THE GREAT SAINTS OF 2017

A cool thing about growing up is an apparent need for less stuff. By this point, we've lived long enough to know what we need, what we don't, what we want and what is just plain pointless. That being said, I still have to talk myself out of buying the mini sized items that surround the checkout line at Sephora because if there is one thing I've learned it's that I have very minimal self control when it comes to corperate marketing strategies.


Old habits die hard! And travel sized stuff is just so cute! I digress.


FAVORITE COFFEE // Wawa

You'll laugh and maybe cry but my favorite coffee is from WaWa...the gas station. I got into a wreck in the WaWa parking lot in January and idk, Im also a wreck when i don't get wawa coffee often. It's an odd dynamic but also only $1 per cup...so I manage ;)

FAVORITE PASTOR // John Mark Comer

Is it weird to say you're in love with a pastor...of a church you've never been to? Probably. That being said, I'm definitely in like with John Mark Comer, the pastor of Bridgetown Church in Portland Oregon. I started off the year by reading a couple of his books and they changed my faith radically. Since then I've listened to nearly all his teachings (which are available on the website) and if you ever need a dose of Godly wisdom, look no further than good old John Mark.

FAVORITE ALBUM/ARTIST/HUMANS // LANY

Guys. I love LANY. And I hate when other people say they love LANY because I know for a fact that no one loves their music as much as I do. Their songs feel like an extension of my soul, if I had any musical abilities or talents whatsoever, I'd make their music and sing their songs and write those same lyrics. However, since I have none of those talents, I'm grateful LANY exists because they do the work and I just get to enjoy it.

FAVORITE SKIRT // an $8 skirt from china (similar)

Halfway through the summer I placed an order on Shein.com. and even though I was slightly worried the site was a scam and that the clothing quality wouldn't be worth the hassle, I was very wrong. I got a lot of things (some of which I wore a lot, some of which didn't fit, and some of which were whatever) but the one purchase that I will forever praise the Lord for is this black denim skirt that I wear literally. every. day. It goes with everything, it's basically made of plastic so its oddly water/stain resistant and I can wear tights or bikini bottoms under it, depending on which state I'm in. Needless to say, I think I got my moneys worth out of it.

BEST LIPSTICK // Patina By Stila

(don't act like you didn't think this one was coming!) I didn't wear lipstick a lot this year but when I did, it was pretty much always Patina (looks great with the black skirt I also wore every day;)) The Formula lasts a very long time and the color was flattering no matter what hair color/shade of skin I was sporting.

Pink, I love you loudly.

It's no secret: I love pink and I love it loudly.  There are 3 hot pink houses on my street. The first purse I bought was pink. Flamingos have always been my spirit animal.  And even at 19 years old, to me there is truly nothing more beautiful than a vivid shade of pink- whether it be coral or neon or flamingo or rose or blush. (if you need more profe, here's an ancient blog post.)

You can imagine my excitement when Pink started to be trendy again. Coral velvet couches, dusty pink sneakers, pink instagram filters, blush bridesmaid dresses, baby pink moody tumblr posts - everything is pink. And in honor of that, and also in honor of the fact that it's Thursday, I thought you deserved to see all the good pink things that are floating around the Internet today.

You can thank me later.

A WEEK OF OUTFITS: HALEY BOYD //
Not only does this outfit scream Nancy and Steve but it's also pink perfection. Actually, everything Haley wears is perfect, I'm obsessed and I'm not even going to bother saying low key obsessed because yeah.

 WHY MILLENNIAL PINK REFUSES TO GO AWAY // 
This is an article all about pink and as you can see, it's pretty perfect! It's also surprisingly detailed, thank goodness there are other people who appreciate pink enough to write an article about it (which i would do!) and also spell check said article (something I wouldn't do.)

CASA LUIS BARRAGAN // 
 I don't really know much about this other than it's in Mexico and I'm in Florida and it's pink and I love pink. Looks pretty dreamy on instagram and idk, I'd be down for going with anyone this summer (well, anyone who can take good pictures of me in front of it. Gotta keep up the aesthetic ;))

SIDEKICK BAG // 
We all know Ban.Do is the way to my heart. And this cutie bag with pom-poms is no exception! I mean, technically I need a backpack for college but honestly, I'd rather have this sidekick bag instead. I could fit like what, a pencil in there? Good enough for me.


Happy Pink to you and yours. And don't forget: whatever it is that you love, make sure you love it loudly.

