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moonbeambucky · 4 years

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Hey Neighbor (Part 4)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader Word Count: 2652 Warnings: none

Summary: You had a plan and then life came along with one of its own. With your future almost derailed you worked hard to get yourself back on track and finally everything seemed to be going right… that is, until your new neighbor moved in.

A/N: A huge thank you to my wonderful beta Sam @buckyofthemyscira Feedback is always appreciated!

PART 3 | HEY NEIGHBOR MASTERLIST

The past few days have been exactly what you wanted a month ago, peacefully silent, yet somehow it doesn’t feel right. You were able to finish your paper in record time, fully concentrating on your work but part of you missed the incessant music from next door.

There was an odd comfort knowing Bucky was home playing, and with the knowledge of his musical talent you now wanted to hear what he would come up with. Getting to know him briefly was… well, it was something. It could have gone a lot better if you didn’t stick your foot in your mouth.

Bringing up the music related noise was one thing but how you ever managed to bring up the noise of his “nighttime activities” made you wish you could have vanished into thin air, never to be seen again. You had done your best to avoid Bucky ever since, rushing out of or into your apartment as quickly as possible. You weren’t sure how you could ever face him again but you couldn’t deny that a small part wanted to.

Facing your shared wall you imagined where Bucky might be, picturing him on his couch, lounging across the cushions of the soft leather as he leisurely plucks away at the guitar strings, sounding out a melody. Or was he more focused, sitting upright and gliding his dexterous fingers across his keyboard? Was he at his computer editing his melodies? Was he thinking of you?

The silence was deafening. With your palm pressed against the wall you began to lean in with your ear, hoping you could hear anything. With a slight gasp you jumped back, there was noise but not any coming from next door. Your phone buzzed against the coffee table, with Steve’s face illuminating the screen.

“Hey Steve!”

“Guess who I saw going into Sweetgreen?” The strain in his voice clued you in to the right guess, Lillian. “Yup, and she wasn’t alone … yeah she’s still with Jason, for now,” he muttered under his breath, expecting her to cheat again.

“I’m sorry Steve. You know you deserve better than her, right? I know you know this.”

Steve sighed heavily. Even though he knew what you were saying was right, seeing his ex still hurt a lot.

“Thanks Y/N, I do know that, doesn’t mean I’m going to torture myself though and go in there so is it cool if I pick us up something else? I’m in the mood for carbs.”

Chuckling at Steve’s admission you couldn’t help but agree, salads were great and all but all this Bucky stress you’ve put on yourself definitely makes you crave heavier foods.

“Tacos?”

“Mmmm, yes tacos! Extra guac please Rogers!”

You set your table in preparation for Steve to come over with food, remembering to throw your wallet on the table to give him money. The last time he came over you had forgotten, being so caught up in reliving the terrible memory of your interaction with Bucky. Steve might have been right, if he handled talking to Bucky maybe you wouldn’t be so worried about running into him.

“Sam tells me you guys spoke,” Steve said, digging a tortilla chip into the container of guacamole.

You chewed quickly to swallow the bite you had taken. “Why do you always ask me a question mid-chew?” you joked. “But yes, we did speak and…” your voice lifted with anticipation as Steve’s eyes widened, waiting for you to continue. “He gave me the number for Elena Rodriguez. She’s head of the social work department and…”

“Oh my god Y/N please just tell me!” Steve begged.

“I set up an interview with her next week!”

Steve’s eyes crinkled with his excited smile though it faded shortly after as you nervously mused about fitting the internship into your schedule.

“One step at a time,” Steve offered with a small laugh.

He’s right. One step at a time. You didn’t even go on the interview yet, you might not even be hired for it; the thought of which worries you even more, but you remind yourself to breathe and take things as they come.

The elevator ascends slowly, filled with your eager coworkers looking to join the rush home. As it lets off on the ground floor, everyone dashes to the heavy glass doors as you leisurely stroll to the security desk.

Mr. Lee had a big smile on his face as he seemed to be in the middle of telling Steve a story. Slowly you approached the desk, seeing Steve smiling down at something in his hands.

“That’s what I said but Howard was ahead of his time. A comic book movie…” Mr. Lee chuckled. “It didn’t work in ’47 but it sure would be a hit now.”

“Oh, what’s this?” you asked.

Steve held up a sealed copy of a comic book, Kid Colt, which you were unfamiliar with.

Leaning over the desk towards you Mr. Lee spoke, “Tony found that for me in his father’s things. That’s how Howard and I met. He wanted to make a movie outta this. Stark Pictures. He never did though, the whole thing became a big tax write off.”

“I didn’t know you knew Howard Stark.”

“Oh yeah,” Mr. Lee boasted humbly, “Since I was seventeen. He was a good man. You know he was so proud to finally be a father. He worked a lot, probably more than he should have but he had Maria and the nannies bring little Tony over to the office. Tony Stank I’d call him. Oh boy, you could smell those diapers from a mile away it was so bad.”

Hearing Mr. Lee talk about the head of your company so freely like this made you laugh. It also made Tony Stark seem a bit more human. As far as you knew he was a workaholic who may or may not be seeing Pepper Potts. You’ve caught the way she looks at him though, with an extra twinkle in her eye or how she hesitates for the smallest moment to gather herself before going into his office.

“Tony Stank, that’s amazing,” you laughed, wondering if Pepper has ever heard this story before. “Well, have a good night Mr. Lee!”

Steve came around to the front of the desk standing tall, filling out his blue uniform with his broad stature. It was unfair how he could pig out on food with you and not show any sign of it. Meanwhile, your stomach has been rumbling all day from last night’s dinner.

“I’m on the late shift today,” he frowned.

“Poor Stevie,” you joked, wiping an imaginary tear from your eye. “Not that my night will be any better, I’ve got a shit ton of laundry to do.”

“Enjoy the sweaty laundromat then.”

“Oh I will,” you said sarcastically.

The steady hum of the running washing machines drowned out the sound of the newscast coming from a small TV mounted on the wall. It’s muggier inside than out, and even with the door open you can’t escape the permeating smell of cheap soap and mildew.

The wash cycle is nearly over so you move from the metal chair you had been uncomfortably sitting on, listening to music to pass the time, and lazily stroll over to the machine that is spinning your clothes. Quarters jingle in your pocket as you walk, ready to be placed in the dryer as you wait some more. You hate laundry day.

It’s crowded too, with all the chairs taken and other people leaning against the wall. A few kids were running around screaming, not helping their tired mother who looked too exhausted to even reprimand them as she folded all their clothes.

No one looked happy to be there, not even the attendants who had to apologize to the screaming man who didn’t understand why he couldn’t use one of their reserved machines. It was a cut throat world on laundry night, with other patrons fighting to stake claim for the next free machine.

A loud buzz lets you know your clothes are done, you wheel a basket over and open the door. The shadow of the clearly impatient person waiting for your machine blocks the dull light from the fluorescents above so you hope to grab everything quickly without dropping anything on the dirty linoleum floor.

“It’s all yours– oh.” Your mouth hung open, not expecting to see Bucky standing beside you. “H-hey.”

“Hey Y/N. Didn’t want to startle you,” he sheepishly said. “Uhmmm, is this free?” Bucky gestured to the obviously open machine.

You nodded quickly. Not knowing what else to say you stared awkwardly at the basket of damp clothes and said, “I’m gonna dry these.” Smooth.

Turning around you let out a deep breath and worried over what would happen next. It would be extremely rude to ignore Bucky and continue to listen to music. He hasn’t done anything wrong to you, not this week at least, but you were too scared to risk saying something stupid, again.

It would take at least a half hour for your clothes to dry so you put on a brave face and decided to walk back towards Bucky. Dressed in casual black shorts and a white t-shirt, his smooth, toned arms were crossed over his chest as he leaned against a support column, squinting to read the poorly transcribed closed captioning on the TV.

“Hey neighbor,” you said, offering a small friendly wave as he turned his head.

Bucky smiled, standing upright as he turned to face you completely to greet you back. He looked genuinely happy to see you, which made you feel even worse for how you left things.

“I’m sorry if I made things weird the other day. I didn’t mean to,” you blurted out before your brain gave any thought to see if this was a good idea.

