September Birchbox

It's time for another round of

This month's Birchbox was not my favorite ever, but once again I picked up a few good things.  First off they threw in a twistband. I seriously love these y'all. If you haven't picked one up, you need to! They are super flexible and don't crimp your hair!

Twistband

Then I got a pack of the La Fresh Instant Body Soothers. These are wipes for your hands, face body, etc. that are supposed to sooth skin. They smell great and are definitely refreshing, but I don't think I'd invest in them. 

La Fresh Instant Body Soother

This Custom Color Club Polish was my favorite find of the box. Birchbox and Color Club teamed up this month to put together a few of the hottest colors of the season. I got the rose gold metallic color called "put a pin in it" I'm OBSESSED. This is definitely worth the $8 investment

Custom Color Club Polish

They also threw in a few of these brush guards. Definitely a nice thing to have when traveling. These are supposed to protect your brushes and help them keep their shape. They're essentially like those chinese finger traps and they can expand around pretty much any brush.

Brush Guard

Boscia Purfiying Cleansing Gel is preservative free, which is great. I've only tested it out once, so I don't feel like I can give you a recommendation one way or another, but so far so good!

Boscia Purfiying Cleansing Gel

I think I'm just not a Beauty Balm person. I need/want more coverage. While this Dr. Jart Beauty Balm is by far the best I've ever tried, I still got oily and felt like my imperfections were obvious a few hours into wear. I do have super oily skin and am constantly battling all of my products to extend the wear, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. 

Dr. Jart Beauty Balm

So that's it. My September Birchbox. Want to see more? Here's my August, July, June, and April reviews.

AND. Don't forget about the Starbucks GIVEAWAY 

Happy Fall!

Please go enjoy this lovely weather. 

Friday Fancies #4: Football Frenzy

Thanks to everyone who entered my reader appreciation giveaway. If you haven't yet, go here.

I'm all over the internet today. Thanks to the lovely Kellie of The Yuppie Files for featuring my fall favorites. If y'all don't read her blog, you need to. She's absolutely fabulous. 

AND my post from Monday made it on the Fashion Blogger Weekly Round up over on Fashion Treatment! 

Now. It's time for

Now obviously y'all know that the belles in the SEC (and across the South) take gameday fashion seriously. Dresses. Hats. Pearls. Heels. It's like a fashion show, where everyone wears the same colors.  I went to The University of Georgia (how bout them dawgs?) and I've accumulated quite the red and black collection over the years. Now that I'm out of school, I dearly miss saturday's in Athens. One thing I don't miss though is the standing up for hours on end. Sweating. Gross. Now I get to enjoy the games from the comfort of my couch or a booth in a bar. As I was putting together this outfit, I didn't realize how formal it is, but oh well. Better to be over dressed than under dressed right? 

Dress | Sweater | Flats | Bag | Watch | Bangle | Earrings

*GIVEAWAY* Just Because I love y'all

Okay. So it's just been one of those days. I've been a little down lately because of all this LSAT madness. But I've decided that I can't let it take over my life. The weather is beautiful. Life is good. Stress is stupid.

I took a break to swing by Starbucks to pick up another pumpkin spice latte. I decided a few things.

I love fall coffees

I love you guys

So lets do a random giveaway.

All you need to do is be one of my lovely followers and enter below through the rafflecopter widget. You can follow on Facebook and Twitter and all that jazz for more chance to win too. But mostly I just wanted to thank all of you who come by my little slice of the internet and leave such sweet comments every day.

I know every blogger in the world says this, but I really appreciate you all so much. Your comments and emails mean the world to me.

Enjoy.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

* The Giveaway will remain open through September 30. A winner will be announced October 1.

Currently

Currently...

Reading  LSAT books

Practicing logical reasoning flaw questions

Listening to "It's Time" by Imagine Dragons on Spotify

Smelling triple chocolate brownie bites aka stress relief

Working at my real life job. In my big girl office.  

Writing this blog post.

Hoping that the LSAT goes well, and all this hard work is not for nothing

Thinking that I need to start thinking positively and have more faith in myself

Sipping a big old cup of Joe

Watching CNN. What else is new.

Gawking Governor Romney. Keep the gaffes coming sir. 47% of us would appreciate it. 

Wearing yoga pants and an over sized old navy tee. Top knot. No makeup.

Wishing that the LSAT would go ahead and be over so I can focus on blogging. Priorities.

Feeling Exhausted. Burned out. Drained. Defeated. Lazy. Frustrated.  

