Busy Girl's Guide to New York

Last weekend I took a trip to New York with my beautiful bestie, Kelsey.

We had a great time and savored every New York minute.

With every experience, comes lessons learned, so here are some of the lessons that I learned while in New York.

1) Always, always wear comfortable shoes. Don't go for the cuteness factor. I thought it would be cool to wear these cute little booties our first day there. WORST IDEA EVER. My feet STILL hurt.

2) Carry a portable charger with you. Because there are so many people in the city and 100,000's of them are using their phone you're phone can die pretty quickly. It's always good to have a backup! My phone never died while we were out, but Kelsey's did. 

3) Pick up a paper map of the subway system. Yeah, they've got apps for it, but they forget to tell you that you have no service when you're underground. And the subway system is the most confusing thing I have ever seen. It's good to have a map in front of you to reference. 

4) Brooklyn has good beer. Kelsey and I are beer lovers so we knew the one thing that we wanted to do was visit the Brooklyn Brewery. We had so much fun and the beer was delicious. You must go if you get a chance. 

5) Take a walk on the Brooklyn Bridge. They have a walking path that is perfect for running, walking, and taking in the beauty of New York. I highly suggest taking a walk on it.

6) Everything is expensive in New York. Cab rides, coffee, water, alcohol, food. EVERYTHING. Even salads were more than some entrees at a few of the restaurants that we went to. A $12 glass of wine? What? I budgeted about $200, including cab fare, anything that I wanted to buy, and food. And thankfully I was able to keep just under that. Expect to spend money and lots of it when you're in the city. 

7) Have an idea of what you want to do before you go. Kelsey started a GoogleDoc before we went and we jotted down all the places that we wanted to go. And to be honest, we pretty much did everything that we wanted to do.

8) Use Yelp. When we were figuring out where we wanted to eat for each meal, it was really helpful for Kelsey to look at Yelp. It tells you what kind of restaurants are around you and how much money you'll have to spend. 

9) Order Tickets beforehand. If you want to see a Broadway Show or go to a taping of a show, get your tickets before you go. They do sell cheap tickets beforehand, but you have to wait for hours in line and you're not even guaranteed a ticket. Kelsey and I thought about going to get tickets for SNL, but we didn't want to waste time to do that when we weren't even guaranteed a ticket anyway. 

10) Have a great time. New York is huge and there's no way to do everything in one day. Take your time. Figure out where you want to go and go do it. New York is an incredible city and has so much to offer so take advantage of it! 

Guide to Online Shopping

When you live in a small town where anything remotely good is over an hour away, you learn how to shop online. Here are some tips and tricks that can save you money.

1. Find websites you like. Some of my favorites? Red Dress Boutique, Francesca's, and Riffraff .

2. Do they offer an email newsletter? Sign up for it! That way you'll know when they are having flash sales or when they've updated their inventory.

3. Do they have social media accounts? Follow them. You'll see if they've restocked that dress that you love or see a shirt that you just can't live without.

4. When you are ordering something, see if they are running a special on shipping. Sometimes if you spend a certain amount, they will include free shipping.

5. Before you check out, google promo codes. And try more than one! I've been able to use 3 promo codes before and was able to cut my order in half.

6. Make sure you save your receipt emails and check their return policy. Since you are ordering online, you want to make sure that you can return it if it doesn't fit.

Shopping online is the way to go. Sometimes if I'm in a store, I feel pressured to buy it, but if you wait and buy it online you might be able to get it cheaper.

Do you have any favorite online stores or boutiques? Share them with me!

Let's talk about Hair

I love my hair. I think it's one of my best features and I have to wash it every single day. I wanted to find something that would help me not have to wash my hair as often and that would keep my hair looking gorgeous.

I've tried everything from Herbal Essences (fav), Pantene (least fav), Main and Tail, Garnier Fructis to Aussie and the list goes on and on and on. I tend to use the same shampoo/conditioner combo for a couple months, get tired of it and switch to a new one, which can get pretty expensive.

