August Favorites 2015

Here I am again sharing my monthly favorites! It feels like just yesterday that I was doing my July favorites *wide eyes emoji*. Buuuuut that means it's almost fall! *heart eyes emoji*. Okay I'm done with emojis. Let's get into my fave things.

Foods:
Banana + frozen mango = the best smoothie in the world
Thai Kitchen Spring Onion soup (holy moly if you haven't tried this, TRY IT)

Beauty:
Tea Tree Oil - If you've got a pesky spot or blemish, this essential oil will be your best friend! I've been having a bit of a breakout recently, and this oil really helped clear it up. Just dip a cotton bud in the bottle and lightly dab your spot, morning and night.

Fashion:
Flowy Floral pants (UO) - I featured this gorgeous thing in a recent OOTD. This month equaled loads of beach trips, and these beauties became my go-to beach fashion item.

 

Random:
"I Love Lucy" - Recently, I can't stop watching this show. It's so funny and lighthearted, it's easy to fall in love with the characters. Simply classic.

Tilley Australia Soy Candle - this candle smells absolutely amazing. Such a relaxing scent that makes me feel calm and ready to rest.

Thanks for reading! What have you been loving this month? Let me know in the comments below. See you soon!

Audrey xx

15 Questions and Answers

Hi everyone! Here are 15 questions I have answered about myself to aid you in getting to know me better. Enjoy!

1. What are your nicknames? What do you prefer to be called?

I have been given so many nicknames by so many different people it's unreal. My best friend calls me Chummy, as do I her. My mom calls me Audrey E (as in Audrey Elizabeth), my dad has called me Kookamunga as well as Mousekin (the weirdest names in the world), but in my family I'm mainly called Aud or Audrey.

2. What books on your shelf are begging to be read?

I have a lot of old classic novels on my shelf at the moment. I have the Jungle book, the Diary of Anne Frank, the Hobbit, etc. I am currently reading the Harry Potter books for the second time.

3. How often do you doodle? What do your doodles look like?

I don't doodle very often. Doodling happens in class when I feel so bored that I'm going to die. They are usually not very clear as to what they are, just a mess of lines and shapes.

4. What do you do when you can't sleep at night?

Honestly, it's very rare that I can't sleep. I usually fall asleep within ten minutes of lying down for bed. When I can't sleep, usually just changing positions helps me fall asleep.

5. How many days could you last in solitary confinement?

This honestly sounds like a dream to me. No annoying people! However, after a while it could get kind of lame. I could last a couple of weeks though.

6. Do you save old greeting cards or letters?

I literally save almost everything that comes into my possession. I don't like throwing cards away because someone actually took the time to send them to me so... yeah I can't just throw them away!

7. Who is the biggest pack rat you know?

If you read my last question, you already know.

8. When making an entrance to a party, do you make your presence known?

What's a party?

9. What is your strongest sense? If you had to give one up, which one would it be?

I have a super sensitive sense of hearing. If I had to give up a sense, it would be my sense of touch.

10. How many times a day do you look at yourself in the mirror?

Not gonna lie, I'm a pretty vain person. I look at the mirror probably 10 times a day.

11. What is the strangest thing you believed as a child?

For some reason, as a child, I had this idea in my head that I was destined to become one of Santa Claus's elves and I would do anything to be one. I even wrote a letter to him and sent it in the post (my mom played along). You can imagine how distraught I was to find out that Santa wasn't real.

12. What is one guilty pleasure that is too hard to give up?

I honestly don't really have any guilty pleasures. Well. Kind of. I don't think I could ever live without hummus, but that's not that bad for you, just loads of oil and sodium. :(

13. Are you more likely to engage in conflict or avoid it?

I definitely avoid conflict as much as possible. Honestly, drama is so not worth my energy.

14. Which animals scare you the most?

Snakes! They are so unpredictable and I have a reoccurring nightmare that poisonous snakes bite me and I can never walk again. Plus, they just look slimy and scary.

15. What is something that amazes you?

The vastness of the universe, how big everything is. Billions of people live on just this one planet, and we think it's huge, when the sun is even bigger, but in comparison to a galaxy, it's just a little dot. It is so hard to wrap my brain around how freaking huge space is!

I hope you enjoyed this little get-to-know-me post. Here's a question for you: what amazes you? What kind of things inspire you? Answer those in the comments or to yourself. It's great to think about these things. Have a great day!

Audrey xx

What I Ate Today ~ Vegan and Healthy ~ 28 August

(Started the day with 1L of water)

Today's breakkie was 8 ripe bananas. Always eat your bananas when they are ripe! The more spotty the better. Unripe bananas will usually give you a tummy ache, and we don't want that!

