Weekstagram: December 23rd-29th

  

  

1. My aunt Joan wore this necklace I made her many, many Christmases ago. 

2. Homemade shortbread cookies with cake batter frosting. Amazing.

3. Penny loves snow. I just about had to carry her in!

4. Sparkly nails and red velvet truffles. My mom picks out the best Christmas candy.

 

Post Holiday Sales!

Based on all of my posts about shopping and sales, I'm sure you all know about my love of buying things and saving money when online shopping. So I couldn't help but let all my fellow online shoppers know about some post-holiday sales.

Sephora (now- 1/2/13)
Additional 20% off sale items with code EXTRA20

Kohls (now- 1/1/13)
End of year clearance event 60-80% off

Bath and Body Works (now- ???)
Semi-Annual Sale

Victoria's Secret (now- ???)
Semi-Annual Sale

American Eagle (1/1/13)
25% off + free shipping with code 62029761

BonLook (now- 12/31/12)
Buy one pair of glasses or sunglasses get second pair 50% off with code HOLIDAY50

Bloomingdale's (now- 1/1/13)
After Christmas Clearance Sale

Drugstore.com (now 1/4/13)
Holiday Clearance & 20% off all skincare

P.S. Check ebates to receive cash back on some of these sites!

 

Currently.

Loving- Cold weather. The time of year between Fall and Winter is my favorite I love how chilly it is and the possibility of snow. I like wearing mocassins and sweaters and cuddling up with Penny.

Saving- Money. I want to get a pretty big tattoo on my thigh once the weather get warmer and it's probably going to be expensive. I also want to live in Boston for the summer so I'm going to get some "emergency/rent money" squared away in the next few months. And there's always student loans to pay and I just got my bill for next semester. 

Obsessing over- Photo apps. I'm a new iPhone user and I'm having fun with all the photo apps I can download. I'm having a ton of fun with Hipstamatic and Swankolab. Hipstamatic lets you experiment with virtual lenses, films and flash to create photos with analog effects. Swankolab is a virtual chemical developing app and you can play around with different "chemical" for various photo effects (like the one above!).

Watching- Parks and Rec (still!) and random things on Netflix. I'm also working my way through the Dark Knight Trilogy. Christian Bale and Maggie Gyllenhaal? Yes please!

Experimenting with- Glitter nail polish. I have to work on New Years Eve but after 7 I'm spending time with family and I want to have the sparkliest manicure ever so right now I'm layering glitter on top of glitter to find a perfect combination to usher in 2013!

Looking Back on My Goals

Let's take a look back on the goals I've made for myself recently.

Fall Goals
1. Read all of the required material for class (before class). - This mostly happened. Occasionally, I fell behind but for the most part I got my reading done.
2. Blog at least three times a week. - With 41 posts over 17 weeks, I come in just shy at 2.4 posts a week.
3. Start selling things to Society6 and/or etsy. - I did post my first piece at Society 6 last week and will talk about my work here once I get a few more things going.
4. Keep my room clean. - I tried, I swear.
5. Get at least a 3.5 GPA. 3.7!!!!!!!!!!!
6. Ask for help when I need it. I did finally admit that it would be best to see a counselor weekly and am on my way to finding someone in Boston. 
7. Save up enough money for a tattoo. I've gotten two tattoos since then. 

In my Ten Goals Before 20 post, I wasn't as successful. They are all still things I want to do so I'll keep at them even though I'm the big two-zero now. 

Have you been making goals for yourself. How are they going?

Weekstagram: December 16th-22nd

1. Penny wanted to hold hands.

2. Penny loves Christmas lights.

3. My mom and I got breakfast at a diner.

4. My grandparents actually went to this diner on their first date in the '50s.

5. Kitty snuggles! 

 

Goals for Winter Break

I'm currently on winter break and although sitting at home and doing absolutely nothing sounds appealing; I need to keep busy. So here are a list of goals I'm setting for myself to accomplish over these next four weeks. 

1. Save money! 
2. Finish reading House of Leaves. 
3. Post at least five days a week. 
4. Cook and bake as much as possible. 
5. Catch up with old friends.

