Currently Vol. 7

Happy Friday! Today I'm sharing some of my favorite things at the moment - everything I've been loving, wanting, wearing, eating... you get the idea. Enjoy!

Reading... I got Opening Belle and The Curated Closet at the library, and I recommend both!

Watching... the new episodes of Grey's Anatomy! I feel like the show has kind of jumped the shark, but I can't not watch it, you know?

Listening... to The Greatest Showman soundtrack! I finally saw the movie last week, and OHMYGOSHITSSOGOOD. I've had the soundtrack on repeat lately (I'm actually listening to it right now!) My favorite songs are Come Alive and This Is Me - what are yours?

Wanting... nothing specific. I'm over winter clothes, but stores really haven't released spring clothing yet. I'm looking for a few new swimsuits for summer, but it must be too early, because I haven't found anything cute yet.

Wearing... my sherpa pullover has become a go-to in my closet - it's so cozy and warm! I wear it way more than I should haha, but it's just perfect for chilly days!

Eating... when my grandparents came for Christmas, they brought me 3 giant bags of peanut butter M&M's (my favorite), so I've been snacking on those. This might sound weird, but they're really good if you put them in a bowl of Boom Chicka Pop - the sweet + salty combo is so good! I also made these peanut butter truffles earlier this week, and they were amazing and fairly simple.

Buying... these shoes, this sports bra, and this teddy bear coat!

Have a great weekend!

My Favorite Amazon Finds

Let me tell you a little story about my relationship with Amazon...

I've never been a big fan of the company. Sure, they have pretty much everything, but I've always thought their website was somewhat frustrating, with the third-party sellers and all.

And then. I got a free trial of Amazon Prime. And my life was changed. Throughout December, I just kept buying things from Amazon - Christmas gifts, things I needed for school, random stuff I wanted... the list goes on. Now, I'm officially a huge fan of Amazon! Today I'm sharing some of my favorite finds from the website - most of these are pretty random, but I hope you enjoy!

Bluetooth Beanie // MacBook Case // Shower Speaker // Corkcicle Tumbler // Tile // Bundt Pan // Drop Stop // Laptop Sleeve // Classic Style // Brownie Pan // Letter Board // Game of Phones

Most of these items revolve around gifts that I gave or received for Christmas. I gave my mom two of these mini bundt pans, this Tile tracker, and this "Drop Stop" that prevents things from falling between your car seats. I also gave a Corkcicle coffee tumbler to my grandma - my whole family loves them. My dad gave me this shower speaker, this card game called Game of Phones (so fun!), and this MacBook case (I also bought a marble sleeve to go with it!).

A few other things are on my wishlist - this gorgeous pink letter board, this punny brownie pan, this bluetooth beanie that plays music (!!!), and this Classic Style coffee table book.

Okay, I know I featured a lot of products, but have I convinced you yet? Amazon is pretty amazing.

What are your favorite products to buy on Amazon? Let me know by leaving a comment below!

Life Lately Vol. 33

Well, friends... it's been a bit.

This post was supposed to go up last week, but in all honesty, I didn't have that much content for it so I decided to wait another week so I could add to it.

My family and I always have a pretty laidback New Year's, and this year was no exception. It was freezing cold outside, so we bundled up by the fire to eat dinner and watch the ball drop (except I braved the cold to take some confetti pictures, haha!). My dad grilled paella, and it was so good!

During winter break, my family and I tried a new restaurant that's one of my new favorites! I wasn't impressed with my chicken tacos whatsoever, but my dad's crab crepe enchiladas were to die for. If you live in the DFW area, stop by Lava Cantina - it's so good!

Last Monday, my family and I went to brunch at Breadwinners. I had been wanting to try the restaurant for a while, and I enjoyed it! It wasn't one of my favorites, but my banana bread french toast (a new obsession of mine) was delicious! I also took some outfit pictures in my new coat - see more of those pictures here!

A few other notable things that have happened...

- My school soccer season has started, and while we've had a few games cancelled due to cold weather, it's been a great season so far!

- My second semester of freshman year is underway and I'm already swamped with homework... what else is new??

- It's been so cold in Dallas but somehow we've managed to dodge all of the snow that the rest of the country has gotten :(

- I saw The Last Jedi and Pitch Perfect 3 recently, both of which were really good! (everyone is hating on TLJ, but I actually thought it was so well done and one of my favorite Star Wars movies! What are your thoughts?)

- My dad got a waffle iron and instant pot for Christmas, so we've been experimenting with new recipes for both of those. If you have any favorite recipes, leave them in a comment below!

- I've done a lot of shopping (what else is new??) and picked up this shirt recently.

What's been going on in your life lately? Leave a comment letting me know!

Teddy Bear Coat

When I stumbled upon this coat while shopping, I initially wasn't sure if I liked it or not. It's definitely trendier than the clothing I typically gravitate to, but when I tried it on, I fell in love. Not gonna lie, I felt kind of silly in it, but I convinced myself that I needed it since I didn't actually own a coat, it was so warm, it was reversible, and it reminded me of something Kenzie Elizabeth would wear (and don't we all want to be her??)

