2019 Snapshots

one of my fave photos of the year

As we enter the last few days of the year (and the decade!!) I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite snapshots of 2019!

rang in the new year with my best friends

Eats Lately Vol. 4

HAPPY FRIDAY!! Today I have two finals, and then it's officially Christmas break! I am so excited to spend the next few days enjoying the Christmas season! It's crazy to me that Christmas is less than a week away; it feels like December was one big blur and I'm so sad that it's almost over.

Today I'm sharing a bunch of pictures of food I've eaten over the past few weeks... because this is the quality content y'all keep coming back for :))

Dinner at Ziziki's! This place has been on my list for the longest time, and oh my gosh, was it good. My mom and I split the Ziziki bread and a chicken pita, and both were amazing. The food tastes so fresh and flavorful! For dessert we split a slice of the baklava ice cream cake.

Holiday Gift Guide: The Best of Amazon (Last-Minute Gift Guide For Procrastinators)

If you're like me and you're a bit of a procrastinator when it comes to gift shopping, this blog post is for you :) Today I'm sharing a bunch of fun gifts that you can get on Amazon, and with 2-day shipping for Prime members, there's still plenty of time to get the perfect gift!

Corkcicle Coffee Mug // Pink Felt Letter Board // Striped Sweater // Burrito Blanket // Barrette Pack // Velvet Scrunchie Pack // Alexa Smart Plug // Mini Waffle Maker // Mildliner Highlighters // Skincare Fridge // Roll With It Key Chain // Guac Is Extra But So Am I Book

Currently Vol. 27

Happy Saturday! Getting this post up a day late because I've been crazy behind on everything I need to do... but better late than never!

Eating... so much good holiday food! We made gingerbread men the other night, and tonight we're going to make chocolate cookies with Ghiradelli peppermint chips!

Holiday Gift Guide: The Best of Target

Target is easily my go-to place when it comes to Christmas gift shopping. Between their Target Circle program (special discounts + 1% back on every purchase), amazing selection of brands, and 2-day shipping, what's not to love? They also have an amazing app where you can shop, find great deals, and so much more! Today I'm sharing a bunch of my favorite items that you can get at Target, because it's such a great place to get gifts because it's just so easy.

(This sounds like a giant advertisement but I swear I'm just really passionate about Target haha)

Mini Waffle Maker // Cozy Sweatpants // Delish Cookbook // Beauty Advent Calendar // Teddy Bear Coat // Catchphrase // Letter Board // Essential Oil Diffuser // Polaroid Bundle // Leopard Print Scarf // California Dreamin Mug // Cards Against Humanity

Which item is your favorite?

Life Lately Vol. 58

Happy Sunday! This post is going up a couple days late because my schedule has been crazy hectic lately and I've fallen behind on blog posts. Soccer season has started, which means I don't get home until 5:30 every day, and on top of that, I have semester exams coming up and I'm doing Vlogmas (daily vlogs every day until Christmas!!)

This picture was taken while exploring Waco! Over Thanksgiving break, my family went to Waco, TX to tour Baylor and go to Magnolia Market. It was such a fun trip--Waco is just two hours away from Dallas and I love taking trips down there!

Holiday Gift Guide: The Friends Addict

I am a huuuuge Friends fan, so this year I thought it would be fun to put together a gift guide for all of the other Friends addicts out there! Books, clothes, games, home decor... you name it, and I've got you covered!

Trivia Game // Quilted Blanket // Framed Prints // // Friends Sweatshirt // Cafe Print // Could I Be Any More Festive Sweatshirt // I'll Be There For You Book // I'll Be There For You Book (a different one) // Friends Forever Book // Friends Cookbook // The One With The Ball Game // Friends T-shirt // Wall Calendar // Mug Collection (comes in 9 different styles) // The One With All The Cards Game

The BEST Black Friday 2019 Sales You NEED To Shop

Happy Friday! I hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving full of laughter and great food! Today, in honor of Black Friday, I'm sharing some of the best deals I've found online. It's crazy to me how much Black Friday has changed in the past few years... I feel like deals have been going on all week long, especially online sales. I'm curious--do y'all even go Black Friday shopping anymore? I always wanted to do the traditional wake-up-at-5am-and-go-to-the-mall thing, but I never did. For the past two years, I've gone shopping at some more 'boutiquey' stores with my friends, but I feel like so much of the shopping is online now!

