my worst date.

My new favorite shirt (Pitaya). Five points if you can spot Neko.

Happy Tuesday! I must admit, I was a bit bummed to see this weekend come to an end; it was almost perfect: dinners with people I love, girl time, seeing my grandparents for their birthdays, movie/dinner date with Drew, NO work all weekend, Torchy's tacos, a Purple Cow hamburger, Pure Barre, and Neely's Stella and Dot party. 

I'm linking up today with a few wonderful ladies for the Valentine's challenge and my worst date ever.

Now maybe I'm strange, but I have this thing I refuse to do that my friends used to relentlessly make fun of me for: I will not date guys that have the same name as my dad (first or middle, doesn't matter). My dad's name is Jack. I've met a few Jack's whom I thought were pretty cute, but as soon as they introduced themselves my brain was like...ohhhhhhhhhhk, bye. I had given one Jack a chance (a much older guy who had seemed like a winner) and he turned out to be immature and unbearably annoying. That date pretty much solidified my belief in my rule.

So naturally, when my friends introduced me to a guy one day whose name was Jack, my gut said "NO, gross, get out of there." He was a little older than me, had a great job, pretty cute, and seemed funny. My friends would not let me say no to a date with him so I broke my strange rule and said yes. 

On to the date...

He asked me to meet him at Trudy's for margaritas and tacos. Red flag #2: he didn't pick me up himself for our date.

I get to the restaurant and find him sitting in a booth...with one of his friends. Red flag #3: he made it a group date. The hell?

Throughout the entire dinner, they got pretty drunk and spent the whole time cracking sarcastic jokes about my age, my job, my college major. I'm a pretty sarcastic person myself, so I can take most quips someone throws at me, but this was just a little much. 

He and his friend mentioned that they wanted to go downtown to meet a bunch of their friends (some people I barely knew but really liked and wanted to get to know). They invited me to go with them and I decided what the heck, why not? They said they were going to get their car and pick me up at the front of the restaurant. I stood at the front for about ten minutes and gave up: they had left without me. 

But the worst part? When Jack went to pay for the meal (what I thought would be the only redeeming part of this date...yay, free Mexican food!), he had somehow taken my card out of my wallet without me seeing and used it to pay. I think he did it when I went to the restroom to call and tell my friend how much I hated her for making me go on that date. When I got home that night and looked in my purse I thought it had been pretty strange my credit card was just sitting in the bottom of it. I guess he threw the card back into my open purse as we were leaving. I didn't notice the charges until my statement came a couple of weeks later. 

Moral of the story? Follow your gut. And don't date people named Jack. 

PS. Jack asked me out three times after that date. THREE times. You've got to be kidding me. He probably just wanted more free Mexican food.

it's okay!

I didn't go to Pure Barre this morning because my ass and thighs? They're dying. After volleyball Tuesday and PB yesterday...my muscles are just done. Day off! And it's okay. :)

It's also okay...

...to feel guilty because I don't know which cat I love cuddling with more: Neko or Patches (Drew's big, fluffy love-muffin of a cat). It's a toss-up. 

...to obsess over my nails. 

...to be a lil' nervous for BlissDom! :) 

...to live almost entirely off of Bagel Bites. 

...to use quotes from "The Happiness Project" as your new mantras. Sometimes, I wish I were someone else: thinner, more glamorous, richer, smart, but the best thing I can do is just "Be Kiley." :) (New post on the book and my own project coming up!)

...to be considering using a wheel chair at work today. Seriously, can't feel my legs.

...to have accidently stolen (no kidding! just had them in my hand with my wallet and phone and didn't realize it) not one but two glass nail files from Walgreen's the other day and kept them because I was too lazy to drive all the way back. Shhhhh!

...to have too many glass nail files. I'm at four now.

Go link-up with Neely and Amber! It's my favorite part of every Thursday. :)

xo.

Hair, Skin & No Fail

I love makeup. I love skin care. I love trading tips and beauty miracles. Recently, I underwent putting together a plan-of-action to fix two things that have been bothering me, a LOT: my peeling, weak nails and thin, breaking hair. *I would have put my acne-prone skin on that list, but it's always on the list (I've suffered from mild-to-severe cystic acne my whole life, so I'm ALWAYS putting together a plan-of-action to fix it. Ah well, we can't all have perfect skin, I guess!)*

For as long as I can remember, my nails have always been pretty weak. Lately, however, they have been peeling a LOT. As for my hair, I've started teasing it a lot more than I ever used to, so I've noticed that it's breaking off a bit more often that usual (my hair is pretty fine. I no longer color it, so luckily that's one thing I can cross off the list of things harming my hair!).

Today I wanted to share with y'all two things I added to my daily routine that are working WONDERS (as well as my go-to beauty favorites!):

(1) Hair, Skin & Nails supplement, &;

(2) Moroccan Oil

I've started using HSN as my daily multi-vitamin, and boy is it WORKING. I take it twice a day and I can tell a huge difference in my nails. They are stronger, which makes it much easier to shape them. Before, my only option was the cut them as short as possible to get rid of the ugly, peeling tips. I can't wait to see what my nails are like in another three weeks!

I've always read about the miracle that is Moroccan Oil for your hair, and you were ALL right! I can see and feel an enormous difference in the texture of my hair!

Hair, Skin & No Fail by hellokiley on polyvore.com

Some of you have told me before that you don't believe I used to have such bad acne. Well, I've spent my whole life figuring out what works best for me and my skin is much smoother than it used to be. As far as my daily routine and go-to products, here goes:

Skin Care:
In the morning...
- Clarisonic Mia
- Cerave cleanser
- Yes to Carrots Nourishing Moisturizer with SPF 15

In the evening...
- Eucarin eye cream
- Clinique Seven Day Scrub
- Cerave moisturizer OR Eucarin moisturizer OR Philosophy Hope in a Jar (I switch them up every few months)
- Tazorac Cream (a tough acne-fighting cream. Only a pea-size amount is recommended!)

