Fall Basic Piece

OK, it's that time of year; where the season of Fall begins and everyone heads back-to-school. For most females that means refreshing the closet with something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. Here is one of my all-time Fall favorites that matches all four categories.

One basic clothing staple that almost never goes out of style and is super versatile is the classic button-down shirt/blouse. The most popular style have sleeves that reach the elbows, a collar, and either a checkered or plaid pattern.

You can wear them as they are

You can unbutton the top and bottom buttons

Add a cardigan, cover-up, or jacket over it, depending on the weather.
 The thick belt over both shirts is another good option.

You can tuck 'em into your pants and add a belt

For a basic look pair with bootcut or skinny jeans,
your favorite heels or flats, and a handbag. 

For a more creative combo is with colored shorts, tights,
ankle booties (which is the current
trend), and large dangly
earrings

For a complete winter look...

Wear an extra long one with leggings, boots, and long necklaces

For a cropped-top look tie the bottom
of the shirt together (but please where a
tank or cami underneath, please). 

A graphic tee, converse, homemade jean-shorts
 and a beanie are an edgy-but-comfy
look for when
you're taking a weekend off
from studies

And there ya have it! There a bunch more things you can do with a button down shirt. You can find 'em pretty much everywhere. I have grabbed mine for only $15 at Target. Here is what it looks like:

In my two favorite colors? 

So there yuh have it! A popular and very wearable clothing item that I just love. It just challenges you to just get creative with it and it works so well with so many things on pretty much everyone! Enjoy. And grab yourself one before Fall is over! Bye, y'all

Fragrance

If there’s one thing I tend to have too much of, it’s probably fragrances. I almost never leave Bath and Body Works without making a purchase... or two. You see, I love things that smell good and I love smelling good. I haven’t been to BBW in a few months though, which is probably a good thing, but that hasn’t stopped me from buying delightfully smelly things. This summer I’ve discovered the wonders of the Harajuku Lovers fragrances. 

Each bottle of perfume comes with a “doll” topper, there are five different characters in the set and each one has a unique scent. Because they are a perfume line and not a body spray line, they can make a dent in the wallet... Lucky for me there’s a such thing as Amazon and eBay where you can get cheap deals. Sooooo what did I do?

I bought two different kinds!

Both are the character, Lil' Angel, the one on the left is Wicked Style
and the one on the right is a mini original

They smell SOOOO good! 

Anyway, enough of my shopping-girly talk. I'll make this brief, and yes, again this is something in my life that gets me thinking about something related to God's awesomeness. Lez look at duh WURD:

"and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

                            Ephesians 5:2 (NIV)

God calls us to be a fragrant offering before Him and others just like He was when He sacrificed Himself to save us. When we reflect God's love we become fragrant and spiritually pleasing to others. This morning I woke up early and read John chapter 12 verse 1 through 8. The story was called "The Anointing at Bethany", which already stuck out to me because me name is Bethany. Anyway, here is the full story:

        " Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

         But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

         “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial.  You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” "

I pictured myself in a modern setting of the story with me playing the role of Mary. I was pouring my new bottle of Harajuku Lovers over Jesus' feet then wiping them with my hair. But then I thought, "hmmm, Harajuku Lovers isn't that expensive for a perfume and nard was pretty freakin' expensive stuff back then. But I don't have any nard and I don't have any perfumes more expensive than this..." Immediately after that it hit me just what the whole point of the story was. 

Mary gave up a valuable earthly possession before Jesus' feet, and not just some of it, but all of it. Then she gave up herself in service for the Lord by wiping his feet with her own hair. Her act of submissiveness, selflessness, and sacrifice was fragrant, and spread throughout the whole house. People who don't have the eyes of the Lord will not understand the beauty nor the purpose of something as powerful as giving away everything we have to our Father. They will most likely try to stop us and even persecute us. In return the Father will defend our case. 

