Hoot Hoot: Are Owls Cute?

Wall Owls

Today I was flipping through some of the vintage shops on Etsy, and I noticed that I was oddly drawn toward vintage owls. I've never really felt one way or the other about owls, if anything I've always thought they were a bit cheesy, but all of a sudden I am liking them. They look quirky, and sort of cute. Either that or I am losing my mind.
An owl family is cute, isn't it?

And this sweet glass owl?
And c'mon, how adorable is this little guy?

Tell me, am I insane or are owls, like, really cute?

Brass owls via bluebellbazaar. The other three are via OliveVintage.

It's Fat Tuesday!

Just an excuse to eat extra brownies. Or wear a sweet pink mask like this one from Etsy. I chose the brownies.

Image via artisanmaskers.

Spending Hiatus Update: Week Five

There's not a ton to say about the spending hiatus this week, to be honest. I was so busy with classes last week that I didn't have time to hit the grocery store for food, much less go shopping for anything else.

The weekend was better, though I still didn't have any time for illicit shopping. On Saturday, Nathan and I revisited Baja Sol, the burrito place with the amazing salsa bar that I hit up with a friend during week three. It was, once again, delicious. I'm serious, no matter how down and out I'm feeling, a good burrito or some enchiladas will always make me feel better. I'm going to make Burrito Therapy my contribution to modern psychology. Anyway, we also watched One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest with Jack Nicholson- fantastic movie if you haven't seen it (also an excellent book, but that's a whole other blog topic).

Watch Me: via Wikipedia

On Sunday my dad and his girlfriend Cindy had a Pictionary party which was super fun. It didn't hurt that I came home with a huge bag of leftovers so that I won't be needing to cook for awhile yet. Most college students I know will agree: leftovers are like GOLD.

So really, I didn't have any time to go shopping last week at all. There are a few things that I've sort of been lusting after lately, though...

The Remington Emi Air Wave:

via drugstore.com

According to the ladies over at The Daily Obsession, this little guy will give me soft beachy waves (as opposed to the Chewbacca hair from my last attempt at beachy waves). It is also on sale for $20 *cry* but the fact that I now have short hair has helped me resist the temptation thus far. I'm pretty sure that if I try to get a wave in my thick, short hair, I'll end up with a fro.

Also, I've been really feeling the need for new workout clothes. I've started running and hitting up the gym again because I, uh, live next door to my university's gym, which is free, and I rarely use it. And I know that technically it shouldn't matter if all the other girls there are way cuter in their workout clothes than I am in my ratty tee...but it does. I know I'm there to sweat, but I still want to look good, you know? I've definitely been liking the cute tanks from the Stella for Adidas line:

via shopadidas.com

How cute is this yoga tank? I love the ruffles on the sleeves! Unfortunately, at $75, it's way more than I want to spend on a workout tank (note to self: find affordable workout clothes).

That's about all the temptation I've had lately as far as shopping goes. I've found that resisting little purchases gets WAY easier with time, though I still struggle when I get bored on the weekend. I keep telling myself that if I really want it, I can have it after the spending hiatus is over.

Here's the part where you all advise me: should (affordable) workout clothes count as a necessity or should I let them wait until after the spending hiatus? Technically I have clothes I can work out in. But also technically, they're fugly. Is cuteness a necessity? You decide.

PS: You can check out the other spending hiatus posts here.

I need one of these.

Via Apartment Therapy via Book of Joe

A cat remote control! If only I could silence Tigger at 7am when she decides it's food time. Le sigh.

Design Idea: Framed Magazine Clippings

I loved this idea from Apartment Therapy: clip out magazine photos that inspire you and frame them for inexpensive art. I already have a huge collection of magazine ads and pictures that I just fell in love with and I wanted to make an inspiration board with them, but I balked at the idea because I felt it would make my place look too cluttered (a huge problem in my tiny apartment). But with this, I could arrange a collection of pictures in different frames and it's like an inspiration board/art display. It's such a simple idea, I can't believe I didn't think of it before.

Has anybody else made an inspiration board before? Or am I the only one out there who collects magazine photos I like?

Honey Facial Mask Review

via allposters.com

This post is super late today because I had a ridiculously hectic day. Nevertheless, I promised you all a review on my honey facial mask yesterday and here it is.

The concept of the mask was simple: smear honey all over your face, let it dry, wash it off. According to the folks on MUA it would make my skin soft, radiant, even pimple-free. Yes, please! My skin was threatening to freak out on Sunday night after I neglected to wash my makeup off the night before, stayed up late, and downed a bunch of sugar and caffeine because it was Valentines Day, eeps. I decided a calming honey mask might just be what my skin needed.

