The first week of fall

Can you believe we are already celebrating the first week of fall? It feels like 2015 just started! Maybe it is because I have been wishing for this time of year to come around again. Fall is my favorite season and I don't care if it makes me #basic. Since it is the first week of fall I thought I would make a little post about some of my favorite things about fall as well as some new things I want to try and do this fall! Get ready for lots of references to warmth and coziness!

The first thing I love about this time of year is of course the weather! I hate the hot months of summer mainly because I live in the southern part of the US and the humidity is literally unbearable most days of the year. In the fall the humidity lifts and you get a crisp fresh temperature that won't make you sweat after five minutes of being outside. It also makes me want to be outside more because I don't have to worry about feeling gross from the humidity and heat.

Along with the weather comes the clothes. because it is cooler outside I can start to wear some of my favorite types of clothes which are (in no particular order) boots, scarves, sweaters, sweatshirts, cardigans, fuzzy socks, long sleeves, and vests. Fall makes for better fashion at least for me because I can layer more things and enjoy wearing them without worrying about getting too hot and stuffy in them. I also like the darker, richer colors that are associated with fall such as deep maroons and burgundy shades as well as rich dark orange and golds.

I also love all of the fall scents that places such as Bath and Body Works and Yankee Candles produces. The fall scents are always my favorite because they make me feel all warm and cozy! Some of my favorite fall scents are Leaves, Pumpkin Pie, Vanilla Cedarwood, Crisp Apple, and generally anything with that spice fragrance! Even just the burning of candles is something that I love about fall. When the weather starts to drop I just feel like having a candle lit in every room of the house because it adds to the cozy feeling.

The scenery in the fall is also one of my favorite things. Yes I think the flowers blooming in the spring are beautiful but something much more breathtaking to me has always been the changing of the leaves from summer to fall. I love watching everything go from a bright green to beautiful shades of yellow and red and seeing all the leaves fall. There is just something about it that has always given me the warm fuzzies getting to watch the amazing things nature can do.

One of the biggest things I want to do this fall is go apple picking. I have been researching places near my area to try and find somewhere that does it and the one place (which was 4 hours north) doesn't actually let you pick them anymore. So it is definitely at the top of my list to find somewhere and go and pick some fresh apples. Not only for the experience and the fun of it but also.. umm duh fresh apples you picked yourself.. can you even imagine how amazing they would taste fresh off the tree?!

Another big thing that I wanted to do (which I AM going to do next weekend) is go to Disney during the fall! Combine the happiest place on earth with my favorite season??? I might just explode from excitement! One of my best friends, Daniel, and I are going next weekend and I have never been during the fall to experience Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween so I can't wait to see all of the Disney villains and interact with them as well as see the park decked out for the season!

Something a little less extravagant but also something fun is carving pumpkins. It is something I love doing during the fall and also something that I always want to do every year so I guess it counts as a little bit of both! I love going to a pumpkin patch and picking out a pumpkin and then bringing it home and carving it with friends and family! Last year Daniel and I carved pumpkins over Skype but we still had the best time! I definitely think it is something that should be on everyone's fall to-do list!

Of course I can't make a post about fall without mentioning the holidays that occur during the season! I LOVED Halloween when I was younger. I have always hated scary movies but the dressing up and getting to be one of your favorite characters for a night has always been one of my favorite parts about Halloween. Trick or Treating was something that I loved when I was younger and I love being on the other side of it now and getting to see all of the children in my neighborhood get all excited and dressed up! Thanksgiving is the other holiday that occurs during the fall season and it is something I have always looked forward to because it is a day I get to spend with my family and we get to eat all of the best foods :)

There are just not enough wonderful things to say about this time of the year. The world around you is changing season and you get to witness it and this time of year brings the best holidays to have fun with friends and family!

What is one of your favorite things about fall and what is one thing you can't wait to do this fall season? I can't wait to hear! Leave a comment and let me know! I'm going to go order myself a PSL and wait for the leaves to start changing.

xoxo Jess

My favorite books to cozy up with

Who doesn't love this time of year? When the leaves are changing and instead of spending time basking in the sun people have a longing to curl up by the fire with a good book. Fall is one of my favorite times of year for this very reason. So in this post I am going to let you in on a few of my all time favorite books and book series that I enjoy curling up with.