2016 SUPERLATIVES

What. A. Year.

It's hard to complain about a year like this. Because even though it was incredibly hard, it was equally necessary. A painful cleansing, if you will. And even though the between the two is very blurry at times, I'll respect the fact that this blog isn't a full blown emo diary (yet!) and instead talk about the very good things that 2016 brought me. These are just some of the things that brought a little joy to my day

Hashbrowns are 100% involved.

A.H.L.L (nope, that wasn't awkward at all.)

Oh its always a happy day when you fingers finally fumble together a Katniss braid and in the same sort of way, when they fumble a great save in softball! (In the one inning you played....but that's beside the point.)

Anyway, I've been mentally keeping track of this list but we all know how great I am anything that involves my brain functioning, so it was time for the pen to hit the paper (ahem, fingers to the  keys....it is the 21st century and all!) and get these written down. (at 1 am no less because, rebel.)

-TAZO WILD ORANGE TEA

Hopefully God has been keeping track of the numbers of hairs on my head and cups of tea i've consumed because I kind of lost count (of both) at least 5 years ago. Not all teas are created equal but this tea was created with you and me in mind. I kid you not, best tea I've ever had.

(buy it here!)

-SPRING SPRING SPRING!

Spring makes me happy for a variety of reasons, but mostly the colors! I'm about to mentally pack away my beloved black turtleneck (Mentally because frankly, I'm way too lazy.) and say aloha to my printed shorts and all that jazz! Oh, I am so excited!

-HART OF DIXIE

I mostly watch this show for the outfits (In my next life, I plan to be a southern belle, emphasis on the rich doting father.) However, the show itself is good too! My friend and I have been watching it at the same time and each week we discuss (and some disgust!) over the weeks events. Also the small town vibes are alive and well, which means #nostalgia for Kryn.

-COMMERCIAL HOLIDAYS THAT RESULT IN CHOCOLATE GOODNESS

I just went to target and bought cake batter m&m's and sugar cookie flavored popcorn. I mean come on, this world can do no wrong.

-SUGAR, YES PLEASE.

This song has quickly become mine! And if you think it's yours, well forget it! Whenever Sugar is on the radio I am graced with many beautiful snapchats of my friends singing along. Also, have you seen the music video?  Caution: after watching you might experience rare side effects such as A.) wanting to get married or B.) wanting to marry Adam Levine. 

-FOOD WITH FLAIR

I've been on this cooking kick and it's involved a lot of unusual things. I made a Moroccan-ish meal with the help of Sous Chef Mother and it was KILLER. I am not one to really remember food unless it involves 10 grams of sugar and cocoa but! Not sure if it's worth mentioning, but it makes me happy so duh.

Have a happy day full of happiness! Also, try not to be as generic with your adjectives as I am. 

Happily Fragrant

I adore fragrances. Incense is for hippe-ish people, but fragrances are for girls of all ages (and men if they are brave souls. But I'm not encouraging it.)

 I have a long history with fragrances. First of all, I've been addicted to lip gloss since I was a little girl. ( i like smelly lip glosses, thus their appearance on fragrance day.) Second, when I was about 8, my grandpa let my cousin and I loose in Ulta. He can't smell. He knew that we'd used every perfume in the store, but he didn't know how horrible we smelled! Everyone was gagging when we came in, and Kare and I were quickly forced into the shower before everyone else suffocated.

That being said, I've never been in an Ulta since, and I've been a little more conservative as far as perfume goes. But I still love it. I am loyal to bah and body works. They have wonderful smells and the best coupons! I always end up going back because I have a coupon- their marketing is working very well. But not for my wallet.

My fragrance day adventure today was just a trip to Bath and body works for some candles and lotion. It was the darn coupon. How can I let it go to waste? Especially when there's free lotion for the low price of $10? I went at a good time, I got the store manager and she was nice and helpful. I am realizing now I should have wished her happy fragrance day, I know she would have been enthused. I always forget to tell people I'm celebrating, but usually I'd don't want to. Bravery is not my thing. Despite forgetting that, my fragrance day was a great success. I got my candles and Aruba Coconut Lotion ( groovy name huh?) and I celebrated amazingly.

So before I forget again, Happy Fragrance day!

Sincerely,
Filled with fragrance 


PS: Not literally.

PPS: my dream job is to come up with cool names for things like lotion, candles and paint. I read an article about it in Martha Stewart and I know I would be amazing at it.

PPSS: here's all the fragrances I've used today:

A nice random selection.