What's in my bag? Working girl edition

Well, I have officially grown up. 

Sort of. I at least can say with confidence that I officially commute to work each day and sit in a cubicle from 8-5pm, Monday through Friday. Such excitement...
My internship is in the Financial District in San Francisco. I take BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) each day and get off at the Embarcadero station. Having timed this, my travel time door to door is 45 minutes each way (and costs $8.80 plus $2.50 for parking...) But I love it. You see all kinds of folks on BART, and being a local in my business casual attire gives me a feeling of confidence and power. I love giving tourists directions. 
Part of this routine is also getting the perfect items together in my bag- it is everything I need to have a successful work day, and I would like to share it with you! Read on if you want to creep in my purse!

The bag is from the land of my dreams- Target. I got it on sale for $17 which is basically a dream itself.

Group 1: Electronics

I have to have my phone (le duh) and the Kindle is so much more convenient and great than I could have ever expected. I just finished Paper Towns by John Green, a funny and heartfelt read that I devoured in a week!

Group 2: Grown up essentials

BART card/map: I pretty much have the BART system down pat, but I always keep a picture of the map on my phone when in doubt. 

Wallet: Also Target! Also on sale! $3! Just call me bargain queen. 

Group 3: Bottom of the purse dwellers

These poor guys get tossed in last minute and always end up swimming in the depths of my bag. Yet, I couldn't live without them. You never know when you will need a bandaid! #mamabrovelli

Group 4: Small but mighty

This Tory Burch zip up pouch was probably intended to be a makeup bag, but it is now the home of all my miscellaneous small items that I need on a day to day basis. Even when I change purses, Tory travels with me. Best friends forever.

Lip products:

Yes, I know it looks excessive. I love them all equally <3

MAC Lipstick in Hug Me ($16)

Bobbi Brown Lipgloss in Pink Beige ($25)

Revlon Colorburst balm/stain in Honey ($7)

Blistex Chapstick

Burt's Bees chapstick with pomegranate

Abreva (just in case of a cold sore attack) 

These are two well loved products- and they love each other! As you can see by the nub of lipstick and empty tube of lipgloss, I wear these all the time. Hug Me is a classic basic color, a brown & pink that compliments my natural lip color while giving it more definition, and the lipgloss is the perfect touch of pinky gloss to dramatize the look. 

The clip. Worn every day. A faithful companion.

Bobbie pins (duh)

Excedrin (migraines, duh)

Benadryl (#mamabrovelli, duh)

Lotion: Dry skin is a real struggle (duh)

Jo Malone already had my heart with the amazing scents, but this baby bottle took me over the edge. It is the perfect size for travel, and the English Pear & Freesia is great to spritz on halfway through the day to freshen up. 

I have to listen to music while I work, usually from Spotify. Somedays I can listen to Bon Iver or Jack Johnson and be totally satisfied, but other days call for more motivation. Ex: Disney's greatest hits, or One Direction, or the Dirty Dancing soundtrack. No shame. 

Group 5: The good stuff

Be kind to one another and to your body! Fuel it wisely! I try and eat well and maintain a balanced life, but some days making a salad or preparing a meal just cant happen. That is when easy to grab foods become my best friend. I am really loving Kind bars at the moment, and I haven't found a flavor I don't like. 

Bananas, I will always love you. 

With love and organization,

Sarah Belle

'From head to toe'- Summer nights

Simple & Soft

Makeup look:

This makeup look is light and warm, perfect for a casual summer evening. I think loosing the eyeliner gives it a much more laid back look, and avoid the chance it will smudge in the heat.

Foundation: Rimmel London Stay Matte Mouse Foundation (Target- $4.99)

Concealer: Covergirl (Target- $5.99)

Bronzer: Hoola by Benefit Cosmetics- (Ulta- $28.00)

Blush: Pretty Coral by Bobbi Brown (Nordstrom- $27)

Brows: Maybelline Master Shape Brow Pencil (Target- $7.99)

Eyeshadow: Top: MAC- Grain, MAC- Girlie, Naked 3 Pallette- ('Trick' on lower lash line)

Mascara: They're Real Mascara by Benefit Cosmetics (Ulta- $23)

Lips: Estee Lauder Gloss 

Hair: Honest to goodness, I was lazy and this was luck. I kept my hair in a french braid for basically 24 hours straight and when I took it out the waves were almost perfect on their own. I sprayed in some dry shampoo, Pureology Glossing Mist and finished with hairspray and called it good. The headband ($15) is a long time love from Cost Plus World Market. 