Teddy bear, sherpa, wubby, shearling... whatever you call it, there's no denying that it's one of the most popular trends of the season! Today I'm sharing how I style mine - enjoy!

Sweater // Coat (almost sold out, similar here) // Jeans // Boots (similar) // Beanie // Necklace

I wore this outfit out to brunch with my family yesterday. We went to Breadwinners, and my banana bread french toast was delicious! I thought it was going to be really cold, but it ended up being around 60, and here I was wearing a coat and sweater... whoops.

I wanted the coat to be the main focal point; so I kept my outfit fairly simple: a sweater, necklace, jeans, and boots. I also added my favorite accessory at the moment: a white pom-pom beanie! I actually bought it on Amazon, and it's so cozy and warm!

I've linked a bunch of similar coats in the widget below - happy shopping!

Have you tried the teddy bear trend yet? What are your thoughts?

My 2018 Mantra | Count It All Joy

A few weeks ago when reading the Bible, I stumbled upon a phrase that really resonated with me. I knew instantly that I wanted it to be my mantra for 2018; it was the perfect mantra to live my life by and summed up how I wanted 2018 to be.

via

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. ~ James 1:2-3

While I love this whole verse, the part that I kept repeating over and over in my head was count it all joy. I want to live a life full of joy and jubilance, no matter the circumstances.

This year, I want to find the joy in all situations, big or small, good or bad. I want to live in the moment and find the joy in each and every day, because I know that a few years from now I'll look back on 2018 and miss it. I want to enjoy my time in high school, my time playing soccer, my time with my friends and family, my time going places, because one day it will all be over and these moments will have turned into distant memories. Even though I may dread waking up early for soccer each morning or spending long nights doing notes for AP Human, I want to find the good in those situations and focus on being positive.

I want to live a life full of joy, of spontaneity, of happiness. Even through all the trials and tribulations I will face this year, I want to find the joy in the moment and make each day one to remember.

What is your mantra for 2018? Let me know in a comment below!

Link Love Vol. 32

Welcome to the first Link Love of 2018! I hope you've had an amazing first week of the new year (and, if you're back at school/work, I hope your first week back wasn't too rough.). Today I'm sharing some of my favorite links that have been floating around the web recently - enjoy!

1 // Eight little phrases you really need to stop saying this year

2 // Here's exactly how long it would take you to binge-watch your favorite TV show

3 // I'm (possibly) headed to Maui this summer and I fell in love with the photography in this travel guide

4 // I thought that the best celebrity social media fails of 2017 were pretty funny, tbh

5 // I had my first acai bowl the other day and fell in love, so I really want to make some more this year! Alexa has some great ideas for all sorts of toppings you can put on your smoothie bowls.

6 // I loved hearing all about Brighton's best purchases of 2017.

7 // Gabby's travel bucket list has me feeling all sorts of wanderlust vibes! (Also, I think this is such a fun blog post idea, so let me know if you want me to do one!)

8 // I always love Aspyn's travel vlogs/photos so I enjoyed scrolling through her 2017 recap.

9 // Meg's two happiness habits to implement in the new year are so sweet and thoughtful!

10 // Dani's 2017 reflection was so inspirational!

11 // You can never go wrong with some good NYC brunch, and Ashley's brunch snapshots from her trip have me drooling!

I currently have some peanut butter bread in the oven, so I'm going to wrap this post up now and go check on it. :) Have a great weekend!

2017 Snapshots

2017 was such an amazing year, so I thought today I would reflect back on it and share some of my favorite snapshots and memories of the year. Enjoy!

My word for 2017... determined!

My sweet bunny turned O-N-E on Valentine's Day!

I spent Spring Break in Park City with my dad and sister!

Skiing at Deer Valley in Park City - my favorite ski trip yet!

Happy Easter!

Celebrating Sarah's birthday with popsicles!

Mother's Day in Lilly

My little sister graduated preschool!

Saying goodbye to middle school at my 8th grade banquet

My best friends and I kicked off summer by shopping until we dropped!

My most liked Instagram of the year

Celebrating Father's Day with an amazing brunch

I spent a long weekend at the most beautiful resort ever and took some gorgeous pictures!

My family and I spent a week in Austin where I got to visit UT and a bunch of other cool Austin spots!

On top of Austin at Graffiti Park!

Probably the best picture I took this year

I got to go to Chicago and watch my favorite soccer team, Real Madrid, play live.

Without a doubt, my favorite picture of the year... on top of Chicago!

Celebrating my 15th birthday with a dinner at my favorite restaurant...

... and brunch with my friends the next day!

I got a Bible for my birthday, which really helped me grow my faith and become closer to God.

I joined YoungLife!

I toured SMU in October!

My sister and I visited the state fair!

As much as I hate football, I went to my school's rivalry game and had tons of fun!

I participated in my school's color run to support human trafficking victims

Celebrating Ashley's birthday with cupcakes!

I toured TCU over Thanksgiving Break!

For Thanksgiving, my sisters and I each made our own pies!

I held a Christmas cookie exchange filled with sweet treats, great friends, and cute pictures

Another cookie exchange picture :)

I got a MacBook for Christmas!!

Here's to an amazing 2017 and an even better 2018!

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