Back to School

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I feel like Billy Madison waiting for the school bus on his first day of class. "Back to school. Back to school, to prove to my dad that I'm not a fool."

This rainy Monday morning marked the start of spring semester at my university and I'm excited. I never thought I'd say that but the feeling is unmistakable.
Here's some things I'd like to take note of:

• Bought new pens on a whim and while they're aren't the entire reason I'm excited for spring semester but I do love them more than my old favorites so far (Paper-mate InkJoy, the ones that click).
• My first formal graphic design course will not be as hard as I originally thought and was definitely not worth the nerves.
• I saw more men wearing their hair in a bun on campus today than I have ever, including on tumblr.
• One of my professors looks like the kind of teacher that gets sleazy with students but carries out mannerisms that point his personality in the complete opposite direction.
• I might join a team of complete strangers for a season of intramural soccer.
• This might be the first semester I make tons of friends or maybe just a few but I know I'll be fine either way.

I'd love to know some of the things you noticed today?

❤kpeterr

Winter Skin Essentials

❤Garnier Clean Nourishing Cleansing Oil

I had received a free sample of this last summer and I can remember thinking the world of this stuff when it removed every lick of makeup in 0.2 seconds flat. Now as a fair warning, I've only ever tried two oil cleansers in my life so I do not have much a scale to rate this on but I would recommend anyone at least give it a try. It's supposed to be formulated for dry skin but when you go to rinse the oil dissolves to leave no evidence.

❤Olay Fresh Effects Dew Over

My favorite moisturizers to use during the day are the gel ones because they absorb super quick. This one feels really fresh on the skin and takes care of my dry/flakey patches. Because the product is pretty thick, I only really use it for the driest parts and I'll use a lighter formula product for everywhere else. This sounds like a hassle when I say it here but this guy has saved the tip of my nose from flaking right off on multiple occasions.

❤Blistex ChapStick in Strawberry Lemonade Blast

Chapstick in the winter is a 'can't live without' kind of thing. I like this one because it's thick enough to really last and put the moisture right where you need/want it but not too think that your lips get sore from spreading the stuff where it needs to go. The one I have is in Strawberry Lemonade but the smell reminds me of the Shockers candy more than anything. The scent is refreshing after reaching for the holiday-ish ones in recent months.

❤ Burt's Bees Intense Hydration Treatment Mask

Now I've talked about this before (here) but I can't help but mention it again. For anyone with a need for a serious dehydration rescue, give this a go. A small dollop can be used as a night cream or a large amount can sit on your skin for 30 minutes and you'd still have to wipe away the excess. It leaves your skin feeling plump with moisture and I just love this.

❤The Body Shop Vitamin E Nourishing Night Cream

As the newest addition to my goop collection, I don't have much to say but I do like it. It is very thick, smells pretty good, and basically its good at fulfilling it's designated job. Which, for clarification, is good.

❤J. R. Watkins Hand and Cuticle Slave in Mango

Now, I understand the meaning of 'hand and cuticle,' however, isn't the skin on your hands essentially the same as the skin on the rest of your body? I really enjoy this stuff for it's intended purpose but I also like to use it on my elbows, knees, feet. Smells like summer and is also really good at it's intended purpose.

Have any good tips for seasonal dry skin suffers? I'm begging you to send them my way! 

❤kpeterr

P.S. I've come to the conclusion blogging about beauty stuff is hard and fun and makes me feel very weird. I also feel like I may just flop over dead if anyone from my real life found this.

Hello 2015!

I cannot say 2014 was a bad year. I couldn't even whisper it but I'll surely welcome 2015 as a breath of fresh air.

Having completed everything on my list of to-dos for 2014 (which you can read here) I don't necessarily have a list of things I want/need to do in the upcoming 12 month period. If I were to write up a list, all the items could be summed up with the simple phrase 'do more.' I'd like to learn more, read more, spend more time outside, love more of myself, and find more to love about other people... etc.. 

This is so cliche to say but with each passing year I can feel myself growing emotionally stronger. Not that I would have ever defined myself as emotionally weak but I'm learning more about myself and how to be confident about what it is that I have to offer the world. I really can't wait to see what challenges, rewards, failures, and opportunities reveal themselves in the new year and maybe, just maybe I'll document them as they present themselves.

Happy New Year and Good Luck.

♥kpeterr

P.s. Lets talk about your resolutions for the new year!