Rings: Silver and gold twist stacking rings are a new purchase from an art faire in SF- $14 for both! The turquoise ring I bought in Arizona 5 years ago for $15

Top: Free People (very old)

Pants: TJ Maxx $20 (Similar here)

Shoes: Target $30 (Similar here)

Toe polish: Serial Shopper by Essie

 I hope you enjoyed this 'head to toe' look post!

With love and summer,

Sarah Belle

A celebration, explanation, and apology for #100happydays

The 100 Happy Days foundation is a group of people dedicated to making the world happier. Simple as that. They have reached out to the world by creating a social media challenge, daring you to share a picture to Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram every day for 100 days. Again, a simple plan with a simple goal- proving to yourself and the world that we each have something to be happy about and grateful for everyday. I love the theory behind this, and wholeheartedly believe that doing this each day can make you a more positive, optimistic, grateful and happy person. With that attitude in mind, I signed myself up and started the challenge on March 24th on my way to New York.

Here are some of my reflections and thoughts now that my days of happiness are up:
1. 100 days is a long time. Most definitely 100 days was a long time for me, but must have seemed even longer for my poor Instagram followers who had to tolerate my daily posts for months on end. Mind you, some didn't tolerate them and unfollowed me (tisk tisk). Posting each day created an added stress to my plate at times, and therefor defeated the purpose of celebrating my daily happiness. 

2. It is called a challenge for a reason. I got inspired to do 100 Happy Days by seeing 6 other people on my own Instagram feed start the challenge, but only one of those people actually completed it. Snaps for that, hooray for social media. Sure there were times when I wanted to quit, but the fear of giving up and being humiliated because of it trumped all other concerns. I did not want to be a failure.

3. True friends. These are the ones who text you when 11pm rolls around to remind you that you haven't annoyed Instagram yet today. These are the artists who pick countless filters, add saturation to your pale face, and step in when a light leak simply isn't necessary. These are the journalists who determine the perfect caption, location and hashtag when my thumbs gave out. Thank you for taking pictures, being in pictures, stopping me from posting a desperate TBT, and still liking my photo even in the worst of times. I would have given up on #day25 without you. Much love

4. I am happier. There were days when my post of happiness added a smile to my face, or made someone else feel happy- and that is all I wanted to achieve. Some pictures would have never been taken, some memories never captured, and some nights not remembered without being prompted by the necessity of a post. I love that I can look back and have timeline of my life in the past 100 days, each day documented and celebrated no matter the weather.

5. I probably annoyed you. I did this challenge for me, not for you. If my 100 pictures were annoying to you, made you judge me, or clogged up your feed- I apologize. But I really hope at least one day made you smile, laugh, or think. Thanks for 'liking' my pictures anyways and I promise to never post that much again. 

A highlight reel of #100happydays

 Day 2: New York

This trip made me so happy, and this specific day was filled with 3 of my favorite museums and 2 of my favorite people. It was a good way to kick off the next 98 days of happiness. 

Day 14: SOS

I got to know some of the most incredible people on this retreat, and on that day I could have never known how much each of them would mean to me as the year went on. Love y'all #friendship

Day 38: Mean Girls

I distinctly remember having so much fun taking this little photo shoot to celebrate Mean Girls and #pinkformarsha. I never stop having fun with you Noodle, and you have always been my biggest fan and advocate even when I don't deserve it. I love you more than Harry 

Day 56: All smiles for 13.1 miles

Just when it seemed like everything was going wrong, something went right. I finished my first half marathon!! Such a happy day, and it would not have been possible without my amazing Mama. Thanks for being more fit than me and making me run the whole way- you're a rockstar. 

Day 100: The longest day

The last happy day was also the biggest adventure. I had never felt so much pressure to post a magnificent picture and coincidentally I had never felt so tired in my life. But good friends pulled through and at a slightly sketchy rest stop between Portland and Eugene #day100 was documented. 

Check out the website that sparked this journey: 100happydays.com

With love and happiness,

Sarah Belle

'The Gap' Fear of beginnings, future, and failure

THE GAP- by Ira Glass

https://vimeo.com/85040589

(Even if you don't read the following blog about this video, WATCH IT. It is very deserving of the next 2 minutes and 18 seconds of your life.)

Hello fellow person, I hope you enjoyed the video.

I come from a world of high expectations. 
I am expected to be happy.
I am expected to work hard.
I am expected to achieve my dreams. 

I am expected to be beautiful

I am expected to be successful.