Loving that there are only 15 more days until the LSAT

Hating that there are only 15 more days until the LSAT

What are you doing.... Currently? 

Braided Crowns

Thank you all for your sweet comments from my post on monday. I'm definitely a little nervous to get into fashion posts, but all of your overwhelmingly positive notes and emails make it worth it. I got quite a few questions about the braided head band.  I pinned a tutorial on pinterest, but I thought y'all would like me to take you through it, and since this pin was so perfect (and I've been living under a pile of LSAT books---aka no time to put together my own tutorial)

via

I'm SO loving this look. It's really easy, and such a cute option to spice up up your everyday do. 

I would recommend a few adjustments. I like a little more poof. Shocking I know. So tease away my friends. 

You may want to practice the braid a few times, because you have to braid "up" or straight out (not down). You'll understand when you try it. Just warning you... your arms may get tired. 

Braid all the way to the end of your hair (or else you'll get weird fly-a-ways)

Hope this helps girls. 

I came across a similar tutorial from one of my favorite beauty/fashion bloggers, Keiko Lynn and I thought this was another cute take on the braided headband idea. I just wish my hair was long enough to try it!

via | Keiko Lynn

Happy Wednesday!

Fall Beauty Picks

For this round of Loving Lately, I am featuring some of my favorite beauty products for fall.

FIT Me foundation | Benefit boi- ing | Philosophy | Eos | Revlon Lip Stain | Essie | ELF's High Definition Powder | Essie | Mega Plush Volum' Express Mascara 

I recently switched over to my fall foundation since the summer humidity seems to have disappeared (thank goodness). I'm loving rediscovering some old products and some new ones.  I bought the FIT me foundation right at the end of spring this year, but the shade was too light for me during summer. Needless to say, I'm loving the coverage this light weight foundation provides. 

I also have been loving the ELF High Definition Powder. Amazing. 

I recently discovered boi-ing, and I'm wondering what rock I've been living under? This stuff is seriously awesome. It's the perfect texture and lasts all day! Loving it. 

Y'all know how much I love lip products and I picked up another lipstain in honey. I've been loving a bright bold lip for summer, but think I'm going to transition to something softer for fall, so Honey has been perfect.

Also, and it get's cooler chapped lips are inevitable. My favorite is this Eos in soft mint. Perfection in a lip balm if you ask me.

Mega Plush ads have been everywhere lately, and for good reason. Y'all need to pick this up. I promise you'll love it. 

All dressed up with no where to go

How was your weekend? Mine was pretty good, but full gaffs. First, I drank entirely too much coffee on Saturday, then after getting home from babysitting I couldn't get to sleep until after 2 am. Fail. I was supposed to take a practice LSAT Sunday morning. Well. 2:45 am rolls around. I still wasn't quite asleep when heard the door open and close downstairs. My roommate KJ was out and about, nothing to be concerned about, so I rolled over and went back to sleep. Then some time later I turned over and opened my eyes. 

There was an unknown man standing above me. Just staring at me. I swear to god. 

I initially thought it was a dream, but no. There was definitely a man there. I don't entirely remember what I said. I didn't scream or jump or any "normal" reaction. No. I was so taken a back I didn't know what to do. I kind of assumed that KJ may have brought home a gentleman friend and by the time I realized what happened I thought running out would have ruined "the mood," so I stayed put. 

Well I get a text about 90 seconds later from KJ apologizing. Apparently this guy was her drunk married  co-worker who also happens to live in our neighborhood so they were simply sharing a cab, until he invited himself in. At 3:00 am. Needless to say, he was asked to leave shortly there after. It made for quite the interesting morning. Let. Me. Tell. You. 

Sunday was once again filled with LSAT Studying. 18 days folks. But I was so excited to head over to the Dew Drop Swap as I mentioned to y'all on friday. KJ was tagging along so we got ready. Full hair and makeup because lord knows you have to look good when you run into the fashionable bloggerati of the District. Well. We were running late. Shocker. With 5 minutes to spare make it to the building to head upstairs. Once we arrive the place was not quite as hopping as we expected. Nope. Not a sole in sight actually. That's when we realized the swap was on SATURDAY. Another fail on my part. 

Thankfully we redeemed the outing with pumpkin spice lattes. (PS if you're counting calories check out this post from Samantha's Brewed Awakening) 

So. What is a girl to do when she's all dressed up with no fashionable venues to frequent? Take pictures of herself. Duh. 

