A Vanity Tour

Last week, I opened a drawer in my vanity and felt overwhelmed. There was just too much. There were products I hadn't touched in years and no real form of organization. I decided to change that right then, starting at 11:00pm and ending at 1:00 in the morning. 

Let me start by saying that I am in love with my vanity. It's a hand-me-down from my mother, a gift from when I moved to New York after college. She found it one summer in our favorite Avalon antique store, and the gorgeous green is the original color. I was determined to make the inside drawers look as beautiful as the outside. 

I started by editing the products I keep on top of my vanity. I chose things that not only have beautiful packaging, but that I would reach for everyday. Pretty perfumes, moisturizers and hydrating mists all made the cut. If you're looking to pare down your own table top products, I would definitely recommend using a tray. It helps products to stay contained and keeps them looking like they're supposed to be there. 

Going through my lip product drawer was easier than I expected. I was very honest with myself about what I use and what I don't, and ended up getting rid of a little over 1/4 of what I had. I added a box lid to hold gloss and balms, a bowl for sticks, and a final bowl to hold products I wasn't sure if I would use. If in another few weeks, I find that I haven't touched that bowl, those products will be gone too! 

If you're interested, here are few of my favorite lip products you can spot above:

Mac Lipstick in Ruby Woo
Illia Lip Gloss in Peek-a-Bo
Glossier Balm Dotcom in Mint 
Tata Harper Volumizing Lip and Cheek Tint in Very Charming
Dior Addict Lip Glow in 001
Fresh Sugar Berry Lip Shine Treatment

I love to keep candles everywhere, but especially on my vanity. This one from Candlefish is the perfect size and so gorgeous. I like to light it at night before I go to bed.

I Scream for Ice Cream (and Lip Balm)

Sorry Mom, yesterday I for real had ice cream for breakfast and have zero regrets about it. 

All month long, "skincare first" beauty brand Glossier has a collaboration with New York's Morgenstern' Finest Ice Cream. Together they've created three custom ice cream flavors to match Glossier's three just-launched Balm Dotcom flavors: Mint, Rose and Cherry!  

What's more, the first 20 people to order a Glossier ice cream push-pop every day this month get the corresponding Balm Dotcom fo freeeeee! 

Obviously, this all means that yesterday I woke up at 6am to make it to Morgensterns by 7:45... because if there's one thing I love more than ice cream, it's ice cream and lip balm. Of course, I also dragged my friend Shay along on this 8am adventure (who you might remember as my first ever professional posse member)! 

Anecdotal side note: Shay and I had originally planned on doing this trip on Monday, but after sleeping an hour past my alarm, I frantically texted Shay to apologize with no response. It was only after I got out of work that I noticed an apologetic email from Shay saying that she had lost her phone the night before! 

So I guess the double bad luck worked in our favor.... What can I say? We're both a bit of a mess, but we eventually got it together.  

When it came to choosing flavors, I opted for Mint and Shay, Rose. The mint ice cream was absolutely incredible, although I expected nothing less given Morgenstern's regular Mint Chip is crazy good. 

Ughh Glossier's packaging is everything. 

This is my first Balm Dotcom and I'm obsessed. It goes on so smooth and lasts seemingly forever. The mint is also so refreshing and not too overwhelming.   

It Would Be a Shame to Miss New York in the Spring

New York City is currently teetering on the edge of spring, and while I'm certainly deep into summer planning, I'm not ready to let go of the season quite yet. The city seriously comes to life this time of year! The streets are so vibrant and exciting, and it feels like you can't go anywhere without seeing adorable babies and dogs that were clearly in hibernation throughout the winter. 

My friend Caroline and I celebrated a classically warm and breezy weekend with an outdoor brunch at the Smith, and a stroll through some West side flea markets.  

Perfect Spring weekends for me are all about chic comfort and buying flowers on the street.... because for real, what am I doing with my life if I don't buy flowers "just because" once and a while? 

