Happy Thanksgiving, pretties! Hope you are all having a wonderful turkey day. This is the first Thanksgiving that I'm spending alone, so mine was a bit lonely. My family was going to come, but I had to work on Friday and Saturday so it was a bit pointless for them to drive 8 hours just to spend one day with me. Still, emotionally I really wish they had been there with me today! I was supposed to go to my close friend's house for Thanksgiving, but he had to work and our mutual friend I was going to go with also had to work, so that fell through. Nonetheless, I tried to make the most of the day by baking some Trader Joe's buttermilk biscuits and cooking mashed potatoes from scratch like I do every year at home. I also bought some ready made turkey breast from the grocery store, but I totally forgot to eat them -- ooops, guess I have dinner for the weekend though! In a few minutes, I'm about to go to Denny's with some of my coworkers to grab some late night pie and coffee, so at least I will get some socialization in during this holiday.

It was tough seeing all of my social media friends celebrating the day with their families while I was alone, but I have to keep in mind that it's just one day out of the whole year and I should be grateful that I had the day off while others had to work. I need to keep reminding myself that even though I can't be with my family during this day of gratitude, the more meaningful thing is that I have a loving family and their love and support is always with me, despite the hundreds of miles between us. I also have tons of amazing friends who I know are there for me if I need somebody to talk to or cry with. So even though not every Thanksgiving Day is perfect, the most important thing is that we have people close to us that we cherish and love. Hope you all have a wonderful day of family bonding and weekend of shopping :) 

Beauty Haul!

Welcome to Thanksgiving week! It's officially the week of stuffing our faces with turkey and getting a head start on holiday shopping. November is always the worst financial month for me. There are soooo many amazing deals going on that I tend to overspend every single year in November. December is pretty bad too, but not nearly as bad as November. But how can I resist all the pretty makeup and packaging and holiday decor and ornaments and treats and etc etc?!

As with every year, I got my 20% off VIB coupon for Sephora in the mail earlier this month and of course, I had to go shopping. I was going to buy a lotttt of stuff because I had to spend $200 to renew my VIB status, but after a lot of thought I've decided to just give up on the VIB program. I've been a VIB member for two years now and have finally realized that it's just not worth it. Every year I force myself to spend $350 on products I don't really use just to keep being a VIB member. And to be honest, the rewards just aren't that worth it. Sure you get exclusive deluxe rewards and stuff and yearly coupons, but I just don't buy that much makeup at Sephora anymore to justify being a part of their rewards program. So for next year I think I'm going to switch to Ulta for all of my beauty stuff. You only have to spend $450 per year, which is quite easy to do if you buy all your beauty stuff there -- cleansing wipes, cotton rounds, Q-tips, face washes, etc...it adds up! They carry literally everything I need from drugstore and high-end sides, and I just feel like I have a much more fun experience shopping at Ulta than at Sephora. The Ulta rewards program also seems much more robust with points contributing to dollar values off, 20% off everything coupons 3-4 times a year, and more points earned per purchase. But I barely shopped at Ulta this year so I figured I'd start that in 2017.

Okay enough chatting. Now to talk about the goodies I got.

Clarisonic Mia 2 in Gray -- yes I finally got a Clarisonic!!! My skin has been breaking out like crazy over the last month. I don't know if it's hormonal or from inadequate skin cleaning, so I decided to try out the Clarisonic brush. Apparently it's way more efficient than manual cleansing, so let's see if my breakouts are really from me not washing my face adequately at night. Clarisonic recently had a sale where the dark gray Mia 2 was 50% off on their website so I jumped right on it and got it for only $85! Steal of the season.

Beauty Blender with Mini BlenderCleanser Solid -- Another beauty staple that I just purchased for the first time. I've been applying my favorite Clinique foundation with a Real Techniques Expert Face Brush for the last few months and I feel like I cake on my foundation. I decided to try the beauty blender to help my foundation go on more seamlessly. Plus, using a brush really drags on your skin, so I'm hoping this causes a little less damage to my skin when applying ze foundation.

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion -- Okay for some reason this was on sale for $10 (it's usually $20). I thought I was going to get the baby size, but nope I got the huge wonking full size one! I have no idea why this was on sale for half off because this product is definitely not discontinued. Maybe they were just getting rid of product in the old packaging? In any case, this is one of my holy grail, everyday products that I was running out of and looks like I'm going to be good on primer for the next five years!!

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Radiant Light -- Hourglass just came up with itty bitty baby sizes of their lighting powders that were oh-so-raved-about two years ago. I never picked one up when they first came out because I'm not one for fancy highlighters and powders (especially when they cost $46 a pop), but when I saw smaller sized ones for half the price I figured I'd try it out. Plus, the Becca highlighters are way too shiny for me, and this one seems like a much more subtle highlight for everyday wear. It looks gorgeous on the swatch so I have high hopes for this product!

