Merry Christmas

As Christmas is only one sleep away, I wanted to tell you all Merry Christmas and I hope you have a great day tomorrow with all your family and friends!

I also wanted to share a Sally Hansen nail polish I found with the perfect amount of sparkle--It's called Coat of Arms and it's perfect for the upcoming holidays^^

If you're in the need for a last minute treat, I baked some really delicious Oreo Truffle Brownies^^ You can find the original recipe here

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!
-Carrie
Tomorrow is the last day to enter the giveaway, so be sure to sign up :)

Things I Like/5

{A Christmas Tree} for the upcoming holidays
{A holiday photo} for photo inspiration
{Christmas trees covered in snow} for a reminder of beauty
{Snowflakes} for a snowless Alabama
{A glitter skirt} for New Year's Eve

Don't forget to check out my giveaway on my previous post!
-Carrie

Giveaway

Hi, everyone! Because today is my 100th post, and I am so grateful for each and every one of my readers, I thought I'd give away a little something. Today, you can enter to win a set of elastic no tug hair ties! There will be one winner. The winner can pick one of the sets of 10 hair ties above.
If you are interested, please enter the Rafflecopter below :)
[This giveaway is only for residents of the U.S.]


a Rafflecopter giveaway Thank you all for stopping by my little blog. I am truly thankful for each and every one of you!
-Carrie

Winter Break

Hi, everyone! I wanted to stop in today and let you all know that I am FINALLY done with exams! In other exciting news, today is my last day of work and I will be headed home for winter break tomorrow. I am so excited to go home and be with my family and enjoy my time relaxing because this past month has been incredibly busy. While I'm here, I wanted to tell you all that I'll be having a small giveaway within the next week, I will be posting more consistently again, and I will be sharing some exciting news very soon! Also, thank you all for being so very patient with me and my inconsistency and ramblings over the past month.

-Carrie

Happy Birthday

Happy 20th Birthday to my very best friend. 

You are kind, sweet, humble, and strong.

Every day I feel blessed to have you in my life. 

Thank you for sharing your heart with me.

-Carrie 

Finals Week

My thoughts right now:
"Aren't you afraid you'll fail your exams?"

via 

Enough said.

I'll be back soon!
-Carrie

Face of the Day

I always find it interesting to see what makeup people use day-to-day, so I thought I'd share the makeup I'm wearing today:

Make Up For Ever HD Definition Foundation
Maybelline FIT ME Concealer
NYX AUTO Eyebrow Pencil
Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush
Covergirl Powder
Benefit Boi-ing Concealer
NYX Full Coverage Concealer in green and yellow
Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette

What is your face of the day today?
-Carrie

**My favorite mascara by Maybelline, The Rocket, didn't seem to make it in the photo :)

Things To Try This Winter

Every new season calls for a list of new things to try with friends or a significant other. This winter season, I have a few things I'm looking forward to trying. Take a peek at my list below!

via 

1. Go iceskating at an outside rink
2. Make a holiday craft
3. Find a new recipe to try
4. Take cookies to a neighbor
5. Learn how to knit

What are you going to try this winter?
-Carrie

Boi-ing

Hi, everyone! Today I am back with a small review for you all. I've been having difficulty trying to decide what product to tell you all about first because I just had a birthday and was rather spoiled with some amazing products I want to tell you about. I will go over all of them soon enough, but for today, I picked Benefit's Boi-ing concealer. 

I bought this concealer from Sephora for $20. To be honest, this was quite a big splurge for me as a college student as $20 is a lot to spend on something like a concealer. But, if you want to invest in a good concealer I'd say pick this one for sure! Anyways. I debated in the store and looked up reviews and found that most everyone was very happy with it so I decided to try it out.

This concealer is very thick and creamy. It covers greatly. I have used this every single day since I bought it because I think it's just that good. I apply it both with my clean fingers and a concealer brush. I think that depending on what kind of blemish, redness, or dark areas you try to conceal will need a different way of application, but I have found that either way works very well.

The downside to this product, in my opinion, is that after a full day of use, I noticed it does tend to break apart and dry out. I am starting to think this formulation is better for oily skin rather than dry skin. However, I think this issue can be fixed through adding a facial moisturizer or maybe even a foundation to it and mixing them. 

Overall, I have come to love this concealer and I don't think that I will go back to using anything else for a while!

Have you tried Benefit's Boi-ing concealer?

What is your favorite concealer?