Bucky chewed on his bottom lip, the gaze of his ocean blue eyes staring right through you. “Don’t worry about it,” he said with a cavalier air.

“So how’s the music coming along?” You were truly curious, having not heard any sound.

“It’s not bothering you, right?” Bucky winked.

“No, not at all,” you smiled softly. “Are you still working on that one piece?”

Bucky asked which one and you hummed the tune. Closing your eyes you missed the way his own lit up in delight hearing you repeat his melody.

“I know I complained about the noise but honestly it was so beautiful,” your voice lightened and he felt the weight of emotion even through the simple way you described it. “Maybe that’s why I couldn’t focus.”

Bucky adjusted his weight, needing to ground himself after your words made him feel as light as air. His music meant so much to him, working tirelessly to bring to life the sound he envisioned in his mind, to know that the unfinished piece had such an effect already made his heart swell with pride.

He developed his music like a chef crafting a recipe. Each instrument was a different ingredient, carefully selected notes were gathered on the counter, waiting to come together in a symphonic skillet. The flavors of music combine, heating up together the piano is covered in the spice of an electric guitar, with the drumming rhythm simmering beneath the surface as the sound of strings are poured generously over the top.

In the end the dish is a delicious feast for the ears but here you were, happily devouring the unfinished ingredient in its raw form.

“Yeah…” his voice came out breathless. Catching himself Bucky cleared his throat. “It’s actually for an upcoming video game. I can’t say which, but it’s part of an emotional scene when the main character finds his family is gone.”

“I can sense the depth of it.”

“That’s not even the best part,” he explained as his face grew with a wide smile. Bucky became lost in describing the emotion of the violins that would come in. “They’re the voice of the character and when he’s lost everything I have them coming in, crying out in pain. It’s sharp and strong, and beautifully tragic.”

Listening to Bucky describe his music resonated in your soul. You saw the complete love and passion he had for it and once again you felt terrible about asking him to stop.

“I’d love to hear it, if that’s okay.”

You looked at him with hopeful eyes, and Bucky smiled, nodding before he spoke his answer. He couldn’t wait for you to hear everything together.

You passed the time by getting to know each other a little more. Bucky has a younger sibling named Rebecca who moved west to work as an avian veterinarian in a bird sanctuary.

“My parents are lost without them around,” Bucky joked. “Do you know how hard it is to try to explain how to use Skype to them over the phone?”

“Oh believe me, I know. Somehow my mom always calls at the worst time to have me explain the most basic function on her phone that she already knows because we’ve gone over it a million times but…” You threw your hands up as Bucky joined in with your laughter.

When your clothes were dry Bucky gave you some space to fold them alone which you appreciated, not wanting to showcase your intimate items in front of him. He was still a stranger, sort of, but you were glad you were getting to know him.

Checking the time you realized it was on the late side and you still needed to shower before bed. Your clothes were packed neatly into a laundry bag, well most of them were at least. One sock managed to get eaten by the dryer to your dismay, and you hoped its pair was somewhere on your floor having fallen out as you prepped the laundry.

Slinging the bag over your shoulder, you gripped the bottle of detergent with your other hand and walked towards Bucky.

“Hey,” you called out to Bucky who lifted his head from his phone. “I’ve got a few things to do tonight still so can I take a rain check on hearing your music?”

“Yeah, of course.” Bucky did his best to mask his disappointment but he understood. He noticed the slump of your shoulders, balancing the laundry bag high on one side and letting your other limb hang low with the weight of the heavy bottle.

“Do you want me to carry that back?” he asked.

“Oh, no it’s okay, I can manage.”

The apartment was only two blocks away, two long blocks but still, you didn’t want to inconvenience Bucky even though judging by the curve of his biceps it wouldn’t be a problem.

Bucky walked with you to the front of the laundromat as you smiled and said goodnight.

“Goodnight Y/N,” he whispered, watching as you walked down the sidewalk until he could no longer see you in the crowd.

The words stayed on his lips like they were always meant to be there and Bucky has a brief flash of a life he’s never thought about.

A warm bed, made even warmer by the figure curled against him. His breath syncs with theirs and he’s at peace. His heart beats to the rhythm of love and his lips purse together to plant a soft lingering kiss on their forehead. A smile secures itself on his face because he’s truly happy; surrounded by the comforting feeling knowing that when he wakes up that person, his love, will be by his side.

The machine buzzes at the end of its cycle dragging Bucky back to a reality that has him gasping for breath. He steps outside for a minute for air, needing to clear his mind of the vision that seemed so real it scared him; for better or worse he can’t quite say.

PART 5

#bucky x reader #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes au #bucky barnes series

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vintagesugg-blog · 7 years

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lips

an imagine in which good ole suggy boy gets a little jealous

Word Count: 1,750

Rating: PG-13

Getting a hey, you busy? text from Jack Maynard was never a good sign. You responded with a no, and he replied back quickly with a plea for video help and an offer of free lunch.

“Hey babe?” You called out across the flat.

“Yeah?” Joe called back from his office.

“Do we have any plans for the day? Jack wants help filming over at his.”

“Not really, no. Does he need you like right now? I’ll be done editing in a few hours and I can go with you.” Joe offered, rolling his chair to the doorframe. He seemed a bit off, but you didn’t push it. Joe always told you if something was wrong in his own time.

“He seemed pretty urgent, I think he wants to upload tonight. I shouldn’t be long, and I should be home for dinner. I can cook if you want!”

“Nah, I’ll cook tonight and film a gaming video while you’re out. Just text me when you get there safe, yeah?” Joe gave you a smile and came over to give you a goodbye kiss before heading back into his office.

You called an uber and gathered your things, and you were at Jack’s flat before you knew it. You let yourself in, announcing yourself as you entered.

“Y/N!” Jack grinned, coming over and scooping you up in a hug as soon as you were in the doorway. You hugged him back with a laugh. You’d missed him, and the rest of the boys, since it’d been a while since you’d all gone out together.

The rest of the afternoon consisted of catching up, grabbing a quick nandos and setting up everything for the video.

“So what’re we filming today?”

“I wanna do another tinder message video, but I need someone to go through and react to them. Kinda like what Joe and Zoe did, but you give me advice on how to pick up girls as well. And seeing that you’re one of the few females I know that I haven’t actually met on tinder, I wanted you to do it.”

“Oh hell yes, let’s go,” you grinned, already excited. Jack was probably who you were closest with out of all the other boys, so you were excited to finally get a chance to be nosy.

It didn’t take long for the video to get rolling, and you were loving every second of it. It was as if the camera wasn’t there, and you were just helping your mate out, and embarrassing him at any chance you got. You gave him some legitimate advice, talking about all the good things that Joe did as a boyfriend, and how it made your relationship so fun and easy. Filming went smoothly, and you kept him company whilst he edited. He only had one request before you left.

“I need a thumbnail, and I was thinking about doing one with a lipstick mark on my cheek. Will you do the honors?” He teased. You rolled your eyes, but dug through your bag until you found a nice red shade. You applied it, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek and being sure to leave a mark. You both posed for the picture, taking a few different options.

“Thanks love. I’ll see you later!” He gave you a hug goodbye and you went on your way.

The flat smelt of Mexican food when you returned, and Joe’s favorite playlist was playing quietly through the speakers. You rounded the corner to find him cooking away behind the island, chicken sizzling in the pan, plates set out with some rice and tortillas ready.

“Hi. Making tacos?” you smiled, coming over to give him a quick greeting kiss. He returned it, but it was quite short. Usually, he pulled you closer, happy to have you home. This was different.

“Hi. You never texted me,” he said, ignoring your question and turning his attention back to the stovetop. Something was definitely up.

“What?”

“You were supposed to text me when you got to Jack’s, but you never did.”

“Oh shit, I completely forgot. I’m sorry love, I must have gotten distracted,” you frowned, trying to read his expression as he scooped the chicken onto the plates, sliding yours towards you.

“Distracted,” he scoffed. You caught his arm, a bit peeved at his attitude.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong.” He took his plate and walked around you, sitting down at his normal place in the kitchen, his laptop in front of him.