Sephora Collection Push Back Cuticle Pusher -- I love doing at-home manicures, but with the winter my cuticles get really dry and start flaking. I've always wanted to buy a cuticle pusher, but they're sooo expensive! When I saw this one on sale for $7 along with my coupon, I knew I had to get it. Hoping this pretties up my nails for an even better at home manicure!

Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Fresh Cut Split End Mender -- I got this as a 100 point perk. I've been meaning to try something for the ends of my hair because they get sooo dry. Not sure if this product is really meant for that. I don't get split ends as often as I used to because I don't heat style as much, but with all the pulling and tugging I do for my curly hair, I'm sure I still rack up a few split ends. The reviews seem good so fingers crossed that my dry hair days have come to an end!



So that's all the gems I picked up at this holiday season's Sephora spree. I know Black Friday is just around the corner and there are sooooo many beauty goodies on the preview ad for Sephora and Ulta. BUT I'm going to be a good girl this year and probably won't buy anything from those sales. Instead my money is going to Kohl's  (and possibly Ann Taylor/LOFT). Kohl's has an AMAZING Black Friday sale every year and I just put in a huge ass order this morning for a ton of wardrobe and home staples I needed.
But anyways I hope you all have a great work week, and expect a blog post up on what I did this Thanskgiving (my first one alone in a new city!).

Back to the Grind

Hey guys! Okay, I have like ten minutes to write this post before I have to jump in the shower.
Vacation is officially overrrr and I'm starting my Adolescent Medicine rotation this morning. It's such a bittersweet feeling. I'm excited to start the next leg of my intern year, but holy crap guys I was so depressed yesterday. I really really miss my family, especially now that Thanksgiving and Christmas is coming up, which are holidays I've always spent with my family. It's really depressing to think that I'm going to be spending a majority of the holiday season alone. Anyways, I drove back to New York on Saturday. I barely slept and I was tossing and turning all Saturday night. Then most of Sunday was spent shopping -- I got my Christmas tree, my long-awaited work desk, Christmas cards, and lots of groceries. To top it off, I did a lotttt of holiday decor shopping in Pittsburgh so I had to lug all of that up to my apartment. Oh, and my credit card bill this month is going to be shameful.

But I'm soooo excited because finally got a work desk!! Even after one day, I'm in love. I don't have to slump over my sofa anymore trying to do work, it's such a good feeling. I still have to put my cork board above the desk and once that's done, I'll definitely be doing a blogpost. My apartment is also a mess, so these next few days are going to be spent trying to fix that up. But with the holidays around the corner, expect more home improvement and beauty posts. I did a lot of online shopping so expect a post once everything arrives in the mail. Lots of fun things to update you guys on. Stay tuned! Alright, off to work now :( 

October Favorites ♥

Welcome to November! Crazy to think that this year is just flying by and it's almost time for Christmas. Is it almost time for 24/7 Christmas carols on the radio yet? That's my favorite time of the year. Although this year is going to be a little sad because I'm going to be alone without family for the holidays for the first time. I think after Christmas is going to be even more sad. That time of the year just gets really really depressing.

I finally started playing around with makeup again towards the middle of October! God, I missed makeup. My favorites this month definitely have a common theme. Sheer rosy lip colors and brown neutral shadows pretty much summarizes it. Oh and plus a lot of these are rediscoveries and have been featured in previous favorites, so expect nothing new and shiny here :)

Makeup Geek Eyeshadow in Purely Naked -- I've had this on my eyelids most of October. This is my perfect everyday all-over-the-lid shade that's mostly matte with just a touch of sparkle and sheen. It makes a beautiful matte eye look when paired with Frappe in the crease and Peach Smoothie in the inner corner. This brand makes amazing matte eyeshadows, highly highly recommend if you're new to makeup and want high-quality but decently priced matte eyeshadows.

Burberry Wet/Dry Silk Eyeshadow in Pale Barley -- I really disliked this product when I first purchased it. However, after wearing a few times this this month I realized that it's actually a pretty unique shade in my collection. It doesn't make my eye area look dull and saggy like most other cool-toned taupe brown eyeshadows do, and brightens my eyes without looking too crazy or out-there. Plus, the formula of these shadows is buttery and silky, just like the name suggests. Oh, and let's be honest -- the classic Burberry packaging is everything.

Fresh Sugar Rose Tinted Lip Treatment -- How did I not become obsessed with this product earlier?! I've seriously had a hard time putting down this baby down for the last few weeks. It's such a beautiful sheer rosey-pinky-red color for the fall. Mixed with the sleek packaging and lemon-sugar scent of Fresh products, it's a true winner this month.

Fresh Sugar Shine Lip Treatment in Rose -- When I haven't been wearing the Rose tinted lip treatment, I've been wearing the lip gloss equivalent. Again, a beautiful sheer deep pink-red color for the fall with a delicious lemony sweet scent and super easy application even when you're not near a mirror. Agreed with the name, this product definitely makes your lips shine!

