A Dinner Out

Hi guys! A week ago, it was my friend's birthday. She was born a day after me so we always end up celebrating together haha :) Anyway, she invited me to an adorable Italian restaurant for dinner and I thought I'd share the few pics I took.

I know it was kind of weird of me to order salmon at this place, but I just wasn't in the mood for pasta that night haha. You should have seen the gigantic bowls they fill up! Besides that, it was really delicious and I had a fun time :) Sorry I didn't get more pictures of my outfit, we were rushed! And I definitely should of worn something more lightweight, it was probably 100 degrees that night, no joke! 

xx,

Maddie 

Experimenting With My Hair

Summer is here and to me summer means change. Everyone around me seems to be changing a little something about their look, style, whatever it may be. Well I’m here to tell you I am dying, DYING to give my hairstyle a major makeover. See, my hair is very difficult to work with and style. I have so much of it, and it’s very heavy, so it basically falls flat to my head. No matter what product I use, or how I curl or dry it, it will end up looking the exact same. The problem is, my hair is on the thinner side, so that makes it even harder to hold a style.

Lately, well, since like October of last year, I’ve wanted to dye my hair. And it seems like since I’ve wanted to do that, everyone else has! All of the beauty gurus and celebrities out there have chopped inches off and dyed it every color imaginable, and I’m over here like “Well I thought of that ages ago and I did nothing about it” so now I’m kind of pissed at myself haha.

So like I said, I want to make a change. The ends of my hair are embarrassing, so I need to cut at least 4 inches to help it look healthy. Then this is the confusing part: Do I dye my entire head? Do I dye the ends and do ombre? Or do I do highlights? EVERYTHING IS SO CONFUSING! And it’s not like I have blonde hair, I have a medium hazelnut kind of color so if I was going to dye my hair I need to be quite sure of it. Cause there’s no turning back! I’ve been going back and forth with colors like pink (like Sprinkle of Glitter) purple, blue-ish turquoise, and even red. I think I’m leaning most towards pink ombre, but I reeealllly don’t wanna make a mistake. After all, I’ve never dyed my hair before so this is all a new adventure for me.

If you guys could give me any tips, advice, or input I would really appreciate it!! ;)

Xx,

Maddie

New Makeup Storage ♡

While I was babysitting, all I could think about was the makeup storage drawers I had ordered a couple days before. WELL, when I walked home, guess what was waiting for me on the kitchen table?! Yep, the package came.

After I opened the box, I was a teeny tiny bit disappointed in the size. From the website, it looked a lot bigger in the pictures. I'm still so happy with the way they look though, so I don't want to upset myself too much.


Since the drawers are smaller than what I had imagined, I can't fit much in there, but it's alright. I've put the only makeup I use in it, so that works out well! I put the drawers on my vanity where I usually do my makeup, and set my makeup brushes on top. 

The set also came with a top piece that holds lipstick and it has three other compartments. It's so adorable. I didn't wanna stack it on top of the drawers, so I placed it on my dresser next to my perfume tray. It looks pretty, but I think I have to find a way to make it work without it looking cluttered. 

So I'm excited to style it and see how it works out! Do you guys have any of these acrylic drawers?
Have any tips on how to style them? :)


xx, Maddie 

Rearranging my room ♡

Every now and then I get really tired of the way I have my room. I'm a person that spends a lot of time in my bedroom, so I want it to make me feel relaxed and comfortable, you know? So when I want to re-decorate it or re-arrange it, I don't stop. Sometimes it takes me all day, other times it takes me a few minutes. A couple days ago I started looking around at my dresser and I realized it was cluttered and very dusty. Like, sometimes i dont even remember the last time i dusted...i know. its an annoying habit of mine even though i'm such a clean freak.

This is how my dresser turned out..It's not exactly what I want it to be yet, but it's getting there. I just ordered some acrylic makeup storage organizers (and im SO excited) for my makeup and lipsticks.  so the lipsticks wont stay like that, thank god! In the future i'm going to be painting my room a very light cream, off white color, and im going to paint my dresser too. Should i paint it a bright color, or another off white color? I'm going for a more simple, crisp design but im not sure which way to go. Because I can always bring in color with accessories :D

This is how the top of my bedside table turned out. Again, it's going to be changing soon, but I like how simple it can look. I love the look of stacked books too. As you can see I have a growing collection of crystals and stones, and I also have a couple mini elephants, which all mean luck, wealth, success, etc. 

