it's been a while

Sooo. I have had a crazy schedule with four college courses and two jobs... Not a smart idea. Gonna be dropping one of the classes and hopefully things will improve. I don't want the rest of fall term to be like spring 12 term with two jobs and an internship (ie no life unhappy for three months).


 This post will be a bit about beauty, some nail stuff, and some knitting. And food. That was horrendous grammar.

First- I signed up for Birchbox after being on the wait list for about two months. I got my first box in September and loved it. I love that the price - 10$ a month includes shipping. I had some financial card fraud issues and had to get a new card and the customer service via email was quick and courteous. I wanted to make sure I got my October box no problem.


This months box that I got included: two Benefit trial size cleansers, a mini Color Club nail polish in "Insta-this!" a very bright blue, a red Twistband, a Larabar mini, Dr. Jart BB cream sample,  and make up remover q tips.

 It's so nice getting a package or letter in the mail. I enjoyed the foamingly clean wash it has a nice scent to it. I love that I get travel size products since I go to Atlanta for the weekend 1-2 times a month to visit BF. They are also great for  after the gym. I'm a Philosophy purity die hard- I've got the jumbo bottle back home and a foaming medium size bottle here. If I wasn't I'd consider getting a full size Benefit cleanser.

I had read about twistbands online and ordered them via Birchbox in August since shipping was free. I love them! They are $$$ but they don't cut off your circulation on your wrists and the look cute too. My only complaint is that the knot isn't at quite the right place for my hair (ie size of the loop). I like to wrap my hair ties around three times and it only goes around twice and doesn't stay in place super easily. For sports like swimming or working out I wear my scunci stay put hair elastics. For going out/etc I wear twistbands.

I haven't tried the make up remover q tips yet. I like the nail polish- it's a color I wouldn't pick out for myself normally. I haven't eaten the larabar. I love the BB cream- I've seen posts about them on some beauty blogs I follow. This one is awesome. It's 35$ for one oz- and made outside the US. I opted for a cheap option Maybelline BB cream at Walmart. I bought some brushes from Ulta to apply it vs my fingers or a sponge (sponges absorb most of the product anyway).

My basic makeup routine is: wash face. Put on acne meds if needed. Put on sunscreen on face, neck and top of hands. Apply bareminerals foundation and finishing powder. If I am "trying" I will add eyeliner/eyeshadow and mascara. If I'm going out to dinner or something I will then add BB cream, and highlighter powder.

I also tried the Julep maven for a penny and got two polishes and some pedi foot cream. It autocharged for Oct- wasn't too happy since my finances are strained. I cancelled fairly easily but still got charged for October full size box (20$), and it's been shipped. I hope whatever is inside is worth 20$.

I visited the BF in Atlanta and discovered Sublime Donuts. OMGSH the best donuts- (not simple donuts).

I love the cinnamon swirl. I've tried : Reeses, Nutella, Orange dream star, Chocolate chocolate, Cinnamon swirl with cream cheese glaze, Oreo, strawberries and cream. They have a balsamic one and bacon one that seem interesting. They do offer a 20-50% off student discount if you show id and pay in cash. I appreciate that since these donuts are not cheap. 2-4$ per donut.

I had some hand pain at the end of July from knitting for too long on too small needles (US size 1's) for socks.... It was an awful three weeks of no knitting. I felt useless. I'm having pain in my index finger joint now- I'm working on two socks both on Size 1's. I think I need to swatch for a sweater made of worsted. I feel a bit of pressure to use up my Blue sky alpaca silk. I have 6 balls wound. I got it when I was newbie and wish the shop owner had forewarned me of alpaca's properties before I spend 70$ on it. Can't think of anything to make with it really. I also have two balls of laceweight from Tanis Fiber Arts. In a dark purple and a lavender for the Ombre Sweater which is knit with two strands held together from both balls (a bit of a challenge- pulling from the inner and outer from two different balls). I had heard on the Knit Girllls podcast how not to wind yarn until you're definitely going to start knitting it immediately because the yarn stretches over time..... I want to make something worsted to take the pressure off my hands. I'd like to try a sock or scarf knitting continental style (English). I learned the technique at the Unwind Getaway 2012. I won't be going this year since I'm saving for my study abroad trip extension to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

I've been loving nail blogs! I now look up nail colors on my phone to see swatches on real nails before purchasing. I've been dying for the Butter London Dodgy Barnett from the fall collection. It's a silver linear holographic polish. Expensive but I had coupon.

I also picked up some new Zoya's (my favorite brand!) they were buy two get one free, and some sale polishes. One of the Zoya's is a jelly, meant to be layered. I am a big fan of special effects polishes like holographic, glitters, and duochromes. I definitely don't own many neutrals, pinks or browns/greens. I saw an awesome blog post on how to store your nail polish and am working on mine. I went to the container store at the mall (OMGSH you will spend hours inside if you love organizing things... You've been warned).

I wanted a clear shoe box for nail polish storage and a clear jar for yarn scraps. What did I walk out with: a water bottle brush, funky ice cube tray, three flour containers, 2 shoe boxes, a hanging belt organizer, a small plastic box. My collection fits in one shoe box now. I've got about 12 polishes (not that great ones since I left them) in Kansas City still. I want to add a green to my collection. I'll be wearing the new ones over the next few monthes. I schedule a gel manicure at Ulta prior to flying out to Atlanta for our anniversary. I have literally not had a mani or a pedi in over a year... I was going to get a pedicure but realized my heels didn't show my toes (so that's pointless). I'm going to try painting over the original gel color after a week of wear. I've read that you can do this and remove it with a non acetone remover and the original gel polish color remains intact.

I did some cool Georgia tech themed nails for Family Weekend. I also have done polka dots with embossing tools I bought from Michael's. The top row of polishes were 50 cents to 2$ each. I got one Zoya free and saved 3.50$ over my total purchase.

I have an app recommendation for you iphone lovers. DOWNCAST- 2$ worth every penny. If you listen to podcasts- I listen to some NPR podcasts, Savage Love, knitting podcasts and my churchs' podcast. You can listen while opening other programs and it takes up a lot less storage on your phone. You can set to download and refresh feeds only on wifi and manually (when you want). Playing them does drain the battery which is why I am hoping to get a refurbished Ipod touch in late October. I want it for only listening/viewing podcasts and skype/facetime with the BF. So that way I don't have to charge my iphone twice a day.

I have completed one Anklet sock using Koigu KPPM. I am also working on Business casual sock pattern from Tanis Fiber Arts using Sunshine yarns in Alice. I ripped out my half done cuff of the Jaywalker pattern. My stitch count kept changing round to round and I just hated it.

 I found this article in Real Simple and took a picture. I didn't have shoe box lid to cut in half so I used part of an Amazon box. It worked almost as well I think!! 

My version 

I'm part of an online research forum and did a laundry study (marketing basically ) in August. That was fun and I took a survey that month about a deodorant study coming out. I was selected and now I get to use an unlabeled deodorant for three weeks, recording the number of times per day I use it and then sending it back to the forum company at the end. I have two visits with the BF during this time so I hope it works. It smells like manly spicy which I don't care for at all! No reaction to it yet. Bf and I are going to Bacchanalia for dinner for our one year anniversary. I'm very excited. I've gotten his  present box complete. I'll post pics of some of his gifts once he's gotten them. It's a mix of funny items, sentimental items, and fun items. When he visits me in Charlotte we are going to the hot air balloon festival! I am pumped. Always have wanted to see them take off and land.

Hope to be updating more regularly. :)

xoxo
Kaitlin