How to rock Valentine's day when you're single

Hello lovely readers!

I know it has been a few months since my last post but I was suffering some major writers block! BUT I'm back now in 2016 and this year is the year for some amazing new content and posts on this page! So, let's get this party started!

So, for me, I don't think I have ever had a boyfriend/significant other for ANY Valentines Day but I can remember having some of the best times on V-Day without the need for that other person and I want to share with you a few different things to try this V-Day if you are someone who is #single.

I think that as someone who is single I am not looking around thinking "Woe is me I don't have someone and therefore I can't celebrate this day made for love" I'm thinking "This is a great day to give myself some self love and appreciation" so that is my mindset for every Valentine's Day!

I have a few great ideas for having some fun and showing yourself the love on a day where love is literally in the air (thanks to every retailer out there).

First, posse up all of your other single friends and have a "friend date night." You can choose to get glam and go out somewhere for this or have a cosy night in. Honestly some years I'm game for either it just depends on my mood!

If you want to get glam make sure you guys decide a week or so beforehand where you want to go so that you can reserve a table bc obviously you wanna be #fancy and also every other person in a relationship will most likely be dining out on V-Day too. Decide on an aesthetic, such as sparkle or think pink that way you all coordinate and look like a fierce group of hotties and go out and have some fun!

If you want to have a chill night in then decide who's place is going to get overtaken by the #singlearmy and group chat about who is going to bring what (drinks, drizzanks, pizza, chips, chocolate, etc). Then decide whether you want to have mushy romantic movies to watch or you want to watch the latest Zac Efron film and have a night that will remind you of those awesome sleepovers you used to have with your babes in middle school!

Another great idea if you don't want to posse up would be to have a #partyofone. You can choose to spend the day/night treating yourself right because, if you don't then who will amiright?

Have a pamper night (see one of my previous posts about how to have the best pamper EVER cc: my post on de-stressing/relaxing) and just spend the night taking a relaxing bath, splurge on a really nice bath oil or bath bomb and go to town! Get an amazing exfoliating scrub and then moisturize and feel amazing. Pop on a face masque of your choice and pop some popcorn and watch whatever movies you want or cozy up with your favorite book (A review of a few of my fav books). Pick something that will relax you and make you super happy and feel appreciated #selflove.

Whether you choose to go it solo or get your girls involved I hope that you remember the wise words of Ru Paul "If you can't love yourself how in the hell are you gonna love someone else! Can I get an AMEN!"

Let me know what your plans are for V-day by tweeting me (@thejesslauren) or leaving a comment below!

xoxo Jess

Bath and Body Works haul

So I recently had to have a little sneaky peak into Bath and Body Works and I may have gotten a lot more than I intended to! I feel when I go in there they have so many lovely smelling things I just can't help myself!

So here is a list of everything I picked up and what I think about it!

First thing I picked up was a three wick candle. I wanted it in a smaller version but the saleswoman told me it only came in three wick and it smelled so amazing I decided to buy it.

 

I don't know if other people do this but as soon as I walk into B&BW I have a look at all of the candles and I have to smell all of them! This one I fell in love with! It has a light scent that is fresh and has a hint of sweet that comes from a mixture of flowers and fruits. I really love fruit scents and it is a smell that I could see myself using when I am taking a nice bubble bath!

The next thing I got I was probably the MOST excited for! I always miss the time of year when they bring out my favorite scent so when I saw it sitting there I was elated! My absolute favorite spring/summer scent is Oceanside! I grabbed about 6 of the wall flowers in that scent so that I know I will have enough to last a while! I also grabbed a room spray of it (for my room and car, its the best to give a little spritz to make it smell like heaven!).

 

This is such a fresh and summery scent. It reminds me of the beach and can make any room smell amazing! I am one of those people who love to have specific scents for specific rooms but this is really one that could go for any room!  This also has fruity notes but this one is mixed with a bit of a fresh linen type smell so it just makes a room smell clean!

The next thing I bought were some of the newer scents they just rolled out for spring/summer and they are a part of their new Hawaii themed collection. I did the buy two get one free deal because I wanted to be able to try a few different ones and because I thought they all smelled amazing (If you saw my shower you would know I LOVE to have a variety!)

