Seashells & Anchors

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Top 5 Beauty Secret Weapons

I've found that when searching for new products - whether it be makeup, hair care, or skin care - there are always the same 10-15 items that are mentioned everywhere. Maybe it's because they really are that good..or maybe it's actually because they've got a great public relations team. Whatever the case, I find it to be frustrating. I realized that I have a lot of favorites in my makeup bag or products I use in my daily/nightly routine that I NEVER hear beauty gurus, bloggers, and youtubers talk about. So how is the regular, everyday person, who just wants to find something new or better than their current products, ever going to get true advise? I decided, I'd help get my favorites out there! I refer to them as my 'secret weapons' because again, I rarely see any talk about it...

...so here they are!

Garnier Skin Renew Anti-Dark Circle Eye Roller in light/medium. I started using this about a half a year ago and it's still going strong! I use it almost everyday as just a quick under eye brightener - helps brighten without looking like I'm really wearing makeup - score! The roller has a cooling affect to also combat puffy eyes and it feels so refreshing first thing in the morning, puffy eyes or not. I got mine at Ulta but you can get them at Target, Walmart, and any drugstore.

Dior Diorshow Maximizer Lash Plumping Serum. Let's face it. Some eyelashes need an extra little push...mine especially. Curling and using mascara just doesn't cut it when I really want to amp up my eyelashes without falsies. This stuff is my holy grail. It's considered a serum, but I have honestly never put it on over night to act as a serum...I simply use it as my primer. Curl, prime, mascara and voila! Perfectly curled, 'volumized', long lashes.

Clinique High Impact Mascara. I've tried A TON of mascaras in my life. Free sample sizes are my favorite so I can try them out without having to shell out money on mascaras that claim to be amazing but don't really work. This stuff works. I use this in combination with my Dior primer and it's like a match made in heaven.

Burt's bees lip balm. Plain and simple. I've tried a bunch of others including the ever popular eos egg lipbalm and I hate it...it actually makes my lips peel every time I use it. Burts bees is my tried and true, go to chap stick, forever and always.

Dove Soap. Yes, seriously. Why do we feel the need to spend so much money on 'high end' soap for our body and face?? Dove is proven to be clean and natural, leaving no residue behind. Trust me, I've gotten so many soaps from dermatologists that cost a fortune, and Dove is better. I use it every morning and night. At night after the gym, I will sometimes follow up my dove soap with Neutrogena Grapefruit Cleanser (which I will admit is a favorite of mine). Once or twice a week I will exfoliate with Delecor Life Radiance. 

I of course have several other products I use and love but these are some hidden gems. Have any secret weapons you'd like to share? Let me know!  

Bikini Shopping Tips and Tricks

It's no surprise I love bikinis. It's also no surprise that bikini shopping can be difficult, for various reasons. For me, it's difficult because none of the bikini companies I'd like to own are sold in stores around where I live. Most are in Hawaii, Australia, and maybe LA. One of the difficulties that stems from that, is how in the world am I supposed to figure out which size will be best for me. The size charts rarely reveal what the size really is like-- and if they only sell cheeky bottoms, how cheeky will they really be?! [I've learned, very cheeky...like Anastasia Ashley cheeky] 

So how does one who chooses to shop online get it right?

1. There are a lot of bikini selling companies out there. Most are great and very helpful with sizing. If you're really not sure about sizing, email them! See what the measurements are in inches. Tell them YOUR size and see what they recommend. Make sure you let them know if you want more coverage or less coverage. I promise, they will be helpful...and if they aren't, why would you want to give them your money? Move on to a better shop.
2. The cost of some bikinis can be very expensive. Remember that high quality suits are an investment. I've found that cheap suits only last me one summer. If I buy two or more new, but cheap, suits each summer and they literally only last two months, what's the point of that? To me, $80 and up is an investment. Keep these little tricks in mind when you are purchasing expensive swimwear:

• If I am purchasing a bikini [or anything online for that matter] I will do my best to not pay shipping. Find the shops that always offer free shipping [Zappos is amazing with that] or shops that offer free shipping if you spend a certain amount of money. 
• I also highly recommend free shipping for exchanging/return purposes. When it comes to online shopping, you have to come to terms that not everything will fit like you hoped. Free shipping makes it all better.
• Wait for sales. There's a sale for anything these days. First day of spring, Memorial Day Weekend, Groundhog Day..literally anything. So never settle for paying full price. When there are sales, be prepared to shop right away..sizes will run out.

My latest purchase is like my new baby. Mostly because I've been eyeing it for over a year or so, but also because I make the emoji heart eyed face every time I look at it. My new Mikoh Maui top in 'tropical' is the perfect addition to my collection [yes, I wanted to sound like Ariel there]. I ordered through Bikini.com and I will order from there again whenever I possibly can. Free shipping over $50, so basically any bikini I'd want. When it arrived, I've never seen such a beautifully colored package...they even sent it along with a hand-written thank you note. Something small, but so personal, makes all the difference. So thank you Bikini.com and to everyone else, make sure to check 'em out.

Mikoh Maui top in Tropical

Where is your favorite place to shop for bikinis??

Summer's on my mind

I've been loving practicing my calligraphy lately. It's uber relaxing and I feel such an accomplishment when I can write any word in any font [in the three that I've learned]! It may not seem like much, but having no knowledge whatsoever prior to this, it's a big leap.

So this weekend, on a very rainy Saturday, I started playing around with watercolor lettering. I love the almost ombré effect you can create while using watercolors..and then I started using different colors, and then I used blue and it reminded me of the ocean...and then I couldn't get summer [or the idea of salt water on my skin] out of my head.

So here's to constant waves, warm water, sunny days, and soul in waves.

