What I GAVE For Christmas 2015 -Blogmas Day 25-

When thinking about what I wanted to post on Christmas Day, I started to think about what I love so much about the holiday itself. And not the season, the specific day that is Christmas. Most of what came to mind were family traditions, things that I cherish doing each day of the year. I'll admit that opening presents did come to mind, but what really stood out was watching my family open the gifts that I gave them.

I always get so excited shopping for others and finding that present that you just know is perfect. This year, I think I hit a perfect game with my family, and what better post for Christmas than sharing what I gave my loved ones?

Planner Pages: A Sneak Peek -Blogmas Day 24-

I've been wanting to start doing posts focused around my Erin Condren Life Planner for a while. Back over the summer, I began watching Elle Fowler's (one of my favorite beauty vloggers) planner videos where she decorated her life planner with stickers she purchased off of Etsy. Since September, I've been ordering stickers and designing spreads ever single week and it's become a big hobby and creative outlet for me. So today, I am going to share some glimpses of the spreads I've done these past few years, and in the coming year, I will do more in-depth looks of my weeks.

This specific planner is my 2015 Erin Condren, meaning that it's slightly less updated than the newer ones that are out. Obviously, my 2016 Life Planner is the updated version, and you will see that in future Planner posts. I would also like to mention that I am not affiliated with any of the sticker shops that I use--and I will list which ones are represented under each picture, but I will save the more in-depth and specific details for future posts.

Healthy Treat: Zucchini Chips -Blogmas Day 23-

I have a confession: I love potato chips. I could eat an entire bag in one sitting while watching some Netflix. Because this isn't the healthiest snack in the world, I'm always looking for healthier ways to curve my craving. I've tried apple chips and kale chips (both of which I'll link down below), but today, I'm making something a little different: zucchini chips. 

For the recipe you will need: 

• Zucchini--I used one, which fills up a sheet pan, but you can make however many you'd like
• Olive oil spray
• Salt & Pepper
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Paprika
• Parmesan cheese

The recipe is seriously super simple: you just cut the zucchini into paper thin slices (I used a mandolin, but you can do it with a knife!), lay it on an aluminum foil lined tray, spray on the olive oil, and then sprinkle on the spices and Parmesan. I baked mine at 225F for about an hour and a half, but you can also bake them at 425F for about ten minutes. I just think that oven chips are much better in the long run low and slow. But that's it! I usually put these in a bowl and eat them hot and they're delicious. 

Do you make homemade chips?

      

Beauty Boxes: December 2015 -Blogmas Day 22-

Beauty Box posts are back! I've missed doing these. I've found that many beauty bloggers and vloggers have stopped unboxing their Birchbox and Ipsys, but I still like to peek at what other people received in their boxes each month.

How to Style Ugly Sweaters: Two Ways -Blogmas Day 21-

Ugly Christmas sweaters have swelled in popularity over the past few years. I myself absolutely adore them, always getting overly excited when I spot a new one I like while out shopping or browsing online. I bought two last year from Target (both online) and I decided to style them for you!

Tiny Treasures: Lavanila Rollerballs -Blogmas Day 20-

I'm pretty unconventional with my fragrance choices. I typically like scents that smell like you can eat them: sweet and sugary, warm and spicy, or fruity with a slight whiff of floral are what I usually go for, but my all-time favorite scent is vanilla. So when I heard about the brand Lavanila, I was ecstatic--a brand focused on healthy scents that all have vanilla at the core? Delish.

Lately, I've been buying rollerballs because I find that they're cheaper and last longer. Aside from that, I like applying the scent directly on my pressure points (my wrists, neck, and behind my ears) so that it is noticeable without giving people headaches. While I definitely plan on collecting all of the scents, right now, I have two: Pure Vanilla and Lemon Vanilla.

Holiday Makeup Look: Green Smoky Eyes + Nude Lips -Blogmas Day 19-

Last week, I posted a simple and classic makeup post that included shimmery, golden eyes and bright red lips. I love that look, but I wanted to do something different and bold. I went for the opposite Christmas color, doing a look with darker, green smoky eyes and pairing it with glossy nude lip. This is the exact opposite of my other look, but I find that it's better suited if you prefer something a little smokier as opposed to light and shimmery.