I know I have the hardest time giving up little things for God sometimes, in fact, that's usually the case all the time. It's a struggle we all have. But reflect a bit on the love story I shared from the Bible. Before we give ourselves up fully, we have to give up what hold onto to first. If Jesus were physically right here in front of me, I'm sure He'd appreciate my laptop, iPod, manga collection, Sonic the Hedgehog stuff, and, yes, my bottles of Harajuku Lovers fragrances. But what He would love even more is what I choose to do after that; give up myself. There's some food for thought. Or perfume for thought. 

Fangirls: The Cool, the Dumb, and the Ugly

Howdy partners! Good to be here with Y'ALL!

Being a fan of something can be SO cool. It's fun to really get into something and to choose your favorite characters and to gain inspiration out of it. It's even cooler when you have a friend or a bunch of friends who are into the same things as you, and exciting conversations can be made from that as you anxiously anticipate the next upcoming part of the series. Sometimes it's also really awesome to see the fun ideas and creativity that can be brought forth from fans!

Sometimes.


When you are a fan of something, say that really cute anime emo guy that never talks to anyone but is still frickin cute because he just is, you can basically take the way you view that character and "change" him around, or rather, re-design his characteristics to match your own personal preference.

For example, this emo boy just so happens to not be interested in dating any girls currently, and he probably feels that he just doesn't have time for them, being busy sulking around and thinking about how much life sucks and all. Sadly that's just the way the cartoonist created him. But the way his slanted, narrow eyes and shaggy black hair are drawn is just far too much for your brain to remove from its memory and your heart does a little jump every time he speaks in that deep, smooth voice (yeah you, fangirl, you know what I'm talking about). Even though he's fictional, you just somehow can't stop thinking about him. So what do you do???

You might decide to make your own OC (original character), draw her up and then pair her up with emo kid. In your imagination you are now somehow a part of the story and have full control over all the other character's emotions and decisions, especially the character you have a crush on. You two could have some sort of smoking romance and absolutely nothing could go wrong or get in the way of your "original" angst-y love story. Hey, it's a whole new world now! For you, anything goes. Until the next episode of that anime emo-kid is a part of comes on TV in English with a new character - a female who is destined to be his girlfriend. *facepalm*

Another typical thing that fans do that you could also do is save every single picture of him off Google and DeviantArt onto your computer. On YouTube you can make a million AMVs dedicated to that character and even make be the first to claim the username, emo_kidluver4ever. You can go to every underground nerd forum and post about your love for him and how IS (not how you wish he was) your husband and you will threaten anyone dare tries to disagree or argue back with a nasty type-tag-war (apparently you have such a convincing way with your words). After that no one will like you, but at least you've put all this effort into making claims to this character and now he's yours! Sorta. Happy now? Ppfft. Seriously, get a life.

You could also buy all the posters that have his face on it, buy all the t-shirts with him on them, buy all the tv show episodes, action figures, toys, video games, and costume items, etc. Basically you just need to stock up on as much of his merchandise as possible so that your can create your own custom museum or sanctuary in full dedication to him. You can brag to all your other emo kid-loving friends about how much of a bigger fan you are than them, and you can have them come over to your house so that they can marvel at the beauty of your emo-kid decorated dwelling. Soon enough you'll be flat-broke and you'll have to sell your prized emo-kid possessions. And possibly your house, too.

You might have been a victim of one or more of these fan situations until you met that creepy 45-year-old woman who can't stop obsessing over emo-kid (who's only 16 years old), and well, you back away from that situation.... very slowly..... and cautiously......

But thankfully there is good news for you. You can save yourself a lot of grief, time, money and disturbing mental images by just doing this: NOT. GOING. OVERBOARD.

There is fine line between a "you're an O.K. fan" and a "you-are-so-into-this-it's-really-creepy fan". I know some people who are crazy about Star Wars and collect their merchandise and watch their movies a hecka lot, but the difference between them and crazy fans is these guys at least have self-control. They can make friends with other Star Wars lovers and still go on living their normal lives without Star Wars being the only topic of conversation. Star Wars is a fun something  and they don't treat it like it's a someone. They know that nothing about Star Wars is more important than real-life experiences and people. They let Star Wars become a fun part of their lives without letting it be their lives. To put it all simply, what these people do is prevent an invasion from happening in their hearts.

