decide which to get. Help?

The Eve Of All Elves.

What are your last minute Christmas wishes? I'm hoping for a MAC 182 brush and Pixy Stix.


And in an unrelated note, I realized I hadn't showed you guys my new desktop.

I hope everyone's holiday is going well.

Be Merry.

Sewing machines are evil. Why, for the life of me, can I not get this to work?

I've tried everything I can think of, so now I'm forgetting my (sewing machine) troubles and settling into bed with a few episodes of The Big Bang Theory. (If you don't know this show, you should. Go watch it.)

Goal Oriented.

I have a new goal for myself. Over Christmas break I'm going to figure out how to work my grandmother's old sewing machine. I was decorating a stocking for my dog (go me) the other day and thought about how much easier it would've been if I could've just figured out how to work the sewing machine. I'm a little turned off of sewing after my friend made me watch the Texas Chainsaw Massacre today, but I'm still determined to get that thing working!

(The sewing machine doesn't actually look like that, but that one looks pretty cool.)

PS: Christmas is so close!

Edit: This sewing thing is a lot more difficult than I expected. I haven't had to thread a sewing machine since October of last year. (A long time ago!) So, I can only remember sort of what to do, plus I've never used a sewing machine that is this old (1972, according to the manual). Indeed, there is a manual, and it was pretty good for refreshing my memory. However, there appears to be a step or two I'm lacking, because I get one stitch and then the needle comes undone or something. Help?

Only A Matter Of Time.

Check out my new favorite website. Smart Pretty and Awkward offers an inspiring quote, and three tips almost every day. A tip to make you smarter, prettier, and less awkward. The website isn't exactly fashion related, but being smarter, prettier, and less awkward never hurts.

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I only have two and a half days left of school until break (possibly less if this snow keeps up!) Over break I plan to: start a youtube channel, read the magazines piling up on my desk (I received the January Vogue today and I haven't even read the December issue), and relax. Hopefully all that winter break homework won't get in the way.

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I'm snowed in, and the satellite is out. Which can only mean one thing. It's the perfect time for a movie marathon. I just need a topic. High school and fashion are two possibilities.

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Hope you all have fabulous Saturday nights!

At Least Someone Is.

I really love DIYs. Looking at them, attempting them, etc. Sadly, I'm not very good at them, nor am I creative enough to come up with great DIY ideas.
Still, I like to look at other peoples, and muse about giving it a shot. So, I was really happy when I found out about PS I Made This on Fashionista.

The blogger not only attempts some really fabulous DIY projects, but also includes her inspiration for each project.

Now I just have to decide which of her projects would be achievable for me.

What is the best website you've found recently?

Keep On Talking.

I'm in kind of a meh mood today, but I do have a few things to mention.

First off, Christmas! My countdown is officially on. Today I helped decorate the tree (can't say I was all that helpful), wore Christmas PJs and socks, and watched Arthur's Perfect Christmas. What are you hoping for for Christmas? What are you most excited to give someone? I'm hoping to get the MAC 182 brush and a House of Harlow 1960 necklace. I asked for other things, but those are two highlights. I also want lots and lots of OPI nail polish. As far as giving goes, I'm excited to give my brother his presents, and my mom hers.

The next topic isn't really necessary or what I'd normally post, but oh well. I guess this is a 'me' blog rather than just a fashion blog. Anyway, I thought maybe if I posted it here I might actually follow through. So, I'm devoting myself to losing some weight. I do this all the time, and I'm always just as determined as the last time. But maybe it'll actually work?

I had another thing to talk about as well, but I can't think of it for the life of me. So, I'll just let you know how much I love the ring in the picture and rings in general. I wear long sleeves a lot, which makes bracelets a little harder to rock, but I'm all about rocking a great ring.

Oh, I remembered it!

I'm hoping to get started on that youtube channel thing I mentioned a while back. I figured it is worth a shot. Maybe it'll be fun. I'll keep you posted, I'm planning to start testing the waters over Christmas break. (I have a half day off on the 23rd and then break really begins on Christmas eve.)

And lastly, I'd like you guys to know that I fully intend to get back into blogging. Hopefully it will be soon! Thinking of good post ideas just hasn't been happening, and I get bored of just showing you all my nail polish. How do you get yourself out of a fashion blogging rut?

Snowy Day.

I'm ready for a snow day.

A week and a half until Christmas break!

