→ 25 Before 26

I took this during Sasebo's Cherry Blossom festival in March!

This year I really want to focus on getting out there, exploring Japan, and experiencing more, as well as self-care and practicing more self-love. It's been a very difficult several months and I'd like to push myself and try to enjoy things whether or not I'm anxious or depressed.

1. Make at least one video for my YouTube channel.
I totally failed on this one last year. I think I'm just afraid (and a bit unmotivated) and I've been putting this off, but it's something that I really want to do!
2. Get rid of unwanted clothing and accessories.
I partially accomplished this, but not enough to make me happy. I'm still hoarding clothing from before gaining 60lbs (thanks to birth control when I moved out here) and I shouldn't be, but it's so difficult to do so because I feel like I'm throwing away hundreds of dollars! Ugh.
3. Wear orange lipstick.
4. Go shopping in Fukuoka.
There's a ton of shopping in Fukuoka: MAC, Ikea, Forever 21, etc... This one is only hard because Fukuoka is over an hour away and traveling makes me nervous.
5. Visit the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum.
6. Try Japanese cosmetics.
7. Visit a shrine.
There are a handful of shrines near base housing and I'd be really bummed when I leave Japan if I never got to visit a shrine.
8. Start the How to Be a Fat Bitch E-Course.
9. Try a cream blusher.
10. Perfect the art of glitter brows.
11. Perfect the art of colored brows.
12. Play a drinking game.
13. Finish a puzzle.
14. Watch at least 40 movies I've never seen before.
I'm really good at watching television. I love being able to multitask, but 99% of the time, I'm watching a TV show vs a movie. I normally only watch movies at a friend's house or I have a friend over to my house. I don't know why, but it is what it is. I have hundreds of movies in my netflix queue as well as in our movie collection.
Current progress: 6 - Groundhog Day, Spaceballs, The Emperor's New Groove, Captain America: The First Avenger, Thor: The Dark World, & Captain America: The Winter Soldier
15. Start up my in-house bakery.
I finally decided on a name, all I need to do now is bake!
16. Enroll in college.
I'm twenty-five and I am so bad at making decisions! Plus I just feel so flustered when I'm looking at college websites. On top of all of that, I have to go through another party to enroll. It's just all so overwhelming.
17. Visit Hirado.
18. Read at least 20 books.
I'm halfway through Find Me by Carol O'Connell, the ninth book in the Mallory's Oracle series.
19. Read at least 10 comics/graphic novels.
I just purchased a few trade paperbacks: Catwoman Volume 1, Saga Volume 1, Chew Volume 1, and Ghost World. Hooray!
20. Try out cosmetics from 5 new indie brands.
21. Buy a Givenchy lipstick.
22. Go to Milky Way Farms.
23. Go bowling.
24. Do some crafting.
25. Do a spending ban.

What are some of your goals right now? Also, what are your favorite books/comics/movies (so I can add them to my list if I haven't read or seen them before)?


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→ Life Update & 24 Before 25 Outcome

My birthday presents from the hubby! I'm a 25 year old child.

I'm twenty-five now and I didn't do a great job with my 24 before 25 list. This past year my mental health has been the worst it has ever been. Well, to be fair, it wasn't the whole year, but it was the majority. I'm mostly blaming my (now crippling) anxiety on my quitting smoking. I relied on cigarettes much more than I ever thought I did. This past month I left my apartment twice. I'd really like to work on doing more things and trying to get out of my comfort zone. Anyway, with that said, here's the outcome of my 24 before 25.

1. Start my YouTube channel.
2. Be happy with my hair.
I loved my half/half hair the second and third time around!
3. Get rid of unwanted clothing and accessories.
4. Wear orange lipstick.
5. Curl my hair.
6. Visit the aquarium.
It was awesome. I really want to go again though since I was feeling awful when I went in June.
7. Go shopping in Fukuoka.
8. Visit the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum.
9. Try Japanese cosmetics.
10. Bake something from scratch.
I did this a whole lot!
11. Get my couponing all sorted.
I'll probably need to go through them again soon, but that's the nature of couponing.
12. Get another tattoo/start Sailor Moon half-sleeve.
13. Visit a shrine.
14. Make something.
I put together my makeup storage... I think that's why I crossed this off. I'm sure I made something else, but I can't remember! Wompwomp.
15. Set up a space for my shoes.
It's not perfect, but I don't have all of my shoes out here. We bought a little cupboard and I stashed my shoes inside (and on top) of it in our living room closet.
16. Do my nails more. At least once, come on, you're a beauty blogger - get it together!
I did my nails several times! Unfortunately now that I have a baking business, I can't really have nail polish on if I don't want to wear gloves, but that's okay. I can still buff and file them.
17. Buy a YSL lipstick.
I got this done pretty close to when I made the list. I think I'll be treating myself to more luxury makeup.
18. Marathon all of the Die Hard movies (again).
I think the hubby and I did this around Christmas time? Die Hard is definitely a Christmas movie! (Don't ask my husband though cos he doesn't agree...)
19. Start the How to Be a Fat Bitch E-Course.
20. Do the Japanese Rosetta Stone.
21. Try a cream blusher.
22. Perfect the art of glitter brows.
23. Play a drinking game.
24. Make funfetti brownies.
I finally made a batch that cooked through! Hooray!