“Obviously something is wrong Joe, I’m not stupid. Talk to me,” you said, going to sit beside him. He was quiet again, and he pulled up youtube, scrolling through his sub box. You glanced over, seeing what was new. It wasn’t unusual for the two of you to catch up on videos during dinner.

Jack’s new video popped up in the corner, the thumbnail of the two of you with the caption “finding love with y/n” across the bottom.

Joe slammed his laptop shut so quickly you jumped, and the force of it sent the water in your glasses wobbling on the counter.

“Joe!” You called, but he was already off, storming towards your all’s room. You jumped up to follow him, catching the door right before it closed. You knew what was about to happen, and you mentally prepared for it.

Joe always had a bit of a temper, and it was brought on most strongly by jealousy. The pieces fell into place almost simultaneously. You looked at him, watching as he pulled his hair through his fingers and paced back and forth.

“Joe, I know why you’re upset,” you started, your voice low and calm.

“Do you, Y/N?! Do you really? Well please, enlighten me!” He turned to you then, and you knew this was going to be a bad one.

“Joe…”

“Don’t Joe me, Y/N, you don’t get it. I was excited to have a day in with my girlfriend, and you go running off to my best mate’s house. Then you get there, and you’re so caught up, you don’t even think to text your boyfriend? Then, I see that you filmed that video. How am I supposed to react? Huh?!” He was almost yelling now, but trying to hold back. He knew how much you hated when he yelled, and even at his most angry, he didn’t want to upset you.

“Jack and I are just friends, you know that.” You defended yourself.

“Yeah? And I suppose he’s the one who asked you to leave that kiss on his cheek, right? Jack can be a right git sometimes, and you don’t see it. He fancies you Y/N!”

“He does not Joseph!”

“Oh really? Last week, at the clubs while we were all out, I got to listen to all my mates talk about how hot you are, and how you’re definitely the most attractive girlfriend any of us have ever had. Jack was the head of that discussion, a bit too comfortable with it if you ask me. Just cause you can’t see it doesn’t mean that it’s not there, Y/N.”

You took a deep breath before turning around and going back to the kitchen, grabbing Joe’s laptop. You brought it back into the room, pulling up Jack’s video.

“Sit,” you said.

“Y/N, making me watc-“ he began to protest.

“I said sit. You can continue being irrational after you watch.”

He rolled his eyes but sat on the side of the bed. You sat beside him, pressing play. A few bloopers played from the beginning of filming, followed by his channel intro. Then, the video began.

“What’s goin on everybody, hello, it’s me, it’s Jack, welcome back to my channel. Now, as you guys can see, I’m joined by a very special guest for today’s video. You all probably know her as Joe Sugg’s girl, Y/N. Now, obviously Joe is one of my best mates, and this girl over here seems to make him very happy, and when we all hang out, those two remind me that I am very very single. So, I figured, what way better to find love, than to take advice from someone who has obviously found it. Which is why today, I’m giving Y/N full reign over my Tinder, and she’s going to give me advice on how to pick up a girl. And I am actually terrified.”

You reached over, pressing pause. Joe was very quiet, and you can tell he recognized his mistake. You let him sit for a moment until he turned to you with apologetic eyes.

“Better?” You asked quietly, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. He sighs, leaning into you.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured into your skin. You pulled him closer, running your hands through his hair. It wasn’t often that he blew up like he did, but he was always sure to apologize after. It wasn’t like you didn’t do the same sometimes, so you had no qualms in forgiving him.

“It’s alright love, just tell me next time you’re upset instead of playing it off, yeah? And hopefully next time you aren’t worried about me and Jack of all people,” you teased, pulling him in for a kiss. His hands found your hips, holding on tightly. In one swift movement you swung yourself around so that you were sitting on his lap. His arms wrapped around to the small of your back, pressing you to him as tightly as he could.

His head fell to the crook of your neck and you smiled again.

“I really am sorry,” he grumbled, embarrassed by his outburst.

“And I really do forgive you. Being jealous means you care Joe, it’s not a bad thing. I mean, it makes sense, Jack’s just so attractive, who wouldn’t fall in love with him at first sight?” You winked as Joe scowled at your words. You rolled your eyes and grabbed his chin, pestering his whole face with tiny kisses. He scrunched up his nose as the assault, but you continued before reaching his lips and leaving a lingering kiss there. You pulled back just slightly, and he leaned forward, not ready to let go. You both smiled.

“And I can tell you right now, no one is ever going to get one of those kisses from me other than you. So you can quit your worrying, Sugg. It’ll make you go gray.”

“Then I’m probably the luckiest lad in the world,” he grinned, kissing you one more time before picking you up and carrying you back towards the kitchen, because he worked ‘bloody hard’ on those tacos, and they weren’t about to go to waste.

feedback is always appreciated :’) love you guys!

#joe imagine #writing #joe sugg imagine #youtuber imagine #i

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thisdaynews · 5 years

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The Hard Work of the 2020 Instagram Spouse

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/the-hard-work-of-the-2020-instagram-spouse/

The Hard Work of the 2020 Instagram Spouse

Not long before the second presidential primary debate, a new photo popped up on Douglas Emhoff’s Instagram feed—a grinning selfie with his wife, Kamala Harris. The accompanying caption was brief, almost an afterthought: “Hello Miami! See you all at the debate on Thur!”

It was typical for Emhoff’s feed, which started in 2013 but had accumulated only about 60 posts by the time of the debate, mostly a smattering of low-key snapshots, like a private photo album that was accidentally dropped into the public sphere. Emhoff posted the day he dropped his son off at college; on his father’s birthday and Father’s Day; on a visit to his wife’s office in Washington, D.C. Things picked up in January, when Harris announced her presidential bid, but still, the feed retained its casual, DIY feel: mediocre lighting, questionable cropping, selfies galore.

Story Continued Below

This has Emelina Spinelli concerned. “It’s selfies. It’s all selfies!” she repeated, when I asked her to evaluate the feed. “I think they’re missing a huge opportunity.”

Spinelli, 31, is an Instagram consultant who makes her living helping would-be influencers master the platform. It’s also fair to say she’s an influencer herself: Nearly 75,000 people follow her feed, which is filled with artfully composed glamour shots of her life in Los Angeles. Her posts often show her grinning exuberantly while gazing at something off-camera; lately, she’s also seen holding a Labrador puppy. And to her expert eyes, Emhoff’s anemic, unedited Instagram account is a glaring but fixable miss for the Harris campaign.

Emhoff’s world was once far from Spinelli’s, but not anymore. As social media becomes a critical tool in politics, Instagram is increasingly used as a soft-focus medium to showcase a candidate’s relatability. New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shared her skincare routine in one Instagram story. 2020 presidential candidate Kirsten Gillibrand has used the platform to show off her workouts. Indeed, most presidential campaigns now have Instagram presences; even Joe Biden, who is definitively not of the Instagram generation, has a carefully managed feed with 1.3 million followers. His posts, like those of most candidates, have a different voice from his campaign’s Facebook and Twitter presences: less combative, extra-polished, fully promotional. Theyadd a bit of “Here’s why you want to have a beer with me” to “Here’s another look at my pretty campaign logo” and “Here’s a professional video about my climate plan.” It’s all part of the Instagram voice that Spinelli helps her clients achieve:I’m just like you, only a bit better.

A political spouse’s Instagram feed has a different role to play. Done right, it can accomplish the traditional task of humanizing a candidate, in a place where people go to escape the push-and-pull of politics. At a time when people are envisioning new families in the White House, Instagram can present a family that’s just like yours, but better.

Spinelli points to the Instagram feed of Chasten Buttigieg—husband of Pete, card-carrying millennial, confirmed social media genius. He has 176,000 followers, who shower his posts with copious “likes” and messages of love and support.

“Looking at Chasten’s account and just how well he’s rallying people and how vocal people are,” Spinelli told me by phone, puts Emhoff’s sweet, inconsequential posts into stark contrast. Harris, she notes, has 1.9 million followers on her own Instagram account. “Her husband Douglas, I would say, is under-indexing”—marketing-speak for the fact that he should be embarrassed to have a paltry 4,700 followers at this writing. Indeed, she thinks most candidate spouses are, at this stage, underused—good luck finding Elizabeth Warren’s husband on the platform—or, like Emhoff’s, unfiltered through professional advice, left to the spouse’s own whims, selfies and all.