Top: Forever 21 | Skirt: Macy's | Shoes: Nine West | Watch: Michael Kors

I saw this tutorial on pinterest the other night and had to try it. I over did it on the teasing a bit, but I'm kind of obsessed!

Pink and Gold Mani--- also inspired by pinterest here

That's it for today. Hopefully the rest of the week will be slightly less eventful. Though I did appreciate the comic relief. LSAT nightmares have been increasing in frequency of late, so it was a good change of pace.

Saturday Motivation

Three more weeks. LSAT I'm coming for you.

My Friday Fancies #3: Autumn Lust List

Happy Friday ladies! I'm linking up with the lovely {AV} for another round of....

This week is all about your lusts for fall, and let me tell you, this girl has a serious lust list going. Anything leopard, anything cap-toed and anything metallic especially.  I love fall. I think it may be my favorite season (if it wasn't for this silly rag weed in the air killing me with the allergies. come on). I'm so excited to break out the scarves and coats again. Winter can stay away for a while, but oh to cozy up with a hot pumpkin latte in my favorite sweater with scarves and boots. oh my. yes please. 

Blue dress / Burberry Trench  / Vince Tights  / J.Crew high heels / Kate Spade Bag  / Oasis leopard scarve

Alright. Hope y'all have a wonderful weekend. DC Ladies, I'm going to attempt to make an appearance at the Dew Drop Swap on Sunday, hope to see you there!!!

Guest Post: Paint Wine Repeat

So, we are in the home stretch of LSAT studying 22 days to go! I have another fab guest post for y'all today. Amy is a craigslist hunter extraordinaire. I hope y'all love her (because I do), and go visit! Take it away Amy. 

Hello Blue Dog Belle readers!

I am honored to be guest posting for the beautiful and talented Emily today.
I'm Amy, a Canadian blogger, from Paint Wine Repeat. I love to complete DIY projects, test out new recipes and blog about life! I hope you will check out the rest of my posts if you like what you see here.

I, like many other people out there in cyberspace, love to find furniture online. As you probably know, there are services such as Craigslist that are online versions of classifieds (if you remember when newspapers were relevant and they had a whole separate section dedicated to such things!)
If you're willing to use some elbow grease AND if painting, staining and restoring furniture interests you, I encourage you to peruse these online classified for what you might be looking for. I should assure you that there are some items to be found that won't need any work, too!

I decided that since Emily is based in DC, it would be fun to find some awesome deals where she is!

Let the fun begin!!

This dresser is available for $100... and just needs a coat of paint and/or new hardware to brighten it up. You could probably barter to get a bargain and fix this puppy up with some TLC! I'm certain that mirror is removable too, if you'd rather not have it attached.

This next one... is a $75 accent chair that I wish I lived closer to, so that I could snag it for myself! Love the mix of wood and fabric, but mainly - it looks so cozy!! If you don't love the colour, you could always reupholster it down the road. But as is, this chair is pulling all the right moves... maybe its lines are just whispering sweet nothings to me? Anyone? Bueller?

This next one needs a little love... it's a round table with an awesome chrome base. It looks like he's worked his whole life in a conference room, but you could let him retire in your home! For $55...it could be yours. The top looks like wood veneer to me, so you could easily paint it a fun colour to add some spice to your kitchen. I think this baby is a diamond in the rough.

Here's a great example of a perfect as-is piece. This rocking chair would easily fit into a nursery or a porch without much fuss! At $25 only for the chair, you could also spend a little extra on paint or cushions to spruce it up if you like. That's the beauty of inexpensive finds, its up to you to discover their potential!

Things to expect when buying online:

1. You can barter. Try offering a lower price and see where it takes you. Be prepared though, that some sellers won't budge.

2. You'll have to be able to pick the item up. Some people offer delivery, but most expect you to make the trek and use your vehicle to transport the item.

3. You'll have to pay in cash.

4. It can be disappointing. Spot something too good to be true? It could be! If you want to be cautious, always arrange a time to view the piece before committing to buying it. This allows you to inspect it and make a decision without pressure.
5. You might need a thesaurus. Lots of people have different words for the same thing. Want a buffet for your dining room? Search buffet, but also try sideboard.

Disclaimer: Be alert when using these services of scams or giving out too much personal information. Always practice safety and don't meet someone alone.

What have you had the pleasure to find online? Is it too much work for you? Let's talk adventures in babysitting furniture finding...

Thanks to Emily for having me guest post and thanks to all of you for reading!

