Product Review: Planners

I am starting a new blog series of product reviews. Disclaimer: The views are strictly my own, and I am doing this to solely review a product's pros and cons that might benefit you all! I want to know what works and what doesn't, and better yet... why! So shout out to my first product review: Emily Ley's Simplified Planner. I am a planner snob. I don't want to spend a lot of money on it, but I need to to be functional for my life/work. I happened to get this at 20% off, thank you Black Friday. So it was worth the investment. I have used everything from Target to Lilly, and this one is by far the best.

 

Here are just a few of my favorite Pros:

• Gold Foil. Minor detail, but I am so into gold these days.

• Pocket sleeve inside the front cover. Perfect for receipts or important things to do. 

• Daily Pages. This is so important to me. I love having an hourly guide, a to do list, notes, and even a dinner section. Come on, how useful!

• Quotes. Again, a minor detail, but I think it sets this planner apart.  Each day has a quote on it. Today's says: What you do every day matters more than what you do once in awhile. 

• Sunday Checklist

• Durable. I need a durable planner.

Cons: None yet. 

While I realize this price may be steep for a "planner", it is a lot more than that. I really love all that it has to offer. I have only been using it for 3 weeks, and so far so good. I hope it meets expectations until December when it is time to order a new one :)

If you haven't taken a peek at Emily Ley's shop, I highly recommend it. She has some really unique items. And I love her freebie section!! Look for her app coming this summer!


What are your favorite planners? Do you have this one?

The Glam Series: My Skincare Routine

I am all about this link up series. I have been very fortunate in my life to be blessed with "good" skin- other than some rosy cheeks. However.. that doesn't mean I was taking care of like I should! When I was in college, I worked for Estee Lauder at Dillard's. Let me just tell you, I absolutely love skincare products now. Even though it can be pricey, and I am all about saving money... some things you just need to spend the extra money on! Great time to get products like that are during promotions, so you get some extra goodies with your purchase!

So here are a few items that are staples in my routine:

Clarisonic. 

I love mine. The first two weeks you will experience what I call the "dark days." Your skin will be going through some serious changes, and after that you will love the way it looks and feels.

Cleanser. 

I use all sorts of cleansers. I literally have a basket full of the travel size ones. I stick to Estee Lauder or Lancome mostly. If you tend to have dry skin- be careful of foaming cleansers with your clarisonic. It can increase drying. Also- I always make sure they are soap free. If you have dry skin, like I do, in the winter, I would recommend a creme cleanser, it is much more gentle.

Moisturizer. 

I use moisturizer every morning. I am spoiled. Because I worked there, I won free product all the time. One of my favorite moisturizers is ReNutriv Comfort Creme. It is perfect for skin that tends to dry in the winter. In the summer, this is my go to moisturizer . It is light and has SPF 15. They also have an oil-free version, which is perfect for people who tend to have excess oil!
Less expensive alternative that I love: Ponds moisturizer or Olay. 

Nighttime. 

Of all my products, this is my favorite.  Though it is pricey, it is well worth it. The 1.7 oz bottle should last you 4-6 months. You only need like 3 baby drops. It isn't an oil, so it won't cause breakouts. It actually helps fight all signs of aging and damage to your skin- including acne. I love love love this product!

 

Weekend Recap

This weekend was so great, exhausting, but great! Saturday was girls' night. Andrea, Kylah, and myself went to Rose Pepper in East Nashville. I had never been, but it was so yummy! It was so good to catch up with them and laugh until our bellies hurt. After a couple hours at Rose Pepper, we headed back to Kylah's... where we proceeded to watch my wedding video... and laugh at how Kylah was pretty much the star of it.

 

Sunday was topped off with watching an ugly victory of the Seahawks with the hubs!

Thankful.

I think as women, it's our nature to become overwhelmed and anxious when life pushes you. Whether it be a negative or positive reason for being overwhelmed or anxious, sometimes you just need to let it out.

Yesterday was that day. Work is so busy right now. I've never been this busy. My type-A personality is really taking a reality check right now. I'm the type that wants a plan. I want to know how, when, where, what is going to be done. It drives my husband crazy- he's never said that, but I know that's what he thinks. But, that's me. So when I have all the crazy great opportunities coming up and managing my what feels like and overnight growing customer base, I felt really overwhelmed and anxious.

Pause: one of my goals for 2014 is to not tweet personal things. For example, how I feel, if I'm pissed, etc. I recently read an article that opened my eyes as to how it's controlling you by seeking attention and approval for your every thought and action. Whoa. Side note- I was listening to one of my favorite speakers, and he said "always present yourselves in a social setting as you want to be seen. If you socially present yourself as a shambly, broke postgrad then that's what people will think. If you socially present yourself as a hardworking, self improving adult, then that is what people will see. One of my favorite quotes is: you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with" Bam. Emphasizes my social media kick.

Well, I already had a bonehead moment and tweeted about being overwhelmed and wanting to cry. I didn't do it for all my closest friends to call or text me, or for everyone to know I'm "so busy" that I want to cry. But, I did. I may not have intended that, but that is why people (including myself) tweet things like that. To seek attention and approval. Drats.

