Amelia's Last Farewell

Disclaimer: This post is about Doctor Who. If you haven't seen the most recent episode, The Angels Take Manhattan, stop reading now. Hell, stop watching now. Stop everything related to Doctor Who now because it's gonna ruin your life and you will be an emotional wreck and never want to do anything ever again.


This line. This wrecked me. This show just...oh my god. It pulls you in every direction, up, down, through space and time, from light to dark, happy to immeasurably sad, and then at the end it leaves you with questions and lack of explanations and this giant void in your chest that keeps you coming back. Fuck. Every companion change so far has left me so emotionally exhausted that I just...couldn't do anything for the entire rest of the day after watching the episode. I know it's kinda unhealthy probably to have fictional characters affect me this way, but I think it's the sign of good writing and good acting that I feel like I could know these characters. They could be real and if I knew them and their story, I would be emotionally invested in them. Man, this show is just so good. There's so much depth to the plot and the characters. It's brilliant. I take back what I said in my disclaimer, watch it. It'll be the best emotional trauma of your life.

Tea Tree Oil

Around some time in April, one of my friends introduced me to the Tea Tree line of products from The Body Shop. Now, I've gotta say that I haven't tried them all (as all together they come out a bit pricey for my poor college budget), but the ones I have tried have been amazing!

The face wash always leaves my face feeling clean and fresh (and has that kind of cool tingly feeling, which I love). It does a pretty decent job of washing off makeup and I've been using it multiple times a day and it hasn't been drying out my skin, which was a major problem I had with other skin-clearing lines. And then the lotion is just as good. I've found a little goes a long way, and it doesn't leave my skin feeling oily or cake-y later. I wish it had a little spf in it, but that's it. Also, it's travel size so you can bring it along on trips! So A+ and A.

Tea tree oil is supposed to be a natural antibiotic and anti-inflammatory, and though I wouldn't use it every day (it's strong!), it's certainly been doing wonders for making prominent blemishes look less so. I'm still trying to find a good balance with this stuff though. Too often makes my skin feel dry, but not often enough makes it feel like it's not as effective. We'll see. B

I sampled this at first because I was a little hesitant to buy a giant tub of mask if I wasn't totally sure I was going to like it, but this mask has been wonderful! As with the other products, it feels kind of tingly, a little goes a long way, and my skin feels extremely refreshed after I use it! I always notice a decrease in redness after that I haven't always seen with other products. A+

Disclaimer: I am not being paid or compensated in any way by anyone for my review of this product. All opinions are my own.

Farewell, JM

This was an eventful and fun weekend for me! I was at a conference in DC, saw an old friend for the first time in a long time, and had my first Bojangles experience (for all you southerners)! But along with all the fun, I got some sad news. My favorite band, Jack's Mannequin, announced that they are breaking up.

If you've been reading this blog for a long while, you might remember this post, in which I profess my love and convey the story of how "we" started. If you've been around for a shorter while, you might remember that I celebrate my Dark Blue-versary for the song that changed me and has grown with me as I've grown. In any case, what you need to know is that I am madly, hopelessly, completely enamored of Jack's Mannequin and their music, and it pains me much to see them split. I'm glad that it's an amicable split, and I will follow Andrew McMahon's music to the end of the Earth no matter which direction he goes, but I feel like this is the sad end to another member of my Holy Trinity. If Harry Potter made my childhood, Jack's Mannequin made my adolescence. With them I became an adult and a woman and though November is the end for them, it'll never be the end of them for me. It seems fitting to end on one of my favorite lyrics, "There's no shame in drifting, feel the tide shifting and wait for the spark."

Tuesday Tunes!

It's that time again!

1. "Run This Town (DJs From Mars Mashup)" - Jay-Z ft. Rihanna & Kanye West vs. Bach
2. "A Better Son/Daughter" - Rilo Kiley
3. "The Rain" - Missy Elliott
4. "Payphone" - Maroon 5 ft. Wiz Khalifa
5. "Drive By" - Train

Butterfly Wall

Apologies for the absence! That thing with spilling coffee on my computer turned out to be a bigger deal, and my computer spent the long weekend being fixed (for free though!) while I visited a friend! Perhaps I haven't mentioned, but my new room is huge. As such, I've been trying to find things to put on my very large, very white walls that can be done on basically $0 budget. One of my solutions was borrowed (read: blatantly pilfered) from a dear college suitemate who made these all the time, so here goes, picto style.

Square paper (I used magazines) in two sizes, folded in half.

Zig-zag fold both pieces.

Cut a small piece of thin wire.

Align the points of both pieces and tie with wire.

Leave a little piece so you can tape it up, and pull edges to fan out.

My new wall! Might add some more as time permits!

Let me know what you think!