FRANCESCA'S // $20 tops, $30 sweaters, BOGO 70% off, 50% off boots & outerwear

Holiday Gift Guide: Gifts Under $20

Welcome to another holiday gift guide! I hope you guys are excited, because for the next few weeks I'm going to be cranking out gift guides like it's my job (because it is lol). Today I'm sharing a bunch of great gifts under $20, because honestly... you shouldn't have to spend a ton of money to find the perfect gift!

Mini Waffle Maker // Delish Cookbook // Polaroid Frame // Film Camera // Mildliner Highlighters // Barrette Pack // Letter Board // InstaStyle Book // Gray Lounge Pants // Black Leggings // World Traveler Calendar // Snowman Slippers

Holiday Gift Guide: The VSCO Girl

WELCOME TO THE FIRST HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE OF THE SEASON!!! I am so excited to start making gift guides, and I thought I would kick this series off with a topic that I thought was a) pretty funny and b) probably pretty helpful, since the VSCO girls have taken over the population at this point. If you don't know what a VSCO girl is... just click here.

Polaroid // Friendship Bracelets // Peppa Pig Sticker // Shell Choker // Mario Badescu Set // Jibbitz // California Dreamin T-shirt // Birkenstocks // Crocs // Hydroflask // Scrunchie Set // Fjallraven Kanken // Aloha T-shirt

// T-SHIRTS //

Every VSCO girl needs an abundance of oversized graphic tees! In my experience, Urban Outfitters & Shein have the best ones! Make sure you order the t-shirts in an XL so they can be big enough to cover her shorts.

Eats Lately Vol. 3

HAPPY FRIDAY & welcome back to another Eats Lately post! I love writing these because looking at all the good food I ate makes me so happy :)


A couple weeks ago, my friend Eleanor and I went to a TCU soccer game and we got dessert at Melt Ice Creams afterwards! Literally my favorite ice cream in all of Texas... I highly recommend the cookie crack :)

Currently Vol. 26

Happy Friday! Today I'm sharing another Currently post, where I share some things I've been loving lately. Grab a cup of coffee & enjoy!

Watching... This Is Us! Season 4 has been so good so far!

I Posted to My Instagram Story Every Day for a Month and Here's What I Learned

Something that most of y'all probably don't know about me is that I love stats + data. In 5th grade, when my soccer team was in the running for first place in our league, I would always check the website with our standings and analyze our goal differential, how many games we'd won compared to other teams, and our chances of winning the league. Everyone on my team would always ask me, How many points do we have now? What are our chances of winning?

Fast forward 6 years, and I still love analyzing data, especially when it pertains to social media. I find it so intriguing, especially considering how the Instagram algorithm is so mysterious. At the beginning of October, I decided to challenge myself to post to my Instagram story every day for a month. I honestly expected to see growth in my story views + impressions, but surprisingly, I didn't see a significant amount of growth numerically. I did, however, notice some distinct patterns based on what types of posts did well, so today I'm sharing everything that I learned during this past month!

Interaction Is Key. Whenever I posted a story with an interactive component, such as a poll or a Q&A sticker, it got significantly more views and impressions than my other stories. I think people love to interact with stories, making them more likely to click through and engage, which in turn lets the algorithm show the stories to more people because the stories are receiving more engagement.

Life Lately Vol. 57

Happy Friday! Today I'm sharing another Life Lately post, where I share a bunch of snapshots from my daily life + tell y'all what I've been up to. Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy!

This feels like forever ago, but a few weekends ago, we went to Dallas to get dinner and visit the Friends pop-up! There was a section in Klyde Warren Park with the iconic couch + coffee scene backdrop, so we went to snap some pictures.

A Trip To The Pumpkin Patch + The $12 Striped Top I'm Obsessed With

It just wouldn't be fall if I didn't go to the pumpkin patch and write a blog post about it! Going to the pumpkin patch is one of my favorite fall activities. My mom, sisters, and I went yesterday afternoon and it was so much fun!

