Hello Wench - A Life Update

Let's sit down for some coffee - shall we?

The past few months have been an absolute roller coaster for me - and I am exhausted. Travelling to Japan was one of the absolute best experiences in my entire life. It will be a moment I will always cherish and I look upon those two weeks with such fondness I don't even know how to explain it. I have so many blog posts planned around this trip - but I also have 800+ photos to sort through and edit. Don't worry, it's coming. Posts will also resume back on the regular schedule of twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday.

In case you DON'T know who I am, I'm the ONLY official regular host of the Friday night #bdibNA chat. Which is seriously difficult to host on Friday because well, it's Friday. But chats will start coming back in regular rotation once I get back on my schedule. I really didn't realize it was going to take almost a month to get back into the swing of things. Which is probably an error on my part.

Other than that I am honestly making an effort into being the best version of myself possible and making strides in being more confident than ever. Thanks for spending some time with me!

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1 Year Blogiversary && HelloWench.com

ITS MY 1 YEAR BLOGIVERSARY

This past year has been an absolute roller coaster and you guys were there with me EVERY step of the way. Lets just do a quick recap:

• Moved out of my parents house and into my first apartment with my fiance and best friend
• Learned how to sustain myself and maybe even cook a little
• Moved my fiance ACROSS THE COUNTRY to live with me
• Juggled my last year at university as an engineering major with a full time job, fiance, and family
• Adopted/Rescued Buster
• Lost 30lbs (and then gained it back, whoops!)
• My cousin finally got married!
• First Christmas/Holiday season with the fiance
• Managed finances properly while the fiance was out of work
• Kept team morale up!
• Had pneumonia (wtf, who gets pneumonia in the middle of Spring?)
• Pushed through the final semester and GRADUATED with a 3.0 GPA.
• Took my first vacation in years
• Hit my 1 Year viewing goal of 10k total pageviews!

I can't believe the friends I've made along the way and you guys are seriously the best. Thanks for being there for me.

Also: if you hadn't noticed I finally bought my domain as my one year present to myself! Hello Wench finally has a home! 

HelloWench.com

Here's to another year! *clink*

Stalk me?

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Life is crazy sometimes...

Lifes course can change in one moment

So this isn't going to be a happy-go-lucky feel good post. I had a "What's in my school bag - last semester" queued up - but I felt like this was a much more important topic to post about. You'll get the other post on Tuesday though - no worries.

So yesterday (and yes Alex - if you're reading, I'm talking about this) my friend and A.O.E. (Axis of Evil) sister had her biological sister get into a car accident. Around 2pm my time I get a call and its her saying "----- got into an accident. I... don't know what to do...?"

The thing is - what do you tell someone in that instance? I feel so terrible for the person who had to call my Mom and tell her that I had been hit by a car. It also brings everything - mortality especially - into a serious focus. I've driven/rode across that road so many times in my life - and its all gone by without consequence.

The headlines were the worst of everything - One Dead, Three injured in Alligator Alley Crash

Yeah - someone died in this accident. And she was probably doing nothing but coming home from a good vacation at the beach. In the process - she changed the lives of three individuals forever. Two of whom may never have the same mobility they had before the crash. 

My point is - cherish each moment you have. When I got home I hugged my pup a little tighter, and when I picked Chris up I kissed him for a few seconds longer. When we got home - we cuddled on the couch for a little bit longer than usual. After chatting about it with him we realized that everything can be gone in a moment, and that while we are glad it wasn't us, it could've easily been.

So when you go home today - whether you're alone or with someone else - hug them a little bit longer before you sleep. Tell them you love them just one more time. Even if you're hugging your cat/dog/pet/fish tank. I know I did.

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The rest is under a cut because an image of the accident is attached. If you don't want to see, thats okay.

