August 2014 Julep Maven Box

For a year now I have been subscribed to Julep's "Monthly Maven" program.

There have been many months in which I didn't feel thrilled by the colors, or months where I felt like I just didn't have the money, but this month I had to receive a box.

August's box was called "The Wanderlust Collection" and featured a series of different colors that would transition from summer to fall.

Say hello to jewel tones.

This month, like many months I have received before, I decided to go with the "Classic With A Twist". This box featured the two colors on the right, as well as the "Gel Eye Glider" which I chose to receive in the shade "Rich Brown". The color on the left, I added on for a small charge.

 As you may have been able to guess, I was adamant about receiving this box because of the polish "Katie". While it is not technically my name, it's probably as close to a namesake polish as I will see. Not to mention, the shimmery orchid is just a gorgeous color. The other two colors "Avni" (purple) and "Waleska" (green/blue) were also just calling my name.

 I've already worn "Waleska" once (to my cousin's wedding in early August), and I plan to wear "Katie", perhaps on my toes, soon.

Overall, I am so pleased with this months box, and I am looking forward to what the rest of Fall brings from Julep.

♥K

Junior .

It's going to be kind of strange not blogging everyday, but seeing as how this is the first day of school, I figured that that warranted a blog post.

Surprisingly, I did not oversleep this morning, and was actually awake by 7:30 in the morning. That gave me plenty of time to relax, eat breakfast, and get ready; just how I like it. I like getting up early, so long as I've had enough sleep.

One of my roommates didn't have any classes today, lucky her, and my other roommate (who was supposed to start class at the same time as me) ended up adding a new class to her schedule that had her already on her way to campus by the time I woke up -- crazy. So it was a quiet morning to myself as I ate my Eggos for the.. third or fourth day in a row. I thought it was a good way to start the day.

 As far as the actual school day went, there wasn't a whole lot to take pictures of (at least not without feeling like an awkward freshman, but eventually I'll get over what other people think).

I had four classes today, organic chemistry, a wildlife class, an ethics class, and reproductive physiology. The day went by fairly quickly, and I think I'll like all my classes.

My chem professor is the same as last year, so at least there are no surprises there.

My wildlife class has two professors, one of which is Australian, so it's just fun to listen to him talk.

My ethics teacher is a riot. He seems super laid back, and I think I'll actually learn a lot.

And then my repro professor seems nice also; he seems passionate about what he teaches, which is always good. Hopefully that translates into a good teacher instead of just a smart professor.

After classes, I had some time back at my apartment, but I felt like I had a list of non-school things to do as well -- wash my work clothes, check the mail, pick up my tips, go to the grocery store, take out the trash, call the maintenance staff to see if they can fix my toilet. All I wanted to do was just take a nap, which is kind of silly considering I didn't REALLY do much today, but duty called.

I picked up tips from this past weekend, and was not disappointed to see that seven shifts in a row actually did have its benefits.

A little later in the evening, then, I had to drive back to campus to meet up with some girls that I'm in a club with. The plan was to all get froyo (check) and then talk about our call out meeting (not so much check), but the weather had other plans. About thirty minutes into us talking, the store worker came up to us and told us that there was a bad storm coming our way, and that we should try to get home before it started pouring. He was super nice about it though. And so we left. I ended up driving the other three girls back to their apartment/dorms and just as I was headed back it started to rain, so we must have left at just the right time.

 By the time I got back, the rain had picked up, and there was some thunder and lightning. My roommates and I took this opportunity to lounge around and watch some Nettflix since, for once, no one had anywhere to be. The storm didn't seem to last too long, though, and the sky then turned into that weird mix of pretty/scary. I know I take a picture of this view a lot, but I love to see how it changes so subtly day by day, and eventually how it will change season by season.

Now it is getting late, but thankfully I don't have class until mid afternoon tomorrow -- a first for me. So I plan on getting plenty of beauty rest, maybe working out, and probably going to the grocery store after all. It was a good, but incredibly hot, first day back. Only 159, or so, days to go until summer is upon us again.

♥K

Can I Sleep Yet? Part Three .

||Day Ninety-Eight||

Super quick post because I should have been asleep like an hour ago.

Today was my my last day working a double shift, and it was intense. I was closing both shifts today too, which was rough. But basically I've already promised myself that I'm going to "make it rain" money when I pick up my tips from this week.

Seeing as it is the night before school, and to celebrate the end of a work-filled weekend, it only seemed fitting that my roommates and I would share our traditional night-before-school Insomnia. To make it even better, "Friends" came on (which is pretty much one of the biggest things we all have in common; we are all obsessed with "Friends"), so we watched an episode or so and ate cookies. It was the perfect end to summer, and the best way to kick off this new year.

