I’m not quite sure why, but lately I’ve been in a little bit of a frump. Not necessarily in a bad mood or anything like that, but just feeling kind of lazy + unmotivated.
After spending an amazing weekend in Brooklyn with The Blogcademy…
…I’ve decided that I really need to just stop it.
And as Taylor Swift would say, I have to ” just shake it off.”
Happy October, y’all!
I don’t know about you, but I get really excited about stuff and then for whatever reason, that excitement fades. Quickly.
After an inspirational + extremely motivational weekend in Brooklyn, I am making an exerted effort to keep the excitement alive.
How? By challenging myself throughout the month of October.
I remember hearing that it takes 21 days to form a habit. I didn’t think much of it, aside from the fact that 21 is my favorite number thanks to 7th grade Spanish class, but it stuck with me. A month is more than that, so I’m hopeful.
Here are 4 ways I plan to challenge myself in October:
1. Gala Darling’s #lovetober. It’s the perfect photo challenge, period.
2. I will be following the One Room Challenge + challenging myself to spruce up a room of my own.
3. The Coast to Coast Challenge is a style challenge I participate in from time to time, but I want to commit to it this month and do each challenge.
4. Blog Everyday. If you blog you know that content is king. Even if you don’t blog you know that practice makes perfect. One really good blog challenge is #blogtober14. I personally won’t be doing this specific challenge, but if you need blog post ideas, it’s worth checking out.
Are you doing any October challenges? Or are you challenging yourself in another way? Follow me on Instagram to see how I doing, then let me know if you’re going to join so I can follow you as well!
I got my second VoxBox!
I have admit that I was not as excited about the contents of the Vitality VoxBox as I was for my first VoxBox. BUT, the Softlips Cube alone makes up for that. Plus, I was starting to run low on Playtex, so honestly I can’t complain.
Even though I didn’t like the Vitality VoxBox quite as much as the Spring Fling VoxBox, that’s not to say that I didn’t like it.
Burn cream is something practical that I didn’t already own and was extremely happy to have gotten when I burnt myself on hot glue.
Energy gummies are the perfect solution to those Mondays when you just can’t even.
I already knew I liked Pure Leaf tea, but it was nice to get to try a flavor other than what I typically drink.
And, I mean, Elizabeth Arden New York in a free Influenster VoxBox?! Did not see that one coming and I love it!
Happy September + Labor Day!
New months always feel like a new beginning to me. I mean, who says you have to wait until January to try to change?
The other day, after climbing four flights of stairs, I found myself winded. I joked that I was getting to old, and had a student correct me and tell that I was just out of shape. As much as I wanted to tell the student to shut it, I realized that they were totally and utterly correct.
I used to run on the reg, but my feet would always hurt. Not enough to cry about it, but enough to discourage me from wanting to keep up with it for an extended amount of time. As a People StyleWatch Style Hunter, I was recently given the opportunity to test out the Rykä Flextras and they are seriously the most comfortable sneakers I have ever owned! So much so, that I am back at it and getting up earlier to run in the morning before work.
Don’t believe me?
Find out for yourself. Comment below about why you want to get in shape and you could win a pair!
This giveaway ends Friday, September 5th, at 11:59pm EST, so make sure to enter ASAP. Winner will be selected at random.
Don’t believe me about the running? You’ll have to take my word for it…
Often times, life gets busy. Sometimes, so busy that running errands becomes date night, and that’s just no bueno!
The manfriend and I have made it a point to do little things to show each other that we care.
Love notes. Cards are cool. Cards with money are great. Cards with sentimental messages inside are treasures. No card? No problem! Notes on paper are keepsake-worthy too.
Flowers, just because. Not only do the spruce up the place, it is alway a nice, pleasant surprise to get pretty somethings!
Writing on the walls. Well technically the mirrors, but you get the idea! I love this because with chalk markers, it’s another way to communicate that’s super fun and outside of the usual.
Pillow talk. Making it a point to catch up before bed gives us the a chance to talk about our days and connect one on one.
Back rubs. Massages are one of life’s luxuries that can be a little on the costly side. Not only does this save money, it means even more when exchanging endorphins with the one you love!
