Odd & Unusual Beauty Masks You've Got to Try!

I'm a beauty mask junkie. I love making them, something that started when I was little. I remember making a sunburn mask with aloe vera and whatever else I could find. I would put it on my sleeping sister's shoulders, since she was prone to sunburn. 

And I'm always learning about new ingredients and concoctions, like when I had a bad injury while visiting Costa Rica years ago. I wasn't taken to a hospital, but instead the local women covered me diy treatments that I still use today. You can find my DIYs here.

Check out: DIY Sheet Mask Recipes

But I also love buying them too--to see what's the latest "it" ingredient or treatment, and to separate the good stuff from the gimmicks. I've reviewed masks plenty of times on here before, but these I've tested over the past year are different. They have odd, unusual, or fun ingredients to them. After all, this should be a treat! I tried to find expensive and affordable options for as many as I could! I hope you find one you'd like to try:

Snail Mask--Snail extracts provide skin rejuvenation.

• Mizon $14
• Tony Moly $8

Egg Mask--Instantly hydrates and brightens skin

• Egg Cream Mask $24
• Egg Pore Pack $12 (this didn't really do anything for me)

Wine Mask--Retinol is supposed to help with wrinkles.

• BioBelle Happy Hour $4.99
• Wilma Schuman Hydra Red Wine Mask $39 (for 4)

Bee Venom Mask--Plumps and tightens

• Miss Spa Bee Venom Mask $7.99

Animal Face Mask--These are regular sheet masks with animal faces on them. I've seen them in K Beauty for years, and they are finally Stateside. They come in other funny faces too. $5

Did you miss this? Face Masques 101

Baby Foot Mask--Fruit extracts cause feet over time to peel, revealing soft feet. Totally gross, but I've been doing these bi-annually for years.

• Baby Foot $20
• Etude House $9.41

Lip Masks--A fancy phrase for either a scrub or moisturizing treatment.

• GlamGlow PoutMud--$24 (but I diy my own version that is a pretty much a dupe. The Lip balm that comes with it is one of my FAVES).
• Nug Lip Mask--$7.99 (This dried on my lips instead of moisturizing them and then I had to rip it off my lips. It was torture, but a friend of mine had the opposite experience).

Lip Peel Off Mask--I first tried this last fall, but have been seeing them pop up on blogs recently. They come in peel off form for eyebrows too. You essentially apply it like a lip gloss and then peel it off for color, as seen below:

Scary picture alert! This is me first thing in the morning with no makeup, so be kind! :) Behind the scenes blogging, right here!

1--It is impossible to apply neatly.
2--After I let it dry, I peeled it off.
3--Here's the after. It stays for hours!

• Long Lasting Lip Tattoo Peel Off Mask $3.99

Check this out: I tried 10 Sleeping Masks So You Don't Have To

24 K Mask--Get hydrated and glowing skin with gold.

• Peter Thomas Roth Un-Wrinkle $68
• Passport to Beauty Gold Radiance $65 for 2 (I got this in a FabFitFun box in Fall 2015)
• Miss Spa 24k Gold Creme Mask $6.99

Bubble Mask--These turn from cream to bubbles on the face.

• ELF Hydrating Bubble Mask (originally reviewed here) $14
• Dr. Brandt Hydrating $70 (more on this tomorrow)

GlamGlow Gravity Mud Mask--This silver peel off mask leaves skin tighter. It has a strong scent, not bad, just too strong for me, and was fun to peel off, as pictured below. $69

Modeling Mask--One of the MOST unusual masks concoctions I've ever tried. It's a powder that you mix into something like pancake batter. Apply to face and it dries into a plaster-like shell. Bizarre! They have many different types, depending on needs. I tried two.

Vitamin C Modeling Mask $20 (great for brightening/moisturizing)

Collagen Modeling Mask $20 (anti-aging/firming)

Which of these would you try?

Extra Elle:

• Super fast weekend, mainly since I spent so much of Saturday out and about before the cooler temps hit yesterday. So much for that first day of spring! I actually don't mind it, but wish that pollen would go away.
• See also: Sheet Mask Reviews--Everything you need to know

2014 Resolutions Tag!

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2014. Are you doing any resolutions? For the past few years, I did monthly resolutions. For 2013, I did my resolutions weekly (never again--that was too much). This year, I wasn't going to do any until I saw the pic below on Pinterest:

Sounds like fun and completely doable, right? Martha thought so too, and said I should make it into a tag. So I'm tagging YOU! You can go ahead and completely fill it in, or do like I am, and posting about each one as I do it. I can't wait to see your answers, so play along! This year is going to be great--I just know it!

