I've never had any Taylor Swift songs, save for the singles that are on the radio. She has just been one of those artists that I liked enough - at least the catchy songs on the radio - and never really though to go out and buy the rest of the album. (We all have those artists, don't lie).
But with all the hype surrounding the 1989 album and my friends (such as Izzy who just adores Taylor Swift) I had to check out the album. After all, I've been listening to "Shake It Off" non-stop for the last few weeks.
So far I really enjoy the album. I'm listening to it in the background as I write - because I have to be doing other things when I listen to music or I get a little restless - and it's very catchy and so many lyrics just stand out to me. They are powerful and sort of punch out at you when you listen.
"Like any great love, it keeps you guessing
Like any real love, it's ever-changing
Like any true love, it drives you crazy
But you know you wouldn't change anything, anything, anything"
- Welcome to New York
This is seriously such a beautiful love song to the city of New York. The amazing whimsical feeling that you get from the city is captured by her lyrics and I just love it. I wish I could jump on a plane right now to visit.
I'm also just really happy she made that "official" move from country to pop. That is obviously just my own opinion, but her voice is suits the pop genre really well and her country has always had that sound layered on top of it to me. The sign of any good artist is to let their music grow and not stifle it and I think that's what she's doing with the genre change. Artists shouldn't be confined to the genre that people say is their home and shouldn't be afraid to move between them.
I'm not going to a track by track review, but I will point out some of my initial favorites:
I also really like "How You Get The Girl" and "Blank Space" (but I can't find a good audio clip for it on SoundCloud). The latter is so damn catchy and the lyrics are totally witty and wordy in a way that is just delicious.
To wrap up this "review" I decided to have a bit of fun. If I could sing, this would be my copy-cat album cover. I love the simplicity of naming it after your birth year. Like Adele and naming it after her age, it just looks so cool, to put it plainly.
Definitely check out the album, even if you haven't really listened to much of Taylor Swift before.
I experienced Ikea for the first time - and it was absolutely magical.
When I drove down to Tempe for the Scott Westerfeld signing, I stopped at the only Ikea in Arizona on the way. I have been wanting to go for ages, mostly due to how many YouTubers' vlogs from inside and video hauls that I've seen. I didn't have nearly a big enough budget to get those big ticket items that I surely wanted - and will put on a wish list for future reference - but I was surprised at just how many little decor pieces I was able to snag and come in much more under budget than I planned.
So I now present to you my very own Ikea haul blog post.
A small vase and flower (75 cents and a dollar!)
Decorative pillow that should go with my new bedding.
Heart shaped ice cube tray.
I've been wanting a glass, clear tea/coffee cup for ages. I found the one with little flowers on it first, then
this plain one like I originally wanted.
Three floral tin containers. I was thinking of using these for tea.
Two floral place mats, which I'm thinking of putting on my beside table.
This totally cute floral (sense a pattern?) tray.
Floral tea steepers that float on the top of the water.
And there you have it. I had such a nice time in Ikea. I would have loved running around the store with another person, but I do like shopping by myself. You get to walk slow, linger at the places you want without feeling pressured to move on and be alone with your thoughts. It is nice to talk about if you should buy something with someone there, but it was really nice to walk through the showroom by myself and then go downstairs to pick everything out. And to think, I almost didn't grab a cart!
That's it for this post. Also check out the "micro blog post" I just made about what new single I'm listening to (and let me know if that's a good idea: a small little post that doesn't take much thought or planning, like what music I'm listening to or a YouTube video or something of that sort).
I first listened to Junior Prom (@JuniorProm on Twitter and @promgramz on Instagram) when I went to a Panic! At the Disco show on Valentine's day this year at the Marquee Theater in Tempe. They were the opening and I really liked their sound, so afterwards Maddie and I got photos (and selfies) with the two guys, Mark and Erik.
Not a bad way to spend Valentine's day in my book.
Since then I've been listening to their EP, which I love, but they released a new single on October 21st (best birthday present ever!) and it's totally sick, for lack of a better expression. Take a listen.
On Monday the 20th I drove down to Tempe to attend Scott Westerfeld's book signing at the Changing Hand bookstore. I was so excited to go, as the last time (and very first time I met Mr. Westerfeld!) was at the very same bookshop around 3 years ago when he came into town.
