Same Old Love

January Favorites 

Hello Lovelies. I'm Jordan Nicole :) The first month of 2016 has come and gone! It went by pretty fast don't you think? I was pretty shocked that it was a new year honestly and now that one twelfth of that new year is past I am pretty behind. I have had a wonderful year so far and a lot of favorites so lets jump right in!

Fashion

Army Green V-Neck 

This was a completely spontaneous buy at Target one night. I am obsessed with green right now and it was $10 so I figured it was a good purchase. It is nearly the only low cut shirt that I own.. I don not purchase low cut things. I think it is still cute though because it is so causal. I think it comes across less as trying to be sexy that way, which is the furthest things from what I'm going for.

Forest Green Button Up 

I bought this back in the summer because I thought the color was so very gorgeous and it was the best purchase. I thought that it was too expensive at the time but it was a good investment because I think I have worn it at least once a week since the weather started to get a little cooler.

Abercrombie High Waisted Bootcut Jeans 

I think this is the best pair of jeans I have ever owned. I am very sad that I only got three pairs and they have now stopped selling them... They fit me so wonderfully and are really flattering. I am going to try out the regular bootcut jeans and see if they compare but for now I will live in these.

Accessories

James Avery Charm Bracelet 

For Christmas my best friend Amanda decided to get me something I have wanted for years... a charm bracelet. She decided to include some of the closest people to me in it and make it that much more special. I love it so much. It is beautiful. I could not be more thankful to Amanda for giving me such a wonderful and thoughtful gift.

Olive Green Boots 

I also bought these back in the summer thinking they would get a lot of wear time when it got cold. They have. I wear them all of the time. Just look at them!

Beauty

Nars Charlotte Lipstick 

I had this on my wishlist for a long time. I think it is gorgeous. Packaging, color, formula. Everything.

Tartelette Palette 

I bought this palette a long time ago but never really connected with it until recently. It has a wonderful formula and a beautiful color selection.

Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment 

I depend on this. I have gone through two of them and even bought the pink one. My lips have always had a lot of issues and this is the only thing that truly hydrates and improves them.

Home

Fawn Container & Heart Ring Holder  

Both of these were purchased during a trip to Kirkland's. I finally had make storage containers for my vanity and I wanted to add something to hold my ponytails/bobby pins and my jewelry.

Food

Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood 

I bought this looking for new things to cook at home. There are a lot of good things in here. Plus Trisha is one of my grandmothers favorite people so I knew it would be a good book :)

Dunkin' Donuts Blueberry Cake Donut 

This donut is like a muffin in donut form. I am slightly addicted.

Entertainment

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills 

I am almost ashamed to admit that I have been watching this in my free time but honestly I just needed mindless entertainment. When I get home and I'm tired I just want to put something on that I don't have to think too hard about. No real story line to follow, nothing too serious. I just enjoy putting it on at the end of the day and zoning out. I am actually watching it as I am writing this post. Wonderful background noise.

Serial Podcast Season One 

Lately there has been a lot of hype connected to the Netflix show Making A Murder and I had interest in watching it but honestly I let all of the talk about it discourage me. I remembered that I had subscribed to Serial months ago and decided that maybe that would be a better route to take at this moment. I am so glad that I did. I am now hooked. I got all the way through season one and have listened to all of the episodes in season two so far.

To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han Audiobook

I typically only listen to audiobooks while I am in the car but I listened to this entire book in a matter of days because I was listening to it so often when I was alone. It was such a cute story and I really enjoyed listening to it.

This feels like an overly long favorites this month but I haven't written a favorites post in quite a while so I think some of these things were just built up. I want to get back into this blog desperately. It makes me so sad to look at my blog and not see a new post for months. I think that my anxiety honestly got the best of me over the last few months and I just got overwhelmed with the idea of people looking at something that I wrote. I also haven't found a spot in my new apartment to really take pictures for my blog. The lighting isn't the best here. I am going to make it work though! I am really getting back into this. It is my promise to myself. I want to do more of the things that make me happy and this is my happy place.