Spinelli is channeling every influencer, marketing executive and 20-something corporate social-media associate who has cottoned to the sales potential of Instagram, the current go-to-medium for young consumers. Instagram, which was purchased by Facebook for $1 billion in 2012, had 1 billion users worldwide as of 2018. A study that year by the Pew Research Center found that 71 percent of 18-to-24-year-old Americans use the platform, and that six out of 10 Instagram users look at the site daily, for roughly an hour each day. Corporations, aware of the need to go where your buyers are, were projected to spend $5.5 billion that year to reach them.

That’s in part due to a particular quality of Instagram: It gives you a hall pass to show off. On Facebook, bragging too much can get you unfriended. On Twitter, bragging is on some level discouraged. On Instagram, promoting yourself—or, rather, promoting an aspirational version of yourself—isn’t just acceptable. It’s what the whole ecosystem isfor.Just ask the many “Instagram husbands” who came before Emhoff, following their wives (or husbands) across the globe, lugging camera equipment, capturing perfect images and editing them to make them more perfect. (What is a U.S. president, after all, if not the ultimate global influencer?)

The trick, though, is nailing down the voice. There’s a way to do Instagram right, and it’s staking out the middle ground somewhere between authentic and aspirational. Too much authentic, and you’re in Doug Emhoff territory. Too much aspirational and you might become the political equivalent of an infamous influencer who was caught eating folded tortillas when she said she was eating pancakes, sparking outrage for presenting a false reality. If the medium has changed, the fraught, precise work of the humanizing spouse has not. If anything, Instagram has made the age-old rules for political spouses only more transparent—and a bit more ridiculous.

***

Confession: I am a Gen Xer,closer in age to the 54-year-old Emhoff than to the 29-year-old Chasten Buttigieg. My own Instagram feed is so embarrassingly scant, my follower count so minuscule that I don’t even want to type the numbers. And based on Spinelli’s descriptions, I make a lot of Emhoff-level rookie mistakes.

Let’s start with the selfies. They are a no-go, or at least, should be used sparingly, she said. Photos of you should be taken by a third party, composed with care: Images with ample white space around the humans draw more engagement than the ones where people fill the entire frame. Spinelli advises would-be influencers to use filters—though not the Instagram stock filters, which, she says, are woefully inadequate—and to consider a theme of colors or patterns for visual consistency. (Her own feed has a blue motif.) She tells her clients to pose deliberately, heads tilted, toes pointed, no matter now uncomfortable that is. “A lot of photographers will say stick your head past your neck a little bit, which feels very awkward, but it does tend to look better in photos,” she told me. “The more awkward a photo it is, typically the better it looks.” (The rules are more relaxed for “Instagram stories,” which are meant to capture real life as it happens, and expire after 24 hours.)

Not all of this applies, of course, to Emhoff, a 50-something male entertainment lawyer who isn’t looking to sell beauty products or get luxury resorts to comp his rooms. But the broader point remains: To get people to follow your feed and drive up the all-important metrics of engagement—how many people like or comment on your photos—you have to serve up what the audience wants to see.

And what Instagrammers want, Spinelli says, is some strange alchemy of authenticity and very-inauthentic perfection—the conceit is that your unreal photos, by virtue of being unreal, are the ideal window to your actual inner self. “Instagram really comes down to creating, generally speaking, a highly polished brand narrative,” she explained, in marketing-speak. People turn to the platform to escape their mundane lives or petty troubles. “It’s almost like, if you don’t edit your photos, people are like, ‘Ugh, it’s normal.’”

There’s even a term for this, she informs me: “narp,” which stands for “nonathletic regular person.” The word is alternately used as a slur—like being “basic”—or as a self-deprecating point of pride, say, for someone trying to brand herself as a fitness guru for wimps. But for marketing purposes, Spinelli insists, being a narp is no good. If you’re a narp, your photos don’t encourage people to stare endlessly at every corner of the frame, or to wish, on some level, that they were you. I am a narp. Emhoff, in his current state, is a narp. And Spinelli thinks his unrepentant narpiness could be holding back his wife’s campaign.

Her verdict was echoed by two other Instagram marketers I spoke to, who also specialize in helping people improve their social presence. “If you’re looking to gain a following, you should either be inspiring, educating, or entertaining. It is something that I think of for every story, I think of for every post,” said Lacey Faeh, who runs the travel and lifestyle blog A Lacey Perspective and is schooled in the language of Washington promotion: She once created digital ads for Democratic campaigns and now does social media consulting for “people of influence in D.C.”

Faeh, too, was critical of Emhoff’s account. “Two selfies with kids [posted] on the same day,” she noted, is “not good strategically.” She noted that Jill Biden’s Instagram feed, with 167,000 followers, adheres to the rules of Instagram more effectively: It’s noticeably short on selfies and high on professional photos and motivational messages. And Chasten Buttigieg, she said, has a savvy, winning voice from the get-go. His Instagram bio reads: “Teacher. Theater Ed advocate. First Gent of South Bend. My husband is running for President and my dogs don’t seem to care.”

Emhoff’s, by comparison, reads like an amateur’s, Faeh said: “Dad. @kamalaharris Hubby. Lawyer.”

Still, it’s hard to deny that Emhoff’s Instagram feed, a gallery of warm hugs and dad grins, is as relatable as it gets, with the easy appeal of someone who isn’t trying too hard. Indeed, some 20 minutes into my conversation with Faeh, she thought about his bio again and reconsidered her critique. “The way he described dad first, then husband,thenlawyer—that seems intentional,” she said. “Wouldn’t every woman love to have a man who thinks in that order? Now it makes me wonder if he’s doing this correctly.”

Even if Emhoff is accidentally doing Instagram right, his voice is likely to shift if Harris’ popularity grows, says Shane Barker, a Los Angeles-based digital marketing consultant who teaches a UCLA class on branding and how to be an influencer. “There is something nice about the guy that’s not being advised,” Barker says. “But I can tell you: As this thing goes on, his profile and what he puts up there will change.”

Indeed, Spinelli has loads of professional advice. If she were on Harris’ campaign team, she says, she’d pour resources into Emhoff’s feed, hiring a photographer to shoot a series of charming behind-the-scenes shots, along with polished family portraits and “lifestyle” shots that show him exercising or running errands. She’d strive to get him verified, with one of those blue check marks, and the goal of aggressively growing his following into the 100,000 range.

In the past couple of weeks, Emhoff’s profile has already gotten more attention—a result, in part, of his wife’s strong debate performance. The day after the debate, the millennial-aimed website Refinery 29 declared him “Kamala Harris’ ultimate Instagram husband,” based on his obvious affection. Before long, there was a noticeable uptick in engagement in his posts, along with the inevitable critiques. One reader who came across Emhoff’s pre-debate selfie griped about the caption, with its shorthand use of “Thur”: “You should probably just say Thursday. This is like if Bernie Sanders starts ending his statements with ‘Okurrrr.’ Don’t be afraid to be yourself.”

You can sense that Emhoff is trying to do just that—aiming, in his charmingly narpy way, to project some more Instagram-friendly version of himself, stumbling a bit as he goes. In late June, he posted an inartful snapshot of a bunch of men in a room, apparently at a rally before a San Francisco Pride event. The caption read, “I always want her to go out there with a smile,” though Harris herself was nowhere in the frame.

About an hour later, Emhoff posted again, this time with a photo that miraculously seemed to follow Spinelli’s rules. Taken by someone else, it showed him and Harris behind the scenes at the Pride event, surrounded by ample white space, with a caption that attested to his effort. “Here’s the smile one … still working on my IG skills!” he wrote.

The next day, he posted another selfie.

#Foreign #Instagram #Politics #Spouse

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wordcreatr · 5 years

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Okay, folks, the Land Manatee is back in Arizona after two glorious weeks visiting the relatives in the UK. I meant to keep blogging as I went along, but — well — it didn’t happen. The road to hell paved with best intentions and all that. You get the picture.

The (Kind of) Old Man and the Sea.

