This past month I have finally caved in and bought some Glossier products to try out. I really haven't been buying new makeup, but I have been hearing a lot of great things about these products across the internet. I have been drawn to how minimal and sleek all of the packagings are. Glossier is one of those minimalist brands and I really appreciate it. For someone who doesn't wear a lot of makeup anymore, these products are more than enough.
The first product I bought was the Coconut Bomb Dot Com Universal Skin Salve. Now, I was never really a fan of salves or Vaseline type products, but this salve isn't as oily or sticky as some that I've tried in the past. I mostly use it on my lips, but this is really moisturizing on knuckles and elbows, too.
I especially love the coconut scent. I'm curious to try out the rose and the mint scented one. I have added this to my nighttime ritual and can't go to bed without putting a bit on! I think the size of this is perfect because a little goes a long way.
The last product I got was the Cloud Paint in Beam. I am really drawn to orange or coral shades for my cheeks, so this was a great purchase. I was always hesitant with cream blushes and pigments, but this one really blends in well and again, a small amount goes a far way. I kind of wished I bought the Puff shade, which is like a cotton candy pink. However, this one really brings warmth to the face and looks amazing with bronzer.
I sort of missed writing update posts and giving just a reflection of my week and what I've been doing. I love reading other people's weekly todo's and it's a nice reminder that we all have more things to do during the week and my life on the blog goes beyond the subjects I normally talk about. This week is actually very busy for me, so I've decided to limit myself to one post for the week to just focus on some priority work and school stuff. Here's my week recap:
I got to go home for a day and visit my pup! Normally, when I can make it home during the week on a Thursday because I've been blessed with no Friday classes, I get to take care of Cooper and hang out with him while my family is at work or school still. Which is fine by me!
Before I went back to school, I wanted to spend more time with my best friend and her little sister, Alyssa and Emily. My sister Emily and I are on the left. We went out to a "Sunday dinner," we call it. My favorite moments are when I can get together with all of my dearest friends and just catch up or chat about our lives. It might sound a bit sappy, but they're probably the best moments I have with them. We went to a place called HB Jones which is a hamburger/grill joint. I had a really yummy pulled-pork sandwich with tater tots! Nom.
One of my Christmas gifts this year was concert tickets to go see The Killers at the United Center downtown. I was super psyched when Brandon Flowers announced the Wonderful Wonderful tour, so this was a really memorable experience for me and my sister, who also tagged along.
I've listened to the Killers since middle school and remember using my little iPod Nano and skipping all of my songs just so I could listen to the Battle Born album whenever I was on the bus or in the hallway.
If the Killers ever decide to go on tour again or if they are coming to your area, I would highly recommend it because they put on an unbelievable show. Not only does Brandon clean up really well in an all gold tux, there was so much color and his voice live and high energy was so much fun to dance to.
The last day was a spa night in with one of my really good friends at school, Haley. We decided to go out to a really nice Sushi and Ramen place. This ramen was not your below-average college ramen. She got a spicy ramen and I got miso ramen, which was both a great meal to start the week off with. I usually treat myself to at least one good meal while I'm at school because our cafe food gets a little boring.
We went back to the dorms, ate chocolate, painted our nails, masked, and started watching my new binge-watched show, Teen Wolf. This show is so cheesy and the graphics are only semi convincing, but Tyler Posey and Dylan O'Brien eat my soul. Also, speaking of Dylan, is anyone going to see the new Maze Runner movie? I never read the books, but am really interested in seeing how it all ends. I thought the first one was good and the second one really surprised me with how intense it was. I guess I'll have to find out! How was your week?
I've switched up my room about a million times since I have lived in this house and my style keeps evolving every year. Aside from the fact that my old duvet cover had paw prints and scratches on it from Cooper, I wanted to change up some interior pieces in my room this year that I am so obsessed with. It's refreshing to switch things up a bit and I am always looking for new home pieces and accents to add to my room.
I was in sort of a desperate need for a new duvet cover. What I love about duvet covers is that, well, they're just a cover and are easily replaceable. I had my blue and white one before, but I really wanted one that had more color to it and that would bring in some of the pinks, greens, and greys around my room. I found this one at West Elm and it was actually on sale, which was a score. I love the geometric print and think it pulls everything together.
