September Birchbox

Special delivery! Look what I found in my mailbox on Thursday-my September Birchbox AND our ACL tickets! I felt like it was Christmas or my birthday :). My Birchbox took super long to get to me-turns out USPS lost it for a little bit. I was so jealous seeing other people's blogs and just waiting to get mine. I contacted Birchbox about the missing package and one of their awesome customer service people sent me out a new box in the meantime. I told them they didn't have to do that once we found out where the package was but they insisted and said I could always give it to somebody who doesn't get Birchbox to try out. How awesome is that! They were celebrating "Customer Appreciation Day" yesterday and I did feel appreciated as a customer when they did that. Thanks, Birchbox! 

The products I received were: 

1. Laura Mercier Full Blown Volume Supreme Mascara

Meh, another mascara. I had received a mascara in this month's Ipsy bag and had ended up giving that one away. I just love my DiorShow too much. I'm not a fan of the applicator that comes with this sample. The mascara had a nice color to it but didn't lengthen or make my lashes fuller. 

2. Cynthia Rowley eyeliner-silver

This was the product I was most excited about and the reason I chose the Fashionista box. I love the color! I wasn't quite sure how it was going to show up on my fair skin. I've used it on my bottom lid and love the extra sparkle it brings to my eyes. Now, it says its smudge proof and lasts all day. I've never had any issues with smudging when I use my black one on my top line. However, on my bottom line, when I used the silver color it does smudge a little which makes the silver color go everywhere. I also had to reapply it (and honestly my eyes don't really water that much). It just takes me a little bit of extra time to do my eye makeup but I love the end result! 

3. Naobay Body Radiance Lotion

This was the product I was least excited about. I had gotten this in my July box! Just too soon to be given this product again. I'm not a fan of the earthy smell. It does make my hands and arms soft but I like a more floral scent. I gave this to my best friend-I think she will enjoy it more. 

4. Macadamia Professional Flawless Cleansing Conditioner

I was super curious to try this product out. It is a no suds shampoo and conditioner all in one. It smells nice and my hair felt soft after I towel dried it. However, it did not leave it as soft as my normal conditioner does and I noticed my hair felt coarser than normal at the end of the day. I also noticed more frizz in my hair, though it claims to cut down on the frizz. It did leave my ends looking better than my normal shampoo does. It's a great size and I would definitely bring this with me while traveling or whenever I want to cut back on the amount of shampooing I do. Some other reviewers had the same complaint and so I used a leave in conditioner along with this product and my hair feels so healthy! 

5. dr. brandt pores no more vacuum cleaner 

Both my husband and I tried this one out. I don't really have blackheads; he does. It didn't work for either one of us! It is supposed to have a cooling sensation and neither of us felt it. Bummer. I'll add it to my weekly routine though. 

Overall, this box was good. I did enjoy the Ipsy bag more than the Birchbox this month. However, in the grand scheme of things, I am more loyal to Birchbox. In fact they are running a promo right now-if you sign up to receive 12 boxes they will only charge you for 10 AND they will credit your account 100 points (which is $10 store credit) AND they will send you a Cynthia Rowley gift AND you can add on a mystery sample pack (usually valued at $10). I went for it and subscribed for a year and I know I'm not going to regret it. Use promo code UPGRADEME and tell them I sent you ;) https://www.birchbox.com/invite/crystalking

Now I just bet you are dying to know who I am most excited about seeing at ACL. My top 5 can't miss acts are: 

1. Outkast

2. Foster the People

3. Phantogram 

4. Lana Del Rey 

5. Fitz and the Tantrums (I've seen them before here in Dallas but I was several months pregnant with the twins and didn't enjoy the show as much as I would have liked.) 

One month in...

Wow-we are already one month into the school year! I'm probably jinxing myself by saying this but it's been the best start yet. My advanced class is doing GREAT in their rehearsals for their fall show. We are doing a double header- The Summer People and 10 Ways To Survive The Zombie Apocalypse. We had such a wonderful theatre moment together yesterday-my students finally saw my vision for Summer People and they became totally invested and passionate about it. Makes me so proud!

