InstaChristmas

If you don't follow me on Instagram, you should. 😄 especially right now because I do not have internet! So to say that posting has been a challenge would be an understatement.  I have been uploading a lot of pictures of my Christmas decor and crafts on Instagram from my camera on my iPhone. I wish I could upload some from my Canon, but until I get "reconnected" again, that's not possible.  I hope you all enjoy these few pics of my Christmas decor this year, and if you don't follow me on Instagram, DO IT! @sweetsouthernandsophisticated

**love**

Tessa

Mini Christmas Decor Preview

For about a week now I have been working on getting all of the Christmas decor out at the house.  We are participating in a Christmas Tour of Homes next weekend, so everything has to be perfect!  I have a "to-do" list that I'm crossing off as I go, hopefully that will help me to remember everything.  Stay tuned for a post in the future with the completed Christmas look!

Mani Monday!

From left to right:  INM Out The Door Topcoat ; CND Stickey Base Coat ; CND Solar Oil ; Sally Hansen Gold Roses ; Essie Mink Muffs ; Julep Top Coat (this is a sample size from Sephora) ; Essie Disappearing Trick ; Cuticle Pusher; Revlon Nail File

Hello Everyone!  I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I know I did.. I ate way too much!  I decided to take last week to think about what I wanted to post, when I wanted to post it and most of all if it would interesting to the people reading this.  As you can tell, this post is going to be about what all I use for my manicure routine. 

I used to go to a nail salon and get a manicure every week.  I was convinced that I was terrible at doing my own nails, (which really wasn't true) and so I would go every single week, and pay $12-$15 every week for my nails.  If you haven't already done the math, that's between $624 and $780 per year!  I decided this summer, that this was crazy and that I would figure out a way to do my own nails at home.  And to be honest, I like my manicures better! 

First, I start off by caring for my cuticles.  I have cuticles that grow fast, and I am bad to pick them sometimes.  I apply "Essie's Disappearing Trick" to the base of my nails and let it sit for 5 minutes.  This product is a holy grail product for me.  It literally erases your cuticles in 5 minutes.  

After 5 minutes have passed, I push the cuticles back with my cuticle pusher and I clip any stray cuticles that are still hanging on to the nail bed.  It's very important for a long lasting manicure to have pushed back and well groomed cuticles.  This is going to ensure you're polish stays longer, and your nails will also look longer as a result.  

Then I file my nails.  I RARELY trim them.  I file them down, just because I don't want to have cracks in my nails that can tend to occur when you use clippers to cut them.  After they are filed I will use my buffing block on sides 1 and 2 just to even out and smooth the nail before painting them.  

Then I wash my hands, dry each nail really well, and paint my nails.  One key that I have found to painting my nails and to help the manicure last the longest, is to let your nails dry a bit between coats.  This means, let your base coat dry a little, let your first coat dry a little, so on and so forth.  This will mean less chips post manicure, and your color will turn out better.  Also, small strokes when applying the color to your nail is important.  

If you follow me on Instagram, you saw the picture I posted of my nails painted in the Gold Roses color.  I am OBSESSED with this color for fall.  I think it's a limited edition, I found mine at target, but as always, if you can't find something in store, there's always Amazon. :)

I hope you enjoyed this post.  I will be posting again on Wednesday of this week.  Have an awesome week!

How I Navigate The Blogging World Part 2

As Promised, here is part 2.  While I do follow beauty and fashion blogs, I also follow fitness, crafting, and lifestyle blogs.  Sometimes if you're lucky one blog will feature all of these!

Fitness Blogs:  I use the same principals here that I use when choosing a beauty blog.  I like to follow people with the same health and fitness goals that I have, and I also like simple, and quick tips when it comes to what I look for in a fitness blog.  Another great thing is when the fitness blogger features healthy recipes.  I love to cook, and if I can do it in a healthy way that's even better!

Cooking Blogs:  I tend to follow cooking blogs that feature quick and easy meals.  If you know me, you know how crazy I am about my crock pot.  It's also important to me to know the nutritional value of whatever it is that I cook, so I like when a blog tells that information as well.  And of course, like most women these days, I draw LOTS of inspiration for recipes from Pinterest.  

Crafting Blogs:  I have a confession when it comes to crafting.  I'm pretty terrible at it.  I have awesome ideas, but when it comes to actually "crafting" it, that's where the issue comes.  I think I mainly have a confidence problem when it comes to crafting because I feel the craft won't turn out exactly like I want it.  That's why when I look to follow a crafting blog, their tutorials on projects have to be EXTREMELY CLEAR.  I have to know each and every step, each and every product used, and I need pictures.  Bonus points if there's a You Tube video to go with it.  This also makes me dislike Pinterest at times.  Pinterest is the world's worst for having a pin on their site for a craft tutorial that goes no where! That's really frustrating to me.  So the more clear you are in your crafting tutorial, the better it is (for me at least).  I love rustic decor crafting blogs, and blogs that repurpose things.  I love being able to take what you already have and reuse it for something totally different.  I think it's so cool. 

This concludes my take on how I navigate through the blogging world.  I apologize for being slightly long winded, but I really feel it's important that if you decide to start choosing blogs to read, or even decide to start a blog yourself, that you know what you are looking for.  There's a lot of info out there, just have to weed through it.  I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! Lots of cool stuff coming next week, featuring fashion and beauty!

