Purple Smoke

It seems every time fall rolls around I'm itching to switch up my makeup routine. I'm beyond loyal to my naked palette, but lately I've been reaching to a few of my standby clinque shades. I'm obsessed with purple lately. Eggplant liners, purple mascara, burgundy shadows... I can't get enough. 

Today I have a few of my favorite pins for you to get you excited.  

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Happy Monday Ladies!

Friday Fancies #9: Fall Favorites

Trench Coat  |  Pleated Skirt  |  Top  |  Shoes  |  Watch  |  Earrings 

This week's theme is one of my favorites. I've been feeling a little woeful lately with all of this cold weather. I strolled down Pennsylvania Ave on Wednesday night, and I couldn't get over how quickly the season changed. I know I've been living under a rock... and then in Ohio, but seriously, it was JUST summer, right?  So even though I'm loving pulling out all of my scarves and coats, I'm happy to hang on to just a little more of the fall fun.

Color blocking. Neons. Leopard. Flowy skirts. Gold. Yes. Yes and Yes. I'm still loving all of these trends, and will probably carry them in to winter. Don't judge me.

What fall trends are you not willing to left go?

Have a great weekend!!!!

Lets Start Shopping

I know it's not even Thanksgiving yet... but a girl can start to hunt right? After browsing Sephora I'm positive the majority of my Christmas list is going to be made up off of that site. Friends and Family... just go ahead and register for the rewards program now. k. thanks. Here are a few sets that will certainly make an appearance on my list this year. What's on your Holiday shopping list?

Sexy Little Stowaways

Snow Angel Palette

The Master Class Palette

Give Me Some Lip

Currently....

Currently....

feeling some mixed emotions about being back at work.

watching to CNN... and way too excited about it.

reading about a million emails from the last month. ridiculous.

hurting... SO sore from yoga last night. But it hurts so good.

lusting after this bedroom....

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planning what to do with all this time in my life... big things are coming

evaluating my 25 before 25... I've made some headway in the last few weeks!

wearing real clothes for the first time in over a month... don't know how I feel about it.

excited for the Cap Fabb meet-up tonight! Who else is going?

what are you doing currently??

Fresh Start.

Well. I'm home. Getting back to the old routine. It feels like it's been so long. I started LSAT prep four whole months ago. Then with in hours of finishing the test I was prepping to head out to Ohio. Now I'm home. I don't have call time. I don't have class. I don't really know what to do with myself.

I feel like the blog has lost focus, because I was so hyper-focused on the campaign and the LSAT--- so I hope y'all will continue to visit as I try to find my voice again. Does anyone have advice on re-setting?

In the meantime I'm going to start going to yoga again. Get back to working on the 25 before 25. Get ready for the holidays (ps when did that happen???)

And since everyone loves sparkly things....

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Homeward bound.

I'm coming home. Today. Right now. AHHH!!!!!!

I need the city. I need the noise. I need the metro. I need the $12 cocktails. 

I missed my bed. My cat. My clothes. My room. My friends. My DVR.

I am NOT cut out for life in the country. Steubenville. It's been real. But I'm coming home. 

What I will miss about Steubenville: the lack of traffic, the ridiculously cheap alcohol, the return to college-like lifestyle, the wonderful friends I made, our amazing vols and supporters, wearing dirty yoga pants everyday and passing as put together. Kroger. Being able to see the stars. Did I mention I didn't get dressed for almost a month? And of course the amazing campaign team. It was only a month, but these people seriously changed my life. You guys should seriously watch out because we are going to be a big deal one day. 

What I will not miss about Steubenville: 97% of the people who live here, the apathy, the amount of uneducated crazy republicans--- I don't care if you're a republican but PLEASE tell me why, the endless hours of fruitless call time. The lack of good coffee.  Everything is fried. The racism. Having to count the lettuce on a burger as a vegetable.  yard signs. Being able to see the stars. Not having time to do laundry.  Not getting to spend enough time playing with makeup. Not sleeping. Yard Signs. Fast Food. Canvassing the ghetto. oh and the yard signs. 

peace out Ohio. It's been real. 

