activism

Gift Guide for the Activist in Your Life

November 28, 2017

It's about that time of year again, where all the gift guides are coming out. There's gift guides for everything now, from the significant other in your life, to the sporty girl, to your dog groomer's cousin's cat. In this time of political turmoil in our country, hence the reason I started Half Full, I figured I'd write a useful gift guide. In a country that's being turned upside down, what's a better gift than a useful gift?

Maybe you have a friend or loved one that is trying to become more politically active. Maybe you have a friend who is already politically active or works in politics or nonprofits. Maybe you have a friend who isn't interested or educated in politics remotely, and you want to give them a little nudge. Either way, I've rounded up some tangible ways for people to get involved in the political sphere below, for my activist gift guide below.


1. A Donation to the ACLU in their Name

I made a donation to the ACLU recently, and now I get sent petitions weekly for other causes. I would save this for a very politically active friend, who always wants to help at least once a week.

2. An iPad Air

This is great for canvassing! Canvassers often use apps which tell them how a district votes and which houses to go to and which to avoid. Also, it's an easy way to collect donations from cards.

3. A Subscription to the New York Times

The NYT is the print CNN when it comes to keeping updated. They also have tailored newsletters and podcasts based on the consumer's interests. An informed activist is the best kind!

4. Merch from Crooked Media

Two ex Obama staffers crated Crooked media not too long ago. You may have heard of Podsave America? If your friend is politically active, chances are that they listen to the podcast. If so, get them a "friend of the pod" t shirt.

5. A Contributions to Amnesty International

Similar to the ACLU donation!


6. "What Happened" by Hillary Rodham Clinton

Maybe they can tell you when they read it...


7.  Pizza Rolls not Gender Rolls T Shirt

...Aand anything from feminist apparel for that matter. 

8. Sign them Up for Some Awesome Newsletters!


9. A Subscription to Ms Magazine





christmas cookie

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

December 17, 2015

Two-ingredient cookies are a blessing. Last Christmas, I made Key Lime Cool Whip cookies. They were MAGICAL. Honestly, when I make these two ingredient cookies, it's all about the batter and not about the cookies. What I like about these cookies is that they taste like little cakes. That means that they're very moist and will pair will with ice cream. Some people do these cookies filled with chocolate chips, some pair it with a cream cheese frosting.

photo credit

These cookies are incredibly easy to make.
Ingredients:
  • 1 box spice cake mix
  • 1 can pumpkin puree
Directions:
1. Mix ingredients in a bowl
2. Grease a cookie sheet and preheat the oven to 350 degrees
3. Bake for 18 minutes and let cool for 5 minutes



Pumpkin and spice cake mix makes pumpkin spice... it's the cookie of the "typical white girl!" Happy holidays!  



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charity

LIfestyle: Holiday Volunteer Guide

November 26, 2014

At school, I do social media and blog post creation for the student involvement office. Unintentionally, our focus this month has been philanthropy. Last week, I did a post about homelessness on campus and what options and resources students have if they're in a situation like that. This week, I wrote a piece about why volunteering is important not only for you, but for the lives of those that you help. I thought I'd share it on my blog here as well, and instead of giving local volunteer options, I'll give you places to donate online and in person nationally.
KULA-Currency-of-Giving-Quote-12
A man loses his apartment in a snowstorm, a women is homeless after 15 years of domestic abuse, a family is hungry, homeless, and cold… These are all terrible situations to be in, especially on a holiday such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Hanukkah. You can only really enjoy the holidays, or anything, if you have your feet on the ground. Volunteering your time, money, or resources at one of the many shelter in this area can change one of those stories into one of hopelessness into one of change for the better. Instead of hearing about a man who is laid off and homeless, you can of a man who thanks to the kind smiles of strangers gains the confidence to go back on the job market and land himself a job.
That’s the thing about paying it forward, a little goes a long way.
“I’m happy here. It’s given me a lot of independence and the time to take care of my health. My room is new and clean. I even have a few good friends. Lately I’ve been going into Boston a lot to visit the Museum of Natural History. I’m also studying psychology and different languages. I still have a lot of challenges, but being stable is what will help me get through them.”  - A Happy LifeBridge in Salem Client
With packed shelters and kitchens around the holidays, they need your help more than ever. Strong leaders are selfless, humble, and giving. As Salem State prepares you for a career academically, it also prepares you to be a leader. Volunteering can enrich your education, values, and overall college experience. This holiday, take a step back, give thanks, and give back.

