Moss Chic.

As you can clearly see, I struggled with a title for this one. I also struggle without a nice camera but you work with what you get when you are young and broke right? So I apologize about the crappy quality of my pics.

Back to my original post though. Summer is the time to be outside in the ridiculously hot sun. Apparently, in the summer you are suppose to do things called 'hiking' and 'camping.' Being an indoor sort of person, I don't do either of these things. Ever. But seeing as I am anti-nature, I still get inspired by it even if it is from a distance. So today's look is pictured left! <----- And yes, I know you guys all know your left and rights but I still wanted to put an arrow. So take that. Anyhow, back to the point. (Man I am so spazzy today. Sorry guys!) I combined a jade green shadow with a dark brown shadow to create my eye makeup today! I have been favoring this look lately because its really easy and it looks fabulous on hazel eyes! I also made up an outfit for you since its been a while.

What you need:
-dark brown eye shadow
-jade green eye shadow
-black or brown eyeliner
-black or brown mascara

1. Take the green and cover the lid from lash line to crease.
2. Load your brush with the brown and sweep all along your crease.
3. Blend.
4. Apply liner to the waterlines.
5. Curl your eyelashes and smother them in mascara.

Pictured right, --->(yes another arrow,) is the outfit I wore with this makeup. I had cuffed jean shorts, a brown babydoll blouse, brown gladiator sandals and a bold necklace to balance out the open neckline.

What title would you put for this post? Because obviously my title is lacking. Also, did you try out this look? Comments and questions are always welcomed!

Love, Mika.

My Take

To follow up on Mika's post... Maybe I'm just super Mormon... haha. But really I kinda have to agree and disagree on some accounts. A) Not everyone in Utah is Marriage hungry. And marrying young isn't always bad. I honestly think that when you know, you know. But there are definitely a lot of people who try to get married too fast, and maybe for the wrong reasons. Marriage and relationships are serious business. Very serious. They deal with emotions and trust and honesty and things that can make or break people easier than almost anything else. I think the biggest problem is that people take it all too lightly. Like it's all fairytales and happiness, when really relationships are hard. The truth is, it's a lot of work, but work that's worth it if you try hard enough.
Don't be so stressed about not dating or being married that you settle for something you don't want, get yourself into something you never bargained for, or fight for a relationship that isn't actually worth it to you. That's when things get ugly. Take time. Take lots of time. You have to build relationships. If you haven't invested time in getting to know the person, it's not a relationship, it's an obsession. If you expect it to be easy, wake up. IT'S NOT EASY! People say not to become roommates with your best friends because it destroys relationships. Marriage, is like moving in with your best friend, plus extra commitment... That means when there's a fight you can't just drive off in your car and talk to mom. You can't go run to your boyfriend/girlfriend, because that's who you just fought with. You have to be super selfless and willing to work things out and you have to remember that no matter how hard it gets you love the person, and you are willing to fight for that. It's NOT easy. And lots of things are going to go wrong. Some things, you can fix. Some things you can work around, and some things are permanent. So be careful.
I'm not saying you should be afraid of getting married. I know I make it sound dreadful and overwhelming. That's not what I'm trying to do. What I'm trying to do, is say that I don't necessarily think there is one age that is better than another for getting married. I think it's about being prepared to fight for what you love. Being willing to go through hard  times because you love someone so much that you know it will be worth it when you come out the other side. And remember this is all easier said than done. Because right now it's all just words of logic, but when you are in a relationship there is emotional attachment and all kinds of other elements of relationships getting in the way.
It's not easy. But if it's worth it, make it work. It's not a matter of age, preparation may play into it a little. I do think you have to reach a certain level of maturity before you can handle it. But overall I think it just comes from a determination to make things work. That's all.
And lastly, keep in mind, that occasionally it is out of your control. Do your best and if things still go wrong, it's not your fault, and eventually it will probably work out for the better.
I love you all! Please share your thoughts.
Love, Kaeli

P.S. For those of you who care to see a more detailed idea of how I feel about this whole subject. It's all on my blog. Here ya go. The post is called "How to find Happily Ever After." http://kaeliwrites.blogspot.com/2011/02/how-to-find-happily-ever-after.html

Til Death Do Us Part.

So today’s post is a little controversial and I wasn’t all too sure how I wanted to go about it so I’m just going to go for it! Lately, love is in the air and a lot of my friends have been getting married/having children. This means:

A. The population is steadily rising and,

B. My friends who are still single are now either wedding crazy or incredibly depressed... or both. Mostly both.

I was realizing this the other day and decided that I was going to do a post on the matter because it is one of the few things I have a strong opinion about. Now, don’t get me wrong, if you want to/are already got married at a young age or whatever, more power to you! It is completely your choice and please don’t take offense to what I am stating. I’m simply just expressing my opinion.

