SPEAK YOUR TRUTH: BE A BEST FRIEND

y'all. i am feeling the love. i just have so much love in my heart right now i wish i could just reach out and hug every one of you!

so now that I've been overly lovey, I'm going to back track a little... about a week ago i completely broke down to my husband on the phone. i know crazy right, I'm human, and i have emotions, and sometimes they get the best of me. I have times where i don't hold it all together and i just completely break down and feel sorry for myself, and this was one of those times. i broke down about how i seriously felt like i had no friends and it totally killed me. now this isn't the first time I've felt this way, but before i normally just say "screw it, i don't care, tim not going to waste my time feeling bad and let it hurt me" so i would just stuff all those emotions down until finally i didn't have any more room to stuff emotions, and i exploded, and imploded, and every other "ploded" there is...  and my poor husband (i thank the Lord every day for him, and for his ability to deal with my crazy), got to listen to me sob on the phone for about an hour. (to the men reading this, if you have any girl in your life, this will happen to her, she will explode eventually and not be able to hide her emotions anymore, so my advice to you, is be prepared to just listen, don't try to fix it, i mean it - don't try and fix it, and comfort her, and possibly bring some ice cream...) in all seriousness though, this is the lowest I've felt in a very long time.

i got home from work around 3:30, and had to be at the airport to pick colton up at 1am, so i had some time to kill, so i sat, and snap chatted, and watched way too many reality shows, rented a movie, had really unhealthy food, sat some more, cue breakdown. i couldn't understand why no one was coming to hand out with me when i was obviously lonely, i mean i know everyone had seen my snapchats, and knew they saw me lonely, taking pictures with my dog, so why had no one come to my rescue?! - this was literally going through my mind - and it wasn't until after sleeping off my full on meltdown, that i realized how ungrateful i was acting, and how overdramatic, (I'm a girl, sue me), i was being. 

i was so blessed all through high school to have a home that my parents made so welcoming, where people would constantly be hanging out, and to have friends that would just come over unannounced when they knew i was bored, to get me off my butt and doing something productive. i was even luckier to have similar experiences in hawaii with amazing friend who would walk over from their dorm screaming my name to wake me up and get me out of my room, or better yet, poke me with sticks while i was sleeping through my window. i guess i just assumed thats how everyone acted and thats what it would be like no matter where i lived. i finally realized that in order to get a friend that does these things, and treats me so well, i had to BE that friend to them, and i hadn't been doing that. I hadn't been the one to pick up the phone and call/text first, invite them to do something, or just check up on them to make sure they're doing okay, so why would i expect someone to do that for me?! i have finally begun to understand this concept and am beyond humbled by my break down because i am finally able to see the light and change my ways.

with that being said, here are my steps to being, and getting, a best friend.

1: GENUINELY CARE

don't just say whats up, or what are you doing, genuinely ask them how they are and whats new in their lives, and be excited for them! life is hard, and sometimes people suck, so be a cheerleader for them and lift them up all the time, not just when they're feeling down, and CONTINUALLY check up on them!

2: MAKE THE PLANS AND TEXT FIRST

don't wait around for someone to text you or invite you to do something, if you're bored and want to hang out with your friends, tell them! tell them what you have planned and that you would love for them to come and be there with you!

3: DONT GET BUMMED

life gets crazy sometimes, and they may not be able to make it, but don't get upset! instead reschedule and let them know that you're there if they every need you. if you get bummed about your friend not being able to make it to what you have planned, you'll begin to resent asking, and you'll be less inclined to plan and ask again, which means they'll be less inclined to hang with you.

4: BUY THEM A ROUTE 44 DP

okay this is optional, but if anyone wants to bring me one i wouldn't hate it

but in all seriousness, just treat your friend exactly how you would want to be treated and i promise you, your friend pool will be infinite.

now i just wanted to take this space here to thank some people who have truly made a difference in my life and taught me what it means to be a friend.

NARDY: thanks for just being you. i couldn't be more grateful for who you are as a person and I'm lucky to have you as a best friend. even though seminary teachers hate us, we may or may not throw cake at random strangers, and I'm pretty sure we annoy every human we come in contact with, you are my best friend and have taught me that who i am as a person, is pretty rad. thanks for not hating me anymore so we could become friends

ALEX: thank you for teaching me that if it doesn't make me happy, I'm doing it wrong, whether that be with life or jobs or school, i try my hardest to do what makes me happy and thank you for teaching me that its okay to make mistakes, and that i can forgive myself. 

AUSTIN: thank you for teaching me that its okay to be weird, and to love who i am as a person. thank you for teaching me how to be confident in myself and for accepting me for me. also thank you for teaching me how to truly love and care for each and every individual unconditionally.

