Blogmas Day 1: How to make your home festive for December

Happy Blogmas everyone!

Can you believe it's already December?!?! How has another year almost come to a close? I hope everyone is just as excited as I am for Christmas!

For my first blog post of this very festive and fun month I wanted to talk about how to add little touches to your home to make it cozy and festive by sharing what we have done around our apartment and maybe it can give you guys some good decorating inspiration!

There is nothing better than coming home after a long day of work to a beautifully lit Christmas tree. That is definitely the number one thing to put up first! This year was my first year being able to decorate a Christmas tree in my own apartment instead of at my parents house and so I think it made me all the more excited to decorate for the season! My roommates and I picked a woodsy/rustic theme this year and I am in love!

My roommate Booker made our tree topper from elements we bought at Hobby Lobby. He made it from this post on Pinterest (https://pin.it/hafsoo4q744fxm). We got the gingham burlap to "ribbon" around the tree from Jo Ann's. We also got rustic ornaments from Hobby Lobby and Jo Ann's Fabric store to decorate it. I honestly think this is one of my favorite trees I have ever had!

We also added small touches around the apartment to make the whole thing feel more cozy and christmassy! If you don't have the room or budget to do a huge tree like that then you could do smaller things such as a tiny tree on your counter like we have on ours.

We just bought a tiny fake tree, a tube of tiny ornaments, small strand of lights and a small bow and voila! The whole tree was about $20 total. It adds the perfect touch of Christmas without going overboard if you want something more simple or, if you're like us, it just adds another element of Christmas to another area of the house! We got everything for this tree from Hobby Lobby!

Another thing we LOVE decorating is our dining room table. Each holiday we always like to add a little centerpiece to celebrate the holiday and of course Christmas is no different! 

It just adds a nice touch of Christmas to the dining room table since it is one of the first things you see when you walk into our apartment. We added a bit of fake snow, some fake christmas tree pieces, and the cutest bear ornament to tie into our rustic themed Christmas tree. If you want something quick, simple, and festive this is definitely a great idea to consider!

I also added a few cute things from Target to my bathroom. They have some really adorable Christmas bath mats and bath towels so I decided to get them to add a little festive cheer into my bathroom! 

It just adds the right bit of festive and the bathmat was only $7.59! They had two other options and you can shop them all here! 

What are some things you are doing around your house to put you in the festive spirit? Let me know!

Comment down below or tweet me @thejesslauren!

xoxo Jess

IT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR!

Christmas is one of my favorite times of year. Everyone is spreading love and christmas cheer and all of the best Hallmark movies are out. During this time of year I spend December reflecting on the past year and cherishing my close friends and family by celebrating the holiday season with them. I love so many things about the christmas holiday and time spent celebrating it.

So much so, this year I decided to do BLOGMAS! This means I will be posting three NEW Christmas themed blog posts each week in December up until Christmas Eve weekend!!!!

I know.... it's SO EXCITING! I'm sure most of you can agree that sometimes google and blog lists are your best friend during the holidays to get inspiration for food ideas, parties, gifting, and more. I know I definitely do! So, I decided to be a holiday guide resource this year! I have a lot of great posts lined up for December and I am so excited to share them with you guys!

I know I have slacked on posting this past year but as I have said in a post before, it has been a very trying year for me in my professional and personal life. I have had to take time away that I had devoted to doing this thing I love to focus on making good career moves and helping my family.  A lot of things got slid off my plate this year because of it so I thought doing Blogmas would help get me back to doing one of the things I love which is writing!

What are some Christmas blogs you want to see? Any topics you want me to cover? (Maybe I already have one you want planned out!) Let me know by leaving a comment or by tweeting me @Thejesslauren with the hashtag #JessicaLaurenDoesBlogmas!

I am so excited to add some holiday cheer to your life each week!

xoxo Jess

Blogmas is coming....

Stayed tuned! Blogmas is coming! All will be explained next Monday!

I messed up...

So somewhere in this whirlwind of a year I have yet again let my blog slip and I have messed up big time. You know when you can just feel like something is missing but you just aren't sure what it is until one day you're just living life and then BAM it hits you? yeah... same. It just hit me today that I have been missing such a crucial part of my life by not blogging. I have been missing my outlet of creativity and also getting a chance to talk with you guys. It has been a little over 5 months since my last post on my blog and I have FELT IT believe me! So many new and exciting  yet terrifying things have been happening in my life and I haven't felt the same without being able to share it with you all! so, let's sit down together and have a catch up on everything that has been going on the last few months.