After ten years of living in Utah, I realized nearly everyone here is OBSESSED with getting married as fast as they possibly can. And it’s not just the girls. It’s the boys as well. I always have friends express their exasperation about being single, being marriage hungry, ect. And I think to myself, “You are (insert age starting in a 1 here!) How could you possibly want to settle down already??” Not only do they get married young, they get engaged/married within 6 months of MEETING each other. Now personally, I don’t understand how you could know someone that well after only half a year. I mean crap. They could be a serial killer and you would have no idea. But seeing how Utah is a major LDS (Mormon) state, I guess it makes perfect sense to most of the people here. This state was built on that religion so it does play a huge role in what the young minds of Utah think. The LDS religion is really big into family and eternal marriage. I just feel as if the entire goal in Utah is to get married and start a family as soon as they possibly can.

Personally, I wanted to wait. If I lived in a perfect world where I was in charge, I wouldn’t get married or I would get married from in between 25 and 27 and have a family at 30. I want a career established first and then possibly create a family. I got married at 21. That is young. But Kyle and I knew each other since freshmen year and had been dating for a year and a half before we got married. And we eloped. Best decision ever. Unfortunately, I had already bought a dress before then so now I have to have a recieption so I can wear it. 

Now I will admit, I record every episode of Say Yes to the Dress and Four Weddings and watch them religiously. I get extremely giddy at weddings and during click flicks because I really am a hopeless romantic. It is really embarrassing actually. And I’m not going to lie to you, I look ridiculous sitting there with a stupid grin on my face. I realize this totally contradicts my previous paragraph! I think I like watching people more than actually doing it myself. But as much as I love watching my shows, I never wanted to get married young. It scared me to death! But I lived and I love Kyle so it works. I still want to go out and travel the world do humanitarian projects. I don’t feel like I can do that if I have to worry about taking care of a family so hopefully I can do that before babies.

 

Just make sure it is the right person. A lifetime is a long time to live with that decision! And if you are Mormon, it’s even longer. I only think divorce should be used in special cases such as abuse, addiction, cheating and such so my marriage better work out because I am not a fan of divorce. I’ve had a lot of abusive relationships, which doesn’t help my skittishness. My rap sheet isn’t too good either which might contribute to my uneasiness. My relationships are an average of 2 months long. I tend to date people who are marriage hungry. Oops. Not kidding, 4 out of the 6 guys I’ve dated have wanted to marry me after one month. One month! (I am not too sure why they think I’m such marriage material because I really am not. But whatever.) After so many near/actual proposals, I tend to freak out when the month mark hits cause that is when the question usually creeps up. (P.S. Kyle waited a year to ask because I told him straight up that I would say no if it was before that.)

Ya know, you don’t need a significant other to complete your life. Yes, sometimes they are nice to have around and that is perfectly fine. But I don’t want any of you to base your entire level of happiness upon whether or not you have a ‘love life.’ If you do that, you aren’t truly happy. You need to love yourself before you can love anyone else.

What is your opinion on this? You know my stance on it, I want to see what everyone else thinks! Comment, email or use facebook to leave your thoughts on it. Also, let me know what your story is so I may research this a little further: married at age 22/met in college, single and proud, looking for a man, ect. Thanks guys! You are all so fantastic!

Love, Mika.

A Decade Worth of Memories.

I was thinking about it the other day and realized, Kaeli and I will be celebrating our ten year anniversary this August! CRAZY. (And after all these years, you would think we would have a picture with us together but alas. I failed at locating one.) I moved about a lot as a child. No, my father was not in the military, we just like moving or something. This makes her my oldest friend that I still hang out with! But basically she, along with my one other friend, were the first ones I met here in Utah and then managed to maintain a good relationship. So I am doing a post just for her! Oh ok and the rest of my lovely ladies who read this blog. :)

So, Kaeli has these big, beautiful brown eyes that I absolutely love. Plus, she has this skin that is phenomenal. So I wanted to do a makeup look that embodied her fun, outdoorsy and hopeless romantic side but also complimented her skin and eyes. The Perfect Makeup=Personality+Complimentary Colors. (If only we learned that in Chemistry.) No matter what trend or style you want to rock, make sure you put a bit of yourself into it. Otherwise, you will be a little cookie cutter and no one wants that! Now, I shall proceed with instruction for this Gold and Brown look!

