October To-Do List

It's my birth month! Yay! I'm a firm-believer in celebrating as much and as long as you can. Life is short. YOLO, as they say. On October 25 I will be 24 years old and I'm anxiously looking forward to my zombie hunting birthday party (information forthcoming, keep the evening Saturday Oct 26 open, you're invited).

-Spend a Day in Park City

-Buy & Burn a fall scented candle 

-Chili & Scones (conference weekend)

-Harry Potter Marathon (Fall Break)

-Make a pumpkin craft

-Caramel Apples (FHE)

-Watch Meg Ryan Fall Rom Coms

-Find/Make Kickass Halloween Costumes (Hint: I'm going as everyone's favorite fairytale
savior...)

-Go to a Football Game

-Watch a scary movie, alone, because The Beard is a scaredy-cat

-Read in the Park

-Reread & Watch World War Z

-Do a Halloween Inspired Manicure

 

Apparently all I want to do this month is watch movies? And I'll have time to do it - Oct 4th I have off to compensate me for Parent-Teacher Conferences on Oct 2 & 3 until 7 pm, Oct 17-18th is my Fall Break, and Nov. 1 is the end-of-term grading day.

Four days off, plus Halloween and my birthday? No wonder October is my favorite month.

September Bucket List

Hello Pals! Today I am enjoying a much needed day off - the first week of school really kills ya. Good news: the numbness in my toes is almost gone and my voice is back to full volume. Friday we hung with friends at a reception and got delicious tacos at Street 180 in Provo (go!!!), I spent Saturday up at Swiss Days with my sisters and MIL, Sunday at Church and lounging on the couch and today I'll be hiking with friends and family, getting caught up on laundry and cleaning, and working on my newly enrolled Masters program classes. I need to rest up, prep and recharge for a full and crazy month ahead!

September means the last few days of heat, school getting more regular and busy, The Beard starting his very intense program, his birthday and both of us speaking in church. Yikes and yay! My cute friend Aubry does her monthly to-do lists on her blog and I just love them. Not only am I a crazy list-maker, but I also want to make the most of my fall. Life is just better when we're making goals and seeing them through, rather than just chillin on the couch 7 nights a week.

So here it is. My September To-Dos.

• Go on a hike (checking this one off today! Bridal Veil Falls with my Holdaway girls!)
• Make homemade cinnamon rolls on a Saturday morning
• YogaYogaYoga - gonna try these at home and attend a few classes at Gold's
• Go to a football game
• Watch John Adams on HBO GO
• Finally use those rackets the Beard got me for our anniversary
• Finish 1 of my courses for my Masters program
• Wear my summer/warm weather clothes 1 last time before packing up
• Try a rich fall lip color
• Drink more water, less Diet Coke. 
• Soak up the remaining warm afternoons at the pool and in the park with Glen
• Wear a monochromatic look
• Throw a fun baseball-themed bachelorette party for my girl Kayla

Falling for Fall Break

Oh the short weekend. When freedom isn't so far away, and Monday is simply a Wednesday. I love short weeks. If I could work 4 10-hour days and always have a 3 day weekend I'd do it in a heartbeat. Man. I love a short week.

Fall Break is this week for me. Unfortunately it didn't line up with my family's fall breaks, which were the previous week, but I still get two days off so I'm not complaining. 

I'm in love with fall, like everyone else. {Oh, you weren't sure because I didn't post 1,000 pictures of sweaters & leaves (see below), obsess over pumpkin spiced EVERYTHING and tweet my pure love for the season every 20 minutes? Well let this reassure you.}

Seeing how it's been 80 DEGREES FARENHEIT up until last week.... I thought it was prudent to lay off the fall traditions. You know, like we used to before Pinterest existed. I'm looking at you, girls wearing boots and coats in September. You're gross. 

Well now we have finally arrived.

The leaves are an ever-changing tapestry. 

The air has that crisp bite like the carbonation of a fresh can of soda. 

Goosebumps spread rapidly over my bare legs, screaming for tights. 

The ubiquitous pumpkin spices our views and desserts.

Glen's new favorite activity is attacking the dying flower bushes around our stair entry. 

Slutty Halloween costumes flood the front aisles of Wal-Mart.

It truly is magic. 

Without further ado, I submit my Fall Break to-do list, open for suggestions, corrections, additions or your attendance!

• Canyon hike/walk with my favorite Derrick girls
• CDP (Classy Dinner Party) with the Findeis'
• Making this delicious pumpkin treat
• Zombie movie/Walking Dead marathon
• Reading a new book (I just finished Water for Elephants, looking for something not about animals being abused, thanks....)
• Yoga
• Temple trip (If you knew how rarely we go, living 1/2 mile away, you'd judge us so hard)
• Sweats. Always. 
• Taking Glen Coco to the park, all bundled up obvs
• Figuring out a good Halloween costume. The Beard is working late Halloween, and I can't be Leslie Knope without my Ron Swanson. I also can't be Hermione for the 3rd year in a row...
• Spa Day - basically I just use every possible beauty product in my house: face mask, deep conditioning treatment for my hair, mani/pedi, etc. 
• Make my favorite drink - Hot Vanilla. It will change your life. 

How am I going to fit this all into a 4 day weekend, you ask? Autumn is magic, remember?

Make(up) Not War

Secret obsession of Danica Budge Holdaway? Makeup. All the way. LOVE it. I've been a huge makeup fan my whole life. And how lucky am I? I've got a salon stocked with Mary Kay at my fingertips. Don't tell my mom this, but I'm starting to cheat on her. Mary Kay is great for certain things - pressed mineral powder, foundation and liquid eyeliner. But I'm not in love with their lip products, blush or concealers. They're fine. They do the job. But I've been branching out. I have the hardest time walking past the MAC counter at Nordstrom. All I want to do is buy the new Illamasqua fall products. Urban Decay eyeshadow palettes. NARS blush. Ahhhhhh my mouth is watering.


My latest purchases that I recommend:

Mary Kay's brand new I Heart Mascara. I'm a sucker for mascara.

Maybelline Dream Mousse cream blush in Peach Satin. Goes on like a dream.

Sonia Kashuk Limited Edition Brush Set. I'm SO glad I got this. It's almost perfect. I had to buy a few more brushes to add to my set in addition to these, but it's a great set. Very nice quality. And my next Pinterest project? Chic makeup brush storage. :)

Best fall trends I recommend:

Cat Eye. Never out of style. The September Allure (my favorite beauty magazine, by the way), had a great tutorial on various cat eye options. Mix it up, you guys.

Metallic Smoky Eye. I'm loving the silver and even a green metallic look.

Blue Shadow. The girls of The Beauty Department told me it's back. So much better than our first try in the 80s.

Wine Red Lips. The scariest fall trend for me. Still working to find my "right" shade. But be bold you guys.

Feeling bored with your makeup routine? Here's what you should do.

1. Watch Pixiwoo videos. All of them. Especially their Halloween and crazy makeup ones. So fun.



2. Mix up your base routine. Big liquid foundation user? Try a tinted moisturizer. My new favorite foundation routine is a little mineral pressed powder. Try a primer under your powder routine. Remember to account for a lighter skin tone during the winter. Unfortunately.

3. Buy something fun that will make you WANT to try new things. I bought a teal Maybelline eyeshadow on sale the other day. Still haven't found a good opportunity to use it, but I'm dying to. Find a new lipstick shade. Try lining your brows with a pencil or shadow.

Makeup is so fun. Never let it become a boring hoop to jump through each morning. Be a woman and enjoy it.