Care package content ideas for someone in treatment for an eating disorder.

Around two and a half years since I “hit rock bottom” and was hospitalized for major depression and bulimia nervosa, I received a message on facebook from the sister of who had been my in-patient roommate asking for mail to cheer her up as she herself had been placed in the hospital for complications from an eating disorder. A quick Google search for “care package ideas for someone in treatment for an eating disorder” came up with a shocking zero results. If Google doesn't have the answers, then what does?

For the rest of the day, I couldn't get the idea of my head, “There really should be an accessible resource out there for those in recovery for eating disorders.” There is so much utter crap out there that's pro-eating disorder. Even in regard to recovery, there's still a lot of misinformation out there.

I feel somewhat removed from the struggle of recovery from eating disorders and the turbulent emotion that comes with it. I'm medicated and balanced, and I feel disconnected from what was my life for such a long time. I can't save anyone's life, but I figure I can at least help someone gift a non-triggering care package to someone else in need.

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Living room snapshots.

Beauty products I've liked enough to finish (and purchase again).

1. Makeup Forever HD invisible cover foundation
2. Makeup Forever HD microperfecting green primer
3. Smashbox photo finish foundation primer
4. Urban Decay eyeshadow original primer potion
5. Philosophy Amazing Grace fragrance
6. O.P.I "Mimosas for Mr. & Mrs." nail lacquer
7. Umberto Beverly Hills U Color hair dye in light copper gold (8.43)

It's calendar shopping season!

I get unreasonably excited about shopping for paper goods. Journals, stationary, gift packaging, anything and everything. Back to school supply shopping was my favorite part of summer as a kid. (I'm weird.) I no longer get to go shopping for back to school supplies, so my only time to get really jazzed up about a big paper purchase that I'll use year-round is the transition from year to year with planners and calendars. I'm a Moleskine loyalist when it comes to planners, but I like to switch up my calendars every year with an Etsy seller's creation.

I've narrowed down this year's potential candidates that may have the privilege of donning my refrigerator to the above four. Since my calendar is going in the kitchen, the food theme of loopzart's calendar is quite appropriate. Rocket Ink's calendar is full of gorgeous gem and mineral watercolor illustrations that could be turned into free-standing artwork after. Gloria Castaneda's calendar fulfills my need to have a cat on every surface of my apartment. Amy Kang's calendar is something that I've never seen before, sticker stamps for every day and special events throughout the year. A full list of the original 24 lovely calendars that were up for consideration is available over at my Etsy.

Playlist of my favorite songs.

1. Explosions in the Sky – Your Hand in Mine
2. Florence & the Machine – Spectrum
3. Passion Pit – Little Secrets
4. Matchbox Twenty – Bright Lights
5. Jason Mraz – On Love, In Sadness
6. The Shins – Sleeping Lessons
7. The Killers – All These Things That I’ve Done
8. Mumford and Sons – White Blank Page
9. City and Colour – The Girl
10. The Format – The First Single
11. Elliott Smith – Needle in the Hay
12. Oasis – Wonderwall
13. The Beatles – Hey Jude
14. Arcade Fire – Wake Up
15. Queen – A Crazy Little Thing Called Love
16. Noah and the Whale – Five Years Time
17. Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros – Home
18. Sufjan Stevens – Casimir Pulaski Day
19. Bon Iver – Skinny Love

Need a new pair of glasses?

Want a free new pair of glasses?

Coastal.com is running a promotion for first-time, US-based customers to receive a free pair of prescription glasses with the code "FIRSTPAIRFREE." Only select frames (640 frames!) are applicable for the promotion, and customers have to pay taxes and shipping, but it's still a crazy good deal in my opinion. I snatched up the Havana glasses by Kam Dillion for under $20 ($18.19 to be exact). They arrived within a week of ordering, along with a glasses' case, microfiber cloth, lens-cleaning solution, and a little repair kit. Needless to say, I am impressed.

The best at-home red hair dye I've found so far.

The thing I most often am complimented on is my hair color. My natural hair color is a dark golden blonde, while my (usual) dyed hair color is a light copper red. My complexion is a notch above porcelain, with pink tones, so I think I carry my red hair quite well. I'm regularly asked if my red hair is natural, even by natural redheads themselves. There's sometimes a bit of shame associated with using an at-home hair dye, but I always proudly exclaim that my hair color came from a box.

My preferred brand and shade is "8.43 Light Copper Gold" by Umberto Beverly Hills. Always under $20, including shipping costs, each box comes with two applications, so it's an incredible deal. There is no mixing involved, and the formula itself contains no ammonia, which means no horrible fumes or burning sensation on your scalp. With some red hair dyes, they fade incredibly fast, sometimes within the first week, but this is not the case here. I've gone up to two months between dyeing my hair. Seriously.

Sometimes, like in the middle of summer, I miss my natural hair color since red hair can truly be a pain in the ass to maintain. I walk practically everywhere, so sun bleaching is a major problem for me. Contrary to what most people do, I wear my hair down as much as possible so that it can fade evenly. (If I wear my hair up too often, I'll end up with sharply contrasting blonde roots and red ends.) I typically shampoo every other day, using baby powder as a pseudo dry shampoo on my off days to soak up oil. I also use a deep conditioning treatment every week to keep the damage I cause by dyeing at bay.