According to Amanda: Five Signs that You're Officially a Grown-up

I just found out that I will be traveling for work in a few weeks to Minnesota.  While I'm far from a jet-setting businesswoman, I can't help but feel a little bit more grown-up and adult-like.  I mean, I've never even flown by myself for crying out loud.  I'm kind of nervous.  Of course this got me thinking - dangerous, I know.  How else can we tell that we've truly entered the real world, besides the obvious bills, bills, bills (I'm looking at you Destiny's Child)?  Leave it to me to create a hopefully humorous list of ways that I personally think solidify your status as an adult.

1. You get excited about having your own washer and dryer in your apartment.  I'm not talking about the crappy coin-operated ones that everyone can use in your building.  No.  I mean you legit have your own inside your apartment so that you can wash clothes at 3 AM if your heart desires.  Even better, this also means you don't have to lug your laundry basket home to wash your clothes at your parents' house.  It's the little things that mean the most.

2. You give yourself enough time in the morning to have a cup of coffee and maybe even watch the news.  That's right, gone are the days of college when you barely rolled out of bed with enough time to put on a bra and real pants.  Now you actually set an alarm early enough to make yourself look halfway decent

and

see what's going on in the world.  Major props if you do a full makeup routine too (yes, that's so me).

3. No matter what time you go to bed, your biological clock wakes you up at 7:00 AM.  Even on the weekends, when you would finally have a chance to sleep in.  You toss and turn, trying to go back to sleep but to no avail.  By 9 you just decide to get up and make the most of your day.  And as an even worse slap in the face, during the week when you have to be up that early, you feel as though you could sleep in forever.  Oh the irony.

4.  You receive small appliances and other various household goods as gifts for your birthday and Christmas, which may or may not go unused.  Unless it's an indoor grill that doubles as a panini press.  That eases the reality of no more toys and fun presents anymore.  Thanks Mom and Dad.

5. You rationalize purchases in your head before committing and actually swiping your card.  As someone who used to be the biggest impulse shopper around, I can really attest to this one.  Seeing half of my closet have things with the tags still attached is what probably opened my eyes to this the most.  Now I can talk myself out of buying anything more often than not.  It's partially from being frugal, and partially from having anxiety when my bank account dips below a certain level. 

I had to throw in this hilarious e-card too!

Feel free to add to my list in the comments below!

xoxo,

Amanda     

June Favorites

I can't believe June is already over!  That just means I am getting closer and closer to moving to my new apartment, which I am

so

excited about.  I see many trips to World Market, Pier 1 and Home Goods in my future.  In the meantime, though, it's time for another round of monthly favorites.  This month I found myself using a mixture of old gems and new discoveries, a good balance if I do say so myself.  Here they are:

Not Your Mother's Beach Babe Sea Salt Spray

If you can get past the tongue twister of a name, you will find that this stuff is uh-mazing.  I grabbed this from Target on a whim, wanting to take a break from heat styling and embrace my naturally wavy hair.  Well let me tell you, I love the results I got.  I usually go with mousse on days when I let my hair air dry (I have to use

something

or I end up with a frizzy disaster) but sometimes that can leave my hair a little bit crunchy.  Crunchy=yuck.  Your hair should not look like you just got out of the shower.  Anyway, as long as you're careful not to over-spray, this product will enhance your natural waves and leave you with the perfect beach-ready summery look.  I use it once my hair has air-dried for a little bit so that it isn't soaking wet.  If I need to get out the door and can't let it dry on it's own all the way, I'll use my blow dryer with a diffuser on the low setting to help speed along the drying process.  So far, I am really loving the NYM products that I've tried!

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Tipsy

Keeping with my summer theme, I decided to give this coral blush a whirl for the majority of the month.  It's the first Tarte blush I ever purchased, and I love the quality of the Amazonian Clay line.  The color looks gorgeous against my fair skin and really makes my blue eyes pop.  If you're looking for a new blush for summer, I highly recommend this one.

Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette

After rocking the same eye look over and over again from my Naked Palette, I was ready for a change this month.  Enter the Naked Basics Palette.  Somehow this was shoved all the way in the back of my eyeshadow drawer, so I had completely forgotten about it.  Don't worry your pretty little head off though.  I avoided a near-tragedy and brought it back to life, just in time.  Even though it might not seem like a lot, this little sucker packs a lot of punch.  You can easily transition from a daytime to evening look.  My go-to look is W.O.S. all over the lid, Naked 2 as a transition color, and Faint to deepen the crease.  To amp it up a notch, highlight your brow with Venus and smoke out the outer corner with Crave.  

Esteé Lauder Double Wear Foundation

I devoted an entire blog post to this foundation, which you can find

here

.  To sum it up, this stuff is by far my favorite foundation I've ever tried.  And now that I've been wearing it consistently for a couple more weeks, I can say that it definitely has great lasting power, which is enhanced when used in combination with other products such as a setting spray.  I encourage you to run to your nearest Esteé Lauder counter ASAP and get some!

