Natural Beauty: Lavender Oil

One thing I missed most about Goldteef was getting to dish about my favorite natural beauty discoveries and disasters (don't worry, more to come on that!).  One little epiphany I had was while dealing with my post-finals stress face...which means yicky cystic acne that takes weeks to resolve.  I'm sure my steady intake of treats and sweets didn't help matters much, but I can count on a really stressful time in my life manifesting itself on my face!

Enter soothing and serene essential lavender oil.  I've been using it for years to scent my sweet almond oil or grapeseed oil I use as a body moisturizer, I even have gone so far as to put it in my humidifier at night when I have a cold or need to relax.  I've never thought about putting it on my face!

One evening, after washing my sad and broken-out face, I thought I'd give lavender oil a whirl applied directly to my craters.  Now, before you go slathering essential oils all over your face willy-nilly, be warned that some essential oils are much too strong for direct application (I'm looking at you, tea tree oil!) and must be "cut" with a carrier oil, such as jojoba or coconut oil.  This means I was literally a skin-care-Columbus, applying straight lavender oil directly to my face.

I OOZE adventure, people.

Wishes Wednesday

Everyone who know me knows I have an Isabel Marant problem.  I have yet to become an owner of a single article of clothing she has made, but I am always in search of a nice dupe.  I don't know about you, but spending $640 on a pair of sneakers seems more than a little insane.

What else is a little insane is how much I am into the wedge-sneaker look!  I tried to fight it, I really really did, but LOOK at how cute the sneaks look with skinny jeans!  I'm not that into the light on light look here, but with some dark skinnies and a slouchy tee...?  Hel-lo, spring!

But back to this $640 issue.

The Ghost on Sunday Morning

I've been going to Barre class as a way to excercise for almost two years now.  I love that it is a way to turn my brain off, dance a little, and combat the hours I spend each day sitting at a desk hunched over my laptop.  In the two years I've been going to Barre, I've never been jolted out of my hourly reverie in the way I was last Sunday.

As I was stretching before class, the typical soft Sunday morning chatter was filling the studio: grumblings about the fresh snow, who had stayed out a little too late the night before, and the best remedies for this infernal cold that has been going around.   All of this conversation dropped of a cliff of awkward, chilling silence when a new Barre attendee padded into the room.

To say this woman was ill would be an understatement.  Her hands and feet mimicked that of a marionette, too large and heavy to be on such frail and spindly appendages.  An ankle was wrapped tightly in athletic tape, nearly double the size of the other ankle.  Her sunken cheeks were emphasized by her swollen salivary glands and puffy eyes.  When she removed her baggy sweatshirt, the silence in the class turned over on itself...there was a collective need, wish, hope of health and healing for this ghost of a woman.

The entire hour after class began was spent strategically casting my gaze in directions away from this woman.  Nobody wants to stare.  Nobody wants to be rude.  Nobody wants to talk about the ghost in the room.

Music Monday and No Big Deal

 

I know, I know it been, like, too long and stuff.  LOTS has happened in the past 6-7 months in 'Teefland.  I'm sure many of you have also had the holidays, a new year, crazy winter weather, and birthdays to celebrate. 

In all honesty, all I've been up to is plugging away at this graduate school malarkey for what seems like juuuuust a little too long.  I guess that's what I get for going back for round 2.  I could bore you with all of the details that come with thesis-writing, research, clinical rotations.....*snore*, but I won't.  I hope to be back here a little more than twice a year to escape that grown-up snoozefest!

SO to start off another Music Monday, here's a band that I'd discovered a few years ago, forgot about, and rediscovered.  Kind of like watching a movie you liked that didn't make it to your "favorites of all time" list, forgetting the ending and watching again 10 years later and really liking it all over again!  (Side note: THIS happened just the other day when I watched Fried Green Tomatoes and cried like a baby! P.S.  Idgie is so cool.)

So, to sum it all up, hi, missed you, and hope to be back real soon.

xo.

The Robin

Time passed in my twenties like a silent-winged robin.  Soundlessly flitting by, looking down on me from above as I spent sleepless, happy nights learning the roadmaps of Salt Lake City's streets and my now-husband's heart.  Time's feathers would ease the clock along, pushing gently towards my "future."  I would sleep though a season and awaken to slightly burnished leaves or freshly-fallen snow, knowing that time was coasting by, but at a pace with which I was comfortable.

I soon had life events that began to mark the passing time: study abroads, graduate degrees, marriage, and the like.  Sure, I'd find another silver bastard hair nestled in my dark roots every so often, but I had a job and peers that seemed to stay the same.  All of us still excited for what lay ahead, we seemed not to stagnate, but float on the wave that carried us year-to-year.

Today marks the third anniversary since I've been lucky enough to call the love of my life "husband."  I can honestly say it feels like it's been about six months since our wedding and I am reeling from how quickly these past three years have spun by us.  I have a slingshot aimed at that damned robin now, it has been much too sly in pushing the clock along now that I've found my partner in crime!

Does the time pass more quickly because we are older? Or is it because we are busier?

This upcoming year I hope to spend more time with my husband, because he has only improved with time.  I want to spend more time with the caring, strong, and hilarious man that kept me up all of those warm and blurry summer nights.  I want to thank him for carrying me through two graduate degrees and the harrows of adult life.  It is so easy to get caught up in the little details and busy-ness of day-to-day life and ignore the things we've been living for all along.

To my Shug, I thank you for being my husband and for loving me.  I love you.

Oh, hai.

Why, hello!  Where have you been for the last half-year, you ask?  Oh, just caught up in the ever-quickening pace of adulthood.  And let me tell you, the perks...let's just say they be few and far between.

The crap no one ever tells you about being a grown up include:

Friday Link Love and Lovelies

Whew, you guys.  These past few weeks have been...well, let's just say I'm in need of some sweet distractions.  Midterms and my research proposal were honestly the least of my worries.  I am really thankful that I get a week of Spring Break to spend with my family, especially Sissyteef!

Over the break I'm going to try my hand at some DIY projects.  These are a couple of projects you may have seen from my Twitter stream!  While my clay beads didn't really turn out as I had expected, my gold- and copper- dipped vases were a success!

I'm looking forward to time to relax, do a little spring cleaning, go to brunch, and barre class, too!

Here's to a restful, restorative, and creative weekend!

I just may DIY this Spring Break!

I've been swooning over Rodarte's star clips, now I can make them!

Or I could make a veiled beanie...Chic and cozy!

Leopard print nails are fun!

Imma make this and then inhale.

Maybe I'll fix up mah hairz this pretty way.

And this DIY takes the cake!  I will hopefully have one to show you!

xo.