Midweek Five | July 18

We're halfway to the weekend! I don't know about you, but I've been trying to jump back into the swing of things this week and it hasn't been going as easily as I hoped. With a mile high stack of books to read, blog posts to write, and lots of other things to get done each day, my to-do list seems endless. So I'm stopping in today to share 5 good things from the week so far!

O N E

This morning I got my Day Designer planner in the mail! I won it through a contest with Belle Adore (who I love) and am really excited to try it out over the next few days. I'll be sure to share a review.

T W O

I've been doing a great job of painting my nails regularly and today I opted for a super fun yellow color from OPI. Yellow isn't in my normal color rotation, but I wanted to change it up from the usual colors I wear like Fiji, Geranium, and Spin the Bottle.

T H R E E 

Call me crazy but I had this wild dream last night that I met an amazing guy and he had an even more amazing custom Ralph Lauren sweater with his initials woven right into it. If anyone knows where I can find a) this man or b) a sweater like this, please let me know! This sweater seems pretty close to perfect.

F O U R

Between the Nordstrom Anniversary sale and Christmas in July, I have been itching for fall weather again. I'm wary of the fall approaching because this year I won't be heading back to school and graduating from college hasn't quite sunk in yet, but jewel towns, big sweaters, and dark nails/lips always has me ready for fall. It also has me craving Gilmore Girls reruns and When Harry Met Sally. I'll have to watch both soon for all the major style inspo! Anyone else obsessed with Lorelai's light pink wool coat?

F I V EI just started a new book all about clean beauty and knowing how to read your cosmetic ingredient labels. So far, I have a few hesitations about the book but I'll be sure to do a full review on the blog soon! Also look out for a review of the L'Oreal Lash Paradise mascara as promised ;)

10 Things You Might Not Know About Me

Happy Monday! I've been out of town for the past week at dance nationals for my sister and then at the beach, so I wanted to keep today's post short and simple by sharing some fun facts about me that you may not know!

1. I am a twin!

I have a twin brother, Matt, who also went to Hopkins with me and is like my best friend. We are super close and I loved going to school with him (but no, we didn't decide that intentionally).

2. I danced competitively since I was 9 years old.

I started dancing when I was 4 and then auditioned for my studio's competitive dance team when I was 9. In high school, I danced anywhere between 20-25 hours each week and sometimes even 7 days a week. I performed ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, and pointework, and I also took acting lessons. I even competed at the Youth America Grand Prix and was Dew Drop in the Nutcracker! When I went to college, I joined a similar pre-professional level dance team and was my team's captain as a senior.

3. I only write in blue pen.

My favorite pens ever are the Bic Atlantis pen in blue, and I won't write in anything else 99.9% of the time. I also carry at least 2 Bic Atlantis pens on me always.

4. I am (kinda) trilingual.

I started taking Spanish classes in school in the third grade, and was president of the Spanish Honor Society in high school while also taking both levels of AP. In college, I had a second minor in Spanish Language and Hispanic Culture and I consider myself fluent in Spanish, although I have been out of practice for some time. I also took Italian as a second language in high school and thought that I had totally lost my grasp of the language until I went to Italy this past summer and was able to converse with all of my cousins in Italian and understand everything they said!

5. My least favorite food EVER is eggs.

This makes breakfast super difficult, but I have never ever liked eggs, especially not the whites. I will eat them from time to time (mostly scrambled or in an omelette) but the ratio of eggs to other stuff has to be pretty significant.

6.  I originally wanted to go to school to study linguistics.

I've always been fascinated by word origins and language comparisons, so I thought that studying linguistics would be a cool major. I'm pretty sure I chose linguistics as my preferred major on all my college applications, and then panicked once I got into schools and realized that I wanted to do environmental sciences instead (that in itself is a whole other story). Luckily, Hopkins offered both as majors, so I was able to declare environmental science when I accepted my admissions offer.

7. One place I would love to visit is the Great Barrier Reef.

Seeing Australia would be sooo cool and the Great Barrier Reef is such an amazing natural wonder. The reef is facing lots of damages from climate change so the window of opportunity to see it is less and less, and I would love to make it there before it's too late! I'm not allowed to scuba dive though (because of asthma), so I hope that there are other ways to see the reef like snorkeling or glass bottom boats.