If you don't know his books, Scott Westerfeld wrote the "Uglies" series, as well as The Midnighters, Peeps, So Yesterday - the list goes on. I've been reading his books since I was a freshman in high school. So nearly nine years now. Besides the fact that his books are inventive, well written, and just all around interesting reads - the guy is hilarious. He honestly could have been a comedian. Both times I've attended his signing he has a small thirty minute talk and the crowd laughs at so many things he says. He's even quick on his feet in the Q&A sessions.
His new book now is called "Afterworlds" and I'm so excited to start reading it. It's made of two different novels. One involves Darcy, who is writing the novel that contains Lizzie in it. He read a part of Lizzie's story and it just sounds so exciting. I'll definitely be sure to write up a book review here! (Which incidentally, was a topic Mr. Westerfeld addressed).
As always, I probably made a fool of myself - I tend to do that when I meet the people I admire - but it's all good. I know I always over think the meeting and even if you know what you want to say, when you're standing in front of the person you admire it's so hard to come up with anything intelligent to say. I was the first person to ask a question (a really stupid one!) and ended up getting a small "Afterworlds" notebook as a prize (and he signed it later on).
My birthday was the next day, so I mentioned it when it came to the actual signing so he could write it in the book. I thought it would be such a nice little memory to have! Also: how weird is it that all my signed books of his are dated in the month of October?
It's been my dream to be a writer since I was in 6th grade. To publish and engage readers with what I've written and Scott Westerfeld is definitely in the top five list of authors that continue to inspire me to want to pursue writing as a career one day. I only hope I can achieve even a fraction of what he has!
I was also happy to be able to spend some time with Deanna when I was in Tempe, who attended the signing with me. I love her to bits and wish we could see each other more. You'd think having an "internet friend" that lives in the same state would be easier, but even so, it's not.
Finally, I have two clips from his Q&A below. He talks about a ton of things: answering questions about the Young Adult genre, as well as speculating on the future of it and taking a stab at his good friend John Green with a prediction that maybe in a few years there will be "well lit" where "kids don't have cancer....or are in comas" (looking at you "If I Stay").
Overall: such an amazing day (or really, a few hours) spent in Tempe. I also stopped at Ikea for the first time before the signing and have a haul post coming from that soon.
When I saw this Rifle Paper Co. phone case at work (Barnes & Nobles) a few months ago I fell in love with it. (It's called the Rosa.)
The roses, the colors, the gold - all of it was just perfect.
Since I can get my employee discount, I wanted to buy it right then and there, but I didn't really have spare money at the moment, so I told myself one day.
Days kept going by and I just didn't have the spare money to splurge still.
Barnes & Nobles has more Rifle Paper Co. products, such as another adorable "Hello!" Phone case, note pads and this beautiful "Hello Sunshine!" print. And oh did I want them all. If I had it my way, I would have owned these months ago, but I waited.
It seems that waiting paid off, because we started putting together clearance items about a month or so go. Our handheld devices (called PDTs) that sort books and other products give off a certain beep to let you know that you need to put it in the clearance bins. Basically, we're making room for all the product we're going to be getting for the holidays.
A cute Rifle Paper Co. recipe box (we had two in the store) was put in the bins and gone on the first day, when the discount was 50%. I wanted one, but I was not fast enough. Then I thought: huh, maybe the phone case I want is on sale, too.
And it was.
So I scanned the phone cases and discovered this and just, you know, decided not to throw them into the clearance bins. I just knew they would be bought in a second and I was still hurting for money so I just kept them where they were, sort of hidden.
I waited for the discount to keep dropping. 50%. 75%. Then finally, the day had come: everything was only $2. I also discovered another surprise: the print I had also been wanting had gone on clearance as well, so the several copies we had were just sitting there in the bin. I snatched one up and went to go make my purchases!
So now I have both phone cases and the beautiful wall print, each for just $2. The whole purchase came out to almost $7 with tax and I just walked away from the registers with the biggest smile. I love Rifle Paper Co. so much - I visited their website to see more of their products and was just drooling the whole time. If I had more money, I'd buy one of everything.
The phone case itself (I put "Rosa" on my phone first, of course) fits perfectly and feels very sturdy. It's the Inlay case and offers a lot of protection for your phone.
If you come across anything from the Rifle Paper Co., I'd jump on buying it! I'm glad I waited and was able to score a great deal, but they really do have such beautiful designs. I'm tempted to get a calendar from their website for 2015. Their style is right up my alley: bright colors, lots of florals, and very, very cute.