Rants + Raves, The 52 Project: November

Hope you're ready for a big post! My posting schedule got out of whack last week, so I was unable to post this then. Enjoy.

Every week in 2013, I'm attempting a new resolution. I call it The 52 Project.

November's 52:

• no caffeine--I didn't drink any, but did have chocolate without thinking about it.
• saying NO--I have a hard time with this, as I such a people-pleaser. I managed to really do this--one of my big accomplishments this year.
• more confidence, less insecurity---I worked on this and felt I made some big strides.
• thankful--This was too easy, as I am a thankful person daily. I used to do the 30 Days of Thankful, but felt silly doing it since it's how I start my day.

This month's resolutions will be those that I failed to do during the year. I can't believe I'm almost done with this project!

Rants

• So I have recently lost 40 lbs, and only my mom noticed! Maybe everyone else noticed and chose not to say anything? We'll see at Christmas. Did you see my Slimfession about losing weight?
• Driving. I'm over it. Yes, it was so, so worth it, and I'd do it all over again, but I'm tired of the commute and gas money! I hope that doesn't come across as I'm a bad person.
• Drowning in email and my ever-growing list of things to do. I took my computer this weekend to get work done, but it just didn't happen. I was too busy holding a baby! :)

Raves

• Thanksgiving with family--always worth raving about!
• Thank YOU for reading and commenting!
• I got everything decorated for Christmas! I especially love my ornaments from my travels around the world. 
• I finally saw Catching Fire! Loved it.
• I got to meet my 15 month-old niece, Maddy! I don't get to see my other brother that often, so it was a treat. She was a cutie.
• My new baby niece Stella is here! Totally worth the 5 am, 5-hour drive to get all the kisses I wanted. Her middle name is after my beloved, late great-granny and she was born on the 6th, just like our Sugar. Stella has a temporary Angel's Kiss mark on her eyelid, which I'm convinced is a kiss from our granny. She was famous for leaving her lipstick on your face when she kissed you.

Random

• I got stuck in a Christmas parade route--this is the 2nd time this has happened in my life (the first being in Willacoochee, Georgia years ago)! I cranked up the Christmas tunes, threw pennies out the window since I didn't have candy, and I waved. I'm so weird.
• Since I spent most of my time at the hospital, I really got to see snippets of life. A talented baseball player leave before his child was born (I'm not sharing his name here). A young new mother leave to smoke just hours after having her baby and then leaving every 2 hours to continue her habit. It just made me even more thankful that my baby niece won't have to start off life with so many obstacles but yet feel hopeless that I can't help those others babies. Such is life.
• I think I may have lost my small-town country girl card. I had an awful time driving on wet dirt roads and in the dark. I guess that officially makes me a city girl?

Giveaways

• $50 Gift Card
• Pulsaderm Cleaning Brush

The 52 Project: June

Happy 4th of July, America! I have the day off, but it's rainy, so I'm not sure what plans will be. Be sure to keep up with me on Instagram. But let's talk about today's post. For every week in 2013, I'm doing a different resolution. I call it The 52 Project, and I'm halfway finished! I cannot believe how fast this year has been. Let's check out my goals for June:

Focus on the Positive

• I tend to focus on my flaws or what needs to be improved in terms of my life, self, blog, etc. Instead, I worked on focusing on what I like about myself, my life, and the blog achievements I've made so far. I did okay on this, and was surprised I did as well as I did.

Post Everywhere with No Makeup

• Oh, I love an Instagram filter. If only I looked that way in real life, right? I decided to post a pic on Twitter and Instagram of me with zero makeup! Gross, but I did it! Would you?

Shyness

• We all know I'm shy and awkward, but for some reason this year I'm working on it. I made it a point to talk to someone new everyday and looking them in the eye (a past resolution).

Have No Choice but to Enjoy Everyday

• During the week of the previous resolution, I told the cashier to have a nice day, and he told me he had no choice not to. I thought that was amazing! What a positive way to approach life! And I've been doing that ever since.

