Inspiration

Lately, I've been experiencing some extreme writer's block. Like I'll write half a post and decide that it's pointless and I hate it. This has been happening for a week and I started to feel like I'll never get out of this rut that is writer's block. Everyday in English, we have to write for ten minutes about a given topic, or just free write. I never fully complete any prompts, mostly because I always choose the given topic, but I wonder, how can I write endlessly on any boring topic when I can't even write a blog post about whatever I want? Its simple, because I have to. It's different when you have to do something for school versus your totally optional blog. It's different when your writing just for yourself versus for an audience, I want to write something everyone will find interesting, not boring and pointless.

That leads to the purpose of this post. I realized that in order to write something I'll find worthy of my blog, I need inspiration. I need to dig deep to that part of me that wanted to begin a blog in the first place and write from that part of me. Not the part that just does it because it needs to be done. I think in order for this to work, I need to constantly remind myself that this is what I want to do and it should be fun, not a job. Yes, it is harder than sitting on my butt and watching TV, but it's fun for me. I love that satisfaction of hitting the publish button and seeing that people have actually read my work? I love that even more. So I guess the purpose of this post is to tell you guys that, even when you feel like all is lost, don't worry because inspiration is just around the corner waiting to be discovered and remind you why you love what you do. For me, it could be a simple post idea or another blogger finding success in something they love to do. For you, it could be something completely different. Just don't give up.

Until later,

xx, Madison.

What is your inspiration? 

My Summer Wishlist

Recently, I talked with you guys about things I bought keeping in mind the warm weather. Since then, I've been thinking about new clothes - lighter clothes at least - and wanting more (of course). With that, I've also discovered a new, well new to me, online store and dropped a few things in my imaginary cart. I kept in mind all the pricing, a new obsession of mine is finding the best deals, so all the products are fairly inexpensive. Although I'm sure you could find a more high end version of each item. I decided to write this post to show all of you what styles I'm looking forward to wearing this summer.

Lots and lots of maxi. Now I've never been into the whole maxi skirt/dress craze. I always thought that I'm way too short and a long skirt covering my entire legs will only make me look shorter. Even though I loved this style on everyone else, I always thought it just wasn't for me. Not anymore! I was recently in J.Crew and saw their striped maxi skirt and though, "yeeeaaahh, I could rock that!" So now I'm on the hunt for all things maxi. I think that they could go really well with a pair of wedges or a pair of cute sandals and I can't wait to rock this look this summer. These are two of my favorite maxi items I've found so far:

If you watch Zoe (Zoella) on Youtube, you 

would know that she featured this dress in 

her recent haul. It looked so nice on her 

I'm dying to give it a try for myself!

Thought this would be the J.Crew skirt didn't you? It's not! Like said before, I'm kinda into looking for deals and found this gem at Target (aka, my go to deal finding store).

Swing Dresses. Again, I never jumped on the bandwagon with this one because of my body shape. Lately, I've been accepting my body shape and thats been letting me wear more styles. Shift dresses is something I will be trying (definitely) to wear this summer. They're so nice and flowy for the hot summer and will be perfect for all sorts of occasions.

I've never been one for paisley either, 

but this dress was love at first sight!

Tank tops. This isn't something I refused to wear up until now, but I'm going to try to wear more flowy tank tops (not a big fan of really anything tight) that are versatile and easy to wear. I'm going to try to go for the staples like greys, black, and white before I get into the crazy stuff though. I also thought a white tank top would look perfect with the maxi skirt! I've found great tank tops at both Everlane, Target, and J.Crew. Although, I'm sure most places sell them.

I didn't put any pictures in hoping that you all know what a basic tank top looks like.

Here are some other things I really want to get to wear in the summer!

Plus black bottoms (Target) 

To go with the dresses right? (Nine West)

Target

Plus matching bottoms (Target)

Until later,

xx, Madison.

What are you looking for in summer?

Sports Preseason

If any of you noticed, haven't been writing everyday lately like I normally do. If you can't tell by the title, its because of preseason and just lacrosse season in general. From now until around June, I'm just going to be posting on days where I have the time and when I have an idea that I think all of you will really enjoy. I don't want to have written out a full post and not have anyone like it... What's the point? So, from now on, all of my posts will be quality, but they won't be posted everyday. They will be posted when I have little school work to do and enough time to write a quality post. Maybe in the Summer when I have all the time in the world I'll go back into my normal everyday schedule, but for now, this has to do.