Sorry for my awkward expression--out of all the pictures I took, this is the one where my eyes looked best, even though I'm basically grimacing. I think it makes up for it though, because I'm wearing my beloved ugly Christmas sweater from Target! My face makeup is exactly the same as in my last post, so not wanting to be too redundant, I didn't include it again in this second look.

My Goals for the Holiday Break -Blogmas Day 18-

Whenever there's a break from classes on the horizon, I always go into list making mode, compiling task after task of things I'm going to do while thinking of how productive the break will be. But, as we all know, when there's no school, there's absolutely no motivation, either. I usually spend my breaks curled under a ton of blankets bing-watching an entire series (yes series, not season) on Netflix.

However, because I am an obsessive list maker, I can't help but make a list of tasks I want to achieve, even if I doubt that I'm actually going to accomplish half of them. Originally, I wanted to do a huge reorganization of my wardrobe (clothes, shoes, accessories, bags, jewelry, etc!) but I actually went through my dresser and closet today instead of waiting. On the bright side, it crossed off a huge chunk of my list before my finals are finished and I have a huge bag full of stuff to donate!

A Message -Blogmas Day 17-

The past few weeks have been a little bit overwhelming, in the best possible way. I've been trying to focus on a million different things at once: school, work, family, friends, blogging, and so on. I feel like my mind is a never ending to-do list, and each day I find myself struggling more and more to be productive. I am constantly torn between pulling an all higher to study for my hardest class and just falling asleep after watching Netflix all afternoon and night.

Blogging has become overly important to me over the past few weeks. It's a place for me to express myself creatively and share things that interest me that I don't get to talk about normally: beauty, fashion, food, organization, and more. I wanted to do Blogmas as a challenge for myself and to get accustomed to posting again in the midst of a crazy schedule. Publishing this post feels like cheating to me, because it's not my usual, thought out and planned content. For the first time, I'm merely sitting down and letting the words flow out. And that shouldn't feel like cheating, right? Except, to the perfectionist that lives inside of me, it does. However, tonight, in the midst of my finals, I feel too drained to think and plan my "normal content." I will be back tomorrow with a makeup post,something Christmas related. 

 Anyone have a good Netflix recommendation? 
      

Reviewed: It's a 10 Miracle Leave-In Plus Keratin -Blogmas Day 16-

I never believed in buying high end hair products. I'm still not, really, but I do have one that I love and don't ever want to let go of: the It's a 10 Miracle Leave-In Plus Keratin. It's a leave-in detangling spray that claims to do ten things instantly, and I think it is absolutely great. I use the one with keratin, just because I like the idea of the smoothing and strengthening element that keratin gives.

Haul: Black Friday Beauty Goodies -Blogmas Day 15-

It's been a while since I bought enough beauty stuff around the same time to do a haul. Sephora does the most amazing $10 sets for Black Friday and I'll admit that I logged on the website at midnight just so I had my first pick. Birchbox had 30% of their online shop as well, so I decided to pick up a few bits and pieces from them as well, and I'm so excited about everything I got.

This is a pretty rounded out group of products: makeup, skincare, hair care, a nail polish, and some other little pieces. There's two orders from Sephora (one from Black Friday and one from Cyber Monday) and then the one from Birchbox!

Monday Questionnaire: December 14th 2015 -Blogmas Day 14-

I haven't done one of these in ages. It's a shame, really, because these questionnaires are great for getting a little more personal. So naturally, I am so excited to dig into these questions!

Finals are unfortunately here, but I am beyond blessed to have an amazing mother (check out her new blog!) who made me a lovely care package full of snacks to get me through all of my studying.

Polished: My Favorite Holiday Colors

Painting my nails is such a routine for me (I typically paint my nails on Sunday night, wear the color all week, take it off Friday night to let my nails breath, and the cycle starts again and again) but that doesn't stop me from getting excited over which polish I'm going to sport each week. As you probably have been able to tell, I love Christmas, and I love anything festive, so of course I have a few polishes I like to break out during December to celebrate in my own small way. So today, I am going to share my top four.

