Happy Friday everyone! I hope you all had a great week and recovered nicely from any Halloween exhaustion that you might have had! My week was pretty much the same old, same old with clinical, online classes and blog work. Since I spent so much time on my computer this week, I took my breaks in between work by browsing Twitter and YouTube, which gave me a lot of favorite links for this Friday! Here they are...

1. James Corden in Phantom of the Opera
James Corden is the host of The Late Late Show on CBS, and to be honest, I had never heard of him until I watched him present an award at this year's Emmys. He was absolutely hilarious and I googled him, asking myself "who is this guy and why haven't I heard of him before?!". After watching a few of his show's clips, I am totally hooked. While browsing YouTube this week, I found a clip from his show that I hadn't seen, but was hilarious. If you are a Phantom of the Opera fan, or just someone who likes to laugh (and who doesn't?) you have to watch this clip!

2. Kandee Johnson Makeup Videos

NEW VIDee-Oh! When you turn into a 90's Pop Art Painting! Go watch it...it took me days to edit and it was made with so much love and hope-you-love-it-ness! Click the link in my bio to see it! PS. Who likes my new video intro?!?! I made it myself...hee hee hee #cartoon #makeup

A photo posted by Kandee Johnson (@kandeejohnson) on Nov 5, 2015 at 3:54pm PST

Kandee Johnson is a makeup artist who does amazing transformations...I watched so many this week and was just mesmerized. My favorite was the barbie one! If you check out her channel, tell me which one is your favorite!

3. 25 Days of Christmas Schedule

Now that Halloween is over, its time to start celebrating Christmas. I know, I know...I am one of those people that likes to start celebrating early! I can't wait to watch all of these! Anyone else?!

4. This post from Pinky @ Pink Persistence and this post from Julia @ Gal Meets Glam
These two were my favorite blog posts from this week! Pinky's post about gratitude really motivated me to start recognizing and giving thanks for the great things that I have in my life (both big and small!). She is always to inspirational and I love reading her posts!
The next post is a fashion post from Gal Meets Glam, and I just can't get over how gorgeous that purple coat is! She has amazing style and lives in the ever-fabulous San Francisco!

5. My own video....
...is that too cheesy? I am just so excited that I finally put myself out there! Thank you so much for the nice comments on my post about it the other day...I was so so flattered and reading those comments made my heart feel like it was going to explode out of my chest. Internet friends are the best! Also, speaking of friends...I have kept this blog a secret from my non-internet friends, up until last night when I sent the link to my best friend. (If you're reading, hi Sarah!) I was so nervous even though I had no reason to be, and she was more than supportive and excited about this blog. I feel like I can just tell everyone now!

I hope you all have a great weekend! What were your favorites for the week?

Everyday Makeup Routine | Video

Guys, I did it! Although it took a long time to film and edit, and a few years of working up the courage too...I finally hit publish on a YouTube video! It is my everyday makeup routine and I actually had a lot of fun filming it (once I got through the nerves). It is a little embarrassing to watch back for me, because I use a lot of poor transitions ("and then, and then, and then, and then!") and I make a lot of weird faces. Its a little long as well, but I tried to cut out as much as I could and still have it be a smooth video. I hope you enjoy it!


Here are some of the products I mentioned in the video:

Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation in Ivory
NYX HD Concealer
Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Translucent
Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade in Soft Brown
Urban Decay Naked Basics 2 Palette
Benefit Roller Lash Mascara
NYC Matte Bronzer in Sunny
Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Wild Rose
MAC Lipstick in Velvet Teddy

Let me know what you think!

*This post does contain affiliate links*

Weekend of Pamper

Hello friends, and happy November! I hope you all had a super fun (and safe!) Halloween weekend. I had planned to take it super easy this weekend because I had a hectic weekend last week and i'm about to have another busy (but fun!) weekend coming up. My introverted self can't handle so many busy weekends in a row, so I have to plan chill-out time or else I get too anxious and weird. Hence why this weekend may seem blah to you, but it was great for me!

Friday
Since all of my "normal" classes are online and when I actually go to class, its clinical at the hospital, I spend a lot of time at my computer getting work done. Friday was no exception to this! I crossed a few things off my to-do list, but most importantly, I figured out a new television show to indulge in. I started Nurse Jackie on Showtime, have any of you seen it? I haven't been big into medical shows, other than Grey's Anatomy, maybe because I now know how unrealistic those shows are. But I thought I would try one out anyway.  I am a few episodes in, and so far its funny but I haven't really felt "the hook" yet...aka the need to be watching every spare second of my day.
Anyways, I finished off Friday with Mexican food with my roommate and watching Hocus Pocus! Also, right before I went to bed, I threw on a mask (as promised from Friday's post) to help absorb oils from my super greasy skin. I went with Mario Badescu Silver Power, which really helps to make my skin less oily and keep it feeling fresh for the next day.

