Absence

     I've been trying to wrack my brain for blogging inspiration all week, but frankly, my plate is full. I've got a lot of things going on right now mostly between getting ready to move in two weeks and figuring things out with my job/going back to school. So I may be taking a bit of a hiatus. One of my favorite things that Elizabeth of Delightfully Tacky (Blogger crush alert!) often mentions is that a blog post is much more valuable if the quality of it is well written and important to you, rather than just trying to pump out a whole bunch of posts that may not necessarily be quality content. So until something substantial comes to my mind, I'm going to focus on these other aspects of my life and when things settle a bit I will be back. Until then!

Smoothie Basics: Blueberry

     Smoothies are great. And healthy. So here's my favorite most basic, simple blueberry smoothie recipe. You can easily take this basic formula and run with it, try different berries, add-ins like spinach or flax seed.. etc.

    

Simple Blueberry Smoothie

• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• a little less than 1 cup of almond milk (I don't usually measure this, just add more as needed to achieve desired texture)
• 1 tablespoon of honey

I like to blend the berries and milk first to get those nice and pureed. Then add in the Greek yogurt, honey and a little more almond milk to get the perfect consistency. This smoothie is sweet with the honey and creamy with the Greek yogurt, not to mention filled with antioxidants from the blueberries. I like smoothies for breakfast or for a mid afternoon boost before yoga or other physical activity. Also if you're counting calories, this specific smoothie recipe is about 270 calories (give or take a few depending on how much almond milk you use). 

Modern day Gatsby

    As many of my friends and family know, I love makeup. My everyday make up is usually pretty boring compared to some of my more eccentric night time looks. On Friday I was feeling very Gatsby-inspired (specifically Jordan Baker inspired), and decided to go for a dark and mysterious 1920's look. I strayed a tiny bit because it's really hard for me to not do a cat eye shape, cat eye is simply my favorite. I also left out the dark lips on this one. Dark lips and dark eyes can be so mysterious and sleek but they're tricky. I was pleased with my results nonetheless. 

I use a blend of Everyday Minerals makeup and Bare Minerals makeup. Both make really fantastic products, I have been using more of the Everyday Minerals make up since it's a tad bit cheaper. They sell only online, but their products are all natural, vegan and cruelty free at a good price. They're easy on the sensitive skin and give me great coverage for my acne prone and acne scarred skin. I personally the powder coverage better than a liquid foundation.

Products used:

• Correcting concealer from Bare Minerals (probably one of the best concealers I've ever used)
• Matte base foundation from Everyday Minerals
• Wild Vines blush from Everyday Minerals
• Revlon ColorStay liquid eyeliner (my go-to)
• Everyday Minerals eyeshadow in "Smokey" (currently not in stock)
• Bare Minerals eyeshadow in "Quirky"
• Falsies Volum' Express (waterproof) from Maybelline
• White eyeliner pencil from Rimmel
• Black eyeliner pencil from Rimmel
• My go-to dark brown eye shadow for the brows from L'Oreal

I hope to do a more detailed makeup tutorial sooner or later. I know in our next apartment the lighting is so much better, so I've got a few ideas up my sleeve for then.