christmas                                                    mom's bday & dinner

1. Go for a walk.
2. Get off social media.
3. Pet your dog.
4. Take a bath.
5. Wash your face.
6. Use a face mask.
7. Put on lotion.
8. Clean your room.
9. Smile.
10. Eat a healthy snack.
11. Have some tea.
12. Look at old photos.
13. Read.
14. Hang out with friends.
15. Talk to a stranger.
16. Meditate.
17. Put your phone out of sight.
18. Watch one of your favorite movies.
19. Go on Pinterest.
20. Plan a trip.
21. Go out to eat.
22. Light a candle.
23. Use a bath bomb.
24. Take a shower.
25. Take photos of nature.
26. Exercise.
27. Call someone you love.
28. Write down things you are grateful for.
29. Journal.
30. Drink water.
31. Get into comfy clothes.
32. Play upbeat music.
33. Write down your goals.
34. Write down something you love about yourself.
35. Get out of bed.
36. Dance.
37. Stretch.
38. Read quotes.
39. Talk it out.
40. Make someone smile.
41. Ask yourself why you're sad and what you can do about it.
42. Brush your teeth.
43. Get a manicure or pedicure.
44. Get a haircut.
45. Turn on the lights.
46. Wear clothes that you love.
47. Take your dog for a walk.
48. Go to Petsmart (kinda random but seeing cute animals always makes me happier :))
49. Redo your room.
50. Sing aloud.
51. Plan something fun.
52. Write down things that make you happy.
53. Learn something new.
54. Drive with the windows down.
55. Draw or paint.
56. Think positive.
57. Buy yourself flowers.
58. Watch a documentary about something your interested in.
59. Have good posture.
60. Give yourself a motivating/pump up speech.
61. Focus on something.
62. Check something off of your to do list.
63. Use a hair mask.
64. Cut your fingernails.
65. Declutter.
66. Bake or cook something.
67. Try a new food.
68. Listen to podcast.
69. Make a list of places you want to travel to.
70. Laugh.
71. Make a list of books you want to read.
72. Write a poem.
73. Research something you are interest in.
74. Watch a motivational video.
75. Do yoga.
76. Hug someone.
77. Write a to do list.
78. Start a new hobby.
79. Go out to the movie theater.
80. Give yourself a facial.
81. Get a massage.
82. Make a playlist of your favorite pump up songs.
83. Use essential oils.
84. Look up some yummy recipes.
85. Eat clean.

1. Drink more water

1. Declutter.

Get rid of all of the unnecessary clutter in your life including clothes, shoes, jewelry, books, and papers.

2. Write down your goals.

Make a list of all of the things you want to accomplish this year and break down your goals so that you have a clear plan of how you will reach these goals.

3. Backup all of your photos from 2017.

Backing up your photos really doesn't take that long, and it is really important because the next time your drop your phone it may actually break and all of your photos will be lost.

4. Make a "to do list" of things to get done before 2018.

Write down all of the things, big or small, that you have been meaning to do, and put your list in a place where you will constantly be reminded of these things.

5. Put away holiday gifts.

Put away all of your holiday gifts so that they have their own little home and won't clutter up your room.

6. Organize your school work.

Toss any old assignment sheets, pens that are our of ink, and other papers that you no longer need.

7. Save up.

Save up any money you received from the holidays rather than immediately spending it all on clothes.

8. Unsubscribe from unnecessary emails.

Unsubscribing from emails will not only clear out your inbox but will make you feel much more organized and clean.

9. Take a break from social media.

Instead of looking at everyone's holiday and New Years's photos all over Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, take this time to reflect on your year and focus on yourself.

10. Treat yourself.

Go out to dinner. See a movie. Hang out with friends. Get your nails done. You deserve it.

Today's post is going to be another travel related one. For some reason my wanderlust is always extra prominent around this time of the year. So today I'm sharing 10 places that I want to travel to! There are some specific areas in these countries that I want to explore but for the sake of this blog post I wanted to be a little bit more broad  so that you could do some of your own research if you wish to travel to any of these destinations. I really hope you enjoy seeing these places that I hope to visit, and let me know if you would like to see more travel related posts!



1. The Maldives.

2. Chile.

3. Peru.

4. Greece.

5. Portugal.

6. New Zealand.

7. Iceland.

8. Switzerland.

9. Ireland.

10. The Galapagos Islands.

Traveling opens your eyes and allows you to experience life in a new light. The lessons learned from meeting people all across the world, exploring new territories, and immersing yourself into another culture are invaluable.