I hope that you had a wonderful first month of the year. We have eleven more to go! Here is to a wonderful February :)

***Everything linked if you hover over name and click***

I'm With You

Summer Makeup Haul 

Hello Lovelies. I'm Jordan Nicole :) So I have been forming quite the collection of new makeup this summer. I have my largest intake of money during the summer so it is really the time when I get to splurge on things like makeup. I managed to get a lot of things that were on my wishlist and I'm pretty thrilled with all of my purchases. I figured I would show y'all what I got and maybe see if there are any things that I should do a full review on. I figured for this post, instead of reviewing the items (that could take all day) I would just say why I wanted them in the first place. 

Beauty 

Marc Jacobs Honey Perfume

I have been looking into getting a nicer perfume for a while now. I love perfume but have always sort of gravitated toward the cheaper end. I smelled this and knew that this was the (slightly) more expensive perfume I wanted to start with.

Vera Wang Hippie Princess Perfume

I have always said that I am a bit of a hippie. I think that I am naturally drawn to a lot of things that could be compared to a hippie or boho vibe. I have used the original Vera Wang Princess perfume since I was in high school and just finished a bottle. I have smelled all of the variations over the years but this is the only one that pulled me in. It's the perfect summer scent for me.

Face 

Tarte Amazonian Clay 12 Hour Blush in Captivating 


I have been slowly building my makeup collection over the past year or so and at the beginning of the summer I noticed a distinct gap in my collection. I have practically no blushes. I decided that one of the ones I needed to purchase was the perfect summer, peace/orange shade. Captivating checked that box and more. 

Too Faced Love Flush Blush in Baby Love 


Another blush tone that I decided I needed was a more neutral, nude tone. This blush has a bit of mauve vibe but it is the neutral shade I was looking for that also suits my skin tone. I knew a neutral shade would open up my options for eye and lip looks.

Urband Decay Naked Skin Weightless Complete Coverage Concealer in Light Warm


The reason behind wanting this was pretty simple... EVERYONE and their mother raves about it one Youtube. I don't buy into every product that is raved about online but there comes a point when you are listening to your 15th beauty guru saying you need something and you think "well I must need that". I also mainly stick to concealer in terms of coverage and so I'm always looking for good ones.

Benefit Hoola Bronzer 

Bronzers were another area that I was seriously lacking in. The only bronzer in my collection was NARS Laguna, which is an excellent product but it can only do so much. My best friend highly recommended this and said it would work well for me. I take her recommendations to heart.

Eyes 

Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette 

I always thought of this palette as being for blue eyes, which I am not blessed with. I thought it was gorgeous but figured that there was no point in purchasing it (just like I shouldn't have purchased the Naked 2 palette, but that is another story). Then one day my cousins best friend, who works at Ulta, said that it would go perfect with my red hair. I had never heard this before. Apparently it is a thing though because I got told two more times when I was shopping in Sephora that I should purchase it. That was all of the convincing I needed.

Tarte Tartelette Palette 

I have a lot of palettes at this point but there was thing I was pretty largely missing in that category, a good matte collection. I looked at a few of the strictly matte palette options but none of them felt right besides the Tarte one. That big mirror didn't hurt anything either.

Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette 


I love my Too Faced Neutral Eyes Palette so much that I knew I wanted another Too Faced one. Kathleen Lights, aka one of my favorite Youtubers, very highly recommends this one so I decided to check it out. I liked the color selection in the original better than the semi-sweet one so I went with it.

Colourpop & Kathleen Lights Where The Light Is Quad 

As I just said, Kathleen is one of my favorite Youtubers. When I found out that she did an eyeshadow collaboration with Colourpop I knew that I would love it. She is drawn to the same colors that I am so I knew they would be warm and glowy.

Rimmel Scandaleyes Kohl Eyeliner in Purple 


This is my holy grail eyeliner. I thought the purple would be pretty with my Naked 3 palette and with my brown eyes.

Maybelline Brow Drama in Auburn


I am pretty attached to my Benefit Gimmie Brow but I figured that if there was a drugstore alternative then I should probably check it out. Plus they only have two shades in the Benefit line and Maybelline was offering an Auburn option, which happens to be my hair color.

Lips 

Colourpop Lippie Sticks 


As with the eyeshadow quad, I had to purchase this lipstick (Lumiere) because it was a collaboration with Kathleen. That's about the extent of my thought process.

