Swimming With Mantees

The highlight of my trip to Florida was swimming with manatees at crystal river. It's a crazy thought to be swimming and interacting with wild animals that are more than twice your size, but I would definitely recommend it if you are like me and have exhausted your fair share of Orlando theme parks.

There are quite a few companies in the area that allow you to swim with manatees. My sister had a groupon with the American Pro Diving Center. You basically go to the shop, fill out out some forms, rent gear, and watch a short video on manatee conservation. The dive master will meet you on the pier where they take you by boat to wherever they see manatees. It's then a two hour swim with these animals where you can watch them and touch them if you want. When you first get there everyone is really excited to have found them so you all fight for a spot around a single manatee or pair of manatees. The best part, in my opinion, is towards the end when everyone has gotten a chance to interact with them and you can find a manatee on your own and just swim with it without worrying about other people. It was a really peaceful experience and I am 100% glad that I went.

DIY: Clip-In Hair Bows

I've been seeing hair bows pop up everywhere lately, and I think that they are a really pretty touch to add to an outfit. They are also usually super overpriced. BUT they are easy and cheap to make at home, and you can add your own personal touches if you choose to do it yourself, without even picking up a needle. I also think that these could be equally as adorable as a bow-tie for a little boy and I would make a ton if I had one.

What you'll need:

Fabric (1/4 yard is sufficient for three or four or more bows depending on the size)

Fabric Glue

Alligator Clips

Scissors

Step 1: Fold over the 1/4 yard fabric lengthwise one time, the desired width of your bow.

Step 2: Fold that same side over one more time to get a neater edge.

Step 3: Cut the fabric right at the edge of the fold.

Step 4: Fold over one end to the middle of the fabric, and apply fabric glue.

Step 5: Fold the other half of the fabric to meet the previous fold, overlapping slightly.

Step 6: Cut a strip off the original fabric to be used for the center of the bow. It should be about 3 times the desired width of the center.

Step 7: Apply fabric glue to the edge of this newly cut fabric strip.

Step 8: Fold the fabric in thirds, pressing down lightly so the glue sticks.

Step 9: Take the body of the bow and pinch it in the center.

Step 10: Wrap around the center of the bow with the middle fabric, cut to a reasonable length, and glue down.

Step 11: Glue on an alligator clip to the back, and allow to dry.

That's it! There are numerous sizes you can make and patterns you can use. Just be creative with it and enjoy!

Summer Scrapbook: May

May was really exciting for me. The first week or so was extremely stressful because of finals, but after that I had a lot of time to do things that I really missed doing that working and being a full time grad student doesn't really allow you to do too often. Even though it's not really hot enough to feel like summer yet here in Chicago, I crammed a lot of stuff into the past few weeks because I knew I would be starting a full time internship today. I worked mostly on the weekends so I had free time to go out in the city, clean, catch up on tv shows, and I even took a trip out to Florida to visit my sister. Overall, I had a blast. Even though I will be working two jobs, I am excited to see what the rest of the summer brings.

All Used Up: The Past Few Months

So it's been a loonngg time since I blogged about anything. In the meantime, I've been collecting a ton of empty products that have been hiding in the back of my closet. I am extremely happy to get rid of them. There was a ton of stuff. To spare you from reading about different shampoos and lotions that I don't quite remember using, I decided to pick just a few products that stood out from the bunch.

1. DenTec Comfort Clean Floss: This is really boring. It's floss. BUT, no other floss has made my want to floss my teeth regularly. It's convenient, glides between your teeth really well, and has a pick at the end  just in case you need it.

2. Bare Minerals Original Foundation with SPF 15: This is really nice for those days when your skin is almost perfect. It is really lightweight and evens out skin tone nicely. I was actually surprised at how much I liked this.

3. Purederm Sheet Face Masks: I love these. I usually use them at night when I'm studying or doing other things. When I wake up, my skin looks more vibrant and feels really well moisturized. I also like how simple they are to use. You literally just unwrap the package and place the sheet to your face. No messy mud or anything like that. I don't have a favorite kind. I kind of just pick one depending on how I feel that day.

4. Philosophy Love Sweet Love Perfume: This has a nice, crisp, summery scent. I considered buying it for a long time and even got another sample from Sephora. Although it smells really nice, the scent did not last long at all so I think I will be passing on this one.

5. LUSH Angels on Bare Skin Cleanser: This is a lavender and rose solid cleanser from LUSH. I remember really liking this as well. It is extremely gentle on the skin and leaves a nice clean feel.

6. Elf Studio Cream Eyeliner in Black: This is my favorite cream/gel eyeliner. I like it much better than even the higher end products that I have tried because it goes on smoothly and is really easy to work with. The only downside is that it dries out really easy, but it only costs a few dollars so I can afford to buy it more often than normal.

7. Burts Bees Milk and Honey Lotion: This smells soo delicious without being overpowering and hydrates for an extremely long time. I had the travel size and every time I used it in class someone different would tell me that it smells really good. I wish they sold the travel size individually and not in the prepackaged sets.

8. Vitamin Stick Lipbalm with SPF 20 in kiwi strawberry: I had a love hate relationship with this chapstick. I loved that it was wide enough to cover a huge surface area, it had SPF 20, and it smelled really nice. However, it left this weird aftertaste of petroleum that I did not enjoy. There are definitely better chapsticks out there.

9. Clinique Cream Stick Blush in Rosy Blush: This is the perfect pink/rose color for the work. It added a subtle flush to my skin, lasted a long time, and was really light on my skin.

Currently Loving 1.28.13

Revlon just bitten kissable balm stain in honey

Everyone talks about these, deservingly so. They are worth all the hype.

This color  is my favorite. It's subtle yet pulls your whole face together.

Chai tea lattes

I've been carrying this stuff around with me everywhere.

The amount of sugar in the pre-made chai tea lattes is ridiculous. 

I just add my own sugar and milk to the tea. 

Perfection.

Jokes rarely make me laugh out loud

here's an exception

Sparkling Icicles Candle

Candles make studying a little more tolerable.

This scent was part of the holiday collection.

It's musky and smells like a hug from hunk.

This song is on repeat (Miguel "do you")

I'ts been weeks since I first heard this song and I still can't get it out of my head.

my go to winter hair product

I buy this every year because it does such a great job at 

keeping my hair hydrated and static free.

It's cheap, I love the packaging, and it smells really good.

mini pizza

Tomato and Basil Pizza (fresh torn basil after cooking may have gone a little better but it was still yummy)

I'm always down for quick and easy meals that are relatively healthy for you. This is one that I've been doing for quite some time now that never seems to get old because you can change it up so many ways.

All you do is split a 100 calorie sandwich thin in half, spread some seasoned tomato sauce or pizza sauce on there, and put cheese and any other toppings that you want on there. Throw it in the oven at 375 for about 10 minutes or until the cheese browns and you're good to go. Consider it the adult form of those pizza lunchables. Enjoy!

2012 In Review: A Look Back, A Look Forward (Picture Heavy)

Happy New Year! Last year's resolutions didn't hold until the very end so I decided to to come up with more concrete resolutions this year. I'm excited to see what 2013 has to bring.

drink a lot of water

take a daily multivitamin

work out at least 5 times a week

put money into my savings account

eat out 1 or less times a week

don't get behind in school

clean up daily