diy halloween costumes

Monday, October 26, 2015

This is the first year we will be going to a Halloween party in ages! I haven't had much time to go costume shopping and pull together anything too spectacular, so I started racking my brain for things I had around the house...what could I use to make a cute costume with the littlest effort?

Here are the three costumes I came up with...each one uses a majority of things I already have at home, so I don't have much shopping to do for the remaining pieces. Stay tuned to see which one I end up wearing this Saturday night! ;)



friday favorites

Friday, October 23, 2015

Happy the weekend is here! But, not so happy that I have to spend all day tomorrow in a workshop for school :-/ such a pain...weekends are so important to me, especially since I've been working and going to grad school at the same time... so when something comes up that takes away time with family & time to relax from me, it is a major bummer. 

Oh well, it's only one day...and I have a mini girls trip and Halloween to look forward to the following weekend...silver lining! :)
Enough complaining and on to the good stuff - my Friday favorites!


// favorite recipe
This moscow mule recipe - I've never actually tried this drink before, but I hear about them all the time. I love the sound of all the ingredients (ginger beer - yum!) and the copper mugs are just too cute!


// favorite internet find
Truth. #crazydoglady


// favorite fashion item
This beautiful number is on its way to me as we speak! I saw it on Brittany and clicked on the link she provided... thinking I would be majorly disappointed when I saw it was hundreds of dollars...but it was only $64! Major steal for such a gorgeous and unique dress - I think I scooped up the last one, but check out Mod Owl's other gorgeous items! 


// favorite purchase(s)
I had a spontaneous trip to Target on Tuesday night and scooped up some great things - a slouchy beanie, some new face wash, and a couple cosmetic items. I was super excited to see this particular Target has a whole section of Shea Moisture makeup - which I didn't even know that line carried! I grabbed some foundation and nail polish which I'll review in a separate post :) #crueltyfree 


// favorite show(s)
There are too many right now! Aaron and I can't keep up. What have you all been watching? Not like we need even more shows, but I'm always interested to hear about good ones that we can stream later on!
{Disclaimer: pretty sure he would want me to clarify that he does not watch all of these - you can guess which ones - but he is also busy keeping up with football lol}


Link up and share you Friday favorites with the ladies below!




life lately...

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Happy hump day! I'm glad the week is half way over, but I'm not particularly looking forward to this weekend because I have to attend an all day (8 am - 5 pm) workshop for school on Saturday. Which is exactly what I want to do with an entire day of my weekend after working and going to school all week...sit through ANOTHER day of school {barf}. 

Anyway, here is a quick recap of all the goings-on in my life over the past two weekends!


// new Nate Berkus shower curtain for the bathroom from Target
// morning tea and Hello Kitty pjs on Saturday morning
// the most delicious vegetarian lasagna...recipe courtesy of my mum (will share soon!)
// my two stinky boys - love them so much! <3


// fun at the elementary school's Fall Fest this past Friday
// sweet treats on Sunday from our local bakery
// hot apple cider for a chilly Sunday soccer game - huge fuzzy blanket not pictured ;)
// headed to the farm on Saturday morning for hayrides and pumpkin picking

friday favorites

Friday, October 9, 2015

Happy Friday ladies!

Did you notice the few changes around here? I finally gave the blog a bit of a face lift ...and it only took me a couple of hours to figure out how! lol I'm not really computer savvy ;)
Now let's get to the good stuff...sharing five of my favorites for the week of Oct 5th!


// fashion
Since picking up this floppy hat at Old Navy the other day, I've been looking for some fall outfit inspiration to pair it with. I'm loving these looks from Amber Fillerup and Andee Layne.



// beauty
Cleaning makeup brushes is always a pain, and I put it off much more than I should - but I was really interested when I saw this little mat by Sigma for only $32! Looks cute and really practical, so it might make the annoying task of brush maintenance just a bit more fun and effective!


// blogger
I was so excited to discover Tashina Combs and her blog, Logical Harmony. It is an awesome vegan beauty and lifestyle blog with a super extensive Cruelty Free Beauty List that is updated weekly! JACKPOT
This will make my shopping trips much quicker when I am looking for new products! Tashina does extensive research into each brand before putting them on the cruelty free list.

Straight from her site: 
Logical Harmony strives to bring you the best in beauty, lifestyle, fashion, health and diet. The content focuses on vegan beauty and the promotion of a healthy and animal friendly lifestyle.





// eats
One of my favorite bloggers to follow, Megan at Willow & Co. posted this amazing crockpot mac & cheese reciepe the other day. Let's be honest, cheese is one of my (if not my #1) favorite foods... so I can't wait to try this out! 