Cue the silver lining: my friend, Jo. Yes, I've blogged about her before. I'm not exaggerating when I say, she has been such a blessing I my life and she is my most genuine friend. Which to me, that's the best quality a friend could have.

In the midst of her problems, busy schedules, and juggling all of life in general... She paused. She took time to first and foremost pray for me via text message. If that doesn't give you a sense of peace, I'm not sure what will. And if that wasn't enough (which it absolutely was enough), she proceeded to ask me what's going on. I love that she chose to ask that after she prayed. We don't need details to pray, we just need to pray. So I spilled everything. Details that only Patrick and my parents know. None of it is negative, but I've become very cautious of what I tell people- regardless the subject. She prayed for me, and she listened to me. What a sweet reminder of what a genuine person and a genuine friendship is- and how I should be as well. So, today, I am praying that sweet prayer that she prayed over me and thanking God for such a wonderful friendship.

Date Night!

I am one of those "please don't make me do anything after work during the week" type girls- especially when it involves driving back downtown. So Sunday we decided to have a date night on Friday night. Then my hot shot husband won a sales contest, and we got free tickets on the ice to the Predators game for Tuesday night. We know very little about hockey. But, it was an absolute blast! We are pretty sure we cheered when we were supposed to, and we even got to yell "you suck" to the other team (Calgary Flames- shout out to our Canadian Honeymooning friends!!!). All in all, date night was a huge success-- even better that we didn't have to pay for anything!!

  

Weekend *Life* Recap

Since I have been swamped at work (I really don't even have time to be doing this, so shh.), I am going to do a weekend/life recap. I usually don't talk about work in blogland, simply because no one wants to hear about work and I don't really want to talk about it unless I am there! BUT, I have a lot of huge opportunities coming up, some this week-some this quarter, and I am thrilled. None are guaranteed, but they open a lot of doors for me, which is exciting.

SO here is a quick recap:

[-] Lila is recovering from surgery like a true champ.

[-] Patrick has officially been a local for a week now. Aka, his transfer went into effect last Sunday. Hooray! No seriously, hooray!!!!

[-] We are on the search for a house... still. Rome was obviously NOT built in a day. But this also coincides with our upcoming opportunities.

[-] We decided not to run the Country Music Marathon this April. It was a heart breaking decision, but it is way too expensive for the both of us to run in. We are going to pick another that doesn't cost over $100 just to run! My running friend/partner, Jordyn, decided not to for certain reasons, so that made it all the more clear what our decision should be! We are all still training, so at any time we will be able to just go do one! Yes, WE are training together... this should be fun.

[-] We are going to Destin in May, too!

[-]  This weekend is PACKED and I am sooo excited. Date night Friday- long overdue. Girls day/night Saturday with two of my sweet friends/bridesmaids... again- long overdue. Sunday- Seahawks game.

[-]  I think that is all for now. I guess I need to get back to work!

Cheers to 2013

I have never been one to go crazy about NYE. However, my sentimental nature absolutely loves reflecting on what I have learned this year, and what I want next year to be like. In the words of the great Taylor Swift, "you can plan for a change in the weather and time..." Other than that, it is completely unexpected what will happen in 2014. I have big goals. I have small goals. However, the goals aren't really that important. If you think about it, the top goals made on NYD are rarely met. Why? In my opinion, the reason is obvious. People don't think about and plan for the steps and daily tasks that will need to happen in order to get to that goal. I have been reading a lot of Emily Ley's blogs and her friend Lara, and a common theme seems to really be tugging at me: making things happen.

I have learned so much this year in my own life, and from others' lives as well. I am continuing to learn these things. I do not have it all together by any means, but I have had moments where the light bulb just came o and these truths became so evident.  Here are some highlights of that.

• Invest in a marriage, not a wedding.
• Communication is everything.
• Your words matter. Think carefully before you speak, text, tweet, email, etc. You never know who you are impacting with your words. 
• Friends will let you down, and sometimes, their words and actions will really hurt you. Forgive them. Whether they even know it or not. 
• Comparison is the thief of joy.
• Let go of things you cannot change. And stop trying to mold yourself into someone else's idea of what you should be.
• Social Media can be a wonderful thing. Are you using it wisely? If it were posted on a billboard, would you be proud or embarrassed? Again- your words matter.
• Love. Love with all you have.
• Work hard. You can take a break later.
• The only thing stopping you from being great is what sits on your shoulders.
• Don't wait for permission or acceptance. Just do it. ( unless it's with your husband ;) )
• You become the average of the 5 people you interact with the most. Choose Wisely.
• Failure is not a word in your vocabulary.

My goals for 2014 are broad. Each month I am going to focus on specific goals within each in hopes that I continue to grow. The past few weeks I have spent a lot of time thinking about a verse that would tie everything from 2013 to my goals of 2014 and this one keeps coming to mind. I have placed it where I will see it every day in hopes that I will constantly be reminded:

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you O Lord... Psalm 19:14 

In 2014 I plan:

• To continue to learn.
• To invest in my marriage.
• To invest in relationships.
• To be intentional.
• To live a life of loyalty, integrity, and hard work. 

Circling back to my intro, I saw this quote on Lara's blog about making things happen. It is such a great motivation to me! I made it all cute and whatnot on an app.

 

Cheers to 2013, let's do this 2014!