On our way to the beach, I snacked on some of these awesome chips. They are super yummy and they're low in salt. I had to hold myself back from eating the whole bag!

Here are some photos from our beach trip:

After the beach, we went back to my Auntie's house to hang out for a bit. I made up a smoothie (4 bananas and some assorted frozen berries) for a little sugar boost while I planned some blog posts. 

Relaxing outside in the hammock definitely helps spark some creative ideas  for blog posts. 

For dinner, we had a spaghetti feast with salad, French artisan bread, and a zucchini tomato sauce. It was all so tasty and quite filling. It's not often I have bread because of the high salt content, but it sure is a guilty pleasure. 

I hope you enjoyed this "what I ate today" post! Enjoy the rest of your Friday evening. 

Love, Audrey xx

Audrey's Super Simple Everyday Makeup

Hi everyone! I'm one of those people who loves putting on makeup, but hates the feeling of it once it's on. By the end of the day, I'm usually more than ready to take it all off as I love the feeling of a fresh, clean face. Seeing as I love this feeling, I try to reflect it upon the makeup I wear. Clean, natural and light is how I like to go. I hope this is either helpful for creating your own everyday look, or interesting to those who are curious. Enjoy :-)

I start off with a freshly washed face. I find my makeup goes on a lot smoother if my face is clean and stays put all day.

NYX HD concealer mixed with moisturizer to sheer it out and make it into a BB cream

ELF Eyebrow Kit on those brows

A light brown eyeshadow to contour my face a little.

Burt's Bees chapstick and Clinique Chubby stick in Super Strawberry.

Too Faced Better than Sex masara (this stuff is INCREDIBLE).

Always brush through your brows to give a more natural effect.

Mark Touch & Glow shimmer cubes on my cheekbones and inner eye corner.

And there's the finished look! I hope you guys enjoyed this blog post! See you soon, Audrey xx

Hard and soft ~ an OOTD

 

 

 

Two OOTDs in a row, oops! I recently went thrifting at Goodwill and found this lovely top. I fell in love with how soft it was and the bohemian vibe I got from it. I paired it with these patched-looking jeans from Urban Outfitters to therefore balance out the softness of the shirt with the hard-looking pants. This is a super comfortable outfit and I sure will be wearing it again, beware!

 

Audrey

Summery Florals ~ an OOTD

   

 

 

 (This outfit was much more comfortable to wear inside). Here is my favorite pant of the summer: my floral pants from Urban Outfitters. I scored these bad boys on the sale rack for about $20. They are perfect for lounging around in and protect your skin during the summer while still keeping you cool. I put a pair of black leggings under them as they're quite sheer. However, they are the perfect beach pants! I wore them recently on vacation over my swim suit and they looked super cute! Hope you enjoyed this quick OOTD. Also, a very happy birthday to LAURYN!! Hope you had a special sweet sixteen <3

Love, Audrey xx

 

 

 

Parents Won't Let You Be Vegan?

Hi everyone! I'm very lucky to have a mom who really supports me in this journey. I wanted to give you some tips to explain to your parents that you want to be vegan and how to deal with any misconceptions or confusion.

Tip #1: Be INFORMED - Make sure before you tell your parents that you would like to try out a vegan lifestyle, you know just how many calories you'll need in a day, where to get your nutrients, and have lots of knowledge about the cruelty of the factory farming industry. If you know your stuff and are educated on all things vegan, your parents will see that and trust you.
Note: Make sure you are aware of vitamins and nutrients that are difficult to obtain from this diet such as vitamin B12. Ask your parents to accompany you to the doctor as you learn about how to properly nourish your body on this lifestyle.

Tip #2: Take responsibility - When you become vegan, you'll be doing a lot more things that the rest of your family doesn't have to do. Tell your parents you will be responsible for making your own meals, buying extra fruit (you'll be eating a lot of it), packing a bag full of fruits and vegan snacks whenever you go somewhere, having an app on your phone to find vegan-friendly restaurants, etc. Your parents will find it easier to accept your new diet if you take more responsibility for yourself.

Tip #3: Be gentle and gracious - Approach your parents gently and avoid the drama. This information will likely be new to them! Most parents don't really know the truth about what goes on behind the slaughterhouse walls, so don't force it. Communicate well, stay calm and positive about your feelings and your decision.

Tip #4: Don't judge - Be very clear that you are choosing this lifestyle for YOU and the movement while trying not to make your parents feel like bad people or make any judgments toward family members who are not making the same choices as you.

