Friday Favorites

After snuggling up in bed around 9 pm last night dead tired (though I didn't actually call it lights out until 12... which is still super early for me) and a frantic rush of emails to reset my login password to log my hours for work I've finally ended up here just disheveled and exhausted. This week has been graphic design hell as I've been hit with last-minute requests that kept me up until 3 am several nights in a row, figuring out details for Welcome Week needs, and trying to work with the university to get name rights approved to print on our t-shirts that we need in less than 2 weeks! Ahhhhh *stress stress stress stress stress* School hasn't even started and I already feel the weight of deadlines and lack of sleep upon me!

In the midst of the madness, though, there have been some things that keep me happy (and somewhat sane). One of those things is Karl the Fog. Karl is taking over social media, as he is the San Francisco cityscape. He's the personified account of the fog on both Twitter and Instagram, and the account features beautiful pictures of the fog throughout the city and I love how his Twitter account is full of sass! It's one of the most successful personification accounts on the internet and it's made trudging through the misty mess in the morning a little bit more bearable because I'm just like "Aww, it's Karl!" I was dying of cuteness while riding the train this morning thanks to the latest Instagram caption -- "Every Friday, I reflect on the week and think of everything I did that I'm proud of. Here's what I've got so far: 1) helping cool off that sweaty New Zealand tourist who thought walking to Grace Cathedral from Market Street wouldn't be "that steep" 2) letting the sun bounce off my underside at dusk to provide a sky's worth of cotton candy clouds 3) spending quality time with the Bay Bridge before she gets operated on next weekend." If you haven't heard of him already, go give his accounts a look! I assure that you'll immediately fall in love with Karl (:

I've also been taking my mind off of things by spending copious amounts of time on ASOS, my new favorite online store. They have pretty good deals in the sale section and I'm hoping there'll be a new batch of reduced summer items (like floral dresses) soon! I've been eyeing the Mono Daisy Print Swing Dress, River Island Floral Smock Dress (in Purple), and the Minkpink Helping Hand dress that Olivia from What Olivia Did recently featured in an outfit post. I also just got my jewelry order in and I'm over the moon excited -- photos have been taken, and a blog post has been queued up! Also on the fashion note, a lot of Japanese models and celebrities put out style books, sort of like Lauren Conrad's, but I took some time the other day to look through my favorite model Lena Fujii's "I ♥ Kawaii" to get some beauty inspiration (because I wish I could look like her) and now I'm craving a trip to Japan to shop the streets of Shinjuku and Shibuya.

On a random note, I've been attempting to drink more water so I carry around my CamelBak everywhere, but at home I've been loving my little insulated mason jar! It looks so funny (and tickles my inner redneck... hah!), but I love how it's plastic so I'm not worried about being cautious with it unlike glass and mine comes with a coral cap and a cute straw. Alongside my pledge to drink more water I've also been trying to eat healthier and snack on scrumptious berries instead of caving into my desires and buying tons of ice cream! I got a package of strawberries and some raspberries at Trader Joe's and they are deeeelicious, I'm tempted to stock up on more before the season is over.

Aaaand here we are with the smoooth transition into the beauty world -- not only have I been eating berries like crazy, I've also been obsessed with my new Revlon Lip Butter in Berry Smoothie (God, Natalie, you're not funny!). It's the perfect pinky color that looks so natural on my lips but brings them back to life after they've been beaten down and look a little sparse thanks to my haphazard foundation application. It moisturizes so well and is probably the best everyday lip color I own from the range, even replacing Cotton Candy because I've realized I prefer a bit more magenta tone to my lips. Otherwise my makeup routine has stayed the same and I haven't been bothered to try anything new since I'm a boring old fart who sits at home glued to the computer screen trying to figure out what "we need a poster for this weekend that is sort of rave-y" means for her sanity and already deteriorating sleep schedule. Hope you like the collage-style picture with my Friday Faves! TGIF.