What you need:
-gold eyeshadow
-dark brown or a bronze eyeshadow
-peachy/rose shimmer eyeshadow
-plum pencil eyeliner
-black mascara
-fluffy blending brush
-dark pink blush
- your favorite eye shadow brush
-peachy/pink lipstick
-nude lip liner
-brown eyeliner/brow corrector

Step 1:
Apply the gold color from the lash line to the crease.


Step 2:
Put the dark brown in the crease. Slightly wing it out. Step 3:
Next blend them together a little so they seem more smooth. Then, take the rose colored or a peachy shimmer shadow and apply to the imside corners of the eyes and right up to the brow bone.Step 4:
Line your lower water line with the plum colored eyeliner. You may apply to the top above the lashes as well if you want a little more drama. If you do, I would wing it out as well, but only slightly. I also added a little mauve shadow to the bottom lashes just to bring out the plum a little.Step 5:
Top off with your favorite mascara. Curl your eyelashes as well!

On the left, we have Kaeli with her default smile face. She is rarely seen without it! On the right, I made her stop giggling so you can see the makeup better.












Step 6:
For foundation, I like to just use powder with this look. Now highlight your cheeks with the blush. But remember, unless you are taking pics, go easy on it. :)
I paired this look with a pink shirt and jean capris. Flats are fantastic and if you don't have a pair yet, get some. Seriously, it is a wardrobe basic. Who is your oldest friend and how did you meet? Also, did you try out this look? I love it for summer! It gives me a sunset vibe. Thanks for reading guys!

Love, Mika.

YESSSSSSSSS!

Okay people who may or may not think I am pathetically out of shape, here's the deal: Regardless of what you think I am proud of myself and excited. I ran 1.1 miles. Outside. Tonight. Up til now I have only been running .5 miles. I am getting better! YEAH! Also I played some soccer tonight. I'm not very good at soccer. But I played :) and I actually kicked the ball a few times. It was fun. I got a job at Subway. I work sometimes in the mornings and sometimes til 11:30 at night, so it's getting harder to keep a consistent running schedule and I'm having to get creative with my times and types of exercise, but I am definitely improving. How is everyone else doing?
-Kaeli
p.s. I'm 1/3 of the way to a 5k!

True Love.

Even supermodels get insecure and have body image distortion. From time to time, I get self conscience and I struggle a little with my new face. Now when I say 'new face,' I am not referring to plastic surgery. (I have never had any elective surgery such as a nose job or boob job ever! And I don't really plan on getting any.) Last year, I had a very... insane experience involving an escaped convict and a cinder block to the right side of my face. I will most likely post the entire story at some point so you'll just have to be patient until then! So anyway, back to the point of this post.

I sometimes get down on myself because of my new look. Its hard having a new face after 19 years of having the same one. And don't get me wrong, I have done really well with it considering all that has happened! But I am still human so I have my moments. This week I have been thinking about it quite a bit/obsessing with my old facebook profile pictures. (Stupid facebook. It is so obnoxious!) Anyhow, I was laying in bed one night and thinking about it and perusing givesmehope.com, when a memory popped into my head that made me think twice about my moping.

A few months after my run in with death, I was sitting at my dinner table just crying by myself. The kids were in bed and my parents were away. I was doodling to pass the time and had drawn a picture of my new face with my name under it. It was a little bit exaggerated but for the most part, it was pretty accurate. I went to the bathroom to clean up my awful tear streaked makeup and so I had left my picture on the table. When I came back, my younger sister Ayumi, had wrote, "is beautiful" right after my name... which sent me right back into another fit of hysterics. That simple little gesture of love STILL means the world to me. I don't even think she realized how much I appreciate it.

Everyone has moments of self loathing. It happens. When you do, make sure you have a person who makes you feel happy. It does not have to be a 'significant other' either. Don't have anyone? email me. I will gladly help you talk it out. Now, if you have these moments all the time, please do some re-evaluating. You ARE beautiful. Homework time! Make a list of everything you like physically about yourself. You have to have at least 5 items on your list. Next, write a list of all the personality traits you like about yourself. Again, you need five things. Now, take the list and post it on your mirror. DO IT. Right now.

So, do you have any experiences similar to mine? We will add them on here. Also, check out givesmehope.com! Its like FML but for optimists :) I really do love this site. I visit it when I'm feeling a bit down. And remember, there is more to beauty than looks.

Love, Mika.

Getting in Shape. Update.

So I'm actually running outside now! And going a little further than half a mile. Just under 7/10 I know it sounds pretty pathetic, but I'm making progress. Anybody else out there still working with us? How's it going?
-Kaeli