thelifeoftessblog

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museum day with mom. thought this (at national gallery of art) was exceptionally lovely. (I think it's called "nun with veil," but I don't recall the sculptor) (at National Gallery of Art)

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(via Touring The Home Of Margo & Me Founder, Jenny Bernheim)

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via @refinery29

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if possible, I have had this tumblr post stuck in my head today.

Via Imgur

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When I realize that Thanksgiving break is coming up

I’m all:

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obsessed with this raccoon

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When someone tells me that teaching is easy

I’m all:

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hello, friday

on sunday, we went for a long walk around DC, and came across this mural (the photo shows a bit of it). the script graffiti by the door says "trust your struggle," and i swear that was probably a sign from the universe regarding this week. it's been rough. the past two months have been, for Reasons I Will Not Say Unless It's In Person and We Are Friends. 

so, i've been thinking about that note from an unknown artist. trust your struggle. i think that's like leaning in, but i never read the book. here's how i'm interpreting it: whatever challenge you're going through, there's a reason, and you should trust that you need to learn to get through this particular rough patch. if something is hard, or scary, or frustrating, the only way to figure out how to make it easy, less intimidating, or no-big-deal, is to push through it. i'm trying really hard to do that at work right now. it's not exactly fun, this struggle, and it's not making me the most pleasant person to be around, but i'm trusting that it's there for a reason. whatever lesson i'm going to learn (either how to push through this stuff or...some alternate option that is not known at this point), it's one i need to learn, i suppose.

which is all to say - hello. my name is tess, and my job is really freaking difficult right now, and it makes me a little curmudgeonly in real life, so i'm genuinely sorry if i've forgotten to call you or been irritable in your presence. i'm seeking low-key ways to reboot whenever i can. this weekend, i won't be blogging. i'll be in Lynchburg, VA, shopping for a wedding dress with my mom, and hanging out with my parents when we're not wrapping me in tulle, or whatever dresses are made from. i will make a valiant effort to get some things up for next week, but right now? it's not the battle i want to fight, and so i am choosing to let blog stuff be less of a priority until it can be a list-topper later on. 

LOVE YOU ALL. follow on instagram (lifeoftess) or snapchat (tbkrovetz). snapchat is where i swear a lot and talk about inane things.

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weekend reading {october 10}

this past week, y'all. everyone i talked to said it was a doozy. i have a long weekend thanks to the holiday, and we had no kids yesterday (teacher planning), so i'm thinking it's a good time to reboot mentally. i gave myself an at-home spa day yesterday (new shampoo! foot scrub! face brightening mask!) and enjoyed take-out and slept like a rock. i have some good ideas for posts for the blog (new birchbox, review of some new products i picked up at Ulta, and talking about my Thursday night meeting Jane Park of Julep), and will probably spend some time on sunday working on those. 

since i couldn't get any reading post up last week, this week has a bit more. enjoy the long weekend, if you get it, and go enjoy the hell out of the fall weather. SWEATERS FOR EVERYONE.

let's start with food! i'm craving some good soup as the weather gets cooler, and this one sounds very yummy.

i am intrigued by this and i also really like the plaid shirt she's wearing in her profile photo.

i don't particularly care what goes on our registry, but a bar cart is the only thing i want.

hi. i'd like to be FLOTUS when i grow up.

this skirt length is one i really love right now.

mom and i will be shopping for my wedding dress this time next week. ack.

i'm seriously considering a small tattoo for my 30th birthday (next year) and so i have a board on pinterest devoted to inspiration.

important information on fall beauty right here.

i've finally mastered more complex eyeshadow, so maybe i should dabble in contouring?

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how do you fall?

ahahaha, i'm writing this on a monday afternoon and i am so tired that i'm really genuinely pleased by my play on words.

i am such a fan of this season. it's wonderful. the air gets crisp, i can wear sweaters all the time, and the leaves are just ridiculously beautiful if you're lucky enough to live in the middle of the east coast. granted, fall got off to a very damp and grey and cold start this October, but i'm trusting that Mother Nature is going to throw us some good fall days soon. 

i am not a fan of pumpkin spice anything, though. i like my lattes plain and my beer wheaty. i don't mess with pumpkin beverages. 

i do love mini pumpkins. i'm kind of impressed that i haven't raided the grocery store selection just yet. and i want to go apple picking. and drink hot apple cider. and sit near bonfires.

this season also brings Thanksgiving and my birthday, which falls RIGHT after the holiday, so...i basically don't do much for that, except a quiet thing with a couple people. when i was little, my birthday was honored the day after Thanksgiving with ice cream cake and family festivities. now that i get like, two-and-a-half days off for the holiday, and everyone i know is traveling home on my birthday, it's just easier not to make a fuss. i like to raise a glass with my parents and fiancé and maybe a few close friends, then allow the new year to roll on in.

what are your favorite fall activities? what are good autumnal things to do in the DC area? 

