Dear 2016

You were a really tough one. You put a lot of really difficult situations in my path, and you were filled with hard recognitions of who should have really meant the most to me, but you also gave me so many opportunities. I had the chance to meet new people, make new friends, begin to truly learn how important it is to look after myself. You drew me closer to my family, and my faith, and you made me appreciate the good times so much more.  You helped me strive to chase my dreams, and you sparked immense amounts of inspiration in my heart. You helped me understand how a simple face to face conversation could turn your week around, and you helped me grasp a better concept of what true joy means. 2016, you taught me a lot dear friend, but 2017...I cannot express how thankful I am that you're here. In honor of the new year, I decided the best way to kick it off is by choosing my word. 

Since I was in junior high, I had the opportunity to participate in our local churches girl’s bible study, and when every New Year rolls around, we each get to choose our “word”. This concept to me seemed so simple at the time, but after my 5^th year of choosing my word has rolled around, I began to truly understand the importance of this tradition. I suppose I should explain what “choosing your word” really means…

Each year, instead of setting a New Year’s resolution, we each chose one word-any word, that would represent what we want to do in the oncoming year. Whether its something as general as “grow”, or something more specific such as “happy”, it can be whatever you want to accomplish that year. This year I decided that I wanted to a word that represented several goals of mine. In the year 2017, I will have to not only make a decision on what my future job will be, but I will also have to applying for endless amounts of scholarships. Not only do I want to complete that, but I also want to put 10x more effort into my photography than I did this year. I want to work for the things I want, so that was when I decided my word for 2017 would be…

Pursue.

I WILL pursue photography.

I WILL pursue my future.

I WILL pursue my goals.

I WILL pursue the best memories.

I WILL pursue happiness.

I WILL pursue to be a more devoted Christian.

I WILL pursue self-love.

I WILL pursue MY 2017.

Easy Christmas Gift Ideas

The lights are twinkling, the hot cocoa is steaming, and the soft sounds of Christmas music are coming from the radio, and once again you aren’t taking any of it in, because if you are anything like me, the holiday season can seem horribly stressful. The pressure is on to not only get gifts that people will love, but to somehow find time to buy the perfect gift for EVERYONE. Over the years I have had my fair share of “white-elephant_ gift exchanges, but there always comes a time when you have to actually buy a REAL gift. YIKES.

This year (after stressing out for several weeks) I came to the conclusion that I should only give gifts that I would want to receive. Whether it’s something simple, or something personal to specific person. After searching Pinterest for hours, I realized that maybe I should put up my own ideas for quick and easy Christmas gifts, so that you won’t have to stress out nearly as much as I did!

My first gift idea is to buy something SEASONAL from Bath and Body Works. All of their Christmas smells are AMAZING, and I have yet to find one that I haven’t loved. They have great deals around Christmas time, so it is also very inexpensive! This year I decided to get some of their smaller products, and to distribute them as “bits and pieces” of all of my friend’s gifts!

My second gift idea is something so easy, but so meaningful as well. I bought this mug at Michael’s for $5, and simply cut out small pieces of paper and wrote either memories, or things I loved about my friend, and filled the mug with the slips of paper! These are some of my favorite presents to receive at Christmas time, because I know how much thought they put into the gift, and it’s also so fun to think back on fun memories that you had together!

My third gift idea was to put together a “Christmas Cheer Box” for one of your friends. The JOY box is also from Michael’s ($10), and on the inside of the box I filled it with things that would work as not only Christmas décor, but also a few things they could use year around! Inside this box I put the “Memory Mug”, an adorable ornament (Michael’s-$5) and a picture frame. ($5) I was also able to find a bag of cheap ornaments, and filled the inside of the box with it! Overall, the gift was around $30, but I think it was well worth it, and turned out super cute! Some other “filler” ideas are wire twinkle lights, hot chocolate, fuzzy socks, or even some jewelry!

I hope these few ideas helped you get inspiration for your Christmas gifts this year, but just remember anything that you give this season is more than enough, it’s all in the effort that you put into it! I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season, and I hope you all are enjoying the cold weather! ❄️

My Collection: Cozy Autumn/Winter Sweaters

IT’S FINALLY THAT TIME OF YEAR, I CAN FINALLY WEAR SWEATERS WITHOUT BEING UNCOMFORTABLY HOT WHEN I WALK OUTSIDE!!! WOO-HOO!

All joking set aside, it really is my favorite feeling-slipping on an incredibly warm sweater that just seems to form to your body the moment you put it on, and getting to walk out into the late autumn weather and not be bothered by the chilled breeze.

Over the years I have developed quite the collection of sweaters, and I honestly don’t think I could have fit them all into a picture, so I picked out my 5 favorite sweaters, that I got for all VERY reasonable prices! Each of these varies in thickness/length, but all of them are very warm, and all work very well with jeans!

