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Weekly Sundown Rundown

April 26, 2015 Randi16 comments

Happy Sunday! I am so excited to say I just finished up my last ever weekend shift at the paper! I only have two weeks left at the paper and it’s just going to fly by, I imagine.

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Links:

Obama is back at it again with the funny videos. This one features Key from Key and Peele.

Think Progressive had an interview with the founders of Negative Underwear, a lingerie brand that attempted to make better bras for women. Unfortunately, the brand only offers sizes in 32A to 36D, meaning it offers the same poorly fitting incorrect size range as Victoria’s Secret. Fail.

Refinery29 has some office email etiquette tips. I’ve slipped into the habit of casual emails after being at my current job for so many years, so this was a nice refresher.

Abercrombie and Fitch is getting rid of its hot shirtless models.

How to wear miniskirts as an adult. This is everything, because I tried wearing a mini skirt with a crop top on Friday night and no. Not happening. I took it off after five minutes. I am too old to look like a 19-year-old with a fake ID.

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And me this week? I haven’t done much at all. It seems as though my nonstop job application grind has been replaced with a nonstop apartment hunting grind. This is surprisingly stressful! Regardless, I…

Accepted a new job working in social media at the Chicago Tribune! That’s about the highlight of my week, in all honesty. You can stop reading now. It’s not going to get any better. But, because of that, I also…
Spent Monday and Tuesday in Chicago. I went apartment hunting and turned in hiring paperwork for my new job, and spent some time with my friends Robbie and Megan.
Stopped in Lansing on Tuesday night to watch the Red Wings game with some friends.
Played trivia at the Brass. Totally didn’t win, but learned a lot of random facts about Thomas Jefferson.
Ate my weight in Dog Central. I’ve already started bingeing my way through all my favorite restaurants in Mount Pleasant. Saying goodbye is hard. And delicious.
Had my final night out with my roommate Elise! She’s on a plane to Europe as I type, and I’ll already be in Chicago when she gets back, so we celebrated our final night as roommates with a visit to both Hunter’s Ale House and The Bird.
Covered Threads for the paper. Threads is the Central Michigan University student fashion show, and it’s by far one of my favorite events to check out. The talent of CMU’s student designers completely blows me away.
Received my Sephora sales picks! I now have a year’s worth of mascara and gel liner to last me until the next BI sale.

This coming week is going to be so incredibly busy! I have to start packing to move out of my Mount Pleasant apartment and back to my parents’ house downstate, and then from my parents’ house to a new apartment in Chicago. This coming Saturday, I’ll be leaving for Chicago (again) to start on round two of apartment hunting, and hopefully I have better luck this time. If you have any apartment hunting or packing advice for me, leave it in the comments!

What’s on your radar lately?

Weekly Sundown Rundown

April 19, 2015 Randi15 comments

It’s the end of the weekend for almost everyone, but it’s the middle of mine! I just got to Chicago, where I’ll be spending the next two days. So exciting!

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Links:

This adorable nurse cat hugs shelter animals to make them feel better and now I want to own it.

Chrissy Teigen posted an Instagram of her stretch marks and everyone loved it. Including me.

Lilly for Target sold out instantly and the Internet is pissed.

Refinery29 has a guide to lazy girl air dry hair. With summer coming, I’m going to need this.

How to make any room prettier.

Ever wonder what happens when TV shows end and there is no longer a need for the costumes and wardrobes? Fashionista has you covered.

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And me this week? I…

Grabbed froyo with Elise. My combo was salted caramel topped with sprinkles, crushed Oreo cookies, brownie bites, hot fudge, Cool Whip and a cherry. So delicious.
Watched the Red Wings take game one of the playoffs from the comfort of my favorite Mt. Pleasant bar, the Bird.
Went bar hopping in downtown East Lansing with my sister and a few friends from college. Stops included Rick’s and the Riv.
Brunched with my college Friend Emily at Uptown Kitchen in Mishawaka before doing some window shopping at Charming Charlie and Target.
Voyaged to Chicago to visit my friend Robbie for the weekend.

This week, I’ll be enjoying two days in Chicago before heading back to work for a full weekend shift. What about you? Let me know in the comments!

Sephora sale must haves

April 18, 2015 Randi24 comments

Public service announcement: Sephora has released its annual 10 percent off everything coupon for Beauty Insiders!

Sephora can get crazy expensive. You drop in to pick up a new tube of mascara and then suddenly you’re being rung up for $350 worth of brushes, face masks and lip balms. How does that even happen? Am I the only person that happens to?

Right now Sephora is offering 10 percent off all purchases online and in stores through Monday! You can shop in-store if you’re on the email list, or you can use BILOVE at check out.

And, if you have a Discover Card like me, you can also get 10 percent cash back when you shop Sephora online through the Discover Deals website. (I love my Discover Card and I am never, ever letting it go.)

