5 Tips for Keeping Your New Years Resolutions

We all know the feeling: mid-January, you are back in a routine, you start to get busy with work, friends, studying, family, and life. We all know the story, you miss a few days at the gym “Well it’s Thursday and tomorrow is Friday, so I’ll just start fresh next week” or the “Sure, I can spend $200 on this new purse, I’ll wear it every day”

We are humans, it’s natural. However, I have put together some of my favorite motivators for goals that I set for myself.

1. Write them down!!! It is really the easiest way. Buy a cute poster board from Joanne’s and write down what you want to accomplish. Put it somewhere that you can see it. every. single. day.

2. Tell your friends. Sometimes telling your friends what your goals are can be extremely helpful. They can ask you how you are doing, or maybe they will have a similar resolution that you can do together.

3. Use technology. One of my simple resolutions this year is to drink more water. I have put a reminder on my phone to tell me to fill up every couple of hours. I know a friend of mine got a new app for managing her money, and another got one for a travel fund!

4. Use a planner or calendar on your phone. Write down some mini goals for different months throughout the year now. Then when you are in the middle of summer you can look at your planner and see what your resolution was 6 months ago, it will help you stay on track.

5. Make them public. Blog about it, put it on Facebook, Intsagram, or Twitter. By making them public everyone you know will be holding you somewhat accountable. After I put up my New Years Resolutions I had a couple of people contact me about certain items on my list. It was a great way to stay motivated.

What are some of your tips and tricks for keeping goals and New Years Resolutions?

Don’t give up!! Let’s make 2014 the best year!

-A

Brown Sugar Scrub

This is the easiest, tastiest scrub you will ever scrub yourself with!

Ashley and I made this a few months ago and it was amazing. Smells amazing and makes your skin so soft.  All you have to do is mix brown sugar and olive oil. There are no exact measurements, just add as you please.

We chose to keep it simple using only two ingredients but you can also add honey, lemon or anything else you wish to your scrub.

Let us know what you add and how yours turns out!

Cautionary tale: 

Ashley and I made the scrub and put them in these beautiful glass jars.  I then put this beautiful jar in the shower and one day while I was trying to open the scrub it slipped and broke in the shower. Let me tell you there are few things scarier than broken glass all over the shower while you’re in it! So be careful and perhaps go for plastic!

-A&K

Dresser Makeover

I haven’t had or needed a dresser for what seems like forever.  Now, however, my closet is overflowing…so I dug out my childhood dresser for a much needed makeover. 

1. First I had to give it a thorough cleaning. It was pretty grimey so I wiped it down with soap and water and tried to get it as clean as possible.

2. Then I removed all the hardware and sanded down the entire dresser. I used a medium grain sand in case you    were wondering. Sanding is important because it helps remove unwanted blemishes as well as to help the paint better stick to the wood.

3. After sanding I wiped down the dresser again and got ready to paint! Earlier in the week Ashley and I went to The Home Depot and picked out paint. I decided I wanted to paint the dresser white with teal accents. There are however many different kinds of white so make sure you pick carefully. I decided on Pearl Drops and Mermaid Treasure both by Behr. To paint I used a small foam roller (It helps the paint go on smooth and even with no brush strokes to show through).

I painted the whole dresser white. Because the paint is so light it easily shows imperfections, as well as the wood underneath so I did a few coats of the white. I taped off the edges as needed with painters tape and added my teal accents.

4. I wanted to keep the charm of the old dresser but with a more updated feel, so I bought new white knobs and painted the old ones. After everything was painted and dry I just had to screw on the  hard ware , step back and Enjoy!

-K

Last Minute Halloween DIY

Happy Halloween! A great holiday filled with candy, pumpkins, scares, and best of all costumes! Now if anyone knows us they know that we LOVE to dress up. We both had dress up boxes in college and endless ideas for friends! So if it is 7pm and some friends decide to go out and you don’t have a costume – don’t freak out! Here are some fun (and easy) ideas!

Grandma or Grandpa – throw on your comfiest pjs, some glasses, and slippers! Put a little baby power in your hair and have fun! Bonus points if you can find a cane or walker!

A bottle of wine – Ashley’s fun costume from last year! Wear whatever you want as clothes, make a label for yourself from an old tee-shirt (cut of the top part from just under the arm holes so you can easily slide your new label on), tie a cork to a headband and there you have it!

Ballet dancer – have leggings and pink? Then you can dress up as a ballet dancer. Throw your hair up in a bun, wear the leggings and a light pink top and put a ribbon in your hair.

Ballpark concession worker – got a neon shirt? Pair it with a black pants and make a sign selling hotdogs or cotton candy!

Chef/Waiter – if you have black and white it is easy to dress as a waiter or chef. Pair it with a utensil or note pad.

A florist – wear something springy, get a bouquet of flowers and pass them out during the night (this can work for a flower child as well!)

Lumberjack – pair your plaid shirt with jeans and boots. If you can craft an axe that would even better!

Athlete/Cheerleader – easy to do if you have a friend that was a high school athlete or cheerleader!