Urban Decay Naked Lip Gloss in Liar

I decided to take a break from lipstick for a while in June and go for lip gloss instead.  I picked this up back in April from Sephora and I'm really glad I did!  It's a nude-pinkish color that compliments any makeup look effortlessly.  It's not too bold, not to faint, it's

just right

.  Goldilocks moment aside, I know there may be similar colors out there, but from my personal collection this one is a winner.

Merona T-Shirt Dress from Target

I'm going to keep this snippet short and sweet.  After hitting up the Esteé Lauder counter, you should continue running onto Target and grab one of these in every color available.  You can't beat getting an entire outfit for $20.  Switch out different belts and statement necklaces, and the possibilities are endless.  See my BaubleBar haul

post

for inspiration.

Pretty Little Liars

I had to find a new show to watch this month, since all of my usual ones are on summer hiatus.  For whatever reason, I chose Pretty Little Liars.  Probably because everyone is always talking about the latest and greatest episode.  I didn't want to be left off of the bandwagon any longer.  And because there have already been several seasons, I have 96 glorious episodes to binge-watch to my heart's content.  I'm about 20ish episodes in so far, and I am completely hooked.  Give me another month, and I'll probably be caught up to the current season.

So, now that you know my June faves, what are some of yours?

xoxo,

Amanda  

Awesome & Awkward: Horse Races, Working Out, and Old Friends

Who's ready for another round of awesome & awkward happenings in my life?  Here we go!

Awesome: Playing the ponies at Churchill Downs night racing with my best friends.  We lived like millionaires for the night in our private box and all, throwing back $12 drinks and placing bets like pros.  Haha, not really, but we did have a private box which was nice.  Winning some money on a few races didn't hurt either, even though I lost money overall.  Womp womp.  And yes, the drinks really were that expensive, but it was still such a fun night! 
Awkward: I don't even know how to consolidate this story into a short enough paragraph so you don't get confused.  Basically, Chelcey had given our friend Stedmon her phone to use while we were up walking around and grabbing some food.  When we came back to our seats, she realized she didn't have said phone, and Stedmon said he didn't have it either.  Being the best friend I am, I called her phone and lo and behold, a girl answered.  Mind you, it was hard for me to hear this person on the other end, but I immediately jumped to the conclusion that some chick just stumbled onto Chelcey's phone and was going to keep it.  It didn't help that she hung up on me when I asked to meet her somewhere so we could get it back.  In a matter of moments I was in protective mode, about to go find this person.  I may have used a few choice words too.  Well, come to find out, our friend Katie, who was literally sitting in front of me, was the girl on the other end.  They had the damn phone the whole time, and I was so caught up in the moment that I just about lost it.  Of course, I apologized profusely to Katie, because obviously I didn't think she was a b-word.  Luckily they all laughed it off and I felt like an idiot for being so gullible.  Lesson learned from this one, for sure.


Awesome: Chelcey and I tried out some new group fitness classes this past week, and I am so excited to get back into an exercise routine.  We did yoga, Pilates and spin.  I was sore as can be at the end of the week, but it felt great.  Surprisingly, spin was my favorite of the three.  I say surprisingly because I usually hate getting really super sweaty and gross.  It interferes with my ability to go a week without washing my hair.  But, I guess that's the point of working out isn't it?  Having an excuse to buy new workout clothes doesn't hurt either.
Awkward: Oh you know, just being way more out of shape than my fitness class counterparts who were more than twice my age.  It was just a tad bit intimidating.  I know it's supposed to be a judgment-free zone in there, but I couldn't help but judge myself and the fact that I sometimes couldn't even do the modified version of certain moves.  But hey, more power to them if they are in that great of shape.  We all have to start somewhere and I hope I can be that way one day.


Awesome: Having a sister date at Moe's, and then shopping for apartment things after.  Since she graduated and got a big girl job, I hardly ever get to see the girl.  Of course that makes me sad, so getting to spend a fun evening with my sister was just what I needed.
Awkward: Running into a guy friend at Moe's I've known since elementary school but haven't really talked to since we graduated high school.  Of course, he was standing in line right in front of us, and I played the whole I'm-gonna-pretend-I-don't-see-you card because I felt awkward and didn't know what to say.  Then when he said something to me later, I felt worse and had to act like I hadn't noticed it was him.  Why must I be so weird?