8. My favorite Disney movie growing up was Aladdin.

I loved Princess Jasmine so much and always said that she was extra cool for not wearing a regular ball gown. Even though I was afraid of the Cave of Wonders for a period of time, it's still one of my favorites (and I LOVE Robin Williams as Genie). Other Disney favorites are Mary Poppins, Beauty and the Beast, and the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.

9. I love coconut ice cream.

My favorite is called Coconut Joy from one of the ice cream shops at the beach, and it's so. good. The ice cream base is coconut with real shredded coconut pieces in it, and there is a massive chocolate swirl, so sometimes you get really big pieces of chocolate in your ice cream as well. 

10. I've never lost a sock in the laundry.

I'll end it on a funny note, because most people don't believe this when I tell them. I've definitely misplaced a sock or two before, but it's never been by my own doing (convinced my roommates tried to trick me once or twice though). If I'm doing my own laundry, every sock has always been accounted for when I'm folding the laundry afterward.

Reviewing My Current Makeup Routine

Hi guys! Today I wanted to do a review of my current makeup routine and talk about if and what products I use are already sustainable / natural / cruelty-free, etc. I thought this would be a fun and honest way to start looking at my beauty routine more critically and see where I can make adjustments to live a more sustainable lifestyle!

F A C E 

Smashbox Photo Finish Primer (Reduce Redness) | Smashbox is an entirely cruelty-free brand, and this primer is also vegan! The Smashbox website also lists this item has been paraben-free, phthalate-free, fragrance free and also gluten free.

NYX Dark Circle Concealer | NYX is another cruelty free brand! This concealer is vegan as well.

Maybelline Fit Me Concealer | Maybelline is owed by L'Oreal, whose policy is that animal testing is only done in parts of the world where is it required by law. Given that Maybelline products are sold in places like China where animal testing is mandatory, Maybelline isn't considered a 100% cruelty free brand.

Rimmel Stay Matte Translucent Pressed Powder | Rimmel has a very similar policy to Maybelline and L'Oreal as a whole, which is not cruelty free.  

Elf Beautifully Bare Cream Blush | Elf is known as a cruelty free drugstore makeup brand, and all its makeup products are also vegan. This is even more awesome given the price point of Elf products!

NYX Matte Bronzer | Both cruelty free and vegan, again!

E Y E S

Lorac Behind the Scenes Eyeshadow Primer | According to Cruelty Free Kitty, Lorac may work with suppliers that are not cruelty free, and thus cannot be labeled as 100% cruelty free. 

Lorac Pro 3 Palette | Same applies for this one.

L'Oreal Lineur Intense Felt Tip Eyeliner | L'Oreal again - definitely not cruelty free or vegan.

NYX Eyeliner Slim Eye Pencil in Emerald City | Once again, NYX is both cruelty free and vegan, however this product is not listed as one of NYX's vegan items according to this list.

L'Oreal Lash Paradise Mascara | By this point we know... L'Oreal is NOT CF or vegan !!

L I P S

Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm | Burt's Bees has long been known as a cruelty free company, but just recently began selling its products in China where animal testing is required. Also, beeswax is an animal product which makes Burt's Bees not vegan.

NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams | The SMLCs are unfortunately not listed as vegan, according to the same NYX list. Their metallic counterparts, however, are supposedly vegan.

N A I L S

I use Essie products for base coat, top coat, and color, and Essie is not a CF brand, as L'Oreal is its parent company.

So what does this mean for my makeup routine?

While I'm sad that many of my favorite products are not CF, vegan, or natural, I can't say that I am surprised. I will say that I'm excited NYX and Elf are both CF, since I wear those brands a lot and they can be found at really great price points, which makes trying new products fun and easy since you don't feel bad about wasting lots of money. It would be nice if Lorac had a more concrete policy on animal testing, since their eyeshadows are my favorite. As for the many L'Oreal branded products I use in my routine - it would be awesome to switch them out for more natural products! I am just dipping my toe into this world, and know that testing and trying new products can unfortunately break the bank without proper research before purchasing. I've always prided myself on having a minimal makeup routine that didn't involve fancy brand names or expensive items, but it might be time to look for products that are a bit more earth-friendly.

