The Benefits of Failure

Good afternoon! So, yet another week that I will not get to post a video blog because the internet connection in my house has been down for TWO weeks now; which is extremely disappointing. I am currently sitting at a coffee shop near my house just so I can upload this blog post. If you can't tell, I'm pretty upset that I haven't posted a video yet, I put an immense amount of my time and effort into this blog. Whenever I get a free moment, I'm either writing up a draft on my phone or jotting down potential blog post ideas for the future. I'm not complaining at all because I choose to write and it's something I love to do, its just frustrating that something as small as an internet connection is standing in the way of me upgrading the stature of my blog with videos; but enough sad talk! I have a great, absolutely remarkable, video that I would like to share with you today. It tops ANY video that I could ever post.

Anyone who knows me, knows I admire J.K. Rowling more than just about anyone else on this earth. (And I am also undeniably obsessed with the Harry Potter novels) This video is J.K. Rowling giving a speech at Harvard college's 2008 graduation ceremony.

Attention All College Freshman!

A few days ago, I got asked to write a blog on college essentials and advise for incoming freshman; which is such a great idea! Why didn't I think of that?

I decided that I would start with the advise part of the blog since it would consist of a lot of writing.

I had a ton of questions that I wish I would've asked before leaving for college and I faced a lot of things that I wasn't prepared for. I'm not going to lie, I was TERRIFIED to start college. I was also a little frustrated because I was already a freshman in high school and now I had to start all over as a freshman again; however, college is very different than high school. For example, you're living on your own, completely on your own. You will have to cook, clean and decide when you want to do your homework and study because there will not be anyone breathing down your neck telling you to do those things.

Starting with food, I would definitely learn some quick recipes that you can whip together before or after class. When I was going away to school I didn't even think about cooking, it didn't cross my mind, I just figured I would eat whatever I could find and whatever was quick; which is something you DO NOT want to do. Take a day to sit with your parents, or Google some easy recipes, and learn learn learn. You will ruin your body if you do not eat healthy. You will gain weight and all of the unhealthy food will run your body down and make you extremely tired; which isn't good because you need all the energy you can get in college!

Another important thing

FRI"DIY" - Tassel Necklaces (On A Budget)

Hello and happy Friday! I always get really excited for Fridays, not only because it's the weekend, but because it means I get to try out a new DIY! This weeks DIY is one of my favorites. I've been dying for a tassel necklace for fall! They're adorable and match with mostly everything. They're definitely funky, new and something I'm willing to try out!

If you haven't seen tassel necklaces yet, here are some I found online at Anthropologie:

Anthropologie "Neon Plume Necklace" - $38.00

Anthropologie "Tassel Plume Necklace" - $38.00

Anthropologie's website has a bunch of tassel necklaces and they range in price from $38-500+.

I loved their tassel necklaces so much that I decided I wanted to make my own.. On a budget! I got all of my products from AC Moore and it was one of the most simple DIY's I've done! Let's get started on your trendy tassel necklace.

The cost of this DIY is completely up to you and how many necklaces you want to make. I knew I would want to make more than one so I picked up a few extra items.

Tassels - $1.99 ea.

Jars of beads - $2.99 ea.

Beading wire - $3.99 ea.

Mini Diagonal Cutter - $2.99 ea.

"WTF" Fun Facts!

Hello everyone! I apologize for writing this post so late but I've had such a busy day. I also stopped to pick up everything that is needed for tomorrow's DIY project! I'm so excited. Since I'm going to start uploading videos every Sunday, I've decided to change Thursdays to "mini post" days. Mini posts allow me to still put up a blog, just without all of the usual content; it's mainly for the shorter topics that I want to talk about. Today, I stumbled across a website that offers all of these very very interesting facts and I decided I would love to share some of my favorites with you!

Healthier Habits & Gym Gear (On A Budget)

Good morning! Another Monday, another work week. I've been in a great mood because I'm really looking forward to a vacation I have coming up to Florida! For my boyfriends birthday I bought him tickets to Universal Studios for the Halloween Horror Nights. We are so excited! Since we are going to Florida and the weather will be nice there, I decided there's no better day than today to start getting in shape! I went food shopping last night and bought ONLY healthy and nutritious food, which I plan on blogging about in the near future. In addition to me finding a pair of sneakers I FINALLY like, I also plan on signing up for the gym tonight! In honor of my new attitude, I've decided I want to write a blog post on some inexpensive gym clothes! I LOVE the way workout gear looks and I think that just because you're working out doesn't mean you can't look cute while doing it! Let's get started!

As I was browsing online I noticed Aeropostale had such great gym clothes for an even better price! If you're looking for affordable clothes Aero has really cute merchandise. They got a new designer around 2010 and ever since then the look of their clothes have improved a lot! I would definitely shop there.

