rules to live by

Just a quick post this morning before I run off for a day out with my mom and sister. Rules to live by. So simple, yet (sometimes) so hard.

{image via/ text edit by pinkazaleas}

Natural Beauty

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I believe that Mother Nature provides us with everything we need to look beautiful. We spend millions of dollars each year (myself included) on beauty products when in reality, all we need to do is raid our kitchen for some natural ingredients to make good, maybe even better beauty products. Here are some of the best "recipes" I've come across to solve beauty woes. 

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Walnut scrub 

*to exfoliate hands and feet. 

Blend 1/4 cup shelled walnuts, 1/2 cup olive oil, tablespoon of honey in a food processor set on a slow speed, which makes a fine scrub to really slough off dead skin cells. Scrub it on your skin for a few minutes, rinse with warm water. This is my tip: Do this at nighttime, right before bed. After exfoliating your hands and feet, slather on vaseline or olive oil (a 95 year old family friend swears by this and has the skin of a newborn), and put on a thick pair of socks- even on your hands if you can stand it. Overnight, your feet will become impeccably soft in their soft sock cocoon. 

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Oranges, Lemons, and acidic fruit 

*for your bendy joints

Acid in the fruit loosens dead skin cells... all you do is cut the fruit in half, and rub the half all over the area. Then scrub a mixture of sugar and olive oil (1/4 cup of each) onto the skin. Rinse with warm water, pat skin dry, and moisturize. 

*for hair

Make your own hairspray. Use lemons or oranges! Lemons are better for dry hair, and oranges prolong a strong hold. Chop the fruit in a bowl so you don’t lose any juice. Then, boil the fruit with 2 cups of water until soupy and the liquid has reduced significantly. Strain the liquid (through cheese cloth or something similar), and put that in a spray bottle. Because there is no alcohol in this spray, it will not dry out your hair. 

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Coffee Grounds 

*for hair

Throw your used coffee grounds into your conditioner and it will make your hair extra shiny. 

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Cucumbers, Potatoes or Tea Bags

*for dark under eye circles 

Apply a grated cold cucumber paste on dark circles. Repeat it for three mornings. Applying grated potatoes for 20 minutes also works. The age old trick of applying cucumber slices also is still quite effective. Slightly cooled tea bags on eyelids also is a remedy for dark circles. 

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Other good websites to try out: 

http://herbalistpath.blogspot.com/2007/06/blog-party-soothing-skin-natural.html

http://www.modelbeautytip.com/homeremedies.htm

http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/beauty/skin/homemade-beauty-recipes

http://allnaturalbeauty.us/hbr_mainpage.htm

Have you discovered any natural homemade beauty recipes? Do share!

newly acquired gems

This past weekend, I went with my mom to a local antique and general store. I always love looking at gems from the past because I imagine ways of incorporating them into the present. I was especially enamoured with their vast collection of vintage and unique jewellery and accessories. In fact, I purchased a few new pieces for my jewellery repertoire at a reasonable cost ($50)! I took some pics with my phone, and yes, I used "The Ellements of Personal Style" as a prop.

My new collection of jewels displayed on "The Ellements of Personal Style"--more on that book later!

Semi- precious gemstones with the beautiful Olivia Wilde in the background. 

In addition to purchasing some jewellery, I also bought a leather handbag... which, coincidentally, is structured- one of the items I planned to invest in, as stated on my 12 Before 2012 list! There was an adorable Louis Vuitton bag there screaming my name (Tiiiiiffany you know you want me!!), but one of the straps needed repair, and I am just not talented enough to fix it. Double sigh. I still adore the bag I ended up with. It's red. It's structured. It's leather. Perfect for school and work. Score! 

The brand is "Maxime"-anyone have info on that? 

For around $50, I got a leather handbag, two necklaces, one bracelet and three rings. Not bad! 

One final pretty from this weekend: my stack of bracelets, including the newest pink beaded on my mom bought for me! 

Have you acquired any new-to-you gems lately? How fun is antique shopping!? Happy Monday lovelies!

It's Friday night!!!

night out by pinkazaleas featuring a leopard print clutch

I don't know about you guys, but sometimes on Friday nights I like to get a little fierce. When I go out on the town, I want to rock it like I'm Ke$ha (oh, too far?). So imagine this little number as you troll browse the streets for potential hotties- like taking candy from a baby, right? Happy trolling weekend, lovelies!! xo

a pop of posies

These awe-inspiring lovelies are brought to you courtesy of Pinterest. Seriously, I know I keep talking about it, but it is ADDICTING! Love how all these images have flowers (some in a non-descript way), but they are all my focus is drawn to. Flowers complete a space if you ask me!

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Feast on all the gorgeous images your eyes can handle with me on Pinterest! Have you recently used flowers to complete a space? And who would have thought that a stack of suitcases could make a surprisingly cute and chic bedside table? 

12 Before 2012

Image via/text edit by pinkazaleaparadise

Recently I've felt like I've been running around in circles and not really accomplishing anything.  Does that ever happen to you? In order to motivate myself and to also encourage some self-satisfaction, I compiled a list of 12 items that I want to complete before 2012 begins. That gives me about four and a half months from now to accomplish them (not in any particular order). For accountability, here she blows:

• Re-read the entire Harry Potter series
• Have an afternoon outing by myself- Go out for lunch and a movie shamelessly solo and enjoy it!
• Finish the in-class portion to my final year of University 
• Put $500 away for my “someday” fund
• Lose my final 20 pounds for a total weight loss of 75 pounds
• Get professional photos taken 
• Go to an antique flea market (like Aberfoyle) for an afternoon of inspiration and unique purchases
• Bake a pie from scratch (pie crust, filling, and all!) without Mom’s help
• Make some major decisions about where I want to be next year with my career (this obviously will be an ongoing process, but I want to have a semi-concrete idea about my plan by the end of this year)
• Invest in a few high quality wardrobe staples (i.e., a pair of leather shoes, a structured handbag, and tailored blazer or jacket) for pleasure and profession 
• Get crafty! Make home bracelets like the ones here, a necklace like this one, a DIY dry erase board, and other goodies that I come across in my travels (cough, cough Pinterest)
• Attend a cultural event (like a symphony or a theatre production) ... and get dressed up! 

Yes, yes I did include re-reading Harry Potter... what of it? :) I will include updates on here as I tackle these headfirst, one by one! xo

new jewels

I recently purchased a necklace and a pair of earrings from Forever 21. They are quickly becoming my favourite! 

"Oui" the necklace is making me feel quite Parisian! The earrings have a special vintage feel to them, and the antiqued gold finish goes with nearly everything! (I couldn't find them on the website to link them for ya so they must be sold out!)

                                           clipart from here