I was searching around for a really nice and minimal side table lamp. I wanted something that had an arm and wasn't just a lampshade. A lot of the desk-lamp style lamps I found were pretty pricey. However, Ikea had some really nice ones. This was one of their "work lamps", but I think it adds a really nice look to the side table. The gold accents tie in the other gold accents I have around my room.
On my opposite side table, I added a wooden tray from the Target Dollar Spot section and my gold clock and some small vases I also found at Target. I just love having trays around because they add depth and texture. This tray has a mirror on the base of it and gold handles, which are really elegant touches.
I also wanted a smaller rug in my room because the baroque, black and white area rug wasn't doing my room justice. It was far too big for my space and I opted for this one I found at TJ Maxx for less than twenty bucks.
I also felt like my bookshelf needed to be rearranged and I just wasn't feeling the basket I had on it. So when I was at TJ Maxx, I also picked up a gold jewelry box and I think it was the perfect addition to the shelf. I love how you can see the jewelry and I've actually never really owned my own jewelry box before.
Finally, I added a new "fake" plant that I also bought from TJ Maxx. I love it because of the concrete vase that's dipped in copper paint and I decided to put some cute copper fairy lights around it, too. I just think even if you add fake botanicals around you're room, it makes it much more homier and balances everything out.
I also added some fake eucalyptus branches around my room. I love their soft green color and leaves. They're definitely trending in many interiors. What's a change you made to your space recently?
I am still in the reflecting type of mood and thought it would be a really fun thing to write about all the good that has happened to me this past year. Time flies incredibly fast and I still can't believe it's already 2018. It's bittersweet and I am really happy with how 2017 went. There were a lot of ups and downs, but mostly ups. I want to list 17 things that have happened and won't go into much detail, but maybe this can spark inspiration for all of you to do the same!
01. I got accepted into my first choice college
02. I went to my senior prom
03. I graduated high school
04. I went to Disney World with my marching band
05. I visited some family friends in Virginia
06. My best friends and I slept in my parent's shed
07. My best friends and I went to Indiana Dunes State Park
08. We picked out Cooper and brought him home!
09. I went to Missouri to visit some family friends
10. I moved to College
11. I got to see Nick Jonas live
12. I was able to go to a new Ugg store opening event in the city
13. I made high honor roll my first quarter of college
14. I made my first solo trip out to Michigan to visit my family
15. I continued to post on my blog twice a week
16. I joined an all-female run campus blog called Her Campus
17. I made a ton of more friends and have met so many amazing people
I have a feeling this year is going to be even better than last. I encourage you all to make a list of some positive things that have happened to you this past year! It's always nice to acknowledge the good.
I normally like to take January as a time to reflect on the year before and prepare myself for the year to come. Amidst the resolution making and bettering ourselves, I genuinely like starting fresh, even if that means getting down to the nitty-gritty of my life and actually facing and making difficult or hard changes.
Whether that be: actually cleaning up crap that I insist on keeping, finding closure with past relationships, actually worrying about myself for once, setting up goals and maintaining effort, getting rid of toxic friends and people who serve me no good, things that I really shouldn't put myself through this upcoming year. You just get older every year—the more we age, the more we grow. With that, comes great responsibility to tackle things in your life that you maybe don't need or don't even want, but feel forced to hold onto.
Whether that be: actually cleaning up crap that I insist on keeping, finding closure with past relationships, actually worrying about myself for once, setting up goals and maintaining effort, getting rid of toxic friends and people who serve me no good, things that I really shouldn't put myself through this upcoming year. You just get older every year—the more we age, the more we grow. With that, comes great responsibility to tackle things in your life that you maybe don't need or don't even want, but feel forced to hold onto.
If you know me, then you know how clean and organized I am. That's not all true, though. While the outside might seem clean, the inside can and is most likely a mess (by that, I mean our minds). I recently picked up this book by Marie Kondo, a Japanese organizing consultant and professional, called "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up". Marie calls it the "Konmari" method. A method used to declutter and actually get rid of things that build up in your home and in your life. Instead of "hanging onto things" and just putting them in a bin for later use, she explains that getting rid of them for good is a better way of clearing up junk and things that don't serve any use or purpose in the moment.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone seeking help, advice, who love to tidy, or are genuinely interested in what the profession entails. My mom always jokes and says that I should just become a professional tidier, but I still have a lot to learn and my organizing and mental organizing skills could use some more TLC.