Here’s a list of places and ways to give back this holiday:

beauty

Review: Studio Gear Cosmetics Holiday Pallete

December 17, 2013

It's about time I review another product - so why not a Holiday themed makeup palette. So, the nice folks at Studio Gear Cosmetics sent of their "Smoky Eye Holiday Palette"s my way. I based my whole makeup look I'll be doing Christmas Day and Christmas Eve! I might even use it on New Years, because it helps you create the ultimate smoky eye, and mostly every holiday calls for one.

Here it is!

It comes fully equipped with directions on how to shade your smoky eye perfectly and what brushes to use. I haven't invested in any of their brushes yet, however I intend on it. You all should, too. Hopefully I can have them give me a discount code for all of you lovely readers! The colors in the palette are a dark "coal", a light and bright "frost", a light but smoky "platinum:, and a gold, warm "glimmer." The blush in the middle is called "snow glow." Now, with all of the directions and the colors with adorable names, we're ready to make the smoky eye. But how do we?

A Smoky Eye the Studio Gear Cosmetics Way: 
1. Prime your eyelids and brush "frost" from lash line to brow bone.
2. Apply "platinum" from lash line to the crease.
3. Make a v shape from the outer corners of your eye in with coal
4. Highlight your brow bone with "glimmer."
5. Blend it all together with a blending eyeshadow brush.

Here's my face when it's all finished!


I applied bb cream, blush, and bronzer, I filled in my eyebrows and I finished with a Revlon lipstick in "plum perfect." I'm very happy with how it all came out. I'm overall satisfied with the studio gear cosmetics palette. With the useful colors, and helpful steps I'll definitely be looking into purchasing more from the website. If you're interested as well, (and you should be), here's the contact info:

link for the palette: http://studiogearcosmetics.com/shop/eye-make-up/holiday-smokey-eye-palette/
website: http://studiogearcosmetics.com/
twitter: @SGearCosmetics
instagram: studiogearcosmetics
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StudioGearCosmetics

WANT A DISCOUNT CODE ON THS MAKEUP KIT? USE DOLLAR13 FOR 10% OFF!!


Here's my video using this palette in live action!



amazon

SHOPPING: PERSONALITY GIFT GUIDE

December 08, 2013

As far as blogging goes, I'm a gift guide virgin. I've never done a gift guide post because I feel like my advice wasn't good enough. However, I thought of an interesting angle to attack this post at. I used some inspiration from how I shop for myself and others.

When shopping, the two things I look for are a good price and it's functional. My philosophy on gift giving is to make sure the recipient will actually use it, otherwise it's useless. I always take things that I'm using that someone gave to me as a gift with special care. Hopefully your friends and family will do the same thing, with the help of this guide. To ensure this, I'm going to give suggestions based on personality types. If you want to give your bff who wear denim cut offs and listen to underground music something that's her cup of tea but you have no idea what, here's where I come in!

1. The Musical Type
This can mean anyone who either plays an instrument, sings, goes to countless shows and concerts (me), or has over 3000 iTunes songs (sadly, also me). These are general suggestions however you can customize it to their own favorite bands and artists!


1. Vinyls 2. Headphones 3. iHome  4. Band Tees

2. The Sporty Type
There's always your friends that are very athletic or like sports. They're always trying to blend athletic wear with street clothes. They're the ones that drag you to the gym. Show them you care about their interests!



3. The Techy Type
We all have those friends who know exactly what's new and next when it comes to tech. If they have the iPhone 5 and the iPhone 5c just came out, they're trading it in right away. Here's some ideas for them!



4. The Adventurous Type
Some of our loved ones just want an experience, simple materials things just won't cut it. So if it's an experience they want, give it to them!



 5. The Fashionable Type
This is where I satisfy all you readers who wanted a typical "gifts for him/her" section. These are all under 100$ and 100 % stylish to satisfy your friends who are aways on trend!

1. Kendall and Kylie Clothes 2. Killer Shades 3. Neff Headgear 4. Button-Ups

6. The Funny/ Random Type
We all know that there are a lot of useless but hilarious gifts out there. They always amuse me as they line the que in a store or catch my attention at the check-out. When it comes to online shopping, websites like Urban Outfitters have a 5$ section dedicated to these types. I found some gems!





Wow, that was tiring to make. However I did it to hopefully make your holiday shopping a little bit easier. I hope this helped. Happy shopping!

boots

Style: Turkey Day OOTD!