Now that summer is over, I have officially completed my mission to take pictures and blog daily. It's been really nice to have some kind of documented recollection of my summer. But, I will likely continue blogging, just not everyday. To quote "Friends", "It's the end of an era,".

One day (or really, night).

And now, I can sleep.

♥K

Can I Sleep Yet? Part Two .

||Day Ninety-Seven||

Today was constantly flipping back and forth between being a good day, and being a bad day.
I had more waffles for breakfast; good.

We were missing a person at work today; bad.

It was consistently busy, but not overwhelming; good.

Then I was on my own, and felt a little over my head; bad.

My work ordered pizza for everyone working a double; good.

Could only manage to eat one piece until I had to get back to work; bad.

Was lucky enough to get an hour break so I could go home, pet my dog, and just breathe; good.

While home, I also ate cookie dough "balls"; very good.

Anyway, you get the point. The rest of the evening wasn't so bad. I got back to work feeling refreshed, and decided to just keep myself busy for the entire shift. When I was finally let go of at 10:00, all I wanted to do was just get off my feet. Yesterday, they hurt, but today, they just feel anguished. Knowing that I'm going to endure one more day of a double shift, I decided to treat my feet. I started by soaking them in the bathtub, which now features this hilariously amazing shower curtain thanks to my boyfriend, then using a foot scrub. I followed up by wearing my lotion socks again, but honestly they still ache. I'm honestly considering going out to get some shoe supports right now. It's very tempting.. 

 Since my feet are currently out of commission, even just standing to make dinner was a struggle, I am spending the rest of the night in a reclined position -- aka in bed, watching Netflix, and praying that my feet magically feel better by tomorrow morning, or it could be a long day.

Just two more tough work shifts, then the rest of the week will be a breeze. At this point, I'm not even worried about school. Or maybe it just hasn't set in yet.

Two days.

♥K

Can I Sleep Yet? Part One .

||Day Ninety-Six||

Today's highlights:
{+} Remembered this morning that I bought Eggo waffles at the store // excitedly made Eggos for breakfast.

{+} Opened for work, which I never do. It was nice to see the place so quiet.

{+} Worked with a girl I hadn't met yet who turned out to be really nice.

{+} Got let off my first shift earlier than expected // had two and a half hours to go back to my apartment, eat lunch, and relax before my next shift.

{+} Got back to work feeling energized, despite not having had caffeine like I planned too // felt super productive.

{+} Was told I could leave at 9:00, but decided to (hopefully) earn myself some good karma, or at least some good money, by letting another girl leave before me. 

{+} Arrived back at my apartment around the same time as my roommate and got to eat dinner together and chat about all the interesting things that happened to us at work.

And now, I am currently lounging in bed with my B&BW lotion socks on, so as to soothe my beyond-tired feet. I'm honestly considering wearing them for work tomorrow. Humans are just not meant to be on their feet for hours and hours at a time. Or maybe it's time to invest in some Dr. Scholls.

 Today was exhausting, and tomorrow will, no doubt, be another challenging day.

I'm not sure I've ever been so excited for bed.

Three days.

♥K

Year Two .

||Day Ninety-Five||

It's been raining and storming a lot lately, and the rest of this week, despite school starting soon, seems to be no exception. However, as gloomy as it is to be surrounded by clouds and rain, at least it will make me feel less like I'm "missing out" on beautiful weather when I'm at work or stuck in class. 

Today was the beginning of what is about to be a crazy, work-filled weekend. Thankfully, I didn't have to work until the evening today so I got to spend my morning eating a good breakfast (some "overnight oatmeal" I made in a mason jar, though I ended up being too full to eat the banana), reading a book, and just generally allowing myself the opportunity to not feel like I had a million things on my mind.

 By the time I did get to work, it was going by fairly quickly.
It was a day where everyone seemed pleasant, despite the obnoxiously dense heat that would overcome me any time I opened the door for people. I also received a pin that signifies my working for a whole year; it's been a crazy year of working, but the experiences I've made and the people I've met have made it worthwhile. I'm ready to see what year two will bring. After working for a few hours, I was told I could go, which was somewhat bittersweet seeing as I was having a good day. Later on, I was more than grateful for having gotten to leave early because an hour after I had gotten home was when the real storm started rolling in.

Since I had gotten off early, I figured I should use the "extra" time to go to the grocery store and get a few more things (mostly produce for things like salads and fruits for detox water). I broke the cardinal rule, however, of not going to the grocery store hungry. But really, I only made a few impulse purchases; one of which might have been a Ben & Jerry's for the next couple of days.

 As I said, by around 9:00 it was storming big time. It was completely dark outside, which was odd for 9:00, and there was plenty of thunder and lightening. My roommate and I highly considered going to our friends' apartment just for the security of being on the bottom floor, as well as cuddling their dog.

