Comfy & Confident with U by Kotex®

Earlier today I was on a Google Hangout with Tuyen (miss my bestie) and we got to talking about bikini waxes and panty lines. Yay for girl talk! Anyway, we started talking about how important having the right pair of undies and feeling generally good about our lady bits is to our confidence. I confessed to her my pickiness in choosing the perfect pair of panties and my strong anti-VPL stance. But you know what makes the "perfect" pair even better?! U by Kotex® Lightdays® Liners.

For me a good pair of undies are undies that are not only seamless to avoid my pet peeve that is a visible panty line, but also offer all-day comfort. I mean seriously, what is the point of avoid the panty line in the first place, if you are going to be squirming around in discomfort?! 

Recently my sister introduced me to some undies that are both comfortable and VPL-proof. She had gotten a bunch of new undies at Pink by Victoria's Secret, but realized she had gotten them a size too small. Since I am usually a size down for hers, she decided to give me the undies she had not yet worn, knowing that these may be ones I would like. And I not only like them, I love them! And when I add the U by Kotex® Lightdays® Liners, I love them even more!

The U by Kotex® Lightdays® Liners just add to the comfiness of my new undies. They comfortably flex with my body and are soft, silky and breathable, which means I not only stay comfy, but also dry. This is super important to me since I'm getting back into my workout routines and I've been trying new classes (hello, kickboxing). Plus, they are the perfect backup for tampons and light flow days. 

U by Kotex® is as serious as I am about feeling comfy and confident. So much so that they are holding a #BringComfyBack contest. To enter the contest, all you need to do is visit  bringcomfyback.com and upload your creative pic or gif showcasing your best uncomfy face. 

Each month, one lucky winner will receive a $200 Urban Outfitters gift card, a Go Pro Hero 3 white camera, a $100 Sephora gift card and U by Kotex® products. At the end of the contest, the most creative selfie will be chosen and the winner will receive a trip to L.A. with a girlfriend, an exclusive U by Kotex® photo shoot to be their new social star and $2,000 spending cash! 

How AWESOME is that??!!! So don't forget to enter the contest and share with me what helps you feel comfy and confident in the comments below. And send me the link to your pics/gifs, I want to see all your best faces :)

Love,

Astrid

Monthly Wishes: September 2015

First of all...OMG it's already September!! I can't believe how fast the year is going by and also how much I've slacked off during it LOL. At the beginning of this year, I had joined The Nectar Collective's Weekly Wishes link up and would occasionally also do a Monthly Wishes version. Sadly, the link up is no longer, but I still love the idea of setting up goals. That being said, I decided that its about time I really start planning out my months, at least, and so here we are with my Monthly Wishes for September.

As opposed to past Monthly Wishes (and Weekly) where I just choose a small number of goals, this time I've decided to just kind of run off a list because there is a lot I want to get done this month and I feel I need to give myself a little shove in the ass to get it all done. More importantly, I need to write it all into my handy dandy Day Designer and also follow through with making an editorial calendar. 

Personal Goals:

• Create a budget
• Read 
The The Total Money Makeover: Classic Edition: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness and The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke
• Plan out social events such as book club meetings, dates and workouts.
• Workout at least 5 days a week
• Continue decluttering room
• Read 4 books
• Catch up on my Emmy's nominees 
• Eat healthier- only have takeout 2x a week
• Play with my dog at least 20 minutes a day
• Plan my birthday

Blog Goals:

• Design new site- i.e. banner, color code, etc.
• Create Editorial Calendar- for this I will be using this as one of my guides.
• Schedule posts in advance- including graphics.
• Add all the blog chats I attend on Twitter to my planner/calendar.
• Begin creating a business plan
• Launch sponsor program/ads
• Create a budget- since I want to invest on my blog
• Sign up for E-Courses, starting with this one
• Continue the 30 Day Blogging Challenge
• Engage with my communities online

Other goals:

• Work on my Youtube channel- starting with biweekly videos
• Look for Freelance writing ops
• Look for screenwriting courses
• Finish screenplay....

