What I wore today - the Rainy Weather edition.

As most of you know, Katelyn and I live in Florida. We may be in different cities now, but one thing is still clear: the weather sucks. Here in the panhandle, it rains when you don't need it to, and it's sunny when you need clouds. It's funny to think about, but I took rainy weather for granted in high school. My school provided a long awning throughout campus that allowed you to stay (somewhat) dry as you and your classmates shuffled from one class to the next. Now that I am in college (and on a nature reserve campus, nonetheless), there is no long awning to hide under, and I am reduced to trudging through the rain under my little red umbrella.

Another challenge that rainy weather presents is getting dressed. In high school, I'd be fine to schlep around in a flannel shirt, skinnies, and boots. That is not the case in college, as a) I have looked put-together since the first day and b) pants are not an option anymore. When I need to cover my legs, I turn to the power of tights.

I did my makeup the same as I always do - foundation, eyeliner, mascara, eyebrow pencil, blush, lipstick. I love bright red lipstick on a rainy day, especially ones with bluish tones. It brightens up my whole face and adds some color to this dull and dreary day.

I never do much to my hair - srunched it dry, twisted into a ballerina bun, hairspray, style my bangs, done - but today was the one exception. I added some humidity and heat control spray from Aveda ("Brilliant" damage control, $16) after the bun was released to keep it in tact. However, the spray was no match for the Florida weather: my hair had frizzed by 11:00. Luckily I had a travel-size bottle of lotion tucked in my purse that tamed my unruly locks ASAP.

Cardigan - from my mom's closet.
Belt - from my mom's closet.
Dress - Target
Ring - Charlotte Russe
Tights (not pictured) - Target
Ankle boots (not pictured) - gift from my grandma.

I love the red belt because it goes with the dress and my lipstick, not to mention I had a red umbrella. There is also the smallest whisper of red dye left in my hair. Do you sense a theme going on here? I love red, especially on rainy days. Plus my boots are the most lovely shade of brown (think melted chocolate), so everything about my outfit screamed "I'm ready for fall!" The plus side? I managed to stay cute and dry.

Enjoy your weather, wherever you are!

Andie

The greatest thing you will ever learn...

is that MAKEUP FOREVER on Sephora now carries Moulin Rouge-themed makeup.

I was browsing the internet, as per usual, when I got a text from my mom: "How about Moulin Rouge lipstick? Sephora." Swear to God, it was like my heart stopped beating, my lungs stopped working, and time stopped all in one. Anyone who knows the slightest bit of information about me will tell you that Moulin Rouge is my favorite movie of all time, and this goes for Katelyn as well. We can quote this movie. We sing to this movie. One time we went to Tampa for a theatre conference and watched this movie in our van, and annoyed the daylights out of our van-mates. That was irrelevant but you get the picture.

Image courtesy of Sephora

For a short but sweet period of time, your lips could be the most luscious color of red known to man kind (in a lipstick AND a gloss!), your eyelashes could be as long as Satine's, and you could have pretty little jewels brightening up the corner of your eyes. Fancy schmancy, am I right?

The lipstick is my favorite - the Moulin Rouge color is literally called "Moulin Rouge" and runs at $19. Kinda pricey for lipstick, but I recently paid $15.03 or something for dark purple lipstick from MAC so I'm okay with that. I drool like a newborn baby over red lipstick, so you can bet your bottom dollar that I'll be getting my hands on this.

The gloss is "gel-textured" and for you MR fans, it's in shade 43. It also runs at $19.

The false lashes and gems run at $15 and $20, respectively. The false lashes are cool because they are "extreme criss-cross flairs with red glitter strip." I get paid tomorrow and I am about to spend my paycheck on these gems.

Funny side story - I posted the link on Katelyn's Facebook wall just for funsies and got this reaction: "HOLY GOD." She then proceeded to pressure me into blogging about it. This is why our friendship works.

Clicky-wicky and let's get all dolled up.

- Andie

Fashion Week Blues

I've spent the last few days quarantined to my dorm room, browsing through pictures and articles and videos from fashion week, and crying from jealousy. Okay, there were never any real tears. But I did curse all the lucky girls running around in their pretty little shoes and gorgeous coats, because I've been wearing a sweatshirt for the past 48 hours. It. Is. Not. Cute.
I'm dragging myself out of my sad little rut to discuss with you the fact that I need a pair of rain-boots. It is pouring in Tally today, I had a math class, a broken umbrella, and sad, inadequate shoes. I'm just going to get sicker if this isn't fixed soon.
I saw a girl leaving my dorm in a lovely plum pair of Hunter boots.
I like them in teal.

