Friday, November 4, 2011

Being Cheap for the Holidays


Every year the holiday season seems to fly by, and come January, I always find myself wishing I would have had more time to enjoy the transition of fall into winter. This year, I knew I had to make a change; I didn't want history to repeat it's self and leave me feeling like I had bad holiday mojo. 

As I thought of different ways to soak up the holiday spirit, one thing came to mind that I instantly thought should do the trick! I thought, "hmm where is the place that I spend most of my time?" Thats easy-my room! I relax, read, listen to music, write, play guitar and just take time to chill out in my room every day and have some me time. So maybe if I decorated my own personal space for the seasons this year, that I would absorb all of the features of the holidays. So off I went to decorate.

You may be thinking, it costs money to decorate! And I actually thought the same thing before I went. This is where I fell in love with The Dollar Store. As you can see in the picture above, on my little shelf above my dresser, there is two glass candy jars. Those were both only a dollar! I got into my art box and pulled out some brown ribbon and tied a bow around each one and then found some little sparkly pumpkins and acorns to fill them with. 

If you look at the top left of the photo, you see my square shelf with two tall glass candle holders. Also only one dollar a piece! Then I just grabbed a little more ribbon and tied a bow around those too. After, I went downstairs and found some little candles that fit perfect! 

The three porcelain pumpkins on my dresses were also only A DOLLAR a piece! I am getting too excited writing about these great finds...

You can also see that  I have a big candle holder on my dresser holding a burn orange colored candle (no pun intended...actually yes definitely pun intended) . It's super beautiful and vintage looking. It's dark brown with a little gold on it and it's super heavy so it feels expensive! It was $1.99 at the second hand store. Amazing! 

The letters on the left spelling AUTUMN came from some one who gave me a huge box of old marquee sign letters. I have so much fun using them all over the house! When my fiddle player Heather came to stay for a show, I put the letters up in her window to say Queen Heather and on her night stand put Fiddler. So fun! 

The sticks on my shelf are just branches off of trees from my woods and I just sat all of that on top of an old round mirror I had. I took a bunch more brown ribbon ( I had a huge roll!) and placed it around a big off white candle I found around my house just to even up the other side of my dresser. 

Now when I lay in my room, I delight in the season- for a cheap cost! 

I love my Fannahs.

Love, Han 

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Ordinary Eyeballs

Have you ever thought to yourself, “no one could ever understand how I feel or what I am going through.” Have you ever looked around and thought “Am I normal?” Have you ever looked at a house as your driving by and wondered, “ what is that family going through? Is everyone happy in there?” 
Lately, I’ve been looking at life through what I like to call “ordinary eyeballs.” As humorous as it may sound, I have seen a lot looking at the world through my new set of eyes. I’ve been trying look on the inside of the heart instead of focusing on the outside of a person.
It is easy for me (and probably a lot of us) to get lost in the world of “me” (ourselves.) I know that personally I can get wrapped up in how I feel, what I am wearing, what I am doing; if things are convenient for ME. It doesn’t take too much effort to get caught up in material things and what I call ME things.
After hearing a group of high school students share aspects, struggles, and successes in their lives, it occurred to me that we all, aren’t all that different from each other. In fact, we all share common problems and difficulties in our lives. Whether your looking at the “got it all together” girl or the 4.0 GPA boy with the glasses on, or even an “Emo” couple all dressed in dark colors and bright beads, each and every one of us are going through low times, high successes, and this crazy ride called life. In passing by one of these people, we’d make assumptions and some of us wouldn’t think that we’d be able to personally connect with them. After all, what could we have in common? But when it all comes down to it, each and every one of us, no matter how we dress, or how successful we all are, we all struggle in this life. We all have things in common. 
There has been days where I’ve found myself thinking, “nobody could ever understand what I am going through.” Wrong. I have found by looking through my “ordinary eyeballs” that many people have been through things and hardships that I have been through, and in a way, I believe every single person on this earth can relate to each other some way. Whether, its a hardship, an exciting time, a favorite song, or just the color of our eyes, I believe we all deserve each other and that we all have ways we can relate to each other- think of what a big impact this could make? 
Love,
-Hannah 

