The Contents of My Bag:

I tend not to carry a bag around. Mostly that's because I'm at school and I carry around a backpack all day, but also because I'm not much of a purse type of person. I'd rather throw my wallet and keys in my pocket and run where ever I need to go. I do have my go-to bag though, and I throw all my crap into it. Since I've used it a lot recently, I thought that I should make a post about it since I personally love to see these sorts of things. 

I have the imitation Alexander Wang Rocco bag that is all the rage over on Ebay. I wouldn't recommend it since my zipper broke on what was pretty much my first day using it. Then again, its an imitation bag and the real things costs about $900, so I think taking a risk with only $40 is a chance worth taking. Unless, of course, you'd rather be out of $900. (Which I definitely would be if I had the cash, but I'll have to settle for the fake one... for now. )

So studs on the bottom, of course. I sewed on the little metal rings on the side in order to attach a strap. When I ordered mine, the listing showed a strap in the picture, but it showed up without one. Yet another reason I wasn't all too happy with my purchase, but once again it's all perspective.

So here is what I shove into it!

From the left working toward the right, I've got a stack with my creme colored wallet on top of my Hamlet book and monthly planner. In front of that is my book of the moment: A Clash of Kings which is soooo long! I love it, but its taking me forever to get through. I don't get enough time to read as I would like, so I only end up reading about two chapters a week. I'm even more anxious because I'm forcing myself not to watch the second season until I'm finished with the book. I watched season one before I read the first book and it ruined the whole book for me. 

Okay, I got really side-tracked there. Moving on. Then I've got a collection of Vaseline Hand lotion with hand sanitizer, an ELF red lipstick, Carmex, and Maybelline Baby Lips in Pink Punch. Unfortunately, my calculator must be toted around because I can't forget to bring it to my Calculus and Physics classes. I've got a water bottle to keep hydrated and some pens. There are my headphones wadded up like usual, often in a knot at the bottom of my bag, my car keys, and lastly my sunglasses which are just some gold aviators I got at Charming Charlie a while ago.

Oh, and I forgot my phone in the picture, that's in my bag too.

Autumn/Winter Makeup 2012

The makeup artists at Burberry have captured my favorite look for the autumn! I love the look of dark(ish) red lips, bare eyes and strong eyebrows. Since I don't like to wear much makeup, especially eye makeup, I have fallen in love with this look. I love how it looks so polished, yet requires barely any effort.

I wore something along these lines to school the other day, but my lipstick didn't stay on long at all. So my next mission is to acquire the perfect red lip stain!

Style Inspiration

All of these photos are from Tumblr, so none of them belong to me.

New Shoes

Now I previously hated wedge sneakers. I remember seeing Miranda Kerr in them a few months ago and I thought they were hideous, but once I saw the black sneaker wedges that were styled well, I fell in love with them. For the most part, I never buy things from trends that I like-mostly because I'm not much of a fashion-wearing person. My wardrobe pretty much consists of tee-shirts, button downs, jeans and sneakers. I loved all the casual outfits I saw on street-style blogs featuring the Isabel Marant wedge sneakers and figured these would be perfect to add something different to my everyday outfits (Not that I wear them everyday, I'm still loyal to my Adidas Samba shoes and my Converse)

Now I almost had to resort to buying some off of ebay since all the the pairs from Topshop, Asos and not the mention the Isabel Marant ones were out of my price range. 

But to my excitement, I found a pair on GoJane for around $25 . For as much as I love this trend, I would never spend over $90 for a pair of shoes that are a fad and I will get bored of and stop wearing after a while (Not that that's anytime soon) The only thing that I was disappointed about was that the GoJane shoes had a white sole, whereas the Isabel Marant and Topshop ones had a brownish sole, which I preferred. Other than that they are great! They are about a 2.5" wedge so I'm only about 5'10"-5'11" in them, which I can handle. 

Poem #1

Ring though my ears
A short, simple tone
That brings forth the hope
Of the places I'll go.
'Cross a valley so wide,
"It's just not meant to be"
Oh, but haven't you heard?
I'm just meant to be free,
Of the chains of the mind,
Of the weight of the heart,
I'm living my life, not playing a part.
It's not simple, not easy
"You're so hopeless, so greedy"
But the life that I lead is not governed by roads
But just following, following
That short, simple tone.
Unpaved and unknown,
It will never come free,
But living is nothing
But me being me.