I know this might seem like a bit of a splurge but I have been obtaining these things over the last few months. I didn't purchase it all on one trip. If there are any items that you would like to see a full review of let me know in the comments :) 

I Just Can't Stop Loving You

August (& Some July) Favorites 

Hello Lovelies. I'm Jordan Nicole :) I very epically missed the month of July when it came to a favorites post. I mean I was still working on writing that when August 15th rolled around. At that point I figured it was a lost cause and I should just let it go. I have sense realized that I was having such a hard time with that post because July came and went so quickly that I honestly hadn't accumulated many favorite things. Not having much to write about can certainly make doing a post difficult. As there is not really any excuse for my absence from posting, I am not going to make any. I am simply going to say that my August has been lovely (I hope yours has as well) and I have many things that I loved along the way. I am also going to lump the few things I had in that July favorites post in with this one. I wouldn't want them to feel left out after all ;) 

Fashion 

Spiderman Shirt 

I got this shirt at Target. It was on sale for $7. Can you believe that? I mean $7. Craziness. Anyways, it is technically a pajama top but that hasn't stopped me from wearing it during the day... and very much in public. I have reached for this so often in the last two months that I lost count a long time ago. I think it is so adorable. I have also paired it with a red lip a few times, which I love.

Accessories 

James Avery Birthstone Ring 

This was a bit of a splurge after receiving a larger paycheck than I had expected early this month. I have had my eye on this ring since I was in high school but the large price tag associated with it, along with my tendency to lose anything with a large price tag associated with it always stopped me from actually purchasing it. Then at the beginning of the month I went in with Amanda so that she could get a charm her boyfriend bought her added to her charm bracelet and I decided to just go for it. I love seeing it on my had. It is gorgeous.

*That's the birthstone for a December birthday, by the way. 

Beauty 

Too Faced Natural Eyes Palette

I may have featured this palette in my favorites before, and I also did an entire review on it during my palette review week, but it really is just the best. It is small and perfect for throwing in my makeup bag. Plus the amount of looks that you can get from just this palette is outstanding. It is the perfect neutral palette (yes, even compared to the original Naked palette) and it has the prettiest gold eyeshadow in it, which is perfect for my favorite eye look.

Tarte Amazonian Clay 12 Hour Blush in Captivating  

I purchased this hoping that it would a) compliment my skin tone well (peaches and oranges tend to) and b) be the perfect summertime blush. It has delivered on both accounts. In fact it has surpassed my expectations. It is one of the most gorgeous blushed I have ever seen. A little goes a long way too, so I imagine that it will last more for many summers to come.

Rimmel Kate Moss Lipstick in 32

I bought this color hoping that it would go well with my Tarte blush from above. It does. My go to summer makeup has now consisted of a gold smokey eye, peachy cheeks, and orange lips. I love it. It is a little drying but if I don't pack it on that isn't much of a problem.

Vera Wang Hippie Princess Perfume

It was a bit of a struggle to find this. I saw it at Ulta a few months ago and knew I wanted it. I should have bought it then and there (the universe has tried to teach me this lesson many times but it just can't manage to stick) but I wanted to wait until my next paycheck. Well when I went back to get it they, of course, did not have it. I produced to look for it, at multiple stores over multiple weeks, to no avail. Then one day I was running a little early and needed to fill some time so I wandered into an Ulta. I definitely wasn't looking for this perfume but there it was when I walked in the door. I immediately checked out and walked out with it. We have been in a wonderful love affair ever since.

Home

NYC & Paris Canvas Art

I have been trying to make my apartment feel more like a home since the day we moved in. I think I have finally managed to get there over the past month. The only thing that could make it feel any better would be Autumn, which is right around the corner. One of the big things is all of the art I have hanging now. These sets of NYC & Paris scenes are so perfect. It fits the little umbrella & travel theme that I have got going. I honestly just love looking at them.

Mason Jar with Straw

My roommate Clay & I love these skits from Comedy Central called Publizity. Due to our obsessive nature we obviously had to get cups like theirs. I got the mason jar, as I am the one with bangs (that will makes sense if you look up the bangs video they have...you are welcome). 

Entertainment 

Tyler Oakley's Auguest 

I included this in my August favorites last year too because it is simply amazing. I love Tyler and I love collaborations. A whole month of collab videos every weekday is a magical experience. They are done now, and you should go binge (speaking of binge, check out his book that is available for preorder now) watch them all!

