Happy Hub: The Martian, Emotion, Zoya Cassedy + Haven, & More!

Now that we're back to school, I'm having a harder time keeping track of my favorites -- or even having favorites for that matter. Despite the exams, homework, and general exhaustion, I've managed to squeeze in some favorites. Hopefully these are the things that will stand out in my memory when I look back on this blur of a month.

#hairoftheweek: Faux Half Shave

I hope you're liking my originals because this season is setting a new record. I'm so glad I actually prepared ahead of time because amongst this chaos we call school, I don't have to worry about coming up with a #hairoftheweek. I can just pull from all the hairstyles I have saved up! Not procrastinating really does pay off. This week's #hairoftheweek gave me a chance to pretend to be edgy for a day while showing off my ear cuff. Two birds with one stone, ya know?

Book Talk: Duology Recommendations

There are times when you want a story that's a little longer than a stand alone but a trilogy or series feels like too much commitment. This is where duologies come in. In the last couple years, trilogies have been a trend in the book industry, leaving other types of stories overlooked. In this post, you're going to find five of my favorite duologies that'll hopefully catch your eye.

#hairoftheweek: Swoopy Half Up

I'm proud to be starting out this season with a bunch of my originals. I'm really glad I had a bunch lined up because this quarter has proven to be the busiest I've ever been in my college career thus far. Another perk of having my original hairstyles is that they're all so easy and I only have to practice them once before I'm ready to go. This hairstyle was so simple that I subconsciously had to make up for it by stabbing my eye with the mascara wand twice. That's what I tell myself to cover up my ineptitude.

Travelog: Cruise Food | Starters

I promised you pictures of various dishes I had on my cruise and I'm here to deliver. I'm going to try to keep the chatter to a minimum in this post so you can be free to take it all in without any pesky distractions. Originally, the plan was to stick all the pictures in one post but an hour and a half into putting the post together, I realized how many dishes I'd photographed. I made an executive decision to split up this post into a three part series, which will be coming to you the second Wednesday of each month through the end of the year. All of these photos come from the dining room because the buffet can be a zoo and, let's be real, your plate never looks appetizing with all those foods mushed together. Some of the photos are a little bit blurry because I was always eager to get to the fun part (read: eating) but I did my best and I hope you aren't reading this on an empty stomach because you're about to be in trouble if you are.

Everything you see on these Cruise Food posts are from my Mediterranean cruise on the Norwegian Jade. You can read all about that trip in these three posts. (You can also read about my time in Venice but I was off the ship by then.)

#hairoftheweek: Half Up Snake Accent

What a long week it's been. This week was my first full week of classes and I underestimated the toll two 8am classes a week can have. Slap another early morning for community service on Saturday? I'm pooped. Thankfully this week's #hairoftheweek is one that's so easy that you could do it half asleep. Don't worry, it takes longer to type out the name than to actually do this hairstyle.

If you missed the start of Fall 2015, you can find the Variety Bun here! Per usual, the start of the month means I round up all the books I read in the previous month in my monthly Wrap Up. I'm pretty proud of September, if I do say so myself.

Book Talk: September Wrap Up

The last month of summer means it's the last month to get as many books in (and as far ahead in my Goodreads Reading Challenge) as possible before the hustle and bustle of school kicks in. It looks like all my hard work paid off because September turned out to be my best reading month this year, unbeknownst to me until I tallied up the stats. Although I read a lot of books in a few genres this month, I feel like I really branched out. And I only ended up with one dud! I mean, if you gotta have them, might as well let them be the book that's under 300 pages, right? I'm excited about my progress this month. Click that "read more" to see what I've been reading this month and don't forget to check out last month's Wrap Up if you missed it!

#hairoftheweek: Variety Bun

Last summer I told myself I'd use my free time to come up with some cool hairstyles so I would have plenty to choose from when I started college and another season of #hairoftheweek. That's not really how it ended up happening. I only ended up with one hairstyle but seeing that it was the most popular of the season gives me confidence that Fall 2015 is going to be a good one. I'm excited to be kicking off this school year with one of my originals.