My Current Favorites: August

Packages are my love language. When I was younger and went to sleep-away camp, my parents would always send me and my sister packages. The day you got a package was always the best day ever! It was like a little piece of home, filled with lots of love. In college, my mom and sister both would send me the sweetest packages with snacks, school supplies, and cute accessories. Packages are just the greatest and I absolutely love receiving them.

The other day, I came home to a lovely package from one of my best friends as a "good luck studying!" package. This friends knows me SO well and always gives the best presents ever. This package is definitely on my list of current favorites! I've linked all the items below :)

Sharpie Clear View Highlighters

Greenroom notebooks (in store only, here for similar!)

Staedlter pens

Eos Pomegranate Raspberry Lip Balm

Post-it Pattern Flags (lots of fun patterns including polka dot and gingham!)

Inspirational Quotes - I wasn't kidding about being an inspirational quote junkie!

Starbucks giftcard

Peach Prosecco Candle (discontinued, but here is the same collection, and here is a similarly scented one!)

Huge shout out to my friend for this awesome package! I mean, even the gold polka-dotted tissue paper is on point!

Do you send packages to your friends and family? What are your current favorites? :)

Thanks for reading!

Scarves and Sweets

3 Easy Ways to Spruce Up Your Home

Home is an oasis for me. After a long day, I like to come home and relax, and not worry about catching up on work. Today I wanted to show you 3 easy ways to spruce up your home to make it look and feel more like your personal oasis!

 

1. Fresh flowers - Picking up fresh flowers at the grocery store or farmers market takes your apartment or house to the next level in terms of decor. It adds color, sophistication, and an amazing smell! Bouquets are usually between $10-15 and last for a week or two. Definitely worth it in my opinion because it makes me smile every time I walk by!

2.  Candles - Lighting a candle is one of my favorite ways to relax and decompress. They smell amazing and watching a candle flicker is extremely peaceful for me. I usually get flower-scented candles like jasmine, gardenia, and peony. Aromatherapy is real, guys! I like picking up candles at small boutiques or getting the most amazing Yankee Candles at Bed Bath and Beyond. If you sign up to be a member, you get a 20% off coupon when you sign up, and then a 20% off coupon every month!

3. Colorful prints - I'm an inspiration quote junkie. I love inspirational quotes and phrases, and I have them all over at home, in my agenda, on my desk, on my computer, everywhere! I love this print because it is a good reminder to not be grumpy because with a good outlook, every day is a great day. Chicfetti is an awesome company that has free printables. Prints are a great way to spruce up your home by adding color and inspiration. This print and frame look so fancy and I only paid $12 for the frame at Home Goods (same company as TJ Maxx and Marshalls). If you don't want to buy a frame, it would look just as good with a border of cute washi tape!

 

Do you have any fun decor tips? Comment below :)

Thanks for reading!

Scarves and Sweets

Curls That Last All Day and the Next Day!

I have very thick, straight hair. Growing up, I always loved trying different ways to curl my hair: crimping, sleeping with wet braids, using hot gel wands, hot rollers, curling irons, you name it (thanks mom!). I'd even buy shampoos with promises to curl my hair and borrow gel from my friends who had beautiful, curly hair. If a curling method miraculously worked to create curls in my thick hair, it would last for a few hours and then go back to being pin straight. I've grown to love my easy, minimum-maintenance straight hair, but there are times I like switching it up with some curls. Over the last few months I've tried tons of hair products, read lots of advice online, and talked to my hair stylist and I've found the remedy: an amazing routine for curls that last all day, and (bonus!) they last the next day too!

 

1.  "Dirty" hair - If you just washed your hair that day or the night before, your hair is clean and therefore slick. Curls need grease or a little grit to help them stay in place or they will just fall out. There are two options: curl your hair a day or two post-shampooing OR put some dry shampoo in the roots to create more volume or "grit" so your hair is less slick/slippery. Side note: I LOVE Batiste Dry Shampoo because it is pretty cheap and works great!

2.  Heat protection - A heat protector keeps your hair healthy and undamaged, so your hair doesn't have tons of split ends and look matte. You wouldn't take a cupcake pan out of the oven without mitts, so don't curl your hair without a heat protector! The heat protector also adds a little extra grit to help keep the curls in place.

3. Curling - I section my hair into 3 main parts: top, middle, and bottom. I start with the top and middle sections in a hair clip and leave the bottom section down. I brush through the bottom section and then divide it off into about 6-7 pieces and curl them individually, twisting each piece in the direction away from my face. Once I'm done with the bottom section, I move to the middle section, and then finally finish with the top section. I use a Hot Tools 1" curling iron (on sale now!) set to about 400 degrees. The older your curling iron gets (mine is 6 years old), the hotter it'll need to be, but 350 degrees should be plenty for a new iron.