The good news is my cousin’s wedding was a success despite the threat of rain. I’m sure it will result in a long and happy marriage between the young couple. Had a lot of fun at the reception and ate too much, which seems to have been the theme for my trip.

The return trip

Considering my troubles on my outbound trip, you may be wondering if I had an uneventful return? Well, other than Virgin Atlantic’s ramp crew ruthlessly savaging my bag (missing wheel, bent frame) yes, it was fairly uneventful — well, for me. For my cousin, Martin, who drove me to the airport, things got a little more exciting. At Manchester airport, he decided to come in with me instead of just dropping me off. When I arrived in Atlanta, I checked the messages from our WhatsApp group and discovered his car had caught fire and burned up while we were in the terminal. And it took out several other vehicles with it (including a rather pricey Range Rover, I believe. Ouch!) (You can read about it here in the Manchester Evening News.)

Hope you like your VW well done, Mart.

The fire brigade thinks it was possibly the car’s electrical system that sparked the blaze, but it’s still under investigation. Part of my brain was telling me my Land Manatee luck was rubbing off and taking out innocent bystanders — though on second thought, maybe it was good luck. The fire could have happened while my cousin was in the car with his kids or while parked in front of his house. His weird neighbor is already a pain in the ass over minor things. For example, he claimed the passenger door on Martin’s car swinging open over his driveway constitutes trespassing. Imagine if his car got accidentally barbequed, which was a distinct possibility with how close the two driveways are to each other.

Back in AZ

After a day of traveling, I felt shattered by the time I arrived home but didn’t want to go to sleep too early so I watched the series finale of Game of Thrones. (You have no idea how hard it was to avoid spoilers for 2 weeks.) Maybe it’s because I felt tired, but it seemed underwhelming for a finale and in general, I thought it kind of sucked. A disappointing end to a great series in my opinion.

Later on, the Houseguest showed up and the fact she no longer had to worry about killing my oleander bushes by failing to water them was a huge weight off her shoulders. (They’ve made another comeback after I nearly killed them twice through insufficient watering.) While the oleanders made it through my absence, unfortunately, there was a casualty — my car battery was deader than a doornail (which sucked since I had zero food in the house other than peanut butter and a stale street taco tortilla.) The Houseguest apologized because she hadn’t started my car while I was away. To be honest, I never asked her too. (I did request her to do so on my last UK trip during the Year of Sean because of the length of my absence and it occurred during the blazing summer). This time, I figured with the mild temps in AZ, it would be fine — and it should have been. The only thing I can think is the security camera in my car must have drained it. Supposedly it turns off automatically, but I suspect it’s wonky, but that’s just a guess. Hmm hopefully my alternator didn’t crap out — I guess I’ll find out when I try to leave work.

I fear dead car batteries

The Houseguest felt some measure of responsibility for the dead battery because she didn’t start my car while I was traveling, and I played along with it milking her guilt until she remembered I had forgotten to start her car while she was away. Admittedly, as a joke, I have a bad habit of letting her feel guilty about things. For example, she still thinks she ran the curbing over (pictured below) while backing out (Well, she won’t anymore after reading this post), but I actually did it when dragging the garbage can across the rocks because her SUV was in the driveway blocking it. (Hey, it keeps her humble — plus she did run it over once.)

The Houseguest failed to notice the telltale trash can wheel marks in the rocks.

Anyway, the Houseguest helped me try to jumpstart my car yesterday morning, but we failed miserably — no clicks or any attempt by the engine to turn over. Nada. Knowing my propensity to screw things up, she seemed highly anxious the whole time she held one set of clamps from the jumper cables and wanted me to call for roadside assistance. (The fact that I kept consulting Youtube didn’t bolster her confidence). As my readers may (or may not) know, I don’t have great experiences when it comes to electricity. I get super anxious when jumpstarting or disconnecting a battery due to the minor chance I could blow it up (a kid in my high school had one blow up in his face and I read about a dentist who almost lost his finger when he had his wedding ring on and touched the wrong thing).

Cautiously, I took the battery out and lugged it into AutoZone. Family friend and AutoZone manager Suzy tested my battery and confirmed it was dead. However, she told me the battery was still under warranty, so she exchanged it. Anyway, I did have some issues getting the battery back in place but eventually succeeded. And it started. Here’s to small victories!

Readjusting

While I’m happy to be home, I’m also mildly depressed. I found it comforting to be around family. My cousins are mostly around my age and we have a lifelong bond. Now that my parents and brother are dead and my sis lives in Florida, it’s just me out here in the desert. Or maybe I’m just depressed because I’m back in the metaphorical salt mine? Eh, who knows?

Anyway, I feel guilty about not blogging and still feel lethargic, which is a bad sign. It’s time to get back in the saddle again and knock off the rust! Also, I’ve decided to get off my ass and get back to working on my book. We’ll see how that goes.

The Land Manatee Returneth Okay, folks, the Land Manatee is back in Arizona after two glorious weeks visiting the relatives in the UK.

#Game of Thrones #traveling #UK

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unixcommerce · 6 years

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How Brands Can Avoid the Dreaded Fauxthenticity Pitfall

Let’s be real for a second here. Today’s marketers and brands are collectively recognizing the need to strike a note of authenticity with their audiences. That’s excellent. But in the quest to get real, it’s all too easy to wind up making the exact opposite impression by trying too hard, especially on social media channels. When I think about this subject I’m always reminded of Steve Buscemi’s attempt to conform with school kids on the TV show 30 Rock: via GIPHY So, we should ask ourselves: How can we, as businesses, avoid this “fauxthenticity” pitfall? How can we overcome the inherent barriers that inhibit genuine connections between brand and customer? How can we speak the language of our audience without looking like we’re trying really hard to speak their language? It might be helpful to start out by looking at a few examples of authenticity gone awry, and dissect where things misfired with an eye on getting it right.

Can a Brand Be Your Friend?

Ian Bogost wrote a piece for the newest issue of The Atlantic entitled Brands Are Not Our Friends. Referencing an experience where the telecommunications giant sent Bogost delivery pies in response to a Twitter quip, the subhead reads: “Comcast sent me 10 pizzas. This isn’t nice; it’s manipulative.” There’s a fine line to walk here, isn’t there? Comcast was executing a “surprise and delight” strategy, which isn’t a bad idea. But when the action rings hollow and transparent, the desired impact won’t be there. In his story, Bogost cites another example where the social media team for Steak-umms, a seller of frozen beef, reached out to him via DM to sign a petition as part of the company’s tongue-in-cheek campaign to become verified on Twitter. When he learned that he’d been selected for inclusion by sophisticated software that analyzed his location, interests, and social media usage habits, it made him a bit uncomfortable. The bottom line here? If you’re seeking to surprise and delight, you certainly don’t want to surprise in the wrong way. The ultimate point of Bogost’s article is, I think, a good one. No, brands cannot be your friends. They can be friendly, but even with a real human being behind the account, they’re still intangible entities driven by commercial motivations. But you know what? That’s OK, because there’s still a space to play. What brands CAN strive to be is trustworthy, likable advocates with empathetic connections to their customers and prospects. And that is what our aim should be. When it comes to achieving this distinction, I believe there are four fundamentals that must be front-and-center, which I get into below.

Fleeing Fauxthenticity: 4 Ways for Brands to Keep it Real

#1 – Know Your Audience

More or less the prime directive for content marketing in general, but in this conversation it becomes further magnified. It’s not simply about understanding general demographics, or keeping up with segmented trends, or regurgitating the terminologies and buzzwords they like to use (our Josh Nite had a great post earlier this year that opened with an ill-fated brand attempts to ride the wave of popular user hashtags). It’s about understanding what really matters to them, and knowing them well enough to anticipate what’s going to resonate or fall flat. Dig deeper in your research. Study past campaigns by other brands or agencies with similar audiences, to see what’s worked and what’s totally missed. Have actual conversations with the people you serve or wish to serve. At TopRank Marketing, our content team focuses extensively on gathering and analyzing audience insights before we start trying to connect or engage. Authenticity efforts guided by incomplete information or algorithm-based assumptions (like the aforementioned Steak-umms case) can instill negative feelings rather than positive ones, which is certainly not what we want. Internet users are getting smarter these days. They see through half-baked stunts.

