Thankful

Gratitude is where it's at, people. Actively practicing gratitude was something that was first introduced to me - really introduced as a spiritual practice - on Oprah's Super Soul Sunday. Of course, when I was little, my parents talked about being thankful, gracious and vocal for all of our blessings, but it wasn't ever something I actively thought about, and explored, as an adult. 

As I continue to learn about my spirituality, gratitude is something that I have found to be incredibly therapeutic. Here are a few of the wonderful things I'm thankful for recently. 

1. A rewarding career that challenges me every single day, and amazing coworkers that make each day so enjoyable.
2. A family that's unrelentingly supportive, and is always there when I need inspiration.
3. A loving relationship with my best friend.
4. A group of friends that I wouldn't replace for the world. These people make my life whole.
5. My apartment. It's my sanctuary.
6. Our Christmas tree. It smells so freakin' good right now in our apartment (+ our cranberry  spice candle).
7. This glass of red wine.
8. Fresh, folded laundry. It's basically the only thing we accomplished on this lazy Sunday, and we're damn proud of it. 
9. My workout today. It was embarrassingly the first time I had worked out in a long time (too long to admit here), so it felt unbelievable to move my body. Already planned a yoga class for tomorrow morning.
10. Planning our trip to Machu Picchu in Peru! We're just starting our research for our trip in early 2015, and it's so exciting to map out the adventure together.

Hope you have a lovely week, all! Xx.

DesignLoveFest's Dress Your Tech | My Favorites

I'm such a fan of a fresh start, and there's something about a new desktop background that kicks me into gear on Sundays and gets me excited for the work week ahead. DesignLoveFest, one of my favorite blogs, has a series called "Dress Your Tech," highlighting downloadable wallpapers for your computer. They're the best I've seen, and I love that there's always such a variety, yet all of them stay true to her aesthetic (clean, fun & minimalist).

Here are some of my favorites, starting with the one I'm rockin' now.

Happy week, everyone! Xx

Download here at DesignLoveFestDownload here at DesignLoveFest

Download here at DesignLoveFestDownload here at DesignLoveFest

Download here at DesignLoveFest

The Capitol In Fall

Last weekend, Brandon and I hopped in the car for a quick weekend in DC. We spent Friday night with one of my best friends, Margot, and her fiancé, Zach, and got up early on Saturday for a private tour of NASA, thanks to my friend, Lindsay's dad. NASA was DOPE. We saw parts of the James Webb Space Telescope and a few environmental test chambers for rockets, including a room that simulates deep space (*mind blown*). 

We then headed to a nice brunch, explored the mandatories on The Mall, which were all gorgeous surrounded by the changing leaves (The Washington Monument, The WWII Memorial, Korean War Memorial and the White House), and met up with Margot and Zach for a beer tasting event at The Daughters of the Revolution. There was something about drinking beer, and being surrounded by drunk people, in such a historical place - it was a super cool experience.

It was a quick weekend, but I'm so glad we were able to go (especially after an equally historic weekend in Philly). Here are some photos from the weekend! Hope you enjoy. Xx

A Saturday Adventure in Philly

A few weeks ago, my mom graciously dropped my brother's car off in New York City for me to have until Christmas, and since she's dropped it off, we haven't used it at all. We've loosely planned a few things (apple piking, hiking), but our weekends end up getting booked up (in the best way possible).

This past weekend, though - we planned. We woke up early on Saturday and drove the car two hours to Philly! It was actually really lovely getting out of bed and carpe-ing the diem five hours before I usually do on a weekend. When we arrived in Philly, we went straight to Ben Franklin's grave then took an early detour to Reading Terminal Market for an early lunch. Brandon got the traditional cheesesteak - with Cheez Wiz - and I embarrassingly purchased the vegetarian cheesesteak. Even the guy behind the grill thought I was crazy. We then went off to the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall (both super cool). We made a pit stop for a martini at The Continental, did a little vintage shopping and capped the day off with some Italian food before getting in the car to go back to New York.

It was such a beautiful fall day in Philly - we loved it.

What's next? DC on Friday! Another weekend, another adventure.

 

 

 

The Body Shop Haul

Thanks to my girl, Essiebutton, I've been reading a lot about The Body Shop recently. She loves the store herself and always highlights the best-looking products on her YouTube channel & blog. It got me super curious to try some products out...

...So, when Brandon & I were traveling back from Virginia to New York over Labor Day weekend, I stopped into The Body Shop at the airport while we were waiting for our plane to get in. More than $50 later, I walked out with a pretty decent-sized bag and a big grin on my face. 

Here's a look at what I got.

Shea Body Butter | $12.00

Shea Body Scrub | $12.00

Seaweed Clarifying Night Treatment | $12.50

Hemp Moisturizing Hand Wash | $6.00

Vitamin E Hydrating Toner | $7.80

Vitamin E Overnight Serum-In-Oil | $15.00

*Read Essiebutton's "First Impressions" blog post of this product here!

Have you ever shopped at The Body Shop? What are some of your favorite products? I'd love to know.

Xx

DIY Instagram Photo Wall

Instagram is a hobby of mine, so when my friend Chrissy told me about Artifact Uprising - a site that creates physical photos & albums from your Instagram photos - I was super interested. She showed me her cute wall of Instagram photos in her Boston apartment and I fell in love. I needed to do the same.

I ordered 25 prints of my favorite Instagram photos from Artifact Uprising, and within a week, they were in my apartment. Talk about some serious Insta-ception.

Take a look at how I transformed the space above our bed into an intimate peek into our day-to-day lives. I absolutely love it. Waking up & seeing some of my favorites moments - lovely meals, views from my most memorable travels, and snapshots of the mundane, but interesting - is the absolute best.

I recommend taking a look at the website & seeing how you can transform your favorite photos (whether it be in designed photo albums, books, wood calendars; you name it). Sometimes it's great to move from the digital to the physical.

Before

After

How To Clean Your Make-Up Brushes!

A huge pet peeve of mine is dirty make-up brushes, so I like to give mine a good cleaning once a month or so. Instead of buying expensive cleaning solution, I go for the cheap, easy version: the Dove beauty bar! The beauty bar is SO inexpensive and it leaves my brushes so clean & beautiful. 

The process is super easy. Take out your make-up brushes, your eyelash curler (& your tweezers, too!) and lay them out on a towel. Just wet the beauty bar under your sink and start brushing your brushes up against the bar. You'll start seeing ALL of your make-up go down the drain, which is such an awesome sight. Then, keep brushing them against the bar of soap until you don't see any make-up in the sink anymore.

Simply lay them flat on the same towel after rinsing, and by the next morning, your brushes should be good as new! It only takes about 10-15 minutes, and it's so worth it. Kind of soothing, too.