What have I been up to since January? Well, for the first time ever I have moved out of my family home and into a beautiful apartment with two of my best friends. When I tell you this has been one of the single best decisions of my life I don't know that you would truly be able to believe me but it has. I have learned so much more about who I am as a person and I have also been able to spread my wings and take a fun journey into REAL adulthood for the first time in my life. I want to expand on this in a separate post but for now just know that it is truly fantastic. Now I know some of you may be thinking... wow....27 is a little late to be just learning these things Jessica.... but I feel like 27 was just the right year in my life for this step of my journey. As some of you who know me will remember in 2013 I lost my dad to a massive heart attack very unexpectedly and it left just me and my mom on our own for the first time ever and it didn't feel like the right timing to leave her because... well... we both needed each other so much during that time to heal and grow and lean on. Looking back now, I learned so much about my mom and who she is as a person through being able to still live with her in my adulthood like that. I know people say it all the time but my mom is my best friend and closest confidant and I attribute that to sharing such a great loss and learning to navigate through it as well as being able to live with her while being an adult and sharing memories and stories with her that I otherwise never would have. Going through such a huge tragedy together really strengthened our bond and trust with one another and it made me cherish our time together so much more in a way that I know I took for granted before. So I know that when Patrick and Booker started talking to me about wanting to move out of their current living situation and into a house/apartment and that they were looking for a roommate it was the right time to take the chance and jump. As I said before, I want to do a whole post about this later so I will save most of the good stories for that time but just know I am so happy with where I am and I attribute a lot of it to living with my two best friends.

They say that the wheel of fortune takes turns with joy and sadness and for me the last few months that has rang very true. As some of you may know as soon as I moved out it was like a light switch flipped and all of a sudden my mom's health took a turn. I don't want to go into depth of the deep fear and sadness I went through with this but just know it was a very trying time for me as my mom was in and out of the hospital until they finally figured out her heart needed some major repairs. At the beginning of last month she had major heart surgery and had 5 bypasses and a valve replacement. She was in the Cardiac ICU for a few days (which were some of the scariest days of my life) and within a week of being out of the ICU she hit all of her recovery steps and was able to go home. She is still recovering now and can only do small things like walking and resting but she is getting stronger by the day and her doctors think in possibly 3 months she will be able to be fully recovered and go back to work and her normal schedule. It has been a very stressful few months of not knowing and then finally getting answers but I am so very proud of my mom for going through such a scary surgery and proving to everyone just how strong I knew she was. Through that major down point of fear and stress I was truly shown just how many people love and care for my family and my mother. Everyone gathered around us and surrounded us with so much love and positivity and I know that is one of the reasons she was able to make such a vast improvement and to everyone who was there I am forever indebted to your kindness and love.

On top of these two huge life moments I decided to take another huge step two months ago that aligns with my last post from January about wanting to become happier and healthier. I decided, after months of pestering from Booker, to try Thrive. Now, I know some of you are skeptics and think that this product is another one of those pyramid schemes but hear me out on this one... this stuff.... is AMAZING. I really didn't believe it for myself even though I lived with someone who swore by it... I was a skeptic too until he finally told me to 'just do it for a month and if you hate it you can stop.' Y'all.... when I tell you that in that month I became a believer... just WOW! I have been on thrive now for almost two months and the difference in energy I have is astounding! I also find myself eating less because it is suppressing my appetite as well as just making me feel GOOD. Thrive for those of you who are unfamiliar is  a system that uses all natural vitamins and supplements that your body needs to improve everything from weight management to cognitive performance...digestive and immune support to healthy joint function... lean muscle support to antioxidant support.. it is just an overall body overhaul to being a happier and healthier you. I have been telling EVERYONE I know to just give it a try for one month and feel the difference like I have because trust me you will become a believer! It is crazy! If you want more information just google Thrive by Le-Vel or you can go to my link (jessicahead90.le-vel.com). I don't want to make it seem like I'm selling to you guys but I am telling you just how much of an impact it has made on my life already and I want you to see how it can do the same for you!

I have had so many other ups and downs the last few months that I am sure I will delve into in other upcoming posts but for now,  I think those are the three biggest changes I have seen. 27 has been a very roller coaster year for me already and I can't wait to see what the rest of this year has in store!