For July, I'm focusing on a weekly goal that I failed in past months.

June in Review:

Yes, I have three pics of myself here, but I see it as I've come a long way with feeling comfortable taking pics of myself and being in front of the camera. Videos have helped!
Charlie, just because :)
The Pool--My home away from home
Mountains + Covered Bridge--A fun weekend in Helen, GA
The Bling Ring--I went to a screening. I liked it!
Rocket Popsicle Nails--A little something summery and patriotic

What's New At The Drugstore: January

How was your weekend? Mine was spent taking down the rest of Christmas decorations (my apt. feels so bare!) and I saw Silver Linings Playbook (so good! And I made it through drinking only water!) I also completed my first week of The 52 Project. For each week in 2013, I'm doing a different resolution. I'm sharing daily updates on Twitter/Instagram, with monthly updates here! First: I drank just water for a week! I cannot believe I actually did it! This week's goal is to spend no money. I tend to eat out at least once a week and buy a coffee weekly, plus I go out with my friends, so of course that adds up. I know I can go without spending, and while a week isn't a big sacrifice, every bit helps. But back before my mini-money-ban, I did spend some of my Christmas money on some new beauty products from the drugstore (most were on sale or I used my coupons from CVS). Let's see what's new:

Covergirl Lipperfection Jumbo Gloss Balm--I tried to find more info for these on the Covergirl website, and didn't see anything, but these are new (to me at least). I have loved all versions of these pencil lip balm stains, especially Revlon, so I couldn't wait to try out these from Covergirl. I chose these shades because I didn't have any similar colors in my collection, and I wanted to make sure the shades were different from Revlon. There seemed to be several shades, with a couple that looked similar to Revlon shades. Covergirl's version is a tiny bit smaller and thinner, but it's not noticeable unless you're holding the two side by side. BTW If your skin is darker and you use the Covergirl Queen line, you'll find a whole display catered to you. These are advertised as shiny, temporary and not as a stain. The colors are pretty and I liked how the display showed that the product needs to be twisted from the bottom--something that seemed to confuse some reviewers of the Revlon product. I like the color selection better than Revlon's. I liked the ease of application (great for travel/on-the-go) and the moisturizing texture, but they didn't have the staying power of the stain. The colors I chose are very natural, not overpowering, and look exactly as pictured. I liked these, but not sure I'd repurchase.

Revlon BB Cream (see a more in-depth review here)--This reminds me of my beloved Garnier BB cream, but not as greasy. I still think it's best suited for dry skin, but feel free to try it out. I really like it.

Rimmel BB Cream (See a more in-depth review and other drugstore BB cream reviews here)--I think oily skin might like this, as my dry skin didn't find it moisturizing, but I still like it and will use it.

L'Oreal True Match Concealer Stick--This reminds me in appearance of the Urban Decay concealer stick, but I'm afraid that's where the similarities end. It has some coverage, but is not as creamy. It would be great for cleaning up a red lip, for example, but I would not use it directly under the eyes--place on a brush/sponge/finger instead. If you purchased one that was your skin tone, it would work to cover a zit. I've also used it to line my lower waterline to make me look more awake--perfect if a white pencil is too harsh for you. It also works to highlight under the brows. I'm going to get it in a darker shade and use it for contouring. Another product that is great for travel/on-the-go.

Maybelline Color Tattoos--I own a couple of these, but I wanted these LE shades. If you don't own any, and want a cheaper, shimmery version of MAC Paint Pots, try these. They can be worn alone or as a base for other shadows. They really do last! First, is Inked in Pink,a gorgeous, light shimmery pink, that looks darker in the bottom photo. Barely Branded, which is an off-white/almost-fleshtone shade with a bit of shimmer, but is not glittery at all. It shows up as a cool champagne. I would definitely repurchase these.

Maybelline Color Whisper Lipsticks--These remind me of Revlon Lip Butters, are slightly more moisturizing  and come in 20 shades, just like the Lip Butters. These are way smaller, and remind me of L'Oreal Le Balm, but are even smaller than that. The color pay off is great, with the Pinup Peach looking very natural on me and the Lust for Blush looking like a light mauve, but still very pretty and wearable. The only reason I will not repurchase is because the thin size. I feel like I'm getting a better deal with the Lip Butters, but I do love how moisturizing these are.

