january recap + february goals

2 / 6 / 222 / 6 / 22

Happy February! January was weird, because it felt like two months in one. The first half of the month I was at home, still enjoying my winter break. But as soon as I came back to school January 17, I was thrown into busy schedules and homework and meetings. January flew by for me, but I also did some fun stuff this month and had lots of big changes. I got a little down on myself because I was so motivated with my 2022 goals and really trying to stick with them, but I didn’t accomplish as much as I’d hoped. Usually I feel really productive and motivated the first month of the year, but not this time, haha. It’s okay though! February is a new month and a fresh start, and I’m really going to try to make it a good month ahead. Today I’m sharing a little January recap and some of my goals for February!

focusing on simplicity

1 / 23 / 22

I always choose a word of the year to focus on and apply to each week, and this year I was struggling to come up with what word to pick. I was going back and forth about a few, and one morning when I was doing my quiet time, it came to me: simplicity. This word applies to me in a lot of different aspects, and I’ve started to notice more and more throughout each day how much I fail at it, haha. I just started noticing how anxious I get when I’m at school and how easily I get stressed. A big reason for this is I let myself get so overwhelmed with dozens of tiny details and tasks instead of focusing on one thing at a time. I could write for pages about this topic, but I wanted to touch on the topic of simplicity and a few aspects of my life where I’m looking to apply this concept!

current thoughts vs. goal thoughts

9 / 30 / 21

I’ve been learning a lot recently about the power of our mindsets and how important our thoughts are for good mental health. It’s so crazy to me to realize how much our thoughts and mindset towards our situations change how we look at things. If we have a positive attitude and see each day as something to be grateful for, we are inclined to look for the good in every moment and find more things to be happy about. If we instead wake up every day bracing for the worst and finding negatives about every little thing, our days will always be sad and upsetting. Our thoughts have so much power over how we experience life. By changing our thoughts and choosing to have a positive outlook on life, we are literally changing our reality. We are choosing to find the good in every situation and be grateful for our lives, instead of focusing on the negatives. How cool is that?!?

2021 goals + intentions

1 / 15 / 21

I absolutely love goal setting and setting new intentions, wether it be for a new year, week, or even just intentions for the day. It’s not that I always follow through with my resolutions or change my life every time I try a new habit, but there is something so motivating about sitting down and brainstorming new goals. I know this is a little late, seeing as we’re already 15 days into January, but it’s honestly been good for me to revisit my goals that I made a couple of weeks ago and check in on my progress. This is something I need to get better at: keeping myself accountable for my goals and reminding myself of my goals throughout the year, not just in January. Maybe this will serve as a little reminder to check in on your goals too!

november goals + plans

11 / 3 / 20

I seriously can’t believe it’s November. October flew by, and I only have 17 more days left of school until I go home for the semester! I love fall and definitely got excited about the cooler weather and pumpkins, but when November hits I feel like my brain switches to Christmas mode. I already have been playing my Christmas playlist and working on my wishlist… too early? Haha, it puts me in a good mood, so no judgement here. I’m really looking forward to November and getting really motivated about achieving some of my goals. I feel like I’ve kind of gotten off my routine recently: not eating the best or working out as much, too much time on my phone, and rushing through my devotions instead of really being intentional with my time. Today I’m sharing some of my November goals and things I’m looking forward to for this month!

fall 2020 bucket list

10 / 18 / 20

Guys, it’s actually feeling like fall for once! Last year, I feel like fall was maybe 2 weeks long, then it went straight to winter, which is my least favorite season. I love when the weather is mid 60s and 70s, where it’s pleasant to be outside but not so hot that you’re sweating just walking to class. The weather has still been a little up and down, where it’s super cold in the morning but then hot by lunch, but I’ll take it over winter any day! I love fall and all the coziness that comes with it. The weather is great, the foliage and colors outside are beautiful, and there are so many fun activities just specific to autumn; it’s the best. Even though I know I won’t get everything on this list done, it’s been so fun to brainstorm ideas and get in the fun fall mood. I typed it out on my computer for this post, but I actually wrote these all out in my bullet journal one afternoon in fun colors and did fall doodles on the side, honestly therapeutic!

