Life – Page 3 – Mackenzie Billington

October Favorites

October 31, 2016 by Mackenzie

Hello, hello & HAPPY HALLOWEEN! So over the past month (which may I add went by so, so quickly), I have received tons of positive feedback on my ‘September Favorites’ post! A lot of y’all really loved the casual chat style, so I decided to share my October favorites from this past month now that October is coming to an end. October was definitely a great month for me. I got to spend a lot of time with my family and friends & met some new friends along the way.

Without farther ado, here are my October faves:

S T A R R Y E Y E D

[star wrap choker]

My mom bought me this amazing star-embellished choker this past month, and I love it (and wore it in my last ootd blog post). What I love about it is that it’s very unique, but because it is neutral, it goes with everything & is very flattering. I think it’s a great pick for somebody that is looking to get into chokers, but doesn’t want anything too basic or anything too harsh/dramatic. I know I will be wearing this one all season!

C A C T U S B L O S S O M

[bath & body works cactus blossom candle]

When I went home to Dallas last weekend, my mom had this Bath & Body Works candle burning in my room & I immediately fell in love. It isn’t a fall scent by any means, but it has such an incredible scent with notes of cactus flower petal, coconut, vanilla, and lemon. It’s the perfect combination of cozy, bright, and clean that I personally think works year round. After my plane landed in Memphis last Monday, I went straight to the Bath & Body Works store and purchased this candle to have in my room in Oxford. I had several friends come over last week, and every single one mentioned how amazing my room smelled-all thanks to this amazing candle! Next time you go into Bath & Body Works, definitely check this one out.

O V E R T H E M O O N

[Urban Decay ‘Moondust’ shadows]

If you have been following me for a while (or follow me on snapchat @ mackenzieken), you know the Urban Decay Moondust shadows are my favorite things on the face of the planet, and I have been collecting them for a while. My current faves (from left to right on dry hand swatch) are ‘moonspoon’, ‘space cowboy’, and ‘zodiac’. I have especially been wearing the heck out of my moondust shadows this month. I picked up ‘moonspoon’ last week, and I have been obsessed with it. It’s a gorgeous grey with silver sparkles that I think looks amazing all over the lid. I would definitely recommend applying them wet over a base (the NYX jumbo pencils & the liquid Maybelline color tattoos are my favorite products to use under these shadows). I personally love these moondust shadows for night time, concerts, and special events. If you are torn and want to get just one color- you can’t go wrong with Solstice or Zodiac. Both are SO unique, but still wearable. I definitely have the ‘moondust palette’ on my wishlist this holiday season!

L A C E M E U P

[lace up hoodie]

Over the past few months, I have actually been on the hunt for the ‘perfect hoodie’, but I am just so picky. When I stumbled upon this one on Revolve, I was excited to actually find the perfect hoodie, but I was beyond depressed to see that it was sold out (boo). Luckily, I found it on another site in burgundy, AND on sale. Score. I love the lace up detail, but I also love the fit of this hoodie. It has cool slits on the side and is longer in the back, making it perfect to throw on with leggings and converse. I definitely would love to get this hoodie in another color because I seriously love it!

B A C K T O T H E F U T U R E

[MILK holographic highlighter]

I looked at this holographic highlighter for weeks- reading tons of reviews and watching more YouTube videos than I can count. I eventually gave in and ordered it from Urban Outfitters, and boy, do I love this gem. I love highlighters a ton, and I am constantly buying new ones. This holographic highlighter from MILK is so unique and different from anything I have in my collection. It looks a little weird, but on the face, it has such an amazing effect. It is also great to layer with powder highlighters (specifically the Anastasia Beverly Hills ‘moon child’ highlighter palette). My roomies and sister have all tried out my MILK holographic highlighter, and it looked stunning on all them as well. Even though Halloween is today, I think this highlighter could work year round. I can’t wait to wear it for all of next month as well!

Honorable mentions:

song of the month: Lovesick (feat. Felix Snow) by Caroline Pennell

album of the month: Mothership by Dance Gavin Dance (see my photo with the lead clean singer here)

starbucks drink: strawberry acai refresher

photography/photo editing: tone curves on lightroom

book: ‘Pendulum: How Past Generations Shape Our Present and Predict Our Future’

tv show: mad men

I hope you enjoyed this little post. Have a great and safe Halloween! Let me know what you are being for Halloween & what your October faves were.

xoxo,

Mackenzie

Texas State Fair

October 22, 2016 by Mackenzie

Happy Saturday! I am currently in Texas for the weekend, and I wanted to quickly share a few photos from yesterday’s Texas State Fair adventure.