What new beauty products have YOU been loving?

PS: I also have some new mascara reviews!

The 52 Project

Have you made your New Year Resolutions? Please share! For the past five years, I did my resolutions a bit differently. I did them monthly, and shared them for a couple of years on my 12 Months of Resolutions series. I loved seeing family, friends, and other bloggers join me and share their own monthly resolutions. But after failing miserably one month last year, I gave up the project.

I decided for 2013, I'm doing a weekly resolution. Some of them will be big things, some easy, some silly, and some will be small things. Small things add up to big changes, and I want to challenge myself this year. My biggest challenge: I'm tired of being an introverted wallflower. I've turned down many blog opportunities or even social events simply because I'm too shy. This year will be one of transformation. I can't wait! Please join me!

The plan: I'll mention each week's resolution at the end of Monday's post, with a little more discussion/pictures on Twitter and Instagram. I hope you follow me on those! Then, I'll do a monthly recap with more details and pics of how each week went, if I want to keep doing that resolution and so on. First up, I resolve to drink only water for a week. Let's see how my Diet Coke and sweet tea-loving self will handle it!

Is there a resolution you'd like to see me try for a week? 

Do you have resolutions? Please share. :)

December & 2012: A Review

Charlie and Santa--I never tire of posting this photo;

Me, in glasses, last minute Christmas shopping;

The annual tree pic;

Christmas nails--glitter forever;

My Sister's wedding & me looking awkward;

 Charlie's tongue hanging out because he hates having his pic taken like me!

How was your December? In my promise to share more personal stuff on here, since there is actually a girl behind all the polishes and curling irons, I'm doing another month in review. I thought I'd share a few of my favorite Instagram pics of the month. Go follow me on Instagram for more candid shots of me and way too many of Charlie. December seemed to fly by for me! Obviously the holidays and family would be the best parts, but blog-wise, I had my biggest daily views ever! Over 18,000!  Last December I posted every day (seriously) and had my lowest views, which I attributed to the holidays, so it was a nice surprise this year. And now for my year in review!

published in a magazine, too many selfies, lots of Charlie, beach, hair, Sugar 

And how was your 2012? I always had this theory that even-numbered years ended up being the best, but I think 2012 was split right down the middle. Here's a "quick" review of 2012:

• It started off pretty rough, with the death of my Granny Sugar, and some really difficult family stuff, but I had so many of you pitch in and write guest posts. I am so thankful for a wonderful blogging community/friends. Thank you.
• In February I went to WDW and WWOHP. I hadn't been to the Magic Kingdom since I was a kid, so it was a blast being a kid again. And Harry Potter was just as magical as I'd hoped.
• In March, I got published in Bust Magazine! 
• April and May featured beach trips, and my sister's and brother's birthdays. 
• When June rolled around, it was all about the beach, with my annual trip with my friends, and lots of trips to the pool. 

pumpkins, Falcons, Wild Adventures, too many selfies, mountains, shelly beach, WDW, tan

• July was great because my Lil Sis and I went to Wild Adventures Theme park and then she visited me in Atlanta.
• In August, I attended an Atlanta Falcons game and my nephew's birthday. 
• September, I made my Bucket List goal of getting into the Guinness Book of World Records!
• October, I was asked to be a part of a reality show (no worries, I'm too shy), and I went back to Walt Disney World for my birthday. It was my best birthday ever!
• November, I had my first taste of nasty comments, got over it, posted my 30 Days of Thankful on Instagram, and celebrated Thanksgiving & nephew's birthday with my family.
• December, as mentioned earlier, was fast and fun.

Charlie, Christmas, lake, nails, autumn

Have a safe and happy New Years Eve! 

For hair, makeup, and nail ideas for NYE, click here and here.

How was your 2012?

May 2013 be the most amazing year ever!

Keep up with Elle Sees on Twitter and Instagram.

You Gotta Check Out: CAUSETEE.ORG

One of my goals for this year is to introduce to you a charitable cause every month. For July, I just had to tell you about www.causetee.org. I hope you'll love them too!

W H O ?
There are SO MANY charities that don't get the funding they deserve. CauseTee.org seeks to change that in a unique way.

H O W ?