Obviously I want to accomplish a lot this month and even though in the past I've tried to avoid overwhelming myself, I'm changing things up a bit. Mostly, I want to be busy and stay busy, but also still enjoy my life. I really want to work on all those things I've been afraid to do like going full force with my blog and my career. Also, I feel that by pushing myself, I am more likely to schedule it and having it all written down...in a public forum helps!

What do your goals for the month look like? Share in the comments below and if you have any advice/links you'd like to share I will be in your favor.

Love, 

Astrid

My Week With TV: The Emmy's

Gah, so this 30 day blogging challenge has been well, challenging. I was so excited to get the ball rolling again, but had a combination of writer's block and having so much I want to write about. But finally, after having this nagging and persistent focus on TV and realizing how much of it, good and bad, I have missed, I decided to start a new series. So with that I present to you: My Week With TV. 

So first off, why did I choose to start blogging about TV all of a sudden. Well I guess it isn't really as spontaneous as it sounds. If you have been reading my blog for some time, or follow me on Twitter, you may know that I majored in Film and TV and currently work in reality/documentary TV. I also am just plain and simple a TV Junkie and lately I've been having a lot of creative talks with James and friends surrounding TV and Film. Therefore, since my blog is mostly based on what I'm living and loving, it would be odd not to include this passion/love of mine in it. 

To start off the series, I want to talk about the big upcoming super important and special event for Television: The Emmy's. Oh yeah, something else I'm super into and in love with are award shows, particularly The Oscar's, the Golden Globes, and you guessed it, The Emmy's. 

But I have to admit that while I love watching theses shows, in the past I've been really bad at knowing/watching the nominated shows. Like seriously I'm lost as to the existence of some of the shows. I mean they look great, but then I'm like wait...that has been on this whole time? Where was I when this was showing? 

Not this year though. Nope, this year I vow to at least try to watch the series nominated for Comedy, Drama and maybe even Limited Series. Or at least the ones that seem possible to get through before the Emmy's air on Fox, September 20th. I will say that I have a bit of a head start though since there have been a few of the nominees that I've kept on top of. 

So far the series I've gotten to are: Game of Thrones, American Crime, AHS: Freak Show, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and yup that's about it. But there are still 15 others I need to get to. But let's face it, I'm a busy gal, what with work, dating, trying to workout and sleep, 15 series will be hard to squeeze in. I already watch a lot of TV but I'm not glued to it...I do have other things that keep me occupied. That's why I'm just going to choose 5 of these to focus on and then I'll see about the next 5, cuz priorities! So here are the one's I'll be giving my time to:

1. Homeland-I was actually really into this, but once I moved to New York, it became hard for me to keep up with it. But thankfully, I just subscribed to Showtime via Hulu and since I'm only a season and a half behind. this will be easy to come up to date with. 

2. House of Cards- I really loved the first season of this show, but part of the reason I stopped watching it is because this is the kind of show where I have to put away all distractions and give it my full attention. But I usually get home so tired and just want to watch something light, however, I am willing to put away a day or two to give it my full devotion.

3. Silicon Valley- I remembered watching the pilot to this show and thinking it was so funny, but then we got rid of HBO. Thankfully I just got HBO Now and this show is only 2 seasons long as well as each episode only running a half hour. 

4. Parks and Recreation- I know, I know, how have I not watched this. Well for a while I simply didn't watch a lot of NBC comedies, mainly because Grey's Anatomy was on at the same time LOL. But I love Amy Poehler and the rest of the cast, so this is a must! Plus it ended this year :(

5. Wolf Hall- Mostly because I have a thing for series based on historical times...specifically those surrounding kings and queens. And this one is all about Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Plus James and his family have gotten me into a lot of BBC (it airs on PBS, but is produced by BBC).

