august themes + intentions

8 / 2 / 21

Hi!!! It’s been a minute. I’ve had such a busy summer and had so many fun things going on, but I’ve definitely neglected my blog for the past few months. I finished with my sophomore year of college at the end of April, then went on a little beach trip with my family and worked for a couple of weeks in May. Then, in the middle of May, I started my summer job at a local camp, which was a new experience for me! It was really hard at first but I ended up loving it. I was a counselor for a range of ages throughout the summer, but my favorite were the 16/17 year old girls. Then, last week, my sister and I went on a mission trip with our church to El Ocote, Honduras! I’ve been twice already, but I haven’t been in three years, and it was so cool to go back and see the people of the village again. Now that we’re back home, I have less than two weeks before I move back to college, and I’m starting to get back into a routine and productive mindset.

march goals + intentions

3 / 2 / 21

You guys, I’m so happy that it’s March! I definitely wouldn’t call March one of my favorite months by any means, but it is a glimmer of hope after a long, cold winter. I absolutely hate the cold and the gloom of the winter, and it really gets me down sometimes. March to me is a transition month into warmer weather, springtime, sunshine, and new growth, so I’m very excited! I don’t know if this happens to other people, but I feel like I get so motivated at the beginning of January, then get overwhelmed with stresses of school and the gloomy weather and kind of fall off track. I always love a start of a new month to set new goals and new intentions, but especially when it’s also about to be the start of a new season! Last week it was suchhhhh good weather. It got up to 80 degrees on Sunday, and it makes me so excited for it to be warm full time. I’ve been brainstorming new creative ideas, trying to start new habits and hold myself to them, and stay focused with my health goals. I just really want to use this month to work on myself and get in a good routine with my life!

my recent iced coffee recipe

2 / 6 / 21

A year ago today, I never would have thought of writing this post. I used to never drink coffee, I hated the taste and never grew up drinking it. While I still am not obsessed with it, I’ve gotten more into coffee over the past few months and have been experimenting with different combos! I only drink it a couple times a week, if I’m especially tired or have a busy day ahead. I’m not huge on the taste, and definitely couldn’t drink it black, but I’m making progress at least, haha. Back in Christmas break, I was drinking it with a sugar free vanilla creamer and one of those sugar free vanilla syrups. It was definitely delicious, but it masked the coffee taste completely and just had a bunch of fake sweeteners and additives. I’ve slowly been trying to wean myself off of the different syrups and flavorings and try more natural ingredients. I find that my stomach feels much better and I’m actually starting to get used to the taste!

january recap + favorites

1 / 28 / 21

Does anyone else love reading people’s current favorites and things they’ve been loving recently? Whether it’s watching someone’s insta story about their recent favorite books or talking with a friend about what show they’ve been watching, I love getting recommendations and learning about new products. My sister and I actually just planned out a podcast episode going into detail about lots of our recent favorites, and it inspired me to do a blog post about it as well. If you didn’t know, I have a podcast, Seasons Podcast, and I’ve been getting so inspired recently and just posted a new episode! Be on the lookout for the next episode with my sister, but for now, enjoy all my January faves!

my recent college morning routine

1 / 22 / 21

I’m definitely a person that thrives off of being in consistent routines. I like to relax and be spontaneous at times, but I always love settling back into my routine and feeling at least a tiny bit more in control of my life. Over the past year or so, I’ve really tried to establish good routines in my life and experiment with what makes me feel best! My morning routine is one of the most calming parts of my day. It changes all the time, depending on if I’m at home vs. school, how much time I have to get ready, summer vs. winter, and things like that, but having at least some structure to my morning makes such a difference. I find that I start my day on a positive foot, I’m calmer, and feel more productive simply by making the time to follow a morning routine.

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!

2020 recap + goal update

1 / 8 / 21

I think 2020 was the fastest year of my life. It’s so crazy how fast time flew by. I can remember being a kid and having some certain date to look forward to, like a trip or a birthday, and thinking it took FOREVER for even a couple of weeks to drag by. But now, I look back on 2020 and can’t believe that an entire year has passed by. It’s weird, it feels like 2020 was like three different years in one, but it still went by at double speed. This year was filled with so many ups and downs, and so much change and uncertainty due to the virus, but I feel like I grew so much and experienced so many new things! It’s always fun to look back at the year, because I forget so many little things I did back at the beginning of 2020. I also wanted to reflect on my goals from this past year and whether or not I accomplished them!

current favorite podcasts

12 / 17 / 2012 / 17 / 20

I’ve been listening to podcasts for a few years now, but this past year I’ve been super into them and I’ve found so many new ones. I love having them on in the background when I’m cleaning or doing chores, driving, or on my runs! I knew I had listened to a bunch of podcasts this year, but I didn’t realize how many I was actually listening to until I got my 2020 Spotify Wrapped. I had listened to over 27,000 minutes of podcasts alone… over 450 hours of podcasts, oh my gosh. I have a few favorites that I listen to every time they come out, and then a few that I listen to at random times, so I thought today I would do a little wrap up of all my favorites!

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!

reviewing every book I read this summer (all 29!)

9 / 13 / 2012 / 16 / 21

I’ve always loved reading, but this year I rekindled my love of books and I’ve had so much extra time for it. I’m honestly so sad that I’m so busy with school right now because I barely have time to read and I miss it so much. This summer, I was on a reading kick. I seriously read so much. If you remember my last book post, I mentioned that I was getting into mysteries and thrillers, and I dove headfirst into this genre over the summer. I also read some cute rom-com style books, a few faith related books, and also got into dystopian books! I’ve read 49 books so far this year, and here’s what I read this summer!

fall 2020 playlist

9 / 10 / 20

Summer is definitely my favorite season, but fall is a close second. I just love the coziness and happiness of pumpkin carving, leaves changing, holidays, just all the autumn vibes. It’s definitely not fall here yet, the high is literally 93 today, but it’s been a little cooler in the mornings and the Halloween candy is out at Kroger, so I’m officially in the fall mood. I make a fall playlist almost every year, and this one is a mix of so many different songs. I feel like last year’s was full of more slow, sad songs, and this one is a little more upbeat. It’s a mix of more alternative artists, like Lumineers or Mumford and Sons, older music like Tiny Dancer, and then some newer songs from more pop artists. I love putting this on when I’m driving around town or in the background as I’m doing homework or cleaning around the house!

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.