huge life moments

Have you ever been through something that you thought would never end? I just recently finished my Masters degree and subsequently my thesis for my degree and it was by far one of the toughest experiences of my life. So many ups and downs happened during the past two years but also a lot of stress these past couple of months and now that it is over I can't shake that stressful feeling.

Have you ever had that feeling? I think anyone who has gone through something very stressful like this can relate. I am under this constant feeling of having a huge deadline that I need to complete work for but there isn't anything I have to complete. It is like a phantom feeling. Very weird experience.

Because of this I am now at a huge junction of my life. I have finished school and now have to decide where I want to live and what I want to try and do with my professional and personal life. The world is literally wide open to me and it is a very freeing but terrifying feeling.

I have so many things I want to accomplish in my lifetime and it is hard to figure out what the first step on this journey should be. I know at some point everyone has or will have this moment but I don't want to just sit back and stay in my comfort zone the rest of my life. I want to get out and see the world  and make mistakes and enjoy the rest of my twenties and my life.

What is something you want to see yourself doing in the next five years?

-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

Goals!

So we all have huge goals we want to achieve but I believe that by setting smaller weekly goals as stepping blocks we can better achieve our bigger goals!

Today I am going to give you some of my current daily/weekly goals.

The first is more sleep. This is probably the hardest goal I have daily and weekly because of my hectic schedule and just the fact that I am a night owl type person. I have been reading so many articles online about the benefits of becoming a morning person and I wish desperately that I were so that I could enjoy waking up in the mornings instead of dreading it! I found this cute little infograhpic online on tips to getting up earlier. I find the culprit to my lack of sleep is getting home late and then wanting to relax and ending up staying awake until 2 a.m. I have made it my new  top goal to get into bed earlier so that I don't have a problem waking up early in the morning!

The second is drink more water. Now, I know, many people say they need to do this but I have committed to cutting out everything but water right now and therefore I need to be drinking more of it! I feel that setting a goal of at least 8 glasses a day to start off with is a good way to train my body to wanting to take in more water in a day! What are ways you have found to incorporate more water into your day?

The last goal for this week is to focus on the important stuff. What I mean by this is not letting the little distractions in life get to me and make me lose my focus for the week. Too often I get caught up in small little things that then overtake my entire mind frame and then put me in a bad mood, or stress me out. I want to focus instead this week on my future and where I see myself and stop letting those little stumbling blocks get in my way.

What are some goals you are going to set for yourself this week? 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