Happy 2016 everyone!! I hope you had an amazing NYE and are resting up with coffee and bacon, egg, and cheese bagels today!

I'm still in my pajamas at 2 PM and typing this while sipping on my new favorite tea, Twinnings Winter Spice caffeine free tea. It's so tasty and warm and giving me life.

I spent NYE in a weird way--my family and I had reservations at a Hibachi Restaurant in my neighborhood but they overbooked and we waited for almost 2 hours before walking out. We headed home, picked up some White Castle, and rang in the New Year like that.

I was pretty content.

I have to leave for a work trip on Sunday so I'm getting all my rest and blogging done today. I have no problem staying in my pajamas all day and just chilling out.

It also doesn't feel like Friday, which is why I almost forgot to write up my Links to Love but I'm in the middle of a blog craze right now and I didn't post this last week so I figured I'd round up my favs!



Sephora's best selling products of 2015? Happy to say I've tried a majority of these items.

I don't get heated about a lot of issues like this but the Gender Tax boils my blood.

I've definitely shared this before but these love quotes get me every time.

Work anxiety? Try these tips (YES PLEASE)

I always love hangover articles and this one by The Cut is perfect for New Years Day!

I love reading people's end of year posts and my favorite this year came from a lovely lady who I know personally, Elana Lyn.

I experience all of these things with beauty & makeup every day. It's wonderful

Jerry Seinfeld + President Obama = hilarious

Have a happy & healthy new year, everyone!

We're hours away from the new year and I'm feeling a little indifferent. I don't feel nostalgic in any shape or form , which is weird because New Years Eve always brings out the nostalgia. Maybe it's because I've been caught up in work or because I am very happy to see 2015 go.

This was a difficult year, in a few different ways. It was the first full year I was out of college and I felt the post grad crisis hard. I was confused, anxious, nervous, worrisome, and not happy in many ways. I was struggling with a lot of things and didn't know which way was up.

It wasn't until a few months ago that I finally felt calm. I didn't feel like I was crazy nor did I feel like I didn't have my shit together. My anxiety calmed down, I calmed down, work was good, my social life was good...everything finally felt like it was falling into place.



I'm looking forward to the new year in a way that I hope will be a little calmer than 2015. I need some stability and I hope 2016 will be even better in that sense.

I classified 2014 as the best year of my life, and in so many ways it was. 2015 was less than perfect, and I hope we can go back to basics in an even number.

In 2016, I hope that I can achieve what I've been wanting to achieve in work, in the blog, in my personal life. I want to start writing more, both freelance and creatively. I want to put more time and effort into my blog and into my own social media.

I want to save money instead of spending it. I want to travel a lot more, and go out and see the world. I finally have the desire to have more of a social life and make plans with my friends and go out and actually do things!

There are so many things that I want to do and I think 2016 may be the year that I do it.

Happy New Year everyone!!

Let me start off by saying how much I've always disliked soups. A weird introduction, right? But it's true! I never ate soup or stew because the texture freaked me out. What's the point of eating flavored water??

There was only one type of soup I liked and that was Baked Potato Soup (because it's fattening and delicious). I realized that the reason I liked it was because it was hearty and thick. I started to wonder what other types of soups I could whip up that I would enjoy...and was also healthy enough for my mom and sister.

I've gotten into the habit of cooking dinner for my family on Sundays since I'm home alone and both my mom and sister work.

I was searching Pinterest high & low for a soup recipe that seemed suitable for November weather and finally decided on this Chicken and Dumpling recipe.  I followed it pretty closely, if not exact.

The major plus side of this recipe? It's made for the Crockpot. That's usually what I stick to on Sunday afternoons because even though the prep is a little much, I can just sit back and let the meal cook without worrying about it.

Spoiler alert: this soup was DELICIOUS and I need to make it again ASAP.

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 Tbsp of butter
• 2 cans of Cream of Chicken soup
• 14.5 oz of Chicken broth
• 4 Grands Flaky Refrigerator biscuits

2015 was a great year for all things lifestyle, beauty, fashion... in my opinion. I think I really came into my own with style and knowing what I like.

This was definitely also the year of shopping and boy did I shop. With my first real time job, first real paycheck, I went a bit crazy. In 2016, I vow to slow my roll with the spending. If 2015 was the year of shopping, 2016 HAS to be the year of saving.


I have to admit that with all my shopping came some great favorites. I bought ALOT of stuff this year but also had a lot of non materialistic favorites. I want to tell you ALL about my favorites and would love to hear what kind of favorites you fell in love with this year as well :)

Let's get started!

//Matte Lips: These were a huge trend at the end of 2014 and for the entire 2015 year. I definitely jumped on the bandwagon and I would be lying if I said half of my lipstick collection is matte at the moment. From liquid lipsticks to regular matte lipsticks, both were all the rage. Below are some of my favorite colors/brands.






What products did you adore and love in 2015? 

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It was almost a year ago that I finally sat down and posted in 101 in 1001 list. A list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. The idea was originally inspired by Mackenzie Horan of Design Darling and it was something I had been wanting to do for a while.

I still have more than a year to accomplish everything and I'm pretty confident that I can get almost everything done. (October 4th, 2017 is the end date) I figured since it's been almost a year and I've accomplished a lot already, I wanted to give an update on how I'm doing!

I encourage everyone to create their own list. It's sort of like a bucket list but with mundane and extraordinary things all mixed together. From saving money to getting published to visiting museums,  I put everything I could think of on this list.

 I'm really proud of everything I've done in the past year and I hope I can achieve more in the next!

(Everything in bold is what I have accomplished)



 1. Come up with 101 things and inspire someone else to do the same

I love when I start to see new things at the drugstore, Ulta, and in Sephora. It makes my beauty loving heart so incredibly happy!

I was browsing Ulta's website the other night and saw all these new items from drugstore (and a few high end brands) being released!

A lot of the items I was interested in are from Maybelline (my favorite drugstore brand).

I'll probably place an order on Ulta's website soon because while it's not super convient, I know they'll have everything I need and could just get everything in one shot.



The one item that I have already purchased and have been LOVING is the Loreal True Match Lumi Cushion Foundation. I ordered it a little less than 2 weeks ago and have fallen head over heels. I'll be doing a post focused solely on that product soon!

UGH, I'm not supposed to spend money but all this drugstore makeup looks amazing!

What new product are you excited to try?


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Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates! I hope you have a lovely day with your loved ones! Remember why we celebrate but enjoy the day nonetheless. I hope Santa brought you everything on your list :)