I Have Long Lashes!!

So I'm late posting today, but I have an excuse! On this rainy nasty Thursday I have some cool news.. I went to my last follow-up for my Latisse this morning. I first posted about it here back before I had any followers, and then again here. 

I am super happy with it! I had extremely short and light lashes before, and now they are so much longer, have some curl, and are much darker! It's amazing really. You just apply a little to your eyelid with a brush each night, and 16 weeks later, voila! Now I only need to apply it a few times a week to maintain my new, long lashes. Anyways, here are some pictures for reference.. I think there is a huge difference! 

Before, no mascara

After 16 weeks, NO MASCARA!!

After 16 weeks, NO MASCARA!!

After 16 weeks, with Mascara (I rushed so it's kinda clumpy, sorry!)

Note, I am not being compensated or anything for this, I just had great results and wanted to share them with you!! If you have any questions, or want to see more before/after pictures (I have a TON!) definitely feel free let me know, or contact your derm, since you need a prescription.

"Is that your daughter or your friend?"

I'm no longer a student, I can't get away with making my mommy go to all my doctor's appointments with me anymore, and I can't shop at certain stores without feeling out of place, not to mention my metabolism is not who she used to be (I refer to my metabolism as a 'she' because that way I can call her a b*tch and it makes sense, I think..), but apparently the fact that I am 25 years old is hard for people to believe. I get a lot of "really?" and "no way!" when I tell people my age. Here are some interesting examples:

One. Brian and I have been carded more times than can fit on one hand. Carded for what you might ask? Alcohol? Nope, well yea, but right now I am actually referring to... rated R movies. Yup. Now, this hasn't happened probably in the past year or two, but even when I was 22 and 23 years old we were consistently carded going to the movies, something you only need to be 17 to do. 

Like the ghost on my dress? lol

Two. I've been asked multiple times in the past year what grade in high school I'm in. No, not what year in college, which is way more understandable, but what grade in high school. I've been at appointments during the day and been asked "oh, is school closed today?" or "when is prom?" haha you should see the look on their faces when I tell them how old I really am!

Okay this is the closest picture I could find on my computer of me in high school.. I'm basically in high school here. It's like September of my freshman year of college.. I couldn't have changed too much in a few months haha

Three. Nearly every time I buy alcohol my ID is scrutinized, scanned, and I have sign a piece of paper saying that I'm over 21. They act like I'm joining the FBI a sneaky little teenager trying to score some underage liquor. And every time I get a little nervous and tell myself "act natural, act natural darnit," like I'm not actually over 21 or something. I mean, the looks I get, especially from the women cashiers (I've found that men are less suspicious in the alcohol-buying context) make me actually question myself sometimes! 

My 21st birthday

As annoying as it is to constantly need to have my ID at-the-ready, I actually don't mind it so much because I'd rather look young and when I get older I will definitely appreciate looking young even more. Wanna know how I know this? Because the other week my nearly 20-year old sister and I went to a nail salon. While she was getting a manicure, I was getting a pedicure, and the woman seriously asked me, "Is that your daughter or your friend?" 

Well that really frosts my cookies (if you know what movie I'm quoting I love you and you've listened to my past advice)! Now, she barely spoke English so she may have been confused and probably meant to say 'sister' instead of 'daughter,' but needless to say I was freaked out and will definitely never take for granted being carded anywhere ever again (also, we are never going back to that salon..)!

I mean, do we look like daughter and mother to you? I think not. 

Do you have any funny stories about getting carded/your age/getting old? Please tell them to me!

Mitchie

When I was in 9th grade and the oldest of 5 kids, my parents sat us down and told us they were going to have another baby. My brother and I were not amused. We whined, "we're going to be like the BRADY BUNCH!" 

Well on August 13, 2003, right before my sophomore year of high school started, my Mom was 24 weeks pregnant and started to go into labor, which was way too early. My wild little brother kicked a hole in his little home inside her stomach. She went into the hospital where she stayed on bed rest for nearly 3 months, until my little brother was born (a month early) on November 5th. 

My Dad had to work full-time, yet had 5 busy kids at home, ages 15, 13, 11, 9, and 5. Relatives and family friends really came through though, with meals, cleaning duty, rides to soccer and school, etc. 

But on November 5, 2003 it was all worth it because the little whirlwind named Mitchell was born and he changed our lives forever. He is full of energy, yet so polite and sweet, and I am so glad he was born and rounded out our Brady-sized family. When asked what he wants for his birthday dinner, he answered Burger King, go figure. So Happy Birthday, Mitchie, it blows my mind that you are 10 now.      "Go Mitchell, Go Mitchell!"

