Fushia is probably too bold for my pale skin.

I'm going to be honest; I'm super jealous of all the blogger women and pinterest posts rocking lipstick.

Source: thedaybookblog.com via Emily on Pinterest

Source: souvenirsofagirl.blogspot.com via Avalon on Pinterest

I have never, ever been a lipstick girl.  I really don't even use lip gloss.  I stick to the standard, boring chapstick.  Seriously.  It's kind of lame.  As a teacher, I don't really get to rock the coolest, trendiest fashions.  It's the standard flats and comfort clothing for me.  I rock (and I'm using that word extremely loosely) the same make-up style every single day.  Oftentimes, I rush home from work to meet D to head to a beer event and/or bar.  On days like that, I look especially teacher-ish in my cardigan and flats.  I've been trying to amp up my going out style a bit more by curling my normally flat, straight hair.  Since a curled do takes me a minimum of 30 minutes to complete, I need a quick fix.  All of this to say, I'm thinking about trying out the lipstick look.

Source: theglitterguide.com via Amy Beth on Pinterest

Sarah over at Wearing It on My Sleeves had a great post the other day on her lipsticks.  She looks especially stunning in Sephora's 0194 B, which is a fushia.  She's also a stunning brunette with darker skin tone.  I doubt this would work for me.

Bring on this advice!  Look at that pale skin (don't be deceived by the bathroom lighting) and light colored hair.  What lipstick would be best for me on a semi-casual night?  I'm just trying to graduate from little girl to "woman" (say what?!  I still don't feel right calling myself a woman).

Tell me your fav lipstick colors and tips for applying!

Taking it easy breezy.

You know as it's getting colder here in NC, and I'm actually wishing for a snow day (before school has even started back).  I'm only wishing for that snow day so I can have a break and a[nother] reason to be lazy.  It really has me reminiscing on our vacation to the Bahamas from last month.

[View from our balcony]

While I wouldn't mind decompressing from the holidays with a post-Christmas trip, it was nice to start off our holidays in the most relaxing way.  We headed out of Atlanta on December 20 and returned late on Christmas Eve.  We stayed at an all-inclusive in Nassau and only left our resort once to check out the casino.  It was a fabulous trip with lots of drinking, laughs, relaxing, reading, eating, and people watching.  I didn't take a ton of pictures (because they would really be most of the same seeing as we spent our days mainly in the same way), but I wanted to share some snippets of our trip.

 [Early airport reading]

 [We seriously had an empty seat beside us on every single flight except our last.  Three outta four ain't bad]

[Bahama mamas upon arrival at the resort]

 [Where we spent most of our days]

 [What a beauty]

 [We spent a lot of our nights playing cards, drinking, and listening to the nighttime entertainment]

 [Lots of blue going on in this picture]

 [Working out on vacation...who am I?]

 [Finally rocking the new sunhat]

 [Spotted a rainbow on our last day!]

 [Casino.  Seriously my first time gambling]

 [Just the two of us.]

 [The nighttime entertainment was definitely interesting and kept us laughing]

 [And you know they were trying to sell us something on the beach]

 [The water was mostly freezing, but expected with the perfect 80 degree temps]

[Definitely didn't mind spending my days with this book]

Let's get real :: finances.

I consider myself to be extremely lucky.  While I don't often acknowledge it, I really am.  I have an amazing husband who is employed in a job/career he adores, and he gets paid well.  I don't get paid well, but I have a job (unlike almost 9% of other Americans).  I'm lucky that I have two degrees and decent experience in fields that are typically easier to find jobs (in case we ever move again).  I'm lucky that we have a house and cars.  I'm lucky to live in the best city to live in the United States.  I'm lucky to have four healthy pets.  I'm lucky we have had amazing opportunities to travel.  I am definitely lucky.

Source: google.co.uk via Dan on Pinterest

Sometimes I have to just get real though.  I get depressed about my financial situation often enough.  As much as I adore the blogging world, it has a way of contributing to the depression.  It can be hard to see amazing fashion posts, instagram pics, and tweets of bloggers' newest, expensive (or cheap but substantially large) purchases.  Sure, I'm jealous, envious, and the like.  It makes me reminisce on those days of working my first full-time, salaried job.  I blew money on all the designer digs, shoes, frivilous items I wanted.  It was amazing.  I mostly limit myself to a teeny, tiny budget to buy one to two new fashion pieces per monthly paycheck.  Some fashions/trends can be recreated with budget pieces.  Others can't.  I just wish I did not have to be so thrifty with my (minimal) spending.  I want to be able to splurge on that $150 item that was marked down from $400.