Bonobos Fall Style Challenge!*

Bonobos Fall Style Challenge!*

Happy Halloween everyone! Today I bring you my Bonobos Fall Style Challenge outfits. They contacted me a bit ago and I've been dying to post this for you guys. You should definitely check out their new Fall mens suits collection that inspired each of these looks! The first one is definitely a more casual daytime outfit and the second is a LBD outfit that I absolutely love.

This post contains links that may be followed, and also links you to all the products used in every outfit.

Outfit 1:

 

This outfit was inspired from the image below

Top: Blue Top from TheOutnet.com

Jacket: Jacket from Farfetch.com

Skirt: Karl Lagerfeld Tweed Mini Skirt

Shoes: Crixia Shoes from Aldo

Purse: Annabelle Scallop Tote from Forever New

Earrings: Sparkin in the Sunlight Earrings from ModCloth

Bracelet: Set of Two Arrow & Leaf Cuff Bracelets from Neiman Marcus

Necklace: Double Heart T Collar from Lipsy

Lipstick: L'Oreal Paris Colour Caresse Lipstick

Outfit 2:

This outfit was inspired by the image below:

Dress: Peplum Tube Dress from Nelly.com

Coat: Bat Shape Long Dust Coat from Chicnova

Shoes: Fab Factor Heel from ModCloth

Purse: Cedar Street Maise from Kate Spade

Necklace: Bejewelled Necklace from The Iconic

Earrings: 18k Yellow Gold Diamond Stud Earrings from Overstock

No seriously: Check out the awesome men's suits from Bonobos.com and their Ladies clothes at Ayr.com.

Also: Stalk me on social media~

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(*) This post was sponsored by Bonobos.

My Halloween Party!

Halloween Party!

So this past weekend I threw an amazing Halloween party. I spend the entire week before the party panicking and freaking out about food and who was coming and all the small details.

I freaked out for absolutely no reason, only 2 people cancelled, and some people brought +1's.

It started at 7pm, and the plan was to have everyone eat dinner at 8. And while that didn't go to plan, everything else did. I tried channeling my Grandma (who may be my hosting/party spirit animal) and had lots and lots of chips and salsa and horderves to eat before dinner. I ended up having a lot more than I even expected after people showed up and brought stuff.

For dinner I made lots and lots of taco stuff. Chris made his Mom's delicious shredded chicken recipe and I made regular beef taco meat. Then we had every single topping you could really ever want to put on a taco. We had both hard shells and soft shells and everyone stuffed their faces until they literally were like "Jenn I ate too much you had soooo much food."

And that was even before dessert.

My best friend made Owl cupcakes that were decadent chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting topped with oreo cookies and M&Ms.

And then someone else brought even more vanilla cupcakes with giant candy corns on the top!

Then the plethora of sugar cookies and chocolate chip cookies were abound. 

And candy. So. Much. Candy.

After dinner we had the Murder Mystery part of the night, where they had to figure out who done-did it. I found the template for the party online and I promise as soon as I find it I will link you to it. It was a great ice breaker for some of my friend who had never met before or were a little shy. We gave away the board game 'Clue' to the person who figured it out, and the game 'Sorry!' to the person who got second. (haha, get it?)

Overall it was a great time and I'm thinking of hosting another party/game night/friends night sometime again because even though it was a lot of work, it was also a lot of fun!

Stalk me?

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Wedding Plans...?

The more comfortable I get in my everyday life makes me realize that marriage is no longer something that a couple needs to do to validate their relationship.

Ones relationship is just as valid as any others with or without the churches approval or a legal binding. This legal binding does however, protect and give your loved ones rights and protects them.

Which is why, after two years of engagement to my lovely fiance I've decided one thing:

I want to start planning my wedding.

I want to be legally bound to him, as he will be to me.

I GOT A NEW FRIIIIIEND

... and his name is Hubert and I will love him until he decides to leave my car

Okay so, I left my house this morning with a lizard stuck to my car. No biggie, he'll fly off as soon as I get going and go do his little lizard stuff.

Nope.

He makes it all the way to my job.

