Spring/Summer Tote

Spring is here and summer isn't far behind. This means two things: warmer weather (yay!) and carrying more stuff. By stuff, I mean water bottles, swimsuits, changes of clothes, extra makeup, suntan lotion...things like that.

I have a cute cherry tote bag I got from a local store called Jun Lee in Memphis. It's more of a wholesale company with super cute stuff. Everything is priced really well, but you have to spend at least $30 when you check out. That's not a problem if you go with a group.

Well, I've had my cherry tote for a long time and it's a little scraggly. When we got a new shipment of merchandise at work, guess what was inside those wonderful cardboard boxes? New MudPie™ Initial Totes! Apparently, the style for this year is patent leather. We started pricing them, and we had them out on the floor that day. After staring at them for five long hours, I decided I couldn't leave without one. We only had two of each letter, so I grabbed an "S" for myself. I love this bag! I've used it several times already, and I'm going camping this weekend (yes, we can all laugh at the thought of Stacy going camping), and I'm going to use it to carry stuff. Not sure what stuff that will be, but my tote will be full of it.

The outside is black and white patent leather with pink piping along the bottom. An initial is stitched in the middle of the bag. The inside is really cute: white fabric with little black polka dots. The only drawback is the lack of pockets on the interior. I would have loved a pocket or two to keep smaller objects in, but it's not completely necessary.

The shoulder strap length is perfect and is doesn't rub or irritate my shoulder. It fits well on my side too. A lot of bags either hang down by your hip and swish back and forth when you walk, or they sit right underneath your armpit. Both of those options aren't very comfy for me.

The initials they make are: A, B, C, D, E, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, R, S, T, and W.

So far, it's pretty durable. I haven't done anything hardcore with it yet. I know it's been folded, smushed, and creased, but it pops back to normal every time.
If you want to purchase one, we carry them at the store I work for: Southern Event Planners or you can do a search online.

On a side note: Yes, I'm going camping. With a tent. On a lake. Luckily there's running water nearby (you know, besides the huge body of water that will be next to me). I'm excited about making s'mores though. And reading. Nerd, much? =)

Inspiration Part One

Hi all!

This is my first blog posting (obviously)! I love talking about random things, and sometimes, friends just aren't in to the same things I am and their interest feigns. So I'm turning to the next best thing: a blog. This isn't a personal blog by any means. You won't find any deep thoughts or philosophical conversations here. I've created Newfound Obsessions to talk about random things I've come to love and things I'm excited about. Hopefully you'll get excited about them too!

I'm not writing this blog for endorsements. I work for a company that prides itself on finding inspiration. It's a key word we use, and I think I'm starting to live by it. My obsessions change frequently, so I'm pretty sure I won't run out of things to talk about. I always give credit where credit is due, so you'll know where I got the ideas, products, and information.

For my first post, I want to talk about the Coastal Scents Ultra Shimmer 88 Eyeshadow Palette. I first saw it on Suzy's blog (MacNC40) and I was curious about the price. I found it online and was amazed. I started doing more research about it (as I always do), and I came across tutorials from Elle (AllThatGlitters21). Now, I think Suzy is super talented when it comes to makeup, but her skin tone isn't like mine at all. She has dark hair and dark eyes, and I have blonde hair with blue eyes. When I found Elle's tutorials on YouTube, I was ecstatic. A fellow blonde! I saw that she had a blog, and she wrote about some cool things (products and such). Hence my inspiration!

Anyways, back to the eyeshadow. A few months ago, I bought the Urban Decay Deluxe Eyeshadow Box from Ulta and fell in love with it. The colors are fabulous and they blend really well together. I discovered I can layer them, so if the blue is too bright for one outfit, I can add one of the browns on top of it to tone it down. This also gave me a chance to try the Urban Decay Primer Potion. Suzy recommended it to me because my eyeshadow always creases. I tried it once, and it's been on my lids ever since. This prompted me to try more Urban Decay shadows, and they haven't let me down. After playing with the colors and getting out of my eyeshadow comfort zone, I started looking for other palettes.

That is what lead me to Coastal Scents. I'm about to click the order button and I'm so excited. The majority of the reviews have been really positive. I mean, you get 88 colors. And from what I've seen, they're vibrant...not the light colors you have to apply 50 times to get the right shade.