[photo source]

Currently.

Dearest Readers, I'm really sorry about my silence for the past few days but I was chest deep in the sea of finals and finally I have swam to shore. What a dramatic metaphor for saying, "I'm on winter break!" Anyways, over my break I'm hoping to post frequently and prepare some posts for next semester as well so I can spend more time on my posts and hopefully develop my skills as a blogger. 

One of the blogs I regularly read, Sometimes Sweet's Danielle uses this Currently tag to talk about what's going on in her life and all the things she has going on. It's a series I really enjoy reading when she posts it so here's my stab at it:

Reading- I'm so excited to read for fun considering since September I have exclusively read school related books. A lot of great books but they were still homework. The book I'm currently tackling is House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski. (I couldn't resist making house blue...) I saw him do a reading and Q&A earlier this year and got this book and his newest novel, Fifty Year Sword signed. I'm so excited about this book and I highly recommend it based on what I've read so far.

Watching- Oh Netflix, you will be the death of me. I've been obsessing over a bunch of TV shows right now. I'm watching the newest season of How I Met Your Mother, rewatching Parks and Rec, just started Wilfred and Switched at Birth (just for the drama factor). Also now that I'm on break from school I will inevitably watch seasons 1 through 7 of The Office because I'm obsessed. 

Freaking Out Over- My grades! I worked so hard this semester and want to do so well. I'm dreading seeing how I actually did in my classes and really anxious to see them as well.

Planning- Giving my dorm room a huge cleaning once I'm back from break. It'll be nice to have everything as organized and fresh as it was in September. The organization freak that I am is going to be loving making a spread sheet for all I want to get done.

Loving- Spending time with my family! I'm really happy to spend Christmas with my family and do all the baking and cooking with my Mama and decorate the tree with her and my Nana. I'm always so excited to go home and see my dog, Penny too and I'm sure my instagram feed will be full of sweet golden retriever pictures!

 

Weekstagram: December 9th - 15th

1. Horse stickers because I'm so cool.

2. Literally, the worst thing in the world during a final paper.

3. Tea with lots of honey and lemon.

Links of the Week || 004

1. Cutest dog bed ever.
2. Some of the most beautiful textiles, I've ever seen.
3. My room mate found this. (For those of us who love vampire diaries or love to hate the show, like me).
4. One of my favorite street artist's flickr page.
5. Great parody of Toddlers and Tiaras.
6. Easy recipes. I want to try all of these!
7. I love bears and Shakespeare.

Weekstagram: December 2nd - 8th

1. An improvised birthday cup made by my lovely friend, Alex.

2. Birthday (scallion pan) cake & sushi

3. One of my favorite prints I made recently

4. Polkadot tights and bear tattoo

Birthday!

'Twas my birthday on December 4th and I am now official in my 20s! (And can therefore use fancy words like 'twas?) I celebrated a bit during the week with fancy Starbucks drinks, sushi and Mexican food and have some weekend plans to get my nails done and hopefully go to the Rocky Horror picture show and The Room. 



 

Weekstagram: November 24th - December 1st

1. Pretty roses.

2. Beginning of the etching process for my printmaking final
3. Molly's comments about the celebrities that inspire her... We will never stop hating Kristen Stewart's acting.

4. Sushi!

5. Hedgehog print in my doctor's office.

Color Palette: Nuclear

photo via Pinterest // palette details 

photo via Pinterest // palette details 

Happy December!

Today is the first day of December. We are officially in the last month of the year. The month of my Birthday and Christmas, snow, hot chocolate spiked with espresso and scarves. I always get so excited get so excited for December 1st. I'm excited for the end of the year with all of the warm sweaters and lazy movie nights with friends. I can't wait for holiday parties and New Year's Eve parties and people freaking out because of the supposed rapture. These next few days are truly my favorite in the whole year. Happy December, everyone!

Under $10 Gift Guides || Glitter Lover

Have any friends who love everything that sparkles? Take a peak at my suggestions for gifts under $10!

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10

Don't forget to see my post on money saving online shopping tips!


Leave links in the comments to other great $10 gifts or to your own gift guides!