All in all, I'm happy with what I achieved under the circumstances.

On a different note, I've also been sick for the past month or so and my insomnia is going strong, so I apologize for my lack of posts. I'm currently being treated for my lack of sleep and my doctor and I are going to work on a few other things for my handful of health issues. Hooray!

In light of that, I'm looking forward to doing a ton of new things this year and I'll be doing my best to getting back into the makeup and blogging swing of things.

What have you accomplished lately?


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To Do List: 2014

Here's a lovely picture of Magenta totally enjoying her Halloween costume. You're welcome.

December 2013 Goal Updates

→ Keep up with a normal sleep schedule
Ugh, I don't know. I was doing alright, but then I wasn't. So, for all intents and purposes, we'll say I didn't achieve that goal.

→ Bake
Yes ma'am! I made Toll House Chocolate Chip cookies (soooo many!) and a Turtle Brownie thing.

→ Organize hallway closet
Nope. BUT, I was pretty sure that I wouldn't get around to doing this until early 2014 since I wanted to make sure that we had the Christmas stuff all packed up. I don't think this one was a fail, but just not really a good goal for December. Haha.

→ Decorate the apartment
Yep! Check out my awesome Christmas decorations here!

→ Plan a giveaway
I definitely have some things up my sleeve for this year. I'm excited for ya'll! Js.

→ Blog more often
I didn't blog more of my usual blog nonsense, but I think I did nicely with my Countdown to Kitschmas series.

→ Read a full book
Wow. I am disappoint. I have so many books that I'm dying to read, but nope, I did not read even one book in December. Wompwomp.

→ Decide on my next hair transformation
I'm pretty dead-set on keeping my half/half, but doing white and black instead of continuing with blue and pink. Unfortunately I haven't heard back from my friend who does my hair out here and the other lady who has an in-house salon doesn't have the necessary things, so... I'm probably going to ruin my hair by doing it myself.

→ Marathon the Die Hard movies again
You betcha! We watched the first two movies on Christmas (cos they're the Christmas ones) and finished up with movies three, four, and five the next day.

→ Curl my hair
I haven't even opened up my curling iron. Oops.

---

→ Explore Kyushu
I have two more years in Japan and I want to be able to say that I saw things and went places while I was living here.

→ Cook more
So far, so good. My goal is to do at least one home cooked meal a week and I've been cooking more than not since the beginning of the year!

→ Start in-home business
My AMAZING husband got me a Kitchenaid Stand Mixer so I can start selling baked goods while we're out here. I hate having to only rely on Ryan's paycheck, plus I love to bake, so it's a win/win!

→ Keep the apartment more organized
I feel like my space is a mess and I never feel calm when things are messy.

→ Enact makeup spending ban
I need to "shop my stash" and review all of the makeup I haven't gotten to yet!

→ Yoga
I actually went to my first physical therapy appointment this morning and I'll be doing daily stretches. I'd like to upgrade to actual yoga at some point. I loved yoga when I was a teenager and I need more zen in my life.

→ Budget better & save more
Ryan and I just redid our budget at the beginning of the new year; saving more and spending less!

→ Start therapy again?
Hm. I'm still not 100% on this one yet, but I figured that I would put it on the list.

→ Start using a blog calendar/organizer instead of just making lists
I bought a binder and filled it full of organize-y printables and I'm super excited. Js.

→ Reorganize blog
I'm thinking of launching a personal blog and turning Kitsch Vixen into just a beauty/fashion blog. I'll post more about that later!

What are your plans for 2014?



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December 2013 Goals

#TBT: When Ryan and I went to Elendan Gardens on Halloween of 2010. This was right before he proposed!

During November, I didn't make a list of goals and unfortunately I didn't accomplish much at all in October. My anxiety has been going up and down a whole bunch in the past few months, but I'm hoping that in December I can channel that energy into completing the stuff on this list!