I'm very into the monochromatic look lately which is why I chose to layer my safari jacket over this incredibly comfortable dress from Zara -- It is seriously like wearing pajamas! 

Color Me Happy

In case you can't tell from my smile below, I had an incredible weekend. New York City is magical, but sometimes you just need a break from it all. This weekend I headed up to Albany to visit one of my former college roommates and all around favorite people Alana. Seeing her face would have been enough, but she planned the most perfect weekend including brunch, Albany's annual Tulip Festival, and a mini trip to the Adirondacks -- what more could a girl ask for?

Tulip Fest exceeded my wildest expectations! It was absolutely massive, with food trucks and music and vendors! Ironically, the only thing Alana and I couldn't find for sale were tulips. 
I went a little snap happy with my camera stopping at every turn to take a photo. I still can't believe how beautifully they came out! I've included so many in this post and it's for sure 1% or what I took  -- It took us an extra five minutes to get everywhere, and Alana is basically a saint for putting up with it. 

The Professional Posse: Clare Dolan

I'm so beyond excited to bring you today's Professional Posse post. This girl is so near and dear to my heart because I've known her my entire life (minus only two weeks when she wasn't born yet). Clare is my cousin and an incredible first year third grade teacher in Raleigh, North Carolina. She's seriously so sweet and funny (obviously we're related), and she was always infinitely cooler than me when we were growing up. I always knew she would make an amazing teacher despite the fact that my sister always made us be the students when we played school.

Clare's interview blew me away.  For Professional Posse posts, I usually end up cutting a few questions for space, but I honestly couldn't find one to omit. It was all just so interesting and funny... maybe because I'm so far removed from the wonderful world of third grade. I for real laughed out loud at her "funniest thing that happened at work story" -- trust me, you'll be in tears. 

I also can't stop thinking about how incredible it is that, in 13 years, a college grad will be reminiscing about their awesome third grade class with Miss Dolan! -- Clare, let's not dwell on the fact we'll both be in our mid-thirtys... You, two weeks younger of course. 

Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading about Miss Dolan as much as I did! Oh, and for fun, here's an old picture of Clare using me as a footrest -- #AlwaysProfesh

Name: Clare Dolan

Field / Industry: Elementary Education

Title: Third Grade Teacher

School: Thales Academy

Hometown: Doylestown, Pennsylvania

Current City: Raleigh, North Carolina

Age: 22

Alma Mater: University of North Carolina Wilmington - UNCW

The Job

Describe your role at Thales

My role is to run my classroom. This includes teaching reading, spelling, vocabulary, math, English, writing, history and geography, and science. While I teach each of these I make sure my students are behaving properly, feel safe in my classroom, and are enjoying being at school. In every subject I am tracking student progress, making sure they master each concept, and target any problem areas I see. It sounds crazy when I put it into words, but it’s all in a days work!

Why teaching?

I literally cannot imagine doing anything else!! I have always wanted to be some sort of teacher, because I have always loved school. In elementary school I thought I would be an English teacher, because I loved to read and write. In middle school I thought I would be a music teacher, because I loved to sing. In high school I thought I would be a pre-k teacher, because I loved teaching my sister (a toddler at the time) new things.
I finally settled on elementary education, because I obviously love to teach everyday content, but I also love being a part of the person each student eventually becomes. Every classroom holds new experiences for children, and these experiences, how they deal with them, and what they learn from them shape who they become as they grow into a older children. I think it’s amazing that my job contributes to something so important in a child’s life, no matter how small my specific impact on them may be.

What was the application and interview process like?

My application process was a bit unique. I actually met Thales representatives at a job fair at UNCW. I was there looking for school’s in the Raleigh or Charlotte areas, and Thales Academy caught my eye. I really enjoyed the conversation I had with them, and passed along my resume. From there they called me to set up an interview. The actual interview took place at school and I spent time interviewing with teachers as well as administrators. Everyone was kind, welcoming, and seemed excited to be hosting interviews. It was clear they had high expectations for their teachers so as an education major, only ¾ of the way through my internship, I was a bit intimidated.