Awesome: Running into another friend/former manager from my old job while Chelcey and I were out and about taking photos.  It's always good to see someone like that when you haven't seen them in a long time.  Most of my best friends are people I met at that job, and even though I haven't seen this particular person in a while, he's always someone we talk about and wonder what he's up to.
Awkward: Realizing I give awkward pat-on-the-back hugs.  I hadn't noticed before, but when he went in for a hug I caught myself patting him on the back and immediately stopped.  I think it might be a guy thing actually, because now of course I am very aware of it and I realized I also do this with another guy friend.  Does anyone else do this?  Nope, just me.  Cool. 


xoxo,
Amanda

My Strange Addictions - Mexican Food and Other Weird Habits

Last night, my sister and I went to dinner and did some browsing for my new apartment at Pier 1 and World Market (be prepared for an overload of home décor posts coming soon).  I'll let you guess what kind of food we had.  Here's a hint - it's a certain Monday special.


If you said Mexican, you've obviously been paying attention to my previous posts.  Bonus points if you knew it was Moe's Monday.  Well, that got me thinking about other weird habits and obsessions I have and I thought, why not share them with the world!  So please, no judging.  Admitting you have a problem is the first step, right?....

1. Since I've already brought up the whole Mexican food thing, I might as well explain further.  Between Chipotle, Qdoba, Salsarita's and Moe's, I probably end up having Mexican food at least 3 or 4 times a week.  It doesn't really help that they're all in a 5 mile radius of each other - or does it?  I don't think it's possible that I'll ever get sick of it either.  They're all different, there's no denying it, which is why I don't get burnt out.  It's all about the balance and rotation of which one you eat on which day.  Duh!  Thankfully, Chelcey is my PIC with this one.


2. I love the clicking sound of the keyboard when I type.  Same goes for the turn signal in my car.  I don't know what it is, but it triggers some kind of magical endorphin release in my brain and instantly makes me happy.  Making a turn soon?  Better go ahead and signal 500 feet back to maximize the clicking potential.  Not really, but you get the idea.  I turn that baby on every chance I get.  You won't catch me not signaling a turn.  And with my keyboard, I'm sure my co-workers just love the sound of me clicking and typing away a mile a minute on e-mails.  It's like music to my ears. 


3. Making lists is another thing I might take a little too far.  So what, if I technically already finished something earlier.  I'm still going to write it on my list so I get the satisfaction of crossing it off.  And I don't just cross it off with any old pen.  I have an assortment of highlighters I use.  Color-coordination is the key to success.  But really, I have the short-term memory of a total spaz, so if I didn't write things down, I would get nothing done.


4. Three letters - OCD.  I go into minor freak-out mode sometimes if my bangs aren't perfectly swooped, necklace isn't perfectly centered, or my lashes aren't perfectly coated and separated with mascara.  Ok, maybe I don't literally freak out, but it definitely bugs me.  I've given my friends permission to smack my hand if they see me messing with my bangs or adjusting my necklace.  Now that I think about it, maybe it's just the perfectionist in me.  Either way, it can't be good for me to constantly obsess over this crap. 


5. I have a problem letting things go.  I don't mean figuratively here.  I have a bad habit of "collecting" things that I will never use.  For example, the massive stash of shopping bags that accumulated in the corner of my room for the first year I lived in my apartment.  Also, the stacks of empty candle jars taking over the cabinet under my sink.  I couldn't bring myself to throw these things out, because what if I finally got around to that Pinterest project I pinned 6 months ago?  When I finally did get rid of them, it was a weight lifted off of my shoulders.  Progress.

So, now that you know a little bit more about my inner crazy, I'd love for you to share some of your strange habits or obsessions.  I promise, this is a judgment-free zone.  And as the Cheshire Cat would say, "We're all mad here".


xoxo,
Amanda

A Simple Summer Salad - Meatless Taco Salad

There's a lot of alliteration going on in that title ... ahh high school days and learning about different figures of speech.  Anyway!  On Thursdays I usually make my grocery list since I like to knock out my shopping over the weekend, and I was thinking about what I wanted for dinners next week.  I had my mason jar taco salads for lunch this week, but I still had that craving for a good salad.  Then I remembered this amazing concoction that my Grandma usually has for us when we visit.  And aren't meals made by Grandma about a million times better than what we make ourselves?  It's a meatless taco salad which is perfect for hot summers like we are having now, since it requires no cooking whatsoever.  Plus, it's a little different than your typical taco salad, which is a plus (not that I would

ever

get burnt out on Mexican food). 

You will need:

• One head of iceberg lettuce, shredded
• A few medium tomatoes, diced
• Medium red onion, diced
• One can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• One bag of shredded cheese
• One bag of Fritos
• Catalina dressing

 Here's the hard part - combine the lettuce, tomato, onion, cheese and kidney beans in a large bowl and mix together.  I don't really measure each ingredient, I just eyeball it.  Then, when you're ready to

eat

devour this salad, add the Fritos and dressing for each serving individually.  Also, make sure the lettuce and beans are good and dry before you assemble the salad and it will store well in a sealed container (this is also why I add the chips and dressing per serving).

Ironically enough, my aunt called my Grandma today too to get this recipe, so you know it's gotta be good.  If you try this out, let me know how you like it!

xoxo,

Amanda