Happy International Dance Day!

Hope you all spent your day movin' and groovin' on this special occasion!

Photo by Alexander Reneff-Olson

Here I am performing a solo variation in Helgi Tomasson's Con Brio, during my time as a San Francisco Ballet Trainee.

Do you love to dance?  If so, what kind of dance do you enjoy? Comment below!

-Fly high, little birds!

Cat appreciation post

This is for all you cat lovers out there!  My cat just happens to be the most adorable cat ever.  Seriously.  I'm not biased or anything! ;) Her name is Ashke, which is from a book that my mother my sister and I read.  It means "beloved" (dawwwwwwwwww).  She is a Lynx Siamese, which basically means she has the same color pattern as a Siamese, but where it would normally be a dark solid color, she's striped!

She was feral for the first 6 months of her life, and seems to have sustained a small amount of brain damage from that time.  She has the WORST sense of balance, and she is generally just very confused about life.  This just makes her all the more endearing to me!

Isn't she precious!  Do you have any pets?

-Fly high, little birds!

Pamper Night

As someone who deals with high levels of anxiety and stress, it is incredibly important for me to take time to let myself unwind!  In fact, even people who don't have much anxiety could still benefit from a night to "treat yo' self!"  Here are some of my favorite products and activities for a relaxing evening!

First I draw a bath, and pick the bath bombs to go in said bath.  I have an unhealthy obsession with LUSH!  (Who doesn't, right?)  Anything that smells nice, you can probably bet I'm sold!  This evening, I have a luxury bath melt called "Floating Island,"  which smells like sweet lemon and sadalwood.  I mixed it with the bubble bar, "Amandopondo," which smells of rose, lemon and orange. YUM!  I have to constantly remind myself not to eat these!

As the bath continues filling up, I light a candle. The one I'm using here is from Bath and Body Works, and is called "Renew & Refresh."  The smell is described as "jasmine, fresh air, and a touch of mint."  Very mellow and relaxing!

I then take off all of my makeup with H2 Bio's Cream Cleanser.  I only ever use this right before taking a bath because my skin is generally very oily, and this cleanser is very moisturizing.  However I find that the steam with the cleanser does wonders for the texture of my skin!

I follow the cream cleanser with Bioderma's Sensibio micellaire water.  I love this product so much! I generally use is as my everyday makeup remover and toner.

At this point, the bath is ready, so I get in with a tall glass of water and a book!

In the bath, my two favorite products to use are an Obey Your Body body scrub in the scent "Ocean," and the Amande Shower Oil from L'Occitane.  This body scrub is made with Dead Sea minerals, so it is full of nutrients and makes your skin so smooth!

The shower oil is great for shaving, and also as a really luxurious body wash!

At this point I'm so relaxed I'm starting to fall asleep, I figure it's time to get out!  After a good steam in the bath I generally like to put on a mask.  In this case I chose my Origins charcoal mask, which is great for oily/acne prone skin.

I then lather on one of my favorite moisturizers from Victoria's Secret. It's from their Sparkling Citrus collection, and its called "Lemon Escape."  IT. SMELLS. DIVINE.  Again, I have to resist the urge to eat this product!

After I finish the mask and the rest of my evening skincare routine, I snuggle up into my favorie jammies, crawl into bed and chill with my kitty-cat, Ashke!

What do you like to do on your "pamper evenings"?  Comment below!

Also, all products from this post are linked below!

-Fly high, little birds!

 Bath Bombs
LUSH- Floating Island
LUSH- Amandopondo

Candle
Bath and Body Works- Renew & Refresh

Face Care
H2BiO- Cream Cleanser
Bioderma Sensibio
Origins- Clear Improvement Mask

Body Care
Obey Your Body- body scrub
L'Occitane- Amande Shower Oil
 Victoria's Secret- Lemon Escape Ultra Moisturizing Hand and Body Cream

ELEPHANT SEALS!!!

Do you like marine mammals?  Then this is the post for you!  I went to Año Nuevo to witness the final throes of the elephant seal mating season.  First, I just have to say, ELEPHANT SEAL PUPS ARE CALLED WEANERS! They all huddle together and make the most adorable noises!  We also saw some adult males fighting for territory/ females!  Elephant seals are massive, but they move incredibly fast.  Watching the males charge each other and collide was incredible!  My group was just happy we weren't caught in the middle of their charge!

 This is where we met our incredibly knowledgeable docent, who took us out to the dunes.

 In the foreground we have a weaner pile!  These creatures really enjoy a good snuggle ;)

 This is the alpha male of the harem we were observing!  He was close to 20 ft long!!!

Do you prefer observing wildlife in their natural habitat or a zoo? Comment below!

-Fly high, little birds!

College Bound!

In a rather surprising turn of events, I have found myself accepted into Fordham University!  Not only that, but I have been accepted to the Lincoln Center campus!  Wooooooooot woooooooooot!!! I'm literally going to be living right next to the Metropolitan Opera House. WHAT.

I'm beyond excited for this next part of my life!  This entire year has been full of uncertainty; it is really incredible to finally have something that is set.

Living in New York City is a dream come true for any artist, and I am no exception!  Stay tuned for some awesome new scenery!

What big and exciting things are happening in your life? Be sure to comment and let me know!

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-Fly high, little birds!