Striped Mock Neck Top (currently on sale for $12!) // Black Belt // Ripped Boyfriend Jeans // Similar Star Booties // Aviator Sunglasses // Hoop Earrings c/o

What's In My Shopping Cart Vol. 4

Long time no blog post! I've been going through somewhat of a creative rut because I don't have any outfits to take pictures of right now. I have a couple fun ideas for photoshoots-- for example, I want to do a photoshoot at the pumpkin patch soon, but I don't have anything to wear, so I thought today I would share some of the items in my shopping cart in order to give y'all some fall fashion inspiration!

The Office T-shirt // Jeans // Pullover // Halloween T-Shirt // Cheetah Dress // Lounge Pants // Pasta T-shirt

Eats Lately Vol. 2

Happy Friday!! Today I'm sharing another Eats Lately post, where I share a bunch of pictures of all the amazing food I've had recently. Grab a cup of coffee and sit tight, because this post is a long one!! Between multiple birthday celebrations this month (including my own!), and several day trips into Dallas, I've had so much delicious food in the past month!

On Labor Day, we went to Fort Worth and got ice cream at the best ice cream place ever: Melt Ice Creams! They have the most amazing flavors + waffle cones (I recommend cookie crack). They also just opened a new location in Sundance Square - I need to head there ASAP!

Currently Vol. 25

Happy Friday! Not going to lie, this week has been kind of a rough one. We had Monday off for a teacher work day, which was nice, but it feels like all my teachers have been piling on work to compensate for the short week. I don't have any big projects or anything, but every little thing is just piling up. However, we've made it to Friday and I know it's going to be a great weekend! Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy!

Fall is upon us and I'm so happy about it

Wearing... my go-to outfit lately has been an oversized graphic t-shirt, ripped boyfriend jeans, and sneakers!

Fall Sweaters Under $50

As hard as it is for me to think about (still 90 degrees here in Texas), sweater weather is upon us (unless you live in the south haha). Today I am sharing a roundup of my favorite sweaters under $50! I am so excited for all things fall fashion... hopefully I can wear my sweaters soon, because nothing is better than wearing a cozy sweater, baking some cookies, and curling up by the fire.

Just kidding. I don't get to do that. This is Texas.

Which one is your favorite? I love the cheetah one and the gingham one!!

Life Lately Vol. 56

Happy Friday! Today I'm sharing another Life Lately post; grab a cup of coffee and enjoy!

It's crazy that we've been in school for a month now! It's definitely been a long, stressful month, but all things considered, it's been a pretty good one! This picture was taken on the first day of school (check out my first day of school vlog here).

In honor of making it through the first week of school, Eleanor & I went to go get brunch at Breadwinners! They have the best cake ever (highly recommend the mocha crunch cake).

On Labor Day, we went to the cutest coffee shop in Fort Worth - Dwell Coffee + Biscuits! They sell tons of warm, flaky biscuits - I got a biscuit with strawberry jam and a caramel latte. We did some shopping, and then stopped at Melt Ice Creams (the best ice cream EVER!). I got their cookie crack ice cream in a waffle cone!

Friday night lights are back!!! I'm definitely not a huge football fan but I went to our first home game and it was a lot of fun. I definitely want to try to go to the majority of our home games this year.

my face when the candle almost caught my hair on fire

A couple pics from my 17th birthday party!! I had a bunch of my friends come over to my house for fajitas and cake. It was so good to get to see everyone (a lot of my friends go to a different high school than me, so I don't get to see them that often).

similar t-shirt // jeans // espadrilles

And now a pic from my actual birthday! My birthday was on Monday, September 9, and it was such a good day. Check out my birthday vlog here!

Last weekend, my grandparents drove up from Houston to celebrate my grandma's birthday! We went shopping, went to dinner, and ate lots of cake! It was such a great weekend!

And now that brings me here... it's currently Friday morning as I finish this up and I'm excited about the weekend ahead of me! I have Monday off so it's going to be a great long weekend!

My Favorite Clothing Items of Summer 2019

Still stuck in summer mode for today's post! I thought it would be fun to share a roundup of my most-worn clothing items of the summer. Most of these items are on major sale right now, but you can still wear a lot of them throughout the fall (especially if you live somewhere warm, like me). Enjoy!

button-front tank top (on sale for $7) // featured here & here

This! Top! I bought it on a whim when I was looking for something to wear to the sunflower fields, and I ended up falling in love with it. It's on sale for $7, and it comes in three colors: white, peach, and green! I love it because you tie it in the back, so it's completely adjustable. I've worn it with white shorts, denim shorts, and flowy pants... basically anything and everything!