Marled Contrast-Stitch Active Leggins - $39.50 ON SALE $20.00 

(Other colors available)

Inset Active Capris - $39.50 ON SALE $20.00

(Other colors available)

Duct Tape DIY's

It's already 7:00 pm! Today flew by before I even had the chance to consider blogging! Sorry for the late post, I had a birthday in my family and we celebrated all day with a shopping spree (on a budget of course)! Now, here I am blogging at 7:45 and I feel bad because it's super late but I'm going to make up for it!

For today, Sunday's, "mini post" I found this GREAT YouTube video from a very famous vlogger Blair Fowler. I was scrolling through her videos and this one caught my eye, especially because school is starting back up soon. The video is based on a very fun and inexpensive DIY for some back to school accessories.

All you'll need is an exacto knife and some duct tape! Yes, I said duct tape. Hard to believe, right? Watch below!

"Remember When?" Wednesday!

There's no greater feeling than remembering something that you enjoyed when you were a kid. Whether it was clothes, accessories, a tv show, or even a toy. I decided to dedicate this blog post to items I "had to have" and shows I "had to watch" when I was a kid. Let's take a look at some 90's classics!

Polly Pocket and her rubber clothes were all I wanted to play with when I was a kid!

Apparently these accessories are called "choker tattoo necklaces." I used to love these things and my friends and I always would put them around our stomachs because they were stretchy enough. 

Monday = Manicures!

It's Monday, again, and the beginning of another work week! Some people despise Monday, which I can totally understand, since it means the end of the lovely weekend and the beginning of a very long work week. One way to get over the Monday funk is to do something you enjoy after work on Monday; preferably something relaxing. If you give yourself a chance to relax and enjoy yourself you'll be ready for whatever the work week has to offer to you! One thing I love doing on Mondays is getting a manicure and pedicure! It prepares me for the long week ahead. I haven't gotten a manicure this Monday and, unfortunately, I don't intend to.. But I started looking for some cute nail art and nail colors that I may pursue for next Monday!

I love a good glitter ombré! The bold colors at the top attracts your eye to the nail then slowly fades to a gorgeous natural looking color.

This is definitely one of my top three favorites! I've been obsessing over the black and neon trend lately; especially when it comes to accessories such as your nails. Totally adorable idea for summer! 

 

If you want to keep it simple but add a little "pop" to your nail this is definitely the manicure for you! The vintage looking pink color gives off a classy and chic feel while the gold clump at the base of your nail is the perfect addition to ensure the nails aren't bland and boring.

This reverse French manicure is a new and fresh take on an old idea. I am loving the matte blue color paired with the sparkling gold base. This is a look I'd love to try for fall!

Give A Little Love.. "Mini Post"

Good afternoon! I woke up about an hour and a half ago and I just can't bring myself to get out of bed. Probably because today is Sunday and I always feel like snuggling in on Sundays, however, I have a birthday party to go to tonight so I need to get myself up and dressed to go pick out an outfit! Well, the previous sentences have absolutely nothing to do with today's blog post but they're still relevant to how relaxing Sundays tend to be. For this Sunday's "mini post" I found an amazing video on YouTube that definitely showed me life in a new perspective and I couldn't help it.. I HAVE to post it and share it with everyone:

Famous Failures

Good afternoon everyone, thanks for stopping by my blog! I have a very interesting topic I'd like to write about today: failure. There has been countless times I haven't succeeded at something I've wanted to do; whether it was because someone told me I wasn't good enough and got in the way or I got in my own way. But, either way there's ALWAYS going to be critics in your life. I once read somewhere that you are your worst critic. Now, I don't know if I really believe that but I do know that criticism hurts. Whether it's from you or from someone that you barley know. I decided to dedicate this blog post to extremely successful people who have been harshly criticized and have overcome the odds. Every single one of these people have inspired me and I hope they have the same effect on you.

Steven Spielberg was rejected from his dream school, the University of Southern California, three times. He sought out education elsewhere and later dropped out to be a director. If, today, you read his bio on IMDB.com here's what you'll see, " Undoubtedly one of the most influential film personalities in the history of film, Steven Spielberg is perhaps Hollywood's best known director and one of the wealthiest filmmakers in the world."

Marilyn Monroe's first contract with Columbia Pictures expired because they told her she wasn't pretty or talented enough to be an actress. She is now one of the most known idols, models, actresses and sex symbols in the world today.

Vera Wang failed to make the U.S. Olympic figure-skating team. Then she became an editor at Vogue and was passed over for the editor-in-chief position. She began designing wedding gowns at 40 and today is the premier designer in the business, with a multi-billion dollar industry.

One of my personal favorite success stories, Walt Disney. He was was fired by a newspaper editor because he "lacked imagination and had no good ideas." Several more of his businesses failed before the premiere of his movie Snow White. Today, most childhoods wouldn't be the same without his ideas. If he were alive today, he would be worth $36 billion dollars.

Albert Einstein didn't speak until age four and didn't read until age seven. His teachers labeled him "slow" and "mentally handicapped." But Einstein just had a different way of thinking. He later won the Nobel prize in physics.