My Favorite Breakfast

I'm not generally the type of person who eats the same thing every day, but one fun fact about me is that breakfast is not my friend. I don't like eggs (it's a texture thing!) and so I am always looking for new ways to have a filling, yummy breakfast that is also healthy and not super loaded up on carbohydrates. As much as I love waffles, french toast and cinnamon buns, that's not sustainable to be eating every morning and take way too long to prepare, so instead I've opted for healthy and nutritious yogurt bowls. 

I know this isn't any super crazy recipe, and even though anyone can make a breakfast bowl with yogurt and fruit, I thought it would still be fun to share! I always use whole milk plain yogurt instead of Greek yogurt, and add texture by topping the yogurt with granola.

I like to put lots of fruits on top of my breakfast bowl and LOVE any type of berry in the summer. I used blackberries, raspberries and blueberries here, and then finished with a hefty drizzle of honey. One of my favorite things to do is put the blueberries in the freezer and it adds a nice cool touch on really hot days and also makes smoothies a little thicker.

Sometimes if I don't feel like eating my breakfast yogurt-bowl style, I will toss all the same ingredients (minus the granola) into a blender and turn my breakfast into a smoothie instead. I like using a few different types of fruits/ingredients to keep my smoothies interesting and maybe I'll do a longer post on my favorite smoothie recipes in the future!

I don't measure anything really but here is the general breakdown of this yogurt breakfast bowl:

+ 4-5 large spoonfuls of yogurt | I use a tablespoon and take pretty massive scoops, haha

+ granola to cover the entire surface of the yogurt bowl

+ handful of blackberries

+ handful of raspberries

+ handful of frozen blueberries | plus I always snack on them while I assemble the bowl

+ drizzle of honey

Loopy Doopy

Two weekends ago I went into New York City to meet up with my best friends from Hopkins! We talk almost every day but are always missing each other and can't even think about not moving back to Baltimore next year without getting a little ~emo~, so we decided to hang out and get drinks after Josie finished her first week of work. 

I'm really lucky that two of my closest friends live so close to me even when we are home, and there is nothing we love more than looking up rooftop bars in NYC with Instagrammable drinks. Of course, Loopy Doopy at the Conrad Hotel was one at the top of our list. The Loopy Doopy Rooftop Bar is known for its prosecco drinks with popsicles in them, which you can see in the first pic where I am being absoluely ridiculous and way too excited about a boozy popsicle.

All three of us love a good Poke bowl, so we stopped at Poke Green, which was super cute and yummy, before walking around the area and checking out Josie's old high school. I don't spend nearly as much time in the city as either Josie or Jacqui, but I successfully navigated us from the subway station to Poke Green, which honestly was probably my shining achievement of the day. 

Here's Josie standing in front of her high school! Isn't her Zara dress the cutest? Some similar options are linked here:

After walking around by the school, we went to Battery Park to walk around and look out over the Hudson River before going to the bar. Loopy Doopy is on the top floor of the Conrad Hotel, which is so enormous and beautiful! There are so many elevators and escalators when you walk inside that we had no idea which one would take us to the top, until we found some girls who looked like they were also ready to Boomerang themselves cheers-ing and we followed them ;) 

To be honest, we were shocked when we got inside at how small Loopy Doopy actually is! It looks gigantic in photographs but it was really packed and tables were few and far between, especially since there were a few reserved tables for birthday parties. The drinks were also priceyyy but we all enjoyed going for the experience and to say that we had done it at least once. Jacqui and I both got rose prosecco with the Strawberry Basil pop and Josie got prosecco with the blackberry lime pop!

Jacqui's Outfit: similar top / similar skirt / sunnies / bag / shoes

My outfit: similar top / jeans / sunnies / shoes

After Loopy Doopy, we went back to Battery Park to  watch the sunset and chat on the benches by the water until it was time for us all to go home. The sunset was gorgeous and we got to see the river cruise boats go by. Right nearby is the Freedom Tower, so I was able to snap some shots of that as well! It was seriously such a fun, relaxing day with friends. We have lots more places on our list to check out in NYC, like the Glossier headquarters and the Rosé Bar at Skylark. Do you have a favorite rooftop bar we should check out?

