Star Gazing

Butler hosted a celebrity basketball game to benefit neglected children in foster care Saturday night. 

I didn't really know much about the game but I knew Hank Baskett was going to be playing in it so naturally, I saw it as my chance to let Kendra meet her long lost best friend ... me!

An added bonus was that apparently the tickets weren't selling very well so they went %50 off  for students mid-week. 

Ashley's in a broadcasting class & her section is entertainment so she decided she was going to cover the game. When she asked if I would want to go with her, even though she didn't know if I'd be allowed, I jumped at the idea. All while tweeting Kendra, of course.

So, Ashley got an email saying she, as the media, had to be at the gym at 5:30 in order to get her media pass so we rushed over there and at 5:32, we arrived.

Well thank God for un-organized events .... & this one was.

Eventually, we walked right up to the media table & they gave both of us a pass without asking even one question.

Amazing.


I was on a mission to meet Hank and hopefully Kendra.

Since the game didn't start until 7:00, Hinkle was kind of dead but slowly but surely things picked up.

Ashley sat in the background while I pushed through the crowd when Hank came out & yelled, "Hey Hank! Can we get an interview with you for Butler's news show?"

He asked if I could come on the court to do the interview because if he came out it would be pretty crazy.

He was SO cute.

So the next challenge was getting on the court when we had already been told no but I wasn't about to let my snow-cone carrying self be told no again so I went to work.

I ran over to the side, asked a random guy to hold my snow cone so the police officer would take me seriously (which he happily did ... thanks random guy!)  & then I just went right up to the officer & asked him if he could get Hank because he said he would do an interview with us. Luckily, he was super nice & told me to just go ask him myself.

Hank saw me coming & walked over to me .... seriously, so nice.

He gave us a great little interview (which Ashley's camera was dead for .... yeah .... she nearly cried on the spot) and told me Kendra was downtown for her "leather & laces" party.

So basically, Kendra doesn't know we're best friends yet but now we're in love with the same person so we're even closer to being BFF's.

Makeup Monday

Happy Monday, Ladies! (and gents if there are any reading) 

I'm a zombie kind of tired today. My roommate & I had the opportunity to sit on the court for the Butler vs. IU game last night & you know I wasn't passing that up. But, leaving the game late & still having homework to do afterwards made for a very late night and a zombie girl today. 

Luckily, my momma picked up an adorable little Christmas tree for our room and that has added a little sunshine when there literally is none today & also, I'm talking about makeup ... one of my favorite things in zeee world.

I love makeup because I can change it up, add something new & get a little crazy and if I don't like it? It washes right off.

The thing is though, makeup can get really, really expensive. Especially if you're a bit of a label whore like me. I got it from my momma. 

However, in times of desperation, when I haven't had the money for apples let alone Diorshow mascara, I've found that sometimes generic brands work just as well. 

Here's where I skimp and where I splurge (& some of my new favs):

1. Maybelline Turbo Mascara: I already hinted at it, but I love Diorshow mascara. I don't however, love the $30 price tag. So, I switched to this & if offers all the volume at a fraction of the price.

2. Rimmel London bronzer: I had been using some Smashbox bronzer that looked identical to this one. It ran out & I was short on funds so I turned to CVS. So glad I did because this works just as well & is a fraction of the price.

3. I only use concealer sometimes so I may not be the best critique of it, but this Loreal seems to work well for me and is super inexpensive.

4. The most inexpensive of all! This lip liner was one I found at a beauty supply store & I love it.

1. When my mom spent eight million dollars on Lancome lotions, she got a big gift with her purchase. This eye liner came with it & while I had been using liquid liner for quite some time, I love this pencil and it stays on forever.

2. I've blogged about this Benefit tinted moisturizer before, but really? if I had to wear only one product it would be this one. It gives me a little color, a little cover and a lot of moisture. 

3. An eyebrow pencil is something I only use in the winter when I need a little extra color, but the Benefit eyebrow pencil works great.

1. I was having trouble keeping my eyeshadow on for long periods of time and I also like a little brightener under my brow. An under-eye brightener is great for the in between wax/pluck/thread times too. This Laura Mercier product is both an under-brow brightener and an eyeshadow primer. I love one product that works 2 ways!

2. I love my tinted moisturizer but it was leaving my skin so moisturized that I couldn't put mascara on my bottom lashes because it would wipe off & sometimes I would even have black mascara residue under my eyes from the top lashes. It's not a good look. This Laura Mercier secret brightening powder has been a godsend. My makeup hasn't been under my eyes one time & it brightens too! 

3. I know a hair product isn't really makeup but I got it at Sephora so I thought I'd add it in here. I have a lot of hair but it's thin, so when I saw this Bumble & Bumble thickening spray, I thought it could be a great answer. Since my hair is so thin though, I was worried this might gunk up my hair so I bought a small travel size to try. I haven't been using it long enough to say if it really works yet, but it doesn't make my hair gross & I'm happy about that. I'll have to update you on its effectiveness later.

Whew! So there you go, all of the things I save money on & the ones I spend it on. Do you use all name brand products or do you have some short cuts too? I'd love to know what you use! 

When life gives you Lemonade ... drink it!

For some reason, I woke up feeling just freakin' fabulous this morning. 

Personally, I think it's because Ashley & I rented Shrek last night & that movie is so freakin funny. I mean really, if you need some good, clean laughs Shrek is your movie.

I had another post planned for today, but it's a little harsh so I decided that when life gives ya Lemonade, you should drink it. 

I'm drinking it. 

