Photos From the Road (California to Washington)

As a continuation of my last blog...

I am in Washington currently and due to a lack of internet connection at my brother's place, I had to find a Starbucks, which means I can post a few photos that I have taken on the road. So here is the start to my road-trip adventures. 

My road-trip from California, through Oregon and to Washington. Enjoy! More to come at a later date. (Sorry if the quality of photos is horrible, these were taken off my iPhone through the Snapchat App, because my camera function on my iPhone is currently out of commission)

Leaving California. The beautiful sunrise bids us farewell. Only 15 more hours to go from this point. (photo courtesy of my brother, Garrett Huxtable) 

Only 11 more hours to drive from this point: My father and I on the road to Oregon. (We named the moving van to fit its attributes)

Only 8 more hours to drive from this point: We have entered Oregon!!! Such a beautiful day to enter such a beautiful state.

Only 6 more hours to drive from this point: In Oregon our gas tank light came on so we followed the signs off the freeway to this beautiful 76 station. Somehow I feel like they might be closed. (Fun Fact: It's illegal to pump your own gas in Oregon, so we asked the gas station worker what he would have done if we had started to pump the gas ourselves, which we are accustomed to since we are from California. He replied, and I quote; "We probably wouldn't of called the cops on you.")

No more hours to drive: Once in Washington we had to go to the hardware store to pick up some stuff for my brother's place. I however spent my time very productively by finding the most obnoxiously large mailbox on planet Earth! Have you ever? haha.

This is Bellevue Washington. Such a beautiful photo if only it wasn't so blurry. Washington has been all sun and blue skies and no rain like I was lead to believe would dominate the climate up here.

Love Always, 

Kirsten Nicole

Road-Trip: California to Washington

As you have probably already deduced, I am embarking on my first road-trip since starting my blog. Tomorrow my father and I will be leaving our house in California to drive up through Oregon and end up in Washington. Since I have never been to either Oregon or Washington I am more than elated to road-trip up that way with my dad.

The reason for the trip is actually due to my brother going to college up in Washington. My brother is 22 years old and decided to transfer from an English major at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (California) to DigiPen (Washington) in order to study his true passion Game Design. I am so proud of my brother and all that he has accomplished. He is one of my many role models, and I love him so much. It takes a lot of courage and strength to leave something so familiar and good just to end up in an unfamiliar and new place. (Garrett, if you are reading this, I love you!)

photo courtesy of google search

Since my brother is attending school in Washington that means there is A LOT of moving to be done. Today the moving truck was packed with everything from bookshelves to beds and tomorrow my dad and I will be driving 17 hours to reach my brother’s new home. This is an undoubtably exciting time for my brother, however; I feel as though I am more excited at this current point in time. 

My love for traveling and road-trips makes me ever so excited to be driving up through Oregon and Washington. I already have plans to bring my Nikon and Canon on the road to document this trip and I will update my blog with post-road-trip photos and more. 

When I think of Washington I think of Bella Swan and Edward Cullen, and that makes me sad. Yes, I was a fan of the Twilight books and even found myself at some of the midnight showings, but lets be honest, that train is long gone. I dislike the fact that those images of Twilight is all I have in my mind of what Oregon looks like, so I am excited to embark on this road-trip because I get to experience the state for myself, even if it is just from the passenger seat of a moving truck.

photo courtesy of google search

I have only been in a moving truck once before when I moved houses at the age of six. I remember riding in the truck being very fun until it came to the unloading, thinking of that part makes me exhausted already. Our trip will be slower due to the size and weight of the moving truck, but I’m ready and elated nonetheless. I hope that my dad is still up for some traditional car games because car games are my favorite! Usually my parents and I play a bunch of car games such as; eye spy, punch buggy, the license plate game, and more. We have even started to count the amount of fires and police we pass during our drive as just a tally count survey. (I honestly have no idea why we find that fun, but usually on the road-trips to Disneyland there are a lot of both and the count gets quite large.)

Anyways, I am super excited for this road-trip. First stop tomorrow will be Starbucks, but after that we are off!

If you live or know Oregon or Washington and have any suggestions for places to eat, visit, shop, etc. then please let me know! I would love to visit both states for more then just the one day drive to and from, but we must stop for lunch and dinner somewhere and may be taking some driving breaks so that means that some time will be spent in the surrounding areas. 

Here we go! Road-trip #1!

Love Always,

Kirsten Nicole

Sisterhood

The word sisterhood is something I never really got to experience growing up. I had only my older brother, and we rarely played Barbies or dress up together. (Although he always seemed to win at Pretty Pretty Princess the game.... hmmm?)

