Living Room Progress

Today is the day! I'm flying to San Francisco today and starting my summer adventure there working on an exiting beauty app. Stay tuned for app updates in the coming months. I can't wait to share it with you all and get your feedback! We already have a jam-packed schedule starting the moment I get to SF which is exciting jumping right in! This weekend I'll be in LA for the Generation Beauty Event by Ipsy meeting tons of beauty bloggers (hello Michelle Phan!) and networking. Follow along on Instagram and Twitter for tons of photos. But before I fly out, I want to give you a look at the living room progress in my house in Iowa. I won't get to decorate the house for a few months while I'm gone, so I was running around like crazy trying to finish the main projects.

When Life Gives You Lemons

The current state of my new home. At least I have an amazing hairpin leg side table! 

A change in office scenery with zero styling. 

Not crazy about the woodwork. Still debating about whether to paint it or not. The rest of the house is too scary to even photograph. So much work to do!

I'm not sure how to start today's blog post. I could start by apologizing for my sudden absence on the blog the past couple weeks due to my busy schedule, but who isn't? Or I could talk about graduation and how much I'm enjoying the "real world", but in reality, I'm still looking for a full-time job. Or the fact that I didn't have Internet for a week kind of put a damper on the whole blogging and working thing. And to top it all off, I got my wisdom teeth pulled. To be honest, these last few weeks have been anything but extraordinary. Nobody likes a Debbie downer so I won't bore you with all the details, but a string of unfortunate events has taken its toll.

The more I thought about blogging and what I should write about, the more stressed I got because I didn't have anything new to say. Blogging is a funny thing. We see all of these bloggers living extravagant lives with designer clothing and gorgeous skin and assume everything must be perfect. I'm sure things are going well, but they have bad days too just like the rest of us. I was so hung up on everything else that has been going on that I lost inspiration and had nothing left to say.

A few days ago I came across a quote that really resonated with me. I didn't save it and now I can't find it back, but it went something like this: inspiration doesn't come to those wait, but to those who look. I didn't say it nearly as nicely as the original source, but basically you have search for inspiration, you can't expect it to come to you. All along I was tangled up in my own problems and found myself out of my element and the inspiration stopped flowing. I wasn't browsing Instagram, chatting on Twitter, or even attempting to blog. I completely shut off. How can I expect an awesome blog post idea to pop in my head without even trying to blog? Just as you can't expect to perfect your free throw shot just by thinking about it, you have to practice.

I'm happy to say I am out of my funk and ready to tackle my giant to-do list. No Internet for a week set back my blog redesign, but I am excited for the reveal coming soon!

I'm officially moved out of my studio apartment and into my new home with my boyfriend. He bought a house (which explains why I didn't have Internet) and now I have the joys of decorating a new place! Here you will find the living room, kitchen, and bedroom inspiration I blogged about earlier. Every room is painted except the bathroom, so now it's time to tackle the fun part.

My sister offered me a position to help with an app she and her husband are working on called Powder Room. It's an app that keeps beauty products simple and fun. You can easily search or scan products, organize them into lists or looks, and share them with your friends and followers. Since I didn't have a full-time offer I decided to take the opportunity to move to San Francisco for a few months and work on an exciting app! The Bay Area is my favorite place to visit so I am excited to explore the city for a few months. I fly out on Wednesday so I'm running around trying to select furniture for my boyfriend's house so it feels somewhat like a home before I leave. The blog will cover my new adventures in California along with regular DIY and home posts. I will share my house updates and decor selection when I come back to Iowa in a few months. I'm so excited for this opportunity and can't wait to spend the summer in my favorite state!

Have a wonderful and safe Memorial Day weekend!