But we ended up sticking it out in our place. To lighten the mood though, or should I say to WARM the mood, I broke out my new wax warmer cubes. Within a few minutes our apartment smelled like a bakery in autumn.

 Between the noise of the storm calming down and the apartment smelling too-good-to-be-true, it was the perfect opportunity to set up on the living room couch and finish my most recent book: "Let's Get Lost" by Adi Alsaid. I'd like to write a review on it soon, but most likely not until after school has started and everything seems less stressful.

By now I think the rain has ceased completely, which is a bummer because I like sleeping when it rains, but I guess I can deal with a quiet night. Here's to bracing myself for the next three days of work. Wish me luck.

Four days.

♥K

Catch Up .

||Day Ninety-Four||

Today I completely forgot to take any pictures until 9:00 pm. But, oh well.

Seeing as today was my last day off before I was about to work everyday for the next four days, I wanted to accomplish things and do something fun. 

My first main goal of the day was to print out, fill out, and turn in an application for a second job. Maybe that sounds crazy, but this job is applicable to my major, and gets me experience in the field.

So, I went and printed out all my papers, filled them out as fast as possible (though filling out an application for anywhere quickly seems kind of like an oxymoron), and then built up the courage to take them to the manager. We talked for a little bit, or rather my utterly flustered-like way of communicating, and she scheduled me for an interview this next week. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high, but I just feel like this would be a step in the right direction for me.

After calming myself down from turning in my application (interview-like situations such as that just make me all kinds of emotional), I picked up my friend, April, from campus.
We had a full afternoon/evening planned of catching up, gossiping, and pretty much just relaxing.

Eventually, it got to be pretty late in the evening, almost 9:00, and we decided to go get some food. I took her to Penn Station, which is one of my favorite places (though I hardly ever allow myself to go there). We ordered our food, both getting Chicken Teriyaki sandwiches, found a table nearby, and then I left to go wash my hands. I was hilariously taken aback by this sign that was posted on the women's door. And it was true, you quite literally had to shove the door open with your whole body. 

 Then, upon entering the restroom, the signage continued. This one was particularly perplexing. It was hanging over the paper towel dispenser. The handle was somewhat like a pump which you, again, did in fact need to "press in", which was extremely awkward and made a loud noise, as you pumped it down. I thought it was hysterical.

 And the hallelujah chorus sings. Penn Station fries are amazing, but I always regret getting them. They just fill me up too much and give me a stomach ache. But the sandwich was a definite A+ today. 

 That awkward moment when the guy taking your order asks you your name and he thinks you said "Hade" (like Hades). Then that even more awkward moment when you correct him and say "Katy", and when he asks you how you spell it you tell him it's with an "-ie". What was I even thinking?

 After dinner and some more chatting, I took April back to campus and was ready for some reading, then bed. And then I remembered that I hadn't blogged yet.

It's crazy to think I've been blogging for over three months now. And it will honestly be strange when I don't blog everyday, but I just know I can't maintain a daily blog between school, work, and potentially a second job. Not to mention how incredibly boring every post would be. But, my plan is to still blog things such as monthly favorites, DIYs, hauls, particularly exciting days, and frankly whatever I feel like posting. Such is the beauty of a blog.

Five days.

♥K

Stormy Weather .

||Day Ninety-Three||

Day two of no work; only one more day of freedom, then I'll be working like crazy.

Today my roommate and I had planned to go to the pool, lay out, and enjoy the sunshine. Unfortunately, the weather had something else in mind.

 By 3:00 or so, thunder was brewing, rain was pouring, and my dog was panting like crazy out of nervousness. Even my roommate and I were getting a little uneasy, especially considering there's no basement to go to if the storm turned more serious. So we decided to do something to take our minds off the weather -- we made cookie dough. Naturally, Tippy came to "help".

 This kind of cookie dough, however, was not the traditional kind. The recipe we used was originally used to make cookie dough filled cupcakes, which my roommates had made once before. There is absolutely no egg in it, so it's safe to eat raw (though I eat it even if there is egg in it). We had planned to form it into balls then dip it into melting chocolate (I know right, sounds amazing), but for some reason the "dough" never really turned into dough. We still can't figure out what went wrong. As I said, my roommate had made this a couple of times beforehand, so the fact that it didn't turn out right is perplexing. It had more of a consistency of frosting, or pancake batter. We tried adding more flour, which helped a bit, and put it in the fridge to set. It still isn't the right consistency, but it still tastes amazing. We decided to just eat it out of a bowl for the time being. Cue sugar rush.

 After catching a few episodes of "Friends", the sky seemed to clear up, but in an eerie way. It almost looked TOO blue and the clouds seemed TOO white and fluffy. It was odd.

Besides our "failed" attempt at making cookie dough balls, I was actually extremely productive today.