I started out by washing my face with a mild cleanser. I use Clinique's liquid facial soap in mild but anything gentle should work. I didn't dry my face all the way after washing, since honey on dry skin didn't seem like it would work very well. I was a bit skeptical about how I would like having honey on my face because I thought it would feel really heavy, but it just felt a bit "tight" like most facial masks do. It really helped to apply it with your fingertips in a circular pattern to sort of "massage" it on (think of how they would do it at a spa). I definitely had to pull my hair back for this part, there is no way you want to get your hair in honey, and I would also suggest avoiding the eyebrows unless you want a sticky mess.

After applying I kicked back for 15 minutes until I felt the mask was a little bit "dry" though it was definitely still sticky. You could probably leave it on your face longer, but I was impatient. I hopped in the shower and steamed it up a bit before splashing water on my face and the honey came right off! No huge sticky honey removal mess, which is what I had been really afraid of. I rinsed all the honey off with water, then patted my face dry and dabbed a bit of sensitive-skin moisturizer on my cheeks.

The results when I got out of the shower were really nice, though not earth-shattering. No, my pimples did not suddenly disappear. No, there was not a halo of light emitting from my face. But my skin definitely felt softer and looked more even. I'm not sure about radiant, but it looked less ashey and beat-up. And the best part was that the breakout I was SURE would come never did. Could it be the honey that helped? I think so. It really made my skin look and feel a lot more calm, and sooo soft!

So, in summary:

• Honey is (naturally) a sticky mess, but applying on a damp face will help a lot.
• Wait 15-20 minutes before rinsing, then use lots of water to get it off. I found a shower worked better than hovering over the sink with honey on my face.
• There is little risk of irritation it seems. My skin is somewhat sensitive and it was perfectly fine with the honey, both while it was on and after I washed it off. Some of the ladies on MUA did report reactions though, so definitely wash it off if you feel burning/itching or start to look irritated. Or do a skin patch test first. At any rate, I had no problems and the honey felt like it actually decreased the irritation in my cheeks.
  
• The results probably won't rock your world- but you skin will look a wee bit nicer. And with repeated use? Who knows? It's totally worth the cost of a $3 bear jar.

via mejier.com

PS: I know there was some talk on the internet about whether it was alright to use regular processed honey for this, or if you needed to go organic. My honey literally came from a bear jar like the one above, and was Target brand. Perhaps there are more benefits to organic honey, but I didn't have easy access to any so I didn't bother. The store brand seemed to work perfectly fine. If anyone has tried organic honey and noticed a difference though, definitely share. :)

Spending Hiatus Update: Week Four

I've officially made it a month on the spending hiatus! Woohoo- only two more to go!

And you know what? It hasn't been that bad at all. I was surprised, because I thought I would die without my cosmetics fix but instead I've found that I have a lot more time for myself and a lot more money for other things, like going out with friends and ahem, blogging. And according to this blog post from Glamour's Vitamin G, experiences have been more closely linked to happiness than "stuff" so dinner is better than a new lipstick anyway. Good to know, yes?

This week I did really well, though I did have to do a lot of shopping to find a great Valentine's Day present for Nathan. I think it helped that I was pretty busy doing homework and cleaning on Friday so that I'd have time to really enjoy my weekend. Saturday was great, Nathan made me dinner (awww...): salad and crusty bread with melted pecorino cheese (mmm), and this awesome baked lemon chicken with rice boiled in lemon as well. And I made us cute little individual brownies in Valentine's Day muffin cups, which were also pretty delicious if I do say so myself. On Sunday I went to CVS for mouthwash and dark chocolate because I consider both essential (and because chocolate is 1/2 off after V-Day) and I almost broke down on a cream eyeshadow from L'Oreal HIP which was such a pretty cream color and also 1/2 off. I'm proud to admit that I resisted, though, and I don't really miss the eyeshadow after all. Funny how things are so much irrisistable in the store?

One way I have been getting around spending my money on new things is by scouting out DIY tricks on the internet. I mentioned last Thursday that I've been looking at new homemade beauty products online and found a few I've been wanting to try. I didn't get a chance to try either of those, but on Sunday I did try out a honey mask because my skin was feeling close to freaking out (I may or may not have forgotten to take my makeup off on Saturday night, ahem). I'll write more on that tomorrow, but let's just say it was totally worth the $3 or so that a bear bottle of honey costs (see above).

And now I'm on a full-fledged DIY kick, so stay tuned for more tips and reviews :) Anybody have any DIY beauty "recipes" they swear by?

Honey bear picture via Meijer.