Young & Hungry 

I kept seeing this on Netflix, and figured I would probably like it since it was an ABC Family show, but I hadn't gotten around to it yet when I found out that my Mama had watched it and really enjoyed it. This was the only push I needed to finally start watching it. I am SO glad that I did. It is not only quick and witty but also hilarious. A great cast and wonderful writing mix to create an adorably fun comedy. Plus Emily Osment plays the main character... childhood flashbacks anyone?

Burning House by Cam 

I am slightly embarrassed to admit this... A little backstory is needed to understand why though. So back in March I went to SXSW to see Sam Hunt. Before he came on this girl I had never heard of, dressed in all yellow from head to toe, performed. Her voice was so obnoxious and her overly fake and cheery disposition was not my style. I wrote her off as someone who would never make it big. Little did I know that I would start hearing her on the radio all of the time... Well end of story I am obsessed with this song. I still don't know if I like Cam or not, but I will give her the credit she is due for the lovely song.

Port Aransas & Parasailing

Earlier this month, my best friend Amanda and I decided to take a day trip to the beach. We choose Port Aransas and decided that we wanted to go parasailing while we were there. I have lived in Texas all of my life but I had never been to a Texas beach. The whole day was so much fun. It was also exhausting. We left home at 7 AM and got back around 1AM. It was a rough drive home. While we were there though, I got to stand in the Gulf of Mexico for the first time and we got to experience parasailing for the first time together. It is SOOOO much fun and I highly recommend trying it. We did it through Chute'em Up Parasailing and had the most wonderful experience. The group of people we went with were so much fun and the workers made everything feel very easy and comfortable.

Those are the things I have particularly been enjoying over the last few months. I hope that your August treated you well, back to school and all! September is officially here and I could not be more excited. PSL anyone? I'll see you at Starbucks on the 8th :)

Unpretty

A Self Image Epidemic.

Hello Lovelies. I'm Jordan Nicole :) I was fortunate enough to be born in the year 1992 and yet I have grown up in a world that makes me feel ashamed to sit here and tell you that I wear a size 10 in jeans. I am actually embarrassed to admit this fact. I feel shame about my weight and the way my body looks. I think less of myself than people who are more similar to societies ideals. How can any self respecting woman sit here and admit that she is so uncomfortable with her body? I have simply been compared to "perfection" my entire life and, like it would any human being, it has affected my view of myself.

In a world where we hear the word epidemic in relation to disease nearly every day, I think that we are letting even bigger issues go undiscussed. In many ways there is an epidemic occurring as I type this that isn't spread through the air or by touch, but by words and hate. The disease that I am referring to doesn't involve bacteria or antibiotics... It lives within a subculture of our society and breeds like wildfire when it is given the right environment and sustenance. The media supplies the life source and society supplies the means for circulation.

Negative Body Image.  

It is a disease. It is a thing that is impacted by society every day. We are born into a world that has an idea of exactly what our bodies should grow to look like. There are no factors which excuse not looking this way.  It doesn't matter what your genetics have to say about the matter. You should be doing everything in your power to live up to what is beautiful.

This mindset has led to an enormous issue on our hands. We have taught generations of women that they are basically ugly, and therefore worthless. We have set a precedent of determining worth in terms of beauty and I for one am tired of it. The real factor which propelled this issue into a full blown epidemic was the introduction of the internet into our environment.

The anonymity which is supplied by the internet has fueled so much hate of other people that society can no longer see that shaming someone else based on physical traits is actually cruel. We are so desensitized to acts of hatred that we don't see them as the problem that they are.

With all of the steps we have taken toward women being equal, it seems that we should be able to sit in a bath suit by the pool without feeling out of place. I realize that some of my insecurities stem from my own self esteem problems, which I have spent years improving, but at the same time there is an endless line of women standing beside me who feel the same way. It is 2015 and this can not be blamed on "hysteria" anymore.

The media have spread a disease which they offer no antidote for.

I think that the women on the big screen, on the small screen, and on the pages of magazines are beautiful. They are often stunning. What they aren't is perfect. Perfection is a dream that has no place in reality. They are beautiful but they are not what I need to look like. I should not aspire to be them someday. Firstly, I am genetically different than the majority of those women. Secondly, I should not aspire to be anyone but myself anyways!

