Favorites: lip products

The first time I ever wore a lip pencil I was seventeen, sitting in the break room of the local Nordstrom at the annual BP Fashion Board's Christmas party. All of us teenage girls were doing each others makeup and I just so happened to pick the NARS velvet matte lip pencil in Cruella, deciding it would be a sort of unusual risk for me to stray from my usual Revlon classic red lipstick. Then I remember the entire drive home contemplated why they didn't come up with it sooner. I mean it wasn't a lipstick or even a lip liner, it was this perfect little stick that did both in one go. I swore I would save up and buy a stick of my own. When you're seventeen, though, your mind is fleeting and by the time I had the money, my eyes were set on MAC's Ruby Woo lipstick.

I didn't actually own a stick of NARS lip pencil until November, the week of my birthday, when Taylor Swift was so kind as to send me THREE sticks, which would've sent my 17-year-old self into cardiac arrest. Naturally, I fell in love with the lip pencils. They're so smooth you know and they have a sweet scent to them. The only lip product I've ever loved so much was really that MAC red lipstick, but that's because red lips were my go-to for such a long while and it's a nice confidence booster. I mean I know a lot of my girlfriends don't wear red lipstick EVER because they're scared they won't be able to pull it off. Honestly, though, I think it's a rarity for someone to not look beautiful in cherry lips.

Anyway, I wanted to share with you some of my favorite lip products:

Links: NARS velvet matte lip pencil in Dragon Girl // MAC lipstick in Ruby Woo (not pictured)  // Revlon Colorburst matte balm in Standout // NARS velvet matte lip pencil in Dolce Vita // MAC Pro Longwear Lipglass in Whoops! // Revlon Colorburst lip butter in Berry Smoothie // NARS satin lip pencil in Luxembourg // MAC lip pencil in Cherry

The ones I use most often are: NARS Dolce Vita for a more natural look; Revlon's Berry Smoothie for a dewy pink lip; and for a classic red lip, MAC Ruby Woo will forever have my heart.

So, what lip products have you been wearing lately?

Thursday Thoughts

This week was an intense one. I mean for one, I had to write paper that wasn't the least bit interesting to me and then I went to Sundance twice, as you know. I feel like I never stopped and caught my breath this week. and I fell asleep with my laptop still on my lap not once, but twice. Regardless, I had fun. The really good news, though, is that Grey's Anatomy is back on tonight!! And I only have one more assignment I need to finish before Monday, so the weekend should be nice and relaxing. Anyway, here are some interesting reads for you to enjoy on this lovely Thursday evening:

 -   A Beautiful Mess released their new 52 week e-course yesterday and I'm so excited to start!
 -   Farmer Chris a.k.a The Bachelor bugs me, as do the girls, yet I keep watching.
 -   Lets face it, the only person who can walk out of a gym looking runway-ready is Taylor Swift.
 -   An inspiring quote from Bill Nye, the science guy.
 -   Affordable art to deck your pretty walls
 -   On today's episode of why we need feminism...
 -   For those of us who like to read about other people's lives and because I'm obsessed with bios.
 -   I guess invisible boyfriends are a thing now and I can't stop laughing.
 -   Emma Watson inspired the masses during her twitter Q&A session.

What I'm Making:

In October I learned how to knit and I quickly made my first two projects - a grey/ blue blanket and a white sparkly one I gave to my dear friend Caitlin. Now I'm thinking I want to try something smaller and more useful on a day to day basis, so last night I found a pattern from Purl Bee for a pair of handwarmers/ fingerless gloves that I'm wanting to try out! I've tried a sewing pattern from Purl before and it was so easy to follow, so I'm hoping their knitting ones are just as lovely. I'm so excited! I'm gonna go to Harmony over the weekend to pick out some yarn, I'm thinking I want it to be a nice subtle color like a soft pink or an ivory hue, but I might go for something bolder if I absolutely fall in love with the color.

and I might try for the hat as well! What do you think?

picture credit goes to Feeb, from Purl Soho in New York.