Can you believe how fast Christmas sneaked up on us? I just have the final touches left as far as Christmas shopping goes. How about you?

Boats And Birds.

College night is tonight which means PSAT scores, and lots of information. (On college visits, college searches, financial aid, etc.) I'm going to be really tired tonight.

Weekend Hallelujah.

Like I said, I got internet on my phone and I've been playing around, emailing myself photos. So, here are a few I thought I'd share.


This is a little peek at my Thanksgiving outfit. Just a glimpse of my jeans, cardigan, and tank top.


This is my eye. This is also (probably) from Thanksgiving.


Here is my dog. He's sleeping on my bed with my British literature textbook.


This is a bit of my desk while I was writing that essay last Sunday. There is everything I need. Coke, chapstick, a pencil, highlighters, and papers.


I took this while I waiting for my on the road driving instructor to show up. Just my shoes, and a tiny bit of outfit.


I'm growing my nails out, in case you noticed. The polish is We'll Always Have Paris. It is so pretty.


This is just a stupid filler post, but I thought it would be better than nothing.

I'm doing some Christmas shopping tomorrow. I just have two people left to buy for! That is all I've got planned for my weekend so far. Hope everyone is doing well.

Long Time.

I've thought about blogging a few times since my last post, but it just hasn't happened. I guess I haven't been inspired or driven enough to post lately.

Today isn't much different, but it's the last day of break, and I wanted to get another post in.

It isn't going to be the most fun day because I have an essay to write. (Way to go procrastination!) If I'm really lucky I'll be able to fit in an eyebrow waxing before school starts up again tomorrow.

I've been pretty busy the past few days with Thanksgiving stuff, and birthday parties and dinners. The best part of my break has been my trip to Ulta (total heaven), where I got a great deal on OPI polishes. They're regularly $8.50 a piece, and I paid less that $13 for three polishes. I got Suzi Skis In The Pyrenees (just polished my nails with this), We'll Always Have Paris, and You Don't Know Jacques.

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving, or just an excellent week if you live outside of the US.

Can't Help Myself.

I posted about making a few MAC purchases the other weekend, and since then I've made a few other MAC purchases. It's just hard too resist!

My aunt works at Nordstrom, and they were having a 40% off cosmetics sale for the employees, so I had her pick up a few things for me while my dad was visiting her (she lives kind of far away). I got the 195 concealer brush, the soft lipglass/lustreglass set from the holiday collection, and a mineral skin finish natural. The 40% made a huge difference in some of the prices, but I'm going to pay them back for the brush and MSF now, and have the lip set as one of Christmas gifts.

Then, today I was doing a little shopping and I had to make a few more purchases. I bought a lipstick in Lovelorn, and a new bottle of brush cleanser. The brush cleanser was actually a surprisingly good deal. The 6.75 oz bottle from Sephora was $14 and the MAC 6.9 oz bottle was only $11.

I guess this means I won't be making too many more purchases for a while! If I keep it up I won't have any money to spend on people's Christmas presents.

PS, Kris Allen's CD was released this week. I suggest listening to Lifetime.

So Much To Do.

Not much has changed, other than getting internet on my phone. In honor of that, here is this first picture I sent from my phone to my email. A collective aw is necessary.

In other news; my room is in terrible need of cleaning, I am excited to read the December issue of InStyle, I have my first on the road driving lesson tomorrow, and my nine day break starts tomorrow!

Couldn't Last.

I don't have a well thought out post for you today, so here is a pretty picture and a little update.

Today was my last day of driver's ed! You can't even imagine how glad I am. I'll still be busy this week (the last week before a break is always the worst), but at least I'll have a little more time at home.

Forgetful You.

I love Joel McHale. It seemed like a good time to let you know.

On to other (less important) topics.

I spent most of my day cleaning my room. It wasn't that it was all that messy, I just kept picking up one or two things and then stopping for an hour. Now, things are finally looking pretty good. Other than that, my day has been a bit dull. Tomorrow should be better, I'm going to do some driving practice (just two more days left of driver's ed class time) and go shopping for a present for my friend's birthday. Of course, the happiness of shopping will be countered with the unhappiness of Sunday homework.

Homework, that horrible thing that combined with driver's ed is keeping me so busy. And despite being so busy, for some reason, I've decided to put something else on my plate. I'm thinking I might start a youtube channel. It'll probably be mostly beauty related, but perhaps a little style with seep in. Thoughts?