• CauseTee has an artist-designed limited-edition CauseTee designed to promote the charity's message.
• Every two weeks they partner with a new charity and artist to make the shirts.
• $8 from every shirt sold gets donated to the featured charity so that they can focus on their mission and not fundraising.

C H A R I T Y  I N F O
For the next two weeks, purchase a shirt and you'll support the S.O.U.L. Foundation. Their goal is to help Ugandans with the Get a Goat, Give a Goat Program. They give Ugandans the tools they need to thrive on their own. For every two shirts sold, a goat is given to a family in need.


S H I R T S
Check out the Mandala design, available for two weeks only! Cute, right? And there's one for guys as well!

$22

Check out additional styles/colors @ causetee.org

Hurry, time's running out...

12 Months of Resolutions: May's Results & June's Goal

For the past two years, I've done a different resolution each month.

Read past 12 Month Resolutions here.

If you'll recall in May, I was on a beauty shopping ban. I also decided to clean out my makeup hair/products. See what I did with the castoffs, here. Don't throw anything away until you read that post!

How Did I Do?

I didn't buy anything until the last day of the month!!! But I had a good reason, honest! ;) I bought some polish to cheer up a friend who's been ill, and then I needed conditioner.

What Did I Learn?

I'm doing just fine in the beauty products department, and don't need anything. Everyone has that thing she spends her money on--mine's beauty products. I get super excited about seeing what's new and trying it out, as evidenced by my trip to Sephora yesterday.

Would I Do It Again?

Yes! I think I'll do this twice a year.

For June, I'm working out five days a week! Wish me luck!

12 Months of Resolutions: April's Results (& May's Challenge)

For the past two years, I've done a different resolution each month. Read past 12 Month Resolutions here.

April's resolution: So for April, I'm putting forth the effort, every day. While my job has a super casual, nonexistent dress code, I'm going to put for the effort. I'm going to look nice and wear full makeup (I usually just escape with concealer) for one month, instead of when I feel like it. I want to see how it makes me feel, and if people notice.


How Did I Do?

I wore full makeup and hair every day. I dressed pretty much the same though about half of the month. As a mini challenge, I kept my nails always painted.--probably not the best thing for my nails, but it was fun.

What Did I Learn?

I thought people would notice, since a natural beauty I am not. I definitely need makeup to avoid the "OMG ARE YOU SICK?" questions. But no one said noticed--however, I guess no news is better than bad, right? I did feel better about myself, a bit more confident. One thing I noticed is that I felt the need to go somewhere, anywhere, to justify the need to put on makeup. It's like I didn't want to waste all the effort to sit around the house. I learned that, while I do dress up for me, I really do it for the public.

Would I Do It Again?

Yes! But it is good for the skin/hair/nails to take a break from all the fuss. Luckily, I'll never be a celeb, so I won't have the problem of having to be done up all the time.

For May, I'm on a beauty spending freeze. My collection has gotten a little out of hand, and I'm vowing to spend the month finishing up products/giving away/clearing up some space. Yup, no new, fun, dazzling beauty products for me! Luckily, I have Birchbox & MyGlam to tide me over. And if any of you wanna send me stuff, I'd be more than happy to take those products off your hands! ;)

What is your monthly resolution? What's your spending weakness (mine's obviously makeup)?

Don't forget to enter my amazing, fantastical giveaway for Sephora and NYX goodies!

PS: Happy birthday to my Daddy.

12 Months of Resolutions--April (& March's Results)

For March/Lent, I gave up cupcakes/cakes. MISSION COMPLETED!! I think this was the easiest challenge so far. 

I live in a huge city, and I don't often run into the same people twice. That makes it easy and tempting to wear whatever and not do my makeup (note: the only thing I'm vain about is my hair, so that's always on point, haha). Growing up in a small town, I always felt the need to look nice, even when going to Wal-Mart. People will talk about how you've "let yourself go" if you don't!

But whom am I dressing up for? Me? The world? What should it matter what people think? Should their opinion of me, a stranger, influence my self-esteem?

I've decided to a little experiment.

So for April, I'm putting forth the effort, every day. While my job has a super casual, nonexistent dress code, I'm going to put for the effort. I'm going to look nice and wear full makeup (I usually just escape with concealer) for one month, instead of when I feel like it. I want to see how it makes me feel, and if people notice.