The first book series is one I happened upon by chance, and yes it may seem juvenile but I have really enjoyed reading them.

The Selection Series

This book series by Kiera Cass is set in a post-apocalyptic world after a third world war when the idea of the United States is a thing of the forgotten past and the US territory is ruled by a monarchy. It follows the story of the royal prince having to find a bride via The Selection. In these books the people are separated into numbers based on their economic standing, Ones being royalty and on down. What makes these books so interesting is the different dynamic twists and turns and I found myself laughing and crying all throughout. Kiera did a wonderful job painting this world she created. The most current book, The Heir, follows the story of the offspring of the prince and his chosen bride from the first three. There is one last book set to be released next year in 2016. I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of the final book of the series!  

Following the same type of novel which is set in another post-apocalyptic world.

The Jewel Series

This is the first book in the series by Amy Ewing and the second has recently been released (The White Rose) and I haven't read it yet but rest assured I will be purchasing it soon to find out what happens! This book, as stated on the authors website, is a mix between The Selection Series and A Handmaiden's Tale. It follows the story of Violet who has to be a surrogate to a royal family because in this post- apocalyptic world the royals cannot have babies anymore because of so much inbreeding so they find other girls who can, but with a twist. I won't give away what the twist is but it has a sort of "magic" involved and if that is up your alley you would love this series!

The next set of books is one I believe many people would already be familiar with.

The Divergent Series

This book series by Veronica Roth is also set in a post-apocalyptic world in which your talents choose which area of the economy you end up in. I won't delve too deeply into these because I am sure everyone has heard of them but I will say that if you have only seen the movies you really should read the books because they go in a little different of a way from the movies and also, you get so much more description and plot when you read the books versus watching the movies.

Moving away from post-apocalyptic books I am moving into more historical books. These however do not have a series but they are all from the same author and so I am going to lump them together. 

Phillipa Gregory Books 

I have read all of these plus a few others of hers and I have loved the way she writes and the style and accuracy of her writing. The ones which circulate King Henry are some of my personal favorites and she definitely does her research in regards to historical accuracy and then adds in her own personal touches as an author as to why these people's stories have ended up they way they have. If you enjoy historical fiction you would love her novels and I suggest you take time to delve into these books. One of my personal favorites that I always like to re-read is The Other Boleyn Girl. It is a huge novel with almost 600 pages yet I always manage to fly through it because the story captures me into it every time.

I hope this list of a few of my favorite reads inspires you to pick up a good book this fall and get lost in another world. Let me know what some of your favorite books or book series are in the comments below!

xoxo Jess

Mid Year Resolutions

Okay, so.... many of us set New Years resolutions and then about half way through the year we forget about them so I have decided to give myself a refresher of sorts and set some mid-year resolutions!

In the beginning of the year I feel like there is so much pressure from everyone to set high goals for yourself and then the goals never really come to fruition because the goal isn't very specific. For example, many people just use the "I want to get healthier" resolution or "I want to find myself" resolution which are both really generic and that is why I think that most people don't follow through.

I am giving myself some realistic and specific goals that I want to achieve before my 26th birthday which will be in January of 2016. So here we go:

1. I want to get back into healthy eating and exercising. I mean really focus on becoming the girl I was a few months ago. Because of finishing graduate school and being in and out of community theater shows I have really let myself fall off of the healthy trail and I can tell a huge difference in just the way I am from day to day.

2. To go along with number 1. I want to set an actual goal to lose at least 30 pounds by January. (which I think is very doable and healthy and not drastic like some people saying they want to lose 10 pounds in a week.) Losing 10 pounds may happen on certain weeks but that is not something that can be kept up easily so I want to do it in a healthy and stable way that way I can maintain my progress.

3. Once I reach my 30 pounds I don't want to stop until I feel happy with myself and my body. I don't want a number to determine my happiness so whenever I feel most comfortable and beautiful in my own skin then that is when I will stop losing and start the track to maintaining. I am not saying this is going to happen in even 6 months to a year but the time will pass anyway and I owe it to myself to be the happiest  and healthiest version of me I can be.