I did some research and found that baking soda and vinegar are actually good for your hair. I found this "recipe" from Amanda at Living In Another Language. She called it "no poo". I read her reviews on it and thought I would give it a try.

Unfortunately, it did not work out as well for me.

The first day I tried it my hair looked great. Didn't smell like vinegar and actually looked really clean. I woke up the next morning and my hair looked awesome. I sweat a lot that day, so I decided to wash my hair that night (again with the no poo). When I got up the next morning my hair looked really dirty, so I decided to wash it again. I started styling it and my hair was so greasy. I was really upset because I had taken the time to style it and it looked like I hadn't even washed it.

My final conclusion is that the "no poo" is good occasionally, but if your hair tends to get oily, you're just going to have to suck it up and wash it.

Have you tried any shampoos that you love and don't damage your hair? Let me know! I would love to hear about it!

Wedding Planning Care Package

I came up with a cool idea for a Bridal Care Package recently and wanted to share it with you.

My boyfriend's sister is one of my best friends and had to move to a city where she doesn't know anyone. I wanted to do something nice for her while she's planning her wedding. 

1) Wedding Color Nail Polish/Forever 21 2) Notepad/Target 3) Favorite Mints/Target 4) Small Candles/Bath and Body Works 5) Wedding Themed Movie/Target

The Care Package cost me about $20 including shipping. She loved it! If you want to do anything nice for a bride-to-be this a great way to do so.

Acne Scar Eraser

I have always had trouble with acne. I've been through a couple rounds of Accutane and have tried every acne product on the planet. On top of that, I have always had trouble with acne scars too. One remedy that I have found that works really well for getting rid of acne scars is Vitamin E.

If you have this problem too, here's something for you to try:

Buy: Vitamin E Capsules (Walmart)

After I have finished my bedtime routine, I bust the Vitamin E capsule in the palm of my hand, take the oil and rub it on the places on my face that have acne scars.

I've been doing this for a couple days now and I'm already starting to see them fade.

Do you have any acne or acne scar remedies? Please share them with me!

Sweet Treat Alternative

I've been consciously trying to watch what I eat. Notice I said "watch" what I eat. I LOVE food. And I've tried fad diets and binge diets, but no surprise, nothing has worked. I decided that I am not going to sacrifice good, hearty foods for rice cakes and tofu.

One of my big food weaknesses is sweets. I love chocolate and peanut butter and ice cream and cookies. And if you're like me, even if you have a high protein, low cal dinner, you could sit and eat an entire pint of ice cream just because it's so good.

I have finally found a great sweet treat alternative for those of you looking for one. The brand is Arctic Zone and I thought it was pretty delicious.

That's right it's only 150 calories per pint and only has 5 grams of sugar. I think that's pretty darn good! I found it in the freezer section at Walmart and it was around $4. If you're looking for a good sweet fix that you won't make your feel guilty, give this a try.

Pretty Girl: Eye Makeup Tips

Do you get half way through the day and realize that majority of your makeup has rubbed off? 

The truth is that most women's skin is naturally oily. And if you are sitting in an office or are in class all day you're constantly rubbing your eyes and that makes it smear too. 

If you don't use an eye primer or use regular mascara, that's your problem. 

If you want long-wear makeup that will last all day and doesn't cost an arm and a leg, you've come to the right place. 

Here are my tips and tricks for making how to make your makeup last all day. 