Anyway, I'm going to snuggle into bed (another downside of spending more than 10 hours a day at school, I can't keep myself awake when I finally get home) and watch old episodes of One Tree Hill.

Make the most of your Sundays. Comment on Joel McHale, a prospective youtube channel, One Tree Hill season 3, and your Sunday plans!

Bring Me Down.

This is quite the busy week. I'm making it through by reminding myself that Thanksgiving break is coming up.

I haven't had much time for blogging, yesterday I was at school for a good thirteen hours and then I had to come home to shower and do homework. Not my idea of a fun day.

On the bright side, I'm 3/5 ways done with driver's ed. I'll be so happy when it's over and I can get some sleep after school!

I just wanted to let you all know I'm still alive, now I've got to go to my homework to the tune of Defying Gravity.

Sunday Blues.

I don't usually enjoy Sundays (because going back to school on Monday is always looming over), but this was a pretty good one. It was the perfect, unproductive day. A great mix of relaxing, reading, and catching up on episodes of Degrassi.

I'm planning to continue my day of relaxing with more of the Who What Wear book, and by watching the Khloe Kardashian wedding special (hey, E! is my guilty pleasure).

Peace, Love.

I made quite a few purchases today, including two necklaces from Forever 21, the Clinique 3-step System (excited to try this out), a MAC paint pot, and more, but the two things I'm most excited about are what's pictured above.

I absolutely love these adorable flower rings from Forever 21. You can wear them separately, but I enjoy wearing them all on the same finger because they form a cute little bouquet.

The other thing I love already is my MAC pigment set from the holiday collection. You get 4 pigments and 1 glitter (I got the smoky set, but there are two others). The colors are gorgeous, especially one called Sunnydaze, and I can't wait to use them.

I just cleaned my room and put away all my purchases, so I think I'll settle down with the new Sarah Dessen book.

Bathe In It.

Friday just couldn't have come soon enough this week! Being at school for all my classes, and then an extra three hours for drivers ed is just no good.

The weekend will be the perfect time to recuperate. I have plans to catch up on my sleep, do a little shopping, read, and get back into blogging.

I'm aware the blogging hasn't been at it's best, but I feel like rather than taking a hiatus, I'd rather just keep making the lame posts. Hiatus' work for some people, but for me, I just get discouraged from getting back into it once I stop. So, this weekend I'll try to think of better posts and comment people back and all of that good stuff!

Hopefully I'll come across a lot of good inspiration as this weekend I'm going to try to read either the Who What Wear book (excited for this one) or Style A to Zoe by Rachel Zoe. I'm building quite the cute little collection of fashion books now, if you have any suggestions for ones to add to it, I'd love to hear.

I'm also getting a lot of inspiration (not sure how much it'll help my blogging, but at the very least I'll be inspired to fierceness) from these Lanvin ads. I'm very picky about editorials and ads that I like, things have to have an instant appeal and something really special about them. These definitely have that. They're the perfect mix of everything I can think of, and look at those shoes!

I hope everyone's weekends are off to a fabulous start.

Love/Hate Relationship.

I am not feeling fond of driver's ed, I do however totally love The Teen Vogue Handbook!

Hey There, Fabulous.

I begin driver's ed tomorrow, which means busy busy busy.

Warm Wishes.

I had a great weekend. My sleepover went well, Halloween was fun, and my birthday was great.

I got a lot of compliments on my Minnie Mouse costume, and got a good deal of candy.

I got most of the things I talked about wanting. I got the House of Harlow sunburst ring (way bigger than I expected it to be), the Teen Vogue handbook, the Who What Wear book, Rachel Zoe's book, gold satin pillow cases, sweats (everyone is pushing me to start wearing sweats), the Coastal Scents 88 warm palette, and YSL parisienne perfume (smells amazing). And the thing I totally didn't expect, was that my parents told me I could redo the floor in my room. I've lived in this house since I was only around 1 (15 years!), which means the carpet has gotten it's fair share of stains over time. I'm not sure if I'd want to re-carpet, or go with hardwood flooring.

My day is winding down now, so I'm watching Styl'd (it's a show about people working with celebrity stylists, it's on MTV, so I don't know what to think yet), and I'm going to paint my nails OPI Matte in Russian Navy.

Something Insightful.

