Frustration...

I'm one of those people who tends to internalize my frustrations and keep everything to myself. It's not the best thing that I could do but it's definitely not the worst. Today was one of those days where it started out great and then things just went downhill and fast. Last night I went to go order the black Sam Edelman Penny boots and the website said they had one left in my size. Well, it turns out they didn't. This morning they restocked and I was able to order them with free next business day shipping. I was so excited! I have been looking for the perfect black boots for years and I finally found them! Then I made a great Sunday brunch of homemade French toast for my mother and I. Everything was going great. 

Around mid-morning I ended up getting hurt and I cried. I am not some who cries easily or often. I won't go into the gory details but it had to do with my nail and it still hurts and the bandaid and pain is making it difficult to type this. My dog accidentally bit me (not maliciously, she was trying to chew her boneand my finger was right there). I was upset with her and I was upset that I got hurt. I was also upset that my nail is broken below the end of my finger and that I will have to grow it out. 

I didn't know how to deal with my frustration. Getting hurt wasn't the only thing that was bothering me. I have been feeling a little stuck lately. I graduated from college and I have a little while until I start my graduate program. I don't know what to do with myself. I feel lost. I don't have a job and I don't have many friends from home anymore and definitely none that I would consider a good friend. The ones I am still in contact with are still in college. I went from living in an apartment with a really good friend and always having something to do and now it's the opposite. I am frustrated. 

I decided (after sometime wallowing in my bed under the covers) to run on the treadmill. I hadn't planned on running or working out at all today but I decided I needed an outlet. I didn't run for long but it helped. I am happy that I have a new way of channeling my energy that will help me deal with my frustrations. 

Staying Healthy

With the New Year upon us it seems like everyone has a resolution to get healthier and exercise more, myself included.  I started working out again a few days before the first and I am so happy I did. I worked out pretty consistently while I was at school but once I returned home I stopped completely. Exercising and eating healthy make me feel so much better about myself. I'm more confident, I feel better, and I am happier. It's not just about physical health but also being in a good state of mind. Lately, I've been trying to be positive and stay positive about situations. I've put together a little list of things that I do to stay healthy. 

1.) Keep a journal of your fitness activities for each day! Find a notebook that you love and it will encourage you to use it. I chose this bright pink one with flowers. Everyday I look forward to writing in it which makes working out a little easier. This will also help you keep track of your goals and milestones. I track the time and distance of each run and because I am still very much a beginner I like to see the progressive I've made. I compete with myself  when it comes to how long I can run and if I can go just a little bit farther in the same amount of time. 

2.) Snacks are essential! This is my typical snack during the summer. I love making a pretty bowls with some fruit and nuts. Not only is it aesthetically pleasing but it's nutritious and filling! Instead of grabbing a fruit juice that is loaded with added sugars and preservatives I opted to make my own iced tea. This particular picture shows my version of a Starbucks Iced Passion Tea Lemonade. I steeped a Tazo Passion Tea in hot water for five minutes, added lemon juice, and let cool. I then poured it over ice. For added sweetness add Truvia!

3.) I love tea! Tea is so healthy for you and it is hydrating. I try to drink tea regularly and it is a great alternative to coffee. I love having coffee just about everyday but I always cut myself off at either two cups or once I've eaten lunch and then I switch over to tea. In the evenings I drink chamomile because it'd helps you fall asleep. I suffer from insomnia and this helps so much! Tea and chamomile always make me feel relaxed. 

4.) After reading Treasure Yourself by Miranda Kerr I really wanted to put some of her ideas into  action. Being healthy and treating your body right is one of the themes and I truly believe that she is spot on. Another theme in this book is positivity.

One of the ways in which Miranda stays positive is through the use of affirmations. I've used some of the affirmations that Miranda has attend end of the book and I've also downloaded a great app that has daily affirmations. The app is called "Affirmations!" Using affirmations helps to keep your mind positive and it trains your mind to think positively. 

Snow Day Favorites

These are my absolute favorite things to have when it is snowing out. There is nothing better than feeling warm and cozy on a cold day. 

1.) The first thing on my list is coffee! I was never much of a coffee drinker except for espresso which I grew up around. Over the past year however I have become a huge coffee drinker! One of my current faves (especially because it is so cold out) is peppermint mocha. Drinking a hot cup of coffee on a cold day always makes me feel better!

