Another month, another POPSUGAR box! December's box was so full of goodies and amazing items that were ridiculously fun to open up. The best mail days are always days that include a POPSUGAR box coming in! Here's what was inside December's box:
New Years Eve is one of my favorite holidays to dress for because I love sequins and I love velvet and both are the perfect picks for NYE! While I love dressing up and going out, I also love staying in and wearing comfy clothes just as much. Whether you have a fancy party to go to, just love sparkles or are staying in; I got you covered. ;) Here's my 7 favorite looks for NYE:
Um... how are there only four days until 2017?! I know I say it a lot and everyone else says it a lot too but I legitimately cannot believe this year is so close to being over. It went so fast! With a lot of ups and some downs, it's been a pretty awesome year. This was my first "full" year blogging (I started mid January 2015) and the growth I've seen in my blog, myself and my attitude toward my blog have changed drastically. When I sat down to brainstorm for this post, I went back and read my 2015 year in review and I was actually surprised at the growth I saw in 2015; the way my blog has grown this year completely overtakes what I saw in my first year of blogging and it's been incredible. From the support of friends and family to the friendships I've made with bloggers to the engagement on blog posts that I couldn't have imagined, it's been *so* amazing and I can't wait for such growth to happen again (and more so - fingers crossed!) in 2017.
I'm also adding in my very first readers survey at the bottom of this post (thanks to Summer from Coffee With Summer for the inspiration to make a readers survey!)! I would so appreciate you taking just a minute or two to fill this out. It'd mean the world!! :)
Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone had an amazing, relaxing Christmas weekend - I had such an amazing holiday and I'm still sort of in denial that it's over! If you follow me on Instagram, you probably saw yesterday that I'm not ready for Christmas to be over... So this entire week will still be treated as a holiday. ;) I mean it technically is a holiday week still; we're less than 7 days away from a new year! Anyway - the Nordstrom Half Yearly sale started yesterday and it's on now through January 2nd. It's genius for Nordstrom to have this sale right after Christmas because everyone is trying to find good deals in the post-holiday shopping rush *and* there's holiday money to be spent!! Here are my favorite things I've found from the sale; and be quick because things are selling out fast!
Merry Christmas! I hope everyone has an absolutely amazing and relaxing day with family and truly enjoy the holiday. It's a gorgeous day here, and I'm soaking in every second. I love this time of year and I'm looking forward to see what the day and the rest of this holiday season holds! Thank you to everyone who takes the time to read my blog and to those who follow along. I hope you have a wonderful day and holiday week!!!
XOXO
Happy first full day of winter! It's definitely feeling like winter in New York; it's been snowing on and off for the past few days and it's absolutely frigid outside. One of my favorite things to drink is hot chocolate - I prefer it much more over coffee and I could have it multiple times a day when it's cold out! It's so delicious, fun and easy to make and such a winter staple. A few weeks ago I was in Home Goods and I walked through the baking section and found "hot chocolate sticks". But that's just what they were - wooden sticks, with chocolate that likely wasn't all that great and mini marshmallows that I would assume were as hard as a rock. But they were adorable - and then I looked at the price and they were $14.99 for a pack of 4!!! Yeah, you read that right. No way was I paying $14 for 4, mini wooden sticks. That's how I came up with this idea - except my hot chocolate stirrers are *fully* edible and not fake chocolate. ;)
So you've procrastinated finishing your shopping alllll the way to December 21st, huh? Yeah, me too! Actually I just have one or two more things to get but it's so typical of me to have every intention of finishing my shopping way earlier and have it not happen. Luckily for the procrastinators like us, the internet is on our side. At this point it's usually easier to just run to the mall but if you're not having that, here's some awesome last minute gifts that you can still get in time for Christmas:
It's officially CHRISTMAS WEEK!!!! I can't believe we're so close! I also can't believe I'm not done with my Christmas shopping, ha! I'm running some more get guides because there's just so many good things still out there and I know I'm not the only one who isn't done shopping! I'm super close, but there's still a few things and people on my list I haven't crossed off yet. These two guides are two of my favorites and two of which I want *everything* listed on both. So for all the beauty buffs and girl bosses, this one's for you!