Friday, January 14, 2011

Fresh Tips for the Fellas

We know that you have used a shaver in between your woolly eyebrows to get rid of that unibrow or instead that you have snuck into your mom or sisters bathroom to steal her tweezers. We know that sometimes you do an armpit sniff check to see if you need deodorant and that when you don't think you smell anything, you decided that thats good enough and you smell fine. We also know thats how you separate your clean and dirty laundry.
Us girls know a few little secrets about your game, so I am here to give you guys a few tips on having smooth style so you don't chase her away with your "no-need-to-take-the-extra-second-to-put-on-deodorant-i'll-spray-cologne-over-it-instead" unique smell.  
First off, cologne can be a mans best friend. Girls like flowers, right? But have you ever thought about why they love flowers so much? Not only do flowers come in all sorts of pretty colors, but they also smell amazing. It's a fact that girls love great smells. And if you make sure to put on an extra squirt of cologne before you step out the door for a hot date, you just might have that girl falling for you as soon as you wrap your muscular arms around her and give her a hug, just one deep inhale in and she could be head over heals for you. One of my favorite colognes for men is Chrome by Loris Azzaro. Trust me, a little bit of extra effort can go a long way.
Before a girl makes up her mind about whether you are kissable or not, she will most likely, absolutely, examine your lips. Guys, this means if your lips are chapped, if you have bad breath, or have food from dinner earlier stuck in your teeth, a girl probably, definitely wont want to kiss you. So what this means is, you need to buy some chap stick, (yes there are manly kinds) take a breath mint and make sure you floss your teeth. Every detail matters, and so does the kiss at the end of the night. I think many of you would agree with me on this. 
When it comes to clothing, just be yourself. Never try to impress a girl by trying to be somebody that you are not, girls have a very good sense on wether you are being authentic and genuine or being a fraud. Just make sure you don't wear high-waters or sandals with socks on a first date. 
Do something different. Every one goes to the movie theater for their first date but if you really want to steal a girls heart away do something different. For example, take her to your favorite beach right before the sun is setting . Do some investigating before hand and find out what kind of music she likes and her favorite candy or dessert. Load up your ipod with some of her favorite songs and turn them on in the car on the way. Also, when you get to your destination surprise her with her favorite candy or treat. This will show her that you truly care about her and the little things that she enjoys. This will be a date that she will always remember. Forever. 
Last but definitely not least, be honest. If she's beautiful, then tell her that she is beautiful. If you love her, then tell her that you love her. And if you don't, have the respect to let her go. We don't always expect you to have the best style of clothes or have the best smelling armpits, but what we do expect, is that you put your best effort into loving us even if the shirt your wearing has been dirty for 6 days and you were in a hurry so you just threw it on anyways. 
-Hannah 

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Breaking Up, Breaking Down, and Breaking Through.

A fan wrote to me and asked that I talked about a subject that I think a lot of girls and women of all ages can relate to. It's a topic that makes our chocolate intake sky rocket to the moon and that makes our pillows sopping wet with tears at night. Thats right ladies, todays topic: break ups.

On the first night after you and your beau have split, it is completely necessary to self soothe by eating multiple gallons of ice cream, (I prefer chocolate or "Everything But The" by Ben and Jerry) watch sappy depressing romance movies, and make yourself completely miserable for one night. Call up your girlfriends and complain to them, cry yourself to sleep, and let the mascara run.