This year I really want to be open to traveling and just going to see new places. There's nothing more refreshing than being somewhere that you have never been before. There are so many places I want to go and see, so hopefully, I will be able to travel more this year. Who knows what you'll see, where you'll go, who you'll meet, etc. As a way to declutter or kick off a new year, going someplace totally foreign to you might be the best medicine.
We are always looking ahead. Obviously, I have goals for this year and things I want to achieve, but sometimes it gets to the best of us and takes over. I have found that using a weekly planner or just looking at a few days ahead of me, take all the pressure and stress out. I dwell on the past and things that haven't even happened yet. In order for me to actually focus, I have to worry about the present and what I am currently doing. I know that it doesn't work for everyone, but when I look at a month, it kind of overwhelms me.
Personal health and mental health are very two important things to me. Personal health being just taking care of my body and giving it the right nutrients and exercise it deserves and mental health being my moods and what I'm feeling every day. I try to do so much and fit so many things into my schedule. Sometimes, it's easier to approach each new day and each new task on its own without thinking ahead. It is so beneficial for your health and overall mindset. I have realized that I need to do this way more this year.
These are just a few ways.I think would be so beneficial to declutter and help refresh going into the new year. I have talked about some goals, but I thought speaking more in-depth about a couple would be a nice way to go about the year ahead. I know a lot of these "New Year" posts get redundant, but time flies, so why not spend a little extra time to re-evaluate and improve?
This will be another shorter post for this week. I'm still trying to figure out some upcoming things for my blog and may or may not post them on Thursday. I feel like this break is just going to be very flexible and loose as to how much or what I am going to post.
It can get so hectic this time of year, so I am taking small steps and getting more creative as I collect new things and am inspired by other bloggers. So, lately I have been using this one mascara and I really can't put it down.
The Rimmel Scandaleyes mascara has really proven to lift and curl my lashes so well. I love my Tarte Lash, Camera, Lashes and my Better Than Sex mascaras, but this one is probably up next to those two in terms of how great it is. Yeah, and I've used the Maybelline Lash Sensational, and that's good too, but I am trying to branch out and this one really does it.
I am in the process of trying out so many new makeup products because there are so many gift sets and whatnot. I do have some gift guides in store and might post both the same week because Christmas is a' comin! Jeez time flies. What are you doing to prepare for the holidays? I just finished my Christmas shopping, yee!
Happy New Year everyone! I hope everyone had a really nice time celebrating and for some reason, I have a feeling that this year is going to be better than last. I'm already settled back into my dorm room, which is why there was not a post on Tuesday, and I am back at it.
It's so refreshing to start the new year on a high note and for that, I just want to say thank you to everyone who has constantly supported and has enjoyed my content. I try to put my heart into all of it and I am truly so surprised I have kept it up for about five years now. I know that resolutions are sometimes far-fetched and maybe unrealistic in some cases—we may never fully accomplish them or give in once in a while. However, I think goals or even affirmations are better things to just think about as the year unfolds. Here are 18 ones I have thought of and hope will inspire all of you to make ones, as well.
This is a really big one for me. Mainly because I'm anxious 24/7, but I truly need to improve my mental health by not caring so much about everything that is out of my control. I hope this year I can live without having to think twice about some choices I make and just move on and get over obstacles or challenges. I waste so much time dwelling over things that end up being fine. Like getting into my first choice in colleges or just giving a speech in a class.
02. Don't Sweat the Small Stuff
This one is a little bit different than the first, but coinside. There are a lot of small things that I stress over that probably won't effect me a day, a week, or even a year from now. Something as little as where things are in my room to what color my coat is, isn't something I need to care about because there are bigger things that I should be focusing on like getting a good education and connecting with friends and family.