The first one I bought in a shower gel and it is the Waikiki Beach Coconut scent! It smells like sunscreen and coconut. It makes me think of a relaxing day on the beach! Not to mention the packaging is such a fun and bright color it makes me ready for summer!On the B&BW webpage these are the scent notes it has listed:

• Top Notes: Fresh Bamboo, Coral Berry
• Mid Notes: Pink Passionflower, Hawaiian Frangipani, Coconut Jasmine, Saltwater Breeze
• Dry Notes: Beach Coconut, Sun-bleached Woods, Forest Sandalwood

The second one I bought was Maui Mango Surf! I also bought this one in a shower gel and when I smelled it I just knew I had to have it! It has that same beach smell (can you spot a theme?). On the B&BW webpage these are the scent notes it has listed:

• Top Notes: Ruby Mango, Polynesian Tangerine, Guava Nectar, White Pineapple
• Mid Notes: Mango Mai Tai, Sun-bleached Driftwood, Coral Hibiscus, Hawaiian Lily, Pacific Blue Accord
• Dry Notes: Island Sandalwood, Skin Musk, Lanai Ylang

The last one I bought was Oahu Coconut Sunset! This was also purchased as a shower gel because who can't have enough shower gels right? This one smells exactly like a very yummy coconut beach spray on sunscreen! I just love it and when I use it in the shower I can pretend I am about to go sunbathing!
On the B&BW webpage these are the scent notes it has listed: 

• Top Notes: Birds of Paradise, Coconut Blossom, Sparkling Bergamot
• Mid Notes: Seductive Tuberose, Tiger Lily, Hawaiian Monoi
• Dry Notes: Sensual Labdanum, Molten Amber, Cream Suede Accord

The last few things I picked up were just some good ole fresh linens scentportables for my car! I also got a new holder for the scentportables and it is SO summery and I love it!

I have gone into B&BW a lot recently because their summer scents are my favorite even in the summer!

What have you bought recently? Have you gone on a B&BW splurge like me? Let me know in the comments!

xoxo,
Jess

It's the little things

So I have had the worst few weeks due to stress of life and just me letting those little things get me down. It is amazing how easy it is for us to go down that deep hole of 'woe is me' and 'I'm never going to get out of this situation', etc. I have had about a two week long pity party for myself in this regard because it has just seemed that everything that could go wrong has. I won't go into detail about it but just know that if you are having one of those times, it happens to everyone.

I feel like a lot of people have moments like this and when you are in that particular moment you feel as if you are the only one in the world to be having these issues and to be suffering along while the rest of the world is seemingly care free. It happens to the best of us, me included.

There are some things in these times however that stand out to me. Little things that happen that seem to make the bad that is going on seem less bad. That is what I want to share with you all. My little things of happiness that sometimes get forgotten but when I need them most, on a bad day/week, they seem to appear out of nowhere.

The first thing is something that probably sounds silly but to me, it is something I love. Stationary. I LOVE stationary. I say this because I love going to TJ Maxx and buying the cute sets of cards for super cheap. The reason I love doing this is because I love writing encouraging letters to other people. I feel like when I am sad this helps me feel better the most. When I sit down and can tell someone just how special they are to me, or can write to them and just give them a little note to say thank you, or to say I love you, it always brightens my mood too. I have so many different kinds of little cards and being able to give those to someone who may also be having one of those horribly bad days or weeks makes me feel better. I am a firm believer that you get back what you put out in the world and I always want to try and put out positive thoughts and actions. Those little cards give me hope when I am in a dark hole of self pity because they make me realize that I may not be the only one silently going through a tough time.

The second thing is receiving little cards. Recently I have been receiving little 'happys' as my friends and I like to call them and they seem to come at just the right time. They are just like the ones I often like to write and sometimes just have a few encouraging words, or have a simple ' just want you to know I love you.' I believe that I have surrounded myself with people who are a lot like me and who care for others just as much as I do so being able to also receive these little cards of encouragement or reminders of care it really brightens my day and makes me realize that I have a lot of people in my life who care for me the way I care for them.