Make It: Lipstick Holder

Hello! It's been quite the last couple weeks, you guys. I've graduated college, had a wonderful weekend full of good food, drinks, and family, coordinated a move, continue to work on a blog redesign, and now I'm knee deep in boxes as I pack up my apartment. Where did the weekend go? I need to be out of my apartment by 11am tomorrow! Fingers crossed I make it happen. I'll take any moving tips/advice you've got. I've moved six times in the last four years and it's still a nightmare every time. So as all of this last minute craziness was happening, naturally, I decided to tackle a DIY instead of packing. Luckily, the lipstick holder DIY was a breeze and turned out better than expected! Read on for the full tutorial.

Weekend

Today's the day! I'm walking at the Business College graduation ceremony and celebrating with family and friends at a local brewery afterwards. I cannot wait! Did you walk at your graduation ceremony? I attended my siblings a few years back and remembered the ceremony dragged on forever, but I couldn't NOT walk! This is a memory I want to cherish forever.

My older sister flew in from San Francisco yesterday and we spent the day getting manicures, drinking coffee and had dinner at the cutest restaurant with the best food. Fellow Iowans, you must try Eatery A in Des Moines and get the potato egg pizza. I'm aware it's not exactly a typical pizza, but the waitress recommended it and it was amazing. I didn't miss red sauce and pepperoni one bit. I have a jam packed weekend with our celebration tonight, a full day of dress shopping on Saturday for my sister's wedding, and a photo shoot and lunch with family on Mother's Day, and hopefully champagne is involved too. I'm stoked! I'll be documenting the weekend so follow along on Instagram for graduation pics and if you want to see my new shorter, blonder hairdo :)

Have a great weekend, my friends!

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Make It: Mother's Day Vase

As a kid, I made most of my gifts for holidays. You could say I was born with the DIY gene. I remember one year I made a little "coaster"

Final Days

I've been wanting an ear cuff for a while now and found this cute one at Forever21!

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Do/did you have any fun plans for the celebration? Friday night I got drinks with my boyfriend and some friends, but Saturday and Sunday I spent my time working on the new blog design and preparing for finals. Tonight I won't be going out, but I do plan on making a Tex-Mex dish for supper. That counts, right?

It's kind of surreal to think this is my final week as a student at Iowa State. I hate to keep bringing it up, but I'm in shock so I just want to keep talking about it as if that will make it slow down! The last four years have literally flown by. I still remember moving into the dorms the very first day

Natural Clay Mask

About a month ago I read a blog post on To Vogue or Bust about natural skincare, specifically natural clay. I was intrigued by her incredible results that claimed to banish breakouts after a few days. Alexandra went in great detail about the clay and different ways and benefits of using it. If you haven't read her post, I suggest you do if you are interested in natural skincare. It was incredibly interesting and she has some great tips and other product suggestions.

After hearing about all the benefits of clay bentonite and its claim to clear up and even out skin tone, I was sold. I ordered myself some clay bentonite that night and couldn't wait to give it a try. I have been using it for just under a month now for about 3-4 times a week and I love it! I have oily acne-prone skin and it's helped dry up my skin a lot and even out my skin tone as well. My skill feels softer and more healthy and I'm overall impressed. This stuff really works. The best part is that it's only $10 for a full jar!

I mix about a teaspoon of clay powder with a tablespoon of water. Stir with a plastic utensil (metal deactivates the clay's electric properties) until it forms a thick paste. I like to apply the mask all over my face and leave it on for about 15-20 minutes or until it dries.

Do you follow a natural skincare routine? What are your favorite skincare products?

Have a great weekend! I finished up dead week this past week which means finals starts on Monday. I fortunately only have two finals this year and then consider me an Iowa State alum :) I'm working on an amazing blog redesign which is super exciting, new post ideas, and I'm also taking a deep dive course on Wordpress (I'm switching over. If anyone has advice on how to handle the migration it's greatly appreciated :)) to learn all the ins and outs so the blog is a place that's organized and makes reading and following along easier for you! I hope to roll out the changes by June first, which sounds far away but is going to sneak up on us in no time! Which is a scary thought in itself.

As I'm making changes at H&H, keep pinning, liking, sharing, and commenting on your favorite blog posts so I know which ones you're loving and I'll be sure to plan more of them for the future!