2.) Chapstick is a must! When it's this cold outside the heat dries out the air causing chapped lips. One of the most annoying things to me is having chapped lips which is why I always have some Chapstick around. Right now my Chapstick of choice is EOS. 

3.) My feet always get cold which is why I love my UGG slippers. I have at least four pairs of slippers ranging from tall boots to regular slippers. My UGG slippers in Coquette Leopard are my favorites. They are so warm and fuzzy that I never want to take them off!

4.) I love to curl up and watch a movie when the weather is less than ideal. I usually pick an old favorite to watch. The Devil Wears Prada is a movie that I can watch over and over again and not get tired of.  

5.) Reading is one of my favorite things to do. Finding a great book that you can't put down is one of the best feelings. I recently started the Divergent series and I am in love. The book is about a dystopian Chicago and a girl who Divergent. That means that she is able to fit into multiple factions. Each faction has different values and a test determines which faction each teen fits into. After she is sorted into the faction of her choice a war breaks out. I've read the first of the series, Divergent, and I just recently finished the second, Insurgent (pictured above), and I am excited to start the third and last books in the trilogy. 

What are your must haves for a cozy day at home?

-Stephanie

Happy New Year, Lovelies!

Good morning! On this coldy and snowy day I am drinking a delicious cup of French Vanilla coffee to keep me warm and toasty. I wanted to write this post yesterday, on the first of the year, but I was so busy. I have recently started selling all of my old text books to make a little extra money to put toward my student loans. Now that I have graduated and I have a few months before I start graduate school I am focusing on trying eliminate my loans and work on myself. I've started running which I mentioned in a previous post and I am trying to eat healthier. I am also trying to be as positive as possible. 

I hope all of you had a wonderful New Year's!  I rang in the New Year with my family this year because unfortunately one of my family members is sick. Just because it was a small family affair I didn't tone down my look much. Even though it's a feed days after New Year's Eve I wanted to give you a run down of my look from my hair and clothes down to my makeup. 

I am a very classic person to begin with and I believe less is more. I kept to my style with my black oversized silk t-shirt and dark skinny jeans. I wore a long necklace with a cutout diamond pendant that I received for Christmas and I wore my hair in very soft waves. For make up I decided to focus on my eyes. I used BB Cream on my face (Maybelline in Light/Medium), matti flying powder, and topped it off with Hoola Bronzer by Benefit Cosmetics, and Bella Bamba blush also by Benefit Cosmetics. For my eyes I used my new Naked3 palette which I am loving!!! I used about four shades to create a subtle smokey eye. I cannot for the life of my remember which colors I did use but the darkest was Factory. Lastly, I used a light pink/nude on my lips. I used a gloss I got with my Vera Wang Princess perfume set. 

I waited until the last minute to do my nails. I couldn't decide what color or how to do them. I am hopeless at nail art. I was originally going to do light pink with a pink sparkle party nail. Well I chose Sugar Daddy by Essie as my color and it was just too light. I wanted something a little more opaque. I decided to test out the party nail anyways with my sparkly nail polish whichever as A Cut Above by essie. The sparkles weren't as thick as I remembered so I ended up going with a quick all over of the sparkles on all my nails. This was the result: 

I ended up liking the end result but I will not be waiting until the last minute next time! I want to try some new colors and designs. I really like Aruba Blue and Butler Please by Essie. I think those will be the next to end up in yay collection. Leave my a comment if there are any others I should add!

-Stephanie

Hello, Lovelies!

I hope you all like the new background!  Over the next couple of weeks I will be sprucing up the page.  I am thinking about creating a banner but that will take some time because I am not nearly as talented as I used to be when it comes to creating graphics.  Hopefully, with some time and some tweaking this site will look fabulous!

So I have one blog post that is itching to be posted which is meant for Friday.  As long as I can find the Nikon camera to take some pictures I will be able to post it!  It is a "Finish It Friday" post about two face creams that I recently finished.  I will give you the pros and cons of each!  I can also start adding pictures to these posts.  They seem so boring without any pictures!

