Let's Kick Off 2014 with a Holiday Detox

It's another new year, another holiday season come and gone. I don't know about y'all but my December was full of carbs, sugar and fat. Between the stress and craziness of finals then the overload of holiday cookies, food and alcohol I'm definitely suffering from a holiday hangover. 

The ending of one year and the beginning of another is a great time for reflection. But usually those new years resolutions to eat better, exercise more and drink less have gone out the window by the time valentines day rolls around. That's why this year I'm going to modify my resolution in the form of a holiday detox.

 As opposed to all the guilt and stress that comes from failing our various resolutions I've decided to tackle a sort of detox plan for January. Now, this is not going to be a series of strict rules but merely guidelines to get back to feeling better and being a little bit healthier. Now I should preface this by saying I'm not a health expert (law students are generally fairly unhealthy individuals), but this is merely my plan. 

1. Drink 64 ounces of water a day. I don't know about y'all, but I can easily go a day without drinking any water. Terrible. I know how important water is, and 64 oz is nothing really. Three bottles? I could probably do that before lunch if I really thought about it. So that's what I'm doing. Thinking about it, and trying to get to the 64 oz goal line. 

2. Cut the sugar. This one is pretty self explanatory. I ate too much sugar last month, so I'm cutting back this one. 

3. Pack my lunch. Though I still have a week until school starts back, I'm going to try to eat a homemade lunch for the remainder of the month. Not only is it cheaper, but I know that what I pack is generally going to be better for me than the food on/near campus. 

4. No Alcohol. I know, shocking. I love me a cocktail or two, but I have yet to have a drink in 2014 (save a few post midnight beverages on NYE). I don't have a real justification as to why I'm choosing to include a no-drinking rule, other than to say, can you really have a detox while still drinking?

5. Positivity. This is the closest one to a resolution, but I believe it's a necessary addition to the list. I'm kind of a crazy type-a overachiever person. Accordingly, I'm pretty critical of myself.  The stress of finals last month proved to be one of the hardest mental, emotional and physical challenges I've ever endured. The lingering stress of "how'd I actually do?" as I await my final grades, has proven nearly as difficult. So. I decided as I detox, I need to inject some more positivity into my life.    

So that's my plan. If I'm not perfect, oh well. But here's to hoping I'll feel better physically and mentally on February 1. 

A Year In Review

Hi Friends! It's been quite a while since I've checked in. Well, it's official. I have survived my first semester of law school and it was certainly quite a ride. Thinking back to where I was 12 months ago, my life was incredibly different and I honestly would have never predicted being in Louisiana. 

I've made some amazing new friends this year, worked harder than I ever could have imagined, started over in a new city, learned a ton, and soaked up life in DC. 

Here are y'all's favorite posts from each month this year. 

January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December

Here's to hoping next year is even better! Happy New Year!

Hey There!

Hey y'all! I just wanted to check in. I'm alive! I know... Shocking.

I can honestly say this semester has been an absolute blur. I had no idea I could cram so much into my brain, but some how all these silly laws and rules seem to be sticking. I don't want to jinx anything, but I feel like finals haven't been a complete shit show. So that's good. I've got three under my belt, and you know what? They aren't actually that bad. (The endless hours of fear and preparation suck though).

So now, I'm here. One more test to go. Trying to keep motivated. Because lord knows my brain is exhausted, like it's never been exhausted before.

Also, happy 21st Birthday to my littlest sister Reba. I can hardly believe she's 21! Hope you have a fabulous birthday! Welcome to legality! 

Today's the Day

Remember when I took the LSAT? Oh man... I did no know what I was in for when I signed up for this whole law school thing. Today is my very first law school exam. 

Criminal law.

Those 71 other 1L's in my section better watch out. 

Here we go. Wish me luck!

If only...

Please Excuse Me While I Go Throw up

It's finals time y'all, and I just can't anymore. I'm not even going to try and feel guilty about not blogging until after I'm done. So, I'll see you sometime after December 19th! 

My first final is on the 9th. Wish me luck. In the mean time, I'll probably be posting motivational quotes on my instagram.  

I miss y'all! I promise I'll be back next semester since I'll have one less class! Yay!

My Goal For the Day

So, with finals quickly approaching you may have noticed my ever growing absence around the blog. Let me tell you, after my 12-14 hour days of studying the last thing I want to do when I come home is blog. I don't do anything instagram worthy either... so I feel as if I've fallen of the social media map! Nonetheless its finals season so I have to keep pushing. So today this is my motto.  