Happy searching :)

Currently Crushing :Nail Trends for Fall

Wow. I feel like that huge rain storm on Saturday was the end of summer. This weather is amazing. LOVING it. While fall may not be officially here, it's coming... so I need to bulk up my nail collection for the coming season.

Neutrals

Miss Fancy Pants

Sand Tropez

Best Dressed List

Darks

Jewel of a Girl

Downtown Brown

stylenomics

Metallics

Penny Talk

I think the whole world is obsessed with Penny Talk, and I on board. Obsessed with this color.

Good as Gold

I also love anything sparkly for fall and winter. With the holidays coming and the short days... glitter obviously makes any manicure better.

Happy Wednesday!

Charlotte Recap

Okay ladies. I'm sure you're all tired of hearing about the DNC and my epic adventure to Charlotte. But I feel like I owe you a recap of the full adventure. 

I left DC Saturday morning for a quick visit in Williamsburg with my bffirl Lauren and her lovely husband Jason. I know I talk about her often, but if you haven't checked out her blog, you really need to. She has a fabulous cooking blog that inspires me every day... if only I had the pantry she does... maybe I could create half the master pieces she whips up on a daily basis. 

She treated Jason and I to one of her specialties, Pollo en Fricase, and let me tell you, it was amazing. Lauren knows how much I love cilantro, so this was absolutely perfect. 

She also made arros y frijoles, and some yummy mint cocktails. That girl knows me so well. 

I mean really. Look at this awesomeness.  After a while we hit the town for some fro-yo.

Sunday morning we did a few photo-shoots and had a perfect breakfast. Girlfriend knows how to make a waffle. 

That afternoon I hit the road and headed south for Charlotte, through the worst rainstorm ever. I couldn't see anything and was forced to drive about 20 mph. Made the roadtrip so fun. let.me.tell.you. But I made it. Checked in. Hit the grocery store for some essentials (i.e. alcohol and chocolate)

I don't know that I told you officially, but I was offered a position volunteering with the DNCC (convention staff) on the Government Affairs team. It was a great opportunity to meet other like minded  young people in Washington, and I just had a fabulous time. 

I spotted quite a few famous folks (famous if you watch CNN non-stop like me) Congresswoman DWS above. CNN contributor Donna Brazile below.

Since there were no "official" convention events on Monday I wandered around carolina fest before starting an evening of party hopping. 

 

I ran around town through crazy rainstorms. I ended the night up in NODA which is the arts district of Charlotte. I was beyond thrilled to be reunited with Terrapin. 

Tuesday I was up bright and early (with quite the headache) for breakfast with my boss. Then headed off to a few meetings, before reporting for work. 

I made an appearance on MSNBC and a few on CNN... never did find the FOX news stand. SHOCKING. 

I got to go to a discussion with National Journal featuring an amazing line up: Kal Penn, America Fererra, Chelsea Clinton,  Andrew Jenks,  Chuck Todd, Kaseem Reed and more. It was great. AND I got to meet Chelsea. She is gorgeous and amazing. Love her!

After work that night I hit up the B52's concert. I had a great time, but 2 am rolled around and I needed to rest my feet. 

Thursday was a blur. Breakfasts. Meetings. a quick lunch a Moes, then reported for double duty and the big speeches. 

I met so many great folks and had such a wonderful time in Charlotte. If you are at all interested in politics you need to attend a convention in your life. It was so inspiring to meet all these people, young and old, coming together to make america a better place. I definitely had one of those moments where I just had to stop and appreciate everything going on around me. 

I am definitely a driven person. I impose some pretty harsh standards on myself, and while it has definitely been a good character trait in my life, it doesn't always allow the opportunity to stop and smell the roses and appreciate where I am. 

I was sitting down in a tiny corner of this lounge. feet throbbing. dehydrated. exhausted. with hours ahead of me. then former President Clinton came on. I just had a moment. I started sobbing. Partially at his amazing speech and how much I realized that I really do care and believe that we are heading in the right direction in this country (that's a post for another day though). But more for the fact that I suddenly realized where I was, and how lucky I was to be there. and honestly, how proud I was of myself for putting in the hours, and doing the work, and making the connections and generally being a sufficiently successful person to get there on my own merits. I didn't buy my way in. Or call in favors from numerous connections to get there. I did it. Me. And I was just overcome with emotion by the whole thing. What a great experience. 

Okay I know y'all have had enough of this trip. I promise, beauty and fashion will be back tomorrow. Happy Tuesday!