As you can see, I have a mix of salon brands and drugstore, and every color is bright and fun! I did want to note that I didn't include Essie's Toggle to the Top, which I did a Nail of the Day post on a few days ago, just because I wanted to include some different polishes. However, I do really like Toggle to the Top!

Unboxing: Love with Food Tasting Box (December 2015) -Blogmas Day 12-

I've tried Nature Box. I've tried Graze. And to be honest, neither of them really impressed me. The idea of healthy snack subscription boxes really appealed to me but I didn't think a decent one was possible, until I heard about Love with Food. For $10 a month (for the smaller Tasting Box) you get a bunch of snacks that are all cleaning eating friendly.

There are two reasons that Love with Food really stands out: for starters, they source all their snacks. Nature Box and Graze produce and package the food they send out in their boxes, but Love with Food uses manufacturer's snacks that you can either buy from their website or find another place (like a grocery store!). This is incredibly useful as it makes the snacks easily attainable if you really love them. The second reason is that for every box you get, they donate a meal to a person in need (I believe the larger box might donate two meals). 

Holiday Makeup Look: Gold Eyes + Red Lips -Blogmas Day 11-

I've crafted two makeup looks for this holiday season, and I'm so excited to share the first with you all! When I think of Christmas makeup, I think of a lot of shimmer and a bright red lip, and this look is exactly that. The next one that I'm going to post (probably sometime next week) is a little bit different and unconventional, but I love this classic take.

I don't like my makeup to be too bold, so you can definitely modify this to be a little heavier (winged liner would look great!) or even make this even more natural by using a lighter shadow and doing a quick sweep of shimmer across your eyelid. 

Book Shelf: Pretty Little Liars (the Book Series!) -Blogmas Day 10-

Sometimes I have a craving to reread a book series, and recently, that series has been Pretty Little Liars. I read this series--I kid you not--back in middle school before the TV show was even a thing. I know that the show is wildly popular and most people don't even consider divulging into the books.

There are sixteen books total, but so far I've only read the first eight. I'm currently waiting for the next set of four to come in the mail (actually, just nine and ten--annoyingly enough, eleven and twelve came first), but I wanted to touch upon the first half of the series before I get too wrapped into the second!

Top Two: Red Lipsticks for the Holidays -Blogmas Day 9-

This is a very specific Top Two, because I'm going to focus on "Holiday red" lipsticks. To me, the perfect red lip for this time of the year is a bright, true red that stands out and matches all of your Christmas decor!

My two picks are both very similar: they're bright, they're creamy, and they're totally fun. For my drugstore pick, I have CoverGirl's Hot Passion, and my high end is Urban Decay's Ms. Mia Wallace.

Makeup Collection: Palettes -Blogmas Day 8-

Back in April, I did an overview post of my makeup collection and storage where I said I would do some follow up posts with a more in-depth look at different sections of my collection. Well, better late than never, right? Today I am going to kickstart that series by sharing my palette collection.

For the purpose of this post, I am only going to include larger palettes and save my trios and quads for a post on my eyeshadows. Because I don't have a huge space to store them, I try not to buy too many, but the ones I have, I absolutely love!

NOTD: Essie Toggle to the Top -Blogmas Day 7-

In a haul post from over the summer, I mentioned picking this color up (along with two other Essie hues) and saving it for the Wintertime. Toggle to the Top is an epitome of a "Christmas nail polish:" it's red and sparkly and just gorgeous.

Reviewed: Elf Daily Brush Cleaner -Blogmas Day 6-

In my opinion, brush cleanser, for the most part, is ridiculously overpriced. To deep clean my brushes, I use Johnson's Baby Shampoo, but I looked for a long while before finding a drugstore spot cleaner. To my delight, I spotted this little guy in The Christmas Tree Shoppe a few weeks ago, and I eagerly tossed it in my basket.

It's no secret that I think Elf is an underrated brand. Their studio line keeps getter better and better, and is mostly priced between $3-6, which is great value. Even though I am a fan of the brand's cosmetics, I wasn't entirely sure how their Daily Brush Cleaner would be--I had tried their Brush Shampoo and hated it--but I took and shot and was pleasantly surprised!