Taylor Swift Concert Outfits

Two weeks from today, I'm going to the Taylor Swift Reputation concert! I am so so excited because I seriously love this album. It's very fun and different from OG Taylor's stuff, but I can't wait to see the show and see how she incorporates her old hits. Back in the day I used to sing Teardrops on My Guitar all the time (mostly in the shower) because of this boy I had a huge crush on. I loved her first album but kind of fell off the bandwagon around the time that Red came out, and now I am a total fan again. 

I know that the concert is going to be a photo-worthy event and I want to look for a super cute outfit. I'm going with my younger sister and her friend so it's always nice to dress a little 'older' in those situations. Here are some Pinterest inspo I've found so far:

Look 1 and 2 in particular are opposite ends of the spectrum, but I think it will be a lot of fun dressing for this event since I'm usually that one friend in white jeans, Jack Rogers, and a gingham blouse. I know I'll be out of my fashion comfort zone dressing for the concert, but I'm super pumped about it!

2018 Goal Checkpoint

Happy fourth of July! As we kick off the second half of the year with fireworks, sandy beaches, and good food, I wanted to look back on the goals that I set for 2018 in this post and see what I've done and where I need to be by the end of the year.

+ workout more regularly

I'll admit I haven't kept up with this one. Now that I'm not dancing 3 times a week at school I know that I need to get on track with a workout routine, and I've been doing some research into different gyms and programs. I still need to find something that fits my needs and then I can get going!

+ read more

I also haven't done a great job with this one and as I mentioned in my post last week, sometimes I don't like reading because I feel like it makes me feel / can be seen as a waste of productive time. This obviously isn't the case, and I hope to get better about reading lots of great stuff so I can share it here with you.

+ clean my makeup brushes more frequently

With summer in full swing, I don't typically wear a lot of makeup daily. I've gotten more in the habit of using my fingers to blend and stick to one shade of eyeshadow on the lid if I want more dimension. That being said, I do still use my Beauty Blenders daily so I have been better about cleaning them probably every 2-3 weeks.

+take advantage of social opportunities

I think I did a great job of this one during my last semester at school! I enjoyed myself and went out and spent time with friends a lot, while still finding a good balance with my schoolwork. There are 1 or 2 occasions when I wish I went out but didn't, but for the most part I'm in tune with how much my body can handle and know that I still had my fair share of fun!

+get a 4.0 in my last semester

I was soo happy that during my senior year, I was able to get high honors for my sorority in the fall and then end my career with a 4.0 GPA in the spring. I worked incredibly hard and put in lots of hours to make sure that I was on track to achieve this goal, and it paid off! 

+get a job after graduation

This is the next step for me! When I wrote my initial post back in January, I was gearing up for a major interview with a company whose offer I ultimately turned down. It was an exciting time knowing that I was going into the new year with a potential job offer on the horizon. Ultimately, I knew that the job was too far from all the people I care about and that I wanted something more closely aligned with my major / interests. But, it was a wonderful experience and I learned so much in the process. I'm still in the thick of job applications at the moment, but I am confident that something will work itself out soon :) 

Some goals I have for the second half of the year are:

+get familiar with NYC (the neighborhoods and the subway system)

+stay in touch with college friends

+keep up with blogging regularly

+volunteer with an organization

+begin budgeting and saving

+ travel somewhere new

+redecorate my room 

+wake up earlier

+meditate

Where do you stand on your 2018 resolutions?

Summer Tops You Can Wear with a Regular Bra

coral wrap / pink asymmetrical 

white eyelet / cream wrap / tan stripe

similar chambray / black stripe / yellow flutter sleeve / black ruffle / (similar) coral peplum

This weekend was a HOT one! At home the temps hit 99 on Sunday afternoon, and so that meant spending a lot of times indoors with the AC blasting.

I love wearing easy tops in the summer that I can pair with white jeans, denim shorts, black pants, etc., but I absolutely hate the feeling of having to put on a strapless bra in the morning, knowing that it never stays up quite as well as you want it to. Of course, I know that finding the perfect fit helps this x100, but it's also nice to have some go-to tops for when you're just not in the mood for going strapless all day. 

I am all for finding tops that are bra-strap approved, and are still much cuter than your average tshirt. So, I rounded up some options that you can rely on for any situation this summer, be it dinner with the family, drinks with friends, or a day at the amusement park. And what's better - almost every top here is under $50!