Sunday, August 16, 2015

Easy, Breezy, Beautiful. CleverGirl.

You know when you are out running errands wearing your yoga pants and a ratty t-shirt, no make up, and have total bedhead and see a perfectly put together woman and you suddenly think, "Wow. I wish I could be her!"  Well I do!!!!  I have always been amazed by those women that seem so outwardly put together! They have perfect hair, makeup, and an amazing outfit to boot.  I have always wanted to be like those women! They look amazing, exude confidence, and appear to take pride in their physical appearance.

I had a realization a couple/few weeks ago. The only way I will ever be like those women is to take action instead of wishing for a miracle. So, I have begun to take action!

I have never worn much makeup. Foundation, blush, and mascara were my usual day-to-day staples and if there was a special occasion I would slap on some eye shadow. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that routine, but I want to learn how to do more! I have been watching beauty YouTubers and learning new tricks. I have picked up some new beauty products and the experimenting has been quite fun.

Ben's lovely finger poking my overexposed face. But new makeup! Yay!
Before you go all judgy on me, I would like to clarify that I am not a completely self-involved dumb woman. I am a woman who wants to have confidence and take pride in my appearance. I am not materialistic or think that I need every product known to man slathered on my face. I want to look good for myself! And my husband. I want him to take pride in having a lovely wife! I also am smart, have a good career and will be applying to law school in a month. Brains are beauty, too!


Anyway. . . So far in my process I have found a few products that I do not know how I lived without! 

1. The Bobbi Brown Corrector from Sephora is TO DIE FOR! I know that some people use regular concealer for under eye dark circles, but this stuff is far superior. It is very dense and creamy and covers those circles and lines and brightens the eyes. Go try it. Seriously.

2. The Urban Decay Naked 1 eye shadow palette is also to die for. Very subtle colors that you can mix and match to do an everyday look or some beautiful night looks. It comes with a brush that I love and there are a million online tutorials for different shadow variations.

3. The Urban Decay Perversion Mascara is the best I have ever used. It doesn't get clumps or create spider lashes with multiple layers. It also stays on your lashes and doesn't give you raccoon eyes by midday. I will never go back to my drugstore mascara AGAIN.

4. I have also learned that your makeup brushes MATTER. If you use the $10 pack of brushes from Target, you aren't going to get the nice, blended and natural look that you will from the more expensive brushes. Splurge, get the better brushes, and care for them so they will last a long time and it will so be worth the money!

5. I am also a huge fan of the Urban Decay All-Nighter Long Lasting Makeup Setting Spray [not pictured]. This is a light face mist that sets in your makeup and is perfect for long days at a wedding or other event. Pretty much all of the Urban Decay products I have tried I have loved. I also have the eye shadow primer which is fantastic and keeps your eye shadow flawless all day.

 I will leave you with a quote I thought was appropriate from House Bunny with the discussion of eye shadow, mascara. . . makeup. 

"The eyes are the nipples of the face." -Shelley

:) hehe.

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Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Preparing to Apply to Law School

As you know, I am in the process of preparing to apply to law school.  On September 1st I can officially begin submitting applications! Yikes! Unfortunately, I was unable to take the June LSAT due to an amazing vacation in Hawaii, so I cannot take it until October 3rd, therefore must wait until I receive my score to submit my complete application. What you likely do not know, is that you have to use a special program to compile all the various components of your application and submit it to the schools electronically. (Note: this program costs $$, as does the LSAT, and your application to the school. Woof.) In that program, you can search for schools in a few different ways. One way, which I have found to be both a blessing and a curse, is by inputting your GPA and LSAT score. I am obviously guesstimating on the LSAT score (and am in no way trying to flatter myself with this number - generally sticking to the average for the time being) and am bumping my GPA up just a notch and seeing that I can at least get in SOMEWHERE potentially. That's exciting! To an extent. . . 

I am not ashamed to say that I have a terrible GPA. [LIES - I am ashamed.] Currently, I believe it is at a 2.72 or something. I have a couple of F's that I am going to do the second grade option at the University of Iowa and that should bump it up just a bit. My goal is a 3.0 when I walk the stage. Or at least close to it. That being what it is, I absolutely MUST do well on my LSAT in order to have an inkling of a chance to be admitted to Iowa's law school. According to that wonderful program mentioned above, when I enter my GPA at a 2.92 with an LSAT score of 155, I have 0% chance of being admitted. I don't care. I'm still going to apply. 

If you have talked to me at all, you would have picked up on the fact that I was leaning towards the University of Memphis. For their in-state tuition, it is approximately $18k/year. To receive this fantabulous in-state tuition rate, you just have to buy a house.  After finding out that tidbit of information, I scoured realtor.com and found out that real estate in Memphis is even more affordable than Cedar Rapids! With further research, I realized why. . . Memphis has the 2nd highest crime rate in the U.S. Proof that nothing can be all sunshine and rainbows.  So back to the drawing board!

*This weekend I had a conversation with my brother-in-law, Keith, and he made an excellent point. Wherever I choose to go is going to change my life. It will effect the friends I have, where I will live, where I might live and practice after school, etc. His point - don't base you decision strictly on cost of tuition. There are so many other things to consider! I hadn't really considered this aspect in my selection process. He is absolutely right. This means absolutely no Texas. Sorry y'all. . . *

Iowa College of Law would be ideal. We wouldn't have to move, therefore would know that we had a steady paycheck and benefits coming from Ben. We wouldn't have to sell our house, search for new housing, and acquaint ourselves with a new city. All of those things sound exciting, but the stress of getting ready to lay down my life for 3 years to law school is intense and I worry about feeling overwhelmed. (Although it makes me giddy to think about moving somewhere new!) Plus, if I were to go to Iowa, I would be a true Hawkeye through-and-through! Not to mention Iowa is the 22nd top law school in the country, so I'd have a fairly competitive resume. And all of the attorneys I have worked for have gone there and they are very well respected in their various fields. I want to be that!

I fully expect rejection from Iowa, but am going to do everything I can to weasel my way into their school! I will also be applying to schools in Minneapolis, Denver, Omaha, Tennessee and Kentucky. Maybe Virginia. Maybe Georgia or the Carolina's. Maybe Virginia. TBD.

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