P.S. Don't forget about the giveaway over at Living on Sweet Tea, and I'm also participating in a $100 Visa Gift Card giveaway over at Two Third's Hazel! 

We don't need no stinking patches!

What a great weekend! I know you're all dying for the recap, so I'll give the people what they want, except I didn't take a lot of pics, my bad!

Friday my Mom and I went to the market, then later we went shopping and I got myself a Fossil watch I've been dying to have. Is it not gorgeous? I can't stop looking at it and smiling! 

Friday night Bri and I went to dinner at one of our favorite places, Aroogas. Wednesday through Friday from 5-7pm it's 50% off most appetizers, all draft beers, and most other alcoholic drinks. Check out our receipt, does it get any better (and cheaper) than that? I think not! Plus it's so yummy and they have trivia, which I won by the way! 

Then while Bri got a haircut I went in Ulta and got talked into buying this Smashbox brow powder. Then we rented The Conjuring on Demand and oh MAN that was THE scariest movie I have EVER seen. I have been a fan of Lorraine Warren ever since I started watching Paranormal State in college, and man is she a BOSS! Once we were sufficiently scared, I had to put on a happy movie, so of course I put in Troop Beverly Hills, which is one of the best movies to come out of the 80s ("Annie Herman, boii--oiii---oinggg"). Seriously, if you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and watch it, now. Props to Brian for being the best boyfriend ever (do people still say props anymore? I feel like I got that word from Clueless circa 1995.. wait, do people even say circa anymore? ahh!) and sticking through it, though I think he was actually watching hockey on his laptop.

By the way have you had these Mikes Hard Smashed Apple Ciders? So yummy!!

Saturday morning Brian had a flag football game down in Baltimore, but I stayed home to clean and make an apple pie. 

Then Brian's parents came into town for the night and took us out to our favorite Italian restaurant. Here's a video of me at the restaurant:

Later that night they all watched the Devils game on TV. Sunday was pretty relaxing. We had breakfast with Brian's parents, then went over my parents' house to see my sister's new kitten (his name is Coby). He's 10 weeks old and way smaller than he looks here. He's adorable, playful, and super sweet!

Then Brian watched football while I read, and while Brian went to play in his hockey game I watched Mommie Dearest... Man, Joan Crawford had issues. I watched my Sunday night shows, Sunday night TV really is the best.

Other notables:

- The stinking neighbors had 3 cop cars show up to their house (again) on Saturday afternoon with some sort of warrant. Only the mother was home though, so they went in for about 15 minutes then left empty-handed. I'm sure you can guess what they are looking for...

- The fall colors are really at their peak right now in PA and it is so beautiful! I posted some pics from Friday on Instagram, but my iPhone pics really don't do it justice.

- My Mom got me this solar-powered turkey, how cute is he?! I have a solar-powered flower in my car, and this turkey is perfect on our kitchen windowsill.

- I'm participating in a giveaway with Jess at Living on Sweet Tea and some other great girls, check it out and win awesome stuff! The theme is preparing for the holidays :-)

a Rafflecopter giveaway
What a 180 from last weekend!! How was your weekend?? Here's hoping the pollen and mold counts get better this week because the circles under my eyes are so dark I look like I have two black eyes! Linking up with Sami! 

November Goals

Hope everyone had a great Halloween! We handed out candy to only like 12 kids so we have tons left, which is great sucks for me because I will now proceed to eat it all. So umm is it seriously November today?? Love it!! Okay so I think October went a little bit better in terms of my goals. Let's recap:

1) Lose 10 pounds- okay didn't happen. But I didn't gain anything. I shouldn't have picked so ambitious a goal during a month with candy and pumpkin/apple themed desserts, especially with my sweet tooth!

2) Get a job- didn't happen either, but I sent out a bajillion resumes/cover letters, I've done a little bit of contract work, and now that I am a licensed attorney (!!!!) it should hopefully be easier to get a job of my dreams.

3) Purge my closet- Ding ding ding! We have a winner! Mine and Brian's closet and drawers are cleaned and organized and it feels so good! 

So I only accomplished one goal in October, let's hope November goes a little better. I am going to try to be more realistic with my goals this month. Sorry, two of them are pretty much the same as last month, because until those goals happen (especially number 2!) they will be on my to-do list:

One. Lose 5 pounds. That is a more attainable goal than 10 pounds, and I think this November I can do it, especially since Thanksgiving isn't until the end of the month. I know I know, I should have more self-control, and I want to work on that, but it is really hard to lose weight when you can only eat carb-filled blandish foods because you have stomach issues. 