Okay nevermind, they cost $125.00
Although these are what I would call an investment piece, I simply don't have that much to invest.
Plan B: Target.

 

 

Holy karma, I love Target. All of these LOVELY selections are $32.99. Which isn't exactly a mega-jackpot-sale, but considering how often it rains in the Sunshine State, they're worth every penny.

Clean sweep

Hello from Tallahassee. I'm finally moved in, settled in, know my schedule, and know my roommates schedules so that I can plan accordingly. Sorry for the long hiatus, things got rocky and then I left Pensacola, so I've been in the midst of a flurry of changes, cardboard boxes, and waiting in line for textbooks.

Back to what you want to hear about: clothes. Packing for college came with an additional challenge when my sister announced that she wanted to move into my bedroom. Fine by me, I have no plans to move home in the foreseeable future, but this did present a problem: my entire room needed to be packed up and moved out of her way.  Thankfully my sister, who values literature far less than I, agreed that my bookshelves could remain the way they are. However, i was to surrender all my dresser space (I have two dressers, about 11 drawers) and half the closet. No problem, you say?
Wrong.
I own a lot of clothes, alright?
I am also attached to my clothes for stupid reasons. For example:
"But I wore this skirt when we went to the mountains, remember? I had a blue slushie and it was delicious!"
or
"No, I haven't worn that tank top since I was 12. But it matches my purple heels perfectly. I might need it one day!"
etc. etc. etc.
So I immediately decided I would have to approach this with as little emotion as possible. I waited until about one in the morning. I am easily distracted by my family's daily activities, whatever is on Animal Planet, and who is winning in my brother's Words With Friends tournament, so I do my best cleaning in the dead of night, like a vampire. This practice involves obscene amounts of coffee consumption starting at about 6pm, full seasons of How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory [I used to watch Sex and The City when I cleaned but it made it even more difficult to throw out any clothes due to my constant philosophy of "What Would Carrie Do"], and a locked door. I then turned to my drawers with as little emotion as possible. I pretended I was a robot. "Clothes?" I scoffed. "Who needs 'em?"
And with that I began to sort through the piles of old denim, Girl Scout T-Shirts, and various accessories from the early 21st century that I had clung to for dear life. It was was surprising ease that I relinquished my ties to ponchos and gaucho pants. I laughed at the sequin purse as I tossed it into the black trash bag of "things for charity." (I would never throw away clothes unless they are stained or ripped. Just because I don't wear them doesn't mean that plenty of other people won't be grateful to get them. I'm a huge fan of Goodwill and Waterfront Rescue Mission.) Eventually my drawers were all empty. I had one small box of things I was keeping...and 8 economy size garbage bags of things I was giving away! How did I ever acquire so much stuff?
Now my closet at college is better than ever. I have room for the things I love, and room to add more stuff as I get settled in.
I highly recommend a sweep of your closet, even if you're not just starting a new chapter in your life. It's like therapy: you get rid of all the emotional baggage you've been stuffing away for years, and then you have room for new experiences, or, in the case of my closet, new black boots and denim vests!
xoxo Kat

Red pumps, ooh la la!

 

Shoes - 17.49 at Belk!

I had a lovely lovely post about red shoes written out for you guys, and then Firefox froze so I had to restart it. !@#$%^&*()!!!!!!!!!!

Mostly I want to encourage everyone to get out there and buy themselves a pair of red shoes. I have never ever found a pair of shoes that I love so much. For those of you who know me personally, you understand how challenging it is for me to walk in heels. For those of you who don't know me any farther than the pages of this blog, I'll tell you - I'm 5'7 and unless I'm driving or strapped into some sort of harness, hate being high off the ground. Whenever I slip into a pair of heels, my knees get shaky and my legs snap back. Shoes with a heel that towers any more than four inches off the ground are most certainly not my cup of tea. Katelyn, on the other hand, is petite and walks in heels better than anyone I know. Give me a good ol' pair of ballet flats any day and I'll be happy as a clam. However, these hug my feet and the platform makes it super easy to walk.

Every girl should own a pair of red shoes. Say what you will about them, but the perfect pair will NOT make you look like a prostitute. They will make your skin go from "Casper the Friendly Ghost" pale to "Gee there may actually be some color there." They also make otherwise shapeless legs look toned, and the best part? They go with anything.

What is your favorite pair of shoes? Do you own red shoes, and do you love them? Leave your comments here!

Happy hunting!

xo, Andie