Sundance

This past weekend was definitely something. I won't say much because the whole thing is done and over with, but I do have some pictures to show you and a lovely story to tell. First, I should just say that I guess the big issue at hand is that I have this complex where I expect everyone to process feelings, ideas, and consequences the same way I do, which I guess is something we all want. That's a good thing in the sense that I tend to look for the best in everyone, but that's also major flaw. Maybe it's just because I want to be liked, but don't we all? Still, it's something I need to work on.

Anyway, it doesn't matter. At the end of the day, I realized that everything that happened was for a reason and it all worked out anyway. I mean there was a lesson behind everything that happened. With that said,  the film festival was an absolute dream. As you know, I had wanted to go on Saturday in hopes of running into some of my favorite famous people, but I didn't and it's okay. I went on Sunday with my mom and we spent the entire time laughing and talking about everything. I don't sit down and have long chats too often, so I feel like this was especially wonderful.

 As for Sundance, it's my favorite thing about this place. I mean there's not much else I love this much about Utah, but when this time comes around I feel there's such a rich culture here and we don't see it very often, but this place is beautiful. It's so colorful and unique there. And it may sound silly, but my favorite thing about the festival is the crowds. I've always believed that I was born for a big city with large crowds and every time I travel to a city I always have to save some time to walk alone in the busiest streets because those are the moments I feel more at home than ever, and even if it only lasts a short while here, it's so nice to get that feeling so close to home. I wish it happened more. Well, I'm going back tomorrow and I hope it's just as lovely!

p.s. I walked right past the building Lena Dunham was at three times and I didn't even realize until I came home. It's funny how things panned out.

Did any of you guys go celebrity spotting at Sundance this weekend?

Pretty Little Things // 01

These are some of my favorite pretty, hilarious, and dreamy things from around the internet

 1.  //  2.  //  3.  //  4.  //  5.

I found the cat postcards at 1:30am on this one bookstore online that had me freaking out over every other product because literally everything was adorable or incredibly useful. These cat postcards happen to fit in both categories. The pants I saw at the actual J.Crew store when I was up in City Creek last Wednesday and it took everything in me to not take a pair home, and I'm not even one for printed pants usually. It's just that I found these trousers so classy and they're green, my favorite color. As for the candle, I have a lot of candles and they're all heavenly but that one is everything. I chanced upon it at Anthro and I fell in love with it on the spot. Okay so I don't know anyone who's having a baby but if I did I would get them that card because it made me laugh and I think she'd laugh too. And the cat sweatshirt? That's my valentine's day outfit.

So, do you have one of those boulangerie candles? Don't you think they smell EXACTLY like the actual food! Have a lovely Monday!

Congratulations Zooey

 I don't know if you heard, but Zooey Deschanel is expecting her first child! I'm incredibly happy for her and her boyfriend. Since I've been a longtime fan of Zooey, here are a few of my favorite projects she has done:

     - She and Him - especially Classics, Volume 1, and A Very She & Him Christmas
     - New Girl - it's in my top 3 favorite tv shows of the moment and the very best for a quick laugh
     - Elf - best Christmas movie ever, need I say more?
     - this quote ("I brake for birds. I rock a lot of polka dots. I have touched glitter in the last 24 hours! And that doesn't mean I'm not smart or tough or strong") - which I quote at least once a week
     - 500 Days of Summer - my second favorite movie because it's honest and, frankly, something most of us can relate to even just a little bit.
     - this interview - I first saw a excerpt from it on tumblr and it reaffirmed my respect her as both a person and an artist.

