Writer

WHO AM I? That question has rolled around in my head since what seems like the beginning of time. People love to ask, what do you want to be? What do you do for a living? What are you doing after college? Questions on top of questions.

Throughout my life, I have wanted to be an author, a detective, an astronaut, a playwright, an actor, a wedding planner, and a mortician. Now, I'm nineteen years old and I still have no clue what the future holds. I might be a screenwriter or a travel writer or a novelist. To put it simply, though my aspirations and ideals have morphed through the years, I still hold onto my dream of reaching a wide audience with my words.

Writing is a tricky thing. To me, it's a simple answer, almost a knee-jerk reaction.

"What's your job?"

"I'm a writer."

Easy. But, is it? Not really. It's one thing to say I'm a writer. I am. But it's another to live and breathe and soak in words all day, every day. I can feel the words inside of me at every moment, waiting for a stolen minute to release themselves onto a blank page. Finding that time, finding the inspiration, is getting more and more difficult.

It's akin to an addiction. You want it, you must - absolutely must - purge your brain of the ideas at some point. But, you're addicted to the creation aspect of the world of writing. The hard work, the editing, the actual writing, it's a lot harder.

I'll admit, I'm a pretty terrible writer. And not in the technical sense, since I don't think skill determines whether one is a writer or not. I'm terrible because I can't sit down and do it. I dream about doing it, I think about my characters all the time, but I've lost my sense of drive.

It's disheartening and chaotic, writing. It's a brutal world full of rejection, bad posture, and cramped fingers. But, enough waiting around. I'm ready to dive back in. My world is waiting for me, and now I'm ready to return to it.

Now, when people ask, I'll say "I'm a writer." And this time, it will be the truth.

The Return of Autumn

MY HIATUSES are growing more and more frequent, but I am back for the time being. It has been an eternity since my last blog post, however, I am incredibly excited to start blogging again! Autumn is here and winter is quickly approaching. With the change of seasons comes a drastic influx of holiday celebrations. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day—all of my favorite things mashed into a few months. 

Unfortunately, I am currently experiencing anti-autumn weather. The temperature reaches approximately 80 degrees during the day, then cools to a frigid 60 at night. Clearly, my style has been limited to utilizing autumn-appropriate colors, instead of preferred chunky knits and corduroy pants. With this new season, I hope to blog more often, injecting style posts into With An IK. I love the beautiful textures and rich jewel tones that autumn and winter often bring, so I am ecstatic to share that on my blog. 

To kick off my second favorite season, here is the I Heart Fall Tag (originally found on Jen's blog, From Head to Toe). 

1. Favorite Fall lip product? Wet n' Wild Silk Finish Lipstick in Black Orchid.


2. Favorite Fall Nail Polish? Here Today Aragon Tomorrow by OPI


3. Favorite Starbucks Fall Drink? Green Tea Latte, iced with soy milk. 


4. Favorite Fall Candle?
 Teakwood & Tobacco by PF Candle Co.

5. Favorite Fall Scarf or accessory? My forest green tweed scarf (made from a vintage kilt).


6. Haunted house, haunted hay ride, or haunted corn maze?
 Haunted anything!

7. Favorite Halloween movie? Fright Night.


8. Favorite candy to eat on Halloween? Peppermint Patties and stale Peeps.


9. What are you dressing up as for Halloween?!
 Either Medusa or a Water Nymph.

10. What is your Favorite thing about Fall? The crisp air and cosy feeling. 

21 Questions About Me

WELL, WELL, WELL. Look at me being a real blogger! Three more posts and I will surpass last year's amount, sad as that is. I was perusing a few blogs last night and discovered Le Beauty Girl, or, Ysis Lorenna. Her blog layout is bright, clean, and crisp, and she has a bounty of interesting articles, so go check her out! Since I consider myself to be a tenderfoot in the blogging department, I decided to do the 'Get To Know Me' tag. Without further ado, let's get started: twenty-one facts you probably didn't need to know about moi.

