My Life: October/November 2012

Hello, dear readers,

As promised, here is an update on my life since the last time I wrote. As I mentioned at the beginning of this month, in my previous post, November has indeed been my busiest month. Let me start off with October, however, since I entirely skipped over it here on When Life Hands You Lipstick. Essentially, I accepted a bid for Delta Delta Delta sorority [technically a fraternity] in September and spent October going to meetings for it before being initiated. It was in October that I was assigned my "big," or big sister. Because I don't want to give away the name of the college I attend, nor do I want to invade the privacy of my big, I have cropped the following photos from the day the new members found out who their big sisters were:

Super awkward camera phone photo shot from above.

Wow, my face looks extra shiny! This is from the photo in which
 the "littles" sat in the front and our "bigs" sat behind us.

Beyond that, October was a bit of a blur. The only exception is Halloween. I went to visit two of my friends at one of their universities, and we all dressed up and had a good time catching up. I meant to go as Audrey Hepburn, despite the fact that I didn't have the right style of dress or correct jewelry. I ended up wearing my friend's dress and necklace, but my hair wouldn't stay up. I really didn't end up looking like anyone in particular, but one of girl guessed who I was. Can I count that as a success?

Once again, I'm cropping out my friends. I'm sure they'd be ok with me showing them, but I just want to be sure. Here is my failed Halloween costume:

I tried.

On to November, my most stressful month so far. By the way, I had never considered joining a sorority before coming to this college. I'm not into the whole stereotypical sorority scene, in which girls are judged by their appearance and what clothes they wear. I know not every sorority is like that at big colleges, but the Greek scene at my tiny campus is way smaller and much less like that. Of course, it is a group of around 30 girls, so there's bound to be some annoying aspects, but I'm glad I joined. It's a great way to meet people and get involved, regardless.

Ramble over. I was initiated into Tri Delta at the beginning of November, and then we immediately had a philanthropy event to promote and run. Then we had a Founder's Day brunch with the same university I visited on Halloween. It was fairly laid back, and I was surprised with an award for academics.

Now we're working on recruitment practice for formal rush in the spring. I went through informal recruitment, in which transfer students and upperclassmen can join. It's much more casual. It's funny preparing to bring new girls in when I just became an official member a few weeks ago. Here's a picture of me from initiation. It was in the morning, at the end of a weekend retreat. I cheated and didn't wash my makeup off the night before, because we're not supposed to wear makeup for the ceremony. I didn't want to look completely dead, but most of it came off anyway:

This is a photo of my "family," which consists of my big sister and
 my aunt [the one with her arm around me]. I don't quite
 get how that works. Note that I am nearly as white as the dress.

I realize this post has mostly centered around my sorority, but that's what keeps me the busiest outside of school itself. I also had multiple midterms, and I always have a paper to write or multiple chapters to read. I was just assigned a paper yesterday, and I have a group project now! 

On a more relaxing note, I did very much enjoy my Thanksgiving break. I turned 21 on Thanksgiving, and had a lovely evening with my family. I went out for Black Friday shopping [at 10 p.m. that night! Poor workers!] with friends. I didn't buy anything, nor did I have a great desire to, but I wanted to take advantage of the time I had to see my friends. They took me out for my birthday the next night, which was quite fun. The rest of break consisted of the weekend, which was delightful as well. I got some holiday shopping in, including gifts for a Secret Santa exchange in Tri Delta. Now I'm back at school, and I'll be busy with sorority events, choir rehearsals, a concert, schoolwork, and finals until winter break!

Just so you know, this isn't meant to be an "Esther's Excuses for Not Blogging" post, but rather me talking to you about where I've been. I have fun writing these posts.

I hope that those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving in the U.S. had a lovely holiday and that everyone is excited for the upcoming holiday season! I'm going to have to remember to bring my camera home for winter break, which starts in mid-December, so that I can actually take pictures of things that I want to write about.

Until then, I will try to squeeze in a post or two if I can. No promises, unfortunately. I hope your week is going well! 

xEsther

Fall Loves Tag

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Hello, dear readers,

This is another tag that has been going around YouTube for a while now, and I thought I'd try my hand at it. If you've been reading for any amount of time, you'll know I can't help myself when it comes to tags.

Alas, here we are:

 

Beauty & Fashion:
1) Top 5 fall makeup items?

• Hard Candy Glamoflauge Concealer [Shade Light]

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• Clinique High Impact Lip Colour in Extreme Pink

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• Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in Latino

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• Avon Ultra Color Rich Lipstick in Berry, Berry Nice

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• L'Oreal Colour Riche Lipstick in Tropical Coral

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I chose these products because I really can never live without concealer, and the lipsticks are ones that I either a) think are good fall colors or b) I wore throughout fall last year

2) Favorite fall hair product?

This is a year-round favorite: Generic Value Products Smoothing Serum, but it's even more important in the colder months because for some reason I just like my hair to look more polishe, whereas I don't mind it a little frizzier and more textured in the summer. It's the exact same as Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum, and it is a must to tame the annoying frizz and flyaways. [Links are to the reviews, by the way]

3) Favorite fall nail polish?

This year it has to be Milani Bijou Bronze polish. I especially like it layered over a black nail polish because it shows up even brighter and more metallic.

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4) Favorite fall scent?

I like this scent year-round, but Bath and Body Works Warm Vanilla Sugar is particularly great for fall. I also just love the smell of fall foods and spices, like pumpkin and cinnamon. 

5) Most worn clothing item & accessory?

My most worn clothing item is, without a doubt, a cardigan. I live in cardigans throughout the colder months because I really don't like long-sleeved shirts. It's also handy because temperature differs from classroom to classroom to dorm to the outdoors, so it makes it easy to be comfortable when you can just add or remove a layer. My most worn accessory is my watch, but that's year-round. I don't have specific seasonal accessories, because I don't really own scarves or anything like that.

Random fall Questions:
1) Who's your fall style icon?

I don't have a style icon, per se, but I do love Taylor Swift's style.

2) Going to a corn maze, what do you wear?

I don't think I've ever gone to a corn maze, but it brings up the image of a black or white tank top, plaid button-down, jeans, and riding boots. I don't actually own riding boots; it's just that a corn maze makes me think of a stereotypical country-cute outfit.

3) Favorite Halloween movie?

I don't recall having seen too many Halloween movies, but you can never go wrong with It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. It's such a cute movie.

4) Favorite Halloween candy?

I love anything chocolate, so Butterfingers and Reeses Cups are always favorites for candy. As for Halloween-specific candy, I do enjoy candy corn. I haven't really had Halloween candy in at least a year, though.

5) What are you being for Halloween?!

I'm not entirely sure, because I'm not sure if I'm going to any Halloween parties or not. I do have a flapper-style dress I got from Forever 21 two years ago for a 20s-themed party, so I could always wear that.

So those were my answers to the "Fall Loves" Tag. By all means,  feel free to do it yourself if you like. I love reading other people's answers just as much as I love filling in my own!

I hope your weekend was splendid!

xEsther