I cannot believe it’s almost February, which means…
Valentine’s Day is coming up! I’ve personally never been a fan of the “traditional” gifts, ie: chocolate, stuffed animals and flowers. I guess I just think that simple heartfelt gifts are much better than anything red and pink and Hallmark-branded. Plus, these gifts often last much longer than just through the last few weeks of February. So, here are my favorite under $50 gift ideas for girlfriends/ fiancees/ wives.
Anyone who knows me can totally testify to the fact that I obsess over love my alma mater.
(Seriously, I will yell at other alumni friends who wear swag from other universities. Don’t come near me in your gaudy MSU gear. I will get very angry.)
After seven and a half years and two degrees, Central Michigan University and I have an incredibly strong bond, and I have a lifelong loyalty to the college that turned me into the person I am today.
I’m incredibly proud to be a Chippewa (Fire Up!) and I wanted a cute way to represent that in my apartment!
I glanced at Carly’s apartment tour post on The College Prepster yesterday and the little Georgetown pennant print that’s part of her gallery wall caught my eye.
I knew I wanted to translate this look to my own apartment! I looked for CMU pennant prints, but unfortunately couldn’t find any that had a high enough resolution for me to print.
So, I decided to make my own!
I need your advice!
Every single year, without fail, the daily beauty routine that I follow year-round begins falling apart. It always happens right around this time, too. Like, my skin, nails and hair just give up at the end of January when they realize a “quick” winter just won’t happen and spring is nowhere in sight.
My body wants to hibernate. My work schedule won’t allow it.
Winter’s cold lack of humidity wreaks havoc on my body. Everything is dry and staticky and flat and depressing. It seems like there are never enough product recommendations when it comes to maintaining my appearance every winter!
Here are some of my daily lifesavers when it comes to maintaining my appearance in the winter, and I really, really, really hope that someone out there can help me solve some of my winter beauty needs!
Here’s your weekly recap, both in national news and in Randi World:
–
Drop what you’re doing right now and go watch the NHL All-Star Game WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU.
This 86-year-old woman has retired and is now living on a cruise ship. #lifegoals
Buzzfeed tackled what would happen if Hermione happened to be the main character of Harry Potter. Awesomeness would happen, that’s what.
Eminem released the video for Detroit Vs. Everybody. So much love for Detroit in this video, from some of Detroit’s more well-known talent to the amazing b-roll shots of downtown Detroit and its neighborhoods. I love it.
Rick Owens sent some risqué designs down the runway at Paris Fashion Week. (WARNING: NSFW) The pieces he designed had cutouts strategically placed right over each model’s penis. I don’t mind the concept as much as the execution. The garments weren’t even good.
It’s a good thing I’m no longer PMS-ing because Hershey’s and LBB are messing with my chocolate and I’m not happy about it. A deal between the two entities will restrict British chocolates from coming into America.
Refinery29 did a budget guide to no-makeup makeup, which is still having its moment right now.
Figure skater Ashley Wagner received her third national title in the past four years and seems to have put away her Winter Olympics meme face. Also, she received that title with the highest score ever for a woman at a US Championships event.
Red velvet Oreos. It’s happening.
This is an interesting look at how the “perfect” female body has changed over the last century, decade by decade. It’s so eerie, isn’t it, how someone’s body characteristics, often entirely unchangeable, can be “trendy.”
Design Darling cleaned out her closet. Which is a reminder to me that I also really need to clean out my closet like five years ago.
My friend Caitlin did a review of Amy Poehler’s Yes Please. This is on my reading list so I’m really glad that I have a friend who gave it a good review!
–
And my personal week last week? It was pretty normal. I…
You can see all this stuff as it happens if you follow me on Instagram.
And this coming week? Five days of work followed by a weekend trip to a big city with some long-lost friends! I couldn’t be more excited!
How was your week?
This post contains affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy for more information.
Fridays are for anxiously awaiting the weekend while wearing jeans to work, right?
I just bought this beautiful Kate Spade watch as a graduation gift to myself and I feel like I’m going to be wearing it nonstop. I can’t stop looking at it- it’s just so pretty, albeit a little loose on my tiny wrist, even after I had several of the links removed.
I sometimes forget how much fun it is to DEAR.
(Please tell me you had DEAR as a kid. Drop Everything And Read? No? Just me? Well OK.)