12 Things Vol. 16

Happy Friday! This post was supposed to go up last week but I was so busy that I honestly just forgot, but I'm back today with another 12 things post! Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy!

1. Football season is upon us! I'm definitely not a huge fan (or a fan at all) but I went to the first home game of the season last weekend and it was actually pretty fun (even though I left during the third quarter lol).

The BEST Birthday Freebies To Take Advantage Of In 2019

My mom is probably rolling her eyes as she reads this post, because this is probably the most characteristically "Brooke" post I could ever write. If you know me, you know that few things make me happier than getting coupons/discounts. I love scouring the Internet for coupons and deals, so of course I was going to take advantage of every single birthday gift I could!

Back in August, I began researching the best places to get birthday freebies (because most places require you to sign up a month in advance) and today I'm putting together a list of the best deals that came my way over the past couple weeks! My birthday was yesterday, and I spent the entire weekend celebrating! It has been such a fun past few days and I can't wait to recap them in a Life Lately post!

ULTA // Free makeup product for ULTAmate rewards members; varies by month (I got a NARS lipstick) + 2x points during your birthday month

Snuffer's // Free milkshake for rewards members

Sephora // Free gift for beauty insiders; varies by month (I got a Drunk Elephant skincare set)

Trend Alert: Tie Dye

I want to start doing more blog posts where I share current trends + my favorite clothing items that encompass each trend. I thought I would kick this series off by featuring something I've been seeing everywhere: tie dye! From sweatshirts to dresses to everything in between, tie die is everywhere and I am loving it!

Which item is your favorite? I love those dresses and smiley tees!!

Eats Lately Vol. 1

I always joke about how I should just turn my Life Lately posts into a food series because usually, 99% of the posts revolve around food. And honestly... I don't even put all the pictures of food into my Life Lately posts. I usually just pick a couple favorites so y'all don't get bored of food.

But... a couple weeks ago I had the great idea to make a new series where I literally just show a bunch of pictures of food. If you know me, you know I love food, so I thought this would be a great way to show you guys all of the restaurants I love + things I cook!

Ever since Ashley introduced me to Buon Giorno, I've been hooked. It is the cutest little coffee shop (and they have the best almond croissants!) I've gotten their iced coffee every time I've gone since it's been so hot outside, but in this picture I went with my mom and she got their latte, which looked amazing.

Summer 2019 Book Roundup: A Review of Every Book I Read

One of my favorite things about summer is that there's no school, so you have plenty of time to do activities that you don't have time to do in the school year. I love to read, but I rarely have time in the school year. I read quite a few books this summer, so today I'm sharing a review of each book I read!

By Invitation Only // This book focuses on a young couple that is getting married, and each chapter alternates between the husband's mother and the wife's mother. Each mother has a very different life: one is a wealthy socialite, and the other has lived on a simple farm for her whole life. The mothers disagree on practically everything, but as the book progresses they begin to come together. I just made this book sound really cheesy and cliche, but I swear it's actually really good.

Rating: 5/5 stars

Currently Vol. 24

1 week of school is officially down! It's been a pretty stressful adjustment going from summer to taking 7 AP classes but I feel like it's going to be a great year! I have a lot of great people in my classes and it's been a pretty good week.

from the first day of school!!

Reading... Girl, Stop Apologizing & The Summer That Made Us. I'm going to do a blog post next week on all the books I read this summer, so stay tuned!

Summer 2019 Snapshots

As I sit here and write this on the Saturday night before I start school, it's crazy to me that summer is already over. These past three months have been such a blur and I am so sad that summer is coming to an end. However, as they say... don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened. Today I'm sharing some of my favorite pictures + memories from what I might consider to be the best summer yet.

started summer off with a trip to shake shack aka my fave place

Life Lately Vol. 55

School starts on Monday and that is absolutely crazy to me. I've been trying my hardest to soak in these last few days of summer before I'm piled with homework and the weather starts to cool down. It still feels unreal to me that summer has already come and gone, but it makes sense that it went by so fast when I look back at everything I did. They say time flies when you're having fun, and I feel like that was definitely the theme of this summer.


In my last life lately post, I was about to hop on a plane to Florida! It is crazy to me that this trip was over a month ago. My dad, sister, and I spent a few days in Orlando - we went to Magic Kingdom & Epcot - then a couple days in Clearwater. See my post all about it here!