Saturday
I had a lazy morning, which I justified as Saturday was "a holiday". I trimmed and tweezed my sorry looking eyebrows, and then questioned myself on shouldn't just drop of out college now and become an eyebrow stylist because I just had so much fun cleaning up mine. Is that weird? Probably.
Later, I headed to Ulta to pick out a new facial cleanser, and since I can't leave Ulta with just one thing, I ended up with a new foundation too. Next, I went to Plato's closet to look for jeans that don't get saggy a few hours into wearing them. I have jeans that fit great in the first 15 minutes out of the dryer, but loosen up so much! I tried on a few pairs, but just had no luck. Do you have any suggestions on what brands/fabric blends/tips for finding jeans that don't get saggy? Please let me know!
Once home, I spent the rest of the day watching scary Halloween movies (Sleepy Hollow, The Sixth Sense, and House on Haunted Hill!) and treated myself to a cookie in a mug, which I am thinking of sharing the recipe for later in the week!

Sunday
So yesterday, I maybe, kinda, sorta filmed an everyday makeup routine video that I might edit and upload to YouTube. I have wanted to start making videos for a few years now but just never could work up the courage to actually sit down and do it. You can definitely tell in the first minute or two of the video that I am super nervous, but afterwards I relax and it actually was a lot more fun than I ever realized it could be! It sounds silly because I am just by myself putting makeup on in my room so why be nervous? The camera was really intimidating at first, but then I just told myself to pretend that it was a friend in front of me instead and it got a heck of a lot easier. So maybe I'll just need another couple of years to work up the courage to actually upload it? I don't know!
Other than the video and classwork, I tried out my new facial cleanser, which I already know I am going to love. I wanted a product with glycolic acid in it for a bit of chemical exfoliation, so I went with the Mario Badescu Glycolic Foaming Cleanser. When I first used it, I half expected my skin to just slough off like a snake because of the glycolic acid (ew, sorry if that is a gross mental image), but it just made my skin feel less oily and less like there was a build up of dead skin cells. I know it'll definitely take a few more weeks of use to get its full benefit and I will let you know how it ultimately works!

Monday Motivation

I have a busy week coming up and just wanted to give myself some motivation that I could carry with me today (and basically the rest of time!). Thought I would share it with you all, as well! I hope you have a great Monday!

*This post does contain affiliate links

Hello, Halloweekend!

Happy Friday friends! I hope you all had great weeks and are ready for a fun Halloween weekend. I think I am going to have a relaxed Halloweekend...complete with scary movies, snacks and face masks galore (my new favorite beauty treat!). Let me know what you will be doing in the comments below!

For this five on Friday, I have picked out five links that I come across this week (and last!) and hope you will enjoy them just as much as I did!

1) Misunderstanding about Introverts

At one point this week, I got stuck on the "Introvert" subreddit page on Reddit for an hour, just looking through the forum at different thoughts/opinions/stories of all the introverts that post there. I was just fascinated because I never realized how much of my personality is related to the fact that I am an introvert. For example, I love spending time with my friends (i.e. homecoming last weekend) but after a while, I like spending time by myself to recharge and get recollected/centered (hence why I cherished my alone time this week). I did more research into introverts and came across this article about common misunderstandings about introverts and I related so much to all of them! Anyone else an INTJ here?

2. Marvel Calender
Earlier this week, I watched Avengers 2 with my roommates (one of which is a HUGE Marvel fan) and afterwards, we were discussing what was the next Marvel movie to come out. We did a little research and found this great schedule of when all the movies are set to come out for the next few years. I know it'll probably be just a really small segment of you that'll check out the schedule of movie releases, but if it helps one person, I will be glad!

3. Star Wars Trailer 
 I know this was so last week, but I forgot to mention it in last week's post...but wasn't the new Star Wars trailer amazing? I am so excited for the movie, and its really all John can talk about. He is so excited in fact, he already bought me and my family tickets for the movie as everyone will be here in VA for my graduation because I graduate the day after the movie comes out. You can guess which event John is more excited about (if you say my graduation...you're probably wrong!).

4. 18 of Coach Taylor's Best Quotes

I finished Friday Night Lights yesterday and then spent an obscene amount of time looking through Buzzfeed at all the FNL quizzies and articles. My favorite was this article that listed out 18 of Coach Taylor's (*swoon*) best quotes. He is so inspirational! Also, according to the Buzzfeed, my soulmate is Matt Saracen, lucky me!!

5. Helene In Between's Post about Photo Editing
Helene's post on photo editing yesterday really helped to introduce to me the other photo editing websites and computer apps that are out there to edit with. I am usually a dedicated PicMonkey user, but off of her recommendation, I had to try Canva! I played around with it last night (see the picture quotes above, haha) and loved how easy it was to use and all the different fonts/layouts available. From now on I will definitely be switching back and forth between the two! Thanks Helene!