Everyone has SOMETHING they can get all nerdy about! If you know me well enough, you'll know that right now I am crazy about the Avengers. Loki and Thor = awesome. And ever since I was little I've been a big fan of Sonic the Hedgehog. "You're too slow!" My absolute favorite TV show is Avatar: The Last Airbender, and lately I've been trying to keep up with their new spin-off series, The Legend of Korra! Look, there's not necessarily anything  wrong with getting into characters and whatnot, but you have to know when to prevent a mixture of falsehood being made out of your life. With as abundant as modern media is, it is WAY easy to get caught up big time in the mix. Your time is precious and it cannot and must not all be wasted on fiction. Know and understand what is real and let go of some of the things you cling to. They won't cling back. Remember that. You are in control of your own decisions, so be strong and don't let fiction become your new reality.

Bye bye, birdies! I'm going to bed. It's way too late. In fact, it's not even June 4th anymore. It's June 5th!!!! AHHHHHH!

College Classes and a Refreshing Glass of Water

*Heya my green beans!*


So, just a few minutes ago, I got this book in the mail called, 1001 Things Every College Student Needs to Know. My Aunt Paula sent it to me and so far it looks very interesting. Basically it's a list of 1001 things that every college student needs to know (hence the name, haha). Here are a few random facts that I just now read:

#771. You need to know it's normal to miss Mom's cooking and to not want to be responsible for anything. It's also normal to like, you know, get over it.

#8.  You need to know that over one/third of the people who drop out of college do so because they can't handle the workload.

#342. You need to know that your professor could be an atheist, a communist, a bigot, a feminist, or a sexist. Your job is still to make your grades.

#936. You need to know two words: ramen noodles. They're dirt cheap, and with a little water, they almost become food. College students and mice have been known to live on them for years.

#390. You need to know that while we're all proud of you for reading your textbook, you now have to read it again.

#183. You need to know that just because a professor looks at you doesn't mean he's going to call on you. However, looking down at your toenails does tell him you don't know anything.

#865. You need to know your brain can perform only so long on PowerBars and Pop-Tarts before it loses the ability to produce a coherent sentence.

#112. You need to know the first semester is the hardest.

I think I love this book already! x3




Since I am going to be starting college classes this fall, I'm glad I have this motivational book alongside me. I am looking forward to it, and at the same time it's kinda stressing me out.

I'm going to be balancing working a job and doing college classes. I'm also going to be staying at home my freshman year. C'mon, lotsa fishies do that! The reason I am doing that is cuz my three best buddies and I are going to splitting rent on an apartment next year. These guys are all 17, so I want to wait for them to be graduated, etc. Also it is going to be saving me some money during the so-called "hardest" semester. The year will fly by. My senior year certainly did. :) Anyway, I am off to drink some water. It is important to stay hydrated! 

By the way, did you know it takes a loss of only 1% - 2% of your body's ideal water content to cause dehydration? Did you know that drinking ice cold water actually makes you lose weight because fat calories are burned to bring the water temperature up to internal 98.6 degrees F? 'Tis true. Water works wonders. 

And also, don't misinterpret your thirst drive as hunger.  Drink an ice-cold glass of water and wait a minute or two.  You'll find you are not as hungry as you thought. 

Mask/Face Paint, A.K.A Makeup

:) Hey there my art galleries! :)



IMMA TALK ABOUT MAKEUP!!!

Now, I have friends who are all very gorgeous, some of them wear lots of makeup, some only wear eyeliner or something like that, and some wear none at all! I like makeup when the right colors are chosen for your skin tone/eyes, when it is used to enhance natural features, and when self-expression is used, (not overdone) instead of copying a look you saw somewhere in a YouTube tutorial.

I also know a lot of chicas that ask themselves: how much is too much?