What are some things that have been going on with you the last few months? Tell me about it, let's catch up! Comment below or tweet me! Can't wait to hear from you!

Until next week XOXO
-Jess

New year, Better me

This is the time of year where everyone sees January as an opportunity for a refresh or restart and normally makes some huge unobtainable goal for themselves and after a few weeks gives up and goes back to doing what they were doing before. Well, this year instead of making resolutions that will ultimately fail I have instead decided to take baby steps to my resolutions this year. The key to any successes within making goals and plans is to sit down and map out exactly how you plan on achieving those goals and plans so here are my goals and how I am planning on reaching them!

This year instead of wanting to completely change myself (the whole new year, new me thing) I have decided that after years of self demoralizing I finally am happy within myself so I don't need a radical change. That being said there are some things I want to get better at and pick back up again that I have done at one time or another.

The first thing I want to reach for this year is to become healthier. I was the happiest I have ever been with my mind body and spirit two years ago when I was on a journey to becoming healthy and I want to bring that feeling back. I am going to slowly transition myself back into the clean eating lifestyle because I really enjoyed it and I felt overall SO much better and had so much more energy then. I feel that the key to success with this plan is consistency. Now that I have a full time desk job and I don't work in retail anymore I have been able to fall into a routine which is exactly the key to keeping up with anything food related. I am going to meal prep twice a week, once on Sunday and once probably on Wednesday and plan out my meals ahead of time. Now this isn't to say that if someone invites me over to dinner I will pass them up because I know from experience of doing this last time that the biggest thing is to not restrict yourself. Will I turn down the bad desserts always? No, but that is what makes doing this so much healthier for you in the long run because it is sustainable when you allow yourself to have off days and special occasions. I want to be able to feel like what I am putting into my body is nourishing it and helping my body to become stronger and healthier!

The next thing I want to strive to do this year is to get active again. I want to get back into going to Pure Barre and keeping it consistent. I absolutely love Pure Barre and any chance I get I always rave about it to anyone who has never heard about it and I felt that I was the fittest I had ever been when I was regularly going to Pure Barre. This again is going to be made possible because I now financially am in a position to be able to go back again and make Pure Barre a part of my routine and that honestly makes me such a happy person!

One of my biggest hopes for this year is to not only become healthier in my eating but also in my skin care. Becoming a consultant for Beautycounter in December I wanted a way to ensure that everything I was doing was healthier and better for me including my skincare. I want to make sure that my skin gets some attention to because I want to be able to look and feel amazing on the inside and on the outside! Beautycounter has already opened so many doors for me and I can't wait to see where my business journey takes me this year!

Overall I want to improve my mind and body and by getting myself into healthier habits I know it will lift my energy and my self confidence and happiness back up to where I want it to be. What are some of your new years resolutions and how do you plan on sticking by them? Let me know in the comments below!

Happy New Year loves

xoxo Jess

Why I chose Beautycounter

Hey guys!

So today I wanted to talk about a big life move I made recently! I am always scouting out great new brands and makeup and skincare to try to be able to find the best of the best and my searches led me to a new brand I hadn't heard of before called Beautycounter.

Truth be told one of my close friends had been raving about it for the past few months to me about how amazing it was and how great it was for you but I hadn't paid it much attention until recently. She finally said hey just come over and lets have coffee and I'll tell you about it to see if you might be interested in any of the stuff. So long story short I fell in LOVE with the message of this brand and decided to take the leap and join myself!

Now, for those of you who may not be familiar with Beautycounter allow me to let you know a little bit about this amazing company! From an article on Huffingtonpost: "Gregg Renfrew launched Beautycounter in 2013, a B Corporation that’s single-mindedly focused on creating transparency and safety in the personal care industry, through truly innovative skincare and beauty products that set a new health and safety standard."

 Gregg was just like I was and just like many of you may be right now which is unaware and in the dark about what is going on in the beauty world and then she decided to start researching beauty companies in search of better products to use for her and her kids. When searching, like many, she didn't find exactly what she was looking for so she decided to start Beautycounter as a means of giving the beauty world an amazing new set of products that not only work well but are also not bogged down with the horrible chemicals that are in so many of the beauty products in America today.

This was one of the huge reasons I was hooked into learning more about Beautycounter. I normally always try and find better products with better ingredients and Beautycounter offers that in more than just one category. They have skin care, hair care, and makeup along with body washes and soaps AND their baby care line. They really do have everything!

