I've always loved the look of calligraphy. I remember when I got engaged, I started perusing Pinterest for inspiration, and I always loved the effortless and beautiful look of modern calligraphy. Then I found out the price of invitations with this style and let's just say, I shifted my focus to a different style! But the love of this style never left me, and in recent months I've found myself looking at Instagram photos and videos of hand-lettering. 

Hand lettering is a modern version of calligraphy, not requiring you to use a traditional calligraphy or fountain pen. I started following many artists on Instagram, and felt inspired to learn the craft myself. 

I recently took a Modern Brush Calligraphy class at the Rochester Brainery, and I cannot say enough good things about it. It was a two hour class, and practically flew by. It was so nice to learn the art from someone in person, and get personalized tips catered to what I wanted to create. 

I have never considered myself to be a creative person - like a hands-on, creative person, but I am so proud of what I have managed to create. Christmas is just around the corner, and I've found that all of my pieces revolve around the most wonderful time of the year. All of the items pictured above are available in my Etsy Shop -- click here to take a look at the listings!

We were recently in San Diego, and it just so happens there was a MAC store a block away from our hotel. Fate, I tell you. So, I told my husband to find something to do for about 20 minutes while I browsed. 

I feel like I've been hearing about MAC for so long, it's surprising I didn't own any makeup products yet. I went to my local MAC counter a few months back and picked up Mac Fix Plus (you can see my blog post about it here. Spoiler: it's amazing) but I hadn't grabbed any makeup products until now.

The store had a sale going on - buy one lip product, get the second free. I picked up two lipsticks: Brave, a satin finish with a pinky-beige hue, and Patisserie, a lustre finish in a natural pink. Brave is great paired with a neutral eye, while Patisserie can be worn every day, or paired with a more dramatic eye look. I would have to say Patisserie is my favorite of the two, simply because it's a more wearable everyday color for me.

I also picked up an eyeshadow duo - at MAC they have different size compacts that you can fill with whatever shades you'd like. I went for a few that seem to be staples in the beauty world - All That Glitters and Cork. All That Glitters is a pinky-beige shimmer shade that looks great all over the lid, while Cork is a golden brown matte shade that works perfectly in the crease. Paired together, these are the only two eyeshadows I need to create a natural eye look.

Now that I've seen what all of the fuss is about, I get it. The lipsticks apply beautifully, and while the ones I purchased are not particularly long-wearing, they do wear off evenly throughout the day. The eyeshadows are blendable, and when applied over an eyeshadow primer they last from morning to night.