The first sweater I got from Old Navy, and are you ready for this…I got it for $0.97! As you can tell from the tag, it is VERY big on me, but is incredibly cozy, and looks very “trendy” when it’s pared with some ripped jeans and some ankle boots!

The second sweater I believe I also got from Target…but don’t quote me on that. It was in the $17-$25 range, but it hands down the warmest sweater EVER. I love how soft this sweater is, but I also love how easy it is to dress up. This sweater also has a V-neck that is a very comfortable amount, and also makes this sweater look great with necklaces!

The third sweater I got from Kohl’s and it was $7.00! This sweater is much longer than the rest of them, but is a great length if you are a bit taller like me! I love this sweater pared with a scarf, but it’s very versatile!

This fourth sweater is also from Kohl’s, and is what I call my Confetti Cake sweater, and it was around $25. It is also a VERY warm sweater, and is so soft! I love this sweater, and it has actually lasted the longest out of all of these sweaters!

The fifth sweater is actually from Walmart! (Go figure?!)  This sweater was $10, and is such a pretty color! I love how soft this is, but the only downside to buying a cheap sweater, is that it shrinks VERY easily!

Loving all of these sweaters, and how great of a deal they all were, and *fingers crossed* that I will get to wear them in the SNOW this winter! J

Sister Sister

I am so blessed to have sisters, and sometimes I have to remind myself of that. It’s something that’s hard to explain, unless you have sisters as well, that there is a sense of connection between sisters that is like nothing else. You are able to drive each other to the point of insanity, but you wouldn’t have it any other way. You know each other’s favorite candy, and you know exactly what song they want to play when you hop into the car together. You have “sister secrets” together that make you giggle at the slightest mention of them. You know what pet peeve annoys them the most, and you know how to make them laugh when they need it the most. You know the way to make them stop crying before mom finds out, and you know which item you will have to bribe them with to not tell dad about that one time you used his toothbrush as a toilet cleaner.  •___•

I will always have those sweet memories of playing outside for hours, pretending to be magical creatures, and playing with dirt covered plastic lizards. I will always think of us when I see the movies The Land Before Time or Stuart Little. I will always laugh when I see someone dressed up like a ghost for Halloween, and I will never be able to listen to a Disney song without thinking of our jam sessions on the way to school. Anytime I see a fishing pole, I will always think of our summer days spent with Papa at Hal's pond, and watching as one of you threw your pole into the pond in attempt to cast your line.  :)  Honestly, this list could go on forever!

Sisters are such a blessing, and I honestly believe that my sisters are the absolute best. We all have great relationships with each other, and the amount of memories we have together can’t be counted. Thank you both for being some of the most influential people in my life, I look up to both of you (even if one of you is younger) and I can’t thank you enough for being the amazing support system that you are.

Thanks for being my best friends, I love you both.

Autumnal Indie Tunes

Brisk air blowing through you hair, watching leaves swirl through the breeze- away from their trees, and a soothing beat coming from you headphones. This is one of my favorite parts of autumn. Being able to go back and listen to a playlist I created during this season, and being immediately taken back to a memory at the strike of a chord. Below is a list of all of my favorite indie tunes for autumn. Each song reminds me of a certain time throughout autumn, whether it was last week, or years ago. Music is pretty cool, but these songs are extra special.

• Here with Me: Susie Suh, Robot Koch
• Speak Easy: Mansionair
• Rules of Beautiful: Jacob Whitesides
• When it Comes To Us: Frances, RITUAL
• Sick of Losing Soulmates: dodie
• The Climb, the Fall: Luke Thompson
• Guillotine: Jon Bellion, Travis Mendes
• High By The Beach: Lana Del Ray
• Waiting (PAL Remix): Alice Boman, PAL
• Pushing Away: Kevin Garrett
• Falling Short: Låpsley
• Great American Novel: Max Jury
• Wishes: RHODES
• Safe Dream: Tep No, Heather Janssen
• ILYSB: LANY
• Alaska: Maggie Rogers
• Blue: Troye Sivan ft. Alex Hope
• Let it all Go: Birdy
• Tiger Striped Sky: Roo Panes
• Rivers: The Tallest Man on Earth
• Little Lover: BROADHURST
• Natalie: Milk & Bone
• Flacons: Amanda Bergman
• Everything I am in Yours: Villagers
• Dazzle: Oh Wonder

Also, as a little extra tid-bit, here is a link to one of my favorite autumn playlists that Spotify has to offer. A lot of the songs that I talked about in my list are featured on this playlist, it’s pretty stellar.

https://open.spotify.com/user/spotify/playlist/2gtr2Tf686zXqjQNiYNPQW