I hope you have a fantastic weekend!

I Read...Bossypants by Tina Fey

Have you ever been reading a book and had to look over your shoulder because you thought the words on the page were only applicable to you, so someone must be following you and writing down your every move? No? Just me? Okay, well thats exactly how I felt reading Bossypants by the one and only amazing Tina Fey.

If you have read this blog for while, you might have noticed that my kindred spirit lies in Liz Lemon, who is Tina Fey's character on 30 Rock. Even before watching 30 Rock, I had a special place in my heart for Ms. Fey because of her characters on Saturday Night Live, Mean Girls, and Baby Mama. She is absolutely one of my favorite actresses, because she is hilarious of course and because she is such a clever writer.

Now I am a little embarrassed to call myself such a huge Tina Fey fan, but then tell you that it took me almost 3 years to finally sit down and read her memoir. But nonetheless, her memoir sounded a bit like what I think mine would sound like...minus SNL, the wit, and the fame obviously. What I mostly related to was the anxious, paranoid, and sarcastic personality she clearly potrays through her writing. As silly as it sounds, I was actually laughing out loud while reading this book, which was awkward at some points because I was sitting on a very crowded plane. Once I finished the book, I actually just got a pen out of my purse, flipped back to the beginning of the book and started to read it again. But the second time, I underlined or starred all the lines/parts that made me laugh or that I related to the most. In one part, she describes being on her honeymoon with her husband on a cruise, when the ship has a fire and everyone has to go out onto the deck so that the cabins can be checked. While anxiously thinking that a fire on a boat obviously means that its about to explode, she writes, "I'll be ready for it to happen, that way it won't happen. It's a burden, being able to control situations with my hyper-vigilance, but its my lot in life" (pg 97). Finally I have found someone else who believes they they can control situations by prepare for something to happen so that in turn the universe does the opposite!

So now I have this book that is completely marked up because just everything she wrote is just loaded with humor and genuine personality. If you have a "books to read" list, then definitely add this to it. If you don't have a "books to read" list, then write "Bossypants by Tina Fey" on a piece of paper, and voila! You have a "books to read" list!

*This post does contain affiliate links* 

I Bleed Purple & Gold

What an exhausting weekend! Homecoming totally kicked my butt this year and I wish I could sleep for the rest of the week. Between all the commotion about ESPN, excitement about seeing all my visiting friends, and prepping for our tailgate, I felt like I was running around all week to prepare. By the time the weekend rolled around, I was ready to have fun!

Friday
Since our first guest (out of 7!) wasn't going to be at our apartment until 4, I was able to spend most of the day getting ready (aka cleaning my room) and baking cookies for our tailgate on Saturday. On a side note from that, I used the recipe on the back of the TollHouse Chocolate Chips bag and the cookies (in my humble opinion) were delish! After I had consumed half the dough, I finally got them cooked and cooling, just in time to get myself presentable for our first guest to arrive! All of our alumni friends (sorority sisters!) trickled in throughout the rest of the evening from the various states they were coming from. We headed to a favorite Mexican restaurant of mine for dinner where we all caught up from the last time we had seen each other (we had seen some in September and everyone in July). This dinner was the first time I think I had relaxed all week! Afterwards, we decided to have a chill night in our apartment playing games since we had to #GetUp4GameDay early the next morning.

Saturday
We were able to get everyone fed and out the apartment by 8:45 and to the quad by 9 to see ESPN's College Game Day! Although we had briefly considered it, we didn't camp out overnight on the quad to get into the front row...I don't think I could have stayed outside when the temperature has been starting to get so low at night. Predictably, there was already a massive crowd by the time we got there, but we just joined in and eventually (over the next 2 hours) made our way pretty close to the stage!

Front view of the stage

As close as we got to behind the stage, aka the backdrop of the show!

Squished in the crowd!

The energy campus was just incredible. Everyone was just SO proud to be JMU students or alumni and at one point I got a little teary because I was so happy to be apart of something so unifying. After we had grown a little too claustrophobic in the crowd, we made our way to our old sorority house for a brunch. It was nice to see younger sisters living in the house and then older ones who had graduated before me. Of course, took many pictures in our old rooms (I had lived in the house for 2.5 years so I had three different rooms over that time!) and reminisced about the time we had spent there. Basically the definitely of homecoming weekend, right?! Next, we made our way to the tailgate spot that one of my roommates had claimed the night before. There was so much yummy food and drinks that we stayed there for the next few hours. I had an absolute blast and got to catch up with more alumni, which was so nice! Once the game started, we headed back to the apartment to nap and watch the game (tickets sold out before everyone in our group was able to get them). Chinese food was ordered, naps were taken, and boos were yelled when the University of Richmond Spiders beat out our JMU Dukes. We had been talking about possibly going out downtown, but then figured that it would be so crowded that we could have an equally as fun time at home playing fun games and enjoying some wine. My favorite game was the one where everyone gets a post-it placed on their forehead with a character or thing written on it, and you have to ask yes/no questions to figure out who/what you have! After playing and watching TV, I crawled into bed exhausted from the long day!

