Happy Monday..!

This is how I feel at the beginning of the week, captured to a tee by my favorite Disney princess:

A seventh of our lives are spent on a Monday.

What a pity it would be to waste an entire seventh of our lives - So why not make the most of  our Mondays?!

Happy Monday, everyone!

Julie

The tail end of the Halloween posts for the tail end of the Halloween weekend...

Whilst cat-sitting this weekend for a friend, I realized that Dash had stolen the same costume as me… Here is a feline face and behind… and now to put this incident behind us.

Julie

Detailing, Detailing, Detailing...

Dappled with creativity

The little embellishments and extra effort put into design can truly make the final outcome of your project a million times better.  For example, the little additions that I put into my Halloween costume did wonders for the overall effect of the piece.  I used a jet black liquid liner to do the cat eye and the outline of the spots, and the Naked palette by Urban Decay to fill in the spots and for the base coat on my lids. I used Half Baked, Smog, and Darkhorse.

Printed with design

The tiny little paw prints were actually the design I used to use in high school to represent my mascot, the Panthers!  I remembered how to draw them, figured this fitting for my outfit, and so designed them in a liquid format as body art.  The paw prints were likewise done with jet black liquid eyeliner.

A little goes a long way! And a little addition in the beginning can add a lot for the final outcome.

Julie

The Purrfect Halloween

 Thought of the day: Perhaps Americans have become slightly lazy.  For example, when kids say “Trick or treat!” we just fork over the goods.  Why not say instead, “I’ll show you a trick: I’ll make myself disappear!” and shut the door? Because we spent our Halloween money on “BOOritos” from Chipotle ($3 if you dress up!) instead of expendable candy for them, and after all, they TECHNICALLY asked for it…!  Don’t get me wrong, I do love kids, but you must agree that I have a point here…!  Of course I am just being silly, but I do hope that you had just as good of an eve as I did.

Here is how I did my makeup for the evening:

I used the Naked palette by Urban Decay in Half Baked, Smog, and Darkhorse, with black liquid eyeliner outlining the leopard spots.

Happy Friday!

Julie

Halloween time!

Happy Halloween!

The lovely Despicable Me 2 Minion Halloween
T-shirt from Universal Studios! I want one...!
Click to view or purchase this awesome item!

Do you ever dress up as something, with the realization that you are shifting into that character too, as if you have become that thing?  Oddly enough, I think we do this many times a day depending on our environments.  I do not think that it is such a bad thing, though, or a conscientious effort at all times, either; but rather, showcases our incredible ability to adapt to new situations.

Yet don't you likewise experience times when you purposefully change your appearance or who you are in order to merit enjoyment from people in different environments?  Yet do you see that this is an oxymoron in and of itself?  You cannot change who you are and still  truly be who you are.  It seems obvious, but we often enjoy praise of the costume as if it were praise for ourselves.  But are the praisers in costume too?  And can we experience praise for ourselves fully if others are only praising what is on the surface, or what is placed there?  When really, ought we to be bringing our true selves to the surface to be enjoyed?!

Have a good holiday,

and let your personality shine through

whatever you choose to become on this eve.

Julie

Rearrange and Change

And just like that, it's time for a Change.

One day, like any other ordinary day, I woke up and realized that this is my life - and that I wasn't happy with it.  I realized that I was not fully satisfied with who I was and what I was doing.  Sure, I thought, I have qualities about myself that I like.  But I also have things that I could improve (don't we all?!).  So... Why dink around forever regretting never moving? We have to start moving at some point to get anywhere, to any point.  Why not start today?  My "I'll do it later," I realized, is really just an excuse to buy me more time.  But I want to change now, so why am I even considering allotting myself more time?  Time to do what?  Wish I could change faster while doing nothing about it?!

          And here you are, dear reader, along on this journey of a season of change with me.  Will you dare to take the adventure I am embarking on with me?

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all." 

-Helen Keller; Chiara Ferragni.

Julie

Midweek Medley

Midweek Medley

Oh hey frizz, what's up?
Sporting my fave "faith" ring...

Guys.  This is seriously SO gross but I just opened my post page to start writing this and a little ant just casually crawled across my hand - at least it was tiny!  I mean, I don't particularly mind ants, but what are they doing just chillin' on my hand?! Anyway, enough with the pondering of fascinating life questions such as these...