My mom got this dresser from a yard sale for a whole $5 a few months ago. She first told me about it over the phone and I decided I didn't want it, because she mentioned the drawers were shallow and let's just say that I have a lot of clothes and it just wouldn't have worked. Then when I visited her I saw it and fell in love. I had her bring it down to my house the next time she visited me and now I use it as my bedside table.
It has a very retro vibe to it. I'm still looking out for better knobs for the drawers themselves, maybe a nice blue or yellow to bring some color to the piece, but I just love it so much. It's long, has a good amount of storage space for my non-clothing items, and of course, is so cute. I've been wanting to get a table runner for it, just to make it pop more, but I found this wrapping paper today at Target and thought it might be a good substitute to your usual fabric runner.
It was $1 and isn't as wide as your usual wrapping paper (it was from the beautiful, addicting, $1-$3 section of Target) and is a beige and white polka dot print. They had some others - this very cute beige and blue pattern that I almost got as well, but I limited myself to one for now.
I laid it down on the top of the dresser and taped it down on the sides. So far, I love it. I might still look for a fabric table runner, like I originally wanted, but if the paper can hold up I might just leave it how it is.
Finally, I had been waiting to really decorate my beside table until I had a table runner. Until now I had sort of just thrown things on top of it - but I cleared it off and put things how I wanted them (or at least, how I think I want it now! It could always change).
First two items: this beautiful white ampersand (vocabulary lesson! that's an "and" symbol) from Ross and a beach chair photo frame from Bed Bath and Beyond. Fittingly enough, I put a photo from the beach into the photo frame.
The original photo at the beach in California with my girls: Liz, Katie, Marissa, Mia, Izzy and Maddie.
Moving along, I have this adorable dog ceramic that I just bought today at Michael's. Originally $20, it was 70% off so I got it for a steal. I've been wanting a little dog statue like this for ages. Dogs are my aesthetic.
I have a candle (which I featured in my Autumn Tag post) in its make shift candle holder. I found that the other candle I got over flowed a lot when it was burned, so I decided to put it in this large jar for now.
Of course I have my lamp (dollar store chic!) and the last touch is a "coffee table" book. I love Lea Michele's "Brunette Ambition" so much, and thought it would look cuter on display like this than on my bookshelf.
That's it for now. I like the way the items are arranged, but if you have any suggestions that you think might make it look better, let me know in the comments.
I was tagged to do this by Lauren over at lipstickandlacquer. I had to hold off, even though she tagged me nearly two weeks ago (or more!) because to be honest it doesn't even really feel like autumn here in Arizona yet. It's currently 88 degrees and it's 4:30 in the afternoon. So I'm not quite to the point of breaking out my sweaters and scarves, but thought I would get moving on this tag anyway.
1. Ok we're talking coffee's - what's your favourite seasonal drink from Starbucks/Costa/Cafe Nero etc? I absolutely adore the Pumpkin Spice Latte like many other red blooded human beings. I've had it once so far this "season" and that has been iced, seeing as it's not quite yet cold enough for me to be choking down hot drinks in the middle of the day. I did have to make a change, however: as my stomach doesn't handle caffeine well, I had to cut out the expresso that the PSL has in it and change it out for chai. Let me tell you, it is absolutely delicious. I also love the Starbucks hot chocolate and hot chocolate in general and am looking forward to it to be colder and have more of that. Finally - tea! I'm looking forward to cozy nights and warm tea.
2. Accessories - what do you opt for, scarf, boots, gloves? I love wearing scarves, though once again it's just not quite scarf weather yet here. More for style than warmth anyway, I'm ready to break out my scarf collection. Yes, I'm much more of an infinity scarf girl. I also have a few pairs of boots that I can't wait to break out!
3. Music - what's your favourite music to listen to during Autumn? I don't exactly break out different music for the seasons. However there are a few songs that just feel a little different when you listen to them this time of year. "Come November" by Thriving Ivory is one. I will also beginning my Christmas music listening somewhere around the middle of November. I tell myself to wait until after Thanksgiving, but that may or may not happen.
4. Perfume - what's your favourite scent for this time of year? Again, nothing really changes. Sometimes I'll find a scene from Bath and Body Works that is from their fall line that I might start using more. There was a Sweet Pumpkin last year (I think that was the name) that I loved. I'll have to check them out soon when I have more money to really get it to start feeling like fall.