PS: How was your Easter/Passover? I thought I'd throw in a flashback of me and my sis J!

Lil Elle, Lil J...note the Easter hats & dresses! And baskets!

In case you missed it: did you answer the Question?

12 Months of Resolutions: February's Results & March's Challenge

I realized I forgot to post this! And it's been one of my most proud moments. Seriously. So for February, I decided to give up Diet Coke for a month. I've tried at least two times on the blog before, always ending in failure. This time, I did it!! I did it!! Have I had Diet Coke since? Yes, but the gotta-have-it feeling isn't there. The only negative, which really isn't, is I expected to have super amazing skin from all the water I drank. My skin was the same, but I know it's healthier.

For Lent, I gave up chocolate. That lasted around 6 hours, when I had a bite of some chocolate ice cream, and completely forgot. So instead I gave up cupcakes/cake, and am carrying this over into March. So far, so good.

Evil deliciousness, in an old-school glass bottle.

PS: There are two posts today! Check 'em out.

12 Months of Resolutions: January's Results + February's Challenge

Something I've done for the past couple of years is to do a different resolution each month. I do this in the hopes that the resolution will stick, since it takes generally 21 days to form a new habit.

For January, I gave up shopping for an entire month!

How did I do?
I nailed it!! I've done this challenge many times before,  but this time I did it during those amazing post-holiday sales. Sales and enticement, especially from bloggers, were everywhere! I swear everyday I saw some great post full of sales calling my name. But I resisted. It helped having little treats like Birchbox and MyGlam to help ease it.

Would I do it again?
Yes! I'd like to extend it to twice a year, or at least two consecutive months.

Bonus: I also had a mini-resolution to listen to new-to-me music every day. I did it. Thirty-one new bands gave me plenty to take in.You all gave excellent selections! Thank you. :)

For February, I'm giving up Diet Coke!
So far, so good! Wish me luck!


What is something you'd like to change about yourself?

My $100 Shopbop giveaway ends in 3 days! Enter here.

12 Months of Resolutions; January (and December's Results)

For every month in 2011, I chose a different resolution. Read more about that here. I chose to do monthly in the hopes that the resolution would stick. I've decided to continue the series into the new year! But before I do, I need to wrap up the results from December! As my last resolution in December, I really over did it! Check out my resolutions and results.

1. Stop Eating Red Meat
• I decided to do this after experiencing food poisoning so many times from store-bought/restaurant food.
• I ate meat twice (once from a grass-fed farm, and once because my Mama made lasagna, and you don't turn down my mother's food).
• I'm still doing this, but found my energy levels have plummeted when it was that time of the month (sorry for the tmi!). I'm taking iron to help compensate.
2. Go Meatless Weekly
• I did this 3 weeks out of 4.
• I'm still doing this resolution.
3. Eat Out Weekly
• Again, fueled by the food poisoning, I decided to stop eating at restaurants so often (I'm a horrible cook). Maybe some online cooking classes would help!I also chose this to save money and to encourage healthy eating. Minus my brother's catered wedding and rehearsal, I did well!
• I'm continuing this resolution.
4. Blog Daily
• Normally, I post 5 days a week, but for December I decided to blog every day, because I have SO MANY ideas. I'm serious; I could easily post 3xs a day if I had enough readers.
• I did 32 posts in total, because I'm weird an overachiever.
• I won't do this again because (a)lack of viewers (b)busy time of year. Everyone is busy in December anyway, so who has time to read, let alone write, 32 posts? 

I'll be changing the format for how I do this series,as it seemed to confuse people starting off with last month's results and putting the new resolution at the end. I will include my resolution in another post, and then dedicate another one to the results. Also for this year, I will do a big resolution and then a bonus one.

JANUARY'S RESOLUTION IS

No shopping!

My bonus resolution is to 

Listen to new music daily!

What, if any, resolutions do you have?

PS: Please leave me ideas for new-to-me music. Thanks for those who have suggested already.

12 Months of Resolutions: A Year In Review

Happy 2012! As the new year began, I joined the masses in reflecting upon the new year. And something I can look back fondly is my 12 Months of Resolutions series. Instead of making a mass of resolutions and completing none, I decided to do something different each month, in the hopes that the resolution would stick. Some months had excellent surprises, while a couple left me disappointed. While 12 Months of Resolutions didn't focus specifically on beauty or DIY, it did focus on my life, which I like to share with you. I hope you check them out and maybe you'll be inspired!
Edit: Some of the comments have mistaken these as this year's goals, so I wanted to make clear that these are from 2011, as this was a year in review. Click the link to read what the results were. Enjoy!