1. The eyelid. Use eye primer. Before applying eye shadow apply an eye primer to the lid. 

e.l.f. Mineral Eyeshadow Primer ($3 at Walmart or Target)

2. Eyeliner. I use black on my top lid and brown on the lower lid. I once read that using 2 different colors for your eyes makes them bigger and brighter. Give it a try! 

e.l.f. Studio Precision Liquid Eyeliner ($3 at Walmart or Target) 

/ e.l.f. Mineral Eye Liner ($3 at Walmart or Target) 

3. Mascara. Regular mascara tends to smug, but I've found that WATERPROOF mascara stays all day. 

I tend to change mascara every once in a while, but my favorite right now is Covergirl Flamed Out Mascara in WATERPROOF Black ($5.94 at Walmart)

Waterproof mascara can be a little difficult to get off so the best makeup remover I have found is, you guessed it...e.l.f. Eye Makeup Remover Pads

e.lf. Eye Makeup Remover ($2 at Walmart or Target) 

I am a huge fan of e.l.f. (Eyes Lips Face) Makeup. All the products I have tried have done the same job as more expensive makeup brands. I highly suggest that you try it. It's cheap, so it's not that much of a loss if you don't like it. All of their products are between $1-$6. 

Winter Skin Remedies

Don't you just hate having dry skin during the winter? My skin gets so dry, it actually hurts. 

I've come up with an easy and cheap routine that will help you give the skin the nourishment it needs during the winter months. 

I do this routine as I am getting ready for bed. It helps me relax and get comfortable right before I fall asleep.

1. Take a shower and use a body scrub.

My favorite is Bath and Body Works True Blue Spa Malibu Smooth Body Scrub ($15.00)

2. Dry off and apply lotion.

I use Jergens Daily Moisture Unscented Lotion ($6.79 at Walgreens)

3. After lotioning up, rub cocoa butter oil in. 

I use Vaseline Cocoa Butter Vitalizing Gel Body Oil ($6.49 at Walgreens) 

4. It takes the cocoa butter a while to soak in so it's best if you have your PJs near by so you don't have to worry about getting cocoa butter everywhere. 

I am in love with my footie PJs by Nick & Nora (similar ones can be found here)

5. I also get very chapped lips during the winter as a result of having my lips exposed anytime I walk outside. Before I lay down to sleep I put on Vaseline Lip Therapy.

I use the Advanced Formula Vaseline Lip Therapy ($1.99 at Walgreens)

Moisturize my friends! 

Closet Cleaning

I LOVE to shop. Anytime I have a bad day I go shopping. Anytime time I see something I like, I buy it. And even when I don't need something, I still get it.

And clothes are my biggest weakness.

One way I feel better about buying more clothes is going through my closet and getting rid of clothes that I haven't worn in a while.

I ask myself the following questions about each piece of clothing in my closet:

1. When was the last time I wore this? If it was last year, it's gone, or if I can't even remember, see ya!

2. Why should I keep this? If I like it, I'll keep it a while. 

3. Will I wear it again? If I think I will, it'll make it through this round. 

After you've gone through your closet there are a number of ways you can keep give them to someone else that is going to love them just as much as you did.

Wash them. Fold them.

1. Take them to thrift store
2. Take them to used clothes store (you might get some money out of them) 
3. Hand them down to a younger kid you know that might like them

Whatever you decide to do, don't throw them away. If they're still wearable give them away. You'll feel so much better if you do!

Valentine's Day Gift Guide for Him

For the past couple weeks I have been looking for a nice Valentine's Day present for my amazing boyfriend, but I can't find anything that I think he would like or that he would use.

I also felt like a lot of girls run into this type of things when it come to any occasion where you have to buy gifts for the one you're with.

I am on a tight budget and although I would love to spend all my money on him, I have to go for quality instead of quantity.

So for those of you that can't seem to find the perfect gift, I'm here to be your guide. Here's some gifts you can buy or DIY just in time for Valentine's Day!

DIY Tie Camera Strap / Pocket Monkey $12.99 / 12x Magnifier Zoom w/ Tripod for iPhone $19.64

DIY Bow Tie / Mule Mug $39.95 / Oxford Button Down $22.99

Slub Jogger Sweat Pants $48.00 / 6 pack Wooden Beer Holder $39.95 / Scratch Off Map $21.95