Now that I got that off my back, there are a lot of things I have to say about preseason. First off, my legs are dead. In mucho pain. It always makes me wonder if I will ever go back to normal and have it not hurt with every step I take. Whenever I know I'm going to be sore, I do everything humanly possible. I ice, I stretch, I put on this weird arthritic cream, I use icy-hot, I even use this massage bar from Lush that I love even when I'm not sore. (I mean everything in Lush is great so...). I love this massage bar because it smells great and massages my skin so that they (temporarily - I don't think anything would permanently ease my pain) feel great. The smell is light and fresh so its not too over powering and you can use it everyday. As you all can probably see, my muscles are a big issue at the beginning of the season.

Something else I'd like to touch upon is hydrating. It's so important and so often overlooked. If you're not hydrated, you won't be able to do any of the sprints and may end up getting sick, which no one likes to deal with. Soo, drink up! Like five bottles a day. I'm serious. That may seem weird to some of you, but trust me, it's key to any running sport.

Something that's equally important is training in the offseason. You don't want to just pick up your stick that first day. You have to be prepared and be training even when the Spring seems centuries away. Even more important though, running, see I put it in bold to emphasis how important it is. Try to run everyday to make sure you stay in shape for the upcoming season and don't have sore muscles. Clearly I'm a bit of a hypocrite on this one, but I'm trying to get better.

Someone can learn a lot by just one day of practice and years of practice. They are all so important and I hope you utilize them!

Until later, 

xx, Madison.

What are some of your big tips for surviving preseason?

Imagine Dragons Concert

I had the luck of getting tickets to the Imagine Dragons concert a couple months ago, and the concert was yesterday! It was amazing, of course, although it could've done without two opening acts. Opening acts will probably be the death of me, I mean they're not bad, I just didn't come to see them. Anyways, the concert was so good and we had no disturbing people around us (another concert annoyance) that I only took some photos. You know how sometimes you take photos at a concert and you don't really pay attention, so they turn out awful? Yeah, well I kept this in mind and only took photos I knew were going to be good because I knew I was going to share them with you. Without further ado, here they are:

It was a hike to get this photo, I climbed all the way to the top!

A friend of mine took this, she's an amazing photographer!

Just one of the lead singer of Imagine Dragons.

These were taken with an iPhone, so I'm sorry these may be not up to par to other photos, but I thought you all may like to see them!

To the concert, I wore my black thick lulu lemon leggings, riding boots, a hot pink J.Crew tank top, and a plain black sweater. Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos, but it was a pretty simple outfit, so I hope you can imagine it easily!

Until later,

xx, Madison.

Do you all like the Imagine Dragons?

Scheduling Tips and Tricks

My organizing post is by far my most popular post, so I decided to make this a little series. A tips and tricks series where I tell you guys my suggestions/advise on a specific topic. Today I'm going to tell you my tips and tricks on scheduling. With school, sports, and work, my schedule is pretty jam packed, so I have to really plan out what I'm doing and I've managed to pick up some useful tactics.

Stick to your schedule. I talked a bit about this in my organizing post, but its just so important for keep a good schedule. Do not push everything back and expect there to be enough time. Its just not going to happen and you'll end up being stressed and tired and wishing you'd just done your work earlier. 

Plan early. What I mean by this is that you shouldn't plan to start something at eight o'clock at night because it could either take you five minutes or three hours. Start your work early and it will get done early. (I value my sleep so this is number one for me.)

Write it down. Write down your schedule so that you don't a) forget anything or b) leave anything until the last minute. Not leaving things until the last minute seems to be a reoccurring theme here... Nevertheless, it's probably the most important thing ever to having a good schedule.

Give yourself a break. I know way too many people who pack their schedules and have no time for themselves. It's work, work, and more work. Giving yourself time to relax is so important because you cannot work yourself to death day in and day out. Relaxing will ensure that you don't get too stressed and always have an open mind.

I hope these helped, I know they help me!

Until later,

xx, Madison.

What are your best scheduling tips?