• January: Focus on the Blog
• February: Give Up Diet Coke
• March: Stop Complaining
• April: Restyle My Style
• May: Clean Out
• June: No Shopping
• July: Stop Swearing
• August: Give up Diet Coke, Part 2
• September: Read Every Day
• October: Say YES!
• November: Be Super Thankful
• December: No red meat, go meatless weekly, eat out once a week and blog every day of December (I'll post a review of December when I write about January's resolution)

Proudest Moments: Stopping Complaining & Thankfulness

Surprise Fail: Diet Coke--really thought I could kick it

Easiest: Stopping Swearing

Surprising Win: Reading Every Day

12 Months of Resolutions: December (& November Revisited)

It's my last month of resolutions!! I cannot believe it. I'm currently debating whether to continue this series into next year, or if to just mix it into another post. What do you think? Regardless, I'll do a wrap up post next month, listing every resolution and such.

For November, I wanted to be UBER THANKFUL! 
Grade: A
Notes: I feel weird sharing all of the things I did/said over the month. I don't want it to seem like I'm bragging or something--look what I DID! Look AT ME! Blah. That's not why I did it. Here are a few things I did:

• I did a verbal and written list of something I was thankful for daily. 
• I forgave someone--and that was really hard to do. I think I'm still in progress there.
• I donated clothes to Goodwill.
• I helped collect coats for the Men's Home.
• I helped with a canned food drive.
• I helped knit hats for cancer patients.
• I gave a stranger gas money.
• I edited an unemployed friend's resume.

Would I do this again?

Certainly. We need to stop spending so much time complaining, and realize how lucky we are. Even in our darkest days, we are still so fortunate.

___________________________________________________________________

To wrap up the year, I chose something completely random for December: stop eating red meat for a month. This stemmed from having food poisoning so many times this year. I just cannot take being sick anymore.

I'm also going completely meatless once a week.

And I'm only eating out once a week (this one I have already failed!)

What's something good you've done for others lately?

What are your resolutions for next year?


PS: My Christmas Wishlist was featured over at Cornflake Dreams. Click here to take a peek!

12 Months of Resolutions: November (And October Revisited)

Every month I've been doing a different resolution in the hopes that they'll stick. 

Some have been really successful, and some deserve a second (or third) chance.

See past resolutions here.

October was my self-proclaimed Birthday Month, and I wanted to really step out of my comfort zone and say YES to everything that came my way. How'd I do?

Grade: B+

Notes: Although I ramble on here, I'm really shy until you get to know me. But the shyness really holds me back from opportunities sometimes, and this month I wanted to change that. While not nearly enough opportunities came for me to say YES to, I did a few things that are unlike me. Here are some of the things I did:

• Jumped into a parade
• Sang karaoke in front of a crowd on my birthday
• Crashed a wedding*
• Posted pics of myself on the blog

*When I was in Philly, I totally crashed a wedding for about a minute. The wedding was in my hotel, a black-tie affair. I was in a sweater and jeans but grabbed a mustache on a stick and waltzed right in...and then shortly waltzed right out. On the plane home, the guy next to me was at the wedding! Luckily he didn't see me. ;)

Would I do this again? 

Yes! I am still struggling with seeing myself on the blog. I'm definitely not a style blogger, and this isn't a style blog, although I pretend to play one on Tuesdays! I was disappointed for not posting more of me, but as each week goes by, I get a little more confident. And I'm trying to accept compliments too.

For November, I'm listing and sharing my thankfulness every single day. Even on our darkest days, we are truly, truly lucky and have every reason to be thankful.

What's something you did to step out of your comfort zone?

Have you entered my giveaway yet?

There will be TWO winners!

12 Months of Resolutions: October & September Revisited

Each month I attempt a different resolution, 

in the hopes that the resolutions will last longer than a month. 

See past resolutions here.

For September, my resolution was to read every day. .

