24 Years of Life Advice

Two years ago I wrote down 22 things I've learned throughout life. Two years later and I think I've learned a little bit more, so in honor of my 24th birthday, I've decided to share a little more wisdom. I know I'm still young, but I hope you get a little out of it nonetheless.

1. A calendar with your bill due dates (or anything you don't want to forget) on it is a really good idea.
2. Sometimes you have to throw in the towel, be it an idea, a project, or a book you've been struggling to get through. It's okay to not finish everything you start. We're only human.
3. You can't grow if you're never challenged. Get out of your comfort zone and do something a little risky.
4. If you want something, sometimes all you have to do is ask.
5. If something doesn't seem right, it probably isn't.
6. Don't let people dictate how you spend your money or enjoy yourself.
7. If it's not hurting anyone, you don't have to explain yourself.
8. If you can't follow, you can't lead. Be humble and stay grounded.
9. Some things are better left behind.
10. Take your own advice.
11. Don't pass up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for anything other than yourself.
12. Embrace changes that better yourself. Being stagnant isn't a good thing.
13. Balance is key.
14. We all do things we regret. Forgive yourself and move on as best you can.
15. Sentimentality doesn't make you weak.
16. Checking in with someone every couple of months can go a long way.
17. Grow with the people around you.
18. I highly recommend GAP insurance.
19. Don't cancel all of your plans.
20. Try a new restaurant once in a while.
21. Embrace your flaws.
22. Google synonyms.
23. Learn a random fact or two, People enjoy them.
24. Don't stop learning once school ends.

I know these 24 points don't all go together, but life doesn't fit perfectly into a box. Teach me something new so that I can add it to my list in a few years.

xxx

My Everyday Skincare Routine

The little things are really the most important things, if you ask me, especially when it comes to taking care of yourself. Yes, baths, facials, massages, they're all nice, but they all take a little bit of time, money, and effort. Have them when you can--make the time for them--but don't rely on them alone to take care of yourself. Instead, take that extra five minutes every morning to upgrade your skincare.

I didn't realize how important skincare is until a few years ago, but goodness, has discovering it made a world of a difference in my life. It just feels so nice to really take care of yourself in such a minuscule way. Like who would've thought that putting lotion on my face would make me feel so refreshed? (I know everyone who has known about skincare their whole life is screaming at me right now.) Anyway, here is my skincare routine that I implement every single day. I tend to stick to these products because they work best for me, but remember that everyone's skin is different. Some people need more products in their routine, some people need less, and some people need different products all together. Experiment until you find what's best for you!

THE MORNING

Honestly, both my morning and night skincare routines are lazy, but that's okay! I wash my face in the shower, switching between the Pacifica Quinoa Sensitive Super Gentle face wash (mostly because it smells like Fruity Pebbles to me) and the KORRES Greek Yoghurt Foaming Cream Cleanser, and then every two or three days, I use some type of exfoliant (of which I'm not brand specific).

Daily exfoliating does not agree with my skin, so I make sure to only do it every few days.

Once out of the shower, I blot my face dry and then lightly tap the KORRES Wild Rose Brightening Eye Treatment under my eyes with my ring or middle fingers. I have dark under eye circles, so I use whatever I can to brighten them up, and I've found that this product has worked wonders for how tired I look all of the time. Next, I use the Caudalie Vinosource S.O.S Thirst Quenching Serum, and once that feels absorbed into my skin, I apply a generous amount of the KORRES Wild Rose 24-Hour Moisturizing and Brightening Cream all over my face and neck. For both face products, I make sure to lightly tap or rub them into my skin. It's important to try not to pull at your face!

Then voila! I am all done and left with my dry, suffocated skin feeling refreshed and ready for my makeup.

THE EVENING

I tend to be pretty lazy after work, but I barely ever slack on my skincare, especially because if I do, I always, always, always am left with a breakout the next morning (thanks, sensitive skin).

I start with the obvious: removing my makeup. I use the Burt's Bees Facial Cleansing Oil on my dry face and gentry rub it all over until my makeup looks as melted off as it'll get. Then I splash my face with lukewarm water. Afterwards, I use either my Pacifica or Korres cleansers again for a second cleanse, splash my face again, and blot my face dry.

Now that all of my makeup is off and my face is clean from the day's grime, I alternate between applying my KORRES Wild Rose Vitamin C Active Brightening Oil, the KORRES Greek Yoghurt Advanced Nourishing Sleeping Facial, or both! Hey, my skin is dry and dull--I'll take all the help I can get.