Review: Bamboo Anti-Breakage Thermal Protectant Spray

Mouthful, right? This product is pretty much your typical heat protectant, nothing really special about it. Don't get me wrong, it works. I've had heat protectants that don't protect my hair at all. This one does. One thing it doesn't do,  it doesn't heal my already broken hair. I guess that's a long stretch, but I think the perfect heat protectant would be something that did that well. Something else I don't like about it is that it doesn't protect my hair 100%. What I mean is that after a couple weeks, I notice that my hair has gone dead again.
Although it says to use on damp hair, I've found myself spraying it in when my hair is dry right before I straighten it. I think it works. If you spray too much in, it will make your hair look greasy, but if you spray the right amount in, I think it protects my hair a lot. Plus, it makes my hair naturally straight, what I mean is that I find my hair looking fuller and healthier when I spray it in dry. Sometimes when I straighten my hair, it turns out flat and dead. Not with this. For that, I praise this product.

Can we just take a moment for the unique packaging!

I'm probably really demanding with my products, but I just know exactly what I want in every product. Overall, I would definitely recommend this product as it is drugstore and does protect to some extent, but it's not the best product I've ever tried.

Until later,
xx, Madison.

What is your favorite heat protectant? I love getting recommendations!

Oscars Recap (2014)

Okay, so the Oscars were awesome. Ellen did a fantastic job as host... the selfie with a lot of the stars that got 2.6+ million retweets *amazing.* The dresses *amazing.* The dresses were so amazing (in my opinion, not one bad fashion mishap) that I decided to do a post on my favorite dresses from last night.

Jennifer Lawrence. I mean obviously. She's the best, my favorite actress. In my eyes, she can do no wrong and her dresses at every award show are always on point. This one is no exception for this one at the Oscars. She was one of the only ones to wear a bright color and it is perfect.

Lupita Nyong'o. So gorgeous. So exquisite. I'm in love with the dress and definitely wish I could pull it off. There are little sparkles in the dress that makes it even more perfect. The simple accessories complete the entire look.

Sandra Bullock. This is my dream prom/awards show dress. Its elegant and had a lot gorgeous detailing, but it wasn't too over the top. And her hair. Perfect. And her jewels. Amazing. I love this entire look as much as I loved Gravity (a lot).

Sally Hawkins. I thought this dress was like something royalty would wear. It has every detail imaginable and they all worked so well together. I loved the long sleeves as well, not many people wore long sleeves and she pulled it off so nicely.

Until later,

xx, Madison.

What was your favorite Oscar dress this year?

Lovely Lilly Pulitzer

It's no secret I love Lilly Pulitzer. Everyone who knows me knows how much I love everything they sell. I wanted to share with you guys some of my favorite things they are selling for this Summer and Spring! I've definitely written way too many posts about the warmer months, but I cannot wait any longer... I'm hating all this snow!

Callahan Short in Pink Pop Southern Charm. I've had these saved as a tab on my laptop for a while now, I'm in love.

Briella Fit and Flare Dress in Pool Blue Southern Charm.
This would be perfect for both a nice dinner and a daytime party. Fit and flare is also key to my body shape.

Keene Bandeau and Surf's Up Bottom in I Herd You. I've never had a Lilly bathing suit, but this Summer I am determined to get one and this one is perfect.

Kristen Leather Wedge. Because every girl needs gold wedges in their wardrobe.

Even though I love pretty much everything in the Lilly store, I thought I would narrow it down to a couple of items.

Until later,

xx, Madison

What are some of your favorite items at Lilly Pulitzer?

(Not So) Lazy Saturdays

My day has consisted of organizing, cleaning, working, babysitting, and catching up on some of my favorite blogs. I tried to fit in a little laying around and watching TV time... Can't you tell? All this can get my stress levels going up and up so it's important to keep myself in the right mindset. I have certain things that I like to do to keep myself in the right mindset and thats what I'm going to share with you today!

Music. Music keeps my mind so calm and relaxed no matter how unrelaxing it may sound. My music style varies to calm Colbie Caillat to extreme pop like One Direction to hard core rap like Kanye West. As of right now, I'm listening to Imagine Dragons's album Night Visions and loving every minute of it. I'm going to their concert in a week from now and so excited (blog post definitely to come).