xoxo,

Mackenzie

Bid Day Bliss

October 18, 2016 by Mackenzie

In a southern college town, Bid Day is one of the most exciting days of the entire year. One of my fondest college memories was definitely ‘running home’ to the Delta Gamma house during my freshman year. The friendships I have made in my sorority are ones I wouldn’t trade for the entire world. So for my last Bid Day, I decided to capture some of the beautiful moments and the new friendships. Apologizes in advance that there are a billion photos; Bid Day just makes me happy. [ezcol_1half]

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bid day

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bid day

xoxo,

Mackenzie

Pumpkin Patch

October 9, 2016 by Mackenzie

“I am so glad we live in a world where there are Octobers”

-anne of green gables

When I was little, my mom would always take my sister and I to pick out pumpkins every fall. And every fall, I would always, always pick out a squash. Not a pumpkin, a squash. And every fall, I would literally glew a googly-eyeball to it. Don’t ask me why. I was a strange child.

So this week when my roomies suggested that we go to the local pumpkin patch, I was 100% on board. Mostly because I wanted to take cute pics and spend time with my friends, but also partly because well, I can’t resist a good fall squash. Let’s be real. We had so much fun photographing our little adventure and picking out pumpkins & squashes to decorate our house with! For the occasion, I wore a burnt orange romper, fringe booties, and a horn necklace. If only it would get a little cooler, I could finally break out some sweaters.

xoxo,

Mackenzie

Ole Miss vs. Bama Game

September 19, 2016 by Mackenzie

Happy Monday! This weekend was definitely a great one (besides the whole losing against Bama thing ya know)! One of my best friends came in town to cheer on the Rebs in the Grove, and it was nice to catch up. I wanted to quickly share some of my photos from this weekend with y’all.

P.S. I am heading down to NC this weekend to visit my very favorite person, @alexandraelizabeth! I can’t wait to see my sista in just a few days.

gameday

blue romper (still available!) | black choker (under $30)

xoxo,

Mackenzie

Last First Game Day

September 11, 2016 by Mackenzie

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Any Ole Miss student can tell you that there is nothing quite like the Grove. As a senior, some of my fondest memories have taken place at the Grove. One of my favorite things about Ole Miss is definitely the incredible school spirit. It feels like just yesterday that I was a freshman, experiencing my very first tailgate before a game! Yesterday was my ‘last first game day’, and it was very bittersweet.

I had so much fun cheering on the Rebs yesterday with my friends & snapping photos in the Grove. For a last-minute game day outfit, I wore my new favorite white top with printed shorts and fringed booties! It was SO hot yesterday, so I was very glad that I was wearing shorts & a breezy top. I can’t wait for next week’s game- Bama!

xoxo,

Mackenzie

shop my game day outfit:

Advice for Shooting Group Photos

September 8, 2016 by Mackenzie

Hey guys! During this past summer, I started a photography series here on my blog, but never really continued it. This past week, I decided that I want to create photography posts in the future, so today I wanted to share a few tips I’ve learned recently!

Last week, I had the opportunity to shoot some group photos for my sorority’s website. I typically only shoot solo portraits, so shooting more than one person was definitely a challenge for me at first. It’s definitely all about trial and error, but it was so much fun to try something different last Wednesday!

Here are a few tips I learned during that day for shooting group photos:

This is something I have had to learn the hard way! During our photoshoot last week, we shot two different outfits in two different locations. For the first location, the models were wearing t-shirts. I had them stand in the Grove (where we shot all the photos) by a picnic table. If I would have scouted at the location ahead of time, I would have realized that the specific place that I placed them was way too dark. I sadly noticed this after we shot all the photos, and they were too difficult to retouch. Luckily, I found a fantastic spot with great lighting for the second outfits (pictured below). Walk around the area where you will be taking the photos and practice shooting from all different directions. This will help you feel more confident and prepared when you take the actual photos of the subjects. It will also help you find the best place to shoot the photos!

When shooting friends and family, it can be difficult for them to come up with poses naturally. I always look on Pinterest and Instagram for ‘pose-inspiration’. For both individual and pair/group shots, I can find it helpful to have the subjects walk away from me and then walk towards me. I find that it looks natural and can really help them loosen up. I think this is an especially great suggestion for fashion shots! For group shots in general, I think it can be really helpful to have the group ‘fake laugh’. It sounds silly, but I personally think fake-laughing pictures can be adorable, especially for a group of girls!