BRAYDEN: thank you for teaching me to get over it and move on! and for showing me that i am stronger than i think and braver than i seem. also thank you so much for teaching me that it doesn't matter what any one else thinks of me, only what i think of me.

VIC: thank you!!! thank you for being there for me during one of the hardest times of my life and for just being willing to do whatever i needed at the time, and for just chill in and watching ridiculousness with me when we probably should have been studying. thank you for making me feel so comfortable in who i am and helping me find myself.

AND LAST BUT OBVIOUSLY NOT LEAST 

COLTON: words can not express how grateful i am every day for you. i am so beyond blessed to not only know you, but have you as my forever best friend. thank you for helping me through the tough times and cheering me on through the great ones. every day you amaze me and show me what its like to have a Christ-like love towards every one and i pray that i can be more like you. thank you for loving me and teaching me what truly matters in life. you are the most amazing example of a human and best friend, and i thank The Lord daily for you. I love you.

xoxo leilani

SIX STEPS TO A FLAWLESS COMPLEXION

Everyone wants a flawless complexion, lets be honest. I've struggled with so many different skin problems from having overly active oil producing skin, to flaky dry skin that I can't seem to moisturize enough, i know crazy right? you don't hear many people having both those issues with their skin but i guess im just the lucky one (cue sarcasm). I have tried everything from accutane to help out my acne, to the most expensive dermatologist recommended face washes, to your basic neutrogena face wash, and i finally found one that works for me! now im not saying this will work for everyone, and if you decide to switch over and use some of the products that i do, be prepared for a little breakout before your skin gets better because your skin isn't used to these products so give it a little time and then judge if it works for you or not.

As well as face washes, i've included my favorite makeup staples that help with this flawless complexion, and as always i've included a save and splurge to each product, cause if you're like me there are some thing that im so willing to drop way too much money on (like makeup and bags) and things that i would rather have more of then a fancier version (shoes....)

STEP 1: EXFOLIATE

many people make the mistake of thinking that they don't need to exfoliate because they're already too dry, or they're scared that their skin is going to freak out and produce more oil because its stripping the oil from the skin, but that's wrong! exfoliator are seriously the best thing you can do for your skin! it deep cleans your pores, riding them of dirt and excess makeup that you may not get out of your pores in your daily cleansing. BUT make sure you're not overusing your exfoliator! that's when your skin will begin to freak out, only exfoliate 1-2 times per week and make sure to moisturize after!!!

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STEP 2: PRIMER

another way to get a flawless complexion, is to use a primer before your foundation! primers fill in all your imperfections and blur your pores and make your foundation last even longer!

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STEP 3: HYDRATING FOUNDATION

now, this is seriously one of my favorite things ever! i have combination skin, meaning its oily in some places and dry in others, so i was terrified to use a hydrating foundation cause i didn't want to look shiny, or oily, but it has been the best thing for me! it feels like a cloud on my skin and i feel like its actually helping heal my skin while i wear it! i don't wear foundation very often, but when i do i love to use one that hydrates my skin, and gives me a glow!

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STEP 4: CONCEALER

OH THIS IS LITERALLY FROM THE MAKEUP GODS FOR SURE. especially if you're like me and no matter how much sleep you get, how many "eye products" you use, you always have dark circles under your eyes! obviously you can use concealer to "conceal" blemishes, and highlight certain areas of your face, but my favorite way to use concealer is to cover my dark circles

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STEP 5: HIGHLIGHT

OMG. yall. this is my absolute favorite thing of all time, especially in the summer time!!! when im headed to the pool where i know ill be taking pictures and don't want to look completely crazy without makeup, i just throw a little highlight on and im ready to go! i never thought that highlight would do much for me, but it just adds that extra amount of oomph to really make people look, in a good way!!

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STEP 6: TRANSLUCENT POWDER

this is an absolute savior for people with oily skin, as well as setting concealer, or achieving a matte look, so basically its amazing for everything... i love the translucent part of it because you cant use too much! and i love to just throw a little bit on top of my skin before i head out to just blur out some of my imperfections

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Now for my personal makeup and skin care routine, i've found that the most amazing product that has worked wonders for my skin is the Mary Kay TimeWise collection. I use their at home micro derm exfoliator once a week (sometimes twice if i really feel like i've been sweaty or have extra dirty pores) and immediately after i use their day or night solution moisturizer, depending on if i exfoliate in the morning or night. As for my makeup routine, these are my basics that i use every time i put on makeup, now i always add a blush if im going to contour my face cause it really just pulls it all together, but i don't have a staple blush yet cause i haven't found a color that i really love! so if you have any suggestions let me know! and once i find one i love ill post it up for yall!

Exfoliator
Moisturizer
Cleanser
Daily Moisturizer

Primer
Concealer
Foundation mixed with this Foundation
Contour
Highlight
Bronzer