Part 2 - Agra, The City with the Taj Mahal

Let's journey back in time once again for another chunk of my adventure in India. On Day Three, we left New Delhi in a large van toward the city of Agra. Agra is technically 2.5 hours away from New Delhi. An easy jaunt south of the big city in order to see one of the wonders of the world, the Taj. Did it take 2.5 hours to get? No, it did not. It took closer to 5. This is one of the many lessons I learned while I was traveling around India. Here are some others:

1. Plan for five hours to get from any city to another city. The roads are terrible. 

2. Do NOT take pictures of animals when they are being pressed upon the windows of the vehicle because people will want money for those photos you just snapped.

3. Sometimes, your driver will pull over and exit his vehicle in order to pay a tax. You have no idea this is happening or where he goes or how he knows to pay a tax. It simply just happens.

4. There are a lot of speed bumps and pot holes. Prepare your stomach accordingly.

5. Have snacks. Lots of snacks.

In the van ready to go!

Nick ignoring monkeys

Agra Fort

Agra Fort

Agra Fort

Our Tour Guide - We are looking interested

Agra Fort

After Dinner at the Oberai Hotel

And then the next day, we saw the Taj!

It was overcast the day we saw the Taj Mahal but it was still beautiful.

#WorthIt

We saw the grounds and all the buildings and then we headed to the van to go to Jaipur. I'll probably get that post up in like a month. :)

Love you, mean it.

xoxo,

Liz

Bumbershoot Fashion

Here's some outfit inspiration for a festival when you want to look cute instead of like a hippie.

Bumbershoot by pizlierson on polyvore.com

Or a teenager in your middriff top and leggings. I still can't get over how "naked" teenagers like to be out in public. Every teenager needs to watch more "Criminal Minds" so they understand the level of gross that is out there in the world. You guys, there are gross people out there in the world. Cover your tits and ass, please.

Gracias.

Rant aside, festival style for the most part is crazy to me. I don't think I would buy clothes specifically for a festival. I took things I would wear every day and made them more casual or sporty.

For Seattle, the weather was beautiful. It was in the 70s which meant that I was able to wear long sleeves and not sweat the entire weekend. Success!

I promise this is my last post about Bumbershoot. I just needed to be thorough. :)

xoxo,
Liz

Aug Faves

I'm currently listening to Comedy Bang Bang and the host, Scott Auckerman continues to abbreviate the months and so now, it's in my head. Hence, saying "Aug" instead of "August."

I know you needed that explanation. You're welcome.

Some things and people and stuff came in to my life this month and now I'm in love and cannot live without said things. Here they are...

Starbucks now has Iced Coffee in the grocery store for my home use and your home use and it is magic. I love iced coffee more than most people. It's tasty and it's so hot outside all the time so iced coffee just makes sense. 

I know, I've already talked about this but it happened this month so I'm talking about it again! Hannah Hart's book "My Drunk Kitchen" came out this month and it is great and inspirational and fun, just like Hannah.

NEW PANTS! J Crew has some of the most beautiful articles of clothing. They suck me in. These particular pants are appropriate for work yet they have the structure of sweatpants. There is an elastic waistband as well as elastic bands around the ankles which is sweatpants but the material is fancy like work pants. My only negative of the pants is that I have dry clean them. I'm not adult enough for dry cleaning. But I'll try.

I discovered a new podcast and it features YouTubers. I am learning sooooo much about the people and the community of YouTube which is fantastic. Rhett and Link know how to keep people talking about their lives and the reason they got in to YouTube. It's inspiring to listen to as well as interesting to learn such intimate details about these people I watch on the daily. 

This needs no explanation. Obviously, it's one of my favorites that I have listened to upwards of 50 times already. Yes. And, yes.

Find things and people and stuff that inspires you and makes you feel pretty. :)

xoxo,

Liz

Boom. Fantasy Football.

Tonight is my fantasy football draft. I'm in one league. It's with work people. Some people are competitive and some just do it for the social aspect of it.

I do it so that I care about the NFL a little more than I used to.

I enjoy watching football. I enjoy watching football more when I have some skin in the game and can brag the next day that my team beat some yo-yo's team. Fantasy football allows me to enjoy football while my status as a Dallas Cowboy fan often disallows me from enjoying football...