Traveling is a way to look beyond the stresses and worries of our everyday lives and truly see things in perspective. It enables us to look past our problems in life that really aren't as big as we think they are, and provides us with a sense of gratefulness for all of the wonderful blessings in our life.

Traveling is a way to escape from everything going on in our lives; it is a beautiful form of procrastination. It is a way to get away from the people, places, and things that bring stress and sadness.

Traveling is a breathe of fresh air. It is a way to break free from the monotony and routinely manner of everyday life and to experience something new. New people, new food, new cultures, new terrains, new smiles, new laughs.

I hope all of you had a very merry Christmas full of delicious food, music, and laughs with family and friends. In today's post I'm sharing with you what I got for Christmas this year! While gifts are in no way what Christmas is truly about, I still thought you all might enjoy seeing what I received this year. I really didn't ask for much this year, but of course my amazing family gave me so much more than I had expected. I am so incredibly thankful for everything I got!

I also just wanted to mention that I have a lot of family members that I celebrate and exchange gift with, so not all of these items are from my immediate family. :)

Skincare & Beauty:




Shoes: Ugg moccasins & Jcrew fuzzy boots.




Clothes: Blue Free People sweater & grey Aqua cashmere sweater. 

1. Hair ties.
2. Face mask.
3. Lotion
4. Candle.
5. iPhone case.
6. Gift card.
7. Socks.
8. Gloves.
9. Chapstick.
10. Notebook.
11. Necklace.
12. Tickets.
13. Wallet.
14. Pens/pencils.
15. Headphones.
16. Nail polish.
17. Beauty blender.
18. Lipstick.
19. Face wash.
20. Chocolate.
21. Eyeshadow palette.
22. Beanie.
23. Makeup brushes.
24. Pop socket.
25. Mug.
26. Sunglasses.
27. Bubble bar.
28. Polaroid film.
29. Mascara.
30. Essential oils.
31. Sleeping mask.
32. Earrings.
33. Fingernail file.
34. Matches.
35. Keurig coffee cups.
36. Bracelet.
37. Rings.
38. Water bottle.
39. Computer stickers.
40. Snacks.
41. Pencil case.
42. Soap.
43. Hair mask.
44. Makeup bag.
45. Fairy lights.
46. Tea bags.
47. Watch.
48. Cards.
49. Hairbrush.
50. Ornament.
51. Scarf.
52. Lanyard.
53. Hand sanitizer.
54. Mini emergency kit.
55. Nail clippers.
56. Flash drive.
57. iPhone charger.
58. Thigh high socks.
59. Bobby pins.
60. Slippers.
61. Scrunchies.
62. Pins.
63. Baseball hat.
64. Headband.
65. Body scrub.
66. Homemade cookies.
67. Dry shampoo.
68. Planner stickers.
69. Portable charger.
70. Body wash.
71. Mini jewelry stand.
72. Eyelash curler.
73. Toothpaste.
74. Exfoliating shower gloves.
75. Moisturizer.

Hi everyone! Todays post 's going to a kind of "update" or "check in" on my December Goals post. For those of you who have not read it, I have included the link here and I will also be re-listing my intentions in this posts so I can talk about each one individually. I hope you enjoy reading this post and that it may help you with your goals! Let me know if you would like to see a post similar to this at the end of the December. :)

Most of these goals I planned to achieve over winter break which begins for me in just a few days, so if it seems like I have not yet completed that many of my goals, that is why! I also realized that for me it is a lot harder to achieve my goals if I don't have super specific, attainable goals, so I have modified several of them so they will be easier for me to complete.

1.
Original Goal // Develop & follow a skincare routine.

Updated Goal // Follow a specific skincare routine every night for seven days.

This one has been a bit hard for me simply because, as I mentioned earlier, it is more broad rather than a specific, and also because with school it's a little hard to stay on track with my skincare. So to make it easier for me to complete, I changed my goal just slightly.

2.
Original Goal // Drink more water.

Updated Goal // Drink 64oz of water for five days.

Though I do feel that I have had more water this month, it has also been hard to measure how much water is "more," so I have also altered this goal.

3.
Original Goal // Read before bed.

Updated Goal // Read before bed for seven days.

