Subscription Prescription

Like clockwork, the postman delivers a glossy, perfect-bound happy to my door, and just like that, everything (the cold weather, exhaustion when it's only Tuesday etc) is okay again. 

I have a deep appreciation for the written word and an ever fonder affection of magazines. I cannot help myself. Specifically, this obsession has found its muse in InStyle. It's by far my favorite magazine, and I think it will always be (sorry, Vogue, I know this is a mortal sin). Last night, I found the March issue, featuring cover girl Nicole Kidman, and couldn't help but smile. At a whopping 616 pages without front of back covers, I'd say print is definitely not dead (if you care to learn more about my feelings on this, look at the last page of the December 2013 Memphis magazine). Lucky for me.

I haven't nearly had time yet to read through the whole thing but just from skimming I've found a few favorites ranging from the visually beautiful to the practical and helpful.  

The perfect medicine for a blah day.

Botox in a Bottle

{the coveted bottle that travels between my bathroom and my mom's}

I think Emily Maynard said it best when she said she'd be "living under a bridge wrinkle free" when it came to spending money on skincare. You only get one crack at your skin... so I think it justifies spending a little extra moola on the good stuff, and this, my friends, is the good stuff. 

I was first introduced to Nerium AD when my sweet baboosh, EZ E, brought it on our Memorial Day beach trip. She said she'd found this ah.maze.ing. new cream we all had to try. Everyone was skeptical, but me being a junkie for anything beauty-related, I gave it a whirl. I remember saying it smelt like apples. Not bad, eh?

After the trip, I didn't think much of it until I started noticing my forehead wrinkles grow increasingly more visible. I'm one of those lucky gals that has overly expressive eyebrows anyway, and that, paired with arching them every day when I put on my mascara started to take its toll at the age of 23. yikes. 

Then, a funny thing happened. I started noticing Nerium AD pop up everywhere. Molly and Sally swear by it on A Piece of Toast, Catheirne Giudici of the Bachelor even has people wining cars selling it! I was 100% sick of looking like grandma wrinkles in my 20s and decided to give it a try. Baboosh was sweet enough to send me a bottle to try (fo free). I used it, and instantly fell in love. I've recently gotten compliments on my skin, and my mom said she noticed that my forehead wrinkles had nearly disappeared, even when I raise my eyebrows! 

This stuff is that good. I'm even sharing with my mama to see what kind of results she gets.

I agree with Molly when she says this stuff is truly "botox in a bottle," and I'd be willing to guess it's less expensive and more natural-looking than it, too. 

So, maybe I'll living under a bridge since I spend my paycheck on skincare and beauty products, but at least I'll be wrinkle free... and in good company (cough, Emily Maynard).

Black Honey

I'm way late to the party, but glad I arrived. Much like with Zara, once I find these gems (that apparently everyone uses but never talks about) I wonder how I ever lived without it. Enter: Clinique's almost lipstick in Black Honey. 

It's basically the grown up version of Dr. Pepper Chapstick. It gives your lips the right amount of color, looks great on everyone, and feels like (you guessed it) Chapstick. It's also a steal at $15. Seriously, how did I ever live without this stuff?? If you're wondering what lip color I'll be wearing through the holidays... look no farther. 

Flower Power

It's no secret I have a crush on Drew Barrymore. She's the epitome of a carefree, happy-go-lucky chick who is open about her past and optimistic about her future. All admirable traits. 

Among her accolades are being born into an uber famous Hollywood family, getting her big break in E.T., Charlie's Angels, being my favorite Cover Girl, and being hilariously funny in general. She also has a line of wine, a handsome hubby, a cutie daughter and a bebe on the way. So just when you thought she couldn't get any cooler... she goes and creates a make up line--Flower Beauty (of which I am now obsessed).

Now, I already knew about her line, because my mind weirdly only absorbs and retains knowledge of the celebrity nature, but an instagram from Nikki Reed about how fabulous the make up made me take the plunge. Nikki Reed is a new-found celeb obsession of mine I'll address at a later date, I'm sure. Nevertheless, the winter weather has brought with it the return of my "vanilla" skin-tone, and I figured, as long as I was buying new make up... I might as well try cheaper first.

Lo and behold the Flower Tinted Moisturizer, which I'm currently wearing (along with cream blush and berry lip butter). It's seriously amazeballs. And for only $10, I broke my ban of never venturing into Wal Mart again.

So if you're in the market for new beauty goodies, I highly recommend Flower. And basically anything Drew puts her stamp of approval on.

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

Gang's All Here

Blame it on the journalist in me, my love of all things Entertainment (E!), or just plain curiosity, but I don't consider my day "started" until a few things have happened.

These things include, but are not limited to, drinking a large cup of coffee, scrolling through the top news on E! Online, and hanging out with the girls. 

In this scenario, the coffee has 2 sugars and heavy cream, E News is the only legitimate form of news (an argument for another post, but celebrity coverage is one thing a gal can count on in this crazy life), and the girls are my blogger consultants.

So yes, now is the time to insert any joke about cyber friends. Good. Now that that's done, I'll introduce you to the ladies I check in with nearly daily (besides my TNB's).

Sally Ann and Molly from A Piece of Toast. Amy from Dallas Wardrobe. Courtney from What Courtney Wore. Mary from Happily Grey. Julia from Gal Meets Glam. Helena from Brooklyn Blonde. Mackenzie from Design Darling. Alicia from Cheetah is the New Black. Erin from Elements of Style. and last, but not least, Inslee from Inslee Illustrations.