As I've probably mentioned a million times by now, my birthday is on Sunday. Sixteen has always been an age regarded as a big deal it doesn't mean your an adult, or make you of legal age for anything, but it's still huge enough to garner people spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on parties and gifts (I've seen a lot of My Super Sweet 16 lately). I'm not spending that kind of money, or even doing anything extravagant, but I guess all the hype makes this one feel special anyway.

I feel a little old turning sixteen, I remember watching so many television shows and movies with characters who were sixteen, and they always seemed so much older than me. (I've always been a big fan of teen soaps and movies that take place in high schools.) Now I'll be their age, which is kind of exciting and weird. Of course, the second I start to feel old I'm brought back to reality by the fact that I still can't get my license until May. (People with late birthdays: feel my pain?)

As my birthday and the weekend approaches I'm getting more and more excited. Friday should be a lot of fun, my plans for the weekend are a go, and I've made sure to stock up on candy and soda to ensure lots of girlie fun. (Suggestions still welcome!)

On a pretty much unrelated note, other than the fact that Halloween is approaching, what do you plan to dress up as for Halloween?

(The photo may not make sense to you guys, but it's a screen cap from the movie Sleepover, so it made sense to me!)

The party/sleepover is tomorrow, so you can't expect a post. I'll be trying to prepare everything beforehand, but I'll give feedback on Saturday.

Over The Hump.

The first half of the semester is just about done, and although the week isn't quite over, it's fast approaching the exciting weekend.

Until then I have homework to do, a haircut to get, sleep to catch up on, rooms to clean, plans to finalize, and a costume to finish. All very important tasks to keep me busy!

Love always. I have an introduction paragraph calling my name.

Tire Me Out.

Mid-terms are really knocking me out, but I have a half day of school on Thursday and then I'll be totally done with mid-terms. It'll be a tough week, but I have a lot of good things going on too, so those should get me through it. Girlie sleepover on Friday, Trick-or-treating on Saturday, and family/birthday stuff on Sunday.

I'm still in search of suggestions for the sleepover, so if you have any fun activities or good movie suggestions, I would be thankful!

Hope your weeks are going well and that everyone is getting enough sleep and has amazing Halloween plans in the works.

That Is The One To My Heart.

My dad returned from a trip today with presents in hand. A key necklace for both me and my mom. They aren't really the Tiffany ones in the picture, but until I find the memory card for the camera, those will have to do. They're both about the size of the smaller necklace in the picture. Mine is really cute and girlie, and the one he gave my mom is a little more simple. I'll be sure to get a picture of the exact necklace when I can because I'm quite smitten, I'm even planning to wear it tomorrow.

A few other things...
I started buying parts for my Halloween costume, so far I've got hot pink lipstick, false eyelashes, white gloves, and a big pink bow.
I finally cleaned my room, and made progress with the magazines I have piling up to read.

This week will probably be a little busy. I have mid-terms Tuesday and Wednesday (oh no!) and then of course there is Halloween, and my birthday on Sunday.

Speaking of my birthday, I'm not doing a full blown party, but I'll probably have a few girls over on Friday. Good girlie movie suggestions as well as activities are more than welcome! I'd love to hear them.

The Best Way.

I spent my day being a little lazy and relaxing. In the morning I caught myself up on Degrassi and then I went for a manicure. I got OPI Lincoln Park At Midnight (different than Lincoln Park After Dark), it's a little hard to make out in the picture, but it's really pretty. It's a great dark purple shade, perfect for fall. While I was there I got my eyebrows done, and it totally made my day. Which is a little superficial, but they'd been bugging me for a while because last time I got them done they turned out poorly, so I've been waiting for them to get back to normal.

The rest of my day was very unproductive, my room is still a mess and I still have magazines to get to, but I suppose that is how weekends really should be!

This post is a little late because time got away from me, I would've posted on Saturday, but now it's actually Sunday. It was before twelve when I was going to post, but then I remembered I needed to check movie times, so I did that first. I wanted to see Whip It, but it already isn't playing anywhere! I can't believe it's out of theaters so fast, I was disappointed, but oh well. I'll have to find a new way to spend my Sunday. Maybe a little shopping?

Make Up Your Mind.

My Friday night plans I mentioned yesterday were axed, and have been bumped to next week. Except now were going to the moves on Saturday and going trick-or-treating afterwards. I was thinking that last year would be my final year of trick-or-treating, but when it was brought up, turns out I can't resist.