We did it.

*This is a letter to myself. I need a venue to just release my experience of the last month. I promise I'll curtail the political rhetoric to the best of my abilities in the future but for today just sit back and listen*

The emotional roller coaster  I've been on the last few weeks has been a crazy one, but I would do this again 100 times over. It was absolutely amazing to be apart of the team. I'm sure my experiences were like so many others in field, but the people and the volunteers I worked with were the greatest and the most frustrating all at the same time. Honestly, one of the greatest moments of my life was being on the staff call with POTUS today, after winning the election. E-day was just so surreal, I couldn't believe that it was really happening and we won. I spent the evening just thinking "is this really happening, no, they're still going to throw something at us." The win, hours of work, the emotional highs and lows of constituent contact, the massive disruption in my life plans and my utter exhaustion, none of it had sunken in. Not until that call when POTUS came on to thank the team. That's when it hit me. When he got chocked up about how honored he is to lead us, I just lost it. I started sobbing. I beyond proud to represent him, and beyond honored to have him say so many amazing things about our team. The weight of the last 5 months of stress just completely bottomed out from under me and I just melted. As I was driving to get some coffee and go break down the office, listening to that call and sobbing I spot one of our local characters Dwayne.

Dwayne spent a good seven hours of election day in front of our office with his boom box and an Obama sign dancing, inviting people in and encouraging the random passerby to vote. As I was utterly overwhelmed with emotion I pulled up to a stop sign and who do I see across the street? It's Dwayne still with his boom box still dancing a day later, screaming "Obama! Obama! Obama!"  I had to park the car and give him a hug and just thank him. He and the rest of these hard working people make this so worth it. He will probably never leave Steubenville, he'll never graduate college nor will he have the financial security that so many of us have grown accustomed to. But our president has made his life better. Duane has healthcare coverage for the first time in decades. His foodstamps are still there when life is especially hard. His utter enthusiasm for our President and the good work we've done and will continue to do, brings a smile to my face. He is why I did this. I'll never forget Dwayne dancing in the streets for President Obama in Steubenville, OH. Never.

So....

I DOMINATED!!!!!

LSAT over.

Boom.

I'm beyond thrilled. Have an insane amount energy to keep me going late into the evening. Which is good because I'll be at work until probably 3 am.

Thanks all of you for your support over the last what... 4 months? Jeez, I can't even believe it.  I'm so excited to get back home and finally start giving 100% to the blog again. It's been FAR too long.

I seriously can't even believe my score. It's 11 points higher than the last time I took the test. yes. you read that right. 11!!!!!

xo--- from Ohio!

That time I forgot Halloween....

Long time no see ladies! I only have a few minutes before call time starts again, but for my sanity I felt like I needed to check in with y'all and step away from the political rhetoric.

I forgot yesterday was Halloween.

Yes. You read that right. Epic fail on my part. I have completely tuned out all news, weather and general happenings if it doesn't somehow relate to the presidential race in Ohio.

So. On November 1, I'm sharing some lust worthy pumpkin bags to get me through.

Jason Wu  |  Tory Burch  |  Dooney & Bourke  |  Kalina Satchel |  UDoBuy  |  BooHoo Shopper


Until another day ladies. I promise to resurface soon #5days!

PS if anyone is interested in doing some Get Out the Vote work this weekend send me an email (thebluedogbelle@gmail.com) 

100th Friday Fancies (#8)! Time to celebrate

Who doesn't want to stand out a a celebration. When I saw this sparkly red dress I knew it was perfect!!! Through in a few sparkly accessories and a nice glass of champagne and you're ready!!! Congratulations on 100 Friday Fancies Allison! Here's to many many more!

Red dress | Heels | Clutch | Earrings

Friday Fancies #7: Halloween Style

Halloween by bluedogbelle featuring hoss / intropia

DAY Birger et Mikkelsen / Hoss Intropia hoss intropia / AllSaints / Madison Harding / River Island black jewelry, $24

It's Time for a little break

Greetings from beautiful Jefferson county Ohio! I am three days in to campaigning and absolutely loving it. I can't even describe to y'all what a high this experience has been already. I am just so excited to be here. I'm excited be working to re elect the president. I'm excited to finally have some real responsibility and autonomy in a job. I love that I'm actually useful and I'm making a difference. I'm so energized by this experience and excited to take it back to dc in a few weeks.

