Much procrastinating within procrastinating.

My weekend mornings are usually as follows: wake up, clean up a bit, get breakfast (coffee + some form of pastry), and then return back into my warm, toasty bed with my Macbook up and running. That, my friends, is my preparation for game time.

If you have not gathered from my previous posts, I am a huge, huge soccer nut. I've grown up with memories of World Cups from yesteryears, and my family has always consisted of great soccer fans. I absolutely love the sport, and although there are always matches to watch on weekends, there is only so much time I could afford to spend watching soccer. After all, I'm inundated with reading and things to study. But of course, that doesn't mean that I am actually doing all the things I should be doing. I've tried to curb my procrastinating ways, but quite frankly, old habits die hard. Hours upon hours of possible soccer watching are surefire ways of procrastinating for me.

But whether I am cheering on my lovely gunners or I'm neutrally watching a La Liga match, I still find a way to procrastinate more within my procrastination! As of recently, it has been internet "window shopping." Because on a college student's budget, I surely cannot afford to buy the amount of clothes I was able to when I had a steady income. My favorite thing to gawk at as of recent is Lanvin's new collection for H&M, which comes out on November 23. Although quite pricey for H&M items, the collection is very fun and has great key pieces that are very "Alber Elbaz." With dresses going at $250 a pop, perhaps it's not plausible for me to get my holiday dress from this collection. But there are other great pieces that are cheaper and just as chic. My personal favorite is the yellow ruffled one-shoulder dress, though I wouldn't be able to buy it without crying from shopper's shock (and using my empty wallet as a tissue). Other pieces I love include floral bow pumps and a zebra print coat.

[[photo]]

The collection can be seen at hm.com. 

Going One Direction

Like many young girls back in the day, I was in love with *NSYNC and Backstreet Boys and would obsess over their fun, catchy songs. Although I've certainly grown up, my youthful heart still enjoys old boy band albums. In fact, I've even branched out to UK-popular boy bands like Westlife and Take That!

Another up and coming British pop group is One Direction, a group contestant of UK's singing competition The X Factor. All five members auditioned for the show solo, but were put together as a group at the boot camp stage, after failing to go through as solo acts. Since then, they've seemed to gel together quite nicely and are one of the favorites to win the competition this season. Not only are they immensely talented, but the guys (Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson) are absolutely adorable! British teenage girls are swooning over them, as well as international female X Factor fans.

Even though I am older than these guys (the youngest one, Harry, is 16!), I can't help but adore One Direction. They can rock upbeat songs like Viva La Vida and also ballads such as Total Eclipse of the Heart, and have consistently been strong throughout the whole competition thus far. The group is super talented and have a bright future ahead of them.

Perhaps their strongest performance as of yet is their most recent performance of Elton John's "The Way You Look Tonight." Their singing talent was truly highlighted in this performance, and I can shamelessly say that my heart melted upon watching them sing (just having to ignore the cheesy projections above them).

Although there are other talented contestants on the show with great chances of winning, One Direction have a fantastic shot at making it to the top. Will they be the first group to win X Factor? Their infamously fickle and blunt mentor (as well as X Factor judge) Simon Cowell seems to think so. 

Having a shot or two. Of coffee, that is.

Nothing says the holidays much like seasonal Starbucks drinks. Well, to me at least. Ever since starting school, my caffeine addiction has gone haywire. Not that I was ever put off by caffeine before, as a matter of fact, I've always loved coffee. But nowadays, having two cuppas a day is not uncommon. I suppose it is because delicious drinks are easily accessible here (there are a good handful of coffee places around campus), and perhaps also because I actually do need the caffeine in order to sustain myself during these hectic days.

I couldn't suppress my glee upon seeing that Starbucks has whipped out the holiday cups recently. Which only means that the delicious holiday drinks, which are only available for two months out of the year, are back. I frequent Starbucks quite often (waaay more than I should, really) and I'm determined to try all of the drinks available at least once. Though I can say that my preferred drink at the moment is the peppermint mocha. I'm not usually one for the mint/chocolate combo, but it is so fantastic that it's the only thing that I order now.

I spent my Friday afternoon in comfort and happiness: reading a good book and sipping on some peppermint mocha. Can't get any better than that.

Tickle Me Red

The trend has been around what seems like ages, and some could debate that the classic look hasn't ever gone out of style. I've always been rather prude with my lip color choices. However, there was something about red lips that always interested me, despite its brightness and boldness. I end up admiring the array of red lip colors in make-up aisles from afar, since I've always been too scared to give the hue a try. Not only did it seem to be too "attention grabbing" for my personal taste, but it also seems to be quite a pain to keep the pop of color lasting all day.

Lately, I've been having the urge to actually give the red lips look a go. Frankly, I am getting quite bored of my soft pinks and neutrals. A new, fun life calls for a new, fun look, am I right? But a problem arises: the right shade. Where's the balance between Halloween queen and circus clown? I suppose this just calls for a good amount of experimenting and researching, of which I will probably be doing when I'm not hermiting in my room and "trying" to study.

Away and back.

[[photo]]

The leaves are falling and the year is nearing its end. So much has happened this year, and yet...I couldn't find any time (or energy) to blog about the interesting things or thoughts in my life.

Much of the hiatus has to do with my hectic college lifestyle. But rest assured, I'm trying my absolute hardest to jot down my inspirations and thoughts. Exam, projects and essay mayhem is just around the corner, but of course my mind is elsewhere. How else will I procrastinate now? Bringing this baby back to life again.

The Social Network: See it!

[[photo from socialmediatoday.com]]

I seldom go to the movie theatre anymore. Not only do I have very little time or energy to go see a movie, but at $10 a pop, going to the movies doesn't come cheap. Luckily, I was given a free ticket to see it at a movie theatre just around the corner from me. Anything that is free of charge is godsend, so I would have been crazy to not go.

The verdict? The Social Network is a GREAT movie that totally met my expectations. I had only heard positive reviews of the movie before seeing it, so naturally I feared of being easily disappointed. But to be honest, it was incredibly enjoyable. Jesse Eisenberg's portrayal of Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg personified the "socially inept geek" and my new crush Andrew Garfield was an adorable and lovable Eduardo Savarin. Justin Timberlake made for a great Sean Parker, and the three together are a great movie trio.

Be sure to see this movie! It is totally worthy of a Facebook "like" page.

Busy college girl in a busy city.

Alright, you caught me: I'm not studying for my Environment midterm at the moment. But I figure that my (umpteenth) hiatus has gone for longer than it really should. After all, there are too many changes in my life that I need to update on! So a few minutes dedicated to a new blog post surely should not hurt. Ahhh where to begin...

• I am going to be decked out in my best USA gear for the USMNT vs. Colombia friendly tomorrow night! Be on the lookout for me in the American Outlaws supporters section. Maybe I'll be on ESPN2 (again!).

• I'm a beauty/fashion editor of HerCampus Temple University! I'll have articles published regularly, so feel free to leave comments if you wish.

• At the end of the month I'll be heading down to Washington D.C. with my roommate for the Rally to Restore Sanity/March to Keep Fear Alive. Crossing my fingers for a Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert sighting!

Honestly...I feel like I've done so much in the few weeks that I've been here. And it can only get better! I'm debating on whether to continue this blog here or switch over to Tumblr...your thoughts?

Until next time,
--Jenny Crocker