Why Charlotte blogs -- Guest post!

Hi there! I'm Charlotte, the girl behind From Carolina Cotton to Illinois Corn! I am so excited that Lindsey asked me to guest blog while she is on a cruise (so jealous btw Lindsey!). While she is out relaxing and having time off from work (again, jealous) I am here to introduce you to myself and tell you why I blog!

I joined the blog world in September when I had a feeling I was going to move from South Carolina to Illinois. My boyfriend and I did the long distance thing for a year and then I gave in and moved 12 hours away once I found a job and roomies. Blogging for me has certainly evolved and I have met some really great girls who have become very good friends through the blog world! My blog is a way for me to document what goes on in this little life of mine. You can also follow me on Pinterest where I have to admit that I get inspiration for things that I blog about! Hope you enjoy the little insight into my blog life!

6 Reason Why I blog:

1. I blog to document happenings!


Moving!

Hanging out with best friends

2. I blog to show off my (wannabe) cooking skills!

Homemade Reeses

Cranberry Apricot Baked Brie



3. I blog to document my Pinterest crafts!

Monogrammed Wreath

Coffee Filter Flowers- tutorial coming soon!

4. I blog to update my friends and family at home AND new blog friends about what I'm doing!

Chicago (that's Tyler!)

Yes, I went to the Mall of America 2 weeks ago when I went to Minneapolis for work = so fun!

<>5. I blog to lust for cute things!

Francescas- we are getting one in Champaign, yay!

<>or give in and buy them:

Purchase from Anthropologie

6. I blog for myself!

I truly blog for myself as a way to rewind at night and do something "mindless" after a long day at work. I get so much inspiration from other bloggers and I'm so thankful for blog friends! I hope you enjoyed the little insight into my blog and I hope that you check out it out for yourself! 

Thanks for stopping by and thanks SO much Lindsey for letting me guest blog!

Ta ta,

Makeup made easy with Rachel (guest post!)

Hello lovelies, I'm Rachel from Love a la mode! First of all, thanks so much to Lindsey for giving me the opportunity to guest post while she is away having the time of her life on a fabulous cruise! I am a college student, fashion blogger, and pinterest addict. One thing I am not, however, is a morning person. Anything I can do to salvage the precious few minutes of sleep I get, I will do. One thing that seems to take up a lot of time for most people is morning makeup. But after years of playing around, I can finally say I've discovered the perfect morning makeup ritual that takes less than 10 minutes and has me ready for a full day of class and meetings!

The first thing I do is apply Lancome's Teint Idole Ultra to my entire face. This helps even out the tones and erases redness and under-eye circles.

Next, I set the foundation with Stila Illuminating Powder in a matching shade. This helps it last all day and prevents you from sweating it off as easily. (Hey, I go to school in the desert. Plus if you've ever been in play this is a basic stage makeup technique!)

Since I'm embarrassingly pale, I also dust a light layer of Lancome's Star Bronzer in Bronze Solaire over my face for a matte sunkissed look. If you like a more shimmery bronzer, I also love Lorac's TANtalizer Baked Bronzer.

Then I dust Cover Girl Cheekers Blush in Rose Silk over my cheek bones, and I do a big goofy grin to get the apples just right :)

 

I save the eyes for last because to me they're the most stressful- I'm so afraid of putting things near my eye that I won't even consider getting contacts! I first line both the top and bottom of my eyes (on the outer side of the lashes) with Lancome's Le Crayon Khol in Black Ebony. It's so smooth and creamy it's hard to believe it's a traditional pencil liner.

For the finishing touch, I use Lancome's Hypnose Doll Lashes Mascara on my upper and lower eyelashes, coating both the top and bottom for the upper ones. (Coating top and bottom of the lashes makes such a big difference, it's as if you're wearing false lashes, I swear!)

Add a spritz of Viktor & Rolf's Flowerbomb, and you're ready to go for the day!




What are your favorite makeup products? What tips and tricks do you use to save time in the morning? I'm always looking for new ideas, so help me out!




Bisous,


Rachel


Love a la mode

Dana's Swimwear Secret... Guest post!

Hello there all of you lovely Keep It Classy readers! The name is Dayna and I'm visiting from Pearls, Curls & All Things Southern, formally A Bama Belle and A Bucket List.

That's all the introduction I'm giving y'all, I'm skipping straight to the blog post!

