October '13 Snail Mail Collective - Autumn Adventures

 

When I started my blog, I discovered a monthly international gift and postcard swap called The Snail Mail Collective that's hosted by Melyssa and Chelsea. I definitely wanted to join in on the fun so I participated in last month's program. The theme was Autumn Adventures, which is perfect since y'all already know how much I love fall. I was paired up with Gaelyn from Gaelyn's Heart of Iron, and she is currently living in South Africa. She is super sweet, athletic (she's even doing an Ironman in January!), gorgeous, and friendly. And she definitely has sold me on traveling to South Africa someday so that's now on my bucket list.

Sweater Weather Tag

Sweater weather is the best weather. I love that it's finally cold enough outside here in northern California to wear sweaters and hoodies. It's super chilly in the morning, but it warms up throughout the day to the perfect cozy temperature. I love fall so much that I needed to do this tag in addition to The Autumn Tag. This tag has been going around Youtube for a while now so I got the questions from there. Of course, I had to include the Sweater Weather song, right? :)

1. Favorite candle scent?
I love cinnamon or apple scents. More like the sweet kinds, not the spicy ones.

2. Coffee, tea, or hot chocolate?
I like all of them, but I think I've been into teas more often lately. My current favorite is Good Earth's Sweet & Spicy Tea. It's like fall in a cup. Yep, best description ever.

Available on Amazon, but the best deal is in Costco!

3. What's the best fall memory you have?
Apple Hill visits! The place simply epitomizes fall for me.

4. Which makeup trend do you prefer: dark lips or winged eyeliner?
Winged eyeliner! I prefer very plain nude lips since I'm more of a lip balm girl on the daily. I have the hardest time with winging out eyeliner, but when I get it right, it is amazing!
  
5. What do you want to be for Halloween?
Well, I wanted to be a cat burglar, but I ended up doing the baseball girl thing instead. Special mention goes to this awesome cat puns costumes list!

6. Favorite Thanksgiving food?
Mashed potatoes and gravy - 'nuff said!

7. Hats or Scarves?
Scarves! I recently discovered the awesomeness of infinity scarves so I'm looking forward to acquiring more of those this season.

Influenster Dr. Scholl's Active Series Insoles Review

I recently received another box from Influenster, and the Dr. Scholl's Active Series women's insoles came in during the perfect time. It came during the week of my 5k run so I immediately started using it to help me workout and of course also use it on the day of my 5k. I regularly use foot insoles already, and I'm a huge fan. Surprisingly, I never thought about using insoles during my workouts but it makes a lot of sense, considering that running and playing tennis can definitely put a lot of pressure on your feet and legs.

These Dr. Scholl's Active Series claim to reduce shock by 40% and help relieve and prevent pain from 3 common sports injuries (shin splints, runner's knee, and plantar fascitis). It has a lot of cushioning, and it has a reinforced arch that I love since my feet are so flat. It's a really thick pair of insoles so I ended up having to adjust my shoelaces to give my feet more room. The insoles I received were slightly bigger than my shoe size, but you can trim the ends to make it a perfect fit.

So what's the verdict? I loved them! I may never go back to working out without insoles because they're just THAT comfy! It definitely provides a lot of support and cushioning, and my feet feel very relieved after each use. So far I've only used them for the gym and running, but I think I will love them even more for tennis. Playing tennis can be really hard on your feet so I'm excited to use them for that. My feet and knees can be so sore after playing, and I know these would really help a lot. I'm so stoked for these insoles, and they're definitely worth checking out!

Disclaimer: I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes; all opinions are completely my own.

Halloween '13

Not your average lecture: Star Wars edition

This year's Halloween weekend was really fun so I definitely have to share what I've been up to in the past few days. In one of my classes, the professor and TA's did a cool Star Wars skit in the beginning of class. It was really entertaining and totally unexpected. I love this professor's sense of humor, and it's awesome that he really got into the Halloween spirit!

Halloween night!

My club had a fundraiser on Halloween night so of course I had to dress up! I went with being a baseball girl since I already had the clothes in my closet. It was a really fun, successful clubbing event, and I got to hang out with my new little sib (in the top left box). My roommate dressed up as a chola (in the top right box), and that was hilarious. I got to hang out with some friends that I haven't seen in a while too so that was really nice. I tried a new drink that night, and it was the tequila sunrise. I think it was a mix of tequila and orange juice, and it was pretty yummy. Not really my kind of drink though since I'm not a big fan of OJ.

#21

At midnight, one of my closest friends here turned 21 so we went bar hopping in downtown. It was an extremely fun evening, and we went to 4 bars total. She even completed the Holy Trinity, which is sort of an unofficial ritual that's about drinking 3 of some of the strongest drinks in town. She's definitely a pro! My friends/her roommates also decorated their apartment a little bit and bought her lots of alcohol. I baked her a vanilla cake, and it turned out well. I tried this vanilla cake recipe, and the frosting was really good. I would probably tweak the cake recipe in the future since it was a little on the dry side. Overall, it was a very fun and memorable birthday! Glad she's finally in the 21 club! :)