Keep up with a normal sleep schedule
So far, it's not so good. Along with not accomplishing much, my anxiety has also been negatively affecting my ability to sleep (more than usual). I was told by a friend that I should pretty much just sleep when I'm tired and eventually my body should be able to regulate my schedule again. That's now my plan. I may change this goal to "revert back to a normal sleep schedule," but for now I'll keep it as is.
Bake
I really do enjoy baking, and what's a better time to do it than the holidays?! I'm thinking cookies and pies, for sure.
Organize hallway closet
Our hallway closet is a mess. We pretty much just have bits and bobs thrown in there, but since it's a super large closet with shelves and everything, it's going to get overwhelming soon if we don't figure out a system for it. I figure this will be at the end of the month when we need to pack up our Christmas stuff.
Decorate the apartment
Hooray for this being our first Christmas living in our own place together! We can't really go all out like we'd like to because of budgeting (since we literally are starting at zero Christmas decorations), but even just stringing up some lights, adding a wreath to the door, and putting together the tree will do!
Plan a giveaway
I've been storing some things away for my next giveaway and I'd like to do one before the end of this year!
Blog more often
Again, this is something very much affected by my anxiety. I've been planning out posts and taking pictures of things, but I need to get everything together. I'm working on a bunch of holiday-themed stuff for Kitsch Vixen right now though! (It hasn't all been my anxiety! I've been having trouble with lighting in my pictures, my skin acting weird, the skin tag under my eye, and still trying to perfect close up shots without a close up lens for my camera. This month will be better, I'm optimistic!)
Read a full book
I might cheat on this goal since I'm expecting a few cute holiday books. Depending on how many things I plan to do for the blog and how everything pans out, I may not have the time to get through a full length novel (I'll also blame the fact that I'm marathoning Charmed). If that's what ends up happening, I'll definitely still read a book, whether it be a super short one or a makeup book that I'm partially through already!
Decide on my next hair transformation
I'm debating whether I should keep on with the pink and blue or change it up the next time I go to get my hair done. Half black and half white has really been my dream hair for years, but I know from experience how much of a pain black can be to get out of hair if/when I want to change it up again. What do you guys think?!
Marathon the Die Hard movies again
Yep. I think I know what I'm doing on Christmas Eve! Haha.
Curl my hair
This and the previous goal are both from my 24 Before 25 list. I think that Christmas would be a great time to actually style my hair instead of just quickly brushing it and throwing it into a bun like I always do.

So, what are your goals this month?



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October 2013 Goals

Oh hey, it's an R2D2 mail droppy thing near my house!

These were my goals for September:
Let my eyebrows grow in so they can be reshaped.
I let them grow out until the 29th and then reshaped them!
Have at least one video done and uploaded onto my YouTube channel.
This didn't happen. Unfortunately my skin broke out like mad in September and I actually didn't wear makeup at all throughout the entire month. With that being said, I really didn't want my first video to be shot with no makeup and on top of that have my skin looking and feeling the worst it ever has.
Figure out how to use my new camera.
I think that I'm satisfied enough to cross this off. I've got most of the basics down.
Do my nails at least once.
Not gonna lie, I literally just got done painting my nails.
Buy a YSL lipstick.
It's on its way through the post right now!
Make funfetti brownies.
This I totally did, but had to throw away a big part of the middle. I'm tweaking the recipe and will be remaking it (and posting about my experiences) soon.
Make an appointment to get contacts.
At my followup appointment for the medication (see below), I asked my doctor to refer me. That's all I really could do because medical out here is ridiculous and you have to go through your primary care physician if you want to see any other type of doctor.
Start taking my medication that I was prescribed in early August.
Yep. Had the followup and everything. It's making me too drowsy to function like a human person though, so we'll see how that goes...
Finish Stone Angel by Carol O'Connell.
I finished this book super early on in the month. It took me two sit-downs to read and was probably my favorite so far in the series.

I think 8 out of 9 is awesome and I'm super proud of myself! I'm really liking this "goal making" thing, so here goes what I want to accomplish in October:

• For real start my YouTube channel.

I finally decided on what I want to film for my first video and I'm actually hoping to do it tomorrow, but I'm putting this up here because sometimes I'm bad at doing things.

• Paint my nails again.

I think I'm going to try to make this at least a monthly thing, if not weekly.

• Make a better batch of funfetti brownies.

I'm hellbent on getting the proportions right! I bought a different mix of brownies that has a closer baking time to the cake, so I'm hoping it turns out better this time.

• Put up listings for at least some of my ill-fitting clothing and shoes on my storenvy.

I have a whole closet full of clothing that no longer fits me (some things I've never even worn) and I just need to get rid of all of my excess belongings.

• Prepare for NaNoWriMo.

I was super unprepared last year and and only got about halfway done with my word count. I'd like to beat last year's word count this time around if I can. I'm bummed that I left my references in the states though. Womp womp.

• Wear fake lashes at least once.

I've not mastered the application technique, so this one will definitely be a doozy!

That's all I have for the upcoming month. Hopefully I'll be spending a whole lot of time taking/editing pictures for the blog, writing posts, and filming/editing videos in October!

What are you goals for next month?

xox

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