-Carrie

Thanksgiving & Black Friday

Hi, everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and a fun black Friday! I have to confess I didn't take a single photo on Thanksgiving. But, that won't stop me from telling you what I did! My family spent Thanksgiving with our family friends and then for black Friday, I spent the day with my friends out and about at the mall and Target. I found a good amount of presents for my family and friends, so I'm really excited! Other than that, I have been extremely lazy and that is why there is a lack of posting. However, I will be back in a routine soon enough.

Don't forget to be on the lookout for a small giveaway coming soon!

-Carrie

Revlon Colorstay Whipped

Hi, everyone! Today I am going to share a little bit about Revlon's Colorstay Whipped Creme Foundation. I bought this for around $12 from Target. I love the idea of the Colorstay formulas and I had tried the liquid foundation so I thought I'd try this one out as well. In my opinion, the packaging is really nice. However, it is very misleading. The packaging is big and somewhat bulky, while the actual amount of product is very little.
To me, the product is very greasy. I have extremely dry skin, so when I put this on it looked moisturizing until it was set and then made my face look dry. I'm not sure what caused this.
It is easily blendable, but I found that I have to use my fingers to apply it and blend it in and then go back and use a brush and a beauty blender. As a college student who needs minimal time to work on my makeup, I'd prefer to have a foundation that I could apply easily with only a brush and not have to worry about blending too much.
Because it is so thick, (it's thicker than yogurt!) it feels really heavy on the skin when it is first applied, but it sinks in and doesn't feel heavy at all afterwards. It does stay true to the name and lasts all day. The color range is pretty good for a drugstore brand. Like I said before, it is easily blendable so don't fret if a shade doesn't perfectly match your skin.
Overall, I'm really impartial to this product. I can't decide whether I like it because the cons balance out the pros.

Have you tried Revlon's Colorstay Whipped Foundation?
What do you look for in a foundation?

-Carrie

End of a Break

Hi, everyone! I'm finally back from a little break from blogging. The past few weeks have been a whirlwind, but I'm so happy to be back. I've had a lot of time to think about the future about this blog and I can't wait to share with you all my new ideas. I have a few new things coming up that I think you will enjoy including a giveaway, so stay tuned for that!
For the next week I will be at home spending time with my parents for Thanksgiving while my little sister is on a cruise to the Virgin Islands. Can you say jealous?! However, that means I will have plenty of time to blog and work on all my homework. I'm really looking forward to all the Thanksgiving food and fellowship.
Don't forget to stop by tomorrow for a new product review!

What have you guys been up to the last few weeks?
What are your plans for Thanksgiving?

-Carrie

I'm Back! (Almost)

Hi, everyone! I'm here today to let you all know that I will be back to my blogging ways next week after I make up all of my exams and work that I missed! I have quite a few new products to share with you all and some new ideas for this little blog in the works. I hope you all are having a great week and enjoying this cooler weather!

-Carrie

Untitled

Hi, everyone.
I apologize for not posting at all for the past week. Gary and I received some bad news on Sunday. Therefore, I am taking a small break from blogging to be with him and his family. I will resume my posts in a few days. I hope you all understand.

-Carrie

Product of the Week/3

Hi, everyone! Today's product of the week is Maybelline's Baby Lips Dr. Rescue! I heard people raving about this and knew I had to try this product. I bought this in "Too Cool"and I really really like it. I've gone through half of it in two weeks! I think it's a great chapstick and the packaging is cute too :)

Have you tried Dr. Rescue?

-Carrie

[The opinions and views shared are my own]

College Ramblings

Hi, everyone! Since I went home this past weekend, I was lazy and didn't plan out a post for today. So, I just wanted to pop in today and tell you all some exciting news (at least for me). Yesterday I had a meeting with my advisor and we planned out the next few years of my college. I couldn't be more relieved! I was so stressed out about getting done on time (I'm wanting to graduate May of 2016) because I didn't come into college with any AP courses or anything. However, we talked through a great 2 1/2 year plan that I am so excited about!

How is your week so far?

-Carrie

Things I Like/4

{Coffee} for for my coffee obsession

{Desk details} for inspiration

{Lights} for nights out

{A Statement necklace} for my jewelry box

{Embellished dress} for the holiday season

-Carrie

5 Things I Love Today/2

1. Christmas lights around my room
2. Cuddling
3. Wendy's kids meals
4. Taking naps
5. Coffee in the morning

What do you love today?
-Carrie

Fall Must Haves

Because Fall is already upon us, I thought I would show you guys a few things that are necessary for Fall weather.