What's In My Shopping Cart Vol. 3

Welcome to another edition of What's In My Shopping Cart! Back To School season is upon us, which means lots of shopping! I've been seeing tons of cute items recently, so today I'm sharing some of my favorites with y'all!

gray tank top (under $20) // white slip ons (under $20) // barrette pack (under $7) // cheetah dress // gray blanket // neon sweatshirt ($15) // snakeskin belt (under $20) // gold hoops ($7) // cheetah tee ($12) // pink side stripe jeans (under $20) // cheetah sports bra (under $15)

12 Things Vol. 15

baking: the best way to spend your Friday

Happy Friday! It's been a while since I've written one of these posts, but today I'm sharing twelve random things that have been on my mind recently - enjoy!

1. It's crazy to me that we only have one week of summer left. I seriously don't know where the past two months have gone!

A Trip To Galveston // What I Ate, Did, & Saw

bikini top // bottoms // sunglasses

If you follow me on Instagram, you might've seen that I spent last week soaking up the sunshine in Galveston, Texas! My family and I took a trip down to the beach last week and it was so much fun! This was our second year in a row that we visited the island, and it was really nice because we already had a feel for the town and we knew what we wanted to do. We basically copied the itinerary from last time (click here to see what we did last year!) and it was such a fun trip!

Florida Snapshots // A Trip To Disney World + Clearwater

As I mentioned in my last blog post, I spent all of last week having fun in the sunshine state! My dad, sister, and I went to Disney World for a couple days, then drove to Clearwater to spend some time at the beach!

I'm super Type A and typically I'm that person who makes a Google Doc with a detailed itinerary of where to go, what to eat, etc, but this time... I just kind of went with the flow, and it was kind of nice. It's probably the first vacation I've been on since I was twelve where I didn't have a laid-out plan of what we were doing, and it made for such a fun, spontaneous trip. This post is going to reflect that in a way - typically my travel posts are super organized into categories or a day-by-day recap, but in this post I'm just going to share some of my highlights from the trip! Enjoy!

Currently Vol. 23

Happy Friday!! It's been a while since I've published one of these posts - my posting schedule has been all kinds of crazy lately, but hopefully I can get on a normal schedule in these last few weeks of summer. Today I'm sharing some things I'm currently loving - grab a cup of coffee and enjoy!

Wearing... these earrings I'm wearing above! They are from James Avery and I am so obsessed with them. I've always loved the look of hoops but I have sensitive ears so I've never been able to wear them. These, however, are really lightweight and they don't hurt my ears at all! I love how versatile they are - I've been wearing them constantly.

An All White Outfit In Celebration, Florida

I spent all of last week in Florida, and it was so much fun! Today I'm sharing my favorite outfit that I wore on the trip! I wore this outfit while exploring the quaint Disney-owned town of Celebration. It is the cutest town ever, complete with a beautiful lake and colorful buildings.

Top (under $15 and comes in three colors) // Shorts (sold out in white, similar here) // Choker // Sunglasses // Sandals

15 Trader Joe's Products You Need To Try

I don't even know how to begin this blog post. It's one that I've been wanting to write for a while now, and I feel it's long overdue, but I have so much to cover and I want to do this post justice, so it's been so hard for me to write. However, today I am finally here to share all of my favorite Trader Joe's products with the world!

It's no secret that I love Trader Joe's. One of my favorite things to do after school or on weekends is to go grocery shopping at TJ's. I'm not kidding. I can't put into words how much I love TJ's, and over the years, I've stumbled across some amazing items there that I think the world should know about. I think Danielle Carolan said it best: Trader Joe's is one of those places where they have really cool products but you need to have recommendations on what to get. I consider myself to be somewhat of a Trader Joe's connoisseur, so today I've rounded up all of my favorite products and I am so excited to share them with you guys!


Had to kick off this post with my all time favorite product at TJ's! I used to be one of those people that would pass up vanilla cake because, let's be honest, it's not that exciting. Why have vanilla when you can have chocolate?! And then... I tried Trader Joe's vanilla cake mix. It's so simple, but so perfect and flavorful: the cake is moist, yet light and fluffy, and has the richest vanilla bean flavor. There is no doubt in my mind that I could eat an entire cake made with this mix.