I definitely feel that I have read a lot more before bed, but, again, to have a specific measurement to justify achieving my goal, I have updated it.

4.
Write at least five blog posts.

Including this post, I have written four blog posts this month, and I know that I will definitely be able to complete five posts because I have a two week break of freedom to focus on my blog!

5. 
Journal at least five days.

I have completed this goal! This is an example of how writing a specific goal rather than something broad such as "journal more," can be very helpful.

6. 
Read at least two books (aside from school).

Regarding this goal, I am more than half way through one of my books (check out my review on it here) and I know that I will be reading a lot of winter break!

7. 
Drink more tea.

Again, a very general goal and kind of a random one too, but I just think that tea is so amazing and I don't drink it enough! Anyways, because I think that it would be kind of strange to set a number of days in which I should drink tea, I'm going to leave this one how it is. I do think that I have had more tea throughout this month, and I know that I will be drinking it a lot more over break.

8. 
Go to bed at 9:00pm one night.

I have yet to complete this goal, but I have plenty of time to achieve it!

9. 
Watch a new documentary.

I haven't completed this yet either, but I'm really looking forward to it!

10. 
Original Goal // Stretch more.

Updated Goal // Stretch for five days (outside of school).

Though in my sport this winter I have been stretching a lot more, regarding stretching on my own, I really haven't done that much, so I have updated my goal to make it more attainable and measurable.

Hi everyone! Today's post is going to be my first holiday gift guide of the season! I know this may be a little late to upload, but if your anything like me you are kind of a last minute Christmas shopper. Rather than creating one big gift guide, I decided to break it up into smaller, more specific guides so I could go more in depth and to make it easier to find what you are looking for. All of the gifts I have and will be including in my gift guides are actually things I would buy; I thought that it would be more helpful this way!

So, as you know from reading the title, today's gift guide is all about gifts for your mom. For me this is pretty easy because I know my mom really well and we have similar taste and interests, but for those of you who have it a bit trickier, I really hope this can help! I have chosen eight gifts ranging in price from around five to sixty-five dollars- pretty reasonable!




 Harney & Sons Dragon Pearl Jasmine Tea.

$12

Ok, not gonna lie, before I sat down to research gift ideas I had never heard of this brand. Usually my mom and I buy tea from Teavana, but unfortunately they are closing down, so I had resort to another option. So, although I cannot tell you how their tea is, based on the reviews, the variety of teas, and even just the look of the website, I have faith that this is a great place to buy tea. I picked out this one because I know my mom loves
jasmine tea, and also I love the packaging!
Jo Malone English Pear & Freesia Cologne. 

30ML bottle is $65, 100ML is $135

If your mom is someone who loves to always smell good, I would definitely recommend Jo Malone perfume! They all smell wonderful, but "English Pear & Freesia" is my mom's favorite. They also have these scents as candles as well, so if your mom is not that into perfumes, you can get a candle instead! I know this gift seems a bit pricy, especially if you are younger like me, but their perfumes smell so wonderful, and I'm sure any mother would be thrilled to receive this!










Golden Handshake Hot Hand Mask.

$4.95

This gift much smaller than many of the others, but it is super affordable and really cool! Personally, I feel that you can never go wrong with giving someone Lush products for Christmas. Everything smells so wonderful, and there is such a wide variety of products! If your mom really likes Lush (like my mom), or if she simply likes skincare products in general, I would definitely recommend a product like this.

Magic Wand Reusable Bubble Bar.

$8.95

This is another smaller gift also from Lush, but I think these little gifts are so fun! This magic wand bubble bar is really nice not only because it is reusable and looks adorable, but also because it is a part of the Christmas collection and so is only available this time of year! If you know that your mom likes bubble bars, bubble baths, or simply just winding down and relaxing, I think this is a perfect gift.







Brazilian Bum Bum Cream.

2.5 oz is $20, 8.1 oz is $45

I have never actually tried this cream, but have heard such great things about it. My mom loves lotion and really just skincare products in general, so I thought that she would really like this cream. It is also perfect for this time of year because it is the season of dry skin!







BAIES Diptyque Candle.





Karma Soap.

$7.95

Another lush product... yay! Lush has so many various soaps that I guarantee you will find a scent that your mom will love. My mom's personal favorite is the one pictured here, karma, and it's one of my favorites too!