If you shop a LOT, and you like saving money a LOT - you *need* to sign up for Ebates. This isn't sponsored in any way - I've just totally and quickly become so obsessed with using it! About a month ago after seeing a ton of commercials and ads for Ebates, I decided to sign up and see if it was 1. legit and 2. really worked. The commercials always make it seem like it's too good to be true - literally making money to shop - but let me freakin' tell you, it works!
Some of my favorite gifts to buy are stocking stuffers! They're so fun to buy and I love personalizing different stockings each year. There are literally endless possibilities when it comes to stuffing a stocking and no matter what price point you want to stay at, there's tons of great options for everyone! Stocking stuffers are usually littler, less expensive goodies that are fun extras but I think it's also a really fun idea to get a cute stocking and fill it with fun goodies for Secret Santa gifts and gifts for your friends too. There's so many possibilities; here's my favorites:
I know I can't be the only one who goes through nearly everything in her closet when I'm trying to find something to wear... Especially during the holidays when it's fun to dress up! Whether it be for a holiday party, Christmas day or anything else this season, there are so many fun ways to style an outfit and be holiday ready. And whether you're getting dressed up or staying more casual, you can still look *super* cute doing it! These five outfits are easy to mix and match pieces with and are perfect for all holiday season long, but beyond that too:
Happy Monday! I can't believe we're just under two weeks away from Christmas - I hate to admit it, but I'm still not done with my shopping! I thought I would be by now but I also know I'm not the only one... I put together two gift guides for today's daily dose of gifts for double the shopping fun! It's Green Monday so there's a LOT of great sales going on. So if you're stumped, here's a ton of gift idea inspo for your mom and for the hostess for all of those holiday parties:
This time of year is ridiculously busy - every day it's nonstop going and it gets tiring! Especially when there's only 24 hours in a day and it's dark by 4 PM (insert eye roll emoji here). Just because it feels like you don't have enough time in the day doesn't mean you don't; you just need to schedule yourself out more efficiently and it'll make a huge difference. The holidays are always so much fun yet filled with such stress, and it shouldn't be like that. As most of you know, I graduated college with a B.S. this past spring and since then, blogging and VA work have been a full time gig for me. It's been a true blessing and I wouldn't trade it for the world, but it's extremely time consuming. Here are my most helpful tips and things I use in my daily routine to make any given day less stressful and to help manage my time better:
It's finally time to go all out when it comes to the holidays and I could not be more excited! I think I have about half of my shopping done, but things I've ordered are still sitting in boxes in the foyer so I can't be too sure, ha! It's the craziest/busiest but hands down the best time of year. I've been seeing really fun products and great deals going on lately so today I'm sharing two gift guides - one for your best friends and one for her. Both are filled with tons of inspiration, so if you're lacking in the shopping department these are for you!
December AND the cold weather are here so I'm always looking to try new skincare products that'll help my skin all season long. We had our first official snowfall last night and it's really starting to look *and* feel like winter now! I've been trying lots of products lately and makeup products too - I'm sharing my favorites that I've tried and things I'll be using all month (and probably longer!) long. From matte lip crayons to blush to cleansing creams, here's my favorites:
It's finally the happiest and one of the best months of the year! I'm so excited for the holidays and we're getting so close, it's sort of crazy! This month's currently craving is filled with a ton of different things - things I bought throughout November, some things I found on sale during Cyber week and even a few things that are on my Christmas list. I'm also including a few more things that make for great gift ideas because I know I'm not the only one whose in full gift buying mode! This time of year, there's always so many amazing finds at a ton of stores - I included a couple of really cozy finds too ; )
This time of year, everyone is in full holiday mode. Houses are being decorated, red cups at Starbucks are flying off the shelves and bloggers have their calendars filled to the tippy top with fun holiday posts. Gift guides, recipes, holiday tips; the list is never ending! Which is exactly why it's super important to make your posts stand out, but also to get them seen in the most effective ways possible. A lot of this has to do with knowing where your posts perform the best, but it also has a lot to do with how you promote and how you write your posts. This time of year most especially, consumers are looking for time savers; cleaning hacks, hot gift ideas, great and original holiday recipes. The thing is, everyone is doing this. Everyone is sharing their favorite recipes, gifts and cleaning hacks but finding ways to stand out amongst the rest is the key. Here's how:
