belated blogiversary

now i normally dont forget things when they revolve around me... however, this little sucker slipped my mind. saturday was my THREE YEAR blogiversary. holy canoli, ive been blabbering for this long and havent run out of things to say? well that part shouldnt surprise anyone, really!

took a little nostalgic trip down memory lane. for those of you that have come with me, thanks. ive enjoyed capturing all of my

blog starting, 

high school reminiscing, 

student inspiring, 

lifetime capturing, 

football loving, 

new-car buying, 

quarter century reaching, 

epiphany having,

emotion numbing, 

question asking, 

teacher supporting, 

vodka repping,

choice making,  

success celebrating, 

gangsta training, 

single life mortifying, 

coffee resisting, 

anniversary avoiding, 

baggage carrying,

new year resolving,

project completing,

(and so much more) life. 

i hope youll stay. its really been incredible having somewhere to put my thoughts the past three years. and recently ive been checking out the blog world for whats out there. up next? worldwide domination! kidding. just a little growth... stay tuned! 

my first birchbox - september

after waiting about a month for my invitation... birchbox finally sent me the yes email!!! [any luck yet, friends i referred?] i read comments on facebook from birchbox members about their september disappointment. so i started to get a little nervous.  but i have to say, when it arrived, i was pleasantly surprised! im a big fan of a: getting mail and b: cute things. check and check! wish i took a picture of the wrapping - very pink, very pretty, wrapped in cute tissue and tied with a ribbon. oh well, ill capture october. anyway... on to the contents (which i have now officially tried) in order of how much i enjoyed them least to greatest:

6.  the nexxus products smell really clean. unfortunately, with my thick, long hair im only able to use the sample once. and i dont know about you guys, but i need at least a few rounds of a hair product to tell if it works. eh, we'll see. 

5.  not the biggest fan of the awkward belongs-in-a-childhood-bedroom lavender color of the twistband hairtie, but it works wonders on a ponytail! i heard through the birchbox grapevine that theyve come in boxes more than once, so im hoping for a cuter one next time - also contemplating buying more.

4.  i tried the color club nailpolish on my toesies. the texture isnt great (i usually use essie or opi) but after a few coats, the color is awesome! im totally in love with that color right now and while i bite my fingernails think it would be too much for fingers, its perfect for when my toes peek out.

3.  the kate spade twirl perfume sample is the first thing i tried. its the spritsy kind (which i love!) and smells pretty yummy. i also like that it lasted all day. since i wasnt afraid of it spilling everywhere like most samples, i threw it in my purse for emergencies. 

2.  the tili bag while totally unnecessary is also incredibly cute. its a reusable heavy-duty ziploc bag, basically. but how adorable is it? please check out their site - theres plenty more where that came from. and clearly, im the audience theyre looking for. because i would definitely buy more.

1.  and finally... my favorite. benefit's POREfessional is glorious. it barely leaves the tube and its already silky smooth on your skin. its not sticky or watery or overly thick. within seconds, i didnt even feel it. my face looked awesome. and my makeup went on super-smooth. if i splurge on anything from my september box, this will be it.  

so there you have it. for those that were interested. the way i justify it - i spend way more than $10 a month on random products, so why not enjoy a little luxury?  and really, who doesnt love getting mail? present mail?!  will post october's box much more quickly! i promise!

mad instagram skillz

ok so maybe thats being a little aggressive. im not quite there yet. but im getting better! and using effects and backgrounds i havent tried!

 day4: #what i read. and thats not even the half of it. 

day5: i feel ya, bro. i failed too. clearly i dropped the ball and didnt take a #shadow pic.

day6: #todayimthankful for mimosa saturdays with my awesome boyfriend.

day7: #light - give me some props here, im not usually the abstract beauty type photographer. this is a big step for me. love how the window glows. 

ive also really enjoyed checking out my insta-friends photos. maybe next month more buddies will join us...? in other news, im planning on uploading my september (first) birchbox. ive gotten around to using/trying all the products and thought it would be fun to throw my reviews out there into the world.  crossing my fingers that all the friends i referred get their subscription email soon, so we can share the excitement!

#photos

so i packed just about the best lunch ive packed this entire school year on tuesday. was i super hungry? nah. i just wanted to kick photoaday ass. unfortunately, teacher days are very hectic and #lunchtime is not to be taken for granted. so by the time it rolled around, i had totally forgotten about the photo op and scarfed THE. ENTIRE. THING. skinny, i know. the only thing left was "dessert"...

and today? well... a stressful teacher training, a day away from kids, an evacuation/scare during the workshop, a new fall hair color all #happened. but the part i enjoyed the most (and that made me giggle) was this... 

until tomorrow... 

up for the challenge?

my best friend (in life and in blog world) h juuust about had me convinced to try a monthly photo challenge in august. then i realized its my craziest busiest downright most stressful month of the year. so i put it off. well, a little birdie via email told me its time! and honestly, im settling into a relaxed if somewhat military-esque (and yes i know thats an oxymoron) routine at school, my student teacher is doing his thang, and my grad teacher is on temporary hiatus from her everyday life on mars. and i thoroughly enjoyed blogging daily thankful notes during the month of november last year and little something good's in may. it truly is those mini-moments that make you appreciate the day. so im giving it a try. im uber jealous of this woman's blog and her knack for taking creative pictures. im also more than impressed with everyone and their fancy use of instagram. so maybe ill be a whiz by the time this is done. here's the list:

i think im going to have to stretchhh some of these, especially todays considering its 8pm and im not longer standing, nor do i plan on leaving my bed. id like to think of it as creative interpretation, not cheating. let me know if i fall too far off the wagon.

day1: where i stood. 

ok, so i didnt stand in all of those today. but i have. and i will again. and to be fair, i tried on three pairs before deciding on the ones i actually wore. whatever. ive never been one to interpret the rules exactly as theyre written. 

until tomorrow... when i must photograph my lunch. which means ill have to sit down for long enough to eat lunch for once. thats a challenge in itself!