Katies of Christmases Past (The Early Years)

Whatever holiday you and your family celebrated or will celebrate this winter break, I wanted to wish you well. My family normally celebrates christmas and I'd like to commemorate this day with a 'typical white girl' #ThrowbackThursday

My Second Christmas (1995). A poorly focused camera at the mall's 'Santa Display' tried to capture my mom (furthest left), a baby me in red (sat on my mom's lap, left of santa), the big man himself, and my brother (sat to to the right of Santa). I'm not sure why the picture is so terrible but seeing as the rest of the pictures documenting this christmas I'm asleep or playing with a box this is the best I have.

I'm not sure what year this was but this picture is displayed year round perched on a shelf in the living room. Same mall display, possibly the same santa, but at least the kiosk upgraded the camera/camera man. I look not very happy for some reason but my brother (left of St. Nick) is having a jolly good time!

Christmas 1998. We had moved on form the mall Santa this year! My grandma (right) got an akita puppy and my cousin (not shown), brother (left) and I named 'Mr. T' with the 't' short for 'trouble.' I can just barely remember this year and the mountains of presents that surrounded to tree. I had gotten a furby and remember thinking it was the coolest thing but being too scared of the thing to play with it!

I hope you had a wondrous holiday this year and I'd love to know what you celebrated!

♥kpeterr

katiedaisie Looks Different

If you've dropped by anytime in the last few weeks you probably saw a less than aesthetically pleasing design. Rather than making the rational decision of using a toss away blog to build a template, I tried to take a more direct route and I think I learnt my lesson. I'm actually proud of the way it's turning out and it's really satisfying to see my first attempts at coding turn into something real and visible and... well, potentially accessible to anyone via the interwebz.

Main changes include a black navigation bar that links all the other places around the web you can find me and the things I share, a new header image,  and other general appearance changes. I also confirmed my decision to change the name of my blog from 'katiedaisie' to 'kpeterr' for continuity purposes (and it secretly annoyed me too much that I had to change -y to -ie in daisy).

Just in time for the new year too.

I'd love to know what you think?

♥kpeterr

Most of the things you do are not a big deal

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I really needed to be reminded of this yesterday.

Some things are a very big deal.  killing someone...

Huge. Deal.

There are some things that are a big deal. Things like deciding whom to share your life with, friends, best friends (cause they always seem like they're own breed), family, significant others, pets, the paper you journal on... all are a kinda big deal because they help to contribute who you are as a person.

How you do things is a little less of a deal. How you eat your meal and with who,  how you talk and interact with the people around you, what school you go to and why you go there are all parts of your contribution to yourself as a person

Most things that you do are of no significance whatsoever. You breathe but everyone does that, you eat but everyone does that also, you go to school but most people do that because they have to, you can go to more school and it seems like most people are doing that now too. None of these things make you an individual.

Yesterday ended with me feeling all soupy on the inside, like someone took out my bones and structural tissues. You guessed it, because of something so microscopic you'd need 3 of NASA's most powerful telescopes all perfectly aligned, eyepiece to lens, to see it. In fact, I didn't even see it as a big deal before I tried to talk to my mom about it. (way to go, mom)

I withdrew from a course I'd already finished more than half of.

A class that pushed myself out on a limb, to try something new, just because I could.  Back in August I registered late for it, because I had the time, freedom, and unfulfilled degree requirement. Now yesterday, last day to withdraw, I decided it just wasn't for me.

While my mother, father, and the university advisors think the permanently engraved W on my transcript says something about me, or my personality, or the kind of person I am, and while they made me feel as though I were single handedly removing the Earth from planetary orbit, I refuse to think so because W doesn't signify anything more than a change of mind. It's confirmation I that I know a smidgen more about what I'm interested in (or not interested in) when it comes to school.

W isn't the same as killing someone
W isn't the name of a friend, family member, or journal
W isn't something you can eat with and gossip to
W isn't in the air I breathe or the food I eat

katiedaisie

♥

Falling for Fall

It's everyone's favorite time of year again! With the new season comes that giddy feeling of excitement that just doesn't seem to go away and I. CAN'T. WAIT.  Even though, here in Arizona, we still have some time before it really cools off, I want to wish you the best of the new season.

Sweaters a size too roomy,

carmel hot chocolate in cups too puny.

Cuddle weather all day long,

the smell of cinnamon, nice and strong.

Mystery movies causing fear,

the best apples you've had year.

Decorations on neighborhood streets,

cozy socks for cold feets.

Bellies full of Thanksgiving Suppers

and even the butterfly flutters.

Though my favorite thing of all, for fact,

that halloween costume you've surely packed.

Everything pumpkin without reason,

surely the start of baking season.

Shorter days with longer evenings

It's those almost Christmas feelings.

katiedaise

❤