So, meet the gang and see for yourself why they're so spectacular.

Beauty Product-aholic

You know it's bad when: Your sister and brother-in-law stop by where you live to freshen up for dinner date (side note: my bro-in-law is a coach and they live "way out east"/passed exit 25, hence the need to freshen up for dinner without going home), and the only comment he made about my bathroom was "I've never seen so many products in my whole life."

Yep. That about sums it up. 

{no, this isn't actually mine. don't call TLC just yet}

I've often considered a parlaying my unadulterated love of beauty/skincare products into a career, but alas, the majority of jobs in the industry aren't located in good ole M-town.

I don't discriminate between high end products and drug store finds, all I ask is that it smell pretty and at the very least pretend to work (some might call this the placebo effect). Nevertheless, I'm a self-professed beauty product junkie, and I don't care who knows it. My aunt even gave me this ah.maze.ing. storage case for my birthday.

For fellow junkies who allow the downward spiral of trying celeb-endorsed products, I've found a few gems for you.

I've already mentioned my love of Emily Maynard, and her blog, but my new obsession is her skincare routine. (and yes, I'm dying for someone to gift me La Mer if it's even half as good as she says it is.)

{for specifics of Emily's beauty buys click here} 

Another recent obsession is Bobbi Brown (Katie Holmes is the new face of BB) make up and skincare, but considering it'd be a pretty penny to completely switch over..looks like I'll keep dreamin'.

{for the 5 Anti-Aging tips click here}

{click here for above link}

{Bobbi's book, "Pretty Powerful"}

til next time...

{New} Partners

Getting back to a series you might have thought I'd forgotten about, Bachelor Beauties and Their Real-Life Day Jobs. (Okay, so it's a working title, but you get the point.) Back to a few of my fav Bachelor contestants' enviable jobs. The first was Sarah Herron, who works for the famous ad agency, 72 and Sunny. Today, I'm turning my head toward Capitol Hill, and the campaigning efforts of Lesley Murphy.

The blonde bombshell originating from my neighbor state of Arkansas (woo pig sooie) is a successful political consultant at the D.C. office of {New} Partners communications group (hence the post title--and shout out to my favorite politically-minded comms-lover located in good ole District of Columbia, Jessica Carroll.)

 Not only do I find knowing about politics enviable, Lesley knows enough to consult. I'd say that's pretty darn impressive. She also managed to keep her distinct Southern drawl and congenial hospitality among our Yankee friends above the Mason-Dixion line. For that, she deserves some credit.  

 

{Wore her fab Bachelor dress to the inaugural ball... holla}

And then of course there's her adorable style and the fact that she's also a Bachelor "sister wife" (like Sarah Herron).

 

{"CellfieSunday" with her friends = we would totes be friends}

Whether your red or blue when you head to the polls, we can all agree Lesley is equal parts precious and fierce.

*most photos from Lesley's instagram or google.

Ombré Obsessed

As much as I love to hate the Bachelor, I have to admit that I found this past season (season 17 with Sean Lowe) wildly entertaining. First, there was Tierra's eyebrow, her psycho rants, and let's not forget her "sparkle."

 

{image courtesy of another obsession: the Inslee blog}

But one of my most favorite things was watching the style of each lovely ladies vying for Sean's heart. I also have to admit that this season is one of the first (and I've been semi-watching since Trista and Ryan) that nearly all of the ladies seemed super personal and "real," for lack of a better term. I now follow Lindsay Yenter, Selma Alameri, Sarah Herron, Ashlee Frazier, and of course the winner, Catherine Giudici on instagram. 

  
I found Catherine precious from the beginning as I can appreciate the weirdness of an uber-nerd/graphic designer as the type of person I spent hours laughing with in the mac lab at good ole Sammy U. But, that's not the mane (see what I did there?) reason I'm obsessed. Nope, it's her long dark locks that have me captivated, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I have a hair crush on her, and why shouldn't I? She pulls off this look better than most I've seen.

I am envious partially because it'd be super easy to maintain, but also because I think very few people pull it off well. I'm dying to try it, but I don't know how well ombré + curls pair... merrr. Alas, Maybe one day the ever-talented Claire-bear Strate can practice on my hair.

 

Handbag Heaven

As it's almost the weekend and very nearly spring (c'mon warm weather), I find myself daydreaming about weekend travels. JT and I have been making a list of places we'd like to visit, and I found myself drifting into dreams of adventures of weekend getaways to New Orleans (shout out spring breakers, I was there this time last year), Atlanta, St. Louis, and Nashville among others (like my Memorial Day trip with my girls to Litchfield beach). For the perfect getaway one needs the perfect weekender tote, right? 

Maybe I'm just using my hypothetical trips as an excuse to shop online, but either way, here's what I'm currently obsessing over.

A sensible weekender tote:

 click here for red bag link

 found here

 available here

 

click here for monogrammed tote

 

available here

Then, of course, toiletry bags for inside the tote:

 

  

available here

And what better way to enjoy travel adventures 

than a cross-body purse?

 

 

vintage LV, i die.

 click here for tan purse

click here for above purse

If you need me I'll be on my dream vacation, dream handbags in hand.