Instead of using long descriptions only, I shall provide pictures with brief descriptions underneath on what I think is fine, and what is too much.

Fashion icon: Twiggy

OK, so this 1960's 16-year-old Twiggy here is
known for her signature "doe-eyes" look.
This look is ok for pictures, but if you saw
some random girl going around with several
drawn-on-with-eyeliner lines below their eyes...
No.
Something could also be said about
 her shirt... 

Amy Lee: Lead singer of Evanescence
Even though I generally don't believe in black
eyeliner or purple eyeshadow (cuz people often look like
they have been punched in both eyes), this is one of the rare
exceptions. I think this look works well on Lee.
Like I said, colors have to fit you. Her hair is black and
the intense liner works without over powering her whole face.

Because glasses tend to darken your eye area and
"shrink" your eyes, lots of emphasis on the eyes is actually
good. I think this girl could've skipped the thick "cat eye"
liner and gone much thinner, but other than that,
I actually really like this look. It's cute and it reminds
me of cats. :3

This one here is my favorite. She enhanced her
natural features (her lips and cheeks) while
putting emphasis on her "milder" features,
like her eyes here, without going too
intense. I actually base how I do my
makeup with this picture.
(I like her hair too. She looks
like a cool weirdo artist lady)

NO!!!!! NO NO NO NO NOOOO!!!!
FAKE!! If you choose to emphasize a feature, you are
only supposed to choose one, not the whole face.
The photoshopped intensity of the colors are just
awful. Don't ever go there.

Lady Gaga...? You have a.... uh, gold sticker on your face.
And about your eyes...
 Mario called. He'd like his mustache back.

So here is a friendly reminder from Bethelsteans! Don't ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever,  ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever,  ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever,  ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever,  ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever,  ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever,  ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, EVER overdo the foundation. EVER. I'm serious. DON'T. Also, Don't get the stupid idea that if you use a foundation that's a couple shades darker than your natural skin tone you'll look tan. I've seen people do this. This is a one-way ticket to making a disaster-piece out of your face. 

Another thing to remember no matter what age you are;

(((MAKE UP MAKES YOU LOOK OLDER THAN YOU ALREADY ARE.)))

Sometimes this is good, you could look sophisticated, stylish, and mature. But when tweens wear makeup, it usually looks totally out of place. And you know that lady in her 60's who wears loads of lipstick, blush, and/or mascara? And wears boatloads of perfume?? Notice how that just emphasizes their AGE. IN A BAD WAY. Yeahhh.

Besides all that, think to yourself: so why DO I wear makeup? Think of the reasons why. If they are because of what "everyone else" does or because you "need" to to feel pretty, YOU HAVE A PROBLEM. If it is to impress a guy, YOU HAVE A PROB- er, wait, hold on.... What DO guys think about makeup on girls? 

OK so this just in!!! Here is what guys think about heavy eye makeup; it's practically a complete split-half decision. A huge poll showed that about 47 percent of men prefer girls with lots of eye makeup, and 53 prefer girls with little or no eye makeup. This leaves the decision to you now. Remember your intentions, and you can even pray about it. Beauty is something God made, and no one else can or will look the way you do, so make sure your makeup, if you choose to wear it, doesn't hide you or make you someone else. :) I know you've heard these cheesy "true-beauty" lines all throughout middle school and high school, but sometimes the simplest things are the easiest to forget.

AT LAST I can FINALLY give a shout-out to all my friends who either rarely or never wear makeup. You guys are beautiful. As for me, I will put up a pic of me wearing nothing on my face but a smile. That's right, none of my daily foundation, eyeliner, mascara, eye shadow, concealer, blush, brow pencil, or lip gloss is one me. Not even ChapStick. *sigh* Here goes.

There ya have it. 

Hey, that feels kinda good!

I feel so... pretty!

You guys: Stay beautiful. No matter how you decide to wear your face, remember to smile. No face should ever have to go without one. :) 

ARGH!!! MY SPEECH IS GETTING SO CHEESY!!!!!

Nachos, anyone?