Grade: A+

Notes:  I promised I would read some of a book every day. And not just mags, either! In total, I read 23 books (and my usual magazines too). I admit, some of the books were style or beauty books, and I could read a couple of those in a day. To help, I kept a book or two on hand, and used my time wisely.

Would I do this again? Sure, but I felt like I was back in college, and trying to cram in reading. I really put pressure on myself to read a lot. Therefore, I also found that my blog posts suffered a bit, since I used most of my spare time reading books and responding to blog comments.

For October, I am stepping out of my comfort zone and saying YES to every opportunity. I tend to be quite a wallflower (unless a microphone is involved), and will just do a little laugh and whisper "no" to many things in life. It's my Birthday month, and it's about dang time I started doing living it up.
I'm leaving this up to fate, and letting things happen organically, instead of planning a list of things to do.

AND since it's my birthday month (& I got away so easy last month) I'm doing a bonus resolution: accept compliments. I'm horrible at this, are you? I always think the compliment is an ulterior motive for something else. Or sometimes I just don't believe them. But this month, that's all changing!

Let's see where life takes me this month...




Take a moment to enter my Design Sponge giveaway. It ends on the 18th!

12 Months of Resolutions: September (& August Revisited)

Each month I’ve been doing a different resolution, in hopes that they’ll stick around for more than a month. Read past resolutions here.

For August, I tried once again, to give up Diet Coke.

Grade: Well, uh...um…C?

Notes: Weeks 1 and 2 were great! And then week 3 came along. I had a nasty case of food poisoning (second time in 2 months) and the Diet Coke made me feel better. Ok, that’s my excuse for I drank it for 8 days straight. Yikes. And then the rest of the month I was good.

Would I do this again? Yes! It’s a constant struggle for me, since I love the caffeine, but I’d love to give it up forever. Or at least be able to drink one every once in a blue moon.

For September, my resolution is to read every day. One of my degrees is in English, so my love for reading has been a big part of my life. But in the past couple of years, I haven’t been reading as much. Instead, I’ve been on the Internet, usually blogging or reading blogs. For this month (and from here on out) I will read every day (mags don’t count!), and hopefully a book or two (or 3!) a week. I’m trying my best to reprioritize my time, since most of my spare time is spent writing comments or blogs or creating posts.

I’ll check back in next month!

What resolutions should I try next?

PS--IT'S GIVEAWAY TIME! Click here to enter...it's super easy!

12 Months of Resolutions: August (& July Revisited)

If you recall in February, I decided to give up Diet Coke. And if you recall it was a complete failure. For August, I am once again, giving up Diet Coke for a month. I know it’s not the healthiest thing for me to put into my body. It’s also been the one resolution I didn’t complete that really bothered me. I apologize in advance for grumpiness and complaining of headaches. I’m currently on Day 2. Wish me luck!

For July, I decided to give up cussing. Now, I’m not a potty mouth at all. In fact, my parents have only heard me cuss twice in my entire life…I’m not exaggerating (feel free to roll your eyes). I can count on one hand the times I’ve cussed in front of my younger siblings. While nearly everyone I know cusses like a sailor, it’s just never been my thing.  However, I’m no prude and consider myself rather liberal, although most assume the opposite. I just use other words instead of the “f word” to pepper my conversation. In fact, my biggest pet peeve is when people cuss loudly in front of children, like at a family restaurant. Is that weird? I just consider it crass and bad manners; I get so embarrassed when my friends do this (Elizabeth, I’m totally calling you out passive-aggressive-style because I know you’ve never read my blog. Ha!). How did I do?

Grade: F….for failure

Notes: I thought this would be easy-peasy. H-no! I think because I wasn’t allowed to cuss at all, that I just had to. Kind of like when someone tells you not to touch something or to not press the button—you’ve got to do it because they said no! All of those years of repressed cursing kinda came out in July. At first, cuss words came out in abbreviations or letters—like wtf or oh, S! And then I failed by cussing in other languages (minor in linguistics, only so I can cuss in a few languages…kidding). And that trickled into the real thing and even on my Twitter (gasp, horror, oh S!). I never became a full-out sailor, mateys.

Would I Do This Again? F-yeah! Actually, no, because it’s just not going to happen. I’m glad I tried though.

Could you give up cussing for a month? Do you make sailors blush when you speak?

I'm doing a different resolution each month in the hopes that they'll stick around. Read past resolutions here.