4. Hairspray and cooling - As soon as I'm done curling all my hair, I spray hairspray all around the curls. I 1000% recommend Redken Control Addict 28 (on sale at Ulta, and even cheaper on Amazon) if you have straight, thick hair. It's by far the best hairspray I've ever used! Then I let my hair cool for about 10 minutes.

5. One last spray - Once my hair has cooled down, I run my fingers through my hair to make more natural waves and then spray is again. This time I'll flip my hair over and spray the underside and all over. Go flaunt your gorgeous curls :)

The proof is in the curls! After 6 hours my curls were still going STRONG! The next day I just slept normally and when I woke up, put a little more hairspray in my hair. The second day curls are looser with a more natural-looking waves.  Curls that last 2 days with budget products?! Count me in, am I right?!

I've been eyeing this beauty but haven't pulled the trigger because of the price. Do you have any curling tips or favorite products? Comment below!

PS If you're not an Ulta Rewards member, you need to join! You don't need to pay or do anything special to join, it's just a rewards program. If you're part of the program, they send you monthly catalogs of new or on sale products and it always has a $3.50 coupon attached. If you use it every time you buy a beauty product (includes make-up remover, shampoo, blush, mascara, etc), that's $42 in savings a year. Cha-ching money back in you're wallet :)

Thanks for reading!

Easy and Delicious Quiche

Anyone who knows me can attest to the fact that I take forever five-ever to pick out groceries, clothes, toiletries, medicine, really any item where I have to spend money. I want to weigh all my options, which ends up taking way too long and drives all my friends and family crazy. The other day my sister and I were at the grocery store and my sister was starting to get stir crazy from me weighing the pro's and con's of every type of lettuce (There were mixed greens, spinach, romaine, the possibilities were seriously endless!). We were both exhausted from a long day and weren't thrilled about having to come home and cook dinner. Suddenly my sister spotted the pre-made pie crust and suggested making a quiche. I jumped at the idea because it's easy, healthy, delicious, and pretty cheap to make. Get ready to for one of the best quiche recipes in the world, handed down from hundreds of quiche-making experiments from my lovely dad!

Total time: 50 mins
Prep time: 30 mins
Bake time: 20 mins
Serves: 8 slices

Ingredients:
-1 store-bought pie crust
-1 spritz of no-stick spray
-1 tablespoon of olive oil
-1 bag of frozen spinach*
-3/4 of a white onion
-1 teaspoon garlic powder
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1/2 teaspoon pepper
-4 eggs
-1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
-2 teaspoons of sour cream

Directions:
1.Take the pie crust out of the plastic container but do not unroll it. Let the rolled up pie crust sit on the counter for 15 minutes.**
2. Preheat oven to 350°F.
3. Add no-stick spray to pan and then unroll pie crust. Place pie crust in the dish and poke it with a fork to make holes all around the pie crust.
4. Bake pie crust at 350°F for 8 minutes.***
5. Dice onion. Add olive oil and onions to a pan and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add spinach and stir until spinach is cooked, about 10 minutes. Stir in garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
6. Crack and beat eggs. Add sour cream to eggs and stir until incorporated.
7. Add veggies to pie dish and place a layer of cheese on top. Add the eggs, followed by a second layer of cheese.
8. Bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes, or until firm.


*You can switch out spinach for broccoli or asparagus but I love how it tastes with spinach!
**The pie crust comes from the refrigerator and will tear if it isn't at room temperature. Letting it warm up to room temperature will allow it to be more supple and less likely to tear when you're placing it on the pie dish.
***This makes the crust extra flaky and delicious!

Thanks for reading!

Scarves and Sweets

Work It Out: Cute Workout Clothes!

Working out is one of my biggest stress relievers! I love running, hiking, doing the elliptical or cycle machine, or taking a cardio dance class. Sometimes it's hard to get the mental motivation to get off the couch and into the car to go the gym. Once I'm on my way, it's a piece of cake  and I'm always so happy that I took the time to work out that day. As Elle Woods says "Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands, they just don't."

One thing that definitely helps motivate me to get off the couch is cute and colorful workout clothes. We definitely got the "colorful" part down in the picture above, which was just after we finished The Color Run!! Some workout brands can be super expensive but Aeropostale's (hang with me for just 1 second) work out line, Live Love Dream, has some super cute and affordable pieces. They are also very good quality, I've had some of their pieces for a few years and they're still going strong. I linked a few current favs below!

"Live Love Run" tank

Butterfly sports bra

Mesh "There are no limits" shirt

Pink patterned leggings//LEOPARD PRINT leggings!!

Colorful headband

Periwinkle zip sweater

Thanks for reading!

Scarves and Sweets

How do you get motivated to go to the gym? Do you have any favorite workout clothing lines? Comment below!

PS Live Love Dream is having a huge sale right now, and almost all of the linked pieces are under $20! Plus they are giving free shipping for purchases over $75. Also, they frequently have 30% off coupon codes (one just ended!) so be sure to check back if there is a piece you are eyeing :)
PPS Can you tell I like the color pink?!