SO, I mean it's nothing outstanding, but I'm working on it! If you guys have any tips or recommendations, leave some comments below! :) 


xx, Maddie

❁•∙May Favorites ❁•∙

I seriously cannot believe it's June already...Like, 2014 is halfway over!! That's absolutely crazy to me. Time is going bye wayyyy too fast if you ask me. Throughout the month of May, I did a lot of "spring cleaning" through my wardrobe and my makeup. I decided that I needed to get rid of some things that were just taking up space in my room. While doing this I rediscovered some beauty products and I ended up using them most of the month! 


1// Essie's Mint Candy Apple: I painted my nails three times this month with this color! If that doesn't say love or obsessed, I don't know what does. I just find this color to be springy and summery and i can't get enough.

2// Urban Decay NAKED Palate: It's an oldie but a goodie. I think I used this palate every single day. You can't go wrong with the colors; there's perfect neutrals and stunning shimmery shades to blend with. I always went for a simple daytime look, and enhanced my eyes with the darker colors.

3// Pink Sugar Perfume: Have you smelled this? If you haven't, you're really missing it. It smells like straight up sugar cookies, but without making you sick. I used to wear this in middle school...ahh those were the days. Brings back a lot of weird memories of gym class *shudders* Any who, this is the perfect scent to spritz anytime of the day. Is it weird that i like to spray myself with a hint of perfume when i get out of the shower?? It makes me feel fancy..

4// Maybelline Color Elixir in Nude Illusion: Ahhh the nude lipgloss! Since I've gotten darker, this color has looked better and better. I've probably worn this everyday too. It has a warm peachy tone to it and like i said, if you have a bit of a tan it doesn't look like you have no lips, it will give you a simple fresh summer look. Which is my fave. It also stays on through eating!! Score.

5// Not Your Mother's Clean Freak Dry Shampoo: Another somewhat oldie! I bought this at the drugstore a couple months ago and kind of forgot about it. When I was going through my bathroom cabinets I grabbed it and kind of squealed when I found it..Let me just say it definitely does it's job. It gives amazing volume and gets rid of any oil. The only down side is...white powder. Yep. It does leave a cast behind, so if you have dark hair, I wouldn't recommend going into direct sunlight with this in your hair!

So that's what I've been loving currently. What are some items you have been loving? Have you tried any of the products above?


Happy June! :)

xx, Maddie

My First Youtube Video is UP! ☼

YES. I did it. I FINALLY did it!! :) I posted this on Saturday...it took me a little while but I got it up. I'm a little nervous, but I'm so excited as well. Everything is starting to fall into place with what I want to do.

If you wanna watch it or leave me feedback, please don't be afraid to! I am open for anything. 



Hope it's not too awkward!! :)

Just wanted to quickly post this! 

xx, Maddie 

Face of the Day

I'm somebody who could literally wear 50 pounds of makeup and not care or wear no makeup at all and not care. For my birthday, I wanted to look pretty but without packing on a ton. you get what I'm saying? i hope so. I did my regular foundation and concealer routine, but since I'm getting darker and darker (yayyyyy summer!) i've had to bronze up my face a bit more until i get the right foundation shade. My favorite bronzer is "hoola" by benefit of course! It's perfect for when I'm as pale as a vampire or a little darker like I am now :) 

I never fill in my brows, as they are already pretty dark and bushy...i need to get them waxed or plucked pretty soon now haha. I wanted to do a shimmery pink on my eyes, to match my skin tone too. So i went with my maybelline quad in "coral chic" and used those colors around my eye lid. The highlight color in the quad has amazing pigmentation and did its job right! 