1. Are you named after anyone? | Mais oui! I'm named after the coolest lady on the planet, and I've known her since I was a wee fetus. She's almost eighty years old and still practices ballet every day.

2. When was the last time you cried? | Frankly, up until the age of 13, I was a walking disaster. Endless waterworks. Fortunately, I practically never cry now. The last time was a couple weeks ago; just a couple drops, during the final scene of Meet the Robinsons. Hey, I'm cool.

3. Do you have kids? | Nope, but I've got a proper food baby at the moment...

4. If you were another person, would you be a friend of yourself? | Well, I'm super hip, so, yes. Yes, I would. ;-)

5. Do you use sarcasm a lot? | 90% of the words I say are said with a sarcastic undertone. My friends and family are used to it now, so they assume everything out of my mouth is a load of poo. Also, did you know the prefix sarc- means 'to tear at one's flesh'? Sheds a different light on the sarcastic movement does it not?

6. Will you ever bungee-jump? | Will I? The proper question would be, when am I going again? Hello, I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie.

7. What’s your favorite cereal? | Blueberry Morning or Apple Jacks.

8. What’s the first thing you notice about people? | If observing from afar: height, hair, and posture. If I'm shaking hands and looking at him/her straight on -- bone structure (Cumberbatch or Morgan, anyone?).

9. What is your eye colour? | Mud-pie brown.

10. Scary movie or happy endings? | Horror > All film genres.

11. Favorite scents? | Fried chicken, horses, and sweet grass.

12. Summer or winter? | I love summer for its sunshine and coconut sunscreen, and winter for its crisp air and peaceful silence.

13. Computer or television? | My laptop, Beauregard, accompanies me everywhere.

14. What’s the furthest you’ve ever been from home? | South Korea.

15. Do you have any special talents? | I read freakishly fast, and my level of retention is very high. Lit nerds, unite! I also am quite good at shorthand, and I bake a delectable apple and gruyere pie. ;-)

16. Where were you born? | 90210

17. What are your hobbies? | Professional television-watching, perfecting recipes, learning languages, star charting, reading everything, and writing lots and lots.

18. Do you have any pets? | No, but I'd like a St. Bernewfie and a Greyhound. I've already named them!

19. Favorite movie? | If you had a couple months to spare, I'd regale you with the plots, character development, and underlying themes of all my favorites. No one wants to hear that, so: In Bruges, The Sound of Music, Billy Elliot, War Horse, and Devil's Pass.

20. Do you have any siblings? | J'ai un frere et deux soeurs. One brother, two sisters.

21. What do you want to be when you grow up? | Happy, healthy, and humble - despite my inevitable future of fame and fortune. ;-)

Favorite Everyday Lip Products

ON DAYS when I could not care less about eyeliner and foundation, I always make an effort to slick on lipstick. Any lip color, particularly obnoxiously bright hues, sends me out the door with confidence. In a way, applying lip color camouflages the rest of my face, drawing passing eyes to my mouth instead of my puffy eyes and the pillow-creases engraved in the flesh of my cheeks. From deep wines to frosted pinks, my lipstick collection grows larger as the months pass.

Although I previously loved MAC lipsticks, I recently wrote a paper on animal testing in the beauty and clothing industry. Needless to say, my hours of research led me to some disheartening and eye-opening conclusions. I am slowly attempting to transform my closet and makeup bag into homes for items that aren't tested on animals. To my knowledge, Estee Lauder is the parent company of MAC. The ingredients that compose each lipstick and eye shadow are tested on animals, but the final product is not (check out PETA's website). Whilst I adore the infinite shades that MAC offers, I will probably purchase cosmetics from brands such as Tarte, Stila, and Wet N' Wild, in the future!

While a cheeky purchase here and there might seem inconsequential, remember that, as a consumer, it is important to be informed about the companies you support. The decision is ultimately yours, but is a lipstick worth the torture of an innocent animal? Do our beauty needs take precedence over the needs of an animal's life? You decide.

Well, I ought to step off my soapbox now and get down to business. Favorite lip products, go!