And that's all I do! With both routines, I probably spend 10 minutes, tops, on my skincare, and none of this includes the obvious of applying lotion to my legs, arms, and hands, and chapstick on my lips (which I honestly only do both of at night 99 percent of the time).

I hope this inspires you to either begin or keep up with a skincare routine of your own! Start out with cheaper products and work your way up if you don't find something that works for you (I know all of mine are expensive, but if you can't tell, I'm quite loyal to KORRES and Caudalie).

xxx


BUY THE PRODUCTS!

         

      

The Perfectly Cozy Hot Chocolate

My goal during the winter months is to find the absolute best hot chocolate in whichever city I am in during the winter months. I had a fantastic one in or around Huddersfield, England with my friend Butty, and I still think about it when the temperature starts to drop outside. I think the sad truth, though, is that the US is just not the place to get a done up hot chocolate, so I've started making them myself.

The process is easy. Heat a saucepan over low medium heat and add whatever chocolate you'd like. Have some fun with it: use a chocolate orange, half milk chocolate and half dark chocolate, salted chocolate--whatever flavor you'd like your hot chocolate to take, use a bar of chocolate that has it!

As the chocolate starts to melt, add your milk or milk alternative (I use almond milk). You can eyeball this, or if you're making a single serving, I find it easiest to pour my milk to the desired level in the mug I plan on using, and then pour it from there into my saucepan. Stir or whisk constantly.

It's important not to allow the milk to boil because curdled milk is heartbreaking.

Once all of your chocolate is melted and your mixture is to your desired temperature, you're ready to deck it out! Whipped cream is non-negotiable, if you ask me, but alas, this is your hot chocolate, so do what you please. For this one, I topped it off with whipped cream, crumbled a Crunchie on top for some honeycomb goodness, and placed a flake inside for some extra slow-melting goodness.

That's it! It only takes maybe 10 minutes tops and then you're all ready to sit down and watch your favorite Holiday movie.

Let me know what goodness you use to spice up your hot chocolate game this winter.

xxx

My Christmas Playlist

I have had the same Christmas playlist since 2013, give or take, and every year I still love it. It has some classic songs alongside newer ones (well, 2013 new, at least), and is long enough that I don't think it's easy to overplay within a month span. It does repeat a few songs since so many artists have covered Christmas classics, but if your playlist is on shuffle, who cares?

I hope you guys enjoy it at least a little!

xxx

How To Spice Up Your Gift Wrap

Thanksgiving was last week, which means if you live in the US, the Christmas season has officially begun. If I'm being honest, I used to hate Christmas and everything that came with it, but as I've gotten older and come to terms with my baggageᵗᵐ, I've learned that I actually enjoy all of the decorating and gift giving that comes with the holidays. Of course I love giving people gifts, but I also love, love, love wrapping gifts. It's a craft to me. I spend a lot of time looking for the perfect wrapping paper, bows, string, and my new favorite: tags. Writing directly on the paper is so overrated, after all.

Sometimes I get a little crazy, adding pine and cinnamon sticks to my wrapping so that I have to glue them on, but it still looks simple, which is often the look I go for. I suggest buying cheap tags and decorations whenever you can snag them and then if you can incorporate them into your wrapping, great! Otherwise, they were like two dollars, so who cares? But let's get to the part of the post where I shut up (mostly) and share some of my wrapped presents and/or accessories.

It's still early in the holiday season, so I don't have too much variety right now (I'm sorry), but I aim to try to mix up how my presents look. Bows are cute, but it's nice not to have them on every present--especially when you have a bow thief cat living in your house. Try cinnamon sticks or holly or just some curled ribbon. That extra detail will make the presentation of your gifts that much cuter.

Honestly, buy or use whatever is cute to you. Personalize it. Doodle on some plain brown wrapping paper; use the busiest wrapping paper you can find and add some simple touches. Have some fun with it!

Please if you wrap some cute gifts, send me some pictures via Instagram!

xxx

My Top 10 Favorite Festive Things to Watch in December

 
Thanksgiving is tomorrow, which means it's completely acceptable to watch Christmas themed TV shows, movies, and vlogs--or at least if you ask me it is. It goes without saying that there are classic Christmas movies on this list that I'm sure most everybody will know and hopefully love, but I've also included a few other favorite things to watch in December, as well, since the same old, same old can get little boring some years. Either way, I hope this list helps you get into the spirit this month! I know it's still slightly early, but hey, head starts are never a bad thing.