03. Live Loosely and Have Fun
For me, letting loose and just doing spontaneuous things doesn't fit so much in my schedule at times. It shouldn't because it's sppontaneous, but sometimes I get too caught up in things and just forget to have some fun and actually live. I am jealous of people who can just start dancing in public or make last minute plans to attend some concert or trip.
04. Don't Clean as Much
If you know me, then you know how much I love a clean space. I don't know if it's my OCD (probably), but I feel like I clean more than a normal person. Which isn't a terrible thing—I just don't want it to take over my mind, like it usually does. Cleaning is usually my stress reliever, but it shouldn't have to be.
05. Keep a Journal
Since it is the beginning of the new year and I'm a freshman in college, I thought it would probably be best for me to write and document my experiences. I know that this year will probably fly by, so I've been writing every night and it's honestly so relaxing to just recap my day and let it all out on the pages.
06. Drink More Water
I feel like this is a given and is very popular for many resolution lists, but I honestly don't know how I went through 2017 because I was so dehydrated and forgot to drink water so many times. It will be better for me to just choose water more to drink and I won't feel as sluggish and more energized during the day.
I want this year to be better for me in that I am more motivated and willing to put myself out there and just do things that I maybe second guess or fear. It's really easy for me to just get comfortable and I hope that this year is when I can finally just start getting out and doing things that I normally wouldn't consider doing. Even if it's an extra yoga class or just signing up for something like applying to be an RA next year in my dorm.
08. Save More Money
I spend way too much money on crap and things that I never end up using or needing. I hope that this year I can be more frugal about what I choose to spend my money on and what I really should be saving it for. I know I want to travel and do things with people, so I think it's best to save my money for experiences. We all get caught up as consumers when there are sales and good deals, but we don't really need any of it.
09. Get Involved
I want to get way more involved, especially now that it's my second quarter in college. I want to meet more people and just become more a part of my college community. I know opportunities will come as they may, but I want to take them and just do things.
10. Try Something Uncomfortable
I always find something every year that makes me a little on edge. Last year I ate jellyfish and slept in a shed. There's always some type of shenanigans my friends pull, so hopefully this year I can do something different and outside my comfort zone.
11. Relax and Take a Break
When I get into a "groove" and a routine, I usually forget to just save some time for myself. Whether it be yoga, going to the gym, watching a movie, writing, or just pampering myself every now and then. I do a pretty good job of it, but I don't want to get too overwhelmed this year either with school or even blogging so much.
12. Start the Days Fresh
I dwell on the past and things that have already happened way too much. I remember embarrassing moments, fails, mistakes, and things that don't matter and won't matter moving forward. I want to wake up everyday and just keep looking forward as each day comes. "Go with the flow," my dad always says.
I'm at college and this point in my life to learn more about myself and the world around me. Sometimes I back off from challenges and I just want to face them and figure them out to the best of my ability. I'm already taking math and public speaking, so those alone will definitly be challenging for me, even though I have gotten through both subjects in the past.
14. Travel and Discover More
This year I have already been to so many places and discovered so much more about the city I live in. I hope this year will be better in that I will discover and go to new places I've never been to. My family and I already have a trip planned to go to Wyoming and the Grand Tetons National Park, which I am actually really excited for. I want to make it a lifetime goal to hit all states, so it'll be nice to be somewhere unknown.
15. Be Present
A lot of my days go by like a blur and mostly just crossing things off a to-do list. I hope this year I can just take a couple steps back and actually enjoy and be aware of moments I'm in and people I'm with.
16. Connect With Old Friends
I was pretty great about visiting old friends when I was home and just catching up with people in my hometown, but this year I want to make the initiative more to keep those relationships and friendships with the ones I really care about.
17. Meet New People
I also want to continue to meet new people. With my new classes, I have already met so many new faces, so it will be fun to just keep making more friendships with people as I do new things.
18.
I'm gonna leave this one open for just knowing that I probably with have at least a couple more goals as the year progresses. I'm looking forward to a new year and hope you all are too. I just want to be a better version of myself and have more good moments than bad, especially with what happens or what might happen this year.
I applaud any of you who also like to make goals for themselves and improvements on something they want to change about themselves or their surrounding. Do any of these relate to your goals?
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