I love shooting at a very low f-stop because I love the gorgeous bokeh it creates. For the first set of photos (that we ended up not using), I shot at a 4.0 f-stop. I wasn’t happy with the photos not only because of the lighting, but because the high f-stop created a not so dreamy effect. However, if I would have used an f-stop that was too low (like a 1.8, for example), some of the members of the group would have been completely blurry! For the best set of photos (pictured below), I used a 2.5 f-stop, which I was really happy with! There was the perfect amount of bokeh, but the subjects were still all in focus. Score!

Definitely be aware of spacing when shooting a group! Sometimes the subjects don’t realize if they are standing too close or too far apart from the others next to them. Let them know if they need to stand a little closer or a little farther away, and also be observant about the lighting on the subjects.

Another error with the first set of photos was that all the outfits clashed. I told the subjects to wear whatever they wanted to, and the outfits ended up clashing together, which was entirely my fault. I should have had the girls send me photos of their outfits ahead of time, but I didn’t do that. Luckily for the second set of photos, all of the models’ dresses looked gorgeous together and really complimented each other. I think it can be very helpful to have the subjects wear solids and similar color palettes. For example, for a spring time shoot it can look lovely to have everyone in pastels. For family portraits, you can’t go wrong with white shirts and jeans. In addition, it can also be helpful when picking a location if you know the color palette you are working with!

All in all, last week’s shoot was an amazing learning experience for me! Photography is totally trial and error, and I always love learning new tips. This fall semester, I will be shooting portraits/group photos just for fun to gain experience. I hope you can find these tips helpful as well! To see more photos from the shoot, check out my sorority’s website & our updated ‘what to wear for recruitment‘ page.

xoxo,

Mackenzie

10 Tips for Landing an Internship

September 2, 2016 by Mackenzie

Last fall, I started my ‘internship hunt’. After reading the book “All Work, No Pay” by Lauren Berger (aka the ‘intern queen‘), I felt inspired. I knew the journey ahead of me wasn’t going to be easy, but I knew it would be one of the most important things for my career and my post-college job hunt.

College Apartment Tour

August 26, 2016 by Mackenzie

Hello & happy Friday! It’s raining here in Oxford, so I thought I would make a little room tour of my new apartment. For the past three years in college, I have been living on campus. I have to say, I honestly do miss living in the dorm and the sorority house. However, it is nice to finally have my own room (and to have a slightly bigger closet- let’s be real)!

For my senior year, I reused my bedding from California (which was actually reused from my sister’s freshman dorm room). For decor, I wanted to keep it simple, but a little eccentric this year. My favorite decor piece in my room? Definitely my cow skull that I picked up on a whim at an antique mall in Dallas. It’s definitely not everybody’s cup of tea, but I thought it was a cool find. My other favorite decor piece would definitely be these cactus lights. They’re amazing!

[You can shop all my decor by clicking the link under each photo!]

So without further ado, here is my college apartment room:

Wall art from Hobby Lobby

Anthropologie bedding (linked similar)

Gold pillow

Gold wall decoration from Hobby Lobby (couldn’t find link, but it’s available in-stores)

Cow skull (linked similar)

Watercolor flamingo (linked similar)

Gold lamp

Printer

White soft blanket (have had this one since freshman year!)

Hanging calendar (mine is from Target; linked a similar option)

Giraffe decor (linked similar) | Cocktail book (20% off!) | San Francisco book (20% off!)

Gold pen holder

Voluspa candle | Skull sticker (c/o of Show Me Your Mumu + linked similar)

LV neverfull purse

Printed mirror (my mom & sister made this for me when I was in high school)

I use plastic drawers under my bed as well to store t-shirts, socks, etc.

Vintage western belt (linked similar) | Horn necklace (linked similar)

Black western booties

Mosaic skull

Repotted these plants

Tall gold lamp from Hobby Lobby

White & blue tile shower curtain

Cactus string lights

I hope that you enjoyed my college room tour! Thank you for checking out my blog.

xoxo,

Mackenzie

My Top Twenty Favorite Free Fonts

July 28, 2016 by Mackenzie

Hello friends! My most popular blog post to date is my ‘Free & Easy Gold Font Tutorial‘. I also get asked all the time on Tumblr about my fave fonts! About a year ago or so, I started collecting fonts, and I’ve acquired so many favorites. Today, I wanted to share some of my favorite free fonts with y’all! I hope that you can find this post helpful & that you can discover some new faves to add to your collection. Let me know if you would like to see more posts like this in the future!

*P.S. There is now a PART TWO of my top twenty favorite free fonts. Check it out HERE!*

Instructions:

1. Go to www.dafont.com or click the links above to find each font.

2. Click ‘download’ (to the right of each font)

3. Once the font has downloaded, click on the downloaded file and then double click the font ‘.otf’ file.

4. The font will then pop up, so select the ‘install font’ tab on the right of the pop up.