Frat guy/ Sorority girl – pair a college tee with a paddle with greek letters

Pirate – stripes and a bandanna are the way to go! Super comfy with boots and either jeans or a skirt.

Dead anything – with the right makeup you can be a dead person for the night!

Today we dressed up for a fun local Halloween parade! We threw together these costumes last minute!

Kira’s adorable ring master costume can be pulled off with a red jacket, white shirt, and pants. She made her top hat with cardboard and a headband! Pair it with some fun elephant or lion jewelry and even a stuffed lion!

Ashley’s gypsy costume is one that anyone can do! A long skirt, intense makeup, scarves, and gold jewelry is the way to go!

Happy trick or treating!

-A&K

Make up Hack!

For those of you that use powder foundation, blush or shadow you know the frustration of seeing that you have product left and not being able to get to it.  This hack however will allow you to get to everything, needing only a quarter and a little leverage.

Take your product and with your container sealed tight turn it over. Most plastic powders have a ridge in the bottom. Place the quarter in said ridge and pop out the bottom. Easy as pie and will allow you to use all your product!

-K

Clean Sweep

We wash our hands, we wash our clothes and we wash countless other items but we may be forgetting to wash our makeup brushes.

So from me to you, here’s a reminder to do so!

To clean my makeup brushes I use Bare Essentials brush conditioning shampoo. You can also use other drug store versions or any other mild soap or shampoo of your choice. I’d suggest you’d go with a gel like soap or shampoo for best cleaning results.  The rest is pretty easy!

1. wet brush, room temp water is best
2. use just a drop of brush cleaner and work the product through the brush
3. rinse brush until water runs clear (here’s where you’ll see all the left behind gunk)
4. squeeze out excess water and re-shape brush so that it dries correctly
5. lay brush out on a towel and let air dry, only use brush when it is completely dry!

It only takes a few minutes and its worth it! Cleaning can help your brushes last longer and help prevent your skin from breaking out. They will also feel great on your skin!

-K

Concerts: some tips and tricks

First off I love going to live shows. They do however require work. I’ve recently bought a lot of concert tickets so I thought I’d pass along a few tips to make buying tickets and going to shows easy and fun.

1. Look early and often: Some shows require tickets to be bought months ahead. The easiest way to know when shows are is to follow your favorite acts on Twitter, Facebook or good ol fashion email. Subscribe to your local venues email list or to sites like ticketmaster and Live Nation. Being in the know can also clue you in on discounts, pre sales, special passwords etc. All great when buying tickets.

2. Make a Budget: This pertains more to large shows. The stressful ones where you have to be ready to buy as soon as tickets are available, there’s usually seating arrangements to pick out and timers rushing you along. This process can be made way simpler by discussing a few things before hand, mainly money. It is sometimes difficult to see full price before hand especially with all the added fees. (Note that if you buy tickets in person at ticket window most fees do not apply, making the ticket cheaper!) Set a price limit with friends before you buy, this way everyone’s comfy with the price and can expect how much to spend. I will not go above X amount of dollars! Remember certain shows sell out right away, and web pages will time out. You may not always have time to text your friend ticket options, better to work out as much before hand as possible.

3. Plan ahead: Keep in mind the venue. Is it indoors or out. How will you get there? Is public trans available? Where can you park? Can you bring in food? Will you be sitting, standing, or dancing etc. All of these are important when planning for your concert. Answers to these questions will help determine what you wear, how you get there and what you bring with you.

4. Dress comfy and cute: Your outfit is important at a show for many reasons. Obviously you may just want to look nice because your in public, but more importantly a concert is an opportunity to dress up or express your love for the music through your fashion. I often try and let the venue and the artist inspire my clothes.

Inspiration first then functionality: Ask yourself “Does this outfit make sense for the event?” If I’m gonna be up dancing/standing for hours maybe the 4 inch heels should stay at home. It is often nicer when your feet are comfy and protected, crowds and toes are not always friends. I’ve also seen people lose shoes like sandals and flats in really packed crowds. Scarves are great for shows because if your in the sun it will protect you, in the cold it keeps you warm, its lightweight and it can add easy personality to your outfit.  One pieces, rompers, long dresses are all great until you have to almost completely undress and crouch in a gross tiny porta potty. If your indoors with nice bathrooms however romp it up.

5. Pack Light: Less is often more for a show  (all day festivals and things like that are a completely different story). Do you need your entire key ring? Do you need everything in your wallet? I always try and pair down to the essentials. Less to carry and less to lose. Car key (if i’m driving), debit card, ID, some cash, phone, camera (if you have it and want to take nicer pics then what your phone can provide) and chapstick/lipstick. That’s it. Usually all fits in my pockets or small purse.

6. HAVE FUN AND BE ADVENTUROUS! Concerts are a great way to blow off steam and just live it up with your favorite music. Shows are also a great way to discover new music. Maybe your friend wants to go to a show but you don’t really know the band. If you have the cash, take a chance you may discover some music you really like!

-K