January in Pictures + Non-Makeup Favorites

What up guys? It’s that time again, another month down. How was yall’s January?  All was good here on my end.

I really liked doing the monthly round up I did for December that was devoted to all thing, not makeup, so I decided to do it again and every month going forward. I think it adds a more personal touch than just makeup talk all the time.

Let’s get started. First thing, the crazy ass weather we had here in the south all month. WTF?

Yeah, and that’s how it went. 3 days of bitter cold and snow.

Not a ton of snow but it happened and stayed around for a good 3 days for once. Louisiana’s response to anything, “Hold my beer”… 

This picture was from January 9th. All bundled up freezing.

Then on the 11th in shorts and a cutoff shirt because it was in the high 70’s and felt like spring and it stayed consistently warm-ish until this week it got back down in the 40’s at night

I know, we are off to an exciting start. Talking about the weather, fascinating…

Ok, on to more exciting subjects.

With the new year, here in the Bankester hive, we have been detoxing our diet. Cutting out almost all meat aside from some chicken and tuna here and there. So far so good. Not only that, all the junk has been cut out. No more meals of Chex Mix and Twizzlers for me. LOL. I’m going to do a more in-depth post on healthy eating soon. We usually do pretty well, but fall off the wagon over the holidays. You know how that goes.

And back to the gym again too. Which I already had to take a week off cause I hurt my shoulder. I have nerve damage and arthritis from an injury in my left hand, arm, and shoulder and sometimes it flares up and it sucks but it’s all better now and back to normal.

In case you missed it on Instagram, cause I posted about it like crazy. January is my birthday month and this year was a big one. I turned 30 on Friday the 13th

Here’s a look at what I wore on my B-Day. 

My biffy Brooke treated me to Mexican at El Parian with all my friends. I was sang too, sombreroed and got whipped cream to the face… It was a good dinner. I walked out with the sombrero and wore it all night. We hit up the bar afterward for a couple beers and I was in bed by 11. So exciting, I know.

Ended up feeling guilty about the sombrero and returned it the next day. I like the restaurant too much. lol.

That following Sunday, the bar I go to had a birthday party for all the January birthdays because there are so many of us, it was also a very belated Christmas party. I can’t believe I don’t have any pictures, though, except for a couple of my makeup and this one of my necklace I wore that day. 

I also got to visit with some of my chosen family for a girls night and had a lovely time. Thank you, Sandy, for having us! I love your new home.

Another project for this year has been all about getting organized and decluttering. I have been working on getting my workspace neater and more functional. My corner of the office is where I spend most my time, not only is it my office, it’s also my makeup area. It’s still a work in progress. I want to get some nicer laps matching lamps and refinishing a few pieces gold so they all match. I have reduced the clutter a bit but I could do more I think. This is not only the case for my desk but for the rest of the house. I’m tired of so much stuff around and just want things to feel cleaner and neater but still have my style. Once I make more progress, I will share it in my round up posts and maybe a post just about that alone. We’ll see.

Rediscovered my love of drawing this month too, been a good 3 years since I picked up a pencil that wasn’t to do makeup with. I forgot how relaxing it is to just sketch a face and zone out. I’m looking forward to doing some stuff with watercolor again too.

Speaking of art, I’m kind of obsessed with Vaporwave right now. It’s just so nostalgic. I love the stuff with the statues and the 90’s digital. Who else can’t get enough of this? I’m in this odd place that is obsessed with dark romantic imagery, vaporwave, and minimalism. I’m an eclectic/eccentric mess. lol. 
I have also really been enjoying these videos by Dan Bell called Dead Mall Series. It’s a sad, nostalgic, aesthetic AF trip down memory lane. I have always loved malls. It used to be the place to be back in the day and now speaking of our local mall at least, it’s a barren sad place aside from around our JCP and Food Court areas. Not that the food court has much to offer in the food department, that’s just where the Ulta and a few new stores are. While our local mall isn’t as sad as some in Dan’s series on a whole but there is one end of it that is. I feel like there is a bit of a revival going on, though, we have been steadily gaining new stores over the last couple of years.

Another series from Dan Bell I love is Another Dirty Room. He and his 2 friends just go to run down, disgusting hotels and record what they find. It’s kind of amazing sometimes. Bags of coke, blood stains, and all sorts of gross and weird things. I don’t know why I enjoy them so much. 
Check out Dan Bell’s Youtube here. He also does really cool Urban Exploration videos which get kind of creepy but can be oddly beautiful in a very sad way.

Since we’re talking about entertainment now, I’m going to jump over to music I have been enjoying this month.

AFI The Blood Album.  It’s everything I hoped it would be. There is a song that will remind you of every era of the band while still being cohesive. There is a familiarity in the album with a new twist thrown in.  The last song of the album “The Wind That Carries Me Away” sounds like something totally new from them and I love it. AFI was the band that changed everything for me as a young teen so they will always hold a special place in my heart no matter how the music sounds but I can honestly say this is a good album. 

Because I have been playing the album non stop while, I wanted to change it up a bit and not burn myself out, but I still wanted to hear something like it so I have alternating between The Blood Album and Material from Blaqk Audio which is Davey Havok (Vocalist for AFI) and Jade Puget’s (Guitarist from AFI)  EDM side project. Talk about vaporwave vibes. 

Guilty Pleasure time. Fucking Gilmore Girls. I’m sucked in and I can’t get out. I love it! It’s happy, it’s cute, it’s funny. 

Emily and Paris are my faves and yes, I have. 
Yes, I have.

Speaking of TV. RIP Mary Tyler Moore. I grew up watching The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show used to dress up like her as a kid and pretend I was her. She was very influential for me. Watching her show was something my mom and I bonded over, my mom and I alike viewed her as a role model. I remember her telling me about watching the re-runs while she got ready for work in the morning and it made her feel good. 
While I said we were cleaning up our diets, I have been limiting my coffee intake to 2 cups a day, and instead of drinking tea and water unless I just really want coffee because I LOVE the taste I have bought some (sigh) decaf… Anyway, one of the teas I have really been liking is the Lipton Matcha Green Tea. Does it help me focus and that jazz? I dunno. but it has a pleasant taste and it’s good for me.

Does anyone else get super exited when a brand of person you follow likes one of your pics? I do, and I screen cap it. LOL!

That’s about it for January, nothing too exciting. I will leave you with some Pumpkin cuteness. Because she is everything!

She loves her Hooman

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Bee Beautiful. Bee You.

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