Insanity

On Monday I started Insanity. It's a super intense cardio workout program, and I'm so psyched to be doing it. A lot of the workouts remind me of training for track in highschool, and that was one of the best times of my life. I was good, and I was super in shape. I've finally decided to get back there. So, back to Monday. Monday's workout was a fit test. You basically do as many reps of whatever excercise as you can in a minute, no rest, through 8 excercises. For the first day, it actually wasn't terrible. 8 minutes doesn't sound bad, but let me assure you, I was dripping sweat and feeling sore after. It was insane.

Fit Test 1
Switch Kicks: ? (between 60 and 80, lost count)
Power Jacks: 30
Power Knees: 33
Power Jumps: 21
Globe Jumps: 27
Suicide Jumps: 12
Push-Up Jacks: 2 (hahaha)
Low Plank Oblique: 15


It hurt, but my body felt glorious after. WORTH IT.

I loooove stuff :)

http://www.influenster.com/

Check this out! Fill out little surveys, earn badges, and get free samples based on your survey info! What could be better? I just started today, but I'll update with a video when I get my first box of samples!

:)

No shame.

Okay, maybe some shame. Every time I change my Facebook profile pic, I seem to wonder if it's slowly corrupting my mind and I'm becoming vain. Psh. If you like a picture, post it. Simple. <3

Paint

Is fun. These are in progress.

Feedback

Sometimes it's nice to get completely unbiased truth. I have an anxiety disorder and a lot of the time it manifests in daily life as indecision, making it hard for me to be confident in choices. Im basically always seconds guessing and analyzing everything, far past a "normal" level. When I need truth about my outfit choices I turn to Fashism. I've briefly blogged about it before, but I want to revisit it a little. No matter how many of my floor mates told me this dress and cardi matchup looked good, I was still on the fence about it...even till the moment I walked into mass, I was still contemplating a quick change into jeans and a nerdy tee. But, I was already walking next to my friend, so I'd look crazy if I bailed now. I put all thoughts of my daring (for me) outfit out of my head and focused on breathing and not caring if I looked good or not. The butterflies calmed as soon as mass started, and I made it through. Back to my room, I quickly ditched my shoes and stood in front of the mirror. I still don't know about this... oh yeah, that iPhone app. Fashism to the rescue. Looks like my outfit was fine after all :)

Instagram.

Y'all should follow me.

Good on anything

Glitter.

Crafty

Check it out! My friend featured one of my crafty projects on her blog! http://red-wheelbarrow.blogspot.com/2012/02/dorm-sweet-dorm.html

p.s. follow her cuz she's super cool.

Below is a picture of my flowers in my dorm!

Awesome Deco Tip

(Removable) Contact Paper! I found mine at a local grocery store in the area of the store by shelving and organization stuff. I think it was only ~$5! If you make sure to get the removable kind, it works just like a wall sticker and is repositionable. I decided to cut out hearts for my door to be festive. I also covered the front of my drawers on some of my shelf units. I'd recommend using an exacto knife for precise cuts!

DIY Record Bowl

Need:
An old record
Oven (220 degrees F)
Oven safe bowl

Find an oven safe bowl that is about the dimensions you'd like your bowl to come out. When the oven is heated, place the record, on top of the bowl (inverted!), into the oven for 5-10 minutes, or until it's 'melted'. Remove bowl and record from oven, but be careful, the plastic is hot! Using hot pads, remove the flimsy melty record, flip it, and place INSIDE the bowl to cool, this will tighten up the sides and give it a form to cool to. Good luck! Here's mine...

Decorate Your Headphones DIY

 pic via etsy

Sweeeeeet Headphones, Bro

What you need:
embroidery thread
heaphones
scissors

How:
All you are doing is basically making a knot over and over to cover the cable. If you've ever made friendship bracelets with thread like this before, then you'll pick this up quick.

I can't explain it better than Melissa, so check the tutorial out here: http://www.lookwhatmelissamade.com/2011/12/wrapped-headphones.html
Her blog is awesome, so follow her!!!