Oprah Winfrey experienced considerable hardship during her childhood, saying she was raped at age nine and became pregnant at 14; her son died in infancy. She was so poor she claimed her only pet was a cockroach living in her house. Winfrey often wore dresses made of potato sacks, for which the local children made fun of her. Oprah was fired from her television reporting job because they told her she wasn't fit to be on screen. But Winfrey rebounded and became the undisputed queen of television talk shows. Oh, and, she's also a billionaire.

Dr. Seuss' first book was rejected by 27 different publishers. He's now the most popular children's book author ever.

J.K. Rowling was unemployed, divorced and raising a daughter on social security while writing the first Harry Potter novel. She is now internationally renowned for her 7 book Harry Potter series and is the first person to become a billionaire from writing. 

Stephen King was initially so frustrated with his first novel, Carrie that he threw it in the trash. King's wife found the manuscript in the trash and took it out. To date his 49 novels have sold 350 million copies.

He may have made himself a household name, but in 1954 Elvis Presley was still a nobody. After only one performance he was fired by the manager of the Grand Ole Opry with Jimmy Denny telling him 'You ain't goin' nowhere, son. You ought to go back to drivin' a truck.'

Hillary, of Lady Antebellum, auditioned twice for American Idol and was rejected both times, 'I never even got to see the judges. I literally performed for the production assistants and the interns and I just didn't make it.' All those Grammys will show 'em!

The people listed above have so much drive and determination that it's impossible to not be inspired by the obstacles they overcame. I also have a short video of some "famous failures" some I have listed above but others haven't been written about. 

There's no doubt that this is one of my favorite blogs out of the ones I've written so far. Each story means a lot and is very influential. I really hope you enjoyed this blog and I hope you have a great weekend!

FRI"DIY" - Make Your Own Nail Polish!

The weekend is finally here! I bet everyone is really excited for that.  Not only am I excited about the weekend, I'm excited for today's "DIY" blog post! Let me start by saying that in yesterday's post I accidentally wrote I was 250 views away from 2,000 in stead of 3,000, which I didn't notice until 5 hours after the blog was posted and it bummed me out. However, I reached over 3,000 views last night which definitely improved my mood! Anyway, today we are going to make our own nail polish! The only thing I love more than nail polish is DIYs, so being able to combine my love for the two started my day off on the right foot. It was one of the easiest projects I have done and it was very inexpensive! Let's get started!

What you'll need for this DIY:

In no specific order:

1) 1-2 bottles of clear nail polish - 99 cents each.

2) Eyeshadow pallet of your choice (you could also use an old one of yours) - $4.99

3) Q-Tips - $1.50

4) A piece of paper!

I got all of the items I needed from CVS (besides the piece of paper) and spent around $10.00 in total; however you may have these items laying around your house and you can do this project without spending any money! The brands of nail polish and make up I used are NYC.

Time to start!

Open your eyeshadow and begin scraping at (using a butter knife or some sort of sharp object) the color of your choice. Don't scrape all of the color out at once because it will be harder to pour onto the sheet of paper.

Pour what you've scraped onto the paper.

And this is what your eyeshadow should look like: 

Keep on scraping until you've emptied out the entire eyeshadow section of your choice and pour the excess eyeshadow onto the paper!

Once the eye shadow container is completely empty, make sure you crush the eyeshadow color down into powder because big chunks will not fit into the nail polish bottle.

Next, open up one of your clear nail polish bottles and pour a little of the nail polish into your trash can to make room for the powder. DO NOT pour the nail polish into your sink, it will clog your drain.

 Time to start pouring! With the lid off of the nail polish remover, fold the paper in half (with the eye shadow in it) to make the pour 10x easier.

If you get a little eyeshadow on the table it's perfectly fine because it's easy to wipe up and you could always brush it right back onto the paper to pour back into the bottle!

This is what your nail polish should look like after the pour.

Pretty cool, right? Take your Q-Tips and pull the cotton off one of the ends to use as a mixing tool to mix the eye shadow and clear nail polish.

Once the cotton is ripped off either side, begin mixing!

Mix it for about two minutes and you will see your final product!

To ensure you're happy with the color, grab a piece of paper and test it out!

The color was definitely too light for my liking, so I followed the same steps as above and added some black eye shadow to darken it.

And here was my final product (in comparison to the first shade)! I was very very happy with it.

The most perfect purple color I could've asked for!

I also bought a second bottle of clear nail polish that could be used as a top coat or to make another color! You could always be bold and mix colors or choose very funky greens or blues. Adding darker colors will darken the shade as adding lighter ones will lighten it and possibly make it more transparent looking. This particular DIY only took me about 20 minutes and didn't require any heat or craft tools. Like I mentioned above, you could save yourself $10.00 and use eyeshadows and nail polishes you already have at home!

I really hope you enjoyed this weeks FRI"DIY" blog and I'm already looking forward to next weeks!

Links to the places/products mentioned above:

CVS: http://www.cvs.com

NYC Beauty: http://newyorkcolor.com

What do you think of this DIY? What colors are you planning on trying? If you do try this out, please send pictures!