I think this brand is a brand that needs so much attention because not only do they want to make their products better they want to make ALL products better. Their mission is "to get safer products into the hands of everyone" and they mean that!

From the Beautycounter website:

"The Food and Drug Administration (the agency that regulates cosmetics in the United States) allows companies to use chemicals known to be extremely harmful in the products we put on our bodies and on our kids’ bodies every single day, day after day, and to make their own judgments about safety. It's time for a change. The United States has not passed a major federal law to regulate the safety of ingredients used in personal care products since 1938."

That fact came as a SHOCK to me! Who would ever think that an industry as huge as the beauty industry hasn't had regulation laws passed in almost 80 YEARS! There have been so many advancements within the technology and business worlds so why has there been no new legislation on something that we put on our bodies each and every day in almost 80 years?! I'm betting you are looking as astonished as I was when I first heard about this. So what can you do about it? Well Beautycounter is constantly spreading the word that this needs to change and big businesses need to be held responsible for what they put in their products and they even have a page where you can call your state representative and tell them the importance of passing new legislation on this topic.

There is so much I can say about Beautycounter and all of the amazing things the brand is doing but the most important thing is that they have quality products that WORK. Their products also are constantly screened for better ingredients and they are a forward thinking brand with an amazing mission and product base.

My decision to choose Beautycounter is something I want everyone to know about. I stand behind this brand and their products and I can tell you that not only do these products have better ingredients but they also have so much heart and soul put into each and every one of them to make sure that it is top quality and they are just darn good products! Everything that I have ever used from Beautycounter I have fallen in love with because not only do the products work exceptionally well but I also have the piece of mind that what I am putting on my body is the best thing I could possibly be using.

I could go on and on forever about this but I will leave it here for now. If you are interested in giving Beautycounter a try please feel free to visit the website through here: Beautycounter and look at all of the amazing products we have to offer. If you have any questions at all feel free to ask me!

xoxo Jess

Best of: Pajama sets for Christmas Eve/Day

Happy almost Christmas everyone!


So, continuing with the festive season posts I thought I would do a fun post on some Christmas PJ sets that I love that you could rock on Christmas Eve/Day that are not only cute but super festive and comfy!

first let's start off with something that is not only great for holiday sleep wear but something all year round! Victoria's Secret Sleep Shirts!
My all time ultimate favorite sleep wear is Victoria's Secret's Sleep Shirts!

They. are. HEAVEN! If you have never worn them before then you are missing out! Not only are they super comfy and soft but they are also the perfect amount of sexy and the perfect jammies to wear on Christmas. Victoria's Secret also makes some of the cutest holiday themed ones A N D they are on sale right now 2/$40! It is honestly a match made in heaven. I will normally grab tons of these during the semi-annual sales because they are usually marked down to $15/$20 a piece and they are such good quality they last forever! I had to buy some during their amazing Black Friday sale and they came in last week and definitely do not disappoint. I have been living in them!

(These are also a great gift idea if you are looking for something fun and cute to get for your significant other or even to buy matching ones for you and your bestie!)

Link to buy them is here: Victoria's Secret Sleep Shirts

If you aren't so much into wanting to be a little sexy minx for Christmas there are other options out there for you! Some of my other absolute favorite jammies come from Target!

They not only have a HUGE selection but they also have some of the CUTEST pjs in holiday themed and also my other favorite... Disney! I included a few of the different types they offer at Target above but honestly you could spend 30 to 45 minutes looking at everything they have right now because they have SO many cute ones! This would also be a great place to create a wish list to share for Christmas and even upcoming holidays for later! They have sleep shirts and cute holiday sets that are thinner and have jogger type bottoms but they also have the classic holiday sets with he button down top and draw string pants. They ALSO have cute sleep onezies and sleep shirts... I mean honestly you just have to go look because their selection is so amazing and they have some great deals right now!

Link to go check out all their cute jammies: Target Sleepwear

If you are looking for somewhere with a great deal to buy your Christmas jammies OLD NAVY is having an AMAZING sale right now!!!

 

So right now Old Navy has their sleep pants for SEVEN DOLLARS EACH! yes that's right you heard correctly... $7! they also have their cute sleep sets for only $12 and I think that is AMAZING! If you are wanting to grab matching sets for you and all your siblings or all of the women in your family to rock on Christmas Eve/Day this would be an amazing place to go right now to get a great deal! I have owned many a pair of Old Navy pjs in my lifetime and it was always something my mom would buy me to have as my Christmas Eve present when I was younger. I would always get a new PJ set to be able to sleep in for Christmas.  