*Love*
Tessa

How I Navigate the Blogging World Part 1

Let's be real.. There's A LOT of stuff on the internet.  I go to it for lots of answers, inspirations, news, entertainment, pretty much you name it, you can find it on the internet. It's no secret the blogging world is big (read BIG) now a days, and if you are interested in fashion, beauty, crafting, or cooking (oh my!) it can be quite overwhelming deciphering what you're reading, if a certain look will work for you, or if this craft will really pan out like Pinterest says it will.  Since I read a lot of different blogs, mainly for inspiration, I thought it might be fun to let you all know how I scan each blog, and decide what I want to try, do, or make!

Beauty Vlogs/Blogs:

These are tricky.  Most anything beauty will be "Vlogged" which means that most strict beauty bloggers will have a You Tube channel to show tutorials and reviews on the most current beauty products and trendy makeup looks.  When I am looking for a beauty insider to follow, I like to learn a bit more about them from their blog/vlog posts, and see if they are like me in any way.  For example, if I am looking into finding a great hair blog/vlog, I don't want to watch one that features a blonde blogger with dry hair.  The products she uses will not be beneficial to me, as I have slightly oily, dark hair.  While her tutorials and reviews may be great, I won't be able to relate, so I won't waste time watching her tutorials, or reading her reviews.  If I am looking to buy one of the products mentioned in a vlog, I like to see if the other vloggers I follow have similar raves about the product before I purchase it.  This helps to dodge an impulse purchase and buyer's remorse (because believe me, these beauty vloggers do some SERIOUS shopping).

Fashion Blogs:

My favorite :)  I use a slightly different approach when deciding which fashion blogs I want to follow.  If I like your style, I will follow you.  I tend to be drawn to the more preppy style blogs, just because I like the buttoned up look.  I do follow a few that have a more ethereal, hippie style, because let's be honest, who doesn't love Free People or Anthropolgie.  Most bloggers that I follow wear all the name brand stuff (which I cannot afford :) )  I like to draw inspiration from them, and try to find similar pieces for cheaper.  Especially if it's a trendy piece.  There are lots of fashion blogs out there, but I think if you know what your style is, or what style you are looking to achieve you can find some great ones to draw inspiration from.  

Check out my "Weekly Reads" page to see some of my favorites!

I will be posting Part 2 of this sometime this week.  I also read crafting, cooking, and fitness blogs, so stay tuned for my thoughts on those!  Hope everyone is having a great week!

*Love*

Tessa

Happenings of the past year...

It has DEFINITELY been a while!  I have had one crazy year, between moving to and from Knoxville and Crossville and back again, it's safe to say that my world has been slightly scattered.  Therefore, my blog was put on the back burner unfortuately.  I sincerely apologize, but there just wasn't time, along with being unsettled, living in about 4 different places, being involved, yada yada, you get the picture.  I have FINALLY reached a time where I feel like I can start back in on my blog again.  Yay!  This is very exciting for me because I have most definitely missed blogging, and sharing stuff about fashion, makeup, crafting, and life in general.  I look to start back posting at least 2 times per week, and hopefully work up to 3-4 posts per week.  So just stick with me! and I hope you enjoy!  I decided since this is technically my "welcome back" post, that I share with you some of the things I have been into the past year.  I hope you enjoy and I look forward to posting more for you very soon!

Saw this guy in concert.... a lot... I know at least 3 times.. he's my favorite! (I now own that shirt too :)  Nothing Too Fancy in Knoxville has this shirt and tons of other cool vintage tees and accessories)

Landon and I went to Steeplechase in Nashville this year.  We had such a great time, and I loved getting to dress up and wear a big fancy hat!  Don't we look sharp?!

One of the weddings we attended this summer :)

Bella was ready for the lake this year, we REALLY wanted to take her this year, but we didn't get a chance to.. hopefully next year. 

HOWEVER,  she did get to put her life jacket to use in the pool!  and....she hated every minute of being in the water... isn't she just the cutest?!

Just a random pic of our hibiscus plant from this summer.  They stayed beautiful and full until the end of October, when it started to turn colder here in TN.  I was proud at how well they grew and how vibrant their colors were.

We spent lots of our summer here....and that's a boat plane... yep..

Bella won first place in the costume contest at the pet show at the fair.  She then went on to win Best of Show!  I was a very proud mom...She did all of this on National Dog Day as well, which was pretty cool!

My sweet, hard working, and beautiful grandmother went to be with Jesus this year on September 3rd.  She was 87 years young, and my last living grandparent.  I admired her in so many ways, and I miss her everyday.  

Our big trip so far this year was to Los Angeles and Las Vegas.  We had been to Vegas one time before, but had never been to LA.  These pics were taken at Malibu Beach.  We had such a good time and great friends for company!

I celebrated my 27th birthday this year.  I definitely feel older....

We attended the UT vs. GA game, even though we ended up losing, the Vols never gave up the fight.  It was good to see the team working together and being so pumped about a game again.  Felt like the old times.  I'm so proud of how far Tennessee has came this year as far as football is concerned.  Brick by Brick!

Landon and I took a day trip to Rock City and Ruby Falls in Chattanooga in October.  So glad we finally got to "See Rock City!"

Then came the UT vs. South Carolina game..... and WE WON!  Such a great game and a definite emotional win... good times....

A little chalkboard art....which I may be dabbling into some more this winter... 

I can now mark this off my bucket list... Landon got tickets for us to see Alabama at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.  Alabama is one of my all time favorite country bands, and one of the people I wished to see in concert... Such an awesome show!

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of my randomness in pictures.. Stay tuned for another blog post this week! 

Love&Light,

Tessa