The media could certainly help to cure the disease which it has spread through society, but we are not dependent on them. Love is always the solution to hate. Self love is the ultimate cure for self hate.

I love who I am. In my opinion, I am a wonderful person.

giving, caring, loving, smart, determined, responsible, nurturing, opinionated, educated, ditzy, flawed, learning, changing, forgiving,  growing, optimistic, realistic, analytical, empathetic. 

These are all words that I would sit here and use to describe myself. Note the lack of physical traits. These are the only things that should matter. I am the only person who I need to live up to. I am the only person who needs to love me.

I was part of the problem. I am becoming part of the solution.

Join me.

All By Myself

Feeling Lonely 

I found this gem that I wrote a couple of months back. I now have a roommate but the feelings I was expressing when I wrote this are still relevant to my life. I thought I should share it because maybe they will be relevant to yours as well...

Hello Lovelies. I'm Jordan Nicole :) I haven't done a post where I just talk about what I'm thinking and how I'm feeling in a while. I started doing this blog as a space where I could talk about things that I want to and express myself so I figure it is the perfect place for me to talk about this thing that has been happening lately.

You see, I live alone. I love my life, and my apartment. I love who I am even. Living alone has definitely tested me though. Being alone can make you feel alone. I get home alone and eat dinner alone and go to sleep alone and wake up alone... Over and over again. I logically know that I am not alone just because I am by myself. I know that if I picked up the phone and called Amanda or got in my car and drove to Ellie's, that they would be there for me in a heartbeat. I have so many people in my life who would drop everything to be with me if I needed them. I am so blessed in that way.

It's just that when you've had a bad day and you get home to an empty apartment it can make you feel sad. Even when everything is going your way, being alone can just give the effect of sadness.

I think sometimes we feel like we can't admit that we feel lonely. Like admitting that we feel lonely and vulnerable means that we are weak. It doesn't. Emotions are meant to be felt and everyone has felt lonely at one point in their life.

The important thing to remember is that if you feel lonely, let yourself feel lonely. Then remember that you are not alone in this world and that even when you are physically alone you still have yourself. You can always count on yourself to be there so make sure you love your constant companion and that you try to remember that you are enough.

Single For The Summer

Why A Summer Romance Is Overrated. 

Hello Lovlies. I'm Jordan Nicole :) I don't know about you but I have been exposed to the idea of a summer romance since before I was old enough to even understand what romance was. The summer fling can be seen everywhere from movies to television to books. It feels like every summer when I look for a fun, silly YA book to put me in the summer mood I browse through nothing but an endless string of books about summer romances.

So where did the romanticized view of summer flings originate? Was it brought on by a generation of young girls watching Grease and wishing that they could go spend the summer on a beach finding their Danny Zuko? Is it the idea of the endless days and nights, uninterrupted by school and responsibilities, that you can spend with this person? Maybe it is the fantasy of going to a place where no one knows you and completely reinventing yourself, while also finding love along the way?

Whatever the reason behind the fascination is, it is definitely an established dream that society puts into young girl's heads. I know that I spent every summer reading books about girls who got to spend their summer at some distant relatives beach house and who, because of this location, found the love of their life... or at least of that summer. I would read these books and wish that some day I could be that girl. Unfortunately for teenage me, I lived hours away from the nearest beach and my parents weren't all that eager to ship me off somewhere for the summer. At the time the idea was so appealing. Actually, the idea seemed pretty appealing all the way through my first few years of college. Those were the years when I was still so desperate to find love. Being alone seemed like the worst fate, and spending the summers alone was simply tragic.

Looking back on those years with the perspective I have gained in my 22 years, I have NO IDEA what I was thinking. I can only blame my fantasizing on the way summer romances were portrayed in the media around me. The truth of the matter is that there is no direct correlation between having a fun, life changing summer and being in a relationship. In fact I have spent all but one of my summers completely single, and I would almost argue that those were some of my most valuable growing experiences.