+ I'm working on doing this to my IPhone cable too!

Another cool idea is to bead your heaphones. How, you ask? One of my friends used what I can only describe as "holed plastic cylinder beads" (thanks ehow), cut a slit down the side of each bead and popped them onto the headphone cable. Easy, time consuming, totally awesome. Check out my friend's  how-to here: http://red-wheelbarrow.blogspot.com/2012/01/listen-to-your-heart.html

color beads image by jonnysek from Fotolia.com

Glitter Pill Box DIY

I pop ibuprofen like it's nobodys business. Frequent headaches and stress results in me always having a bottle in my backpack. The downside to this is the inevitable sound of a hundred pills shaking in their container everytime I move. This makes me feel (and sound) like a drug dealer/ advil addict. Sooo, here's my fix! :) Enter "pill box". Apparently people actually use these, though I'd never heard of them before. I made my own out of an Altoids Smalls tin.

Supplies:
Glitter
Mod Podge
Brush
Plain paper
Small container (pill box)
Sray adhesive (optional)

First, I took my paper and folded it in half to create a crease. This acts as my glitter catcher so that I dont waste any!

Next, use your Mod Podge or Spray Adhesive to cover a section of your pill box. Shake on glitter, over your glitter catcher. Let dry, then repeat as you'd like. (I did at least two coats of glue and glitter for my box.) Top it all off with a final layer of Mod Podge so that you wont have glitter brushing off later. Mod Podge can be decieving in that it may dry "tacky", but give it a few days and it usually hardens/drys completely. If you still have a problem with tackiness, Mod Podge sells a "Clear Acrylic Sealer" that you can spray over Mod Podge to eliminate this.

Don't forget to clean your brush, or Mod Podge will ruin it. :)

Have fun and glitter on!!

Pore Strips! Reviews and more...

Biore Pore Strips:  $6-7 for 8 strips (Drug store, walmart, etc)

Everyone raves about these for blackheads and clogged pores. I was having a little trouble the first time I tried it, so I watched a few tutorials to see where I was going wrong. It’s super important to let the strip dry all the way. It will actually get hard like plaster (or paper mache). I wasn’t letting mine dry long enough! First open the package and take out a strip. Open, and set aside. Wash your face however you normally do, but after you rinse DO NOT dry your face. It’s best to put the strip on a wet face (nose, etc). Place the strip on the area and gently press it down and make sure it’s making contact with all the problem areas. Let it dry for 10-15 minutes. Mine usually take a lot longer than this, so just wait for it to get hard. Then pull it off! I pull from the outside, in…but just do whatever seems best to you.

Overall:  These worked alright for me. They seemed to get some stuff off, but I didn’t see much improvement in the area along the side of my nose where I get tiny blackheads. For the price, I probably won’t be buying these again because I didn’t see enough difference personally. But definitely worth a try!

Michelle Phan’s DIY Pore Strip:  ~$1.00 for about 8(?) applications

Watch it here!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bjOB4zS0uE

If you don’t already know who Michelle is, she’s a famous YouTube makeup tutorial contributor. After watching her DIY Pore Strip tutorial, I was itching to get to Walmart and get some unflavored gelatin. I love trying stuff like this. After following her directions I had a glass of tanish goo… and was so ready to smear it on my face after seeing how well it works for her. Haha J

 My first try, I made the mistake of putting it on too thickly. Beware! It'll take forever to dry if you put it on too thick. Once I had that figured out, it was easy. I think I actually prefer this method to the Biore strips. It hurts a bit more to pull off, but I felt it worked better. Plus it’s cheap! The jello cost me about a dollar, and has 4 mini packets.  Once you know what the mixture needs to look like it’s easy to make small batches and conserve your jello stock.

Pros:   

Cheap, Simple, Effective!