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Be happy is a lofty goal, but if I can wrap up my paper (due tomorrow, so I'd better!) and get a good jump on outlining, I may be able to sleep without being awoken by a law school nightmare. That's my measure of sanity at this point. Last night I dreamed I was giving jury instructions in a case where my sister negligently ran into someone who then ran into someone else, who died. What those instructions were... I have no idea.

Law school does strange things to your mind y'all. I swear I'm slowly going insane. 

Remember

Beauty Tuesday: November Favorites

It's been a while since I've done a monthly favorites round up, so I figured this post is long overdue. Lately as  sleep has become more of a priority in my life, I've begun to focus on mastering a five minute look. I swear it's quite the change from my working days were I routinely spent 20 minutes on just my eyes every morning. Ha. Now I feel good if I use more than 2 eye shadow shades.

Brown eyeshadow / blush / CC Cream / black mascara / Revlon Lip Stain

So let me take you through my quick routine. I wash my face, then moisturize. While I'm waiting on my lotion to dry I go ahead with an eye shadow primer, then a light all over color, maybe blend a slightly darker color in the crease. I'm loving both the coastal scents natural palette and even the bronzer from the Naked Flushed palette. If I'm feeling really good I may even add an eyeliner. Ha! Then a quick swipe of the benefit they're real mascara (seriously the best mascara ever!) and I'm done with eyes.

Next up, blend the Supergoop CC cream all over. Great coverage, I don't even need a concealer! Finish with a setting powder, a little blush from my Naked Flushed palette. Done.

Then it's coffee time and apply the revlon just bitten kissable balm stain on my walk to campus.

Easy. What are your five minute face tips?

Friday's Fancies: Sweater Weather

Hey folks, popping in for a quick Friday's Fancies! Thank goodness sweater weather has finally arrived to New Orleans! The last few days have been lovely. Fall is in the air!

 tall shirt /  legging / Black boots / Black purse / watch /  wide ring / black earrings

Hope y'all have a great weekend! "No Fun November" has officially started, so I'll be outlining, study grouping and reading ALL weekend long!

Quoted: Believe In Yourself

DemoDiaries: U by Kotex

So lets get real for a second ladies. There are products we all use, every month. But we rarely talk about them. Tampons. I don't know about y'all, but there is really nothing worse than a bad tampon. Now, normally I'm a product junkie. I can never stick to one shampoo or foundation or even mascara for more than a few weeks without wanting to try the next new thing. But when it comes to feminine hygiene products? I find one I like and stick with it. I've been using the exact same brand of tampons for the last ten-twelve years. So imagine my shock when I discovered U by Kotex. I am not going to lie to y'all, I was actually shocked by how much better these tampons were than my old brand. 

Lets talk about the applicator. You thought all plastic applicators were the same right? wrong. U by Kotex Sleek Tampons have a no slip grip for "just right" placement and a smooth tip for easy insertion. I mean seriously, the grip is awesome and the plastic itself is slim and easily maneuverable.

You know what else drives me nuts? when a wrapper gets torn in my purse and I find random tampons floating around in my purse. No more with U by Kotex. The wrapper is secure, though still easy to open when you need to.

Want to try U by Kotex for yourself? Of course you do. Click here for your own free sample. They're available in Regular, Super and Super Plus.

Don't forget to follow U by Kotex on Facebook and Twitter for even more fun and offers.

I wrote this review while participating in a content series through Clever Girls Collective on behalf of U by Kotex, and received products to facilitate my post and compensation for my time to participate.

Quoted... focus on me.

I saw this on The Well today and I thought it was just too perfect not to share. Lately with all the competition in law school, I've become overly concerned with comparing myself with what my classmates are doing, and what they'll think about me. But with exams right around the corner I need to forget it. It's time just to focus on me.

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Friday's Fancies: City Style New Orleans Edition

Hi Friends! Remember me? Yah, it's been a while, I know. But I've wrapped up practice exams, and I decided to have a lame Halloween, so I could say in and read. Well after a long day I decided there is nothing more I'd love to do that put together a friday's fanices look for y'all!

Now that I've been a New Orleanian for a few months, I'm starting to really love this city. And let me tell you, this city loves to do it up big. Everything they do is bigger and better, and lord knows there are always plenty of sazeracs to go around.