Justin's parents have the kids for the weekend again. Have I mentioned before how grateful I am for them?! I feel a little guilty that I enjoy this "no kids" time so much, but I know we both deserve it. His parents love our children to death and it's so wonderful for them to get to spend the time together. I also appreciate getting to spend quality time with Justin. We dated for exactly one year before we got married (we started dating August 21 and got married August 20 of the following year) and then got pregnant with Julian right after that so we haven't had that much "just us" time for a while.

Truthfully, I'm glad for the weekend off. The fall is so busy with all the social and school obligations. But...the house seems a little too quiet right now! I guess that means it's time for a nap!

September Fall Finds

I've been having some fun this week buying fall fashion accessories and coming up with new ideas for my nails. Here is the result of my recent trip to Charming Charlie's and Target:

I just LOVE this infinity scarf from Target! It's a tan color but with pops of hot pink in the stitching. I'm also loving the purple/pink/grey necklace from Charming Charlie's. It can go with so many different colored tops! And the best part about my shopping trip? The price!

Here's a couple of different nail ideas I saw on Birchbox last week. I'm going to use the nail polish I received in this month's Ipsy bag.

My Favorite Halloween Pins!

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Time to start decorating for HALLOWEEN!!! I've been pinning like crazy and I wanted to share some of my favorite pins. Some I've done before; some are new ideas for this year.

*Grandin Road-grandinroad.com is your place to go for awesome Halloween decorations! Now that we have a house I can go crazy with the decorations (sorry, not sorry Justin!). I'll be purchasing some headstones from them to put in our front yard. I love the look of the Victorian graveyard!

Here's a couple more decorating ideas for outside/inside that I'm going to do. Hope I don't traumatize my kids too much!

What I'm going to do with the kids this year:

I REALLY want to do this one but I know the kids would keep pulling the sheets off of everything. I will save this idea for when they are older or if we host a big party:

*Here is my Halloween costume this year. In May I purchased this Betsey Johnson "Fit and Flare" dress that I just love love love. This is what I plan on adding for accessories to wear it as a costume:

What I plan on doing with my nails:

*I'm planning on hosting a little get together on Halloween since it's on a Friday night. Here are a few of my decoration ideas.

How easy (and cute) is this?

A playlist for the evening: 

A couple of food ideas for the evening:

These are just a few of the many, many Halloween ideas I have. Check out the rest of my Halloween board here. Click here to follow me on Pinterest. 

Ipsy September "Street Style" Bag

I received my first Ipsy glam bag on Wednesday. I signed up in July but was put on a wait list so I signed up for Birchbox in the meantime. It was actually a complete surprise that I got it this week-for whatever reason their emails had been going to my spam folder. Imagine my delight when I opened up my mailbox and there was a pink package for me!

I opened the package and found the silver studded makeup bag and the "Street Style" card. While I appreciate the novelty of a makeup bag, for somebody like me I only need one, not one with every shipment. I'll throw this one in my work bag and then start giving them away. It's pretty flimsy but fits my personality as far as an accessory goes. The theme is cute; I wouldn't describe my beauty style as "street anything" haha.

I was immediately impressed by the "sample" sizes. The only item that is small is the powder which is good because I NEVER use powder. The hand cream is also a sample size but it usually takes me a while to go through hand lotions and creams. As much as I love Birchbox sometimes I wish their samples were larger. No complaints here about the size of the products from Ipsy!

The items I received were:
1. Be a Bombshell "Smooth Criminal" powder
I wasn't excited to see this product in my bag at all, but boy was I wrong in thinking that! I don't ever wear powder; it's just not part of my routine. I'd use it every day if it were this product! It's colorless and 100% silica and made my face feel so soft and smooth. It did as promised on the label and I'm a fan.

2. Avon Big and Daring mascara
I ended up liking this product the least. I've loved and used DiorShow for years and mix in Maybelline when I've run out and haven't had a chance to go pick it up. I feel like I had to apply coats over and over again to try and get some volume and thickness. I get lots of compliments on the length of my eyelashes when I wear DiorShow, and even though it's expensive, I'll continue to use it. This mascara just wasn't for me which is a shame considering the size of the product!

3. Cailyn "Basic Instinct" lip gloss
This ended up being my favorite product (go figure, ANOTHER lip gloss to add to my collection). It's a coral color and is so smooth and creamy. The color looks great with my complexion and stays on pretty good. Usually I wouldn't wear a color like this (I tend to gravitate towards purple undertones).