While Miss Lindsey is sailing the seas (you lucky bish) it gave me a horrible realization..it's almost April and almost bathing suit season. Every year I like to buy at least one new bathing suit. If you saw all the bathing suits I owned, you'd think I were a collector of them, no joke. I prefer to buy them from none other than Victoria's Secret simply for the fact that their push-up tops are phenom. When you have a small chest like moi, you'll take all the help you can get. #truth #yesIhashtaggedinablogpost

I looked on their site and was slightly let down by the newest additions this year, but still found some I'm looking into purchasing:

The colors of this suit would look killer against a tan!

The straps on this little number adds major sex appeal!

Any girl in this beauty will be looking like a stunna walking the sandy beaches or laying by the pool!

Aaaand the last one is hella sexy to me but the tan lines would be awful so I just added it to pretend I would buy it.

Can y'all believe how fast bathing suit season snuck up on us?! Yeah, me either...

Where are some of your favorite places to shop for bathing suits?

Cruising with Emily - Guest post!

Hello everyone! My name is Emily and I blog at Life with Emily about fashion, life, my adventures and everything in between! I would love to have you join me over there :-)

I am delighted to be guest blogging for Lindsey while she is cruising the seas! Since I am 100% jealous that she is on a cruise right now while I am knee deep in school work I thought I would recap my cruise that I went on over Christmas break so I can feel a little better!! ;-)

Over Christmas Break 2011 I went on a family cruise to Turks &Caicos, St. Thomas, Puerto Rico & Half Moon Cay. Our cruise line was Holland America and I have nothing but wonderful things to say about them! Their services were wonderful, the staff was very friendly (especially the bar staff,) and the accommodations were very spacious--especially for a cruise ship! I really appreciated the fact that it was family friendly but wasn't overly filled with kids (oops...I said it!) I never once felt like I was cramped or on top of anyone. You would've never known there was 2,000 + staff on the ship!

We checked in on December 26 and explored the ship & of course had a few celebratory drinks!

The sunrises and sunsets were one of my favorite parts of the trip.
 They were breath-taking!

Our second day was spent at sea! I spent the day (over) eating and soaking up the sun!

Our first of two formal nights was that night! I loved getting all dressed up!

Can you tell I loved the food??!!??

Our first destination was Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos. We had scheduled to go horseback riding & swimming for this day. I was over-the-moon excited for this. It had been on my bucket list. We took a 20 minute bus ride (not air conditioned by the way....thought I was going to die) where we got to see the non-glamourous part of the island. It was very eye opening to see how other places live- even in a tourist area.  

 

 Horseback riding was SO fun. We got to see so much of the beach & the island. The tour guides were hilarious and also took photos of us with my camera so we could fully enjoy our time! 

 

After our ride they took us in family groups for a ride in the ocean with the horses! I had NO idea what to expect but it was so much fun! I couldn't stop laughing!

 

 

Our next destination was Puerto Rico. I have never been to Puerto Rico, but I had researched it beforehand and was so excited. We were at port for 12 hours so we rented a car that way we could fully explore everywhere! (I highly suggest this- so much easier and cheaper than a taxi or walking!)

 

We explored all of the Castles (castilos) from the War. They were beautiful and held so much history. They were also GREAT photo ops. You can check out more of my photography on my photo blog!

 

 

 We even made it to the Bacardi Distillery.... think Charlie and the Chocolate Factory... it reminded me of that. Helllo free drinks :-)

 

We ate dinner at a local puerto rican restaurant that we found via Trip Advisor. My family uses this for every trip and the reviews have never been wrong!

 

Our next destination was St. Thomas. I have to be honest... It was beautiful- but entirely too touristy. There were so many t-shirt shops everywhere. You really had to dig to find somewhere that was more local. We ate lunch at Senor Frogs because it was close and we were starving and then looked around some. We ended up going back to the ship early this day! I would love to go back and stay in an area for an extended period that wasn't so touristy!

oh yeah....there were GIANT iguanas everywhere!

 

 

I loved spending time gambling!!! I won about $100!

 

Our next formal night occurred on New Year's Eve! I was a little nervous about being in the middle of the ocean on NYE and not having any plans- but the ship put on a FUN party!

 

 My favorite bar tender for the week! (my family is friends with him on fb- that's how much we liked him haha!)

 The captain made an appearance!

I hoped you all enjoyed my cruise recap! 

Thank you so much Lindsey for allowing me to guest post (enjoy your cruise!)

 

note: I am now dying to go back on a cruise!

 

You can find me here:

blog: Life with Emily      photo blog: Through Emily's Eyes     twitter: @enh410