#2 – Don’t Be Overly Rosy

From my view, this is the absolute most pivotal element, and also the toughest to nail. No company wants to go around trashing itself, or sending off negative vibes all the time. But, then again, the world can be a difficult and upsetting place. Things don’t always go right. The most transparently fauxthentic brands to me are those bubbly, peppy, happy-go-lucky ones that speak solely in optimism and exclamation points. People by and large cannot relate to that. As an example, check out this recent Listerine-sponsored Instagram post from internet celeb Scarlett London, which drew massive backlash: On his blog, Scott Guthrie wrote of this cloying attempt at influencer marketing:

“Yes, it was staged, yes it was trite. Yes it appears to feature tortillas propped on her bed masquerading as pancakes. Yes the influencer was sitting on a bedspread that sported a huge photo of herself on it.”

Suffice to say this post left a bad taste in people’s mouths. “Instagram is a ridiculous lie factory made to make us all feel inadequate,” ranted one tweet that’s been liked 111,000 times. Yikes. I think brands should not necessarily skew more negative, but more realistic. Acknowledge the struggles so many of us share. Mix in failures with your success stories. Confront the flaws or drawbacks of your solution head-on instead of pretending they don’t exist. And also: Don’t be afraid to repel people who aren’t really in your wheelhouse. If your content can filter out users that aren’t fits for your business, and avoid wasting their time, that’s almost as valuable as pulling in the right people.

#3 – Infuse Influencers in Their Natural Element

The Listerine example above shows how influencer marketing can backfire when mishandled. During her session on dispelling influencer marketing lies at CMWorld 2018, TopRank Marketing’s Digital Strategy Director Ashley Zeckman cited a couple examples of similar Instagram flops, wherein the “influencer” accidentally pasted the brand’s instructions into their post captions: The ultimate of fauxthenticity fails. Integrating relevant influencers into marketing campaigns is a terrific way to add credibility, but only if those participants can become a genuine part of the narrative. Paying for promotion from online celebrities with no real tie to your brand isn’t the way to establish authenticity. Lee Odden’s CMWorld presentation on the Confluence Equation offered a framework for effective influencer-powered content, which you should check out.

#4 – Leverage User Generated Content

I wrote here recently about UGC as a method to build authentic awareness and trust. There really is nothing better for that purpose than amplifying the voices of actual everyday people discussing your product, service, company, or industry as a whole in a natural setting. Much like with influencers, this approach will sputter if you miss on the “natural” part, so it’s critical to eschew transparently disingenuous setups (e.g., contests or prompts that simply incentivize people to say nice things). You can find plenty of useful pointers in the blog post linked above.

Upping the Ante for Authenticity

In this frenzied environment, with low consumer trust and competition forever increasing, authenticity is set to become one of the biggest differentiators for brands. “Almost everyone I speak to in marketing, who is serious about their brand, thinks that trust and authenticity” have become a big deal, noted HubSpot’s Scott Brinker in a recent interview. Fostering a truly authentic reputation in this faceless digital world, while combating the instinctive consumer tendency to distrust corporate messaging, presents a very real challenge. Those brands that are ready to meet it with gusto will become champions of the new era. The path to fending off fauxthenticity lies in knowing your audience, avoiding phony zeal, getting it right with influencers, and incorporating user generated content. Want to be real with your customers? Then the No. 1 rule, fellow kids, is this: Don’t fake it. For further guidance on finding your brand’s authenticity sweet spot, check out some other past posts from the TopRank Blog:

Evolve or Die: The Role of Purpose & Authenticity in Marketing

How Dell Approaches Integrated & Authentic Influencer Marketing

8 Ways to Build Credibility & Trust with Content Marketing

The post How Brands Can Avoid the Dreaded Fauxthenticity Pitfall appeared first on Online Marketing Blog – TopRank®.

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The post How Brands Can Avoid the Dreaded Fauxthenticity Pitfall appeared first on Unix Commerce.

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christopheruearle · 6 years

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How Brands Can Avoid the Dreaded Fauxthenticity Pitfall

via GIPHY So, we should ask ourselves: How can we, as businesses, avoid this “fauxthenticity” pitfall? How can we overcome the inherent barriers that inhibit genuine connections between brand and customer? How can we speak the language of our audience without looking like we’re trying really hard to speak their language? It might be helpful to start out by looking at a few examples of authenticity gone awry, and dissect where things misfired with an eye on getting it right.

Can a Brand Be Your Friend?

Fleeing Fauxthenticity: 4 Ways for Brands to Keep it Real

#1 - Know Your Audience

#2 - Don’t Be Overly Rosy

#3 - Infuse Influencers in Their Natural Element

#4 - Leverage User Generated Content

Upping the Ante for Authenticity

Evolve or Die: The Role of Purpose & Authenticity in Marketing

How Dell Approaches Integrated & Authentic Influencer Marketing

8 Ways to Build Credibility & Trust with Content Marketing

The post How Brands Can Avoid the Dreaded Fauxthenticity Pitfall appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

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annabankesterbeautyblogger · 6 years

Text

Happy Monday beauties! Today I finally have a Weekly Update… It’s more of a monthly update this time. In today’s post, I have a ton of pics of what I did in November and a few MOTD’s to show ya’ll. I tested a lot of new products, my husband and I celebrated our 2nd Wedding Anniversary, there was a birthday, bands, visits with family and tons of good food. Also a full month on the Keto diet.

Let’s jump in!

The Makeup and Misadventures

October 31st, 2017

Starting back on October 31st.Halloween was spent running errands. My husband had a doctor’s appt that day. So I did this Orange smoky eye and winged liner using the KVD Saints & Sinner Palette paired with a plummy lip to a least look a little festive. I’m not sure why this wasn’t in my last Weekly Edit, probably because I was late posting this look on Instagram.

We went to a get together that evening so I amped the look up with some glitter from WetNWild and a glimmer shade from the Kat Von D Saints & Sinners palette like I did in my Shadow Sun Tutorial which will be linked below. We had already done our Halloween partying so I was keeping it simple.

November 4th, 2017

The weekend of November 4th we spent with my husband’s family down south. Makeup and everything else was kept hella simple. We hung out with his mom, dad, and nephews most of the Friday and early Saturday. I love going down to see them.

This is the view from the back porch, how could you not love looking out at that.

We also brought Pumpkin who got to go off leash and have her best day ever running around with Buddy the Lab. He loves him some Pumpkin.

I also got treated to a latte!

Saturday evening was more of an adventure. We stayed over at Ross’s sister’s house and ventured out to a dive bar in the middle of NOWHERE called the Topsy V. Ross and I were hella iffy on this excursion but his sister promised it was cool, so we drove the 25 mins of back road to get to this hole in the wall of a bar and surprisingly it was pretty legit. The town it is in literally only has this bar and a gas station… Anyway, I learned how to play darts and found a new skill there. I hate playing pool but this was the first dart game I had tried and really enjoyed it. The highlight of the night was Ross’s sister getting a drink and there were about 50 gnats floating in it. LOL! We made it home around midnight and crashed.

November 7th, 2017

This was Ross and Mine’s 2nd Wedding Aniversary night. I wanted to go full glam so I did this look using the Kat Von D Saints & Sinners Palette and the Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette paired with BH Cosmetics Metallic Liquid Lipstick in Amber.

This has to be one of the best liquid lippies I have tried in a while.

For our anniversary date night, we went to Outback. We have a thing about going to Outback for our special date nights. It’s our thing. We shared this amazing dessert that was a s’mores ice cream cookie thing. Fuck me up, BITCH! it was so good.

Afterward, we hit the bar and stayed until about 3am hanging out with friends. It was a damn good night.

November 16th? 2017

And at this point, my dates get foggy AF, this was around the 16th. On this day I was doing a wear test with the Fenty Foundation, more on that is coming. I am working on a whole post. This was another day of errands. In this look, I used the Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance paired with Tarte Tarteist Quick Dry Liquid Lipstick in Obsessed. I have a full review of those linked below. I think all I did on this day was get groceries and nothing much else so I did another wear tests over the next couple of days.

Spoiler of how I feel about the Fenty foundation.