I started University in 2011 after graduating High School and found myself as more of an introvert than I had expected. I was not shy by any means, but I often skipped the stereotypical college parties and hangouts just to sit in my room and watch the entire 10 seasons of Friends for the millionth time. I enjoy people but I’ve always found myself needing my alone time, and sometimes that equals out to more then the time I like to spend out and about.

Image courtesy of Google Search

Living in a dorm (which was more like an apartment) with six girls was... lets just say a handful. I loved each and every one of my roommates so much. There was very few arguments in our house compared to the other girl dorms around us. I finally felt like I had sisters in my life. More then just friends these girls were there in my life 24/7 and I would not take a single second of that year back. We grew to learn so much about each other and ourselves during that first year at University. Between sleepovers in the living room, late night breakfast with Oreo pancakes, and doing each other’s hair and makeup, those five girls were the closest thing I had to having sisters. Each one of us were very different and that’s what made that first year at college probably the best year of my life.

Starting my second year at school I lived with four new women and my best friend from the previous year. This house was way different from the first year at college. We had a two story dorm (townhouse apartment) that roomed six girls once again. Aimee, one of my roommates from freshman year, and my best friend roomed with me again. The other four girls were new to me. I became good friends with two of the other girls but some were distant. My second year at University did not contain the sisterhood that was built my freshman year. Other then my best friends Aimee and one of our new roommates Elisse, the house was not really connected to each other by any means. 

I always grew up thinking that sorority life was just a bunch of drunk girls in skimpy clothes going wild. But being closed minded is not the right way to go about life. I had learned freshman year that I needed to open my mind to new ideas and possibilities. So I dropped all stereotypes that I have heard, seen, or read about. Everything was new and that was exciting.

My best friend Aimee dragged me to a sorority information night to introduce the sororities to all the girls thinking of going out for recruitment. I ended up loving it and decided to go back to actually experience recruitment and try my hand at joining a sorority. Two weeks later I had joined Alpha Omicron Pi. I was unsure at first if this was the right fit for me, but quickly I fell in love. I fell in love with the girls, the rituals, and the sisterhood. 

After an overnight camping trip that all of the 86 new members took, I knew that this was my home. Never before had I been so happy to have a stereotype broken. These ladies are more then just friends, they are my sisters. I have 101 sisters now. There were vampire diaries viewing nights, dinners, socials, dances, sleepovers and more.

Growing up without a single girl my age in my family, neighborhood, etc. it was hard for me to bond with girls. As a kid my best friends were a lot of the times guys. Then as I grew up and made more friends in school I realized the strength and bond of sisterhood. I don’t need a birth certificate to prove a sister. To me a sister is anyone willing to put your needs before theirs. Sisterhood is all about loving each other unconditionally, the good, the bad, and the ugly. I am so proud of each and every one of my sisters. The bond that was built can never be broken. 

Now-a-days I meet women from different sororities all the time. I have noticed that the sisterhood of a sorority is not just subject to the letters on your sweatshirt. Some of the most amazing people and sisters I know are from a different sorority then I, but that’s what makes life exciting. Meeting new people with a common interest that you can grow and connect with. 

If you are like I was, an introvert, scared of Greek Life or people in general, then I challenge you to step outside of your comfort zone. You will not regret it, I promise. I guess to end this forever rambling blog I shall leave you with this; let go of stereotypes (all of them), open your mind, try new things, step outside of your comfort zone, and don’t take a single day for granted. 

To all of my sisters out there
I love you

xoxo

Love Always,

Kirsten Nicole

My Mini Makeup Haul

I don’t know if you can really even call this a haul, but I recently purchased a few beauty items that I am super excited to share and review. So I guess I should just get started then.

A few weeks back I convinced my mother to join me on a trip to a Sephora store while at a local mall. I had only been in Sephora a few times prior and the entire world of makeup and fashion is all still relatively new to me. However I knew that I loved the store because it held all of the candies of a dream I once had. (Not physical candies, we are speaking metaphorically, its makeup, I’m talking about makeup)

Yves Saint Laurent

On my last trip to Sephora I was wandering to the Yves Saint Laurent lipstick section and fell in love with the Rouge Volupte Lipsticks. Not only did the colors translate well onto skin, the casing is just to die for. The design of the container is what I believe to be one of the most exquisite parts of the entire YSL Rouge Volupte lipstick series. The rest of the three part equation that makes the YSL lipsticks so desirable, in my eyes at least, are the soft silk-like feeling and the light rose scent. 