Lauren Bogosian Originals | Steve Burgos Music quote

Snowga

When snowboarding and skiing, most people go down the mountain at different paces, so you can easily lose the group you're with. Since that can happen, my family and friends often ride for a bit and then stop at an area to all wait for everyone and make sure we know which trails we will take. While boarding in Killington, Vermont this past week, a couple of us were waiting and I decided to see if I could do some push-ups while still being strapped into my board. I could. So I continued to see what else I could do...and that's when snowga ensued. The way my brain worked--"look it's yoga in the snow...snowga!" I thought I was being creative, but then I was quickly told snowga was already a thing. [drats!] Anyway, my brother joined in and we attempted crow pose simultaneously -- which is a lot more difficult with the weight of the board pushing down your feet. We have never even done yoga together before so it was so fun trying to do yoga with a snowboard on while also trying to balance at the same time [for a picture of course]. Sibling bonding at its finest. So here we were...doing warrior poses, crow, and push-ups while people were passing us -- probably thinking we were out of our minds but I'd like to think they really wanted to join in. 

Rome board | Men's Burton jacket (old) | Men's Burton pants (old) | Electric goggles

Burton Feel Good board | Burton pants (old) | Burton Radiant jacket

Wanderlust List

The Internet, mainly Pinterest and Instagram, have aided my lust for wandering the globe. [Is that why it's called wanderlust?] Anyway, when I was young, the dream to travel came in different forms. 

My parents used to get the Costco travel magazine, which I'm sure all members got in the mail, but I of course thought Costco was trying to tell us that a trip was one of the perks to a yearly membership. [I always was a positive thinker..] First place I'd always suggest? Bora Bora and Fiji. Why? I mean, just look at the pictures! Over the water huts?? Is this heaven?! Then there were Mary Kate and Ashley. Those uber cool twins went EVERYWHERE...Passport to Paris, Winning London, Our Lips Are Sealed, Holiday in the Sun, When in Rome...foreign adventures galore! I was happy to live out my inner European Olsen twin dream by going to London, Paris, and Rome after graduating high school. Then I was more than ecstatic to live in Australia for 6 months while studying abroad -- another Olsen dream crossed off the bucket list! While I would absolutely love to go back to those places and discover more parts of the countries, I still have a ton of other places on my list. So here is a quick list of places I'm going and places that I'd love to start planning to go to. Just another snippet into my way of life.

Going:

I have always wanted to go to the US Virgin Islands and after 2 people I knew went in this past year, I decided it was time to quickly book a trip. I have never been so I am so excited to go and absolutely cannot wait [only 4 more months!] I will be staying on the North East side of St. Thomas at the Point Pleasant Resort and plan on island hopping every single day to St. John, Tortuga (BVI), and Virgin Gorda (BVI). I'll be bringing my own snorkel gear to free dive around all the islands and you'd be lucky if you can successfully bribe me out of the water with bubble gum - bubble gum is my ultimate favorite candy by the way, so to say no to that is one of the hardest things I could do in life.

Just a couple weeks from now I'll be snowboarding in Killington, Vermont. I'm beyond stoked. Yes, I'm a beach girl at heart but nothing can stop me from loving the slopes and a full day of boarding and bonding with my family and friends. It's only about 4-5 hours away but for whatever reason, I have never gotten to Vermont! So luckily my family and our family friends will be renting a cabin there for an extended weekend. Our family friends that are joining us have twin 3 years olds who have been referring to it as 'Snowy Island' and to me that is perfect. We're bringing some board games, planning on going to a brewery, got a new snowboard jacket...ahh Snowy Island seems like a dream already!

Want:

There's been a lot of talk around this place lately and with new airfare prices, it's now on the top of my bucket list. Iceland. WOW Air recently announced $99 airfare from Boston and Baltimore each way...that's $200 to go to Iceland! Insanity. Real pictures of the northern lights look like something you'd only see the movies computer generate and its endless natural beauty will make any nature lover go ga-ga over. There are so many things to do in Iceland like wandering gacliers, ice cave tours, volcano hikes, hot springs, waterfalls, ugh the list of amazingness goes on.  The main thing I want to do there? Ride a horse. They're just so cute! Oh yea, and Beyonce has been there.

Pinterest did this to me. Ok, I'll admit it, Pitnerest AND Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants did this to me. The 2016 trip I want to plan is Greece. Athens, Mykonos, and Santorini...maybe throw Crete in their too! Pictures of Greece are breathtaking. So when I'm bored I often just scroll through endless pictures of Greece on Pinterest and imagine what it'd be like to ride a donkey up the hilly paths of Santorini. Not to mention I love Greek food - can you say stuffed grape leaves?! YUM.

Calligraphy - Getting Started

Calligraphy is such a beautiful form of art. When I stumbled upon an Instagram account that had a feed full of talent, beauty, and inspiration I knew I found something special...that account was Laura Hooper calligraphy. I read through her blog and wandered her site, admiring every bit of it. Lately she's been writing words on macaroons with edible pen..how can you not love that?? For months now I see her posts everyday and think of how amazing it is that she created such a beautiful and inspiring business from true talent and devotion to something she loved. Last week, I decided on whim to purchase her starter kit, and if I do say so myself, it was a great decision. 

When combing through craft stores, it's so hard to know what supplies are really good even when searching the internet for reviews. I like to try new things so I don't want to go out and drop a ton of money on something I'd just like to dabble with and find out that it isn't performing the way I hoped. With Laura's starter kit, it's all I hoped for and more. Not only does she supply everything you need including nibs and practice paper, but she also provides instructions and an alphabet. If you've ever thought about wanting to try calligraphy even if it's just a hobby but don't know where to start..I highly recommend getting her starter kit and go from there! And remember, practice makes perfect...oh, and have fun!