These little things may seem silly or insignificant but trust me, they are little happy mood boosters. I encourage you if you have any little cards laying around the house to think of someone who may have not had a good day or who seems to be a little down and write them a little 'happy' to give to them. It is amazing how such a small act of kindness can make the biggest impact. I feel that these little things throughout life, whether it be a little card, or a hug, or just a text saying 'just want you to know how special you are to me' can change even the saddest/sour mood into a smile.

I know I am going to try to be more aware of those around me now that I have been having such a tough time because I want to make sure that if someone else is too that they see they are not alone and that they have someone who values them in their life.

What is a little thing that brightens your day or makes you happy when you are sad? I would love to hear from you!

xoxo Jess

Who better than you?

There are so many people out in the world and so many influences on who you are but wouldn't you much rather just be you? One of my favorite quotes comes from Dr. Seuss:

Yes, Blake Lively is gorgeous and has the seemingly perfect life, but why focus on why you aren't her and focus on who you are and how you can be the best you. 

When I was obtaining my undergraduate degree I interned with Distinguished Young Women. They are an organization that is a scholarship competition for high school senior girls. Working there I learned so much about how important it is to appreciate who you are and one of their philosophies they focused on was 'being your best self.' 

It took me another two years to really understand the potential I had in changing my life to become someone who I could love for being me. I used to be over 300 pounds and I loathed myself from the outside in. It was a very toxic relationship with myself where I would find comfort in food. When something upset me instead of trying to figure out where the source was coming from and trying to fix the problem I would make myself feel better by eating an entire package of double stuffed Oreos. Trust me when I say that is NOT the way to make yourself happy. I would feel better for a little bit but would then go into more self loathing for just eating an entire package of Oreos! Not good. 

This is what I looked like before I began my journey

So, how do you stop getting in your way? People ask me all of the time what made me take the jump and honestly I got tired of watching others around me enjoy their lives while I was sitting in the background embarrassed by the way I looked and I wanted to be the person at the center of the stage of my own life. There is no amount of others telling you to do it or encouraging you that can make you will yourself to begin changing until you are ready. I had hit that point very clearly and was determined. 

Now, I had very MANY people who in the beginning thought it was nice that I was trying to get healthy but really didn't think I would be able to make it past a week (maybe less). This, honestly, pushed me even harder (being the competitive person that I am) to prove them and myself wrong. Of course I had many doubts about if I could do it and if my will power would win out over the craving for ice cream. 

Unlike some, I was not the person who could just ease into a healthy lifestyle slowly, it was go hard or go home. I knew myself too well. I knew that if I gave myself 'cheat days' or only cut out certain things it would do nothing but make me want to quit. So I went cold turkey and decided to begin clean eating. If you are unfamiliar with this it is really simple. Cut out the crap. No gluten, no dairy, no processed food. Just whole, natural ingredients with no additives. You may not believe me but honestly it was not as difficult as I first though it might be. My determination outweighed my want to have junk. The first week I lost 7 pounds and by the fourth month I had lost 35 pounds without having to workout once. Now I have lost a total of 90 pounds.

These were taken Sunday (Jan 25, 2015)

I never believed people who told me that being healthy is 80% what you eat and 20% exercising but it honestly is the truth. After I began losing more and more weight I thought "hey I need to tone all of this loose fat" so my best friend Amber suggested I start going to Pure Barre. Well, if you have seen my previous post about all the things I LOVE about Pure Barre, it really was history after that! (here is the link to that post) http://jessicalauren90.blogspot.com/2014/11/these-are-few-of-my-favorite-things.html 

I have slacked a little over the last few months but I am determined as ever to break to 100 pounds lost mark and to get to a place where I am fully happy with the way I look. I am happy now with the progress I have made and trust me that was a big struggle emotionally for me (which I am sure will come up again in another post). 

I have lost 90 pounds and my whole perspective on life has changed. I don't wish I were someone else anymore, I don't wish I were a better version of me. I stopped wishing and started to make it happen. After all, who else is going to put in the hard work to get you where you are other than yourself?

Have you done something that has made you find yourself and realize how much potential you have? I would love to hear your personal stories of self discovery! Leave a comment below!

xoxo Jess