1. EOS Lip Balm in Sweet Mint: This lip balm is the best, plus the sweet mint is the perfect flavor. EOS lip balm keeps my lips from chapping and keeps them smooth. What else could you ask for in a lip balm?

2. Vaseline Cocoa Radiant Lotion: This is one of the best smelling lotions I've ever come across. It is such a warm scent-perfect for the cooler weather!

3. Aztec sweater: I don't have one of my own yet, but I plan on buying an oversized Aztec sweater soon. It will definitely be a go-to piece because it's layer-able.

4. The Body Shops' Vanilla Body Butter Duo: I've talked about this product before, so i won't go overboard. However, this is perfect for dry skin which cooler weather brings.

5. Brown Lace Up Boots: I bought a pair of lace up boots last year from Target and I still love them. They add a little bit of toughness to an outfit and can bring a whole outfit together.

6. Pumpkin Cupcake Candle: I just bought this candle from Bath and Body Works and I am in love with it! It's such a sweet smell that encompasses Fall perfectly.

7. Skinny Jeans: A good pair of skinny jeans is perfect for boots this Fall. 

What are your Fall must haves?

Happy weekend!

-Carrie

Aztec top
windsorstore.com

American Eagle Outfitters blue legging
ae.com

Steve Madden brown lace up boots
jildorshoes.com

Eos lip treatment
evolutionofsmooth.com

The Body Shop body moisturizer
amazon.com

Cupcake candle
bathandbodyworks.com

Amazon.com Vaseline Body Lotion, Cocoa Butter, 32Ounce
amazon.com

Things I Like/3

{A walk in fall weather} for changing seasons
{A flower crown} to remember summer
{A family} for the future
{A coffee and a muffin} for the perfect snack

-Carrie

Product of the Week/2

Hi, everyone! Today I wanted to share with you all another product I have been loving this week. However, I thought I would just make the topic a weekly post and a new series! So without further ado, here is week two of Product of the Week!

Today's products are concealers from NYX Cosmetics. I bought two full coverage concealers, a green and a yellow.

The green concealer is for red blemishes on the face. Since my face is breaking out this week (TMI?), I have found this to be so useful when concealing the redness on my face.

Because I'm a college student and I tend to stay up late (probably not a good idea), I usually have dark circles under my eyes. I use the yellow concealer to brighten up this area around my eyes and love it!

If you haven't ever tried colored concealers, I would definitely recommend these. Because they are thicker, they tend to stay for a good amount of time and really do work!

What product do you love this week?

Have you tried these concealers?

-Carrie

[The opinions and views shared are my own]

A Few Words

Just a few words to start off your week:

(via Tumblr)

-Carrie

A Concert

Hi, everyone! So today I was planning on giving you all a recap of the Ben Rector concert I went to. However, my stomach had different plans on Wednesday night. Gary and I ate and went to the concert. I made it through the opening act, Tyrone Wells, who was really phenomenal. I noticed my stomach was not feeling very well which happened the last time I went to a concert. I don't know if it's eating before a concert that gets me, or maybe eating with all the smells of beer and perfume mixed with no air. I have no idea. Anyways. I went and sat outside during the break before Ben came out. My stomach hurt to the point where it hurt just to stand up at all, but I couldn't let myself leave. Gary and I ended up hearing Ben perform one song before I ran to the bathroom to throw up. I came back, got to hear a few verses of a song, met Tyrone Wells and then left. I cried the entire way back home because I was so disappointed and in pain. I'm still bummed! I had been looking forward to that concert for weeks.
However, I did get a few pictures and a little bit of video to last me until I (hopefully) get to see him in concert for real.

He sounds even better than on his album!
-Carrie

Things I Like/2

{A cup of coffee} for the early mornings
{Ezekiel 36:26} as a reminder
{Braids} for hair inspiration
{A colorful dress} for fun nights out

-Carrie

Budgeting

Hi, everyone! Today's topic is budgeting. Some of you may stop reading now, but I hope you'll stay! I promise it's not as scary as it sounds!
Although I started budgeting this summer, I am not new to the subject at all. My parents used to attend one of Dave Ramsey's finance classes and my sister and I used to accompany them. Budgeting has always been in my subconscious, but I've never acted on it. However, over the summer, with my Freshman year of college behind me, I decided I needed to start giving this whole budgeting thing a chance.
I realized during my Freshman year of college that I was spending my money twice as much as I was saving. I didn't care that I was constantly spending which I really regret now. It dawned on me that if I wanted to get a jumpstart on future purchases such as an apartment when I graduate, I needed to work harder. First of all, I want to tell you all that this is what works best for me. It doesn't mean it will work for you, but I do encourage you to start thinking about budgeting especially if you are a college student.
So, this is what I came up with.