Running. Now, I didn't go running today probably because its 20 degrees and I'd rather not freeze, but when its not below freezing, I love running to exert any gathered energy and clear my mind.

Showers/Baths. In my mind, both are super relaxing. I know people love just baths for relaxing, but I find both relaxing. Unless I have a lovely Lush product with me, I actually prefer showers.

Reading. This can range anywhere from a chapter out of a book to a celebrity gossip magazine. Today, I was more in the mood for catching up on my People magazines (which I haven't read in forever) and the Free People catalog I got in the mail.

Oscar prepping. Now this only happens once a year and usually lasts around ten minutes. I myself filled out the Oscar ballot I got in the People and discovered this amazing article I found while The Preppy Post Grad's posts. Look how amazing!

Getting comfy. All I did for this was stay in my pajamas all day and sit in bed while typing my posts and reading blogs. It is definitely something I should do more often.

I think the most important thing to do to keep a clear mind is to just not worry. Everything will get done, and everything will be okay at the end of the day no matter how much you have to do on any given day.

Until later,

xx, Madison

What are some of your favorite things to do to keep a clear mind?

Monthly Favorites: February 2014

This month went by fast. Maybe because its only 28 days, but I feel like it went by way faster than that. I don't really know what it was, maybe I was just really busy. Anyways, here are my first monthly favorites of The City's Prep.

1. Bliss Body Butter- This. Is. Amazing. The smell, the texture, everything. My two favorites are the grapefruit + aloe (this one reminds me of summer) and the lemon + sage scents. They are to die for. I normally hate body butters/moisturizers because they always leave my skin sticky for a bit, but these are amazing, they don't leave me feeling sticky at all. There aren't enough words to describe these.

2. Maybelline Full 'N Soft Mascara- I have heard no one talk about these. It's all about the Falsies mascara from Maybelline, but, whoops, I have never tried any Falsies. I'm always really skeptical about trying new makeup, even if it has the best reviews. Anyways, this mascara is wonderful. I hate when mascara gives off that kind of fake look, but this one makes my lashes look so full, voluminous,  and natural.

3. Bobbi Brown Blush (Washed Rose)- This was given to me as a little freebie when I shopped at the Bobbi Brown counter around a month ago. It's one of their Shimmer Blushes and I love it. It is perfect for having that outdoors Winter look that is exactly what I want for this time of the year. Did I mention how pigmented it was? So pigmented. 

4. Rimmel Stay Matte Powder- Coming home from school, I always look so worn out and all my makeup has worn off. With this powder though, most of it stays (I mean, noting can beat the gross humid air of a classroom) and my face doesn't have a greasy look/feel to it (which is always a plus). I bought mine in the transparent color so I can use it all year round and I definitely will!

5. Clinique "Almost Lipstick" Lipstick- This is one of those thing you have in the back of your makeup drawer and you retry it and you don't know why you forgot about it in the first place. Because of this, mine is in the old packaging (I much prefer the new packaging), but I suspect it's still the same great product. It's a sheer finish, so on the outside it looks scary (It is a dark color), but in reality, it is an amazing pinky, purpley, red. By the way, I'm awful at describing colors. Mine is in Black Honey and I love it so much, it definitely won't get lost in the back of my drawer again.

6. Bobbi Brown Eye Repair Cream- Now, let me just get this straight, I don't have wrinkles or anything. So you may be asking yourself, "Why does she need eye cream?" Well, these are amazing if you have horrible dark circles under your eyes and I find my eyes are so much brighter after applying this. Also, concealer glides on so smoothly with it on which is a big help for the delicate skin underneath the eyes. This was also given to me (a smaller test version obviously) as a freebie at the Bobbi Brown counter.

7. Garnier Intensely Smooth Leave-in Conditioning Cream- This is perfect for frizzy hair. After blow drying my hair, it is so sleek and smooth that I don't even have to straighten it which is amazing because I won't be killing my hair as much as I usually do. It says on the bottle to use the matching shampoo and conditioner, but I don't and it is still amazing. I might have to invest in the other products to see how wonderful they all are together.

I really hope you try these products because they are all worth it.

Until later,
xx, Madison

What were some of your favorite products in February?

*All photos were taken with the Canon EOS Rebel T3i except the Garnier Conditioner as mine is absolutely disgusting.

Happy March!