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone & Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One
2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
3. Elf
4. Home Alone 1 & 2
5. The Santa Clause
6. The Original Christmas Classics
7. A Charlie Brown Christmas
8. That '70s Show, Season 1, Episode 12: "The Best Christmas Ever"
9. Honestly every Boy Meets World Christmas episode
10. Vlogmas (specifically Zoella's and Tanya Burr's)

*And an honorable mention goes to Jacksfilms' "Christmas Miracle" video because it's the first Christmas-themed video I watch every year and I absolutely love it just as much as I loved it the first time (but it's a parody, so I can't reaaally count it in my list, can I?)*

As I said, I know some of these are unorthodox when it comes to getting spirited, but just trust me: they'll get you feeling happy and--hopefully as a result--festive.

Let me know if there's a movie, episode, or vlog I should check out around the holidays!

xxx

Pretty Little Things

I think it's vastly important to take a step back and admire your surroundings at face value. Sometimes we're so busy trying to be on time or worrying about the results of something that we overlook a lot of what's around us. This post is simply just places or scenes that I found aesthetically pleasing--so much so that I decided to photograph them. You might like them or you might hate them, but I hope they urge you to try to make time for yourself so that you can do the same.

xxx

A (Hopefully) Relatable To Do List for the Colder Months

I love list. I don't think there's anything I don't make a list for. I plan out everything I can, and I do so by listing out my days, my stressors, whatever I can that helps me to feel like I've got a little bit of control. I also love lists for the sheer fact that they make me feel better, and when I'm happy, they make me even happier.

So around this time of year, I like to make lists of the activities I want to accomplish between now and the new year. They don't always happen, but hey, it's fun to plan! And if they happen, then it's even better!

• Go to a local orchard and eat apple cider donuts
• Watch Christmas movies with friends
• Throw a Christmas party
• Look at the super cute and festive holiday lights
• Wrap presents hella cute
• Deep clean my house
• Put together some cute and cozy outfits
• Drink the most delicious and done-up hot chocolate
• Eat so many mashed potatoes and Thanksgiving side dishes
• Go ice skating

What would be on your list this autumn/winter?

xxx

The Magic of Memory Boards

I am a sentimental mess. Plain and simple. I add meaning to everything, I save everything, I make everything matter. I have personal items stashed away in drawers, but the items with more overt meaning need to be on display, and so when I was about 18, I began a memory board, and it's the item in my room I am most proud of.

I add whatever I can to it, wherever there is space. I allow things to overlap; I take advantage of empty space and of parts of the memories that are not important to the story (i.e. I cover up flight numbers on tickets, or backgrounds in pictures). The entire idea of a memory board, in my mind, is to be as cluttered with happiness as it possibly can be. Life is chaotic. It has good moments and bad moments. Flood your memory with the good until it's close to bursting. Then, go buy a new cork board and repeat the process. That's exactly what I did today, actually. Now, I have two memory boards, and I'm so, so pleased to be at that point.

Memory boards are completely up for personal interpretation and creative license. There's no right or wrong to one. Design a memory board in any way that you'd like, on whatever you'd like. Add business cards, maps, tickets, ribbons--whatever will help you hold that memory. Or just add things you relate to or things that make you happy. You can hide it away if that's preferred, but I suggest keeping it out to look at on bad days and on good days. There's no bad time to remember something that brings you joy.

I hope if you don't already have a memory board, you go out and make one. They're fun and they're nostalgic and sometimes, they're just the therapy you might need.

xxx

Quick Trip to the Pumpkin Patch, Round Two, Year Two

Cliche fall things are honestly some of the best. I get so excited for the time of year when I can have a warm coffee or hot chocolate halfway through the day or an orange KitKat instead of a regular one because they taste better and no one can tell me otherwise. Let's face it: I'm a little basic, but I'm okay with that! Especially because that means I can go to the pumpkin patch with friends and pick out some cute pumpkins to put on my doorstep. It's the little things, you know?

This was my first official fall outing and I was pretty stoked for it. I went with some friends from work, my roommate, and her boyfriend and even though it was nearly 80 degrees, our quick trip to the pumpkin patch was utmost enjoyable and got me so excited to go home and start watching Freeform's 13 Nights of Halloween with all of its Halloween movie goodness. Not to mention, the pumpkin patch we went to also had a tiny little farm with goats! My heart was so happy.

I hope you guys are as excited for the upcoming months and all of their basic af activities as I am! I'll be doing my best to take you all along for the ride as the months unfold.

xxx