November 28, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving lovelies! What are you thankful for? I'm obviously thankful for the supportive people in my life and the new experiences I've been having. I'm for the most part dedicating this holiday season my Nanny and Papa that I lost in March. They were the best story of true love I've ever seen. I thought I'd celebrate Turkey Day by showing you my OOTD!



For my face I did my usual go-to fancy makeup with a smoky eyeshadow look and winged eyeliner.  I brightened up the look with my Rimmel lipstick in "Back to Fuschia."

I'm OBSESSED with this quarter-sleeved dress from Forever 21. It's fitted perfectly with tight at the bottom sleeves and loose shoulder, and it's cinched at the waist for an hourglass shape. I paired it with some white festive lace tights and my brown riding boots. I accessorized with my pandora and Alex and Ani bracelets.

Look at these adorable pumpkin spice cookies I made that look like Turkeys!


Lastly, here's a video I made for my sweet potato casserole recipe. It's clean and delicious. I would definitely try it on your family at Christmas.


both recipes were a huge hit!



Happy Gobbling!

aeropostale

MEMORIAL DAY OOTD!

May 27, 2013


Hello all! I hope you're enjoying your holiday weekend. I know I have, and I'm even more excited for what's to come this week. What's your plans for today? A parade, cookout, maybe the beach? Today I did my usual Memorial Day tradition, watching the local parade then boating and a cookout on the lake. I loove being on the lake. I think I've mastered dressing for it by now! Memorial Day is the warm up to mixing in beach clothes and regular clothes - something that will become a popular occurrence in the upcoming months. 
This was my OOTD! I had a bandeau on, because I wasn't sure if it was warm enough to swim or not. But I thought I'd break out a t shirt and shorts, and accent it with a hair tie and a crochet vest. The vest is from H&M. The mint top is from Delias, I like the open back because it can expose a bandeau for an extra surprise. Since the top is simple, I thought my new tribal hair tie from Aeropostale would be a good twist. My last twist are my ombre denim shorts. I love ombre in every which way. Lastly, I just wore flip flops today, but mint or coral vans would go great with this look!
Here's me with my friend Bree, it seems that high waisted shorts was the theme today. What was your Memorial Day OOTD and how was your day? Don't be shy!

christmas

OOTD: A VERY LEATHER CHRISTMAS

December 25, 2012

This morning, I awoke in my comfy VS pullover and had a pre-thought out outfit: cute dress and ankle boots ready to wear. However, the a few things threw a wrench in my plans. First, the miraculous inch of snow coated on the ground deemed it too cold to sport my short-sleeved dress. Also, I was bombarded by amazing gifts of clothes from my parents! I might do a post later about my presents, but that's not what this post is about, it's my Christmas Day OOTD, put together in al of 5-10 minutes!







I'll start with the first picture, the clothes. I absolutely adore this Eyeshadow peplum shirt in deep coral from Macy's website ($32).  In jersey material, it's structure is impeccable. The broad shoulders, open back, and a well made peplum detail make it a classic top for any formal or casual occasion. Moving on down, I couldn't resist these leather leggings from Wet Seal. I got them and skinny jeans for buy one get one 70% off on Black Friday!
My friend Jenna spoiled me with these adorable studded flats from Aldo ($26). The juxtaposition of the stud and gem detail makes it cute and edgy simultaneously. The first "bling" piece is my signature diamond Swarovski studs, I got them in Austria and never take them out. However, on my second hole I'm wearing new cross studs from the F21 website, a pack of 6 different stud choices are ONLY $5.80!! On my wrist, I put on this cute gold/silver bracelet I found in a jewelry boutique in Cape Cod, and of course the new Pandora bracelet I got from my boyfriend yesterday.
My face has mostly red tones on it, but it's a simple look. Any blush on the cheeks, a coral base coat of eyeshadow and a light red eyeshadow for the corners. Black cat eyeliner, mascara on the top and bottom lashes with white eyeliner in the inner and outer corners to brighten up my eyes. Lastly, I've got eos lip balm and Maybelline  "Color Sensation" in plum perfect on my lips. My hair is curled with  the no-fail method for anyone with naturally wavy or straight hair: shower, blow dry, and leave it in a sock bun overnight. 

Ou la la, You can easily look like santa's little sexy helper!

Side note: Just because Christmas has ended doesn't mean the shopping is over! Many stores have crazy post-christmas sales, as well as websites. These products are still available online in select sizes - I checked! Whether it's cyber shopping or you're braving the aftermath at the mall, happy shopping as always. ALSO, leave a comment with what you got this year. Have a merry Christmas/Holiday and enjoy time with your families - it's almost time for pie!