recent nail inspo

10 / 13 / 20

I used to never really care much about my nails, I never had them painted, because I had SUCH a bad habit of always biting my nails. I always wished I could do my nails in fun colors of try different designs on them, but I literally couldn’t keep my nails long. I remember back in high school, my nails would be literally bitten down into the nail bed to where I couldn’t even pick certain things up or open certain containers. I don’t know if it was due to the fact that I really started being conscious of putting my fingers in my mouth because of corona, or I just finally grew out of it, but I barely bite my nails anymore, which is such a big accomplish for me, haha. I’ve been painting my nails way more often and it’s been so fun to experiment with different colors! One thing I’ve never been able to do for myself is nail art and fun designs. I know a few people who are really good at it, and it’s such a talent. I always pin ideas on Pinterest of fun designs and I really hope I can actually try one soon! Todays’ post is a little roundup of all my recent nail inspo, enjoy!

giving up control + depending on God

9 / 8 / 209 / 8 / 20

If I can sum up what the Lord has been teaching me over this past year in one word, it would be dependency. It’s easy to say that as Christians we are dependent on God, but I never really knew what that looked like until the past few months. Going into my freshman year, I had no idea what to expect, and I was filled with big expectations and a filtered view of what I thought college would be. I guess I only focused on the good things that people told me about college and glazed over the difficult things: mountains of homework, roommate situations, friendship struggles, homesickness, and just adjusting to a totally new life away from home.

summer 2020 bucket list

6 / 15 / 20

It’s officially my favorite season and the best time of year- happy summer! I know it’s already halfway through June, but I wanted to share a little summer bucket list I put together a couple of weeks ago. I love making a bucket list every year to give me ideas of stuff to do so I’m not just sitting around my house all day. Of course, I never actually get everything on my list done, but it’s fun to brainstorm ideas and try to have a carefree summer! This summer is definitely different than ones in the past, with corona and all the craziness going on. My original summer plans got canceled, so I’ve been spending most days working at a local boutique or reading at the pool. I do have a few fun trips sprinkled throughout the summer tho, and I’m really looking forward to making the most of it!

Focusing My Heart on Advent

12 / 5 / 19

It’s officially my favorite time of year- the holiday season. Christmas has always been my favorite season, and there’s just something about December that makes me feel so much happier and in such a good mood. Christmas trees are everywhere, jolly music is blasting through the car speakers, and gifts are perfectly wrapped with a bow. But even though there are so many great material things that go along with Christmas, it can be hard for me to keep in mind the real reason for the season- Jesus’s birth. I say it every year- I really want to focus on the Lord this year. But it’s so hard for me to stay consistent with my advent readings and focusing on my relationship with Jesus. So far this December, I’ve been trying to really focus my heart and stay calm this advent season.

Link Roundup

11 / 30 / 19

Hello from my comfy living room couch! I am finally out for Thanksgiving Break and being home makes me so happy. I ran some errands with my mom, went to the bookstore with my brother, went for a run, then the whole fam set up our Christmas tree and ate soup for dinner. Now we’re all watching Elf together- so happy! Over the past few months, I’ve collected a bunch of random websites, blog posts, and other links that I wanted to share. These are in no particular order, but enjoy!

Summer Bucket List

5 / 15 / 1911 / 19 / 19

It’s officially summer! I just took my last AP exam- ever- on Monday and I’m out for break! Three months of no school and sunny weather, I’m so excited. I have such a fun summer planned with a few trips at the beginning of June, but other than that, I’ll be working a lot and spending lots of time in Oxford. I really want to make the most of my last summer before college and do as many fun things as possible. I feel like last year I really took summer for granted and wasted so much time inside or on my phone, and I’m not making the same mistake this time! I browsed Pinterest and came up with a big list of everything I want to do this summer- let’s see how many I can check off!

the good life.

3 / 21 / 193 / 20 / 19

I wrote this in the notes app on my phone on the plane home from Italy. It’s really ramble-y and personal and kind of all over the place, but it’s one of my favorite things I’ve written. Italy was such an eye opening experience. I learned so much and really grew in my faith over the week, but it wasn’t all sunshine and happy times. Italy was an experience I’ll never forget, and it made me appreciate the little things in life. Enjoy.

Autumn Obsessing

8 / 30 / 189 / 9 / 18

Recently, I can’t stop thinking about fall and all the fun things the season brings. It’s bad how excited I am, and this 95 degree weather we’re having isn’t making it seem like autumn is coming any time soon. A few days ago I started looking at old pictures and videos from last fall. All the leaves on the ground, fall candles, baking cookies and pies, pumpkin picking, I can’t freaking wait. Of course it didn’t help that I spent about 30 minutes on Pinterest one night looking at cute fall pictures and bucket list ideas. Even though we have a while to go before fall really hits, I’m already thinking of fun ideas for autumn.