4. I want to get a tattoo. I have pretty much decided what I want and where and I have decided that my bestie Daniel and I will be getting them over winter break this year. Getting a tattoo is something I have wanted to do for a while and especially after my dad passed away in 2013. I wanted to get something that symbolized him and reminded me of the love he had for me and I think I have found the perfect thing, so be looking out for a post about that in a few months! *eek!*

5. I want to do something drastic to my hair. I have done some very drastic things this past year and everything I have done I have loved and so now I want to become more adventurous. This past year I have dyed my hair red from being a natural blonde and I had straight across bangs. Both of which I loved but now I want to do something daring and exciting! Again, there will be pictures and a post all about it when it happens! I can't wait!

6 Most of all I want to continue my journey to figuring out who I am and what I want out of life. This may seem a little like the generic "I want to find myself" resolution but what I mean by this is figure out what career path I want to go into, find a job within that career path, and most of all figure out what I want out of my life. I think doing something like a vision board with stuff on it for this one would be awesome. And when I do it I will definitely make a post so you all can see it!

I just feel like now is the perfect  time to experiment and have fun figuring out what I want because I am now out of school and have the rest of my adult life in front of me!

What are some mid year resolutions you want to set for yourself? Let me know in the comments!

xoxo Jess

Ways to combat a sleepless night

Do you ever have those days where no matter how much sleep you get you still wake up feeling exhausted? More times than not that is how I have been waking up every morning. Blame it on my on-the-go schedule where I work all day and go straight to rehearsal at night and do it all over again. I love being able to keep busy but it does start to affect things like the brightness of my skin or the bags that grow larger under my eyes. So because of this recent battle with fatigue I have created some ways to combat that tired look and feeling in a way that makes people think I got 8 hours of sleep instead of my usual 5!

Tip #1

This is something I've done since I had the option but it is still the most important to me and that is shower in the morning. I know many people battle over whether it is better to shower at night or in the morning but from experience I can tell you that for someone who doesn't get much sleep that hot shower in the morning does wonders to get me alert and not groggy. Not only does it wake my body up but it also leaves me feeling refreshed and ready for the day! So those of you who are nay-sayers just give it a go for a week and see if it makes a difference in how awake you feel in the morning! 

Tip #2
Another great way to wake up your skin and also your senses is a face wash. You can use any face wash that you like or even opt for the "lazy" way and use a face wipe but by putting that cold cleanser on your face it helps to make you more bright eyed and luminous and makes your skin less splotchy and dim. This also gives you a clean surface to apply your normal daily makeup routine.

Tip #3
If you wake up later than planned (the snooze button does happen to the best of us) then the first defense to looking tired is concealer. This little bottle is a miracle worker on those nasty under eye bags and are also great to use as a highlighter on the top of your cheek bone to give you a luminous look. Pick a concealer than is a little lighter than your skin tone and it will not only cover dark under eye circles but also make you look more awake.

Tip #4
When I wake up in the morning my eyes always feel tired. Recently after my last trip to the eye doctor I was diagnosed with chronic dry eye. When I wake up my eyes feel dry. Like they need a huge glass of water so the way I do this is by using eye drops made for dry eye. Even if you don't have chronic dry eye using eye drops in the morning is a great way to hydrate those tired eyes and make you feel rested.

Tip #5
To wake up those now hydrated and concealed eyes the finishing touch is mascara. I don't know what it is about a little mascara but by using it to enhance, darken, and lengthen your eye lashes it opens up your eyes and makes you look more awake. Thank you to whomever created this wonderful miracle product. My favorite mascara at the moment is Benefit's Roller Lash. It really sticks to my lashes and make them curl without having to use my eye lash curler.

Tip #6
The last tip I have for making you look more awake after a night of little sleep is blush. This may seem a little weird but it honestly is something that will not only brighten your face but also enhance your cheek bones and facial features. By applying a little bit of blush to the apples of your cheeks and sweeping it up to your temples it can brighten even the most tired face.

These tips are just a few of the ways I have been finding successful in making me feel and look more awake on most mornings because we all know none of us gets enough sleep at night.

If you have any tips you use in the mornings to help make yourself look and feel more awake leave them in the comments below!

xoxo Jess