After a night of sorrow, it's time to pick yourself up off the ground, wipe the mascara from under your eyes and look in the mirror. Your beautiful, your strong, your intelligent, after all, you are a women! No matter who breaks up with who, I find that there is always a lack of confidence and self esteem after a break up. ( at least I know thats how I've felt in the past) thats why it is so important to just keep moving forward with life. When you're feeling sad or stressed, go to the gym. I love running when I am upset because it always gives me more energy and drive to run faster and longer especially when I have my hot pink head phones in with my ipod blasting all those "man hating" songs. Put on some make-up, prettify your hair and go burn some calories! Make yourself feel good and look beauteous. Call up your girl friends and plan for some fun. Keep a busy schedule and avoid having too much time alone with your ice cream bowl and big pasta-serving-sized spoon. Keep yourself feeling beautiful because you are.

Don't forget that time heals everything. Ever heard the saying "This Too Shall Pass" ? Well it is definitely true. I have been through my fair share of heart aches and heart breaks and one thing I  always regretted was being so depressed when I could have been rebuilding my self confidence. Not crying my eyes out for weeks and getting fat from eating a frightful amount of self pity desserts. I wish I wouldn't have forgotten how strong I really was.

Stay positive and stay true to yourself. Remember that there is some one for everyone, that everything happens for a reason, and whats meant to be will always find a way. Your a princess. Your knight in shining armor will find you one day, I promise. Don't ever stop dreaming of that fairy tale.

xo

-Hannah

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Make-up, Hair products, Beauty, OH MY!

How many times have you bought a face wash that only made your skin worse? How much money have you spent on mascara that is sworn to make your eyelashes so long that any man can see them from across the room? And how many times have you put some gunk in your hair that made your bangs stick straight up and your hair greasy when it supposed to "tame the lions mane." I have been in every one of these situations so I want to share with you the things I have finally found that work for me; that I would give up anything for.

Clean Start by Dermalogica is what I use to start off my day. I use Wash Off face wash followed by All Over Clear toner spray which helps with unwanted pimples and acne. Then, I apply Brighten Up face lotion witch leaves my skin radiant and glowing. It also has SPF 15 in it which prevents my face from getting sun damage. My face has never been so clear until I started using this line of product. Before bed, I wash my face again, twice. Once to get the make-up off and once more to wash away any left over make-up that I might have missed. After that, I apply Bed Time Breakouts serum that I leave on my face over night to help fight and prevent acne. I also use Hit The Spot when I have one pimple that just wont go away and I have a date or special event! Don't you just hate that ladies? When you have some where important to be but your look like rudolf with a big bright red pimple right smack on your nose? Well if you apply Hit The Spot to the problem area, I swear, it'll be gone in no time! It has saved my life, or should I say my face, many times! Last but definitely not least, I exfoliate three times a week with Ready, Set Scrub. It leaves my face feeling so refreshed! I couldn't live with out it. 

Color Science is where it's at when it comes to concealer, powder foundation, and bronzer. I can't get enough of this mineral make up! Not only does it not clog your pores, but it looks SO natural and is really water proof for the girls who like to snowboard in the winter and surf or swim in the summer! I use California Girl for the color of my powder foundation and concealer and Touch Of Mink for my bronzer.

MAC make-up has been one of my favorite lines for eyeshadows, lip glosses, and mascaras. My dream one day is to own every color of MAC eye shadow that there is! I think that might be every make-up lovers dream! I do love every color of eyeshadow, but for my blue eyes, browns, blues, and pinks make my eyes stand out the most. What made me fall in love with their eyeshadows was how it never creases. Even after a long performance on stage under the hot lights, my eyeshadow still looks like I just put it on! For mascara, I use Opulash. It lengthens and thickens my lashes at the same time, what more could  a girl want! And for lipgloss, I like to play with every color. MAC lipgloss has just the perfect amount of smack to it and the colors are brilliant!

Brocato is the best hair spray I have found so far. When I am getting ready to be on stage, I use Maximum Hold hair spray. It gets my hair high in volume, low in stickiness, and flawless in the "fly aways" department. When I am just going out and about in town or even just at home, I use Moveable Hold which allows my hair to still be able to move around but it still keeps up the volume and shape. Also I use the Vibrastriat Flat iron...when I first used this, It was like cupid had just hit me. 