I'm at work, and I have to leave for class. I get in the car, not bothering to look for him, and drive away.

Get back to my car after class in the parking garage, and he's STILL SITTING ON THE HOOD OF MY CAR.

I hop in the car to drive back to work and he just dips right back under the hood to hide from the wind! I finally got back to work and he was still there!

I snapped a picture of him, and then named him Hubert and told Chris I was keeping him forever.

Welcome Hubert!

When I left work to come home I couldn't find him, but I never got a chance to really look because it was raining!

He's mah buddy & I love him. :3

Blog Overhaul Time!

Blog Overhaul Time

You know that feeling when you are tired of how your blog looks and are ready for an update? Well I'm at that point and am looking to overhaul my blog!

uhm no ew i dont liek u no more

I think when I started my blog I just picked something that I kind of liked instead of taking the time to actually work on my blog layout. And I know that a blog layout is actually fairly important for readers!

Being the tech-savvy blogger that I am I started a testing blog and have been slowly but surely adding to the layout I've been creating. One thing I've noticed between most blogs is the color blocking. Its BORING. (to me, anyway)
I dont want a pastel (insert color here) blog. I feel like its not being true to myself if I just create a blog that caters to others and doesn't feel anything like me.

I love science, beauty, videogames, and just LIFE. And what feels more like me than SPACE. It has seriously been an obsession and passion of mine for like, ever. I took a roadtrip to the Kennedy Space Center a little over a year ago and I had an absolute blast. I seriously wish I had the time to go back.

preeviews!

My fiance has been lovely enough to help create a new galaxy theme in my favorite colors. I'm hoping to debut it on Friday! I hope you guys like it!

Stalk me?

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-Jenn

On the topic of Weight Loss...

Weight Loss & What I'm doing to get healthy

Post 1 of 3:

I'm not necessarily sure if these posts are necessary, but I wanted to share how I'm losing weight to inspire others to find ways that work for them too!

Overall, I just count calories. My limit started out at 1230 a day, and once I lost the first 10lbs the myFitnessPal app dropped it to 1200 a day.

Yes, I keep a copy of it stuck to my monitor. Also, ponies on my desk.

Food Schedule: I haven't really changed too much. I'm more or less just /very/ conscious of what I'm putting in my body now. And I keep the same food schedule almost everyday.

Food Schedule:

Breakfast: ~9AM - 9:30 AM

Snack: ~10:30 AM

Lunch: 12 Noon

Snack: ~2 PM

Dinner: ~6 PM - 7 PM

Dinner always fluctuates based on what time I leave work. And sometimes I eat breakfast at home when I have enough time in the morning. Otherwise, this is the Food Schedule I stick too. 

Typical meals for me are pretty routine, and I'm a creature of habit and have no problem eating the same things and only changing them up a little bit before I get sick of them one way and not the other. I love yogurt and chicken, & I made basic changes from things I would usually eat beef for to chicken or turkey. I also bake a lot of foods now vs. frying them. And have amped up the amount of greens I eat.

If you've got any delicious healthy recipes to share you can comment them below or send them to me via social media: Twitter & Bloglovin & Facebook & Instagram & Tumblr

I'll be posting about this all week long so keep on the lookout!

-Jenn

About Me - Contact Info - Hello Wench

About Me & Hello Wench

About Me

Noodle Boodle!

At the time of publishing - I'm a 24 year old engineering student, working almost full time, and enjoying my life. I'm engaged to Chris, & we live together in sunny Florida. I try to enjoy my life as much as I possibly can and I'm a little too addicted to all things nerdy. I love comic books and videogames, but have found to enjoy my feminine side more and more as I've gotten older.
I currently have 1 pet, a cat named Noodle. Hes a little over a year old right now and is very Alpha and very hyper. We're in the process of leash training his crazy self so we can walk off some of the crazy. (While we look crazy walking the cat in the meantime)
I collect anything with skulls and pirates on it. I also collect My Little Pony, particularly G4 Pinkie Pie.
I like all kinds of music, except country. I particularly enjoy hip hop dance music from the early to late 90's.
I studied dance at a studio for 7 years - and then ended up dancing hip hop in high school.

