Paint My Nails Please :)

Valentine's Day is just 2 weeks away!! I've been trolling the Dollar Spot at Target. Don't you just love that place? I've picked up a few decorations, and some kitchen goodies. I know!! But it's so fun.

My mom always made a big deal, of Valentine's Day. Telling me and my sisters, just how much she loved us. And that this day, was just for us. Can you imagine my surprise, when I went to middle school, and realized this day was for lovers??

Now that I've got this amazing man, that I love with all my heart. Well, I want to sing from the rooftops!! I don't have a good singing voice, so I'll spare everyone. Instead, I'm decorating our home. And looking for special ways, to celebrate this day of love. :)

Let me tell you, there are a ton of ideas out there!! I've been searching them out. Wondering what I can actually tackle. And what might be, well a bit too much. Or too complicated. But as usual, Pinterest has not let me down. Just look at what I found.....

Cute nails!! Right?? Classic Valentine's Day colors.....red and white. Cute with all those polka dots. And I think, simple enough for me to tackle. I say this, only after consulting with a fairly new friend of mine. Mrs. Manders. Who also happens to be a makeup artist, and hair dresser.

She told me to buy a decent nail polish. Something that's not too runny. Paint my nails with 2 coats, letting them dry completely between coats. Then use a ballpoint pen. Shut your mouth!! I know. :) I've got a million dried up pens. I'll use one. Then dot away. Finish off, with a good topcoat.

Heck, this seems so easy, I might just tackle my toesies too! How fun is this going to be?? Just 2 weeks to go. Wow!! I have a million ideas. Just for my man. Do you have any to share??

Please Teach Me!!

I've been wearing makeup for years now. Nothing too complicated. Nothing too extravagant. Nothing too fabulous. I've always wanted to learn how to do "more complicated" makeup. But where do you learn?

There are just some women, that know how to do such things. They make magic, out of their makeup. Me? Not so much. I throw on some lipstick, sweep on some eyeshadow. Once in a while, I'll pull out blush. My one "go-to" makeup item is mascara. It's the one thing, that I'm really good at. Heck, I've got to ask someone to help me pick the right foundation color.

Don't ask me to do my own eyebrows. Or put on eyeliner. Dear me, oh my!! Eyeliner and I, are enemies. Not even frenemies. We are enemies!! I don't know how to apply it. And honestly, it's just a disaster. All. The. TIME!! Let's not even talk about putting a pointy item, near your eye!!

Then I go on these little kicks. I watch a ton of beauty videos on YouTube. Look through a bunch of beauty blogs. Eventually, I land on Pinterest. Drooling over pins like this.....

How do they do it? Practice? Because boy, I practice. If I spend 45 minutes, I can get the eyeshadow to halfway look like this. My eyelashes always look full. It's the one thing I know how to do. Slap on 3 coats of mascara. My eyebrows, well I pay to have those babies done. And they look good.

But that eyeliner. I just can't get the hang of it. My lines are wobbly, uneven, and crooked. One eye has a thick line. The other, has a gap between my eyeliner and eyelashes. :( Why can't I do this? Oh, let's not even get started on "tight lining." Or lining my bottom lashes. All these things, make me look like a raccoon. Or like my little nephew did my makeup.....

Does anyone have tips and tricks? Is there a specific YouTuber that I should be watching? A place I can go to learn. Or even a product that I should be using? Yes, I'm asking you. And you!! Please help a girl out. I'd love to recreate something like this. :)

Just Breathe.....

Today I started back at school. The beginning of our Spring Semester. Crazy how from the second the alarm went off this morning, until I was driving home this afternoon, all I could think of.....was home!!

College for me, has been a dream come true. Something that I wanted to do, since I was a little girl. But I wasn't always sure it would be a possibility. Low and behold, I got a scholarship. :) Then my mom and dad, offered to help me out. Just a little. With some of my books. And I got another job.

For the first 2 or 3 years that I was in college, I worked. Hard. Long hours. I had 2 jobs. And went to school. It was also the first time, I'd lived on my own. Even if I had a roommate, I felt like I was doing it for myself. For the first time in my life!! All tough things. But I knew I could handle it.

But it's like something has changed. I no longer want to be in college. I'm done. So over classes, homework, and group projects. Maybe it's being engaged. And looking into the future. Planning the next phase of my life, with Ignacio. That suddenly makes me want out of college.

I graduate in just over a year. May 2013. It seems like a million years away!! I know that it's not. I've taken out the calendar, a million times. Counted the months. Then the weeks. And finally the days. 16 months. I can do it!!

My one salvation, is my job. I work on campus. It's not a big job. It's a work study job. But it's a fun deal. I enjoy the people I work with. And it's a lot of the "fluff" stuff, that goes with teaching. I get to design bulletin boards, make tons and tons of copies, and help with projects. Really, I help my professors get things together, for the "Student Teachers." And you know what? I don't just enjoy my job. I also enjoy the people I work with. :)

During my 90 minute commute this morning, I thought about all these things. Wondering why I left home at 6:30am, and was still stuck in traffic. I used to live on the west side of town. Near my university. Now I live across town. On the east side. I'm still not used to this commute. Months later, it still drives me nuts!! Why am I doing this? And why, at this point are my classes still so early?