Link to check out Old Navy's amazing deals: Old Navy Sleepwear

The amazing thing about both Target and Old Navy is that you can also grab some cute Men's PJs while you are there so that you and your significant other or even your siblings can enjoy the festive holiday wears as well! :)

Happy shopping! Tweet me if you buy any of these and let me know! (@thejesslauren)

xoxo Jess

Christmas is coming!!!

Hey guys!

I can't believe that November is almost over! Just a few short weeks and then Christmas day is here! Today I wanted to talk about a few things I love to do to get me in the Christmas mood just in time for December!

If you know me you will know that Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year and there is no better way to get into the spirit of the holiday than with some Christmas music!

I listen to Christmas music all year round but if you're not like me and you can only handle a few little doses of Christmas then now is the time to whip out those old favorites and also find some new ones to get you feeling holly and jolly! I have a few amazing albums I would recommend:

The first one is the brand new Pentatonix Christmas album A Pentatonix Christmas! Pentatonix have released Christmas albums for the last few years and they are always one of my favorites to listen to and this year's album does not disappoint! It has a favorite of mine from N*SYNC's Christmas album  Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and I no lie have jammed to that EVERY time I've gotten into the car! There are also other amazing classic holiday songs they have covered such as I'll be home for Christmas, O Come all ye faithful, and White Christmas just to name a few! If you haven't ever listened to their other Christmas albums I highly suggest giving all of them a listen!  Here is the link to their newest album if you want to preview a few of the songs or buy it! (it's only $7 on iTunes!) A Pentatonix Christmas Album

The other album that is guaranteed to get me in the holiday spirit is Michael Bublés' Christmas album! I love listening to his music all year round but there is just something about listening to his smooth jazz influenced music during the holidays! It is always sure to get me in the mood for Christmas!

If you have burnt yourself out on Christmas music another way to get yourself feeling ready for the holidays is watching vloggers around the holidays. I like to do this  year round also but especially to get me in the mood for Christmas. If it is not quite December yet I like to watch Christmas vlogs/videos on YouTube from the previous year. Most of the vloggers I follow do what is called Vlogmas where they vlog every day in December leading up to Christmas and they all do such festive things like getting their Christmas trees and decorating them, going to look at Christmas lights, wrapping presents, talking about their favorite Christmas films and doing things with friends like making gingerbread cookies, ect ect. It is just something that REALLY gets me in the festive mood! Besides vloggers looking up videos on YouTube from people who travel to Disney World during the holidays is also one of my favorite things to do. I love watching videos of the Holiday Wishes fireworks show and the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas party parades and just seeing the parks decked out in all of ther Christmas best really set the holiday mood for me. It makes me want to grab a hot chocolate, put on my most Christmassy pajamas, and snuggle on the couch while watching Christmas films!

A few of the people I love to watch around Christmas are Zoe aka Zoella (her main and vlogging channels), Tanya Burr, SacconeJolys, and Gabbie. These are a few of my favorite vloggers all year round but their Christmas/December vlogs are my favorite and I love re-watching their vlogmas ones whenever I want to feel Christmassy!

If Christmas music and watching vloggers aren't your cup of tea to get yourself ready for the holidays then there really is only one thing left to do. Full Immersion. One of the things I like to do to get me in the holiday mood  when it is nearing the end of November is to decorate! There is NOTHING more Christmassy than putting up your own tree and setting out all of your festive dish towels and candle stands and decorating the mantel. Along with decorating your house it is also important to don your most festive holiday wears. I like to start wearing my Christmas hair bows and Christmas themed sweaters/apparel as well as use all of my fun Christmas mugs and cups and just surround myself with 24/7 Christmas.

There is something about the holiday season that just puts me in a good mood pretty much all the time and whenever I feel a little down I love doing these things to put me right back in the best of moods. I hope you have enjoyed reading about what I like to do to get me in the holiday spirit and if you are trying to find your holiday cheer I hope one of these things can help you!

Happy Holidays!! :)

xoxo Jess

New seasons in life

Hey guys!


So today I want to talk about something exciting and also scary! Starting a new season in your life.