So yesterday I posted my to do list on here and unfortunately I did not complete it.  My motivation is just nonexistent right now.  Its very annoying when you have so much to do.  I did workout and go for a very short run.  I am a terrible runner: I am slow and I cannot for the life of me run for more than a couple of minutes.  I am improving however and will continue to improve.  I have decided to run for four days a week.  Monday and Tuesday then Thursday and Friday along with a short full body workout.  On Wednesday I am going to do yoga and a short walk of a mile or so.  My workout yesterday consisted of five minute segments of the major body part: arms/shoulders, legs/glutes, and core.  It was definitely effective because I am sore!  Its going to be difficult to run today but I am determined to beat how long I ran yesterday.  I am definitely excited for my run but also kind of scared because I just sneezed and my sore muscles hurt even more.

I love the holidays and all of the food but I am ready to eat healthier!  I cannot wait until there is an excuse to purge the junk food from the house and only have healthy food in here.  Between the Christmas cookies, the extra food and snacks I am just ready to get back to my normal routine.  Only a couple more days!  Today I had a delicious bowl of vanilla Greek yogurt with honey and oats granola and some fresh fruit on top.  It was heaven!

My lack of productivity yesterday means that today I need to be productive.  Have a wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas, Lovelies!

-Stephanie

Just some rambling...

I have so many drafts of different blog posts and ideas but unfortunately between a last minute trip into the city and finding out some terrible news I have had little time and little motivation to finish those posts.  I am still in the mood to organize things and better myself in some way or another but I am just lacking the motivation to do anything right now.  It is not even 9:30AM where I am and I'm awake.  For someone who is twenty one then I guess that could be considered an accomplishment but I am also an early riser by nature.  I've eaten breakfast and I'm drinking my coffee hoping that motivation or inspiration will hit.  If you all are wondering... its been a good half hour and it hasn't.

I am starting to watch what I eat again.  I am hoping that if I keep track of that and ease myself back into exercising then I will lose the ten pounds or so that I gained this past semester.  I have decided to start running.  Let me tell you - it is not easy.  I tried last week and lasted only a few minutes.  My goal is to run every other day and just try to run as long as possible.  I will run today but I am not sure I will have a chance to run again until 12/28.  The 26th I will try to do something such as yoga or weights.  On the 27th I will be helping to move my sister so I will not be working out.

With only two days left until Christmas I have left so much to chance.  I have bought my presents, decorated my mini tree in my room and that is about it.  My room is an absolute mess right now along with the rest of the house.  My family had not planned on going into NYC for the weekend.  It was a last minute trip to visit family before the holidays.  We were supposed to spend the weekend getting the house ready for Christmas and relaxing.  The trip though was wonderful.  We had a lovely time and the weather was beautiful.  Despite some fog and cloudy skies the temperature was in the sixties - almost seventy!  Up north, where I live, there is still snow on the ground despite the above freezing temperature.

I feel as though the only way in which I will actually accomplish anything today is if I write it down and make a to do list.  In order to keep myself accountable I will even post it here:

• Workout - treadmill and weights
• Clean kitchen
• Organize books
• Bring what is mine into my room
• Clean my vanity
• Laundry
• Make my bed
• Clean room

Lets hope I can accomplish all of that.  I am giving myself until 4:00PM to do all of this.  I may need a few more cups of coffee through out the day.

-Stephanie

Starting the New Year Off Right

New Years Resolutions are a staple in our society even if the majority of the time they are never kept.  It is a time for new beginnings, a fresh start, and a time for self improvement.  Unfortunately, I seldom keep my resolutions but this coming year will be different.  This time around I will set myself up for success before the New Year. I will be organized and I will map out my plan of attack.

My keys to success:

1. My Agenda:  With more than a week to go until the New Year I have already started my new agenda.  I've started to add important dates, deadlines, and more.  One of my resolutions is to save money.  I have already added my first deadline.  I am trying to plan ahead.  In my agenda I am also going to have a monthly list of what I would like to accomplish.  Hopefully this will help to keep me on track.
2. A Plan:  I love plans.  I believe plans help to eliminate stress and the uncertainty of the future.  It won't eliminate all stress and uncertainty but it definitely helps.  As a business major, I look at my plans as if it it were a business plan.  There are performance objectives at the beginning, a way to achieve them in the middle, and the end is the evaluation of your results.
3. Goals:  You need to have SMART goals.  Specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely goals.   This will keep you on track for reaching all of your goals.

Good luck to all of you on your New Years Resolutions!

-Stephanie