Contact Info

Whether its just to say 'Hi!' or give me a suggestion/haunt my every move you can send me a message through various means of social media:

Twitter & Bloglovin & Facebook & Instagram & Tumblr

(you tumbl at your own risk)

You can also e-mail me at:

xwenchqueen@gmail.com

Simple Disclaimer: All products I write about/use/review are my own opinion and are not influenced from an outside source. If I were to ever receive something I was reviewing I would write as such or include an asterisk (*) next to the product. I will never write a positive review on something that I do not enjoy/recommend.
That being said, I am PR friendly & willing to work with brands & companies - so feel free to send me an e-mail.

Hello Wench

Chris & I - New Years 2014

Lets start with the name: To be honest I love pirates, and my gamertag on xbox live is WenchQueen. Overall, the backstory is a fun night with my friends and an old purse. Not everyone needs to understand it, but the people who were there do. I do understand the negative connotation to it but it reminds me of some great times. Which is why I chose to turn something that archaically means something so negative into something that makes me smile.

Content: I want to write about what makes me feel content, happy, and maybe even confident. And document my life in the meantime. So that when I look back, I can see how much I've grown and what I've learned in the process.

-Jenn

P.S. Dont ever stop learning! Whether it be in school or from life experiences! Always push yourself out of your comfort zone, you'll grow so much as a person that way.

Moving Weekend - Update!

As you guys may know, this past weekend was absolutely crazy! I spent the entire weekend moving and hauling things 45 minutes away to my new apartment. I overall got so much done this weekend it was crazy.

Saturday:

We ended up having a really late start on Saturday. It was monsooning outside and nothing would be packed into the car. Chris and I had a late breakfast, and then Will came over and we loaded the car full of stuff to trek it back to the apartment. We basically spent all day Saturday running to and from the apartment and packing so much stuff into the car/apartment that we were exhausted. We did however end up taking my bed apart and removing the mirror off the back of the dresser. 

Sunday:

Late Post: Friday's moving update

I was supposed to post this is Friday, but I didn't really have anything to write about until very late at night, and at that point I was so exhausted I just went to sleep and didn't write this post. Either way, here is EVERYTHING that happened to Friday.

For one: I requested the day off to be able to move allllll day long. Which thank goodness they requested. I felt like I was grossly underprepared to start moving that weekend, but it all ended up coming together (which I will get too). Chris arrived at 9AM & I drove to the airport to pick him up. We called Will to tell him to come over, and after a few hours and 2 different full carloads, we drove the 45 mins to my new apartment.

Packing up my life in a weekend~!

Unicorn Warrior Status - dont mess with the best!

Its less than a week now until I move to my new apartment. And I hadn't even started packing yet, so this past weekend I started. On Saturday everything ran exactly on schedule, my two best friends came over to help and we had an amazing time reminiscing over things. It was so amazing to find all these obscenely old things and laugh with my friends over memories. I loved reading some of the old diaries I had kept, most of them were  covered with stickers. But some of them had some weight to what I was going through at the time. In one entry that was particularly poignant to me was from when I was about 12. And it made me realize that not much as really changed. It did make me realize however, how much I have grown and how much more confident I have become since then.

Sunday however, was one of the most hilarious days ever. A ton of work was done and many more laughs ensued. I found a ton of things from when Chris and I first got together. Looking back though, I realize that our love has grown and matured and I love him more now than I ever have. Its lovely to find these things when love was blossoming and track your relationship as it bloomed.

However, I also found some of my vices: cats and unicorns.
Both boys have approved a unicorn themed apartment. Some through different means than others. The shield is a pillow pet and the sword/club is a stick unicorn that made noise. I have no shame.

In almost everything is some kind of horse/unicorn and cats.