I am 26 going on 27 in January and as I have hit my mid to late 20's so many things have changed in this new season of my life. Friends have come and gone, I have figured out more of who I am and I have also recently switched from a part time retail management job into what some would label a "real world" job at a local hospital working as a manager for their IT support desk (I know it sounds super fancy right?). Through all of this transitional time I have learned so much about who I am as a person and who I want to be when I grow up (because let's face it I still don't consider myself to be an adult quite yet). So I wanted to share some of the things I have learned in the past few months to a year in the hopes of helping one of you who may also be going through a transition in your life.

I have learned transitions are NOT EASY! There are a lot of "growing pains" when you are moving from one season of your life to the next and through a lot of these growing pains you learn so much more about who you are.

The transition from going full force in graduate school to graduating and also no longer being labeled as a student was a huge growing moment for me. I had to learn who I was without that label. Our entire childhood and young adult lives we are in school and we are a part of that type of environment and it becomes a huge part of who we are and how we label ourselves. Being in an academic environment is like being in a different world (especially graduate school). When you're in graduate school you are around the same small group of people for two years and you grow accustomed to that environment so when you graduate and none of that is the same anymore it can be difficult. I know I really struggled with it post grad because most of my friends went back to their hometowns or moved away to new jobs and new cities and we all separated. Thankfully I had a community of friends through theater who were all still right here with me but that didn't make the separation from those other people any easier. I have learned through life that a big part of growing up is learning to move with the ever changing tide of friends who come and go from your life. In this time of my life I learned the hard way that even though we may want friends to be in our lives closely forever they aren't all going to be that way and it is just a part of life that helps us grow.

Through this transition more concentrated on myself. In my experience of my mid twenties so far I have learned that though you may have people around you who care and love you the most important person who should care and love you is yourself. In most of my adolescent and young adult life I struggled heavily with loving myself as I was. Being confident in myself is something I have really had to work on (especially over the past year) and I have learned so much about myself and I have put in so much more love and time for myself that it has really had an impact on my life. I had a very hard realization of my self worth and how others around me were treating me and I had to make some really tough choices and let some people who had been in my life for my entire adulthood go because I realized I deserved better than what I was getting. That was a hard realization to come to and it is still a sore spot for me even today but I know that in the long run it was the right decision to make. Through this realization I also had to slowwwww down. I realized that I was constantly going and doing things and not giving myself enough time to just sit and be alone with myself because I was scared of what I would find when left to my own devices. That was just a part of self discovery that I had to go through. I had to learn to be at peace with myself and learn to enjoy doing things alone. I always depended on other people to pull out my personality and to feed off of and when I actually sat down and thought about it I realized I needed to be building those things up within myself and not relying on others.

Starting a new season can be so difficult because as humans we don't really like change. I know I for one used to hate when anything changed because it meant I had to get out of my comfort zone. Learning to accept changes and start again are some of the biggest challenges in adulthood and I think it's something that never goes away and people who are good with change have learned from their previous seasons of life and friendships and have managed to learn how to accept the changes and keep living their best lives. If there was any advice I could give to you if you are going through the closing of one chapter and the beginning of another it would be to roll with the punches. Life will 100% never go to plan. There will always be curve balls thrown your way and learning how to deal with that is so important to ensuring you stay the happiest you can be.

I hope that this has helped some of you who may need a kick to end a certain chapter that you know needs to end or if you have already ended that and are trying to figure out how to move on to the next. Just remember without these moments in life there would never be growth. You can do anything you set your mind to.

xoxo Jess.

Fall Favorites

*It's the most wonderful time of the yearrrr*

It's fall and finally starting to get cold in the deep south and I couldn't be more excited! I have been obsessed with so many things over the past few months so let's just get right to it!

Let's kick this off with beauty favorites:

Sigma Brushes
Like almost every other beauty blogger/vlogger out there I have fallen in love with the Sigma brand brushes. I was shopping a few weeks ago in my local Sephora and noticed they carried Sigma brushes (have they always and I've just never noticed?)! Some of my favorite beauty gurus have been raving about these brushes for months/years and I hadn't really seen any around in any of the stores in my area so I was ecstatic!  I bought the angled contour brush first and OH MY GOD! that brush gives the best contour definition I have ever had and it blends the contour shade out so beautifully it is definitely a must have! If you are looking for a new brand of brushes to use then I would definitely spend the money and get a set of these brushes to use because they will not disappoint! A set of those brushes is definitely going on my Christmas list to Santa this year :)