It was difficult narrowing down my list, but ultimately I am happy with what I have chosen. I am going to give myself an even stricter deadline of two weeks rather than Sept 20th, but only so I will actually make time to watch these. My Week With TV starts now...but feel free to share whats on your DVR/List/Que with me in the comments below.

Love, 

Astrid

Summer Ready with U by Kotex®

Summer is a time to celebrate and relax. I often associate summer with fun, time with friends and cute shorts/skirts. You know what isn't cute and fun though? Losing your undies to your period. Seriously its the worst and it can be such a party pooper. Thankfully U by Kotex® has your back to help #SavetheUndies.

As I've mentioned in previous U by Kotex® posts, their pads really do a great job to keep you dry and prevent you from losing your favorite pair of undies to that time of the month. And they stop your period from putting an end to your summer fun. The U by Kotex® Ultra Thin pads with 3D Capture Core* plus Xpress DRI work so well due to their super fast absorption capabilities. For someone like me, who usually prefers tampons to pads due to not loving the I think I might have peed my pants feeling when I'm on my period, this is a huge plus. 

Honestly, I wish I could have gotten a hold on these U by Kotex® Security* and CleanWear® Ultra Thin Pads with 3D Capture Core plus Xpress DRI* a week earlier than I did. They would have seriously been so helpful to keep me a lot more relaxed at Dempsey's birthday party, when I had just started a really vengeful period. Thankfully, catastrophe's were adversed, but having the 3D Capture Core plus Xpress DRI technology on my side would have allowed me to enjoy the party a lot more.  

Fortunately, they are now in my possession and I am prepared to not let my period get in the way of the rest of my summer fun. If you too would like to enjoy your summer with all your undies intact, visit ubykotex.com and get your free sample. Come on, become an #UnderWarrior and help #SavetheUndies. 

Love, 

Astrid

A photo posted by Astrid (@astridstars) on Aug 25, 2015 at 3:26pm PDT

Mid-Year Review

This past month has been a bit crazy and definitely busy, so sorry for the lack of posts. I just started a new (full-time) job and on top of that my computer decided to fall apart on me. Since starting my new job, I've seriously had to restore my computer on an almost daily basis. Plus add in my social life. Throughout all the craziness however, I've really been thinking about how my year has been going so far and about the resolutions I made for it. I also realize that this month is my Blogiversary (since I've done it for reals) and therefore thought it was fitting to do a Mid-Year review post as a celebration/reset. 

To review, here was my New Year's Post. So how am I doing so far:

1. Be more present- I'm so glad I've been able to accomplish this. For one, I've been able to put my phone away when hanging out with friends. I usually only take it out if we are looking up a movie fact or checking the time. Another thing I've done is I stopped vlogging. While this was tough to do, I realized it took away from appreciating the moment and also was stressing me out. I still have some work to do, but glad I've been able to live a little more in the moment.

2. DeClutter my Life- Yea I am still working on this. Less magazines, but I still need to kinda organize other aspects of my life.

3. Work on Time Management- Yea I definitely need to work on organizing my life in this regard, but hey at least I'm not late to work anymore. I seriously have done pretty well with showing up on time for the most part. I still need to work on sleep and getting things done that need to get done. 

4. Improve on my Blog & Channel- I know I've been slacking on this the past few months, but I'm really itching to get going again. In fact, I've decided to restarted the 30 Day blog challenge I attempted to do back in April. Plus with my new job, I can no afford to hire some design help.

5. Travel More- Ok so this one is kind of a bummer. Initially I really wanted to travel a lot this year, but sadly I started the year off being unemployed for the first three months. Then when I did get a job, it was only part time in which some weeks I would only get one four hour shift. Thankfully my new job pays a lot better and is full time, but I need to focus on paying down debt before focusing on traveling. However, it doesn't mean I can't do a few local travels :)

How do you guys think I've done? I think I've done alright, but ultimately, I'm just glad with how 2015 is turning out. I just feel more laid back while feeling like my life is coming together at the same time. 