Well, I just turned to God. I turned off my radio. And started to pray. I NEEDED that!! I needed to reflect on all of this. To put it into perspective. To remember that I'm lucky. I get to go to college. I have a fiance, who wants to pay for it. He wants me to succeed. Dare I say, almost more than I want to. And I'm 3 semesters away from graduating. I can't give up now. Instead, I breathe. And turn to God. I know he will help me through this.

Who Would Have Thought??

I've been thinking of all the possibilities for our wedding. Honestly, I've been spending so many hours on Pinterest!! Just looking at all the possibilities. The ideas on there, just make me smile.

I probably should join Pinterest. That way I can make a wedding board. But that seems so premature at the moment. Being that we're still over a year, away from getting married. I do like to look around on there. Collecting a few ideas. I don't know if I've mentioned this yet, but Ignacio and I set a date. April 27, 2013. :)

We're going to really start planning in the Fall. Until then, we're saving our pennies. Who knew that weddings were so expensive?? Wow!! The one thing we are going to do, is look at venues. There are so many possibilities. And I really want to get married outside.

Since we live in the southwest, it has to be a spring or fall wedding. It's just too hot in the summer!! That's why we picked spring. We've already met with our priest. And started our pre-cana sessions. It's a little early. As in we should start 6 months, before the wedding. But we feel like it's a good thing to start. You know, get us talking about the important issues.

Don't get me wrong. I've been buying bridal magazines. In fact, Ignacio had been planning our engagement for a while. Because my first issues of bridal magazines, showed up days after our engagement. :) He's a sweetheart!! And I've been spending hours and hours on Pinterest. Other than our wedding date, we've picked the wedding colors. :)

Thank you Pinterest!! That's where I found this picture. My favorite color is red. But I NEVER thought of purple. Don't you think they were made for each other? I do!! I'm thinking a deep red and deep purple. Oh, I can't wait!!

If you have anymore ideas for me, please let me know. Tell me about websites, magazines, blogs, etc. I need all the help I can get!! Especially with the money saving ideas. Boy, I could use some of those. :) Off to search Pinterest for some more inspiration!!

Looking for Something to Wear

I should start off with, I'm not a "fashionista." I don't buy expensive clothes. But I do love clothes!! Since I was 15, I've worked at a few clothing stores. All of which, where at the mall. Except my last job. Which was at a "fancy smancy boutique."

But I will say this, I spend tons of time, searching online. For fashion blogs, on Polyvore, and on Pinterest. I just like to see what people are wearing. How they pair clothes. Pretty much, I just like looking at clothes. :)

Right now, it's a little weird here in the SW. Weather wise. It's cold, but not freezing cold. Don't get me wrong, you need a jacket. But we're not like most people, during the winter months.

But for a city that gets well over 300 days of sunshine a year, it's been a little gloomy. I know. It's winter. But I'm not really a fan of all this gloom. And I wanted a little fashion inspiration. Something to brighten up my day. That's when I found this picture on Pinterest.

Hello!! Reminds me of this time of year. When temps are changing. But it's not really Spring yet. Yet the warmer temps, are flirting with us. :) If you're from the SW, you know what I mean. The weather is warmer, but not warm. It's not really winter. It's just between seasons.

Actually, if you ask me, this outfit would be nice for a casual Valentine's day. Maybe it's just the colors, that I'm really loving at the moment. Something fresh. A little crisp. But still cozy.

OK, I want to recreate this. But I need a few pieces. :) Maybe I should call up my sister, and head to the mall. ;) I've got the jeans, a similar sweater, and similar shoes. I really just need a shirt, in this pretty pink. And maybe a few accessories.

With all that said, are you "into" fashion? Is there a specific place you go for inspiration? Or a place that you shop at. Or long to shop at. I'd really like to hear all about it!!

Starting a New Beginning

Happy New Year!! Welcome to my new blog. :) I'm Anita. And I'm happily in love, with Ignacio. The greatest man, that I will ever know!! In fact, we've got some pretty big news. Today, we got engaged!! That's right. Just after midnight, Ignacio asked me to be his bride. And I said YES!!

I figured a blog would be a nice way to document, this new stage of life for us. A place that hopefully, I can keep track of wedding ideas and such. Hopefully, I will get to meet some new friends along the way. :)

A little bit about me and Ignacio. We've been dating for just over 2 years. The last 2 years, have made me a better person. Our love is deep, and strong. We live in the southwest. Where we don't really have "seasons." But the culture is rich!!

I'm a college student. Studying early childhood and elementary education. I'll be graduating in May 2013. And until a few months ago, I worked at a local boutique. I don't know how to cook. I often wish I was a "Domestic Goddess," like Martha Stewart!! And most Friday nights, you'll find me studying. And probably eating something sweet.

Ignacio is a professional musician. A mariachi violin player. And teacher. He teaches private lessons, when he's not performing. And when Ignacio is not working, he likes to go on road trips. Or hiking in the local mountains.

We have a strong belief in God. Have families that mean the absolute world to us. Friends that are more like family. We enjoy our culture. On special occasions, we indulge in our favorite restaurants. And our favorite past time, is lounging in our pjs.

I hope you stay tuned, to our adventure in life. This is only the beginning of our story. We have an entire lifetime to write. One that I hope, you will be a part of. Pull up a chair. I promise to be back. And soon!!