Obviously 'success' can only be defined by yourself, but I was always told that you will find success if you do what you are passionate about. If only it was that easy.... What are you passionate about? Can you describe it in one word, sentence, major, or career path? Nope, me either. My future is filled with many options, many opportunities for success or failure. But who defines failure? I believe that a fear of failure is born at the beginning of any experience; somewhat ironically unavoidable. I love what Ira Glass says about this dilemma. Glass identifies 'the Gap' as the difference between what you know your potential is and the quality of the content you are actually producing. As a creator, a student, and as a person I believe in my own potential but also see the quality gap between where I am and could be. This is disappointing for sure, but also enlightening. Every person starts their journey at the beginning, so the only way is up. 
I am a beginner. The only thing to do is to try and try again- keep creating until my work is something to be proud of. 

What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail? 

-Robert Schuller

With love and expectations,

Sarah Belle

May musings- a month in review

Hello friends, I hope the sun is shining wherever you are!
Throughout the past 31 days, I have given myself the authority to be an expert in all things. With that in mind, here are my humble opinions about some things I came across in the month of May.

Rave: Oscar Blandi Dry Shampoo

Didn’t have the time, energy, or desire to leave your bed to shower? Dry shampoo is your new best friend. I have tried multiple aerosol dirty hair solutions, but they leave my hair oily, smelly, or sticky. Not cool. A lovely friend and fellow lazy human recommended the Oscar Blandi dry shampoo to me and I am now addicted. Basically a bottle of fancy formulated baby powder, the fine tip bottle is easy to apply and lasts longer than any other product I have tried. It smells fresh and clean and makes applying a small or large amount easy. My 1oz bottle was $11, and I estimate it will last me at least a year or so. My only advice is to be careful and precise when first applying- the powder can come out rather quickly and make a powdery mess. Final piece of advice- go shower you filthy animal.

Read: ‘Behind the beautiful forevers’ by Katherine Boo

Ok I lied- this one will probably take me into June. The ever wonderful and brilliant John Green recommended this book to me (yes, personally #bffs) as part of his Nerdfighter book club, and I knew I had to read it. 'Life, death, and hope in a Mumbai undercity' is the sub title of this book, and that simple phrase directly relates the nonfiction narrative's key themes. It follows the lives of citizens of Annawadi, a makeshift town near the Mumbai airport, and how their hopes, dreams, and strife impact their ability to make it to the good life. Heartbreaking and beautiful, I am humbled by this perspective into the Annawadian community- a 'hidden world'. While I am enjoying the book, I think I will gain even more understanding and appreciation for Boo's work once I hear John Green's analysis and thoughts. If this book doesn't sound like your cup of tea, I can also wholeheartedly recommend Green's book, Looking for Alaska, an awesome coming of age story about love, friends, and boarding school. 

"thinking that if people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane.”

Random: The Intermission Project

I discovered this group of lovely British gentlemen through The Mahogany Blog, a team based out of London that 'strives to deliver amazing music to your eyes and ears, as often as possible'. The Intermission Project is an unsigned band made up of three members: Alex, Jim & Charlie who produce powerful harmonies in the acoustic/folk/soul genre. I love their use of the banjo, guitar, percussion and even a saxophone all mixed in with beautiful and mature lyrics. Are they the next Mumford & Sons? They also 'favorited' one of my tweets, waddup semi stardom. 

Singing 'I've Been Waiting' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT4ofGYA_kQ

Repurchase: They’re Real Mascara Benefit Cosmetics

A loyal fan of Benefit Cosmetics, this mascara keeps me coming back again and again. Based out my home base of San Francisco, this label delivers quality products with creative names and packaging, all backed by the tagline ‘laughter is the best cosmetic’ This mascara does not flake or smudge, it lasts a solid 15 hours, and the plastic applicator spreads lashes perfectly with no need to reapply or separate clumps. There is nothing safe about safety pins up in my lashes! Costing $23 and lasting about 3 months it is a pretty good bargain but if you’re looking for a cheaper drug store dupe- Maybelline ‘The Falsies’ comes in a close second for around $8.

I hope you discovered something new!

With love and summer fever,

Sarah Belle

A humble hello

Hello friends, I hope you’re having a lovely day.

Right away, we must be sure to be on the same page (hah virtual blog puns)

A disclaimer: I don’t have much to say, offer, or write that will enhance your life. This space, my ‘nest’ will be a treasury of thoughts, memories, and ideas that strike me as significant and worth sharing. I adore alliteration, parentheses are my go-to when grammar fails me, and I am excited to start this online ~adventure~ with you. I hope some of the words on this blog bring a smile to your face and inspire you in some way.

Thank you for reading. (Hi Mom!)

With love and nerves,

Sarah Belle