Then I took "dark horse" from my naked 1 palette and put it on the outer third of my eye, since the color in the quad wasn't dark enough for me. After that I just blended and blended and blended (really thats the key here). And like I do most days, I line my eyes with the L'oreal Voluminous smouldering eye pencil. I don't have anything to say about that bad boy, it never fails me. Then for lashes I curl them, and pack on the mascara. Seriously this is my most important step. I do at least 2 coats every time haha. On recommendation from one of my favorite youtube beauty gurus Nicole Guerriero, I use the L'oreal Voluminous Original. 

So that was my face on day one of being 17 :) 

xx, Maddie 

It's my birthday?!

Yep. I turned 17 yesterday. Honestly, I'm a little more scared than i am excited! No i'm still happy to be 17, but really? I don't understand where the time is going. I woke up at 6:00 in the morning and I was surprisingly not tired at all, so I just stayed up. I actually caught up on my youtube subscriptions and read some blogs for a little while!

When I walked out to the kitchen, my mom surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a bunch of balloons. Ah I love her :) 

This is what I ended up wearing. It's just a basic romper, i got it at a little store/boutique in Ventura, California last summer. I was swimming earlier so that was the quickest thing to throw on! Please ignore my hair though...it definitely wasn't having a great day. *face of the day is coming soon* 

If you know me, know you that i will do anything for Persian food. So that's what we ate for dinner *insert giant smiley face emoji* The restaurant that we go to is definitely authentic food, and everyone that works there is Persian! They bring out fresh pita bread that smells heavenly, and for an appetizer the waiter will set down a big round bowl of hummus, dolmeh, tomatoes...it goes on and on. I ended up ordering a vegetarian vegetable kabob with basmati rice and hummus. I nearly finished it, and if you saw the portion sizes you would think i'm insane. but it was delicious and we had a great time :)

So being 17 is a little crazy to me, but I'm already feeling a little more grown up. I'm just so excited to finally start posting on my blog like i actually mean it. 

xx, Maddie

Currently Loving: My favorite bracelet

This is just a quick little post i felt like writing..Recently, I have been wearing a certain bracelet every single day. I really love it a lot, especially because it means something special to me.

My mom bought this for me after she saw me eyeing it in a little boutique. We know the designer of it, so that just made me want it even more! I saw my mom sneak away with it, and i think she might of thought i didn't see her. hehehe. 

Well, long behold i found it in my Easter basket :) i was so excited. but enough of that, I want to tell you what it means. This bracelet was made from Lapis, turquoise, clay beads, and swarovski crystal. It's called "Lord of Success" and it was also blessed. It protects, removes obstacles, gives knowledge, wisdom, and wealth. The elephant is a symbol of courage, strength, luck and longevity. The Lapis is protection and psychic awareness. 

To tell you the truth, I feel stronger when I wear this. It calms me and gives me a good feeling. So, that's why I've been wearing it! It's a little different than what I would usually wear or pick out, but after looking at it, I do think it's beautiful.

Do you have any interesting jewelry items?

xx, Madison

Family Festivities

I hope everyone is having a great Memorial Day off (i'm pretty sure this is only in the states though...) I've been busy with my new camera (eeeep!!) Yes you read that right: I finally FINALLY got my the camera i have been wanting for ages. It's the Canon rebel t3i. Literally I cannot contain my excitement. My dad and I went to Best Buy yesterday and I spotted it within seconds of walking in the store. Since it's a holiday weekend, it came with a special package, so I also got this amazing lens to come with it for 50% off too. I was soooooo excited :)

After coming home I basically ripped the box open and got straight to figuring out the contraption. I know it's daunting at first but I'm good with technology, so I know I'll figure out all of the functions soon. I didn't have much time before I had to get ready to leave, my family and I were going to see more family that we hadn't seen in a while, so I thought, why not bring my new camera?! ;)

I only got a couple of shots because the battery wasn't fully charged and, if I have to be honest, i deleted a bunch because I still don't think i'm that great at it yet. But no worries, im definitely learning haha. Ps this took about two hours to finish because the software that came with the camera decided not to work with the operating system i have on my computer!! Don't worry i fixed it ;)

I know these pictures aren't that great but it's just a little snapshot of what I saw while i visited my family. We had a delicious fruit tart, and we sat outside and saw those beautiful mountains. 