4. Mitchell and Peach hand cream 
This product is "ok." When I apply it, it feels slick instead of creamy. It does absorb into the skin and leaves it feeling soft; however, I don't like the initial smell-it smells too "earthy." I'm definitely going to use it at work instead of at home. I like my hand creams to have a feminine scent to them.

5. Pacifica "Red Red Wine" nail polish

Overall, I was happy with my Ipsy bag and looking forward to next month's products.

Top 10 Books That Have Stayed With Me

My co-worker challenged me on Facebook to list the 10 books that have stayed with me. I thought it would be fun to add a little reason why I picked each book on my blog. 

In no particular order (and yes, I'm allowed to count series as "one" book):

1. The Divine Comedy 
I read this book in high school for AP English. Man, Dante was gutsy for his time! I named my beloved cat after him. The Inferno is terrifying in it's own way. My copy of the book has so many notes and annotations in it; I can literally find something new in the book each time I read it. 
2. Harry Potter 
I just love all the Harry Potter books. In my defense, Harry Potter was released when I was in middle school (which was about the age that Harry was) so I "grew up" with the books. I really cared for all the main characters and I love re-reading this series. I can't wait to read it to my own children! 
3. Unbroken 
This is the most incredible non-fiction novel I've ever read. Angelina Jolie produced the movie version of this book and it will be released in December-I'll be first in line to see it! It follows the life of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner who was taken prisoner by Japanese forces during World War 2. I read this on the beach at Cayman Island 2011. It's a page turner; I just can't even begin to imagine all of this being true-but it is! 
4. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
My grandmother Faye gave this to me to read when I was in elementary school. It reminds me of my childhood and the hope and courage that exists in all children. I get so nostalgic when I watch the BBC version of this series! This is another book/series that I can't wait to read to my own kids. 
5. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
This is another non-fiction work. I was in a book club several years ago and this was the pick for one of the months. I hadn't heard of the title before and didn't think I was too interested in the subject matter (the immortal cell line that came from her cervical cancer cells) but this was another book that I couldn't put down. This is such an amazing contribution that this woman made to medicine...and she didn't even know it! It does make me very leery of ever letting doctors take blood or samples from me or my children. 
6. The Giver
I honestly can't remember when I read this novel for the first time; I know it wasn't in middle or high school. I'm pretty sure it was in college. Some critics don't like it but there's just something about it that speaks to me. I haven't seen the movie but can't wait to!
7. To Kill a Mockingbird 
Can you believe I read this book for the first time last year??? Not sure why we didn't have to read it for AP English. What an amazing story of humor in tough times and racial equality. I've begged Justin that if we have more kids and one turns out to be another boy that we name him Atticus. He is one of my favorite fictional characters of all time!
8. Lord of the Rings 
Love the books; love the movies. I love the fantasy genre in case you can't tell. I love the journey this series takes me on. I read The Hobbit in middle school and then started the rest of the series in high school.
9. Atonement 
This book is all about how a simple lie can ruin lives. It is a story of love and war set during World War 2. I read it after I saw the movie in 2007. I thought the movie was great and the book was even better. Usually I read the book first and then see the movie; this time it was vice versa.
10. Beach Music 
The author Pat Conroy is such an amazing storyteller. This book had me so emotionally invested in the characters and the events. I've read through it twice but it is one that I will probably read once ever 5 or so years. In a way this book reminds me of Atonement-the characters in both novels seem to searching for atonement. 

And that's it! Honestly, this list was tough to come up with because there are just too many books that I love. I'm sure it will change every decade or so as well! A side note-I am currently reading Pet Sematary by Stephen King. What a GREAT READ so far! I have been a fan of the movie since I was in middle school but the book takes it to a whole other level. This one has the potential to be added to the list. I have another 6 books on my nightstand right now; I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. I'm also supposed to be reading scripts to pick my competition play and I was picked to review a book for Birchbox's Book Club. Too many books!!! 

So, what is on your top 10 list? Are there any on my list that are your favorite or that you really enjoy? 

Walmart Beauty Box

I received my fall Walmart Beauty Box in the mail today. I still can't believe Walmart of all places has a subscription beauty box!

