Easter Essentials

Easter has always been one of my favorite holidays! I have so many fond memories with my family.  After church we would have brunch at a local country club that brought in petting zoo animals, so after eating you could go on the patio and play with cute bunny rabbits and baby sheep.  It was a tradition and after moving to the city last year, Easter is just not quite the same.  Not only for the lack of petting zoos in the area, but also because I am so far from my family and don't get time off to travel home.  Luckily I have a few beauty essentials to help get me in the Spring mood. They are perfect for an Easter brunch with friends! 

Topshop Lipstick - To be honest, I bought this lipstick because of the cute packaging.  But I also love the vibrant pink color, y'all know I can't resist a bold lip! The lipstick is actually great quality and I've found that the color lasts for a decent amount of time.  It goes on a bit matte so I typically put a little clear gloss over it.  Pictured is the color "Brighton Rock" which doesn't seem to be available anymore - but the link goes to a similar hot pink shade, "Lips in Legend" that is very close to mine! 

Essie Nail Polish - "Bikini So Teeny" is one of my all time favorite Essie colors! The pretty light blue color instantly lets me know it's Spring! And it has just the right amount of shimmer to it. This is a color I can rock now and all through summer!

Batiste Dry Shampoo - I looooove dry shampoo! Batiste is one of my favorites, I like the original scent but they have several other options! It's perfect for days you need to add a little oomph to your 'do or for lazy Sunday mornings.  I've also found it really helps make my curls last throughout the day! 

Roses de Chloe Perfume - I got this perfume for Christmas and it is one of my new favorites! The light scent smells like a beautiful bouquet of roses and easy to transition from day to night.  With notes of fresh cut roses, magnolia, and amber, it's the perfect Spring scent - everyone will be asking what you're wearing! 

♥ Caro

November Update

Do you ever get to the point where you just have so much to do you can't get anything done? The past couple of weeks have been insane, somehow I blinked and it had been ages since my last blog post.  Blame it on a combination of school and life, this semester especially has been a lot of work.  In my school, and because of my major, sophomore year is traditionally the hardest year.  As an acting major this is the last year of "primary training" before you go on to "advanced training" so this is the time they load us up with work to make sure everyone is committed to the program and the major. I have already had several friends decide this major is not for them. There are no hard feelings, especially during sophomore year, some people love the work and some people don't, better to find out now than after you've graduated with a degree you don't want!  I love what I am doing; I just had more hours in a day to do it.  I have to admit, I have been fighting guilt the past few weeks after putting Handbags & Heartbeats on the back burner.  I am a passionate person and when I do something I love I want to put as much into it as possible.  When I could barely finish my papers on time, much less write a blog post, I knew it was important for me to take a little break and focus on my studies at hand.  This is a fun past time for me, I am really excited to finally be caught up on work and have the time to write fun and interesting blog posts for y'all to read! I hope you enjoy this as much as I do; I appreciate every single one of you reading this.  I am proud of myself for continuing to blog as often as I can and I know that H&H will only continue to get better as I put more time and effort into it! Thank you for the support and thank you for being patient! I have some fun things coming your way this week, and in the weeks to come so stay tuned!! 

♥ Caro

Mug Madness

Lately I have been obsessing over mugs. Weird, right? Please tell me I'm not alone. This year especially I have been drinking hot tea more than usual - when I got sick earlier in the semester I lived off of it and now I am addicted.  And I have always loved hot chocolate, my favorite winter treat!  I don't drink coffee (I know if I start I will become addicted and I'm just not ready to go down that road haha) As I browse Pinterest or Tumblr lately, I find myself saving pictures of all of these cute mugs - and this year my birthday wish lists consists of several! I thought I would share a few of my favorites with you, they're just too cute to keep to myself! 

Two that I am in love with (bottom left and bottom right) are from Charm & Gumption - they're both on my wish list. The mugs they carry are so cute it was hard to narrow down my favorites! 

♥ Caro

*Also this is not a sponsored post, I just thought the site and mugs were super cute so I figured I would share! 

F.O.M.O.

Hi, my name is Caroline, and I am finally going to admit that I suffer from major FOMO – also known as fear of missing out. I hate saying no to things or canceling plans because I am always worried I might miss something exciting…

Lately I have been thinking a lot about time and prioritizing my commitments.  This semester especially the work I have outside of class has involved working with other people to schedule rehearsals and meetings – essentially planning what I am doing around what everyone else is. I always hated group projects growing up, someone never pulls their weight, schedules never add up, and it’s always more work than it’s worth.  Majoring in acting in college means a majority of my homework requires me to meet with scene partners, scheduling outside rehearsals so that we can present scenes in class and work with teachers on the choices we have made.  Don’t get me wrong – I LOVE what I do.  But sometimes it can be hard when you have to turn things down because your scene partner can only meet at a certain time.  There is a give and take that has to occur and you have to prioritize, something I occasionally have problems doing. 

Over the past few weeks I have been slowly trying to embed in my brain that just because I can’t go to something, doesn’t mean I am going to miss out on the best night of my life. Yes, staying at home to write a paper might not be as fun as going to a mixer with my sorority, or catching dinner and a movie with friends - but in college you have to remember why you are here.  My studies are important to me, and more importantly, I genuinely enjoy what I am doing.  Sometimes you just have to do what's best for you.  It is a lesson I am having a hard time learning, but one that I know is necessary.  It is easier as a sophomore, my second year in college, and I don’t feel as much pressure to go out and meet people because I do have a good, solid group of friends. Still, it’s hard to stay home. And it's hard to turn down plans. I know I am not the only one that has to do this, and I am certainly not the only person with FOMO! I am learning that there will be a million “best night of my life” moments to come. At this point I just have to remind myself to do what's best for me and try to avoid stressing about the what if's.

♥ Caro

Gilmore Girls

In case you haven’t heard, you might as well cancel your October plans now because *drumroll please…* GILMORE GIRLS IS ON NETFLIX! I have loved Gilmore Girls for years. I started watching it back in middle school (thank you ABC Family for playing it every weekend morning!) I fell in love with the story and characters, immediately identifying with "book worm" Rory.  It is one of those classic TV shows that you watch forever and still adore.  I feel like I have seen every episode though I am not sure if I have ever seen them in order. I am SO excited to start from the beginning and follow along! There are 7 seasons so it’s going to take me a while (let’s be honest – I barely have time for homework and blogging, much less Netflix binge watching!) But this is the show I go to when I am stressed, tired, and just need some time alone. Having it available at the click of a button makes me so happy! Not only is the show great because of the wit and charm but I have always admired the mother/daughter relationship between Lorelai and Rory.  With great one-liners - Lorelai always says exactly what you're thinking - and adorable male love interests it is the perfect show to have on hand.  Netflix has just made girls everywhere love Fall even more!  

♥ Caro

Stay Updated!

I am still getting into the swing of blogging, I am learning more and more everyday and it is definitely a work in progress for me.  I recently added my blog to the site Bloglovin' - it's a great website that takes all of your favorite blogs and puts the new posts in one place for you.  This makes it super easy to stay up to date on new posts and ensure you never miss one! Feel free to follow me there, you can also sign up for email updates or follow me on Instagram (@handbagsandheartbeats) to see when new content is put up! Thanks for the patience and support, and I hope y'all enjoy H&H as much as I do :) 

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♥ Caro