Two. Get a job. This one no longer needs any explanation. 

Three. Do 4 weeks of C25K. I can do this and I will do this. I really want to run a 5K, then eventually a 10K, and no time like the present to start, right?! Except that it's freezing out but that gives me an excuse to buy cute running clothes! Let's hope my stomach cooperates!

Four. Do most of my Christmas shopping. I do this early every year and it feels so good to get it all done and out of the way before the crazy Christmas rush. The only problem is I still want to buy stuff closer to Christmas that I see when I inevitably go out shopping again, but who cares? Giving is one of the best parts of the season (see also: cookies, Christmas trees, snow, Ralphie, dogs in sweaters/reindeer antlers, Home Alone, lights, etc. etc.)! 

What are your goals for November? Linking up with Erica, Stephanie and Whitney! Have a great weekend!

 

H-A-Double L-O-W-Double E-N

...spells Halloween! Please tell me you remember singing that song in elementary school music class?! Anyways, I love Halloween even though I'm not dressing up this year (besides in my special homemade Halloween sweatshirt that makes me look like a 9 year old.. I still love it!).. but I will dress up my dogs!!

Here's me in some old cute Halloween costumes:

Check out my other Halloween-themed posts: 
-- John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt & a Halloween Song Gone Wrong
-- How to Survive a Haunted House
-- Pumpkin Painting

Also, I am being featured over on Chelsee's blog today, so check it out!

Have a great and safe Halloween and don't forget: Calories don't count on Halloween! Eat all the candy and pumpkin seeds!

The Oldest Kid Pays the Most for Textbooks

In case you're new around here, or if you didn't already know, I'm the oldest of 6 kids. My youngest brother is almost 10, then I have a sister in high school, a brother and a sister in college, and a sister who just recently graduated college. I graduated from college in 2010 and from law school in 2013. As the oldest sometimes you and your parents kind have to learn things through trial and error. For example, my punishments were way harsher (I'd get my cell phone taken away for weeks at a time and they'd give it to my 10 year old sister to play with and she'd change all the names of my contacts to Big Bird and Batman.. whaaaat?! They'd never do that to my 15 year old sister now.. if hers is taken away for 15 minutes she loses her mind!) --Thanks a lot Mom and Dad! haha

I like the being the oldest though, it makes me kind of a leader. But the one reason I wish I wasn't the oldest was because I was the first to go through the craziness that is college, and boy, navigating admissions and costs and all that is a lot of work and it would have been nice to have a sibling who went before me to lead the way. Textbook buying is no exception on the craziness front! $200+ for a textbook from the bookstore is no joke! I ended up creating spreadsheets and calculating the costs of the bookstore versus websites online. This is definitely an area of college life I wish I could have improved on because I wasted a LOT of time and energy (not to mention $$$) trying to buy books at the cheapest price.

One piece of advice I have since learned since graduating college and law school is to rent books, I mean c'mon, let's save be environmental and save some trees people; you know you're never going to look at that textbook ever again. Also, I would advise people to never pay shipping! What a rip off. Seriously, I hate paying shipping and will often not buy stuff online (shirts, candles, headbands, books, whatever) if shipping is not included. I mean how hard is it for them to include the cost shipping in the price?! I just feel better when I look at the shipping cost and it says $0. haha maybe I'm cheap but that's just me. 

Anyways, now I have a good tip for my siblings-- check out www.CampusBookRentals.com where you can rent text books at 40-90% off the purchase price and shipping is FREE both ways. Plus, you can highlight all over the textbooks as if they were your own, which is totally awesome considering in law school I went through multiple highlighters PER WEEK (we had to read a lot of cases, okay? haha). The rental periods are flexible depending on your schedule, and they also have a new program called RentBack where you can rent your textbooks to other students (you can make 2-4x more $$ than with regular buyback programs).

So check them out and you wont be sorry. Plus, they've partnered with Operation Smile and a donation is made with the purchase of every textbook! Smiles are so important, they are definitely the first thing I notice about a person, and a charity that helps a child smile is a worthy one in my book. 

The only other advice I have for college students right now is to beware of the main campus dining hall. Everyone at my college called ours "Scurve" (seriously, I don't even remember the real name of the dining hall) because we said it gave you scurvy.. plus it made your clothes smell SO BAD that everyone knew you ate there for hours afterwards. I'm not kidding, I Febreezed people before they came into my dorm room because I didn't want to smell the stench!! 

If you have any other advice for college students, leave it in the comments :-) 

**This is a sponsored post but all opinions are my own, because believe you me, there is nothing I hate more than being told what to do or say! haha**