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mani monday {october 5}

this week's manicure reminds me of, like, tiny nail suits. my nails! they're so dapper!

i'm honestly feeling the darker tones right now, but i felt like at least starting the week with a hint of sparkle. the dark shade is a deep blue (OPI Light My Sapphire) and the silver is Essie (Loophole). i'll be changing to Julep polishes mid-week, though, since there's a DC Maven Meet-Up and i reeeeeeeally want to go! 

want to do polka dots? sacrifice a bobby pin and go slow. my right hand looks like it was attacked by a drunk toddler with a polka-dotting tool, because hi, working with my non-dominant hand is HARD. also, pour a little polish onto foil for easier (and less messy) access than dipping the bobby pin into the bottle. i freehanded the silver stripe, since Essie's brushes are pretty narrow.

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what made me smile this week

bloglovin' is down today, so i can't access anything that i saved this week. the weekend reading post will have to wait! so, i figured, in the interest of sticking to my blogging schedule (3-4 posts in the week, plus saturday), i'd spend some time thinking about what made me smile this week.

last weekend, we went to a festival (the Barracks Row Fall Festival) and there was a petting zoo with llamas, and one of them growled at me, and it was the greatest thing.

we went to a wildly fancy party on Tuesday, and i did a very good job at small talk (which, yo, thanks to my sorority background, i am skilled in that arena). and excellent mid-week date.

one of my kids brought me a surprise gift that included the greatest tote bag (it's GIANT and has a print of a pumpkin on it and is my new teacher bag)

another kid wrote me a totally adorable letter, which brightened my day because she's a pretty quiet kid, and it was nice to get a glimpse of what she's thinking about.

i rediscovered a favorite nail polish (Cleopatra, a Julep polish that is black matte).

it's sweater weather! i have a couple that need to be replaced, so i'm having fun poking about the internet searching for two new additions to my wardrobe.

discovered a good bar near Gallery Place last night (Brick & Mortar). the Punch You in the Eye is a delicious bourbon drink.

a friend recommended this brow powder, so i picked it up on Amazon, and it's pretty fantastic. a good, light powder, and it gives my eyebrows just a hint more definition.

anyhow. my saturday plans are pretty low-key - waiting for the drizzle to stop, and for the fiancé to get home from a work trip. i may organize some makeup things (i can't find my newest lipstick, Lady in Red, by Julep, and it's driving me insane) and purge some jewelry. what are your weekend plans?

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coloring between the lines

hey there, friday. i'm writing this post on a sunday, but let's go ahead and assume that there's been at least one rough day this week, shall we? last spring, i put myself on a waitlist for this little bit of stress-reducing awesomeness - Johanna Basford's Secret Garden coloring book for grown-ups. not "for grown-ups" in the "it's naughty" sense, just in the "way hard if you are still developing motor skills" sense. 

some pages, like the ones above, almost tell a story, like what you might stumble across walking through a garden. 

others are far more intricate, with repeating patterns (this one reminds me of a kaleidoscope).

right now, i'm working on one that reminds me of fall. there are owls and bees and berries and acorns (oh my!).

also, hi, i love colored pencils. a lot.

do any of you have a coloring book like this? i think they're such a fun way to unwind (or a good alternative to netflix if you're bored)!

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fall lipsticks

last week, to honor the first day of fall, i wore a much darker lipstick than i normally sport. as with any new lipstick, i spent the first hour wearing it convinced that everyone was staring at my mouth and wondering if i knew how awful it looked. then, i forgot i was wearing it, and had a few folks compliment me - and ask what it was! (Still's liquid lipstick in Aria, if you're wondering). so. be bold. wear the lipstick you think is too dark/red/bright/whatever. you're the only person who is hyper-aware of it. 

yesterday i showed you some of my autumnal nail polishes - today, it's lipsticks! and technically one is a lip gloss (that mildly terrifying purple fellow up front, who, i promise, is not actually purple on the lips). i left my new favorite (Lady in Red, by Julep) at work, but i own enough lip products to have a decent selection for you today.

there's really only one neutral shade in here, Chit Chat, which is a good "no-makeup" lipstick. the Rimmel London and Stila ones are both longwear products, and i have some tips on wearing them, fear not. first of all, if you feel like lipstick doesn't last on you at all, GET THEE SOME LIP PRIMER. this is a good one, as is this guy. i'm using the MAKE brand one at the moment, but a friend swears by the Too Faced one. primer does what any primer would do - it create a matte base for the product. i have pretty dry lips, so i can get away without primer for longwear lipsticks, but if longwear doesn't work on you, you might just have lips that produce a little more oil than mine, and primer is a great solution for you. to get long-lasting lipstick off? any oil-based cleanser will dissolve it. i used Julep's Facial Cleansing Oil the other night on the Stila one and it (a) looked like i had smashed several berries into my mouth without opening it and (b) was impossible to tell i had ever worn lipstick that day. 

so! what lip product are you into this season?