The Budget: 
10% for tithe
20% for spending (recreational and groceries)
30% for gas
40% for savings

Categories:
1. Tithe: Growing up, my parents always stressed tithe. I would give every once in a while, but now I see the importance of giving to my church. Because I am getting paid on a regular basis, this ensures that I will always have some amount for tithing.
2. Spending: This category is for groceries and recreational spending such as going out to eat, concert tickets, makeup, and so on. When I go home, my parents usually send me back to school with a few groceries. However, sometimes I don't go home for a month and I have a meal plan, so I usually weigh the options week by week and decide what I'll be spending on.
3. Gas: Because I work and live on campus, I don't drive that much. This category adds up over time, so when I do need to buy gas I'll have enough to pay for a full tank.
4. Savings: Plain and simple. This money goes directly into my savings account.

How to: 
Let's say my paycheck is for $109.84
10% = $10.98
20% = $21.97
30% = $32.95
40% = $43.94

I round the first three numbers:
$11
$22
$32
Add them up and subtract them from $109.84, which is $44.84. This amount is what I will put in savings because having all the cents just makes everything way too messy.

So, when I go to the bank, I will get the tithe amount, spending amount, and gas amount in cash (sometimes I will opt for getting gas put in my checking account because it saves more time at the pump) and then put my savings amount into my savings account.
Once I get back home with my cash, I put the correct amounts of cash into their envelopes. I use envelopes to guarantee that I won't spend any more than what is in the envelope. Once that money is gone, it's gone until I get paid again. If I don't use all the money in my gas envelope, I cannot put it in my spending. It must stay in its designated envelope. Using envelopes really helps me to think before I buy (no impulse buying here!) and helps me be wiser about what I spend my money on.

If you have read all of this, thank you so much! I hope that I have helped you in some way, or have given you an idea! If you have questions/comments please feel free to email me :)

-Carrie

Weekend In Photos/2

^^I was trying to imitate Gary's pose (but it just looks like I need to use the restroom)

Gary and I spent our Saturday morning making breakfast together. We also went thrifting where I bought two books for $1.50 (I'd call that a deal!), we hiked at Moss Rock (if you live in the Birmingham area, you need to go!), we walked a few trails on Lakeshore, ate at Saw's, hammocked, and watched The Great Gatsby.
It was perfect.

What did you do this weekend?

-Carrie

Life Lately/1

Hi, everyone! Life for me this week has been so low-key. Within the last two weeks, I've had four exams, but thankfully they've been spread out for the most part. This means that I'm free from exams until the end of the month! (Yay!)
For the rest of the week and into the weekend, I have to go to work, I need to catch up on laundry, I'm going to paint my nails, go grocery shopping, work on a few crafts and then on Saturday, I have Gary all to myself (he's been working a whole lot and I only get to see him sometimes ranging from thirty minutes to maybe two hours)! I'm so excited :)
Next week, we're going to Ben Rector's concert in Birmingham!

What are your plans for this weekend? What have you been up to?

-Carrie

Product of the Week/1: Neutrogena Triple Moisture

Hey, everyone! I have a product to tell you all about today! 

I bought Neutrogena's Triple Moisture Leave-In Cream this summer after I came back from Florida. I had noticed my hair was extra dry and unmanageable from having to constantly wash it because of the saltwater and chlorine. I had heard about this cream from a blogger and thought I'd try it. Let me tell you, this stuff is so good! I usually put it in my hair when it's damp after a shower or when it's dry and it's almost like it works right away. This cream makes your hair feel softer and healthier. What else could you ask for?

Have you tried Neutrogena's Triple Moisture?

-Carrie

[The opinions and views shared are my own]

Things I Like/1

{Dear Mr. Potter,} for reminiscing
{Donuts} for brightening the morning
{Start each day with a grateful heart} for positivity
{A kiss} for the helpless romantics
{A Jay Gatsby Party} for fun

-Carrie