In the box: 

*Loreal YouthCode Pore Vanisher (sample)

*Nicki Minaj "Pink Friday" perfume (sample)

*Dove Advanced Hair Series Oxygen Moisture shampoo & conditioner (samples)

*CoverGirl "Glowing Nights" glosstinis nail polish in "Laser Light" (sample)

*Dove Dry Oil for hair (sample)

*Loreal Glossy Balm in "Pink Me Up" (full size)

*Secret Clinical Strength deodorant (full size)

*A coupon for $2 off Neutrogena Long Wear makeup 

The price for the box is $5 and the deodorant and glossy balm definitely make it worth it to me. They claim to send you products based on the time of year (it is a quarterly box) but nothing in the box seemed to be fall related or fall colors. It came in the mail as a complete surprise-they didn't send an email or any correspondence about it after I signed up for it. Thats ok; like I said, for $5 every 3 months it's worth it.  

Simply September

I woke up yesterday morning and turned to Justin and said, "It's time to start decorating for Halloween!!!" I've been so excited to try out some decorating ideas I saw on Pinterest (I will share those on my next blog post).

Then, I started feeling a little anxious. Once Halloween hits, then we have Thanksgiving and Christmas and all the obligations that come with the months of November and December. Poor September. It's a month that we take for granted. It's after August with all the end of summer, back to school festivities, and before all the holiday months. I thought to myself, what is there to get excited about for September? It's not quite fall but not summer anymore. I decided that I need to jazz up my September but don't want to commit to any major projects or spend a bunch of money. Here are some simple ideas I came up with to make my September a little more special. 

*Start each morning with a fun "goal" or positive thought. 

I like to believe in the power of positive thinking, and I tell my students about making your dreams a reality all the time. Each morning think about one thing that you are grateful for or one fun thing you would like to incorporate into your day. Why should November have all the fun when it comes to being grateful? I'm going to make it a commitment every morning to think about what I'm grateful for. Today it's Grandparents Day and I thought to myself, how incredibly grateful I am to my wonderful grandparents. They are like parents to me. I also said a little prayer for my Grandmother Nancy up in Heaven. Already my day has been off to a great start! I also like the idea of themed goals. Maybe one morning the theme could be "feel like a rock star" and wear all black with some funky eye makeup. Maybe one morning it's "Feel like a goddess" and you could wear a pretty outfit to work. Or quite simply, "Survive the day" and wear some comfy clothes. I think it makes your mornings a little more exciting :). 

*For exercise, take a walk. 

This is the time of year to start a workout routine before you are bombarded with social commitments and lots of holiday food. Don't have time or money to go to the gym? Go take a walk! The weather is starting to cool off  and you can connect with your neighborhood. Have kids? Take them with you! Some of my favorite memories have involved taking Julian on a walk with him riding in his red wagon. It's such a great way to bond with your family and burn some calories at the same time.  

*Pick one part of your beauty routine that you'd like to change or spend some TLC on.

I've decided it's time to change my hair routine. Last weekend Birchbox had a great Labor Day weekend coupon. I took advantage of it and purchased the following products all for $45 (included was free shipping and the two products in the front row. I also used $10 worth of credit I had earned for reviewing boxes). I'm going to start shampooing my hair less and using dry shampoo more. 

The reason for this? In Women's Health I read ways that celebrities keep their hair looking so gorgeous, and here are the two ideas I'm going to try out this month: 

Want to join Birchbox? Don't forget my referral code: https://www.birchbox.com/invite/crystalking

*Try out some new fashion that won't break the bank! 

I'm never sure what to wear in September. Here in Texas it's still too hot to wear fall clothes and if you are like me then you are already sick of your summer clothes. One simple fix is to buy a few scarves and wear them with your summer tops. I just love anything with sparkles and I can't wait to mix in some sparkly scarves with my wardrobe. Confession: I don't like fall fashion or clothes. I don't like how constricting they are. I'm a sandals/dresses/tank tops and shorts kinda gal.  

Here's another fashion idea-jazz up your nails! People will be so busy looking at your fabulous nails that they won't even notice what you are wearing. I saw these examples in Women's Health and I can't WAIT to try them out, especially the color combos: 

So, how about you? What are some things you would like to try this September?