October Favorites

I HAVE BEEN COMPLETELY CONSUMED BY THEATER.

My school’s modernized production of “Romeo and Juliet” has been the focus of my attention, affection, and devotion for these past two months. The play and my character, Benvolio, have left me battered and bruised with a broken heart to boot. I don’t want it to end! There is nothing I hate more than saying goodbye.

But, on another note, I now have the time to focus more on school work, choir, the blog, forensics, horseback riding, the new play that we’ve already begun rehearsals for…oh.

Let’s move on while I still have the time, shall we? I have a ton of favorites this month.

1. Color Blocked Handbag

I have been toting this baby around non-stop for this past week. It’s shaped like the Louis Vuitton Speedy 35′ (basically a Duffel bag cut in half) but for $34.99 as opposed to a thousand bucks, or however much a new Speedy costs. You’d be amazed how useful this bag is. It holds all my crap–like, all my crap–but also is super stylish. I’m starting to get addicted to bags, which sucks, because bags cost a butt-load.

2. Maybelline Rocket Volum Express Mascara

Sorry for the totally crappy picture. this is part of a makeup tutorial that I may or may not post on here, depending on how embarrassing I look. We’ll see. Anywho, this mascara was a gift from my best friend (thanks Madison) and I have totally ditched my old mascara for this baby. It has a huge fat wand with tiny bristles, so it looks like it wouldn’t do much, but HOLY CRAP does it do a ton. The Rocket has been working wonders on my lashes–my only qualm is that it’s not waterproof. When this bottle runs out, I’ll be looking for the waterproof version.

3. Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate

Mmm…I really like this hot chocolate. After having it so many times in the morning, I’ve sort of forgotten what regular hot chocolate tastes like. The main point is: It’s warm, It’s tasty, and it comes in a lovely tumblr hipster white girl label. Lovely.

Okay, quick question: Do you guys say caramel like CARmel or like Care-uh-mel? I find that when I say it in my head, I pronounce it like the latter, but I subconsciously speak like the former. Maybe there’s a study somewhere about stuff like that. Let me know if you find one, because I’m curious.

4. Man Repeller by Leandra Medine

I LITERALLY JUST GOT HOME FROM BUYING THIS BOOK AND I’M ALREADY TEN PAGES INTO IT. Have I expressed my love for Leandra Medine, author of the most brilliant and famous fashion blog in the country? No? Okay. I FREAKING LOVE LEANDRA MEDINE. Her articles on fashion, interpretations of current trends, and sly commentary on controversial topics in pop culture are amazing procrastination and inspiration material. And, in her newly released book, Leandra shares with the world just how she got so dang…independent. Seriously, go check her out at ManRepeller.com.

5. iTunes Radio

Lately, Apple hasn’t been doing so hot with their new products (or should I say, minuscule and unnecessary revisions to old products). But there is one major addition to iTunes that has scored big with me–iTunes Radio. When in the vicinity of a wifi hot spot, you can actually listen to radio from your phone tailored to your specific music tastes. This may not be a new concept in general, but it’s new as a built in feature to iTunes. You can even buy the song right then and there, no sampling or searching. I personally have been using it every day since iOS7’s debut.

iTunes radio has gotten me hooked on some new music too, which brings me to my next monthly favorite:

6. R&B Music

I’ve been exploring R&B heavily for the past couple of weeks and have stumbled on some really awesome stuff. Some of my favorites include:

a) Janelle Monáe (just in general–most of her stuff is brilliant, and I adore her style.)

b) “Without Me” by Fantasia (a total club song. It’s awesome.)

c) “Dirty Laundry” by Kelly Rowland (be prepared to cry with this one. A truly powerful story told point blank through song.)

d) “American Boy” by Estelle (this one’s a jazzier piece than the others. Has a nice vintage vibe.)

Well, that’s all for today! Thanks for keeping the faith in me, seeing that this post is a whole eleven days late.

Thanks for reading all the way up to this point, and don’t forget to thank a veteran today!

Much love,

Erin