So I'm thinking the perfect city style look for this town has to be a mardi gras ball look. 

nola by bluedogbelle featuring evening hand bags

Alexander McQueen purple corset / Topshop green sandals / Dolce & Gabbana evening hand bag / Elegant, Minimal, Luxurious Black Laser Cut Masquerade Mask w/ Royal...

Hm... maybe my old boss will invite me back to DC for washington mardi gras next year so I could wear this look twice?

A girl can dream right? 

Beauty Tuesday: Resvology Age Corrective Eye Cream

I received a sample of the following product for review through BrandBacker. As always all opinions expressed are solely my own.  

Today I want to introduce y'all to a new must have product in my medicine cabinet, it's the Resvology Age Corrective Eye Cream. Now... I can here y'all saying now, this girl is crazy. She's using an age corrective cream at 25? What's wrong with her? Well I hate to break it to y'all but the collagen production in our skin begins to slow once you hit your mid twenties. I'm lucky that I only have a few wrinkles on my forehead... that seem to appear after a long day of studying and thankfully disappear by the time I wake up in the morning, but that doesn't mean I cannot benefit from an eye cream now.

Now, Resvology promises this eye cream minimizes crow's feet, fine lines and wrinkles. It reinforces skins firmness and elasticity. Unfortunately, I can't really say if the cream actually does that or not, since I don't current have any of those issues.

However, I have crazy puffy bags under my eyes in the morning. Without fail. If I got tons of sleep, they're there. Not enough sleep, yep there again. And they only get worse throughout the day, Well... this eye cream also promised me it would deflate puffiness and brighten dark circles, and let me tell you what. It absolutely did reduce my eye puffiness. IN ONE WEEK I've seen a notice reduction of those silly bags, so hopefully the cream can help me combat my ongoing battle for sleep with that crazy law school monster.

I should also note the company claims this hydrating and rejuvenating anti-aging eye cream infused with active peptides, botanicals and the multi-patented 4-AR Molecule, is clinically-proven to help fuel healthy gene activity by 330%.

Also it's safe for all skin types, which is awesome for my super sensitive skin.

I will say it's pricey at $89 a bottle, but a little goes a long way with this stuff. I would absolutely recommend this eye cream if you're in the market. You can purchase it here. Also, visit the Resvology Facebook Page for deals and giveaways!

I was selected through BrandBacker to view this product. However all opinions are my own. 

Breathe

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I feel like all I've been doing lately is constantly apologizing for being MIA around these parts, but I in the middle of practice exams so the scarce posting will unfortunately continue for the time being. I promise though, I'll be back soon! Happy Monday!

Be Pretty

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Monday's are tough for all of us. Hope yours is lovely!

Friday Fancies: Happy 150th!

Congratulations to the lovely Alison for hosting my favorite link up, 150 times! Can you believe it??? In celebration of 150 weeks, this week we are celebrating with our fall finest for a party! This fall I'm loving the touches of leather everywhere.

 leather trim dress /boots / clutch / necklace /  bracelet / earrings / glitter nail polish

I love the girly edge of this look. The peep toe booties, the studded clutch, spiked necklace. I'm kind of obsessed.  Now if only I could take a night off and go out and celebrate.

Hope y'all have a fabulous weekend! 

Quoted: Treat Yo Self

I'm sorry for being so MIA this week y'all! I'm on fall break, so no class all week. Yay for breaks right? Wrong. I've started the oh so fun process of outlining and realized that I really had no idea what I was doing the first few weeks of school. Briefs are terrible, my class notes are worse. It's all so fun realizing your hard work, late nights and stress filled mornings were essentially for nothing. Yay. Anyways. Today I'm actually taking a half day away from law school for a little me time. I'm going to get a fancy latte with some kind of swirly design in the foam, then head downtown for my hair appointment. A girl's got to keep up the impression that she's a natural blonde right? Then I'm going to hit the nail salon for a pedicure. 

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Then.... it's back to that silly law library. 

Currently

Reading: A Modern American Approach to Civil Procedure before class starts. I didn't read it very well last night. woops.

Drinking: a Starbucks triple shot skim latte. yum.

Listening: to the Kane Show on iHeart radio. I missed my morning show!

Watching: people slowly trickle in to class.

Thinking: how glad I am this week was easy after the last few crazy ones.

Wishing: Fall break would hurry up and get here so I can get out and enjoy the "cooler" weather set to hit the town this weekend! Yay for 70's!!!

Loving: That fall break is less than 36 hours away.

Today's going to be a long one, with four classes but a break is insight and my triple shot latte is definitely helping me get there. What are you doing currently?