Also, my new room-mate Will decided he would be king of the squeaky hammers. His coronation was very reminiscent of Queen Elsa's coronation in Frozen.

Squeaky Hammer Sceptre...? Uh, YES!

I seriously can not wait until Friday when we finally move. This next year is going to be a journey for all of us, and I can not be happier with the people I'm going to be experiencing this with.

-Jenn

T-minus 1 week until move day!

It is exactly 1 week until I move from my childhood home to my new apartment! Oh my goodness I'm so excited but severely unprepared for this move! I feel like I dont even know where to start with the packing. I was supposed to start cleaning out my room last weekend, but I never actually got around to it. (my best friend moved back home, read here)

I know most people are probably a lot farther along than I am at this point, but I guess I need help. Or I just need a list of how to tackle my room, with my closet being a major part of it. Haha!

I'm still anxious and definitely more than a bit nervous about the whole move. But I'm also excited and looking toward the future that I'm building for myself. It is time for me to step out on my own, and although this is one of the more terrifying things to do. I'm ready.

We sign the papers next friday, and I'm hoping to get the kitchen and dining room done. It'll be a bonus if we can start the bedroom closets and organizing that (what I know will be) a mess. On Saturday is the day we move all the furniture, we're getting a big truck and hauling furniture from our respective homes. Asking for volunteers from anywhere we possibly can. ;) Sunday will hopefully result in us getting everything else in order and then another crazy week starts. My final project is due for my class next week but I have a final the wednesday after I move in. Eep!

These next few weeks will probably be nuts, but oh well, here we go~!

-Jenn

Review: Rimmel London Stay Matte Foundation

I recently have spent some lengths of time in the sun, and because its the summertime my face gets fairly shiny pretty quickly. I wasn't even looking for a foundation originally, I had just given up and was going pretty bare-faced except for a light powder and possibly a BB cream this summer.

And then I went on vacation, and got really tan.

Soooooooo my BB cream no longer matched my body, and I was going out with my Mom and some of her friends we were on vacation with. One of her friends had just bought this and offered to let me use it. So I put a little on my hand and it matched me perfectly. I applied it with my beauty blender and it kept me matte all night in the Florida beach heat. So I had to buy it for myself.

The next day I went and picked it up for myself at Walgreens for $4.99. The price was seriously on point. I've been wearing it almost exclusively since then, and I love it. My tan is fading so I'm going to have to get a lighter color soon.
Pros:

• Keeps me matte all day/all night in the muggy South FL weather.
• I barely have to use any concealer.
• Mild scent
• Doesn't irritate my sensitive skin

Although I do have to say if you are more heavy handed using your foundation it can look cakey. If your going for that dewy summer fresh faced look, you won't get it with this foundation. But that is fine with me, because I sit in an office for most of the day anyway.

The image to the left was taken outside, and the one to the right was taken in my office.

If you have any comments or questions about this foundation leave a comment below!
-Jenn

My Best Friend Moved Back Home!

Fairly short post for today, but I just want to say: My best (girl) friend moved back home!

Everyone has that one girlfriend that seriously feels like they are your kindred spirit. She and I have been friends since high school, and we have more fun together than should be possible. We've laughed together, cried together, and supported each other through everything. So when she decided it was best for her to move to Maryland 2 years ago, I was supportive, but sad that she was leaving.

We went our separate ways and we fell out of touch when she left. Our lives just moved on naturally without each other.

BUT THE B**** IS BACK.

And its like no time has passed at all, we're two years older but just as ridiculous. And I realize that seriously, this is the girlfriend I was missing in my life.

-Jenn

Post 4th of July update

I needed this past weekend.