For acne...
If you have bad acne like I do, I've come to find that Eucarin moisturizers and Cerave cleansers are some of the best around. They're gentle yet effective; Eucarin doesn't feel sticky, and Cerave foams up a perfect amount. And if you have bad acne? MOISTURIZE. I know it seems counterproductive, but it's important to keep your skin hydrated, especially if you're using acne-fighting medications and creams.


Most weeks, my skin has been more clear than it used to be, but I think I owe most of my success to my dermatologist. I have tried EVERYTHING, y'all. One day, I'll have to do a post reviewing every single acne-fighting product I have ever tried, but for today I'll just tell y'all what is working for me now. I take two oral medications: twice a day, I take a pill that basically fights against bacterial infections. Once a day I take Spironolactone, a diuretic that is used as an antiandrogen.

I attribute the long-term success I've been having with the latter. It's been my wonder pill! I started it for the first time in May of 2011, and I've had barely any cystic acne since. HOWEVER, this pill may not be for everyone. It messes with my period - BAD - since it's an antiandrogen that messes with your hormones. For the first three months I took it, I didn't have a period. I did a bit of research, and turns out Spironolactone can really mess with your cycle. Some women have a normal period like usual, others don't have a single period the entire time they're on the medication. In my case, my period is now totally random, but hey, for me it's worth the clear skin!

And now that I've said period more times than anyone should ever say period on their blog (D:), that's my skin care routine!

As far as makeup goes, I think Makeup Forever HD foundation is the best at covering up my scars.

I wanted to post this and share what works for me so that maybe it could help someone else going through the skin/nails/and hair woes I've been through myself. Any of you gals ever use Spironolactone? Have you had the same experience? Do tell!

What's your beauty routine? I'd love to hear any tips y'all have for fine hair and weak nails!

I took a break from Skyrim to write this.

Show of hands: who's tired of hearing about Skyrim?

WELL, TOO BAD. 

Though I did take a break because this week I start school again. You heard right. Let me just say - I'm a little nervous. Excited! But nervous. My classes are for both my masters and my teacher certification and they're all online. I have never taken an online class in my LIFE, so...eek.

I'm about to get really personal with you guys right now, so here goes: have you ever quit something that you knew in your heart was the right decision, and had almost everyone in your life look down on you for it? Okay, maybe "look down on" is a little harsh. Let's just say, I could feel the disappointment and skepticism radiating from others the day I quit law school. Everyone had an opinion. The tension was palpable.

And let me tell you - my least favorite thing to do? See someone I haven't spoken to in a while because the conversation inevitably goes something like this:

"So, how's law school!?"
"Uh, I'm, well, not in law school anymore."
"Oh. Well, what are you doing?"
"I'm going back to school to get my M.A. in Education."
"Oh. Well...that's nice!"
*Awkward silence*

It's as if anyone who isn't a teacher (or should I say, isn't a teacher with a passion for education) thinks being anything other than a lawyer is not good enough.

I had no passion for law. Zip. Zero. I actually started keeping a running tab of how many times a day I rolled my eyes in law school; it got up into the hundreds. Don't believe me? It's in my planner under the notes section; feel free to look. (Also in my notes section are many drawings my friend and I would create of one of our professors who looked like the mom from Rugrats. As you can see, law students are super focused and serious...)

That little part up there in the center of passion and cause? I want that. I want to find a purpose.

History? Helping others understand how to better write and learn? Guiding kids through the wreck that is high school? Those are things I can get on board with.

And the next time someone tells me, "Well, you know teaching doesn't pay a lot..." I'm punching them in the face. I'm serious. Don't say I didn't warn you all. Do the people in my life somehow forget that my PARENTS were teachers? Mom still is? (Dad's a paramedic now) Do they think my family is just crapping money? I like my life. I appreciate all of the things my parents have done for me, and they've done a LOT. On a teacher's salary, no less. Birthdays. Christmases. School functions. Drill team. Dance. Gymnastics. Piano lessons for ten years. Craft supplies. Computers. I had a car when I was sixteen. College. I've never wanted for much of anything, and I had an amazing childhood.

But seriously, I don't think I'll be able to keep one more straight face the next time some shmuck tells me that I'm not going to make as much money as I could as a lawyer. Go fuck yourself. (Can y'all tell this is a bit of a sore subject? Sorry.)

I'm ready to get started on this new path and do something that I wanted to do a long time ago. You guys? I learned a lot in 2011. I used to look back and think, "2011? You were an asshole." But now 2011? You weren't so bad. You taught me a lot, and I hate you a little less.

Wish me luck friends. xo.

Any of you darlings have experience with online classes? Suggestions? Advice? 

DRAGONS!

Want to know what I've been doing for the last five days?

This. This is all I'm doing. And all I will probably be doing because it takes 150+ hours to beat Skyrim and it's worth every. single. second. (seven days until school starts. GOTTA GET MY GAME ON.)

Oh, and I also started going to Pure Barre again so WOOT. Two classes in and can't feel my ass. So, there's that.

And you're probably sitting there all smug thinking, "Oh, but Kiley? Didn't you say you were cutting out the time in front of the TV? And blah blah blahdy blah?" You just had to bring that up didn't you? Well, if it makes me you feel better, I'm not watching/playing anything else. And I read a book two days ago. And didn't you just hear me say I've worked out?! I WORKED OUT. LIKE, WITH MY ARMS AND LEGS AND STUFF.

Want to know what I'm up to whenever I'm not here? 

Find me on Instagram;

or, as always, on Twitter. :)