While I took out my student loans, chose my own (low paying) career, and saved poorly, it often feels like a neverending cycle.  Will I ever pay off student loans?  Will I ever get a raise (none for teachers/public sector workers in five years I believe)?  It's frustrating when the cycle seems like it will never change (you know seeing that last loan payment date as 2025...what?!).  I joked with D the other day that if we ever had kids (no, no, no, we're not even considering it! You know how I feel about that...those opinions have not changed) we would have to sell our pets because we couldn't afford both.  I seriously could not imagine how we could ever afford a child in the next five years minimum.

Source: slumberdesigns.blogspot.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

Nonetheless, I am lucky (plus I have paid off my credit cards!).  When I have a little too much time on my hands, I start browsing blogs more.  I start thinking and thinking myself in circles.  All this thinking coincides with my increased student loan payments beginning next month.  The crazy thing is...I'm not so despressed about not being able to buy all the fabulous designer pieces I see everyone wearing.  I'm more depressed about the thought that I may not get to travel as much because you know that's my thing.

Source: pushthemovement.tumblr.com via Clare on Pinterest

[Except it can when that dream is traveling or college or having a career that requires college or owning a house or...]

On the agenda.

Source: becausewecandoit.tumblr.com via Kristin on Pinterest

While my "loose" goal for 2012 was to run another big race/keep running, I have been brainstorming a goal of running a certain number of races this year.  Last year, I loftily threw around the idea of running a race every month to maintain my motivation.  I don't want to do that again.  Why?  1) If I miss January, I've already partially failed at the goal and 2) I was sick for a month last year.  Sickness can set you back unexpectedly.  I'm also not quite ready to battle all types of weather for running.  I'm quite content using a treadmill still.

My point being...I'm thinking 8 races should be run this year.  Here are a few races I've got on the docket (unofficially that is as I haven't registered for any yet):

FEBRUARY

Run for Roses 5k in Raleigh.  It's a Sunday run, starts at 2pm, and benefits Canines for Service, an 
organization which trains service dog for people with limited mobility.  Sounds like a winner to me!

The NC Torch Run 5k is an early race at 8:30, but proceeds support the NC Special Olympics.  How can I not run a race to support that?!


MARCH


There is a St. Patty's Run for the Green 8k on March 3rd and the Equinoxalizer 4 miler in mid-March.  I love the different distances here.  If I am feeling really crazy (and if KayD is still doing it), I may do the Publix Half Marathon in Atlanta at the end of the month.

Source: maddies-miles.tumblr.com via Kristin on Pinterest

Three months is about as far away as I want to look right now.  Let's see how this goes!  

Gettin' crafty with it.

Looks like someone is being crafty and already sticking with her 2012 goals.  Isn't that the thing with New Year's resolutions though?  They're always easy to commit to in the month of January.

Ps. This is a circle scarf crocheted using bulky yarn.  It's my first "different" project (read: that's not a basic scarf crocheted in simplistic rows).  If you're interested in the pattern, it can be found on Ravlery (if you're a member) or here.

Snippets from NYE.

[All courtesy of Forever 21]

 [And the curling commences]

 [Ready to rock it.]

[Love this fashion decor]

 [Pre Prix Fixe]

 [Fabulous dinner drinks]

 [NYE Grand Marnier cheesecake + Hoppin' Frog Silk Porter]

[Ending the night/ringing in the new year with BFW]

Bring it 2012.

Happy 2012 friends!

D and I celebrated with a delicious dinner, drinks, and rang in the new year in our PJs with BFW in our hearts.

Now to think about goals and resolutions for the new year.  Over the holidays, I guest posted on Claire's blog about my hopes for 2012.  My only real goal last year was to run more.  I feel pretty confident in saying that I succeeded at that.  I still have my 101 in 1001 list that needs to have a bit more attention paid to it.  I plan to take some time to review that bad boy this week.  I have just a few things I want to try and do this year.

Run another big race.  

I'm not sure if I want it to be another half marathon.  I'm still not ready to take on a full marathon.  I would love to beat my previous half time though.  Mainly I want to have another goal race to work towards.  I'll be researching this soon.  Ideally, it would be awesome to plan a big vacation around a race, so we'll see.

Start eating vegetarian.


I've mentioned a few times about my thoughts on going semi-vegetarian.  I'm still going to eat fish, but my plan is to not eat anything that is specifically raised for slaughter.  I'll still eat venison, eggs, milk, etc.  I'm still on the line about beer dinners and traveling.  This is a decision I feel morally ok with though.  After D and I complete our traditional No-Meat January, I'll keep on eating mostly vegetarian.

Keep crocheting.

At the beginning of 2011, I was re-learning how to crochet.  Then I just stopped.  I restarted and made scarves for my sisters for Christmas and have almost finished a Georgia-inspired (red+black) scarf for D.  I really want to maintain this skill/hobby and improve.  I'd love to get involved in a club here in Raleigh.

And there ya have it!  Three simple "goals" to keep me going through the year.  Now to get cracking on completing my 101 in 1001!