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After my Accent Vlog, I received numerous emails asking about my skin care routine.

First, I want to say THANK YOU for thinking my skin looks awesome. In truth, it’s a work in progress. I’ve always had a mixture of dry, oily, uneven {i.e. splotchy, red cheeks} skin. I blame my terrible skin on years of sun and chlorine damage from hours upon hours of swimming.

Until recently, I’ve never done anything to truly fix my problems, resigned to just let them be.

In the past I’ve used:

– Proactiv
- Dove soap
- Topical cream prescribed by my doctor {recently I used Ziana, which works WONDERS but HOLY HECK does it dry my face out}
- Oral medication
- Birth control that supposedly helps with breakouts

Obviously none of the above worked.

But what does work for me?

The freaking FANTABULOUS skin care regimen designed specifically for me by none other than Mrs. Shasta Anne.  Seriously y’all. Seriously. This regimen is THE SHIT. Shasta knows what the heck she is talking about. In just a few short months, my skin is not only clearer but more even. I rarely wear makeup, but when I do, I stick to only loose powder, eye shadow, and lip gloss. And now that my skin is more even, I can get away with no powder at all. Praise the heavens!

Here’s a breakdown of what I use: {Note: Yes, I know this seems like A LOT but after a while it just becomes second nature.}

Morning:

1.    Using the Clarisonic Pro, cleanse face, neck, chest with Epicuren Herbal Cleanser.

2.    After shower or washing face, tone with Epicuren Protein Mist.

3.    Apply TNS Recovery Complex to face and neck.

4.    Apply SkinMedica Vitamin C+E Complex to face and neck.

5.    Apply SkinMedica Hydrating Complex to face and neck.  {Helps with hydration without congesting pores or over stimulating sebaceous glands.}

6.    Apply TNS Ultimate Daily Moisturizer + SPF 20.

7.    Apply IS Clinical Youth Eye Complex.

Night:

1.    Cleanse face, neck, chest with Epicuren Herbal Cleanser just as I do in the morning.

2.    Two to three times a week I do a manual exfoliation using Epicuren Fine Herbal Scrub.

3.    After exfoliation, tone with Epicuren Protein Mist.

4.    Apply TNS Recovery Complex to face and neck.

5.    Apply SkinMedica Vitamin C+E Complex to face and neck.

6.    Apply SkinMedica Hydrating Complex to face and neck.

6.    Moisturize with Epicuren Hydro Plus Moisturizer.  {This stuff is AH-MAZING.}

7.    Apply IS Clinical Youth Eye Complex.

I hope this is helpful for those of you that were asking. Cheers to healthy, glowing skin!

I am a self-admitted Kate Spade-aholic. Her shoes? Handbags? Fashion jewelry? I WANT ALL OF IT. Couple that with Kate Spade’s “Color of the Month” campaign and I am downright giddy!!

If you’ve spent any time around my blog, you probably know that my favorite color is teal {or any variation of blue, really}, followed closely by purple.

Y’all, I’m pretty sure Kate Spade is trying to kill me right now. The entire site is bursting with teals and blues and golds and beautifulness and oh my!!!

I’ll take one of each of these please! {Ahem, Mr. M, my birthday is coming up. Feel free to take this as a major hint. Or, perhaps some David Yurman? tee-hee!}

What are you lusting after right now?

P.S. Despite J. Crew’s TERRIBLE customer service as of late, has anyone else noticed that J. Crew is FINALLY starting to get its swagger back? Gorgeous shoes, floral dresses, bright colors! Yes, please! And Anthropologie? I don’t like a single thing in stores right now. Blah. Color me disappointed.

So I’m jumping on board the accent vlog bandwagon.

I got the list of words and questions from Jenna’s Journey blog and she has a link up going to see all of the others. So visit her blog to see more videos if you want to!

So here we go…don’t laugh at me {too much}.

A few notes:
1. I am white as a ghost. Not attractive.
2. I hate the sound of my voice on camera/voicemail/any recordings. Why did I do this again?
3. I have no idea why my lips are so pink.
4. I ramble. A lot. Sorry.
5. I’ve decided that the color poppy doesn’t look so great on me. Note to self.

The instructions are to say these words:
Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught

And answer these questions:
What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?
What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
What do you call gym shoes?
What do you say to address a group of people?
What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
What do you call your grandparents?
What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?
What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
What is the thing you use to change the TV channel?

So.

I resigned from my job today. Less than 20 minutes ago, actually.

My hands are still shaking and my stomach is doing flip-flops.

But I’m getting the opportunity to follow my dream—something I’ve wanted since I was an undergraduate engineering student. I’ve been asked to become a full-time lecturer (i.e. professor), teaching engineering management at a university here in Dallas. When I found out I received the job, I squealed and then cried.

I feel so blessed. So so incredibly blessed.

Y’all.

Y’ALL.

I’m coming out of blogging hiatus {or whatever the heck I’ve been doing these past few months} to SHOUT FROM THE ROOFTOPS the AMAZINGNESS that is DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth.

Read it. Now. Please. I’m on my knees begging you to read this.

Did you love the Hunger Games? Well, I have news for you. DIVERGENT is better {in my humble opinion}. MUCH MUCH better. And like the Hunger Games, it’s a trilogy. Not to mention, the movie rights have also already been sold!

Synopsis:

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself when she decides to join Dauntless.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows {one that is brutal to the core and tests her physical, mental, and emotional strength}, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she’s chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she’s kept hidden from everyone because she’s been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her. She learns what it truly means to be Dauntless.

Y’all, listen up. This book? It’s legit.

“Faction before blood.” The motto all factions share and which all members of society live by. Or almost all.

As soon as Tris chooses to join the Dauntless faction, DIVERGENT becomes an unputdownable read as Tris navigates the often dangerous trials of her initiation period that keep both her and readers on their toes. When Tris is not learning how to handle weapons that she may have never seen before in her life, she is cautiously navigating her emotional connections with her new friends or nemeses. Physical action blends seamlessly with relationship intrigue to appeal to readers who generally prefer one over the other.

In the midst of all this action, Tris emerges as perhaps the strongest dystopian heroine I have read about since Katniss. All doubts that I may have had about whether or not she truly belongs in Dauntless disappeared only a few chapters in, and from then on I was firmly rooting for her the whole way. While not resourceful, per se {she is in a new faction, after all}, Tris has unmatched mental strength {and just a bit too much determination to prove herself} that help carry her triumphantly through obstacles and hardships that would destroy most of us.

In short, I love her. LOVE HER. AND THIS BOOK. And you will too. If you don’t, I’ll buy you a mojito.

So, what are you waiting for? Hop on over to your nearest bookstore and BUY THIS FREAKING BOOK. Trust me. You’ll want this one in hardback {yes, that includes all you eReader fans too}.

In the meantime, if you’re wondering where I ran off to, I’m probably not-so-subtly stalking Veronica Roth and camping out at Borders waiting for the next book!!!