If these plans actually work out, I'm about 80% sure of my costume. I've decided to be Minnie Mouse because it'll be cute and easy to construct. I'm going to be a slightly more glitzy version and wear my homecoming dress, black tights, white gloves, mouse ears, and a big bow. And of course really long eyelashes will be a necessity! If you have plans for Halloween, what are you being?

Get It Together, Gals.

I believe me and my friends are going to see The Stepfather tomorrow night, I say that I believe we are because they aren't exactly the best plan makers. Hopefully all goes well and it actually happens, because of course I want to support a movie featuring someone from Gossip Girl. (Even if I'm not the biggest Dan fan.)


What I'll wear to the movies is almost an indefinite as the plans. The weather has made it a little hard to plan for outfits lately, I've been shivering in my boots one day and sweating in my leather jacket the next day. I'll probably compromise with something light, but cozy, like a nice cardigan and tights combo. Maybe even a loud pair of tights would be fun.

TGIAF
(Thank god it's almost Friday!)

PS, We have two computers in our house. A family one and the one in my room. I always post from the one in my room, so I really only see what things look like on my screen. On my screen the pictures I post fill up all the available room, but I noticed on the other computer it makes the pictures look really small (in comparison, anyway). I'm not sure what is up with it, but let me know how they look to you. Blogger seems to cute off pictures that are wider than around 660 px, so I'm not sure what exactly I can do. (And I'm uploading them on tinypic, not on blogger, but it cuts them off anyway when I post.)

Get To Work.

Somehow my room manages to become a total mess in no time, especially during the school year. During the summer I'll pick up the little messes, but during the school year I let them build up for about a week, and it's surprising how bad it gets. Lots of makeup, clothes, and shoes strewn about.

My homework is finished fairly early tonight, and I'd like to be in bed by twelve, which means I have around a half an hour to clean.

(The picture isn't really related to the post, it's just awesome. Unrelated pictures have been a theme lately, sorry.)

Keeping with the unrelated theme, I am totally in love with the OPI suede You Don't Know Jacques polish I mentioned on Sunday. It's this awesome matte polish that still has glitter in it. The matte finish is really fun, but if you get bored with it half way through the week you can just add a coat of topcoat. Now I can't wait to experiment with matte nails more.

Back With a Vengeance.

I had a day or two where I was feeling better, but now my little cold is back. (Which is why I didn't post yesterday, I was going to bed early when I remembered I hadn't posted yet.)

I'll be awfully happy when this week is over, because I really have to try my hardest to resist urges to show up to school in my pajamas. Luckily, I think I've managed to still look cute, so far anyway. Tomorrow I think I'll just take a note from Kate and deck out in jewelry.


Looking on the bright side, I know my birthday is fast approaching because I received my birthday email from Sephora. I'll definitely make a point of going to Sephora soon to pick up this cute little trio.

Hope you're all in good health, and just in case keep hand sanitizer on hand. Colds seem to be going around like crazy.

Heal Me.

I'm not feeling quite as good as I did yesterday, but hopefully I'll make it through the week in good enough health. I did do a little shopping today, which I'm sure helped the healing process.

I bought my winter coat, it's a dark grey Calvin Klein peacoat that is really perfect. My last coat was fairly similar, but not CK and it was red. This one is awesome and I'm quite excited to wear it, especially since it is getting cold rapidly.

There was also an Ulta nearby, so I picked up a few things. I had never been inside an Ulta before, I've only ever ordered from the website. They had a great deal on OPI polishes (buy two get one free), so I got the matte Russian Navy, the suede You Don't Know Jacques, and the regular Royal Rajah Ruby. I'll let you know which I decide to wear for the week. I also got two NYX eyeshadow pencils, it was buy one get one half off. I got them in Yogurt and French Fries because those were two I remembered hearing good things about.

That was about all for my purchases, although I did get a cute little coin purse. I've been looking for the perfect one, and I've found it. I wanted something cute that would hold my permit (or license in a few months), money, and keys.

Time for dinner, enjoy the totally unrelated picture that is full of fringey goodness.

Don't Bet On It.

I'm feeling better already, but just in case I have plans to spend my night with the latest issue of Lucky magazine and a chick flick.

Tomorrow maybe I'll even get out of the house!