November 17th, 2017

Another day of wear tests with the Fenty foundation and the Tarte Lights Camera Lashes Liquid Eye Liner. The review will be linked below. The products got tested super well on this day.

I also feel in love the Wet N Wild Renegade Mascara.

We had lunch at one of our favorite spots called Wildwood Pizza. They have the best keto friendly salads of life. I had a roasted chicken salad.

After that, I spent the rest of the early afternoon walking around the mall which is just something I enjoy doing out of nostalgia. I also hit up Sephora and Ulta, of course, This was a pretty warm day and I did a lot after we got back home from working on blog posts to some housework. I wore the products a good 10 + hours.

November 18th, 2017

This was Saturday before last, we had a friend staying over so we hit up the bar to see a band that was playing. I was in the mood some a really dark look. In this one, I used the Kat Von D Saints and Sinners Palette and the Tarte Tarteist Amazonian Clay Pro Eyeshadow Palette paired with Nyx Liquid Suede in Brooklyn Thorn.

This ended up being a pretty strange night when an old friend showed up but it was a good night, the bands were great. I didn’t get in until almost 4 am I think, then got up around 11am and went to Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch during the Saints game.

November 22nd, 2017

This was the day before Thanksgiving and my BFF’s birthday. This is the look from my …Of Dreams and Drama Tutorial (Linked Below) like I said in the post I did this look with her in mind.

This night was a blast. We had sushi (my cheat meal) then went bowling until they ran us out.

For Thanksgiving, the next day Ross and I ended up at Golden Corral in damn near our PJ’s because NOTHING was open. We were just wanting something quick because I was cooking that evening. Ended up having a second cheat meal and feeling the shame of just eating at Golden Corral where you literally feel like cattle. The only walk of shame I have experienced is that walk to the car from there.

November 24th, 2017

My little Sephora VIB haul came in! I finally picked up the Subculture palette, a review is a coming and I picked up the new glow kit, and a Sephora Faves lippy set.

November 25, 2017

I used the Subculture. Here’s what she looks like after one use.

Just fine! There is more to come on this and the looks I have done with it. Below is just a quick pic I snapped on Instagram stories before I left the house.

Saturday was a fun night. A few friends and I went to see Mojo Killjoy at The Melting Pot and hung out at the bar for a bit.

I don’t know for sure which day I made this for breakfast but it’s another one of my go-to keto meals. Scrambled eggs, cheese, and spinach on a wheat tortilla. Maybe 5 carbs in this meal.

Speaking of keto, I have been doing it for a full month. Intermittent fasting and around 20 – 25 carbs a day. Some days are more, just depends but so far I am down 14 pounds. Ross is in his first week right now. So far so good and so easy. Keto flu only lasted 3 days, but I struggle staying hydrated and have caused myself some issues there. TMI. Water water water!

The Funny

The Pumpkin

Because Pumpkin was full of cute as usual.

That wraps up my last 3 weeks and almost all of November. I’ll see ya tomorrow for a Lust or Bust and Wednesday for a review maybe. Good Night beauties!

In case you missed it

Get the Look | … Of Dreams and Drama – Makeup Tutorial Feat. Kat Von D Saints & Sinners Palette + Serpentina Palette

Review | Wear Test – Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes Precision Longwear Liquid Eyeliner

Lust or Bust | Holiday Collections 2017 Pt. IV | Dior, Nyx, MAC, Kat Von D, Tarte, Huda Beauty, Becca, Lorac, Laura Mercier and Bobbi Brown.

Get the Look | Shadow Sun – Glittery Gold Fall Makeup Tutorial feat Kat Von D Beauty Saints & Sinners Palette

Review | Swatches – Tarte Tarteist Creamy Lip Paint + Quick Dry Lip Paint

Get the Look | Darkness & Hope – Fall Makeup Tutorial Feat. Kat Von D Saints & Sinners Palette

Review | Looks | Swatches – Mary Kay Purple Smoke Palette + Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover

Bee Beauty Edit | November 2017 Happy Monday beauties! Today I finally have a Weekly Update... It's more of a monthly update this time.

#makeup look #weekly edit

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1writegirl · 7 years

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For three years, Ted and I lived in Amish country. It truly was an enlightening time for us. For we had grown up believing that innovation and technology rendered old ways obsolete. We’d come to understand that speed of output alone determined the efficacy of a process. But what of its efficiency? What had become of the old adage of “Waste not, want not.” Didn’t efficiency also play a role in the efficacy of a process?

The first challenge to my belief in technology and innovation came as I drove down a country road in rural Wisconsin. As I said at the beginning, we had several Amish living in our area and were friends with a few of them. And as you may already know, their beliefs prevent them from using powered equipment or electricity. So, when I passed by one of our Amish friends’ farm and saw him on a stand-up plow, driving a team of twelve Belgian horses as he plowed his forty-acre field, I had to pull over and watch. It was an amazing sight of strength, beauty, simple elegance, and efficiency.

Not my photo, but you imagine another 7 Belgian horses

He was moving down that field as fast as a tractor could have gone. Naturally, it took a hell of a lot more work energy, maintaining balance, keeping a straight line, managing the horses, but he was doing the job. His efforts would provide food not just for his family, but for his community, as they shared their harvests with one another. And, he did it all without carbon emissions, thus also doing his part to protect this planet.

More recently, when Ted and I were in San Miguel de Allende, we booked cooking lessons with a delightful woman who lived just across the street from where we were staying. We gave her 300 pesos to buy the groceries. She brought almost half of those funds back. So, she’d spent the equivalent of about $10 on food.

I unpacked the groceries, as she pulled out pots and prepared for the lesson. She got:

1# of ground beef

1 chicken breast

1 small onion

3 cloves of garlic

2 small bags of various dried peppers

4 poblano peppers

8 tiny tomatillos

2 small avocados

1 pkg of 6 corn tortillas

8 sopes

1 cup of rice

4 tomatoes

1 potato

2 carrots

1 can refried beans

1 small brick of queso ranchero

By the time we completed our lessons with her over two days, we had prepared 13, packed full of flavor, meals. That was enough for two-three people’s lunches and dinners over a period of several days. And we still had leftovers, which we gave to her when we departed.

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Sauce for the Rellenos also went into the beef for flavor

Keeping her Laughing While Cooking

Eva Working Her Magic in the Kitchen

Think about that, thirteen meals from those few items. I marveled as she pieced out small piles of onion to spread out over several dishes from salsa verde, to enchiladas rojas, to guacamole, to chile rellenos, and sopes. Not one single bit of that onion went to waste. She even used the chicken broth that came from poaching the chicken breast in many of the dishes. Her efficiency was simply a marvel to behold.

Defining Efficient

The Oxford English Dictionary defines efficient this way: “achieving maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort or expense.” We could argue that our Amish friend had a lot more work output to achieve plowing that field than a gas-powered tractor would have had, and yet none of his output was wasted. He and his team of Belgian horses were astoundingly efficient. Eva, our cooking teacher, who used every bit of everything she bought, except the stems, was incredibly efficient.

Defining Human Efficiency

One night, in San Miguel, we spoke with an expat living there. He said something that stuck with me. “Here, you will see someone drop a piece of trash on the ground, or throw all of their trash and recyclables together into the garbage for pick up. They do this not to litter, but so that the street sweeper and garbage collector will have jobs. You’ll see wealthier neighbors hiring poorer neighbors to help with the household. And those poorer folk become part of their neighbor’s family. They have dignity and respect. In all these cases, people recognize that they are providing someone else a job. It’s their way of supporting one another, of building community.”

When he said that, I saw a beauty in efficiency that I hadn’t seen since watching that Amish friend plow his field. In a way it was even more breath-taking, because it was a glimpse at human efficiency, a community in which no person goes to waste, where everyone has value.

Here in the US, an astounding 40% of food goes to waste. Bakeries throw out day-old bread. Here in my household, I can’t tell you how much food we waste. We joke about those items growing mold in the back of the fridge. And it’s shameful. And I know we’re not alone in this abuse.

And, it is abuse. Why? Because in a country where 40% of food goes to waste, 20% of the population is food insecure. That means 2 people in 10, including children, live in fear that they will not have a next meal. If we could find ways to save that 40%, to be more efficient, we would more than take care of those 20% who desperately need our help.