Image courtesy of yslbeautyus.com

After a good 30 minutes of going back and forth I purchase the YSL Rouge Volupte Nude Beige 1. I realize there are many other more colorful and wonderful lipsticks to choose from, but I am a sucker for the nude lip so I decided that I wanted my first ever YSL to be a nude lipstick. I went back and forth for a few days prior to purchasing the lipstick on if the actual product was worth the market price. The YSL lipstick that I purchased runs for $34, and I was really debating it worth. Although now that I obviously have purchased this product I am so happy with my decision and love the lipstick. The price is still a little steep to be spending regularly so the YSL lipsticks are more of a special occasion item for me. 

If I were to rate this product I would have to take into account; price, saturation/pigment, touch, scent, design, and of course taste. (I don’t eat my lipsticks, but that doesn’t mean that sometimes a little bit gets into your mouth, so I had to include taste) Below I have accumulated all of the scores for each category out of 10 and averaged it out to get the overall rating.

YSL Rouge Volupte Lipstick Nude Beige 1

Price: 6

Saturation/ Pigment: 7

Touch: 10

Scent: 10

Design: 10

Taste: 6

Overall rating: 8 out of 10


Smashbox

The next two items are both from Smashbox and are in the category of face makeup. While wandering around Sephora I found the Smashbox section and immediately remembered all of the YouTube videos I’ve watched were beauty gurus and enthusiasts mention the brilliance of BB creams and redness correction face makeup. So I started testing things out. 

Image courtesy of Smashbox.com

(I had previously been through the Smashbox section at Nordstroms and they gave me some free samples of both the Camera Ready BB Cream and the Photo Finish Color Correcting makeup.)

I knew quickly that I wanted to purchase the BB Cream due to its wonderful coverage and smooth blending abilities, however; I was still pondering the Photo Finish Color Correcting primer (the stuff that’s green and looks like it’s made for an alien). When I had tried both out at home from the samples I was given, I really enjoyed the smooth feeling of the color correcting cream, however, I could not tell if it was actually taking away my redness. 

Image courtesy of Smashbox.com

Little fun fact about me, I am of European decent and have a lot of Irish, English, and everything else that makes me have very rosy cheeks, so I have always applied a proper amount of foundation and coverup to my face in order to take away my blood shot cheeks. Anyways, back to the makeup. 

Since I knew that I liked the feeling and did seem to see a small improvement in my skin I gave both the Photo Finish Color Correcting primer and the BB Cream in shade Light a chance. At Sephora, and on Smashbox.com, the BB Cream costs $39 and the Color Correcting Primer is $38. Again, the prices are steep but the products seem worth it to me. However, I know for a fact that I can not afford to keep purchasing these items regularly due to their price, so if you know of an affordable alternative for color correcting and/or BB cream then please let me know. 

If I were to rate these products I would have to take into account; price, coverage, touch, scent, and design. Below I have accumulated all of the scores for each category out of 10 and averaged it out to get the overall rating of the Smashbox Photo Finish Color Correcting Primer and the Camera Ready BB Cream SPF 35 - Light. (By the way, due to the fact that the BB cream has sunscreen in it, I do smell a faint scent of sunscreen while wearing it, although I enjoy that smell so it does not bother me.)

Smashbox Photo Finish Color Correcting Primer

Price: 5

Coverage: 6

Touch: 10

Scent: (not adding to equation because I don’t believe it has a scent)

Design: 7

Overall rating: 7 out of 10

Smashbox Photo Finish Color Correcting Primer

Price: 5

Coverage: 8

Touch: 10

Scent: 7

Design: 7

Overall rating: 7 out of 10

I hope you enjoyed the review of my mini makeup haul. I plan on doing these types of blog posts for the foreseeable future, so stay tuned for more!

Love Always,

Kirsten Nicole

Hayden Williams - Fashion Designer & Illustrator

My Most Recent Fashion Obsession!!!

Property of Hayden Williams

Fashion Illustrator and designer Hayden Williams creates the most intricately exquisite drawings of fashion that I ever did lay my eyes on. All of his fashion designs make me want to go back through my old barbie collectors edition magazines and try to recreate some fashion magic. 

“Hayden Williams is a 21 year old fashion illustrator from The United Kingdom. He started drawing, and fell in love with fashion illustration, ever since he was a young boy.
When he was 3 years old he was mostly drawing Disney Princesses, but once he got into fashion design – there was no going back. He started off with drawing illustrations of celebrities in outfits that they have already worn, and they served as his inspiration, but once they noticed his work, he started drawing them in his own designs, and he continues so. However, the dream of having his own collection came true in late 2012 when he created the complete collection for Sketch Street.” (Dihmension Magazine)

Now he has caught the attention of people such as Vogue magazine and even the Queen B herself, Mrs. Beyonce Knowles-Carter. Although that is not the only Queen B that has been the spotlight of some of Williams’ fashion designs. Blair Waldorf, a character from the CW hit show Gossip Girl has found her way into Williams' work. Played by the ever so angelic Leighton Meester, Blair is the Queen B in her own right.