// warm fuzzy
This article just made my heart explode. Meet Pumpkin, the orphaned raccoon who was rescued as a baby and now thinks she's a dog, like her companions Toffee and Oreo. #deadfromthecuteness 

Follow her on IG @pumpkintheraccoon



Join the fun Friday link ups here!!


top 5 drugstore beauty products

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

I'm not sure if I've shared this before, but I was a makeup artist for quite a few years before moving to Columbus to live with Aaron. My work spanned from live performance events, to TV commercials, to weddings...and honestly, one of my dream jobs would be doing character makeup for motion pictures...however that doesn't really happen when you are living in Ohio haha ;)

Over the years, I've tried what feels like literally every brand of makeup, and I've found my favorites along the way. Recently, as many of you know, I've started a new beauty journey - one that is cruelty free. This meant saying goodbye to many of my beloved products (I'm looking at you MAC eyeshadow *sniff sniff*) ...but hopefully some of these brands get on the band wagon one day soon and stop testing on animals so I can start using their products again!

What may come as a big surprise is that many of my favorite brands are actually drug store, and not high end! Don't get me wrong, I do love a good trip to Sephora for some Urban Decay or Bare Minerals...but many of my trusty day-to-day products can be purchased right at your local Target or drug store. 

It's true ladies, you can have flawless makeup with out breaking the bank or succumbing to name brand cosmetics! All of the products shared below I have used up and re-purchased multiple times.
 

crulety free drug store beauty
* All products come from cruelty free companies


// Physician's Formula Organic Wear 100% Natural Origin Fakeout Mascara $9.95
Geez  what I long name...lol 
Despite being long winded, this mascara provides great length and volume - and stays moisturized all day long. There are days where I put it on at 6:30 am, and it's still hasn't dried out or flaked by 10:00 pm at night!

// elf Studio Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder (in St. Lucia) $3.00
No joke, it's three bucks and I use it every single day - and it lasts for months.
I only use the bronzer side of this duo (I hate blush, but that's another story) and it is great for contouring! 

// NYX Dewy Finish Makeup Setting Spray $7.99
This is a new product for me, I discovered it this year by just randomly grabbing it a Target one day. And thank goodness for impulse shopping because it is awesome. I finish my makeup everyday with a spritz (or five) and it feels so nice. On top of that, it gives your skin a glowing look and helps my makeup look fresh and last throughout the day 

// Sonia Kashuk Perfecting Luminous Foundation $10.99
I'm in love with this foundation. It is light and dewey, but provides build-able coverage. It instantly brightens skin and is very moisturizing - which is so important to me since I have very dry skin. There is nothing worse then dry and cakey foundation! I apply this every morning with a stippling brush or beauty blender - and 2 or 3 pumps (depending on how much coverage I want that day) does the trick! 

// Wet 'n' Wild Fergie Shimmer Palette (in Rose Champagne) $5.99
I cannot rave about this highlighter enough. When I switched to cruelty free and stopped using my MAC Silver Dusk, I never thought I would find another pale pink highlighter that provided that perfect shimmer - but then I found this product. The packaging is terrible and gaudy, but don't let that fool you - the product is fantastic and provide the perfect all-day highlight to your cheekbones. I'm worried about this one being discontinued, just because it is a celebrity collaboration - so I'm going to stock up!
Organic wear®100% Natural Origin FakeOut™ Mascara
Organic wear®100% Natural Origin FakeOut™ Mascara



weekending 10.3

Monday, October 5, 2015

october quote

Fall has finally arrived here in Columbus! October is hands down my favorite month of the year. I love the crisp, and sometimes dreary weather. It's the Scottish girl in me - sometimes I just love an overcast drizzly day over sunshine ;)

We had a pretty relaxing weekend - full of comfy clothes, a date night out for Mexican and margaritas, and one or two puppy naps.


Loving my new plaid tunic from Old Navy - I think it's sold out in the red color, but the white and navy ones are really cute too! 
Be sure to pair with leggings, UGG boots, and a Michael Kors bag for your perfect basic white girl fall outfit ;)

Hazel cat - the most elusive of the Steiner family pets. She keeps a low profile, but is so so pretty.

Still love my engagement ring so much, I never get tired of looking at it! 
Does that ever wear off? I think it's about time I get it cleaned though.

Good hair days and good lighting call for a quick selfie - no shame ;)

Aubrey started soccer last week and scored 2 goals in their first game! 
I love watching her play and the weather has been beautiful! 


Hope you all had a good first weekend of October - link up with Biana over a B Loved Boston and share what you were up to!! xx 
emily kay