I.C.O.N is the latest shampoo that I am hooked on. I use Drench for my shampoo and Free for my conditioner. It is thicker than most shampoo's and conditioners that I have used but it makes my hair moisturized and gives it great volume! Plus, they come in really cool bottles! 

Miracle Styling Serum is just that; a miracle. Their It's A 10 Styling Serum is beyond amazing. I apply it when my hair is wet and blow dry it in. It makes my hair incredibly soft and takes care of all those little frizzies. I use it absolutely every single day. 

How many of you ladies get skin bumps or red bumps on your legs when you shave? I used to hate wearing dresses because of it! But, a couple of months ago I was walking down the isle at a drug store and found Lady Cremo Shave Cream. I have never had such smooth, soft legs before ever. Say good by to razor burn ladies! This stuff is serious! 

That concludes my collection. I hope this helped out anyone who has been searching for the "perfect" beauty product! These products have all saved me a lot of money, unnecessary acne, and nutty hair doo's. Money may not be able to buy you love, but it can sure buy you some good beauty products!

xo

-Hannah 



Tuesday, January 11, 2011

When Life Hands You Lemons...

When life hands you lemons, sometimes things can get sour...

This morning I was woken up by the booming sound of my cell phone disturbing my sweet dreams filled with walking Times Square and strolling 5th Avenue. The vigorous ringing lit up the screen with the name "Mom." I wasn't expecting the news, but she proceeded to tell me that due to the intense snow conditions, our trip to New York and Nashville would be delayed two weeks.

After I had heard the gloomy news, I continued to lay in my room thoroughly disappointed just staring at the ceiling. It felt like as if the dentist were to have just called and told me that my mouth was filled with cavities and I was never allowed to eat candy or dessert ever again. Furthermore, It was immensely disappointing.


Have you ever had a day where you just feel like everything is going wrong? I know I have. But what always makes me feel better is reminding myself that everything happens for a reason and that you have to make it through the rain before you can finally get to the rainbow. Sure, life can be a drama but when life hands out lemons, wether they are sour or not, it is up to us to decide what we are going to make out of them.

I couldn't be happier to now be flying to New York City, for the first time, on my birthday in two weeks! What now sour lemons... I just made you into a sweet lemon tart! ;)

xo

-Hannah

Monday, January 10, 2011

Everything but the Kitchen Sink...

I was so excited about my new suitcase that I could have cuddled with it while I slept last night. Not only is it red, but it's not like any suitcase that I have ever seen. You can hang up your clothes in this suitcase; and then it folds in half and zips up! How fantastic, right?! My clothes wont be wrinkled when I land in NY! I couldn't wait to pack!!....that was yesterday...

Today, however, wasn't quite so fantastic. You see, this magical new red suitcase didn't exactly work to my advantage. It all started when I tried to hang it up on the back of my door so it would be easier to hang stuff up in while I packed. I just about ripped off my arms as my 5'4 frame tried to hop up and hang the 15 pound 5 foot long suitcase on the door...I eventually had to go get a stool to stand on. (the same stool I have to stand on in my room to reach the top shelf in my closet where I put my pants.) I would have asked someone for help but the only available assistance was my mini yorkie Moo and white poodle-ie dog Charlie. 

With my little stool under my feet, I finally hoisted up the massive, swanky suitcase up onto the door. After putting clothes in piles, organizing outfits, and hanging the clothes on hangers, I proceeded to hang up my clothes in the red suitcase. I was proud. I was over the moon with my accomplishment of hanging each and every one of my hand picked outfits up in my extraordinary red suitcase. I left the room with an enormous dopy smile smacked right across my face. 

It wasn't till five hours later when I tried to zip it up did I realize that the red, magical, extraordinary suitcase could only hold about four outfits on hangers --not twelve. So farewell to you, red suitcase. Back to the store you go. I hope you will find a better home where the owner does not try to pack everything but the kitchen sink.

xo,

-Hannah