5. Candles - what scents will you be burning this season? Again, I haven't stopped by Bath and Body Works lately, but I'll definitely be needing to grab a few of their fall candles. Mahogany Teakwood is a favorite all year around, but it definitely has an elevated feeling around fall. I also found these two, very cheap, candles from Ross. They smell just fantastic and have already gotten me in the fall spirit of things - even if it's not quite that cold yet.
6. What do you love most about Autumn? I do like cardigans and layering it up a little more. The thing is that I like every season - even if Arizona doesn't exactly see all four seasons - because it's nice to have a change of pace. When I'm getting tired of summer, here comes fall and a nice change. It's definitely about the fashion for me. I like having options with scarves and sweaters. I also just love Halloween so much. I never end up doing that much for it, but I love it just the same. I got this soap dispenser from Walmart recently and I can't wait to start using it - because of its Halloween theme and the fact that it looks like Elphie.
7. Favourite makeup look? I'm not a makeup expert and I am not really adventurous when it comes to different looks. I'm usual a neutral kind of girl. I might break out more gold and fall looking colors for eyeshadow, but that might be in. I've just started to play with lipstick, so I'll continue to play around there. I might work my way up to a dark lip, since this is the season in which they really shine! (Shout out to this dark lipstick swatch video that has given me some great suggestions of what to try!)
8. What are you looking forward to most in Autumn? The weather getting cooler, for one. The Arizona summer is just so intense and I'm killing for a break from it. My birthday, which is on October 21st. Halloween! We're going to dress up and go see The Nightmare Before Christmas, which is playing at our movie theatre. Changing up what I'm wearing when the weather changes is an obvious one too.
I'm actually taking this idea from my roommate Mia, who made a post about her top 5 favorite "Beauty" YouTube Channels on her blog. I'm cutting out the "beauty" part, though many of these YouTubers are beauty, they also fall under other categories. Now, in no particular order, with one of my favorite videos from their channels:
heyclaire | Claire Marshall
I just recently started watching Claire, based on a combination of Izzy and Mia's recommendation, and let's just say I've watched most of her channel in the last few weeks. She currently lives in LA, is a freelance makeup artist and makes beauty videos, hauls and vlogs on her channel. She has a dry sense of humor, an addiction to coffee that I envy (no seriously, I wish I could have caffeine), kickass (beautiful) tattoos, and is a very strong woman. All of these mean that I love to watch all her videos - even the "boring" vlogs, as she says. If you check her out, get ready for a lot of car vlogging.
Oh also she has an adorable cat named Bruce Lee. Seriously, give me a YouTuber with an animal and I'm sold.
zoella | Zoe Sugg
Zoe's main channel has beauty, fashion, home and I would say "advice" content. She's one of those adorable and beautiful British YouTubers that if I watch enough of, my thoughts tend to have a British accent. Zoe is funny, yes, and an amazing person to watch for makeup tutorials, but she's also so down to earth and kind. She's had anxiety for a good portion of her life and likes to give advice on how to deal with that sort of thing. She has such a good head on her shoulders and I'm so glad so many little girls have her to look up to - with her confidence and lack thereof, which she admits to having like anyone else and general drive to get thing things she wants to done. Also, I wish I had half of her homeware and decor from her apartment. Let's go shopping sometime?
She also has a separate vlog channel which I was sucked into this summer. I probably watched every single video, I'm not going to lie. You just see how funny and silly Zoe is here, along with her adorable guinea pigs.
Tyler Oakley
What can I say about Tyler Oakley? I relate to him on a spiritual level. Tyler is a fangirl, plain and simple, and it's so nice to watch and relate to him. It's also amazing to see just how far a YouTuber can go - as Tyler has achieved so much. He's worked closely with the Trevor Project, done interviews with MTV - you name it. Oh, and just so happened to have both Darren Criss (jealous!) and Michelle Obama (more jealous!) on his channel in a two week time period. No big deal. As Darren said in this following video, "he's killing it!" Basically, I'd love to have Tyler as a best friend.
velvetgh0st | Gabriella
I found Gabriella through Zoe's channel when I saw her in vlogs as well as a homeware haul. And let me tell you, I love a good homeware haul. So I quickly watched all of her hauls on her own channel and went from there. She has amazing taste in decor and clothing and I loved seeing how she moved in and decorated her new apartment. Besides that, she has some amazing makeup tutorials!