Beauty Blenders
I know I know. You're thinking to yourself  "Jessica, where have you been, under a rock??" Well the answer is yes and no. I have been using the Real Techniques brand blender sponges for months and loved them because originally I didn't want to fork out the $20 for one of the original Beauty Blenders. Well, as I was in my Sephora I decided to bite the bullet and not only get the original Beauty Blender sponge but also the mini Beauty Blender sponges for concealer. Y'ALL. When I tell you there is a DIFFERENCE in the quality of blending I get from my Beauty Blender.... it is unreal! The Real Techniques blender sponges work great as a cheaper alternative however the quality of the blending and distribution of foundation/concealer product that I get with the Beauty Blender is crazy amazing! I could rave about them night and day! I highly suggest if you have always been a strictly brush user for application (like I once was) give these a try!!! You will fall in love with the ease and overall perfect look you get when you use these!

Revlon Ultra HD Matte Lip color
I have been on the hunt for great lipstick for my entire life and the search is never ending so it should come as no surprise that I am constantly finding new favorite lipsticks! I have fallen in love with the new formulation that most brands have picked up called the liquid matte lipsticks. They are just so easy to apply and they last FOREVER on my lips and never seem to smudge or crack which I also like. I have recently bought about 4 different new lipsticks of various brands and formulations to try out and this one has been a stand out favorite! The color I went with was number 635 Passion. The applicator is flat on both sides which really makes the application process super easy and the color payoff is fantastic! I want to go back and buy numerous shades in this particular type of lipstick because I love it so much. I would 10/10 recommend if you are looking for a new lipstick to try. As always with liquid lipstick if you're new to using it just take your time and remember no one is perfect at applying liquid lipstick!

So, those are probably the biggest beauty favorites I have currently but I am planning on trying a few new and fun products that will be released for the holidays so get excited for a post all about reviewing new products!

Beyond makeup favorites I have just been loving a ton of broad stuff under what I would dub the "lifestyle" section of my life and boy have they really been something I have been obsessing over!

Erin Condren Life Planner
The BIGGEST favorite I have for lifestyle is definitely my Erin Condren Life Planner. If you have never used one of these before and you are someone like me who loves planners and organization you are in for a TREAT! This planner is 100% worth the money. I have been looking into getting one of these planners for months but due to my previous job I really didn't need one so I couldn't justify paying the $70 for one but now I have a new job (which I will post about in another blog soon I promise) and so it has really come in handy! If you have never heard of these planners they can be customized which is why I think everyone can enjoy and utilize it. You can choose whether you like your weeks to be horizontal day by day or vertical and you can choose if you want it to be put into tasking sections or strictly by day so it really works for everyone no matter how much stuff you have going on. If you are thinking about getting a new planner since this year is almost over I really recommend these! You can go to her website and check them out and if you decide to get something you can use this coupon code I was given! The code is WELCOME10 for $10 off your purchase!


Heathers the Musical
I am a huge musical buff and anyone that knows me can tell you that one of my passions in life is performing and specifically performing on stage in musicals so this I'm sure comes as no surprise. I have listened to this musical since it first came out in 2008 but the University I graduated from put on a production of Heather's the Musical in September and one of my friends was the choreographer and it rekindled my love for the musical. Whenever I get in the car I always put the cast album on and when I'm getting ready in the mornings I listen to it and I have basically had it on repeat for a month. The musical is based off of the cult classic movie from the 80's and if you have never seen the movie you definitely should watch it. Mean Girls was heavily influenced by this movie so you know it's worth the watch. I know for the original off-Broadway cast of Heather's there are some versions of it on YouTube if you wanted to search it and watch a few of the scenes but I am in love with the 80's aesthetic and it brings all of that together for me.

Fall Fashion
Okay so I know this is the broadest topic to have a favorite on but it IS something I have been loving! I have been LOVING the deep hues and tones of fall. I always love this time of year because all of the deep burgundy and hunter greens and winter grey and burnt orange colors of the fall begin populating clothing stores again. It is just now becoming cool enough in the deep south to start wearing layers and truly start enjoying the fashions of the season and I couldn't be more excited! I have been pulling out my boots and rummaging through my scarf drawer in anticipation of the weather getting cooler since August. If you have any new fall trends you are loving and you think I would love too please send them my way!


Needless to say I have been REALLY loving stuff and it honestly is probably because I love everything about fall weather and the season and time of year. Tell me something that you have been loving recently!

xoxo Jess