Life Post #1

Well I have not had a post in forever as I was cramming all of my summer homework into the last few weeks of summer break, as usual. The good thing is, as it's my senior year, I will no longer have to worry about summer work. I read The Awakening by Kate Chopin and Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison for my AP English class and The Devil in Massachusetts by Marion Starkey for my AP History class. That on top of AP Calculus work and essays, I didn't do much else (other than complain about having to do the work, which took up time in itself.)
So I've only been back in school for three days and I already caught some sort of illness, so I ended up staying home today. I re-watched a few Game of Thrones episodes from season one and did next to nothing.  It gave me an excuse to not have to think about anything. I've been thinking for the past year. The past three years really, ever since the start of high school. But now, going into my senior year, I'm going to have to think nonstop until I get that diploma in my hand. But I'm sick of thinking. I'm sick of doing things because its expected of me. I'm sick of having to worry about pleasing people and doing what I think I'm supposed to do. No matter how I try, I always end up being held back by my need to please people. Whether its giving the right answer in class, saying the right thing to a friend, or doing the right thing for my school club presidential duties.
It all makes me wonder how I seem to people. I'm in the advanced and honors courses, I'm captain of the track team, I'm president and vice president of two different school clubs. What does that make me look like to people? Do I look like one of those girls who has her life figured out, who cares about her school, who is smart and involved and is a good organizer and leader? Is that what I look like? Because I'm none of those things, and I care about having none of those things. I care about being happy and none of those things make me happy. I do all of these things because I was pleasing other people, but the further along I get, the more I realize how unhappy I am. I realize how much I dislike the work I'm doing, the places I have to go, not to mention that I'm not too keen on the people I'm surrounded by.
Sure, I care a whole lot about education, but one of my favorite quotes is "Never confuse education with intelligence". You can put someone in school for their whole life, but it doesn't mean they'll learn a thing unless they want to. I can happily life my life outside of school now, but I know that will never happen. I will go on to college where I will study something I dislike to go on to a job that I hate. Live a life that is unfulfilled, and I will die along with my dreams. Unless...unless I do something about it. That is what I want: to do something, but it feels like everyone in my life wants me to do the exact opposite. Be nothing, do nothing, become nothing.
Maybe nothing is a harsh word. They want me to accomplish something, to make something of myself. But it has to be something safe, something acceptable. A musician is definitely not safe or acceptable. Doing what I love, pursuing my passion, what burns a fire deep down inside of me, is not acceptable.
Sometimes their doubts pollute my mind, but still I rise and keep beating on toward the light at the end of my tunnel. Because I know that the only people that have made it, that have won the battle, have conquered their dreams, are the people that still continued to rise and kept beating on. There are few who have the determination to make it, and I think and hope that I am one of them.

John Mayer Trio- Try!

I just found this at the store today for only $4.99 when the album on iTunes is $9.99. (Yes, I do buy my music, for the most part at least. Many people that I talk to tend to give me a weird look when I say that I do. I don't know, do most people still buy music these days?)

I already bought the individual tracks "Who Did You Think I Was" and the Ray Charles cover "I Got a Woman" which are both really good songs. Now I've got the whole album though, so I'm pretty happy, especially with the live version of "Vultures" which is one of my all-time favorite JM songs.
So this find prompted me to write this post since "Try!" is one of the few live albums that I will listen to. (Probably because I love "Who Did You Think I Was" and "I Got A Woman" so much and JM3 unfortunately doesn't have a studio album.) It's definitely worth a shot if you've never listened-whether you're a blues fan or not.

So on that note, I will leave you with "Vultures"!

Album Review: Gotye's Making Mirrors

One of my biggest albums of the summer is Gotye's Making Mirrors, the album with the famous "Somebody That I Used To Know". I absolutely love that song first of all, I don't understand how someone could criticize it. It's a beautifully written and executed track and there is nothing I could even think to change about it. But besides "Somebody That I Used to Know" (and its strong lovers and haters) I think the rest of the album is pretty spectacular. Of course, if you know anything about music or have a strong ear for it, you'd be able to tell from the famous track that Gotye has some serious ability to write and put together some great work. This is even more evident in the remaining tracks of the album.

Now I must admit, not all of the songs on Making Mirrors are on repeat for me. "State of the Art" is just a little too out there for me to listen to it much, its more of a novelty, once-in-a-while song for me. "Bronte" does not get much air time either since it's a bit slow-going, just not my cuppa tea. However there are some real gems on this album including "Easy Way Out", "I Feel Better", "In Your Light" and my favorite "Eyes Wide Open" which has quickly become one of the best songs I've ever listened to. And no I'm not exaggerating.

One thing that made me appreciate that song even more was watching a video on Gotye's YouTube page, "The Making of Eyes Wide Open". Check it out here. I love the beat and, of course, the unique sound of the Musical Fence.

Suffice it to say that you should check out this album if you have yet to. You won't be disappointed.