And here is her vlog channeling - I loved her "moving out" series where she just vlogs about moving out of her home and into her new apartment (as I said). The thing with vlogs is that sometimes it's just boring things we all do, but somehow it's just calming and entertaining to watch others do it. I particularly like waking up in the morning and having new vlogs to watch of Gab and Zoe as I eat breakfast and have morning coffee.
Rachel Whitehurst
Now this is, quite frankly, a fierce bitch right here. Rachel is so headstrong and has a take no prisoners attitude. She does fantastic makeup tutorials and you know you can trust her opinion when she reviews a product (Wet Brush anyone?). Besides that she also has a freaking adorable cat named Squeezie (read: squeaking squdorable squat Squeezie) and I sort of live for photos and video of him. She's a borderline plus size YouTuber and I really admire her confidence - though like all of us it's taken a lot for her to get there. One of my favorites is her video in response to one of Alex Day's about fat girls in costumes - and it's just great. I also love seeing her Hits and Shits (aka the usual YouTube "Monthly Favorites" video), which you can see below.
LearningToBeFearless
Alex should have way more subscribers than she does. I love having a confident woman who is just trying to learn to be more confident in this crazy world doing beauty and fashion videos. She's a plus size YouTuber and I just love her style so much. She just always looks so beautiful and I'm still working my way through watching past videos on her channel.
Hannah Rupp
Once again, another YouTuber that is pretty "unknown" you could say. She's a Thrifter, which you don't see too often with the "bigger" YouTubers, meaning she goes to a bunch of thrift stores to get more bang for her buck. I love watching her haul videos to see all the funny things you expect to see at a thrift store. I just wish I had the same ability to find as many cute clothes that she has found at thrift stores - it would save me a bunch of money! Plus she has that adorable, corny humor that I love.
MissMeridianASMR
This isn't your usual vlogger/YouTuber per se. This is an ASMR channel (ASMR: Autonomous sensory meridian response; read more about it here) which basically means relaxation videos. I often listen to them as I'm falling asleep, to block out other noise and to get my brain to quiet down. On her channel she has videos of her reading, or guided relaxation videos to lead you to sleep. She has a calming voice that is just perfect for relaxation and I love most of her videos.
And with that, there are my top 8 YouTube channels. I really wanted to narrow it down so I wasn't here all day. There are others that I watch on a semi-regular basis, but these are the ones I try to view daily and keep up to date with. I recommend that you check them out and, if you like what you see, subscribe! And leave a kind message, because I can only assume how much negative ones they see day to day.
Today I'm going to do my first product review! I'm definitely all about trying to tame my hair (I have very curly, frizzy hair that I honestly can't go a day without washing or else it turns into a bird's nest) so I'm always on the look out for new products. (By the way, if you have any suggestions, leave them in the comments below). I'm still a bit of a stickler with the price, however, and try to be as affordable as possible. I actually got all of the following for sale on Ulta's website, in combination with a coupon.
So, here is my review on the OGX KuKui Oil line. I got all four products in the line: the Hydrating Oil, Curl Cream, Shampoo and Conditioner.
I've been using them all for over a week now (probably more like two weeks) and I like the results they have given me. The first few washes with the shampoo and conditioner didn't wow me at first, but after a while I did start noticing a different in the feeling of my hair.
After the shower, I spray the Anti-Frizz Hydrating Oil onto my hair. I think this might be my favorite item from the line and I saw a huge difference in my hair with it. "Anti-Frizz" grabbed my attention immediately and I had to try this out. I actually had this one before the other products and it even works by itself.
Next: The Curl Cream. At first I didn't see a real difference - I've tried a lot of curl creams and it's a staple in my morning routine - but then I think it clicked and started being pretty useful. I put this in after the Hydrating Spray and scrunch it through my hair. Then I take a round brush and make ringlet curls. I always let my hair air dry. Somedays it leads to amazing results, other days not so much. My hair never does the same thing twice, I feel.
Here is a photo from a very good hair day using these products, if you wanted to see what my hair looks like.
Now all these products claim to "eliminate frizz" - it did a good job of taming some of the frizz, but I still found myself frizzy near the end of the day especially. It could be because it's been quite humid lately (we usually have under 5% humidity normally), or that I've never really found a product that gets rid of my frizz entirely. Once again, if you have any miracle product suggestions, I'll be happy to try them out!
I hope this was useful for you. I've heard a lot of mixed reviews about OGX products, but they do have so many different ones to choose from, dependent on what sort of hair you have. It might be worth checking out!