Hope your year is going well. Any luck accomplishing resolutions? Have you completely forgotten about them or have they changed? Let me know in the comments below :)

Love,

Astrid

Spooky Eyes Review: Funky White Contacts

*This post is sponsored by Spooky Eyes, but all opinions are my own*

Do you guys notice anything different? Well maybe it's because I'm wearing Spooky Eyes' Funky White Contacts. If you haven't heard of Spooky Eyes, they are a UK based company that specializes in natural and crazy–– perfect for Halloween––contact lenses. They gave me an array of choices and sent me my first choice, which were their Funky White Contacts.

Honestly, I didn't know what to expect as the only contacts I'd ever used had been the plain old prescribed kind. When I got them in the mail, the packaging and all actually didn't look much different from the one's I'd gotten from doctor's visits whenever I'd decide I wanted to give up my glasses. 

The contacts came in this "Dream Eyes" (not sure why it's not Spooky Eyes) box that let me know the expiration date and dimensions. Inside the box, each contact (one for each eye, duh) came in the typical airtight "blister-pack" packaging. The only visible difference from the contacts that I tried before was instead of being clear lenses, there was a white circle on them, 'cause duh, I got the Funky White ones. Otherwise, they were like any other soft contacts I'd used before.

Ta-Da...got them in

Even though I'd worn contacts before though, it still took me a while to put the Spooky Eyes' Funky White contacts in. Part of that is because, I'd been a bit out of practice from wearing contacts. But it was more in part because I decided to apply falsies beforehand, thinking it'd be easier/safer than to try to apply the lashes after the contacts were in. Once they were in though, it was like magic. I had never used color contacts of any kind before, so it was so shocking to look in the mirror and not see my brown eyes looking back at me. 

I instantly became obsessed! Seriously it took me a moment to take in my "new look." I think the shock also came from the fact that while they were surely intense, they also looked a little more natural than I expected. If you can see from the pictures, the contacts made my eyes look a little more on the blue side, especially depending on how the light hit me. Honestly, I had initially expected the contacts to just make most of my eyes look white, kind of like Storm (from X-Men). 

Trying a "shocked" look

That's not to say I wasn't happy with them though. I actually loved the whole piercing blue eyes thing. My favorite part of it all is just the intensity the blue hue gives to my overall appearance. Of course, when I was taking the pictures for the blog I also sent some to James, who thought they were cool and, like me, loved the intensity of them. I also love how shocked my mom and sister were when I texted them a picture of me wearing them...Dirtsa said I looked possessed and my mom was just like "OMG!" 

My "Evil"/Temptress "look" (or at least my attempt for that look)

What's even funnier to me was that when I shared it on social media, there were friends who commented that I had really changed since high school. I also had random people commenting on my pretty eyes. I really enjoyed the comments, but also thought it was funny that people believed my eyes had just naturally gone from brown to blue. But no, this apparently dramatic change was all thanks to Spooky Eyes. 

More importantly however, it got me brainstorming for Halloween since I was having so much fun with them! The first idea that popped into my head was Vampire, even though it has been overdone to death thanks to the obsession with them over the years. I am also thinking of like Temptress or Witch. What do you guys think? Any other ideas come to mind? If so, share them with me in the comments below. And here are some more pictures to help you get more of a feel for them (and 'cause let's be real...this called for having fun with the camera):

Trying to go for a evil/mad look

Slightly more cunning

Slightly more innocent

My attempt at the Sexy look

Sexy Look Attempt #2

So much fun

Hope those helped brew some ideas. If you guys are itching to plan your Halloween costumes already or just want to have fun with some crazy contacts, make sure to check out Spooky Eyes and their awesome collection.

Love,

Astrid (and her temporary Blue Eyes)

Smirk ;p