I suddenly got the rush to reorganize my room, after it being haphazardly put together since I moved back. It was one of those projects where one thing leads to another leads to another. I started with the closet. I pulled everything out and reorganized it until I decided I should finally unpack the last of my clothes (which was basically just my shorts/pants). That lead me to realizing the I should take all my winter clothes (i.e. sweatshirts, sweatpants, basically anything I will definitely not be needing for a few weeks) and put them somewhere else, since they were taking up space in my drawers. That then prompted me reorganize the cabinet under my bathroom sink, for whatever reason. And then finally, I managed to clean up my desk a bit. Eventually I'd like to rearrange my pictures and posters too.

One of the best things about cleaning out your closet is finding things that you forgot you had. For example, I found this cute three-drawer organizer. I had used it freshman year for nail polish, though that was before my collection expanded to what it is now, so since then it's been sitting in my closet untouched. I racked my brain to think of something I could use this for, until I came up with the perfect solution. I had decided to use it for cards and notes. The top drawer has two different types of blank cards, which can be used for any occasion, the middle drawer has two kinds of "thank you" cards, both equally adorable, and the bottom drawer has some post cards as well as notecards. I thought it was a pretty efficient idea, and hopefully it prompts me to write more hand-written things.

 My wonderful little fake succulent that, thankfully, I can never kill. Someday, maybe, I can graduate to real plants.

 The rest of my desk is pretty simple -- sharpies (which I use mostly for updating my calendar), a jar of cute and inspirational things that my friend Alayna gave to me when I left for college, a lava lamp that my dad gave me for Christmas, a candle (of course), my DIY "cake" stand, my globe, and some little forget-me-not plants which remind me of my boyfriend (I would like to plant them soon, that way I can at least start small with perfecting my green thumb).

 As for this little guy, I'm still looking for the perfect place to hang him. But first, I need to figure out HOW to hang him. Perhaps a sawtooth hanger.

 And here is our fish Buzz enjoying his new plant. He has a party hat on his tank because he is officially a year old, which I think is really amazing. But I've only ever had fish that have lasted a week.

 Lastly, here are the succulent plants that I am somehow managing to keep alive for my boyfriend. At least until he comes to visits, takes them back, and hopefully revives them completely.

By 7:00 or so, the sky started getting even more strange.

 The storm was definitely not done yet. This was the literal calm before the storm. Half the sky grey and grim, the other half seemingly pleasant.

 But I tried to put it out of my mind. I made a delicious dinner, a spinach salad with almonds, dried cherries, blue cheese crumbles, and vinaigrette (don't worry, it all came from a bag, I'm not that fancy), half a cheese quesadilla, a few pieces of turkey, and some sliced tomato with salt. It. Was. Bomb.

 As distracting as a fabulous meal can be, I still had one eye out the window as I watched the sky turn nasty. My dog even came to join me on the futon, which I thought was pretty dang adorable. Honestly I thought the storm would continue for the rest of the night, but it seems to have settled again, for now.

One more day off of work, and just six more days until school starts. Holy cow.

♥K

Progress .

||Day Ninety-Two||

Today I decided to make a change.
Or rather, to make progress.

I woke up this morning feeling blue. I was feeling down on myself, uninspired, and unmotivated.

But, with the help of my amazing boyfriend, I was able to find the ambition to do something about it.

I had missed a few days of my Blogilates workouts -- I was feeling self conscious about doing them in my apartment (since I live above people and was afraid they could hear the sound of burpees and mountain climbers), I was becoming discouraged at not SEEING results (which is probably everyone's downfall), and I was occasionally having trouble persevering through the workouts, sometimes just feeling too run down and out of breath to keep going. It was just overall turning into a situation in which I was hurting myself, and my esteem, instead of building it. So I took a day off, and then another, and then another, and maybe even another, I honestly lost track. Feeling like I had "quit" started to get to me too, though. It was a vicious cycle that I think is what eventually lead me to just feeling glum.

I feel like I sound like a broken record, but the point is that I completed my workouts for the day and felt a million times better afterwards. It's going to be difficult, and I'm going to have bad days, but I just want to at least motivate myself to complete two or three videos a day. If I do that, then I know that I at least tried. I also went out to the store today and bought TONS of healthy groceries, which always makes me feel better. I think I just needed some time to get back into the routine of being at my apartment, working, and eventually, school.

After finally breaking out of my blue-mood, I decided to spend the rest of the day doing things that make me feel good. I took my dog for a car ride (which she loves), watched "Boy Meets World", lounged, internet-ed, and then ended the day with a walk around my apartments with my dog and roommate. "Roomie walks" as we call them, are a tradition that we (and our other roommate) started doing last year. It was the perfect way to clear your mind after a stressful day/week, as well as bring us together even more. It's the things like this that make me excited for school to start.
7 more days.

♥K