Look at all the signs in the background! They were hilarious! 

Sunday
Our guests were out the door by 11am and unfortunately I got started working on homework so I could just get it over with. Afterwards, I just watched a movie, enjoyed leftover Chinese food and got caught up on American Horror Story with one of my roommates! The highlight of my day was getting a reply on Twitter from one of my favorite bloggers, Julia Engel, who is Gal Meets Glam. I was a complete fangirl about it and told one of my roommates who didn't really think it was all that cool...so I am telling you all since I know there will be at least one who will fangirl with me!

This weekend I laughed until my stomach hurt, ate all the food, got to have my school on national TV, and spent time with my friends so what else could a girl ask for? I am glad this weekend was such a success and I am already looking forward to next year's homecoming where I will finally be able to call myself an alumni of JMU!

5 Exciting Things

Happy Friday people! I hope this week was a breeze for you and that you have exciting plans for the weekend. My weekend plans are a part of the five exciting things that I have to tell you about so lets get on with this five on Friday!

1. My visit home
A few weeks ago, I was able to rearrange my schedule a bit to be able to fly home for a long weekend...actually a really long weekend (Wednesday- Monday). Since it has been hard for me in the past to get home during September/October, it had been a few years since I had seen Maine in the fall. However it was just as beautiful as I remembered. I was even excited when the weather was a bit chilly, because it made the visit just a perfect fall weekend. We went apple picking as a family (but really, the best part was the warm donuts we bought there!) John and I were able to have a date night out at one of our favorite restaurants, and I was able to visit with friends who I hadn't seen since I left to go back to school in August. But most importantly, I saw my cats and dog! Obviously, the weekend went by so fast...Since I was able to do so much though, I was satisfied when I was leaving and just reminded myself that in order to come back, I had to leave first!

John looks so #fall in this picture and I love it! 

My little brothers aren't so little anymore! 

2. Senior Capstone
Last week was my last week of my senior capstone for nursing! At JMU, for eight weeks, we get to to a nurse preceptor one-on-one and we get to follow their schedule and learn from/work with them. I worked 3p-3a (hence my trouble keeping up with writing) in an emergency department, and to say I learned a lot is an understatement. I love the pace and the turn over of patients, and I love that I can see a whole range of issues in just one shift. What I found difficult was patients who weren't pleased with waiting and also getting myself acclimated to working a partial night shift. However, towards the end of my eight weeks, I really found myself enjoying the night aspect and I was able to get used to the schedule. I started to feel like a real nurse and I was loving it!

3. Rocking my practice exam
On my days off for the past eight weeks, I was studying because in order to actually become a registered nurse, I have to pass a licensure exam (the NCLEX) after I graduate. In the past few weeks, I really amped up my studying as I had a special practice exam this week that is designed to predict whether or not we will pass the NCLEX. Although I was super nervous and felt like all the studying I had done hadn't stuck in my brain, I did a great job on the exam and according to this test, I have a really good chance of passing the NCLEX....Will that stop me from continuing to study like crazy and stress about having to take a licensure exam? No. But was it nice to know that my study habits must be effective and that I can continue doing my thing? You bet!

Just a few of my review books...

4. Homecoming weekend 
This weekend at JMU is homecoming! We have a bunch of people coming to stay at our apartment and plans to tailgate the game tomorrow. But what is different about this homecoming weekend, compared to past years, is that the ESPN College GameDay show is being filmed live on our campus on tomorrow! Its a big deal for us, because we aren't a big SEC school or one that gets a lot of attention so this is definitely JMU's chance to shine and maybe get more notice for the future. So if you are bored Saturday morning between 9-12...turn on ESPN and watch to see my beautiful campus!

Throwback to homecoming last year!

5. Future exciting plans
I love this time of year because there is so much happening all in a short span of time. We have Halloween coming up, and then a few weeks after, my family is coming to visit. Next, I have a good chunk of time off for Thanksgiving. After, I come back to school for just a few weeks and then I GRADUATE! I am so ready and so incredibly excited to finally be done with school and get on into the working world. I can't wait to get started as a nurse once I pass my exam and finally put to use, all the things I have learned!

Obviously Liz Lemon is the only one who can depict my emotions most accurately. via

I just realized that I basically wrote a novel for today's post, and I understand that since it's Friday you might be too tired to read it all. So if you're skipping to the end, I will do a TL;DR for you...many exciting things have happened, and many exciting things are coming up. You're welcome! Also, I promise to be back next week to talk about TV and my mascara. Are you excited because I am!