The people of Mexico are a great example to follow. They truly understand the value of the old adage, “Waste not, want not.” I learned so much from visiting their country. Here, in the states, it’s not too late to appeal to our better angels. Let’s return to the old way of valuing efficiency, of making certain that nothing and no one goes to waste. Give love, live loved, feed those in need without judgment or partiality, and thereby entertain angels. Have a great week, everybody.

Waste Not, Want Not: A Marvel in Efficiency For three years, Ted and I lived in Amish country. It truly was an enlightening time for us.

#Amish #Belgian horses #defining efficient #marvel in efficiency #Mexico #San Miguel de Allende #want not #waste not

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alldayieat · 7 years

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One day in Guadalajara…

We were walking by some street performers and one of them was covered up in silver paint. You know, like pretending to be a statue that doesn’t move.

He was off to the side maybe maybe 15 feet away.

We were standing there for a minute or so watching this other guy be Michael Jackson. This guy was doing a real good job and had his whole dance in sync to “Thriller” which was playing on a speaker.

Then all of a sudden the silver paint statue guy blurts out “Jackie Chan!”

Obviously, he was talking to us. And we knew he was trying to get our attention, but we didn’t know what he was really trying to say. So we just laughed. (I don’t think I look like Jackie Chan.)

But I get those shoutouts every now and then when traveling.

Random people will say “Ja-pan” or “konnichiwa” when they get it right. Sometimes, they say something different.

I know they’re just trying to be friendly. But I don’t go around saying “Mexico!” or “Hola!” to random people on the street. Do you?

Maybe it’s a cultural thing. I think next time it happens, I’ll need to ask, why they say that.😆 The reality of travel.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); So why Guadalajara?

This city was never on my radar, but having been to Mexico City so many times, I was ready to explore another big city.

According to Alaska Airlines, it’s one of the art capitals of Mexico. (Their advertising is probably how I got a glimpse into what the city has to offer. They fly direct from LAX.)

Though we didn’t get to see much gallery art, there was plenty of street art.

Our first glimpse of this was driving in from the airport.

When going through the hills into the city, there were several neighborhoods of single story houses with various colorful birds painted on the sides of the houses.

Usually one large bird per house. It added a lot of color and beauty to an otherwise, unremarkable brown and dry looking landscape. Look out for them if you ever end up visiting!

Another draw for me was the regional food.

Jalisco and Guadalajara have many of their own regional specialties.

After reading about them, I knew I’d eventually make there one day. Well, that day came and went quite quickly!

We spent 2 full days there and I think it was just enough for a good tease.

Famous Foods of Guadalajara

Our first meal in the city was birria. We got take out at Birriería las 9 Esquinas for breakfast on the way to the hotel.

It was quite heavy given that we had it for breakfast and it was mostly meat.

I’d describe it as spicy, rich, savory, and very meaty.

We ate it with tortillas and onions and additional hot sauce. It reminded me of pozole, but without the hominy. Yum!

After breakfast, we needed to go for a walk. So we set out to explore.😎

Our first stop was the main square. (Where else do you go ?!)

In the square they had a large Guadalajara art installation.

There was a pretty big line the entire time that we were there to get a picture with it.

We waited about 7 minutes to get ours. Not bad!

Throughout the square they also had a bunch of cartoon characters and mascots walking around posing for pictures for people too.

After hitting up the main square, we wandered down one of the Paseo Hospicio (one of the main streets) toward the Instituto Cultural Cabañas.

Once we made it there, we split a horchata since it was pretty warm out. Horchata is always so good in Mexico!!

On the way back, we saw some little electric cars being driven around by kids who looked liked they were having fun.

When I was a kid, those cars were one thing that I always wanted to drive. None of my friends had one, so I never got to drive one.

So I guess I have to just live vicariously through those little kids.

After thoroughly exploring the historical center, we ended up making a small trek to get tamales at Ricos Tamales for a late lunch.

We shared a red mole with pork tamale and a vegetable tamale as well as a vanilla atole drink.

While we were eating, a lot of local people stopped by to get take out.

This place was worth the trek as it was all very good!

For dinner, we had a reservation at Lula Bistro. It was my second choice for a nice meal, but the other restaurant Allium was MIA (according to their Facebook, they were out on holiday).

I’ll be sharing the Lula Bistro experience in a separate post tomorrow. It was definitely one of the highlights of our trip, food wise!

Guadalajara Day 2: More Food

The next day we got chilaquiles for breakfast from La Chata.

This restaurant seemed to be pretty popular with the locals also. The chilaquiles were good, but to be honest, it’s not one of my favorites.

After breakfast we went to some of the produce markets since I wanted to get some beans and peppers to take home.

I got a pretty good amount (1 kg chiles -ancho, pasilla, mulato, guajillo + 1kg beans-peruano, texano, and flor de junio).

Now I just need to figure out what to do with them!! 😃 Any suggestions??

We dropped my haul back off at the hotel before going to get lunch.

We took a long 40 minute walk to get carne en su jugo. Which is stewed beef.

It came with tortillas, chips, onions, limes, and beans. This was sooo good.

I need to find a recipe and try to recreate this at home. 🍖

This dish alone totally made the trip worth it!!😋

There are two restaurants that seemed like the ‘go-to’ for this particular dish. We chose Kamilos 333 since it seemed less touristy and had better reviews.

It’s right next door is it’s competitor Karne Garibaldi, which has a Guinness world record of serving the fastest meal or something like that.

Kamilos was a good choice since the food was bomb. And, while we were their the clientele seemed to be local families and business people. Always a good sign, in my opinion!

After this, we did some more walking around at one of the local parks. We thought we knew where to enter but the entrance we tried to go to was closed.

We ended up walking around the entire perimeter of the park and ending up almost where we started before we were able to go in.

What kind of public park has one way in and one way out?! 😒 Parque Agua Azul !!

Since it was a weekend, they had a flea market nearby. It was mostly clothes and gothic apparel with the corresponding gothic looking crowd. Never expected to see that kind of a scene in Mexico, but there it was!

Just a block away, they had a completely different crowd. There was some sort of Hot Wheel convention going on. It looked like people where buying or trading cars. Yes, the little toy Hot Wheels! Totally different vibe!

After this, we headed back to get our bags as it was already time to go to the airport!

In summary, I really liked Guadalajara. It didn’t have as many tourists as Mexico City.

It also felt a lot more Mexican and much more relaxed.

One thing I noticed about Guadalajara, is that the buildings are not tall. At most, those located downtown seemed only a few stories high. I think it seems to add a bit a of space or calm to the atmosphere.

If you ever get a chance, I would definitely consider visiting Guadalajara.

For me the food was my favorite part. I’m happy that I had the opportunity to try some of the regional specialties Guadalajara is known for.

I enjoyed seeing the new sights, sounds and smells. It was very stimulating and eye-opening. In a good way.

The real Mexico that you don’t hear about everyday.

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birria

guava and strawberry

city sign in the center square

line for the sign

cathedral

electric cars

long fountain

horchata

art

monument

near the center of the city

city info

art

characters

one of the markets

Ricos Tamales

tamales!!

the theatre

cathedral at dusk

chilaquiles

art in the works

art

another square

the place to get carne en su jugo

carne en su jugo

hot wheel convention

coconut + hochata

look at all that candy!

one of the shops i bought my goods at

airport

1 kg chiles (ancho, pasilla, mulato, guajillo) + 1kg beans!(peruano, texano, and flor de junio)

If you haven’t already, you can also read my previous trip reports to Mexico below

Mexico Trip December 2016: Part 5 Mexico City Can’t Get Enough!

Mexico Trip December 2016: Part 4 Mexico City Discoveries

Mexico Trip December 2016: Part 3 Mexico City Never Gets Old

Mexico Trip December 2016: Part 2 Puebla

Mexico Trip December 2016: Part 1 Mexico City

Cozumel, Tulum, Playa del Carmen, BPM Festival Mexico 2016

Merida, Yucatan and Mexico City November 2015 Trip Report

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Mexico Trip December 2016: Part 6 Guadalajara One day in Guadalajara... We were walking by some street performers and one of them was covered up in silver paint.

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