Beauty Must-Haves

Now I wouldn't consider myself a beauty junkie or guru or anything like that, but I do love me some Sephora and could spend an hour wandering around Target's hair and makeup section. Generally I like to try new products for fun, but I've realized there are a few core products that I can't live without. If you're in the market for any of these things definitely check them out!

First are these face wipes - I don't have extremely sensitive skin but found that these do a great job of getting makeup off at night as well as making my skin feel refreshed. The price isn't too bad either - only around $5 at Target.

Next is Clinique's Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion. I've literally been using this lotion since middle school and swear by it. I will never switch lotions.

For mascara I recently took the plunge and bought Benefit's They're Real! Mascara and absolutely love it. It's a little pricey but works so well and seems to last a while.

My absolute favorite eye liner is another Clinique product - Quickliner in Intense Chocolate. I've found that it really makes my blue eyes pop and goes on in two seconds.

Another item I've been experimenting with lately is lipstick! I love how it seems to pull a whole look together and lately I've been loving MAC's 'Craving'. It's a little bit darker than I anticipated but I haven't had any trouble with it and it goes on so smooth and lasts majority of the day.

These are just a few of the products I use on a daily basis but they're definitely ones I will keep coming back to. I hope you find these products as amazing as I do!

The 7 Habits of Highly Stylish People

While catching up on all my favorite blogs last night I stumbled across this article (via Cupcakes and Cashmere) and found it really interesting and insightful. I also found myself guilty of what they were saying. I have a habit of looking at all my favorite bloggers and saying "oh I want that!". I'm good about realizing that no, I cannot afford that gorgeous Celine luggage bag, but it doesn't stop me from lusting over it. One of my goals this year is to buy pieces I'll wear for longer than two months. I have about 20 shirts in my closet that I rarely wear - most of which I bought two years ago in my t-shirt phase. Since I want to break into the fashion industry I think it's important to have versatile pieces that last longer. Of course it's nearly impossible to craft every outfit out of "classic" pieces, some trendy pieces are needed too. But I'm going to work on bridging that gap and working on truly being stylish.

Tis the Season

Wow, it has been a long time since I posted on here. After studying abroad blogging just didn't seem to cross my mind. Now that I'm on winter break I figured I should get back into it. I read multiple style blogs on the daily and figured I would try to emulate some of their blogging styles into my own blog in the hopes of getting into a rhythm. Now that I'm taking more classes relevant to my major I figured I should work on building my online presence. Last night I applied for the Retail Management internship with Nordstrom for the summer and it inspired me to work hard at this Public Relations thing. These day it's hard to break into the job market and I want to make that transition a little easier. I've been working on my twitter image as well, and my goal is to tweet articles, facts, and other things besides my own thoughts at that moment. I also would love to take a class on blogging so that I could spruce up this space of mine. If you have any tips I would love to hear them! Have a wonderful weekend!

Back in the US of A

On Friday I made the long trek back home to Oregon, and boy is it good to be home. I apologize for my lack of posts, without a laptop abroad it got hard to post regularly. Once my parents made it to Europe we were busy for 80% of the day and blogging seemed to slip my mind. I plan to go through my photos and post about each city once I have time to sort through it all. Thanks to everyone who viewed my blog while I was abroad, last month my views increased by more than I could have imagined and I'm very happy to know people find my life interesting :)

Last Day

I'm writing this post from my bed as I look at my empty closet, and I couldn't be more sad. I was in Sevilla for three and a half weeks which was the perfect amount of time for me to fall in love with the city and the people I met. It's also the perfect amount of time for me to wish I had a week or two longer. These past three weeks flew by just like I knew they would, but that doesn't make saying goodbye any easier ((sorry this is so sappy)). Sevilla is the first city I've been to outside of the US and I've learned so much while I've been here. My Spanish has improved tremendously, I grew close with my host mom and sister, and I became friends with local Sevillanos. I tried snails (thanks Rafa), I stayed out until 4:30 in the morning, and I walked at least 3 miles every day. I swam in the Mediterranean, I met people from all over the world, and I found my way in a foreign city .I had the time of my life.

I know tomorrow will be hard saying goodbye to the family that so generously took me in, taught me about the culture of Sevilla and Spain, and helped me improve my Spanish speaking skills. Tonight will be the last hurrah as we revisit our favorite places and where some of my favorite memories are. I can't wait to see my parents tomorrow (fingers crossed as their first flight is delayed), but no guarantees I won't tear up as I say goodbye to Sevilla. I can promise you though that I will be back to visit this beautiful city and the people that helped make this experience great.

It's not goodbye, it's see you later. No es un adiós, es un hasta luego. 

Vamos a la Playa

So far in Spain I've gone to two different beaches, and different they were! The first Saturday I was here we went to a beach with a lot of wind and fine sand that wound up everywhere. The water was way too cold for my liking and my expectations for European beaches went down, as did my excitement since I have forever been a water baby. Luckily for me though this past weekend we took an overnight trip to Malaga and Nerja, two picturesque beach towns that I fell in love with, especially Nerja. There was a view point called Balcón de Europa, and it was beautiful. The beach we went down to was just as pretty. As soon as we found enough space for our group, we dove straight into the Mediterranean. At first the cold was a little shock to my system, I expected it to be quite warm and it took a little getting used to. At the same time it was such a surreal experience to literally be swimming in the ocean in Europe. After a few hours of fun in the sun we headed back home to Sevilla, where I think everyone fell asleep before midnight which is super early for Europeans. Unfortunately I forgot to put on my sunscreen (sorry mom) and turned into a lobster, but now it's faded quite nicely. Just in time for me to head to Lagos, Portugal for 4 days. I don't plan on leaving the beach much :) here are my iPhone pictures from Nerja! Just like a postcard :) I leave on Thursday for the long weekend and will return on Sunday, can't wait!

{Lindsay}

Catedral de Sevilla

Yesterday after class we had the opportunity to go on a tour of the Seville Cathedral, and I have to say it was my favorite cultural activity so far. Work began on the cathedral in 1507 and according to our guide will never be 100% finished because they are always working on it. It is the largest Gothic cathedral and the third largest church in the world. Located next to the Alcazar (royal palace), the two beautiful buildings are a wonderful representation of Sevilla. Attached to the cathedral is La Giralda, the bell tower. After we turned 37 corners of ramps, we reached the top and got to look over all of Sevilla. The view was incredible. My calves are a little sore today but it was well worth it :) also in the cathedral is Christopher Columbus' tomb, a surreal monument to see.

Yesterday also happened to be the 4th of July! I'm bummed that I missed one of my favorite holidays but it was fun celebrating here as well. Our large group of students from the program donned our best red white and blue and hung out by the river. Someone was nice enough to bring sparklers to share so we lit those and acted obnoxiously American. Some of our intercambios (Spanish friends learning English) had a good time celebrating with us and pretending to be American as well :)

Tomorrow we head to the beach town of Malaga for more sight seeing as well as some beach time! Here are my latest iPhone pictures