I hope you had a beautiful weekend too! <3

xx, Madison

*i also changed my blog name, i just wasn't liking what i had, and for future purposes I just decided to go with my name*

The Way I Eat ♡

Since this is a blog basically about my thoughts and ideas and lifestyle, I decided I should tell you, my readers and friends, the way I eat. Hmmmm where do I even start!! Beware, this is kind of a long post...

First of all, I eat very clean. By that, I mean I don't ever eat anything from a box or bag or something thats processed. I'm not saying in any way that cereal will never pass my mouth again, I just choose not to eat it. I like to fill my tummy with food and products that grow naturally from the earth, with very minimal factory work.

I also eat littler meals than a regular "American sized meal." I'm saying my meals aren't HUGE. I have a TON of protein, complex carbohydrates (more on that next) and essential fatty acids that are essential to LIVE in every meal. I make sure to get more protein because I am a semi-vegetarian, which means I choose to only eat fish and eggs, not chicken or meat. There's nothing wrong with these foods, but for my body I am better off not eating them.

To make this post a little shorter and to the point, I also choose not to eat gluten or dairy. When I do eat dairy though, I use goats cheese, as it is a lot healthier than from a cow.

Okay so now onto carbs. Most people scream and hide from this word...CARBS! Ahhhh I will get fat and bloated!! NO. STOP. NOW. COMPLEX Carbs are essential for the human to receive energy and burn unneeded fat. Some complex carbs include brown rice, quinoa, veggies, beans, and more. These complex carbs will not bloat you or make you fat, these foods will actually reduce bloating and boost your metabolism. YES! I know it's hard to believe, but it's true. Carbs that people are afraid of are foods like white flour, white flour pasta, bread and such. And indeed, yes these foods are bad for you. They are simple carbs that spike your sugar levels, and leave you feeling weak and tired a few minutes later. See the difference?!

FAT! Yes, fat. This is hard to explain in a short sentence or two. Fatty acids are essential if you want to burn unwanted fat. YES YOU JUST READ THAT RIGHT! Fat in foods like nuts, avocados, salmon, beans, and more help boost metabolism and burn fatty fat on the body. BAD fat is fat in burgers, ice cream, desserts, cheeses, and things like that. American food mostly! Haha. This fat will be stored onto your body! Most people are afraid to eat essential fat, but the truth is those foods do not make you fat.

Things I eat on a daily basis are meals like this:
Breakfast- Oatmeal, mixed with flax meal, chopped apples, chopped almonds, and stevia
               - Green Protein Smoothie: frozen banana slices, flax or hemp seed, kale, superfood protein mix, stevia, ice

Lunch- Salmon on a bed of steamed veggies, kale or rice
          - Tuna on gluten free Ezekiel Protein bread, with avocado, kale, and pico de gallo
          - Toasted Ezekiel bread spread with almond or peanut butter, topped with sliced apples and cinnamon

*I will post many many dinner and snack ideas! There are way too many to type up right now haha. I will be posting many meal ideas along this journey!*

I try just to eat the best things possible! But you should know, I bake almost everyday cookies, and energy balls that taste like peanut butter cups, and brownies filled with...kidney beans. Yes, kidney beans. You have no idea what I make! And the funny thing is, I feed my creations to friends and they think I buy them at the store or something...I'm very sneaky! I would also like to note that never in a million years will I ever give up chocolate. I just can't. So, there you go :-)

I hope everyone understands where I am trying to go with this, haha! I just wanted to post this to clear a lot of questions up. 

Have a lovely day <3

xx, Maddie

Well hello Blogger!

Well, this is my first post EVER so let me introduce myself! My name is Madison but I usually go by Maddie :) I’m a 16 year old teenage girl..basically I’m obsessed with anything that has to do with fashion, make up, hair, fitness, health, blogging, DIY's, creativity, etc.. So I decided to create my own blog! Here is where I’ll post whats on my mind :) This is a place where girls of all ages can come to share thoughts, get advice, see what I’m posting and more!

I hope you enjoy. Really, this blog is going to be a place of relaxation for me haha! So I can’t wait to talk with all of you and see what you guys are interested in :)

Hope to chat with you soon, and see you in my other posts!

xoxo, Maddie