There are two things I currently hate/am annoyed by/wish would go away in the NFL. Those two things are:

Tony Romo

&

Johnny Manziel

Both humans can choose to leave football tomorrow and I will rejoice and potentially throw a party. I strongly dislike these two quarterbacks for incredibly different reasons. Tony Romo has been an emotional roller-coaster to my Dallasness. He's so inconsistent. He loves throwing interceptions at just the right moment to send the entire city into cardiac distress. Restaurants and bars have desserts and drink poking fun at Romo and his turnovers. 

The Tony Romo

apple-cinnamon "turnover" with vanilla ice cream ...and we won't fumble it on the way to the table

Cute, Max's Wine Dive. 

And now, that other (for lack of a better word) asshole of a football player, Manziel. He's arrogant and rude and above all, an Aggie. I have no further comment. He's just not a cool dude.

Wish me luck this evening. Often, I get too excited to fill all my starting positions and will be the first to draft both a defense and a kicker. Just deal with it. :)

Hopefully I won't drink too many beers at Hooter's around my fellow league-mates. Also, forgot to mention, I am one of two girls in a league of 20. Don't worry, we have two divisions so I'm just drafting within a group of 10. 

xoxo,

Liz

Some Q&As about Beauty

As much as I try to come up with blog ideas, sometimes my brain turns to mush and I found these Beauty Q&As on Zoella's blog from like the beginning of time so I decided I would try to answer them too! Isn't that fun? Heck yes it is. What is my theme for Thursdays? Throwback? I think this counts. It's from 2009. :)

Via

• What’s your favourite eye shadow colour to wear? Half Baked & Bootycall from the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette. I like neutral colors with gold undertones. 
• What’s the one product you would not leave your house without? I don't leave the house without an EOS lip balm pod thing. Currently I'm rockin' the sweet mint one but I like the lemon one as well. The really fruity ones are often too sweet for me. 
• What’s your favourite makeup look ? Winged eyeliner! I haven't fully figured it out but I want to be awesome at it. I should practice more...
• Which feature do you play up the most? My hair or my boobs. I'm single. Don't judge. 
• Which feature do you try to downplay/cover up? My teeth. I got dealt a fairly annoying genetic mouth situation so there's some plaque and discoloration. Whitestrips can only go so far.
• Your favourite makeup brand, if you could pick only ONE to exist? Urban Decay. I'm obsessed with their palettes and I could learn to love everything they make.
• Which product have you re-purchased OVER and OVER again? Benefit They're Real Mascara because it actually works really well and my eyes look open and feel open after putting it on. I still enjoy trying all of the new drugstore mascaras but so far nothing compares to this magical product. 
• Which product would you NEVER repurchase again and why? Diorshow Black Out Mascara. For the cost, it doesn't live up to the hype. The applicator is bulky and the formula appears clumpy. 
• One beauty treatment you would always PAY to have done? Pedicures. I'm terrified of cutting my own cuticles. I also enjoy someone rubbing my feet. Sooooo relaxing.
• One beauty treatment you would NEVER pay to have done? Fake eyelashes. I'm not the kind of person that needs to have crazy eyelashes every day. If I need more drama, I'm fully capable of putting them on myself. 
• One beauty trick you can share with everyone? Keep Q-Tips handy for touching up around your eyes after putting makeup on. It's really easy to dip one end in makeup remover and use it to get rid of any shadow or liner that appears out of place.
• Best advice you've ever been given regarding beauty and makeup? Wear makeup because YOU want to wear. Not because you're trying to impress a guy or a girl or your mom. Wear it because it makes you feel pretty or put together or confident. Also, moisturize. 

I now tag anyone who reads this post to answer these same questions! What are your favorites? Least favorites? Splurges? 

Now off to Sephora to check out what's new!

xoxo,

Liz

What? July is Almost Over?

Here are my favorites from July!

First, always be protected from the sun. I like this sunscreen because it smells nice and isn't slime-y.

Source

Second, drinking water is essential to not passing out during the summer heat. How do you facilitate drinking water? You get a snazzy new water bottle that has a straw.

Source

Third, clothes for working out. I found two new things to make running in the heat more tolerable. Plus, they're pretty.

Source

FLORAL PATTERN!

Fourth, my one true love, sunglasses. I do sunglasses on the cheap because I'm terrified that I may break or lose expensive things. 

Source

And finally, my fancy favorite for July; Tory Burch 'Macy' Wedges. They're very pretty and quite comfortable in spite of the high heel height. 

Source

Who or what have you been crushing on for the past month? I love things. I love pretty things. 

xoxo,

Liz