Property of Hayden Williams

Hayden Williams creates fashion designs of an eclectic group of people from Audrey Hepburn to One Direction to the Olsen twins. From casual to catwalk, he has you covered. His talents are endless. I would kill for just the ability to draw a person that does not consist of merely just five straight lines and a circle, let alone his raw talents. (Although stick figures are my specialty, so if you need somebody to draw you, I’ve got you covered.)

If you would like to go check out more of his work and learn more about this fantastic British artist, which I highly recommend you do, please click on the link below and it will take you to the marvelous land of his official tumblr, which can then redirect you to such social media as his facebook, twitter, blogspot, pinterest, and more. 

Also he has recently sketched illustrations and designs specifically and exclusively for Beyonce’s official website. So if you have the desire to see more from him, please do go check that out, you will not be disappointed.

Property of Hayden Williams

Love Always,

Kirsten Nicole

Hayden Williams:

http://haydenwilliamsillustrations.tumblr.com/

Independence Day : Film Review

Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, and Aliens! Oh My!

What more could you need from a blockbuster movie? The answer... A lot of things, but I will settle for this due to it being 11 o’clock at night and there being nothing else to watch on television.

Google Search

Director Roland Emmerich’s 1996 Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi flick taps straight into the vein of nostalgia. As a kid, Independence Day was more than a film about aliens fighting for Earth, it was all about the fact that I WAS OLD ENOUGH to watch a PG-13 rated movie!!! Since I was 4 years old when the film came out, I was not able to see the movie until I was at least a teenager. That of course made the graphics and story all the more enjoyable. (hint hint wink wink... SARCASM) Although, I do love the movie! 

Will Smith is more then just enjoyable, everything he has done has brought me to love his work that much more. And can we take a minute to discuss the boy who played Smith’s son in the film? HOW ADORABLE WAS HE?!?! 

Film Trivia: Did you know, the young man who played Dylan (Smith’s Son) in Independence Day also played one of the most iconic child film characters of all time? Ross Bagley (Dylan) also played the character Buckwheat in the classic film, The Little Rascals.

Anyways, where was I? Oh Yes! Will Smith’s performance in this flick is top notch as well as co-star Jeff Goldblum. With Goldblum (pronounced Gold-‘bloom’) there is just something about his quirky characters and his awkward speech rhythm that gives you the feeling that you have known his character all along. Maybe he is your best friend, or your brother, your father, any way, I love his character to the Moon and back... oh... too soon? (not really a spoiler alert: aliens were from the moon in this film)

In the end, this movie knows how to get me hooked in. I even end up watching it on television sometimes and deal with the commercials because I have misplaced my copy of the DVD. (Although I would always advise watching the DVD version over TV even if you DVR because television cuts out half of the funny lines to fit the commercial breaks.) If I were to rate this movie out of a 10 star rating I would give it an overall 7 star rating due to it’s ingenious script, a-list cast, and horrible graphics(which at the time were pretty spiffy).

Overall Rating: 7 out of 10

Love Always,

Kirsten Nicole

Welcome To My Blog!!!

Hello and Welcome to my blog!

This whole blog thing is very new to me, especially since this is my very first blog post ever. Anyways, I guess I should get on to introducing myself to you.

My name is Kirsten (Nicole) Huxtable, you can call me Kirsten, Kirsten Nicole, KiKi, or anything along those lines. I am 20 years young and an avid filmmaker. I live in Disneyland most of the time, but when they kick me out I live in a beautifully tiny town called Brentwood, CA. 

As for my blogger qualifications, I don’t really have any, although I do love to read and write. Since a young girl I was drawn to the arts, specifically; music, film, and literature. For the future of this blog, your guess is as good as mine. I plan to post about beauty, fashion, film, interior design, family, travel, and much more. Throughout the future a theme may emerge or I may find my niche of blogging, but for now lets just call this ‘one hectic eclectic blog’. 

Below are a couple of images of myself that I found funny to look at, as the first is a valid representation of my early mornings, and the later is of my mid/late morning look. People have told me I look like two different people depending on my makeup. (makeup truly is magic in my eyes)

If you have any advice, tips, tricks, comments, or questions, feel free to leave me a comment. I would love to hear from you since you most likely have way more experience on blogs and blogging than I do.

Love Always,

Kirsten Nicole

Makeup On & More Polished

All Natural & All Wild. haha