I don't know about you, but my week has been dreadful so far and it's only Monday! Well, Tuesday now.  But you get the idea.

May I encourage you amidst the particularly crazy weeks to go do something you love? If you don't give yourself a break amidst the craziness, it'll inevitably break you. It's fall - go get some fresh air.  For instance, why not bundle up and go for a casual stroll in the cool autumn weather?  Inhale something into your lungs aside from the worry you've been breathing out?  It is good to experience and focus on something outside of yourself, something bigger than yourself, like the little leaves on the ground dappled with splashes of warm colors.  Leaves fall for a season, and are swept away with the fall and buried, tucked away in the winter to bring about spring again.  This hardship is just for a season - remember that. "This too shall pass."

Julie

Changing the World

Hi, friends.

Changing the World

So I was thinking today ("a dangerous pastime, I know," as Lefou and Gaston from Disney's Beauty and the Beast point out) about how I wish that I could change the world.  But then I got discouraged about this, because I am only one person, and the world is full of many people.   

      When Avicii sung in his new wildly popular song, "Wake me up:" "I tried to carry the weight of the world, but I only have two hands," he points out something richly profound.  We try to help everyone, but often do not have the capability to, and thus give up altogether.  But we forget that we still have those two hands, and can help at least someone, and for that someone, it makes a world of difference.  We may not be able to change the world, but we can change someone's life, which in turn changes their world.

      Pretty soon, this creates a ripple effect, and because we have helped one person and that person has helped another, and so on and so forth, we truly begin to change the world. But we have to begin with the capabilities our own two hands allow us, with one person at a time.  And over time, change will come into view, and our view will change about the magnificence and extent of our own capabilities.

Go and change the world today.

Julie

Halfway there!

Happy "hump day!"

Guys... we are finally halfway through the week. (Thank God!) Well... With no further delay, here is a piece of encouragement that I wrote.  Sometimes midway through a tough week, we need a little extra boost. Someday, I hope to compile all of my writings into a  little book to uplift hurting hearts. 

Out of the box

It is inherent within our human nature to struggle with letting go of things, especially when they have already gone from us.  What we do not realize of this concept, though, is that what we are doing here is actually an oxymoron.  How can we keep holding onto something that is already beyond our reach?  Our grip is empty, and all we truly hold onto is a memory.

          Perhaps you know that you must let go of something because it was not good for you anyhow.  Yet maybe the certainty that came alongside its constancy in your life appears to have been better than the uncertainty you are experiencing now.  But what if the future really is brighter?  We will never know until we venture out into it.

          We ought to begin thinking outside of the box, about the potential wonderful things that the future holds.  But how will we ever know what the future holds if we allow our past to keep a hold on us?  Likewise, crawling outside of the box that your mind is already accustomed to may seem uncomfortable.  But let me ask you this: is the box you are already sitting in really that comfortable?  Sure, it will not stretch you out of your comfort zone now.  But that also means that it will not allow you room to grow, either.

          Additionally, your dreams contained inside of a box are rather small.  But endless open space allows your dreams to become endless.  The inside of a box is dark.  But opening yourself to light is only accomplished by getting yourself, along with your thoughts, outside of the box.

Julie

Welcome!

Welcome!

Fun fact: this is Chiara Ferragni, who not only is my favorite
blogger, but who also inspired my blog.  Its actual birthdate is
on the fourth anniversary of The Blonde Salad.
Picture from http://www.theblondesalad.com/

   So... this is not me. Obviously. (I wish!) Which reminds me... The blog that I originally began on this page just did not feel like "me." So I made a new one.  And viola!  Here you are, dear reader.

      I do not care what you look like, where you are from, or what you love in terms of reading this blog.  You are welcome here.  But I do care about all of those things, because I hope not only to be able to share my story with people, but also to share life with people.

      So here you will find my heart and loves, like writing, fashion, crafting, and me just doing life, like everyone else.

Yes, this is me, friends...
Well, realistically, half of my face...

Julie

Have you successfully made a blog that shares your heart?  Post the link in comments!

I glanced in the mirror, shocked! "Who is that?" I thought? I stood quietly upon my realization that it was me.  But it wasn't me. So I decided to let my true self shine through. I was surprised at how freeing it felt.  This was it.  I was a free spirit.