In the spirit of all this happiness over no thing in particular, I'm remembering Kelle Hampton's recent post about Thanksgiving & being thankful.

She said that being thankful isn't saying thank you for gifts or sending thank you cards, although those things are important. Being thankful is realizing the little gifts that are present in every single day, the ones that just come naturally. 

I truly believe being thankful makes me a happier person. Actually, focusing on what we have instead of what we don't makes us all happier people. 

So just because, I'm going to make a list of the little things I'm happy for today:

- A really fabulous roommate. I haven't written much about her because I don't want to jinx it but seriously? She is perfect.

- The opportunity to meet a lady in Starbucks yesterday who could have some really awesome internship possibilities for me.

- Putting on my down North Face coat which I had pretty much thrown the towel in on because it had a huge stain on it only to realize that stain is gone. I had taken it to the dry cleaner and it was still there. It's weird, but I searched for it & I promise, it's gone.

- A hard, hard workout last night. I'm talking the Stairmaster, baby.

- A good, long night of sleep

- Babysitting a new family tonight. I'm pretty sure it's 4 girls under 4. I love chaos!

- The sun & warm temperatures we're having in Indy today

- All my great friends like you :)

So there's my list of things I'm thankful for today, the little things. Of course, I could make a list of things that upset me yesterday or things that I want but I'm choosing to focus on what I do have today instead of what I don't.

Spread the love, be a source of cheer today.

Happy Tuesday! 

Because every kid deserves love.

.... that's why I want to spend my spring break volunteering at a couple orphanages in Mandeville, Jamaica.

I want to help improve the living conditions for the kids in these orphanages by painting & building , I want to bring some joy to them & I want to love on them.

But, the trip is expensive, and as a college student I don't have $1,000 at the ready to go. 

I haven't given up on the idea though, because I know God gave me a passion for children and volunteering for a reason and I want to put those gifts to good use.

So, I'm asking you (& anyone you know who might be interested) to think about donating to the fund for this trip I want to take in March. 

If you're able to donate, even a little, thank you. 

And regardless of whether or not you are able to donate right now, thank you for listening & praying.

This wouldn't be possible without you. 

Sometimes plan B works out just fine.

Since Thursday & Friday were my Fall Break, my dad wanted to spend some time with me. 

I found out about Brown County park adding ziplines and with lots of effort, talked him into doing them with me yesterday. 

However, their website sucked and is a liar & one page said the lines were available all day & then when I went to actually book it, it said they were only open at 9 & 11 a.m.. I wasn't able to do either of those, so we just couldn't do it. 

I was really sad.

But, much to my surprise, my dad had plan B when I told him we couldn't do the ziplines ... he wanted to go horseback riding. 

'

So, we headed out to Brown County yesterday & afternoon & rode horses. 

We had about a 35 minute wait so I brought out my camera and took some pictures. I'm so glad I always have my camera with me, some of these turned out just beautiful! 

I didn't know this, but my dad worked out at this very horse barn when he was a boy, so he has lots of fond memories from that. He really liked telling me all about how he used to spend the night up in the top of the barn and how one Memorial Day (in 1963) they counted 4,000 horses because people brought their own.

I'm really thankful for the times we've been sharing together lately & I know I'll be even more thankful for them down the road.

Say Cheese!

Exciting News!! 

Our family is getting pictures taken the weekend after next! 

Okay, maybe that news isn't as exciting to you as it is to me but it's really exciting to me!!

I seriously love all things photography & since it's been 10 years a while since we've had any taken, I decided it's time.

We're using a local photographer, Angie Jackson, who does a seriously awesome job without requiring me to hand over my kidneys to get the prints like some photographers in town.

Will & Paige, the cuties I babysit.

Look at this cutie in his Butler gear!

Angie does lots of different kinds of sessions of course, but the one we're doing is called a mini-session.

 It will only be about 30-minutes in a location she picks but I'm totally fine with that because not only is it cheaper but my brother is not a fan of pictures so the quicker the better.

Now the fun part is picking out outfits!

My mom suggested blue jeans & white shirts but I let her know that matchy-matchy stuff is so 90's.

What color combinations do you love?

ps. I'm getting my wisdom teeth out tomorrow so you may not hear from me for a couple days but you should definitely expect lots of funny pictures soon! 

What I'm Loving Wednesday

You might be asking yourself, "does this girl just link-up to whatever the heck she feels like every week, never sticking to one like she's supposed to?", and if you're asking yourself that, the answer is yes.

Sometimes it's Wordless, sometimes it's So What & sometimes, like this week, it's What I'm Loving.

Really, it's whatever I feel like & this week, I want to talk about this one thing that I've really been loving.

I'll give you some hints ...

It gives you support right where you need it

It picks you up when you're down (literally)

Sometimes it's fancy & sometimes it's plain

& a good fit is absolutely necessary

If you guessed Bra, you're right! 

Maybe it's just a phase or maybe it's because they're great at doin' what they do, but I get almost all of my underwear and all of my bras at Victoria's Secret. Their stuff is cute & they have so many options but sometimes they're kind of expensive. I've worn many different bras from them and I've even worn the stick-on bra before, but lately I'm really stuck on the Wear Everywhere Pink bras!

The Pink bras are much less expensive than some of Victoria's Secret's other bras & they even have a built in clip so you can make it racerback if you want. They have some that are unpadded & some that are padded so you have a few options too. 

If you're looking for something fancy, the Wear Everywhere Pink bra isn't the one for you & I'm not sure how it does on larger boobies since mine are non-existent on the small side, but for everyday, smaller girls, the Victoria's Secret Pink bra is my favorite hands down!