The work is exhausting. The hours are longer than I could have ever dreamed. Down time is basically enough to squeeze in a shower and maybe a few hours of sleep.

But this is it y'all. This is why I love politics. I love being on the grassroots level. I didn't realized how much i missed interacting with the constituents (out here folks are actually nice and appreciative unlike Capitol Hill, so it's a little different). I moved to dc to be a part of the system. To actually help make America better! But 3 years later I've stalled, become pessimistic and selfish. I needed this experience to remind me of who I want to be and what I want to do. Help people.

A few folks have sent me questions about the debate the other night. I tweeted up a storm the whole time (@bluedogbelle) so if you want specifics, just go to my feed. I will say briefly that I loved the debate, not because I believe my candidate won, but because I thought it was politics at its finest. The difference and priorities of the two parties could not have been more apparent, and that's what we need at this point. For me it was abundantly clear that I support the president. I will do everything I possibly can to see that he is reelected.

So that brings me to a final note that you may have gathered from the title of this post. It's important to me to give everything to this effort I can, and in order to do that I am going to have to step away from the blog for a minute. I will be back shortly after Election Day, though, i was a superstar blogger and scheduled out a few more posts while im here. I promise to keep tweeting and instagramming up a storm. But bloggies, I will see you in a few weeks. If we don't talk again before Election Day, please please please go vote. It's so easy and oh so important. I've completely uprooted my life to do something I so passionately believe I. But I can't do anything more than attempt to urge you to educate yourself on the issues and the candidates and make an informed choice on Election Day. I don't care who you vote for. Ok woah, step that back. I urge you to vote for Barack Obama, but the choice is solely yours. Please go make that choice on November 6. Please just vote.

See y'all soon folks. Fired up and ready to go.

XO BDB

Debate Drinking Games

Alright folks. This is coming back.  While we may not agree on politics, we can all agree that drinking games make them more fun right? 

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I had a lot of fun with this last time around, and this time promises to be just as good.  If tonight is anything like the last presidential debate, you are going to need to choose your cocktail of choice wisely. I would suggest making a fall shandy. Not only is it delicious, but it's relatively low in alcohol, so you can sip away all night long. 

My recommendation is a Pumpkin Shandy

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Ingredients

• 1 ounce Cointreau orange liqueur
• 1 ounce fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tablespoon pumpkin butter
• 4-5 ounces pumpkin ale
• Fresh grated nutmeg for garnish

Directions:

1. Add Cointreau, lemon juice, pumpkin butter and ice to a mixing glass.
2. Shake and fine-strain over ice in a highball glass.
3. Top with beer and garnish with fresh grated nutmeg.

Good luck, and be careful. Don't drink and drive, debate politics with your friends, or over indulge. Pace yourselves please. 

InstaWeekend

Here is my weekend via Instagram. I'm an idiot and left my computer charger in dc, so blogging has to be done via cell phone. Oh we'll hope y'all have a great start to the week!

On The Road Again

I'm on the road today. Ohio here I come! Be sure to follow me on twitter and instagram for lots of exciting updates!!!

Friday Fancies #6: Leaf Love

I'm loving this week's Friday Fancies theme. I don't know about y'all, but I'm so loving the turning leaves and the cooler weather. I think this would be a perfect Saturday afternoon outfit to head out in DC and enjoy this lovely weather!

 Sweater | Shirt | Pants | Boots | Watch | Scarf

Oh Hi Oh!!!!

Well folks. I've enjoyed a whole 2 days of calm now that the LSAT is over. I think I have a death wish or something, but I have some exciting news! I will be departing Washington, D.C. on Sunday morning to go work on the Presidential Campaign in Ohio!

It's going to be an adventure for sure! Knocking on doors. Making lots of phone calls. Working ridiculously long days. I can't tell y'all how excited I am. 