To celebrate, I’m sharing some of the Sephora products I use daily.

Dogsitting adventures

April 14, 2015 Randi19 comments

If you talk to me long enough, the topic of small furry creatures is bound to come up. I love cats, dogs and other furry domestic critters. Sharing a corgi video is a guaranteed way to put me in a good mood immediately.

I grew up in a pet-friendly household. My family had several cats and a few dogs while I was younger, so I’ve always felt comfortable around animals.

But unfortunately, I don’t have a pet. A combination of my no-animals-allowed lease and hectic work schedule have forced me to put my dreams of owning a dog on hold. As much as I think I would be a good pet parent, it would break my heart to leave a furbaby in an empty apartment for long stretches of time while I’m at work. It just isn’t conducive to my lifestyle right now, and I realize that.

So, for now, I settle for mooching off of the pets of other people. Like my boyfriend’s dog, Chewbacca!

(PS: There are more cute photos if you hit the read more button.)

Weekly Sundown Rundown

April 12, 2015 Randi10 comments

Happy soulful Sunday! Weekly wrap-up time.

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Links:

PMS ice cream flavors. I would like two scoops of I Think I’m Dying, please.

Hillary Clinton has announced her candidacy for president. Regardless of political party affiliations, a female contender is a pretty big deal.

Anne Hathaway did a spoof of Wrecking Ball for Lip Sync Battle and it’s the funniest video I’ve seen so far this year.

Science says puppies are good for you. Duh.

Gwyneth Paltrow is challenging herself to live on food stamps for a week as part of New York City’s Food Bank Challenge.

A friendly guide to fancy expensive cocktails via the Kitchn.

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And me this week? I…

Dog sat a pouty pooch while my boyfriend’s dad was out of state.
Worked 40+ hours at the paper, with coverage including an insane series of crashes on the highway for the paper. Be safe motorists!
Had dinner at Peppino’s and Bubble Island in East Lansing with my little sister.
Posted the end result of my shoot with Daighna Photography!
Celebrated national beer day at the taproom for trivia.
Visited my parents for the weekend. My mom bakes so many things, so this weekend I got to try some breads and a delicious coffeecake.
Had an awesome reunion with my college roommates. We ate at Zingerman’s Roadhouse in Ann Arbor and followed it up with some downtown bar hopping at Babs and 8 Ball.
Celebrated my beloved Red Wings clinching a playoff spot for the 24th year in a row!

You can keep up with this stuff as it happens if you follow me on Instagram.

How was your week? Anything on your radar lately? Let me know in the comments!

Editorial shoot with Daighna Photography

April 10, 2015 Randi14 comments

If you remember, waaayyy back in February, I teased a photo shoot I did with Daighna Photography.

Daighna Rayner is the incredibly artistic, talented and out-of-the-box-thinking mastermind over at Daighna Photography. I met her seven years ago when we both worked at a stir-fry restaurant and she randomly asked if she could take photos of me. It wasn’t weird at all because she’s very personable and makes anybody feel comfortable. Book her for a shoot and you’ll see.

She shoots weddings, engagements and senior portraits, but has an undying love of all things high fashion. A photog after my own heart. So, after her busy wedding season, she always comes up with these quirky ideas and manages to gather a combination of the strangest things (Christmas decorations, broken jewelry, wigs, old wedding dresses…) and repurpose them into something amazing.

Obviously, words don’t really do justice when it comes to these things, so I’ll let the photos talk.

This is just a sample. You can see all of the photos here on Daighna’s blog.

Weekly Sundown Rundown

April 5, 2015 Randi16 comments

Happy Easter Sunday! I hope everyone is totally full of sugar-based candy and chocolate and got a chance to spend time with family today! I spent the day working (of course) but still found time to read my bible, eat some delicious healthy food and spend the day with myself.

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Links:

Drew Miller of the Detroit Red Wings took a skate to the face (warning: gory) and was cleared to play after the gash was stitched up. Because hockey.

The NFL hired its first female referee and in the spirit of not being sexist, I’m sure she will be just as terrible as the rest of the refs.

I’m sure you’ve heard about the religious freedom controversy in Indiana, but have you seen this video with James Van Der Beek and Anna Camp?

Glitter Guide has tips on shopping at Forever 21 once you pass the age of 21. I love Forever 21 for age-appropriate trendy pieces that I know I won’t wear past one or two season, so these are some great tips.

France is banning super thin models. I’m back and forth on the issue. I have always had a small frame (Like, buying-a-dress-in-a-size-00-and-still-having-to-get-it-taken-in small), so I know that often, slender figures are genetic and there isn’t a thing that can be done about it if you have one. However, I can also see how ultra thin models set unrealistic beauty standards. Thoughts?