Tell me your favorite Zooey moment in the comments and have the loveliest of weekends!

p.s. I have a professor that pronounces her name like zoo-ee and I find that weirdly hilarious.
picture taken by Breezy Baldwin

Thursday Thoughts

so, it's almost Friday and Grey's Anatomy doesn't come back on for another seven days, but at least now the countdown is more reasonable, so I'm okay with it. In other news, I only have two homework assignments this weekend so I'm thinking I'll probably go up to the Sundance Film Festival and maybe, hopefully run into Lena Dunham, as unlikely as that is. Or maybe I'll just stay home and sew a little. Anyway, here are some links I found interesting, thought-provoking, fascinating, or maybe just cool:

-   From this one book I really, really want to read by Miranda July.
-   The modern way to fall in love requires reciprocated staring on purpose, which is a little weird. just a little.
-   Laura Marling's new song is beautiful, to say the least, and her video, mesmerizing.
-   I love how simple, relaxed, and subtly feminine this look is.
-   I may or may not have a jar of this sitting in my fridge for when I feel like I need a spoonful of chocolate
-   For those of us who feel lost and confused - something to consider.
-   I could not stop laughing after I read this review last month.
-   Because selfies are not narcissistic, nor will they ever be.

picture credit goes to Ryan Wilson.

What I'm Making:

My favorite thing about this semester is that I get done with all my classes by 10am three times a week and 9am twice, which leaves me with all sorts of extra time to be creative. Last semester I got a little overzealous and signed up for everything I suck at which made my life a busy, stressful mess. What it made worse was that I had no time to make things or write down how I felt, so I just got grumpier and more frustrated, which led to more late night crying sessions. So now it's nice to actually get to chill.

This week I started working on a pretty new shirt for the spring! I'm using the Archer Button-Up pattern from Grainline Studios, which I actually bought last winter with the intention of making a flannel, but then I never even got around to buying the fabric. I remember I emailed Jennifer from Grainline with a ton of questions about the pattern and she was so insanely nice to me so that's always lovely + I have friends who have used this pattern before with flawless results so if you're in the market for a button-up pattern, I recommend this one. Oh and I should probably mention I'm making View B with the ruffled back.

As for the fabric, I found this pretty cotton voile at Harmony down in Provo. It's from Cloud 9's Palos Verdes collection. I'm pretty sure you can still find some there if you're in the area, but if you're not or you'd rather order some online, you can find some at Jones and Vandermeer. My favorite thing about it is how it looks like an actual watercolor And the pink is so perfect, it's such a natural, pretty shade. I'm so excited to start actually sewing it and to see how it turns out!

Are you guys making anything pretty this week?

What Have You Been Reading?

I recently finished reading Lena Dunham's Not That Kind of Girl and I loved it! I actually bought a copy the day it came out, but I didn't get a chance to finish it until Thanksgiving break. I'm a huge fan of autobiographical essay collections, actually, so I thought I'd share with you some of my favorites and hopefully I'll get some recommendations for my next read.

1.  //  2.  //  3.  //  4.  //  5.  //  6.

I'm thinking maybe I should try to expand a bit and maybe try another genre. So, what should I read next?

Love Always,
Ceci

Welcome, Welcome

 

Hello lovely,

I want to begin this new project by saying that this isn’t so much about leaving the past behind, I mean it's not like I'm deleting my old blog. It’s more about embracing the fact that I don’t know what is to come, but I'm sure it’s going to be exciting and terrifying and thrilling. It’s the same with starting this blog. There’s all this possibility and, dare I say, hope that maybe it’ll be something I’m so proud of one day. The sort of thing I tell people about, and not just close friends. It kind of already is, but that's because I'm ridiculously excited. Anyway, I’m Ceci, as you might know. I’ve never had an actual blog before, if you don't count tumblr, but if you do count it, then I’ve had two before and the oldest one is turning six this June. But anyway, I’m incredibly excited to start blogging on here because I’ve secretly wanted to start an actual for a ages now but I didn’t really do anything about it, until two Thursdays ago at night when I just got this incredible, frenetic urge to just make one already, so I did that weekend.

Anyway, this is going to be my little lifestyle blog. So I fully intend to cover a wide range of topics, from my personal stories and art to fashion and makeup, as well as the fascinating articles I love to find on the interwebs, among other topics. I'm hoping to maybe interview and feature some of my talented friends as well, and of course I'm still going to keep sewing and making things. I’m incredibly excited to start this new adventure with all of you and maybe make some new friends along the way!

If you want to read more about me, go look under my About tab in the top bar!

Have a lovely evening,
Ceci.