The summer is a time when you are unregulated by school and schedules. The days feel endless and the nights are filled with adventure. I have spent the majority of my summers running freely. I have had nothing to hold me back. No restrictions, besides the ones set by my parents of course. The feeling of sunshine and freedom is one that can not be replaced. There is something about the heat and the rays of sun hitting your skin that make everything seem magical. I have made some of my best memories in the summertime, and I made those memories completely alone. Well, single at least. I was typically far from alone, as I take this time as an opportunity to surround myself with friends.

I know that being in a relationship during the summer does not ruin it by any means, but it also gives you something that ultimately ties you down. You can't run freely with your friends and flirt endlessly with the boys across the pool. You can't take a family trip to the beach without wishing your SO were with you. Spending the summer being single frees not only your schedule, but your mind. You won't be worrying about what trouble that SO of yours is getting into at camp or off on that road trip with their friends.

I wasted so many of my summers dreaming of being on a beach somewhere and having a guy to fill my time with. While I am still spending this summer wishing I was on a beach, I have outgrown the desire to fill my time with a boy.

I don't need a boy to make my summer amazing. I really don't need a boy to make any part of my life amazing. So if you have been spending summer after summer wishing that there was someone to call your summer fling while the summer passed you by, then I say let's all leave our dream world's this summer and embrace all of the adventurous and freeing things we can do in a summer, even without that summer love.

Besides, if you did have a summer love then you would have to spend your whole summer dreading the day that you had to leave them and go back to the real world. Being single means that you can enjoy all of the magic of summer without fearing its end! 

Fight Song

Take Back Your Life 

Hello Lovelies. I'm Jordan Nicole :) Over the past few months I have been so intrigued with the idea of things we do and do not have control over in our lives.

We each have things in our lives that are out of our control. I can sit here and name so many things that I have no power to change. Some of these things cause me to feel anxious. Knowing that I have no control over those situations is daunting. How can I be happy when there are so many things that make me unhappy which I just have no influence over? Getting past the things that make me feel sad without changing them can seem impossible.

The thing that I have been so fascinated with as of late is the idea that, while situations can be beyond our ability to control, happiness is never out of reach. Even if it feels like you are drowning in your life and it takes all of your energy just to stay afloat, you are still the only thing that stands between yourself and happiness.

Have you ever met someone who, despite their situation, was just the happiest person you had ever had come into your life? We have all had this experience. The child who has lost a parent, the parent who has lost a child, the mother of two who has just been diagnosed with breast cancer, the veteran who lost their leg to war. The list is endless, but they all have one thing in common. They have realized that being happy is something you can choose... And they have chosen it.

You see, as much as we would like to blame all of the things in our life that we have no control over for our unhappiness, this is simply not true. HAPPINESS IS A CHOICE. No one and nothing can take happiness away from you. Happiness and joy are something that is held in your heart and you can choose to wake up and be happy or wake up and not be happy.

You may be sitting there yelling that I don't understand at your computer screen, but I promise that I do. I have been the person who let the world bring me down. I have sat alone in my room feeling like there was just nothing to be happy about anymore. The thing I didn't realize back then is that I had the potential to be happy, even when things looked so grim. You hold the key.

When it seems like there is nothing to be happy about, it is because you are overlooking all of the blessings in your life. We are surrounded by magical things that should make each of us overwhelmed with happiness every day. The littlest of things add up to the biggest blessings in your life.

Can you see? Can you hear? Can you speak? Can you walk? Are you healthy? Does your body function the way it was meant to? These things may seem like obvious traits that you were just born with, but not everyone was. These things are blessings. We are so used to having the ability to do simple things that we don't think of them as being extraordinary, but they are. When you know someone who doesn't have these abilities then you start to understand just how much they affect your daily life.

Blessings do not have to be major events that have a big flashing "This is a blessing" sign hanging above them. Miracles happen every day. There are so many reasons to be happy. Find them!

I am not trying to sit here and tell you how to live your life, but if you have been struggling to find reasons to be happy then maybe you should take a step back from your daily struggles and write down one thing that you are grateful for each night. Just one thing. I promise you that you will find something new each day, and over time that list will start to grow. Watch it grow and realize that you are truly blessed. As time goes on, take back your ability to be happy. In turn, take back your life.

There are so many things that we have no control over in this world but happiness is not one of them.

Happiness is a choice.

What did you choose today?