I hope this post was helpful for any of you new to the vegan "world". Don't get discouraged if your parents don't totally accept the new ideas you'll be presenting, and keep being a positive example for your family.

More information for your research:

Documentaries: "Earthlings" "Forks Over Knives" "Cowspiracy"
Speeches: "Gary Yourofsky's Best Speech You'll Ever Hear"
Books: "Skinny Bitch" "The Starch Solution" "80/10/10"

July Favorites 2015

 

Benefit Gimme Brow (light/medium) $24.00 ~ This is easily my favorite brow product of all time. It gives such a natural-looking finish to your brows, and is a great product to use over another product if you want something a bit more bold. While this is quite an expensive product, it's totally worth the money, and lasts a long time.

 

Real Techniques Contour brush (Core Collection) $17.99 ~ This brush is simply incredible. I was impressed by all of Real Technique's brushes, but this one in particular is my favorite from the core collection. It is good for contouring, powdering under the eyes, and applying blush. It's so versatile and the quality never fails to amaze me and my face.

 

Mark Touch and Glow Shimmer Cubes ~ $16.00 This favorite is easily my favoritest favorite (does that make sense?). Photos can't describe how luxurious these cubes feel. It's a super creamy consistency that melts a little when you dip your finger in them. What I especially love about this product is how you can use these literally anywhere on your face. I like to use the lightest one as an eyeshadow base, and the rosy ones as blusher. You can really get creative with these! They're super light and look amazing on.

 

Anna's Secret Skin Renewal Serum ~ $15.95 I mentioned this product in my last post on skincare, so of course I had to put it in my favorites. I like to pop this on at night as the finish is quite oily. When I wake up, my skin feels so smooth and supple, and has helped in healing a few pesky spots that have been popping up recently.

 

Other Favorites:

 

Q&A a Day - Five Year Journal ~ New day, new question. You have a new spot to answer the same question every year. My chummy got this for me for my birthday, and it's such a cool thing to look back on.

 

Peaches ~ I had to throw a food favorite in there. Peaches have been my saint this month since they've been in season. I just picked up a couple from the farmer's market this morning. SO LUSH.

 

Thanks for reading xx

 

Audrey

How I Healed My Skin

We put our skin through a lot. We cake it in makeup, slather harsh chemicals on it, rub it, scratch it, burn it; and oftentimes forget that we must take care of it. My skin journey has been a crazy one. Blemishes, redness, pigmentation and sensitivity are just a few of my skin 'issues.' Now I'm not writing about this topic because my skin is flawless. Always remember that nobody has perfect skin. We all have our insecurities about it, and that's okay.
I used to be so frightened of being seen without makeup, and I wanted to cover up every single imperfection because I wanted to look as perfect as possible. I've learned not to worry as much about it. I covered everything up with foundation and concealer which only ended up clogging my pores and making new spots happen. Now, I avoid any skin makeup as much as possible, saving it for special occasions rather than everyday.
Hydration is key to healing your skin. If your body is dehydrated on this inside, it will be on the outside as well. Aim for about 2 liters of water every day depending on your weight and activity level. During the summer months especially, your body is using water that is constantly being depleted through sweating, so you're more prone to dehydration when it's hot outside. Drink up!
As far as your skincare routine goes, I've found that keeping it simple makes the biggest difference. Choose two or three gentle products that you love and work for your skin type, and use those! You don't need ten million expensive serums, lotions and potions to have good skin. Right now, I'm using Burt's Bees Radiance facial cleanser to wash my face, and Skincare Guardian Anna's Secret Skin renewal serum for moisturizing my skin. My skin type is normal/dry, so these two work perfect for me.

Of course, I'm going to recommend a high carb, low fat vegan diet to everybody, whether or not you're having skin problems. I rarely break out thanks to not consuming those awful animal products and I surely feel a hell of a lot better. You can't put a bunch of crap into your body and expect it to nourish and heal your skin. Eat loads of fruits and veggies, and you'll see a big difference.

Another essential item for your skin is an SPF. This is crucial to protecting your skin from the sun's harmful rays. The one I use on a day to day basis is this Simple light moisturizer with an SPF of 15. You don't need a super high SPF to keep your delicate skin protected. 15 or 30 should be sufficient, depending of course on your skin tone.

Lastly, you're going to want an exfoliator. Your skin is constantly shedding dead skin cells, and producing new ones. If you don't remove those used skin cells, you'll run into problems for sure. A couple times a week, use a gentle exfoliating scrub and gentle smooth it on your face. Be super gentle with it, you don't need to harshly rub your skin to get the job done.

I hope this helped some of you! See you in my next post.

Audrey