Grad school consumed so much of my free time for the past two and a half years, summers included, that any time I had to read went toward poring over textbooks, scholarly journal articles and the news.
All things I enjoy, mind you, but is it really that bad to want to sit down sometimes and read Harry Potter for like, the 20th time?
So, I put together a short reading list of books I really want to read within the next few months. One of those books? Gone Girl. Yes, you guys, I’m finally reading it.
I cleared three inches of snow off my car this morning, temperatures are still in the teens and we haven’t even hit February yet, but retailers are ready for spring!
Several of my favorite stores are clearance-ing product at insanely high speeds to make way for incoming spring merchandise.
Seeing as how I live in Michigan and still have (at least) three months until I can even think of walking outside without a down coat, I have no qualms with this.
–
Loft picks:
No code needed
Sundays are for slow cookers.
I started making Sundays my cook days when I was in grad school, and that was out of necessity rather than just convenience. If I didn’t cook myself enough food to get me through the whole week, I often just relied on fast food or didn’t eat all together.
Not healthy.
Now I have a lot more free time, so cooking throughout the week isn’t a hassle. But still, I kind of missed the slow cooker Sunday routine of getting out my Crock Pot and making myself enough hot food to last the whole week. It’s a really relaxing way to end the weekend, make great use of the groceries I just bought and give myself another way of feeling super prepared for the coming week.
I stumbled across this recipe on Pinterest and decided to give it a try. I always get really thrilled when the delicious-looking recipes that pop up in my feed are vegetarian! I made a few tweaks, but this is a really good recipe!
Weekly news and feature roundup time!
–
… And speaking of time… Time published a story about the science behind making the perfect cup of coffee. I might look into buying a pourover apparatus to add to my coffee snobbery collection.
Ship your enemies glitter. A friend posted a link to this site on Facebook and I fell in love. Although, I’m not too sure I’d be upset about receiving a glitterbomb in the mail. Warning: profanity.
Wet Hot American Summer is doing a reunion series for Netflix! The cast was announced and it is insane. In a good way.
Lost never actually cared about you. The writer admitted that the show fully intended on leaving its audience mystified and stuck with unanswered questions at the end of the show’s run. Jerks. I’m still halfway through the series and now I’m not sure if I should even bother continuing with it.
Maroon 5 released its new video for Sugar. The band crashed a bunch of weddings. I think I’m the only person that would be upset if Maroon 5 crashed my wedding but I’m really detail-oriented and having something unexpected happen during my wedding would probably cause me some serious anxiety!
Fall Out Boy is performing during the NHL All-Star Weekend! If there’s one thing I love more than hockey or indie 2000’s emo bands, it’s hockey combined with indie 2000’s emo bands.
Wet Seal has filed for bankruptcy. This news comes after similar announcements, like the closures of Deb, Delia’s and C. Wonder. I bought my 2010 New Year’s Eve dress from Wet Seal, but didn’t frequent the store often. Brick-and-mortar closures indicate a higher affinity for online shopping, which, as someone who appreciates fabric cut and fit, is disappointing.
H&M and Coachella are offering a clothing line. I take back my statement about hockey and Fall Out Boy being my two favorite things. Is there a way to somehow combine hockey with Fall Out Boy, H&M and music festivals? Someone please get on this and get back to me.
Whoa, NASA put together a stunningly large photo of the Andromeda Galaxy and it was made into a YouTube video. Anyone else feeling incredibly small and insignificant right now? There’s no possible way there isn’t more life out there.
–
And me this week? I…
You can see all this stuff as it happens if you follow me on Instagram.
How was your week?
Hey, fellow eight-to-fiver ladies – have you heard of Dagne Dover yet?
If not, you should definitely drop everything you’re doing and check it out.
I first heard of Dagne Dover back in February when I was desperately Googling every and anything that might result in a new work tote.
Best work purse.
Best work tote.
Best bag for work and school.
Etc.
I was so sick of carrying around a backpack for class, a briefcase for work, a bag for personal stuff, etc. Days I brought my lunchbox and gym bag to work with me were torture.
I can’t quite remember how, but I stumbled across Dagne Dover and immediately wanted one. Dagne Dover had just started the process to move its manufacturing overseas and, as a result, was out of stock. I was devastated. So… I put my annual tax return into a savings account and waited not so patiently for Dagne Dover to restock.
They did at the end of the summer and I immediately ordered a tote in Dagne Blue.