Dior Addict Lip Gloss in Diablotine -- Told you this month it's all about the sheer red glosses and lip balms. I'm sure you guys recognize this lip gloss from multiple other posts. Dior Addict glosses have quickly become my favorite glosses on the market. I truly feel like a princess every time I carry one of these tubes in my bag. I haven't reached for this color too much before this month, but I don't know why. This color is a beautiful watermelon pink that applies so easily on the lips and leaves them super glossy and shiny. Love, love, love the brush applicator.

Sephora Daily Brush Cleanser -- Silly thing to love this month, but one of my new goals for the remainder of the year is to wash my makeup brushes more frequently. I used to hate the old formula of this cleanser because it was so greasy and left an oily residue on my hands and the brushes after I cleaned them. However, they recently re-formulated it and it's soooo much better! No more greasy residue, and my brushes are left super clean and soft.

Fall Apartment Tour

Good morning guys! I got my second cup of coffee right next to me and I'm ready to get some serious blogging done. I'm finally on vacation! Intern year has been flying by (which is both a good and a bad thing) and it's already November. Such a bittersweet feeling. Before winter smacks us in the face, I wanted to share some pictures of my fall apartment decor. This year, I was inspired by Pinterest and bought larger times, that were a bit more expensive, but really packed a punch. I only decorated my living room and dining room, but I'm so happy with the way they both turned out! I didn't know how to dress up my kitchen or bedroom for the fall since they are smaller spaces (and I didn't want to shell out another $100 decorating them!) so I'm going to leave that challenge for next year.

Alright so the first space you enter once you get into my apartment is the living room. The side table next to the couch was really fun to decorate. The sparkly pumpkin that has "give thanks" carved on it was only $9.99 from HomeGoods and really takes the stage here. It looks gorgeous next to the sparkly autumn leaf stems I picked up from Michael's. Next to it, the small mason jar with an owl on the lid has tiny pinecones inside (which you can't really see in the picture here). I've fallen in love with the look of pinecones in the fall. And then I decided to scatter a few smaller knick knacks like some the Halloween-themed napkins from HomeGoods, some candy in a bowl, and these cute fall-shaped coasters I found at Stop & Shop.

Next to the side table is, of course, the sofa. I don't think picture does justice to exactly how bold and beautiful the pillows really look. These were easily the most expensive items I bought this season, but they were so worth it because of how beautiful they make my living room look. They really steal the whole show. All pieces are from HomeGoods. The crimson pillows came in a set of 2 for $24.99, and as a bonus, they multitask for both fall and Christmas. The center beaded pillow is my favorite find of the season, and it was only $16.99! It's a beautiful, beautiful beaded and sequined pillow in the shape of a pumpkin and autumn leaves.

Next we get to the coffee table. There are soooo many gorgeous fall centerpiece ideas on Pinterest. But, I sort of made my own look this year. I wanted to use this gold tray I picked up at Target back in July as the base for my centerpiece. I scattered some cinnamon-scented pinecones with dried leaves and fruit that I bought at Michael's to bring that cozy, rustic, fall look to my living room. I found the jar of beaded pumpkins and berries for only $6.99, and the WoodWick candle (I believe the scent is Apple Crisp) for $7.99 both at HomeGoods and they make excellent additions to the centerpiece since they embody the rich colors of fall. The tray was still looking a bit bare so I found some glittered copper acorns and autumn-colored glass beads at Michael's and added them to gold votive holders for an extra pop of color and texture. All in all, it may not be the most Pinterest-goalworthy coffee table center piece out there, but I really had a fun time making it and I don't think it turned out too shabby at all.

Lastly, the dining table. I'm so so so excited that I finally have a dining table in my apartment. Dressing up the dining table is so much fun. The possibilities are limitless. I wanted to add a dash of plaid to my fall apartment decor, and this tablecloth and cloth napkins really fit the bill with their rustic autumn colors. I recycled my cream-colored placemats from the summer, but purchased the Spice Route plates and bowls from Pier 1 Imports to put on top of them. I have had my eye on this collection for soooo long. It's the perfect shade of crimson for the fall and winter, and makes a bold statement. So happy that I finally purchased these. And lastly, since my dining table is small, I kept the centerpiece simple with just this adorable ceramic mason jar-esque vase containing sunflowers and pumpkins.


I hope you guys liked my little apartment decor tour. It's not as beautiful as the ones you see on Pinterest. However, I wanted to keep it simple, but really make a statement and I'm happy that I accomplished just that. Definitely room for improvement next year, I'm thinking maybe with lights and maybe some more artwork. There's a couple pieces I forgot to take a photo of, like my Halloween ornament tree and my vase with some more autumn stems, but I'll add them to this post once I get back to New York. All in all, I had a really fun time decorating my apartment and loved the way it turned out, especially for a small space. :)