I really feel like I got the opportunity to relax. And I got an amazingly golden tan. I did however, get to spend a lot of time with my Brother (who still snores like a banshee) and my Grandparents. I got to spend all day Friday at the pool with my Grandma. We chatted of course, and I made a few friend in 8 year-old Gabriela. She made me smile, she was interested in comics, science, and videogames. She reminded me a lot of myself, as we continued talked though, I realized that through her over-sharing she was probably going to turn away from any kind of STEM field in the future. Her parents seemed to do what most parents (without realizing it) do. Discourage their daughter from embracing what she was actually interested in, to talk more about her hair. She seemed relieved to talk to someone about how /awesome/ Mystique was (even though she was a 'bad guy') and how many different x-men there were in the universe.

I hope I made some kind of impression.

Happy 4th of July!

This weekend is one of those weekend where I just enjoy myself. I sit on the beach/poolside and soak up the sun. (while wearing the proper sunscreen, the weekend before last I seriously regretted not vigorously reapplying sunscreen).

One of the hardest things for me to do is to let go and to let my brain slow down. But where I am this weekend (Naples, FL) always has the uncanny ability to immediately make me slow down and relax. Its nice to be able to get my life off of moving, my fiance, work, school, and just life in general. Plus I get to spend some quality time with my Brother and my Grandparents that I have come to cherish.

I hope you spend the weekend enjoying yourself. I'll post pictures on Monday.


-Jenn

Lady Problems...?

So, as of lately, I've been having some lady problems. TMI... Monday...?

Anyway, here's my problem:

When playing online multiplayer, I find myself not chatting while other players are.

Recently I've been playing a lot of Halo 4. I beat the campaign, and now I'm enjoying myself playing the online multiplayer. Previously, I've played Halo: Reach and played the multiplayer there. I made quite a few friends chatting with other players. This time around though, I've been almost silent. I don't always play alone, but when I do I don't chat with other players. I think maybe its because when I talk I always seems to get the "make me a sandwich" line sometime during the night (its a tradition).

Now granted, I make a pretty good PB&J but I'm not sure if being silent is doing me any good either. I get messages from people just saying 'hi' (I'm cynical and assume I'm going to get another body part I don't want to see) and more random friend requests than I know what to do with. When I play a particularly good game, I can understand the request. I can definitely play a beastly game sometimes. But literal random ones when the previous game is terrible and I haven't said a word? Please note: I can almost always hear you talking and the teabagging is seriously unnecessary.

I suppose theres always going to be that battle, and maybe I need to put myself out there more?
Maybe my analytical brain of mine feels the need to scope out the situation more than time allows in a game before I feel confident enough to chat.

Let me know if and when you chat with other players!

-Jenn

My Drugstore Beauty Essentials

My Drugstore Beauty Essentials

Now granted, I am not perfect and neither is my makeup, but these are some of the things I have really liked and were easy to find and use!

• Rimmel London Stay Matte Foundation
• Currently in the color classic beige (I'm tan haha) - particularly love this foundation because it has the ability to be layered and built up without getting too cakey. And its $4.99!
• Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation
• I got this foundation before I went to the beach 2 weekends in a row, in color Nude Beige. It is a great full coverage foundation but a little more expensive at $12.99.
• Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge
• No seriously, this applies your foundation amazingly and was cheap from Ulta at only $5.99!
• Covergirl TruBlend Pressed Powder
• Translucent Light 2 (I think) and it was $8.99.
• Covergirl Cheekers Blush
• Natural Rose (I think, the sticker has been long gone on it) - $4.99
• Palladio Herbal Liquid Eyeliner
• In shimmer black - I desperately needed liquid liner and I picked this up from a Sally Beauty near me for $6.50.
• Eos Smooth Sphere Lip Balm
• Almost all lipsticks try my lips out, so I always put a balm on underneath any kind of lipstick/stain! I got it in the flavor Strawberry Sorbet for $3.00 at Target. But I had a coupon for $5 so I technically got it for free!
• Jordana Twist and Shine Moisturizing Balm Stain
• Personal fav: Candied Coral from Walgreens for $2.99! (I bought one for my Mom too, they were buy one get one half off!)

These are just the things I use in my everyday makeup routine, and don't include the moisturizer or the makeup remover I use!

-Jenn