Rainy day outfit ideas from StyleCaster. I hate rainy days because – not only are they a total buzzkill – they make my hair frizz out and I have to wear clunky black rain boots all day. Some of these ideas are definitely cute though!

Rolling Stone is going to release a statement about the entire mishap over the recanted “A Rape On Campus” story that drew massive amounts of controversy upon publication, and even more controversy when it was discovered that parts of the story were fabricated. As a journalist, I’m really eager to read it.

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And me this week? I…

Spent most of it on the job application grind. Again. I’m getting desperate and panicky that I won’t find a new job by the time my lease runs out!
Played Disney Trivia at the taproom. My team came in third out of about a dozen and we won a gift card!
Got bored and started making my life into a music video. Stay tuned.
Watched all of The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. I loved it! Have you seen it? What do you think?
Ordered Insomnia Cookies several times with Elise. And then regretted it. Every time.
Made a large batch of cold brew and posted about the process, if you missed it.
Baked chocolate Nutella macarons on my day off!
Spent Easter Sunday working and reading my bible.
Pug sat! Seth left town to go to some basketball game or something this weekend so I got to babysit his Chewie. Did you know pugs are an incredibly attention-needing breed? They get major separation anxiety and have to sit on your lap and sleep next to you in bed, or else they freak out. Dogsitting this spoiled pup is definitely interesting!
Got an Easter basket full of goodies from Seth’s mom, which was totally fun even though I completely ate all the candy before we even made it to Good Friday.
Worked 40-plus hours at the paper. I got to shoot an egg scramble event and a brewery visit. Children are cute, but when you’re in a room with 1,200 of them at a time? I needed to head back to the brewery when I was done
Hung up my new Michigan painting. I’ll have a tutorial soon, I promise!

This coming week will be fulllll of more job applications and maybe a weekend trip to visit my parents. I didn’t get to see them today because of work, so a visit is probably in order.

Also, I’m leaving you with three of the questions my team totally nailed at Tuesday trivia.

1. Madam Medusa and Mr. Snoops are the antagonists in which Disney movie?
2. Disney’s 1959 movie Sleeping Beauty totally tanked at the box office. It was 30 years until Disney was willing to try another princess movie. Which Disney princess made her debut in 1989 to break that streak?
3. What Disney character has the catch phrase “Let’s get dangerous?”

Do you know the answers? Leave them in the comments! And tell me what’s going on in your life right now. I’m nosy and want to know.

Casual Friday: Style for shooting

April 3, 2015 Randi6 comments

The strangest thing about working in “new media” is being expected to do a little bit of everything. It’s not what I signed up for when I signed off on my “news editorial” concentration in college, but I definitely don’t hate it! As newsrooms decrease in size, every remaining staffer picks up more and more of the work, regardless of what that work is. I started at my paper three years ago as a reporter, but now I’m responsible for shooting my own art to accompany most of my written stories.

Today, I got the chance to walk to the brewery and shoot some photos for a Monday print edition story. It’s still a little chilly in Michigan, but spring is finally starting to think about arriving, so I didn’t freeze on the walk. And, luckily, the brewery is right across the street.

Journalist problems.

Whenever I know I’m going to be shooting something, I always try to wear the comfiest and stretchiest clothes I can get away with for the day. Usually it’s tights and skater skirts, but on Friday – I can get away with casual boyfriend jeans. The best photos are taken at the strangest angles, and sometimes that means kneeling, squatting, standing tiptoed on chairs or in a strange yoga position that has not yet been invented. Shirts do not stay tucked and wardrobe malfunctions are almost inevitable, so it’s really important to focus (camera pun fully intended) on function first.

Not to mention the chronic black-eye my mascara/ eyeliner give me when I’m smashing my face up against a viewfinder all day.

I went with a mix of polka dots and leopard print to make up for the complete and total lack of accessories. Baubles just get in the way most of the time.

The best iced coffee: Cold brew

April 1, 2015 Randi18 comments

Hey caffeine addicts! Good morning and happy hump day! If you missed it, Starbucks announced earlier this week that it’s planning on offering a cold brew coffee at some of its locations.

If you’ve never had cold brew, you should definitely try it, especially if you’ve always avoided coffee because of its bitter taste. By steeping the coffee grounds at room temperature, cold brewing omits the bitter oils and fatty acids that are extracted using a hot water method.

It’s different from the traditional iced coffee method, in which coffee is brewed hot, twice as strong, and then poured over ice to cool it down.

I love coffee more than most things. It’s rare that I go a day without my morning cup, and while I drink piping hot black coffee every morning during the fall and winter, it’s kind of painful to continue that process in the summer, when Michigan gets brutally hot and intensely humid.

I started researching methods for brewing cold coffee a few years ago, and finally found one that works for me. Of course, since Starbucks seems to have caught on to the cold brew trend, I figured now was as good a time as any to share my personal process.