Weekend Recap + Divergent Movie ReviewI

This weekend was supposed to be a busy weekend, but my plans changed at the last minute and I ended up having much more free time than I originally expected. I was supposed to help out in another Vocal Frozen Camp, however I had family friends coming in the next day and wouldn't be able to attend the concert- so I skipped it completely. At the last minute my friend invited me to see Divergent this weekend and not only is Divergent my favorite book of all time, but add Theo James and the movie gets that much better.

Yes please.

I was very surprised by the movie being so well done. Normally books turned into movies are generally sucky, but this was a different story: action, romance, Theo, more action, intensity. It was a perfect mixture of everything, and I know I am biased but I believe that everyone that's read the book needs to see this movie. Honestly I wasn't looking forward to this movie, because the trailer was eh and the characters looked way different than I pictures, and I went anyways. AMAZING. A tip though for some movie-goers; if you haven't read the book yet, don't see it. You'll sort of get it, but my friend and I went with someone who hadn't read the movie and they were confused towards the end. Read the book, it's worth it, and then go see this awesome movie.

Saturday morning my friend and I went thrift shopping at a little thrift shop called Exchange Factor near her house, and it was like a scavenger hunt but I came out with an adorable navy blue button up blouse with lace trim. I plan on adding some more lace trim along the bottom, so I'll post a picture when I complete my mini project. We also tried on vintage wedding dressed (why not?) and sorted through racks of the cutest clothes; I could have come out of there with a lot of clothes. 

Saturday afternoon when I got home, I got to spend time with some family friends of ours that came in town and their exchange student from Spain. We went out to dinner on Isle of Palms and it was great to talk to someone around my age about their culture in Spain and how they've adjusted to the American life! 

Sunday I spent the day downtown with my family and some friends of ours to celebrate my mom's birthday. I had the most delicious "lemon pot de creme" which was a light lemon custard with blueberries and whipped creme on top. It was scrumptious

Low lighting in the restaurant so I had to make it black and white :(

It was an excellent weekend overall- only one more weekend until Italy!

Have an amazing week beautifuls!

Natalie Sinclair

Counting Backwards {April 2013}

The highlight of last April was the amazing spring vacation I toon with my grandparents. We went to Williamsburg, Virgina and spent the week walking around Colonial Williamsburg. In a nutshell it's a historical town inside Williamsburg that shows the life of colonial people and because I love history, this trip was very fun! The flowers were in bloom, the weather was lovely, and I got to spend time with my grandparents. 

Our hotel was the most beautiful one by far. The inside was decorated with all sorts of fancy furniture and decorations, and our room had a private bathroom area with a jacuzzi and all the things for a spa, right in the room (can I sat yes please?) 

Like I said before, the flowers were in bloom and there were these huge gardens covered in blooming flowers that you could literally get lost in!

This gate was just one of the few pieces of the main house. The house also included a jail, maze like garden, and more beautiful gates like this one.

My spring break was a little chilly last year, but the vacation was so much fun! It's hard to believe that in a weeks and a half I get to embark on my Italy trip for my 2014 Spring Break Trip (and I thought Williamsburg was far away) and boy am I excited! 11 days and counting :)

Love,

Natalie 

Sharpie Style

So I was scrolling my social media today and after saw this picture on Tumblr and I knew I had to try it:

I thought to myself, I should make one too! I went to Starbucks today and drank my delicious chai tea, rinsed the cup out, then started with my Sharpie. It took awhile but was surprisingly fun- and I started to Sharpie other things (I should have been doing geometry homework but why do math when you can doodle?). Here are some "sharpie styled" objects that I did today.

1. The Classic Starbucks Cup

On a side note: the sunset here tonight was absolutely gorgeous!

I started with the lid and then went to the logo where I worked my way out. I found several things useful when drawing on my little cup: make sure your cup is completely dry, use a fine point Sharpie for details, and take your time. Some parts of my cup weren't dry when I started and it was soggy there so I had to cover it up with more drawings, and a fine point Sharpie would have helped a ton when doing all the tiny little details. Also take your time, I know it's just a cup but if you want it to look neat don't rush (I tried rushing and it looked sloppy). Other than that, this was a super fun and easy little art project :)

 2. Chargers

These were super easy and took very little time. I had already Sharpie-d my chargers before, but after time they started to fade a bit so I redrew some of the designs. 

 3. Outlets

Outlets are super cheap and if you aren't renting your house, can be a cute way to personalize your room. Simply unscrew the plastic piece around the outlet, draw your design, let it dry, and screw back on! Here's mine:

Sharpie styling your room takes no time at all and gives that extra pow to any regular boring object (I mean who wants a plain white coffee cup, charger, and outlet?) My last tip is to play around with the Sharpie, find new things that need decorating and doodle away!

Have fun all you artists :)
Love,

Natalie

Weekend Recap + Pitt Street Photo Shoot

This weekend was a blast; I finally had a weekend without having any commitments at school, and I spent it well! Friday night my dad and I got to see our favorite commedian, and it was great to have a night together for once while having a good laugh. Saturday night I got to go boating downtown  and on the way back we blasted songs from Queen and anyone in a 10 mile radius probably heard us :) Today, Daphne and I were going to go to Pitt Street Pharmacy, but it's closed on Sundays (we didn't realize this). Instead we had one of my favorite photo shoots- the weather was perfect, we goofed off, and walked all around the original Mt. Pleasant.