Firstly, always moisturize. If you're like myself, and your lips transition from buttery to crackly, quickly, then chap stick is your friend. This is my favorite cake batter chappy from the Chapstick brand. 

Next - lip primer. From schooldays to nights out, primer will not only keep your lipstick on, but it will also serve as a smooth base for any lip product. My go-to primer is the Picture Perfect HD Primer from Cargo Cosmetics.

This is a matte shade called Taupe, from MAC. It goes on very smoothly and leaves a thick, neutral, taupe-y (obviously) color on the lips. Like all MAC lipsticks, it is vanilla scented; however, it smells like plain old lipstick to me. I love the color, but I would prefer a more moisturizing formula - this one is a little drying!

Artist Natural (no. 9) is a beautiful pinky-nude by Make Up For Ever. This came in my birthday treaties bag from Sephora, so if you want to give this a go, sign up to be a Beauty Insider! Unlike my matte MAC lipstick, this one is oh-so buttery and glossy. It's wonderfully moisturizing and very subtle. Perfect for uni days when I'm running late. 

I love reds and vibrant lip colors, but most of the reds I own are borderline garish. My lips are quite full, so anything too vibrant makes me look like a clown. Luckily, this one doesn't! ;) This shade is named Paris, made by Cargo Cosmetics. It's a deep brick red color and the formula is very thick, without being heavy. Paris stays on well throughout the day and can also be applied lightly as a makeshift lip stain.

That's all for today. Hope you enjoyed my first beauty post. 

Have a fantastic day!

Fall Essentials - Under $50

WITH A MONTH of autumn remaining, most of you are already dreaming of Christmas,

snow, ice-skating, and other holiday activities. The items above are perfect for transitioning

from crisp fall days to freezing winter temperatures. 

Cream Bobble Hat - $11 - H&M

A great solution for bad hair days. Chuck it on with any outfit; the neutral color matches everything.

Forest Fairisle Scarf - $36 - Topshop

Snoods are always popular during this time of year. This pattern surprisingly goes with a lot of outfits!

Deep Teal Gloves - $38 - Modcloth

Keep your mitts warm with these ruffled gloves.

Tan Colour Block Satchel - $11 - Newlook

Who said brown and black don't go together? Perfect for outfits that contain mixed neutrals.

Over-the-Knee Boots - $45 - Forever21

Matching the color of your boots and pants creates a lengthening effect. 

Try out this trend for an affordable price!

Leather Leggings - $40 - H&M

Make your outfits a little edgy with these leggings. 

Tan Cape - $40 - Yesstyle

I love capes during the cooler seasons!

This one has a nice silhouette and is different from the average trench.

Laura Mercier Blush in Soft Iris - $25 - Nordstrom

A natural, deep peach color. Perfect when paired with a neutral lip and bronzed eyes.

Lipstick Queen in Sinner Peach Nude - $22 - Barney's

Rich and creamy. Matte nude lipstick.

Teakwood Candle - $33 - AllModern

Large decorative candle. Unscented.

Gifts Under $50 - For the Baker

Obsessive Chef Cutting Board - $24 - Urban Outfitters

Great for everything: from rolling out dough to chopping bittersweet chocolate.

Macaron Apron - $29.95 - Paper-Source

The perfect apron for those extra-special baking experiments.

Made With Love Cookie Stamp - $8 - Anthropologie

An inexpensive, unique stocking stuffer!

Heart Shaped Donut Pan - $8.88 - Amazon

Freshly-baked donuts, anyone?

Mushroom Measuring Spoons - $20 - Anthropologie

Measuring is never boring when you're using these beautiful spoons.

World Vanillas, Set of 3 - $32 - World Market

Luxury extracts from Mexico, Tahiti, and Madagascar.

Midnight Musings

IN A SOCIETY that relies heavily on instant gratification

and constant communication,

sometimes it's easy to forget that we still have a fully functioning postal system.

Receiving simple postcards or hand-written letters from friends never fails to make me smile.

Make a friend's day and send a handwritten note!