It's officially official! I completed my reading challenge for 2019! I met my goal of 10 books for the year with four months to spare. Remember when I said I chose 10 because I didn't want to feel too much pressure to achieve a goal that was supposed to be fun? Well it WAS  fun! I spent more of my free time reading instead of scrolling through my phone or watching TV. That amount may seem extremely small to avid readers, but I have truthfully never been big on reading leisurely. I'm very particular about the kind of books I like and I also prefer to write instead, so dedicating myself t ..read more

Summertime, and the livin' is easy! As we get closer to the 4th of July, you may have some vacations or beach days on the horizon. Whether it's trips to the family lake house or simply your backyard pool, you'll want your swimwear to make you excited about taking a dip and enjoying those summertime vibes! Just like shopping for jeans, shopping for swimsuits is HARD. And that's because our body types are all so different! I have curvy hips, a long torso and a tiny chest, so swimsuits for me are definitely NOT one size fits all. Luckily, we've seen a shift in swimwear trends over the last few ..read more

Photo by Hilltop Photo Co. You may have noticed I've been a little MIA in the blogosphere these days, and that's because I've been spending a good chunk of my weekdays and weekends house hunting. That's right-  ya girl is looking for her own place!  And although that's an exciting statement, the process itself is far less exciting. As a first time home buyer, I'm no expert by any stretch. But here's what I've learned about house hunting so far: IT'S NOT FUN.You would think buying your first or a new home would be fun, right? It's one of those exciting life milestones, but the fun part is lack ..read more

Remember that one time I thought I would get in a ton of reading on vacation and didn't end up reading at all? Because SAME. There were no new reads for the month of April because I was SO busy prepping for my trip, and the books I thought I would read for vacation took up residence in my bag the whole time. The  GOOD   news is I'm still ahead of schedule for my reading challenge, and I completed one book in a little over a week at the end of May. I'm BACK baby! Today on the blog, I'm sharing my review of my most recent read. THE UNHONEYMOONERS BY CHRISTINA LAUREN This booked popped up on m ..read more

It's been a whirlwind of a month, friends! But in the very best way! As you probably have already seen on my Instagram, I kicked off May with a trip back to Disneyland to celebrate my birthday! This year, I stayed for a whole week. Last year's two days just weren't long enough. Five whole days at the parks meant a lot more time to dedicate to activities, as well as a lot more time to relax and take it easy. Today on the blog, I'm journaling all about the trip- all the things I did and how I still managed to make a busy schedule feel like a vacation! For starters, I stayed at a different hote ..read more

Another year has come and gone... I'm officially 25! To celebrate, I'm pressing pause on the usual blog content to do my annual reflection. Here's 24 things from the year before I celebrate 25: 1 | I wasted no time and kicked off my 24th year with a trip to Nashville. My bestie Kristen brought me on the coolest adventure- she even guest blogged about it. Grateful to have opportunities to visit new places! 2 | Meeting Lea Michele. Having front row seats to watch her sing live. Sharing it all with my mama. Still not over it. A true highlight. 3 | Becoming a godmother to my beautiful niece. Seei ..read more

Only three days till I'm off to Disneyland! I'm ready for California sunshine and lots of fun! I've got packing on my mind and have already started a list. Last year, I wrote my packing list for Disneyland on the blog as well, but now that I have some experience under my belt, I have a few additions! I've *starred the items that are new to the list this year. Here's my UPDATED packing list for Disneyland: FESTIVE TEESEtsy has the CUTEST Disney shirts I have ever seen. Wearing a fun Disney tee and shorts is the easiest way to plan outfits for this trip; I've got a whole stack ready! Some of my ..read more

* The Monday Motivator is a series meant to motivate, encourage, inspire and provide advice on real life stuff.* Happy Monday! It's my final week before vacation, and with all the anticipation, I'm sure the workweek will go by slooooow.  But I'm keeping my head up because there is so much to look forward to! Because of my upcoming trip (I'm going back to Disneyland!),  I've decided to write this week's Monday Motivator on traveling solo. I wrote an entire post last year about the advice I have for traveling alone; find it here! But instead of advice, this post serves as a motivational tool for ..read more

I am not trying to jinx it, but I think it is safe to say that spring has officially arrived! The last snow we had in Illinois was (thankfully)  while I was out of town, and the weather has been in the 60s-80s ever since. Fingers crossed it stays that way! Warm weather means I can finally start putting together some spring outfits. Sandals and short sleeves- hallelujah! Keep in mind that for spring, temperatures vary throughout the day. Even though the high is supposed to be 70 degrees, the morning could be in the 50s and chillier. That's why I play around with layering. Layering sounds like ..read more

* The Monday Motivator is a series meant to motivate, encourage, inspire and provide advice on real life stuff.* Start by starting.  As a blogger, this is a phrase I hear A. LOT. From attending conferences and workshops, to hearing motivational speeches from top lady entrepreneurs or interviews on podcasts, start by starting  is advice that is shared often. And that's because you can't get what you want without starting. It's literally impossible to make your dreams come true if you don't start working toward them. It'd be awesome if we could simply snap our fingers and make things happen, bu ..read more