 No words for this one :)

Hopefully you have just as good of a weekend as I did!

Love,

Natalie



Counting Backwards {March '13}

Society has been paying close attention to the past a lot more lately ever since someone on Instagram started the #throwbackthursday trend. We suddenly spend more time cherishing the moments we've had as we continue to spiral through the universe and dodge life's many obstacles. The thought of looking back made me think of how much I've done in the past year, so I got all my thoughts together and came up with my newest blog series: Counting Backwards. Every Thursday I will reflect on each month (starting with March 2013) and working my way to present day, enjoy! 

{March 2013}

Last year roughly around this time, I had the amazing experience of traveling with fellow friend and blogger, Sydney, to Dallas, Texas for National Choir! We were two of the three students in our grade that made it and we were beyond excited to meet people from all around the country who all shared our favorite talent: singing. But the biggest thing for me was going to get to take an airplane halfway across the county with NO parents; did someone say awesome?

We had the best time- one day we explored downtown and I got to have the best Mac and cheese (it had bison and black beans in it) and one night we went to the roof of the hotel and looked over the beatiful skyline. When we left Dallas we had an unexpected person on our plane, Jesse McCarntny, and we all got to talk with him :) 

Caring for Curls

As you all have seen I have bouncy curly hair, but keeping it looking gorgeous is a hassle and a death match! When I was little my parents would call it a rats nest because we would find things in my hair that aren't normally found in hair- I'm sure all you curly haired girls have heard this term before (they're just jealous of it)

If your hair is spiraling out of control, I am going to give you my top three products to manage your mess so your hair returns to the gorgeous flowing mane everyone envies!

1.  Mousses- Girls with curly hair worship the mousses because they are light and are easy on your hair! I would recommend a no crunch mousse by Pantene- I worship this stuff!

2. Gels- I have a gel called Deva Curl I flip my hair wet upside down and I scrunch it up in my handshold for a few seconds then repeat about 3 time.

3. Sea Salt Spray- I have a Ogx Moroccan sea salt spray that you use on dry hair it is my life saver I love it so much!! 

I hope you tame your mess!

Best Wishes,

Weekend Recap + Macaroons!

This weekend my school held a spiritual/gospel concert Friday, Saturday, and today- it was a blast! But while I wasn't at school I was doing all sorts of fun stuff. On Saturday before the concert a friend and I went downtown and shopped for spring clothes at Forever 21, H&M, and plenty more. We started off at Forever 21 where the fire alarm kept going off (there wasn't a fire but the alarm kept going off)- talk about something you don't want to hear when you're in the dressing room! I bought a red crop top sweater, a pink leather bow, a tribal print bow, and a new wallet. I bought a t shirt at H&M and a pinwheel ring at a little jewelry store on King Street, but after that we really didn't have much time to do anything however we had time to visit the macaroon boutique:

The chocolate was my favorite :)

I could have eaten all of the macaroons and might make some if I have time this week, but for now I'm busy with homework and studying so it's off  to hit the books.

Love,

Natalie

Furry Friend Photography

You have to admit, even if you aren't an animal lover, that all animals are adorable in their own ways. But photographing them, like my spastic dog, can be very challenging if you aren't sure what you're doing. Animals can be spooked by the flash of a camera or even the sound of the shutter makes them jump. I tried taking pictures of an adorable golden retriever but every time the camera clicked she would jump up and hide. So below I will show the best tricks I've found while photographing my dog Sophie.

1. Wait for the right moment: You don't want a crazy animal all over you when you're trying to make it stay, nor do you want an animal fast asleep. When Sophie has energy, you know it, she acts like she was charged into an electrical socket and she runs around with all her toys (keeping her still is nearly impossible). But when she's tired she will not move, it doesn't matter if she is inconveniencing you, nope- not moving. However, the perfect time is when she is relaxed and in the middle.

2. Rewards! For most of my pictures where it looks like Sophie is looking at the camera, she normally is looking at a treat sitting on top of the lens. This gives the affect that she is directly staring at something while her focus is actually on a toy or a treat. When you're pet likes something and is able to wait for it, place that item either on your camera or in another area. Once your pet is finished with the picture taking, make sure to play with them and give them plenty of treats because this will tell them that they have done something good.

3. Turn off flash. By using flash, your pet could turn out with devilish red eyes so turn that flash off! Also, Sophie hates flash because it is so bright and she gets up and leaves if I even accidentally turn it on. 

Here are my favorites:

Those eyes scream "treat??"

Mind you, Sophie NEVER allows you to put a hat on her, so when I got this picture I started laughing at the hilarity or it as well as being ecstatic that she sat still so I could put the hat on :)

These easy tips should help you when you're photographing your pet; it can be hard to communicate what you want your pet to do in a picture but with some treats and a little motivation you are able to get some adorable pictures of your furry friend.

Love,

Natalie