Cons:

Smells bad, Easy to put on too thickly

BONUS TIP!  Use a baking soda/water solution before using pore strips to loosen up blackheads! Check this out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A86nwHnIc1U

CG is back :)

Sorry it's been so long since my last post! If you’re like me, you’re now in the 3^rd-5^th week of the semester. Wow, how time has flown! I’m super stressing with exams coming up later this week. For me, stress leads to break outs. I usually have good skin and only get a blemish here and there….but man when I’m stressed out my skin freaks. As a result, I’ve found some tips, tricks, and products that I really like for issues like this. I’ll be posting about them all week! J All of these ideas are generally cheap, effective, and easy to get your hands on! CollegeGirl perfection!

Today-Pore strips!

the backpack and the essentials

The backpack. If you're under the impression you won't need one, you're sadly mistaken. If you insist on being one of those girls with the big purse, trying to look cool going to class, you'll just look ridiculous. Sorry, true. The backpack is a necessary evil. Get one from a army surplus or sporting goods
store that is hardy and will hold up for 4 years of heavy books etc. and it'll be worth it. Okay, now what this post is really about. I took the time last night to clean out my main backpack from last semester/summer class and discovered a treasure trove of stuff in the many pockets. So, I'm going to share my list of backpack essentials,
sortof an 'on the go' emergency kit if you will.

oil mattifier or blotting papers
mineral powder or foundation of choice
hand sanitizer
hair ties and clips
feminine items
extra keys (room,bikelock,etc)
pepper spray
snack ( something hardy that will keep for a while in your bag)
campus map/ bus schedule
water bottle
pain killers
batteries (calculator, extra phone battery)

These things may seem obvious, but getting your bag together at the beginning of the year will save you from having to learn from experience... lol. I'll add the the list as I think of things.

etsy

Etsy is sort of like an eBay for homemade, vintage, and specialty items. I love browsing though all of the items, they have the funniest nerd stuff ever. But, in practical terms, Etsy is a great place to buy unique accessories at a decent price. I personally have been looking through pillows and such for my dorm, I have a painfully boring setup at the moment. Leave me a comment with some interesting finds, happy browsing!

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Fashism- a new tool for your style advice arsenal

So... I am addicted to my iPhone and this led to the discovery of Fashism. Fashism is a website that also happens to have an iPhone app. The whole idea is that people can post photos of their outfits, clothes, accessories, etc and get the general opinion of the community. Members are allowed to vote the post up or down and comment with opinions or suggestions. I have to say that I love this website. There will always be obnoxious people who will say ridiculous things, but in general people give you productive feedback. I think that Fashism has helped me expand my sense of style, there are so many different styles on this site and you get the honest truth about what people think. Sometimes it's eye opening, give it a try!

Plus it's free:)


:)

The Aspirin Facial- What it is and why I love it!

Why the <3 ? Because its cheap, easy, and effective!

I came across this beauty trick while perusing through beauty articles online. Aspirin is a trusty pain reliever and a must have for headache prone college girls, but it turns out to have even more potential! The main ingredient in aspirin is salicylic acid- you know, that stuff in your acne cleanser- which was originally derived from willow bark. So what? Well, that jar of aspirin in your bathroom can help you avoid and clear up breakouts! It's super cheap, and super easy.

• Take 2-3 aspirins and crush them into a powder. (this can be done with the back of a spoon, mortar and pestle, etc)

• In a small bowl add drops of water 1 at a time and mix, until you have a toothpaste consistency. Careful! A little goes a long way! You can always add more aspirin if it gets to liquidy.

Voila! Instant oil fighting face mask. You can apply this to your (clean!) face and let it sit till it's dry and starts to flake off, or you can use it as a scrub and gently massage it over your face. Then just rinse it off with water and follow up with your favorite moisturizer.

 I use it both ways and I absolutely love it. It leaves my face glowing and super smooth. The only con is that it can be very drying to your skin, so if you already have dry skin problems try adding in some lotion, aloe, or herbal oil to make your own signature mix. I usually mix in some aloe and Neutragena Energizing Face Scrub to my crushed aspirin till I get a good consistency.

Works great as a spot treatment for problem zits, it dries them right out!