tgi ag(reat)h(air)d(ay)

you know when sometimes your hair is just killing it? my hair is today! except for my bangs which are continually trying to sabotage my life... 

ignore my awkward attempt at not having an awkward smile (oops too bad). 

anyways, here's to hoping you all have great hair days today! 

home decor

have you waited long enough?

i'm finally ready to share my easy-as-pie decorating tip. i really wanted to wait until i felt the wall was "finished," but i'm realizing that will probably take a few months of income and inspiration. anyways, like i've mentioned a dozen times, i'm currently broke and trying to make it to the end of august without spending money. 

ta-da! embroidery hoops are super cheap, and so are fabric samples. think $5 for the whole set, and that's rounding way up. simply fill some up, and cover your wall in whatever colors, patterns, and sizes you want! it looks like my hoop is empty, but it actually has a delicately patterned white piece of fabric covering it. to attach the fabric to the hoop, you can sew it up around the back, hot glue it, or decoupage. i went the decoupage route, because i had some glue and know how to make homemade modge podge. i'm going to mix and match hoops as well as some photographs, sketches, etc. (like that little chanel bottle eek! how cute) that i have around my home. hopefully the effect will be a boho-glam gallery wall. i'm going for a "minimalist" look in my bedroom, so my bedding is off-white and a lot of the decor will be as well. i have some lace paper that will be in a hoop too, but i want a much smaller hoop for that, so i'm waiting before i put it up. what do you think? are you digging the minimalist look? is all or mostly white too much for you? 

lipstick love

I bought new lipstick with my leftover grocery money and spare change. oops.

Silly wet hair and the same dress as before. Sometimes I put in effort. 

This is the Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in tutti frutti. It feels like chapstick and is just peachy! Perfect for wearing while lounging by my pool.

Hope you're enjoying your Thursday, and I'm going to share a quick room decor idea soon! 

Popping by to say hello + something i made

Mmm.. I really must get better at updating often.

Good news: my mother is going to teach me how to sew! I've yet to find time (haha?) to actually go to her house and learn, but it's in the plans for this month. I also finally got my library card. I picked up Love in the Time of Cholera, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. He's my favorite author, but I just never got around to reading this one somehow. I'll let you know my feelings when I'm done with it.

It's also stopped raining every moment of every day in North Carolina, so I got to do a little sunbathing. I'm still pale as a ghost, but I think my body needed the sunlight. I've also been doing some group classes at the gym. Have you ever tried Bodypump?? Holy cow, my glutes are still sore two days later. One of the instructors that I loved in high school saw me leaving, and recognized me! He's approximately 95 and the buffest man I've ever seen. Might be an exaggeration, but I'm taking one of his classes tomorrow and I'm scared.

I've slowed down on some of my projects, and I've been watching more Netflix these past few days. Here's a quick and easy project I did a few weeks ago.

It's an easy peasy sticky note calendar! It was slightly time consuming, because I cut my sticky notes to fit the nice paper I had. It's purple and mint green, and I used a silver sharpie. I think it's cute for a calendar! At the very least, it occupied some time. I think it's self-explanatory, but if you need to know how I made it, feel free to ask. 

To end this post, here's some inspiration I found on the super-inspiring The Militant Baker website. 

(As far as I can tell, this is her personal image. I don't claim to have taken this photo!)

the "i can't buy anything so i'm going to show off things i already own" post

I am still not earning any money, so while I anguish over things I find on Pinterest, I am going to try a "stuff I love post." This post will be mostly stuff I put on my face/body. Get ready for a whole shit ton of pictures (lol by that I mean more than one, apparently)!


I rarely wear make up, and when I do it's usually just mascara and eyeshadow. However, I am a lipstick hoarder.

Please excuse the horrible picture quality. Just taking pictures on my MacBook for now... 

These are just the lipsticks I use, I have about ten more that I probably only wore when I tried it on in the store. The 4 tall crayons in back are Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains. I am the biggest fan! They are minty and feel like chapstick going on, but give your lips a pretty kiss of color. I usually just put it on, then use regular chapstick the rest of the night, because the color does layer on. I have Romance, Lovesick, Honey, and Smitten. Honey doesn't show up on my lips, but I was going for something with brown in it. I wouldn't recommend that shade. The other 3, I adore. 

