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Thursday, April 30, 2015

Studying. So Much Studying.

It's official: exams are upon us!  I've admittedly been rather blog-neglectful these past few days because of all the studying that I've been doing, but I'm taking a little break to peek up from the end-of-year rabbit hole and breathe. Yesterday I had the first half of my mock AP tests (which count for test grades, by the way), and on Monday I'll be taking the AP Chemistry exam.  Thursday will be AP Spanish, and Friday will be AP European History.  I know it's only three tests this year, but I feel like my mind is drowning in solubility rules.

www.theprospect.net

The crazy thing, though, is that, come next Friday afternoon, all these AP tests will be over.  OVER. And then I just have to wait until July to get my scores.  I somehow managed to get a 5 on the AP I took last year, but I'm not so sure how these tests are going to turn out.  I never really like to say, "Oh, I know I'm going to be fine!" because I don't know.  I won't know until that July day when everything is going normally until, BAM, test scores come in.  For now I just need to somehow invoke the powers of Hermione Granger....

www.circstu.wordpress.com 

I know a lot of you must be dealing with tests right now, too, so I'm sending the best of luck!  

<3 Frances

Friday, April 24, 2015

Friday Soundtrack/Studying

It's difficult to believe that it's already the 24th of April.  Where has the month gone?  I take three AP tests in May, and I'm continuously awestruck and disturbed by the fact that they're now only less than two weeks away.  Oh, dear... I'd like to say I'm ready, as I'm working really hard, but the tests just seem so intimidating and scary.  And each is more than three hours long.  If anybody else is getting ready for exam season, I empathize and wish you the best of luck!  Remember not to get too stressed out about anything.  Anxiety will just make you feel bad.

Melanie Martinez: "Carousel"

MS MR: "Painted"


Taken By Trees: "Dreams"


Lana Del Rey: "Summertime Sadness"

<3 Frances



Thursday, April 23, 2015

Street Style

It's Thursday, and it felt like a good time for another Street Style post....

www.styledumonde.com

www.teenvogue.com

www.highsnobiety.com

www.styleft.com

www.deadlyinlove.com

www.refinery29.com

www.pinterest.com

www.garbagelapsap.com


<3 Frances


Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Prom Dresses, Even When You Don't Go

...because looking at dresses is way more fun that actually going.
#pajamaprom

vintagefashionclub.com

pixgood.com

liketotally80s.com


Half Past Swoon Dress - Cotton, Long, Pink, Solid, Formal, Fairytale, Spaghetti Straps, Maxi, Boho, Statement, Steampunk, Wedding, Pastel
modcloth.com

.
heavyred.com


fashionfollower.com

1940s Wedding Dress
i-weddingdresses.com

Window-shopping online....
nydailynews.com

Rebel Circus Clothing | Lithium Alternative Fashion store at RebelsMarket
rebelsmarket.com


.Steampunk formal/prom ideas without too much cosplay
indulgy.com

There seemed to be real, living flowers sewn into the dress; swathed in a protective layer of netting as if floating just below the surface of a tranquil pool.
chotronette.tumblr.com

<3 Frances




Friday, April 17, 2015

Goodbye, Worries

As a writer, there are a lot of voices in my head at all times.  But the voice I’m about to talk about isn’t that of one of my characters...it’s that of Bellatrix.  No, not LeStrange, though that is her namesake.  Bellatrix--my Bellatrix--is the nasty, insensitive voice in my head who has made a habit of taking me to the edge and then pushing me off of it, sending me on a spiral of worries and anxieties that I need not have. She's insecurity, stress, and low self-esteem, and she loves to talk. Funnily enough, a lot of other people seem to have a friend just like her living in their mind, too. Do you? Who's your Bellatrix?
Anyway, while sitting and worrying last night about something worthless of mention, Bellatrix chatting away at me, I came to the realization that what I was doing was completely pointless.  Since when do we have to do listen to our Bellatrixes? Why are we letting them make us ruminate all the time?  How is it helping us?  Thinking, planning...those are okay things to do.  But stressing yourself out constantly isn’t.  Angsting over whether or not other people liked your outfit isn’t going to make your life better.  Analyzing everything you do isn’t going to make anything easier.  And it isn't going to make the unfriendly voice in your head get any quieter.
Ruminating is a skill that so many of us seem to have mastered even though it isn’t actually beneficial for us.  We do it so much that there are freaking worry trails engraved in our thought pathways, and, for all the anxiety rumination causes, it doesn’t even lead to anything effective.  I mean, we sit around, paranoid, feeling lost, and in the end what do we have to show for it?  We haven’t solved anything; we’ve just exhausted ourselves (and produced a whole lot of unnecessary cortisol!).  Honestly, beauties, there’s nothing appealing about rumination at all.  To quote Frozen, I really do think it’s time to just “let it go.” Goodbye, Bellatrix!