This post was sponsored by Paper and Twine.
Yes, One Direction. You know…The boy band.
And just in case you don’t…
They’re having a pretty major giveaway. You have a chance to win tickets to the 1D “Where We Are” Tour Concert next month at Gillette Stadium + their makeup before it hits stores!
For more details, check out the Facebook page.
There’s only 2 days left so enter, like, now!
That’s right they’re coming out with a makeup line! I won’t lie and pretend to be a huge Directioner. But I like their songs, and I’m pretty pumped about the makeup line.
But more on that later…
Stay tuned!
xx
Bet
This post was a sponsored post, powered by BrandBacker.
Even though I often find history a tad on the dull side, that doesn’t matter when the history is about me! Going through old photos at my mom’s always ends with some great photos for #tbt.
Apparently, I have always had a thing for taking pictures. Go figure.
This just proves that photography (albeit, maybe not professionally) is and has always been something that I enjoy. Taking pictures allows me to save the moments I want to keep and express myself in a way that words cannot + believe me I’ve tried, I didn’t study English in college for nothing!
To take this pastime to the next level I decided to take Mastering Your DSLR with Candice Stringham from A Beautiful Mess.
I mentioned before that I approached Candice about her camera bag (we both have the same one + in the same color!), not realizing who she was, and ended up with the deal of a lifetime!
I have taken other A Beautiful Mess e-courses before, like Blog Life (a must take for bloggers), and Use Your Stash (which I like to call How Not to Hoard Craft Supplies) + I knew I liked her style, so I just knew I had to take Candice’s class for sure!
So far, we learned about shutter speed + aperture settings, but I swear I can feel my photos getting better! And I’ve been practicing…
Here’s some photos I took of cupcakes using natural window light + playing around with the aperture setting.
The manfriend even helped. Well technically he tried to eat my props, but I ended up with some pretty neat shots!
I live on a college campus.
No, I am not in college.
I work in higher education as live-in professional. I won’t bore you with what that means (but please feel free to ask questions in the comments!), but I have a tiny apartment and while I can’t complain too much about it (#rentfree), I am not completely in love with it.
I mean, I don’t hate it.
I just don’t love it.
I want to love it.
Enter Pinterest. I am currently pinning images that I believe would make my apartment feel more like home. I want to start with my bedroom, because that’s where my desk is + so I spend most of my time there.
Follow Twenty Something Plus’s board Bedroom Wishlist on Pinterest.
Recently, I have across some boards that have just the feel + look that I am going for. The perfect pinspiration, if you will. If you aren’t following them, you should really check out these out!
Aileen Allen // At Home in Love
And when all else fails, I just search through Apartment Thearpy.
I have expensive taste, but not so big a budget. I am thinking about DIYing a lot of projects for what I want in my space and sharing them. Also, some before + afters will be shared.
These Intagram photos of my place should hold you over until then. If not, you can always follow me on IG…
So, this happened…
Yep.
I got a tattoo.
NBD.
It’s just permanent.
I have zero regrets of doing this, but I don’t think I will be getting another one anytime soon. I’m a wimp + I’m OK with that. I’m pretty sure that the manfriend is still in shock that I actually went through with it, but that’s just how I live my life. Like, I have five piercings and none of them were technically “planned”…
But I mean, seriously, who goes to a party, makes a new friend, and goes home with a tattoo appointment for the next day? Apparently I do!
What did you do this weekend?
After Alt Summit, I really wanted to at the very least attempt to get back to the heart of why I started blogging.
Simply put, I like to learn + to want to push myself to try new things.
At Alt Melissa Esplin hosted a DIY booth and shared some pointers about calligraphy. I chatted with Christa of Beatrice Clay and decided that I would redeem my Bing Rewards points for Amazon gift cards, which I used to purchase Modern Calligraphy.
Since then, I have been practicing calligraphy and painting with watercolors daily. (The two arts kind of go hand in hand, so I figured why not.)
My work is pretty rough, but since I’m only just starting out, I don’t mind it so much. I find the process rather meditative + thoroughly enjoy it, so it’s totes worth it!
Do you have a summer hobby or have you started learning something new recently? Would love some ideas of what to look into for my next something new!