Needless to say I thought blogging during LSAT prep was going to be sporadic.... 

Don't worry though, all will be back to regularly scheduled programing after the election! And DC friends, don't fret. I will return soon!!!

xo! And don't forget to vote!!!

So. Tired.

I need coffee. That's all I can say today. 

Red Red Wine

Lately I've been obsessing over red lips. I've been rocking them the past few days and I'm loving the look. It can be tricky to find the right makeup look for the office. You need to balance looking put together, while not looking overly made up. I am definitely guilty of overdoing it on the eye makeup every now and again, and I often pair a bright or super shiny lip with heavy eyes. Seems great at the time, but it's probably better suited for a Friday night... not 10 am on a tuesday. I've been playing with lighter makeup looks lately (mostly because I hadn't been getting enough sleep because of that stupid test who shall not be named), and I've been loving how a bright lip can pull together a look without requiring a ton of other effort.

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I know red lips are a little scary for some of us, especially if you're not accustomed to wearing lip color, but I've discovered that it's actually easier to pull off a darker lip than a bright one. So if you're wanting to be on trend for fall, but a little afraid of the whole red lip thing... why not try a wine lip 

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It's over

Well. It's Monday and I'm still alive. The LSAT is over, thank goodness and I hopefully never have to look at those questions ever again. Yay! Thank you everyone who has been so supportive over the last few months! I truly appreciate all of the well wishes!

On an unhappier note, the Georgia Bulldogs missed the bus to columbia south carolina and we lost. Here's to hoping this off week will let us regroup and come back stronger for Georgia Florida.

Oh and the braves lost in the most ridiculous way ever.

So yah. That was my weekend. 7 hours of LSAT. 8 hours of epic athletic losses. and the rest was spent in bed.

But now I have a life again!!! Woohoo!!!

Now I need help y'all. I'm treating myself to a mini shopping spree at sephora... what should I get??? I need recommendations!!!

I got this in my birchbox a few months ago and I'm still loving it... should I invest???

Viva La Juicy La Fleur 

Test Day

It's LSAT day folks. I'm off to make this test my bitch. Then watch the Georgia v. South Carolina Game. 

What up. 

Friday Fancies #5: Marvelous Monotone

I love this weeks Friday Fancies theme, Marvelous Monotone. I am obsessed with this rosy nude color right now. It's so warm and feminine yet classic and contemporary.

Top | Skirt | Shoes | Handbag | Watch | Earrings

Thanks again to the lovely {AV} for hosting. I am taking the afternoon off today to relax, because the LSAT is tomorrow morning. I can hardly even believe it's here. I'm feeling good, ready to dominate, and see all of my hard work pay off. Send me good vibes tomorrow morning!!!! I'm going to need as much help as I can get. 

Have a great weekend y'all!!! See you post-LSAT!!!

Beauty for a Cause

I know all of our lives have been touched by cancer. My grandmother and grandfather both passed away from lung cancer. One of my best friend's mother was diagnosed with a form of brain cancer and had been in and out of remission for the last two years. It's a brutal disease that can effect any of us, and while there is so much that we don't know about the causes, research makes major advances every year. One way we can help is support research foundations financially. I know we don't all have tons of disposable income to donate, but It's breast cancer awareness month and many of our favorite brands have come out with some great products supporting cancer research. 

"The causes of breast cancer are not fully understood. Although it is clear that age, gender and lifetime exposure to estrogen and other factors play an important role. Because no one knows exactly what cause breast cancer to develop in a certain person at a certain time, there are no sure ways to prevent it. However, there are steps that you can take that may reduce your risk. These include maintaing a healthy weight, adding exercise into your routine, limiting alcohol intake and postmenopausal hormones, and breast feeding if you can. Anyone can get breast cancer."  Susan G. Komen 

These are a few of my favorites... get to shopping ladies!

EOS balm and lotion

Clinique Chubby Stick

Nails Inc.

Sephora Brushes

It's a 10

Lip Stick

This is happening...

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If I wasn't in the home stretch of the LSAT  (2 days folks!), I would be partaking. Don't worry--- I'll remind you a little earlier next time. Happy Debate night!