mtv.com
Here’s the tough part, though: how do we beat our ruminative habits?  They’re so second-nature!  It’s like trying to stop biting your nails or pulling your hair or kicking your leg up and down while sitting (the latter of which I sort of still do....).  Know that I’m not sitting here writing this entirely rumination-free--I’ve still got worries and anxieties whispering in the back of my mind, and it’s really difficult to quiet them.  Seriously, though--why can’t my thoughts have a volume control remote?  I’d mute everything Bellatrix says (literally, everything!), put all my angst about university on pause,  silence my writer’s block (hey, characters, if you want to start up a dialogue, go ahead!), and crank up the volume on my chem homework (voltaic cells, anyone?).   Alas, my mind isn’t a television set, so I--like everyone else--am just going to have to deal with processing and filtering it on my own.  It’s a bit of a daunting task, maybe, but it’s 100% accomplishable, too.  We’re really good at ruminating, right?  That means we can be just as good at not ruminating!  (The logic behind that is iffy, but let’s go along with it anyway, okay?) The next time you feel yourself falling into the dreaded spiral (*cue dramatic music*), take a step back (literally, if you need to), take a few deep breaths, and try to clear your head.  Look at your situation objectively, starting with a very broad, world-encompassing perspective, and focus on your surroundings.  Where are you?  Then move onto what’s happening, but make sure you analyze it on a more global spectrum.  There are really terrible things going on in our world right now, and there are many seemingly-suffocating problems that we face that hardly even seem mentionable when compared to the struggles of others.  Realizing that our own personal difficulties, while important to us, could often be very much worse facilitates a clearer mindset.  Once at a point where you can look at what’s happening with a better understanding, tell yourself it’s going to be okay.  Just those words.  Okay.  It’s going to be okay.  

And you’re not going to ruminate.
<3 Frances

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Halfway Through Another Week/Music

As far as regular weeks are concerned, this one is, for me and my mum, reasonably hectic.  Meetings, school functions, late nights...it's an introvert's nightmare, LOL.  That said, though, the busyness only gives us all the more reason to appreciate calmer times.  And music.

Lily & Madeleine: "Rabbit"

Bree Tranter: "Winter"

The Paper Kites: "Bloom"

Seabear: "Cold Summer"

<3 Frances

Monday, April 13, 2015

Product Reviews



It's the first Monday back after Spring Break (aka my week-long study period), but let's not talk about work today.  Let's talk about natural health and beauty instead! #waymorefun


100% Pure Cocoa Kona Body Cream
I have *incredibly* dry skin during (and after) the winter, and this moisturizer is amazing!  It is not at all greasy (that's right, you can rub it in and not have to worry about destroying everything you touch), it's very lightweight, and it smells like a chocolate-coffee confection beyond your wildest dreams.  At the same time, though, the scent is all-natural and therefore does not cause migraines, even in the terribly migraine-prone individual that is Iris.











Benefit Roller Lash
Story time!  A few weeks ago, Iris and I both somehow managed to rip half our eyelashes out with our eyelash curlers.  Not our proudest accomplishment...
All that said, though, we were then looking for a mascara replacement and stumbled across Benefit's new "Roller Lash" mascara, which is supposed to not only highlight but also curl your lashes.  That's right--it's an all-in-one tool.   And the best part is that it actually works!  No longer must my lashes live in fear of being torn out by me and an intimidating metal contraption.


SheaMoisture Superfruit Complex 10-in-1 Renewal System Hair Masque
SheaMoisture Superfruit Complex 10-in-1 Renewal System Hair Masque, Super Fruit- 12 fl oz

Goodbye, dry hair!  This hair masque smells really yummy, goes on easily, washes out well, and leaves hair smooth and shiny...for several days.  It also works with multiple hair types, and it naturally fortifies strands with marula oil and biotin.













<3 Frances


Thursday, April 9, 2015

In the Dollhouse

Forever "upcyclers," Iris and I decided to renovate an old dollhouse with scrapbook paper and magazine cutouts, taking it from girly-girl to darkened vintage. This is what happened....







<3 Frances

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Edwardian Fashion Inspiration

Must I say that it's Throwback Thursday?


asilikeittobe.wordpress.com

stylenotes.typepad.com

blog.adorevintage.com


samyroad.com

theweddingspecialists.net

avenue348.com

adorevintage.com

doyledoyle.com

<3 Frances