I also want to mention the orange-pink in front, purchased at the height of the coral lip phase. This is an Ulta brand lipstick in Hot Coral (208). I get a ton of compliments when I wear it, and I highly recommend it. At $4, it's really a great deal. Finally, I also bought a matte nude lipstick that I like to wear, but it tends to get cakey. Any suggestions other than to buy a better (read: more expensive) brand? Once I start teaching in the fall, I want to wear lipstick more regularly to appear more mature. I'll let you know how that one goes. 

Okay, as soon as I start making money, I'll buy a camera. 

This is what I wear on a "regular basis." I usually don't bother unless I'm going to church/work/a restaurant. I use a powder mineral foundation, and if I have any blemishes, I use Clean & Clear spot treatment. It works like a charm. For a concealer, I use the double duty bareMinerals Blemish Therapy. It reduces redness and hides any bumps. I am the proud owner of a zillion freckles, so I don't use anything more than a light veil of powder. For my eyes, I use my Sephora lash plumper mascara and stila eyeshadow in kitten, which I'm pretty sure was made by the gods themselves. I like thick lashes more than long ones, and I'm almost out of mascara. Which mascaras do you recommend? 

Backwards type to make you dizzy

On top of occasionally wearing makeup, I also take showers and use lotion. I have what honestly must be the best two shampoos ever. Holy cow, they cost some money though. I have the Paul Mitchell Tea Tree shampoo, which is great for cleansing and smells AH-mazing. My mom used to use this on me when I was a wee child, and so it gives me a great sense of shower-nostalgia. It costs about $13 at Ulta, and a little more at CVS. I also splurged after my last big paycheck, and bought a bottle of Wen in fig. Since it's so expensive, and the bottle I'm estimating would only last me a month, I alternate between the two. Wen is a cleansing conditioner, so there's no sudsy mess. It doesn't make your hair greasy, but leaves it all kinds of silky. 

Not pictured is the Murad face wash I swear by. Unfortunately, it fell out of my suitcase during my recent vacation. Horrible, I know. I have extremely dry skin, and eczema on my scalp and random other spots. To keep my face moisturized, I use this Burt's Bees hydrating mask. It smells like your grandma, but it keeps my face from flaking for about a week, even in the winter. I use Neutrogena light sesame formula body lotion all over, and I love the description they give. I think it fits perfectly: a whisper light skin-silkening moisturizer. I will also use the matching body oil, but it can be so messy that I usually leave it out. Via Pinterest, I found Tokyo Milk which has the most beautiful packaging. I have their hand cream in Excess, from the Dark collection. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm it smells so good. Two of the notes are blood orange and patchouli. It makes my heart go pitter patter. 

Okay, I think I'm done being self-centered and staring at all the things I own. I hope you enjoyed reading my rambling for a while. If you want to see more of the things I love, check out my pinterest account. To end the day, here's a vain half-selfie I took yesterday. 

(I cut my own bangs, so I conveniently left them out of the picture.)

the blues

I've got the moving blues. I've officially moved into my new home. It's lovely, to say the least. I'm living alone, which is a nice change. I've been lucky in my living situations thus far in life, but I knew I wanted to live alone for this next year. I do much better with (a lot of) my own space when I'm under pressure, and with my first year of my new career, I'll certainly be under a lot of it.

Anyways, along with moving, I'm not making any money these days. So, moving to a new city, with no money, leads to a bored little Celeste.

You know, I've thought of the usual things. The library, for one. I went the other day, but apparently you need TWO things to prove residency, and silly old me, I only brought one. I baked a gallette the other night, to waste time. It tasted pretty good, but I didn't put foil around it, and the juice leaked all over my oven and made a smoky mess. For now, I suppose I'll continue my Netflix obsession. I'll check back in as soon as I have something of interest to report.

End of the year goals

I wrote back in December about my goals for this year. One of them was to try new things. I've been thinking about that a lot as I'm getting ready to a new city and start my career. I want to settle on some nice hobbies to fill the void and give me a creative outlet. Here's what I'm thinking these days:

• I want to learn how to make my own sushi. I LOVE sushi. If I had to eat it every day, I would be more than okay with that. I don't think it will be that difficult to accomplish, but I need to invest the time, money, and energy to get started.
• I want to learn how to sew. I can hand-sew just fine, and I like to embroider things, but I want to be able to make things. It'd be nice to just buy the fabric and make a dress that fits me perfectly. 
• Of course, I want to dedicate more time to this blog!

What are your hobbies? Any tips on my hopefully future hobbies?