Friday Favs

Oh. My. Gosh. It's Friday and I really want to start the 5 o'clock dance party right the F now but I shall refrain. Even though my printer didn't work yesterday I got A LOT done at work and I'm hoping for a very successful day today as well so let's get started with some of my favorites lately.

Favorite Purchase with Christmas $$

I really wanted to spend some Christmas money on one of two Tory Burch Fitbit bands like the new metallic ones or the multi-wrap style. One it's still too much for me to spend on one item unless it's a purse, lol AND the metallic one wasn't available until March so I wasn't interested in waiting. Well when shopping for sis for Christmas I found a set of THREE on Amazon for $10 and they had one that was simple with only a texture that gave it more of a style than a plain black band and I love it!!


The pink one is really red, and my sister got this set and the spotty dots is sooo cute but I'm sure it'll get dirty.

Favorite Gift

If you follow me on Instagram you might have seen my attempt to participate in #fmsphotoaday and I did good until I was inside for the evening and forgot to take a pic of leaves then I fell completely off the wagon. Anyway, I shared my new Swell bottle that I got for Christmas! It's hot pink and I always have water with me, so it's perfect. I even ended up with a gold lid so I feel fancy drinking my water now.

Always have water with me. #fmsphotoaday #swellbottle #hotpink #nofilter

A photo posted by Heather (@mylittlehea) on Jan 4, 2016 at 5:10pm PST

Favorite News

Someone shared Will Smith's thoughts on not being in the new Independence Day movie and I was all like there's a NEW Independence Day Movie?


Independence Day was one of those movies our family watched over and over again to where we know most of the movie. I just hope this one is as good as the first, which the preview makes me believe it might just be.

Favorite New Recipe

I made these muffins and they are the bomb.com. Less than 100 calories a piece, no flour and so tastey. She has other recipes I'm so excited to try and I want to figure out how to make different flavors using her recipe as a base. So pumped that I've been spending a lot of time in the kitchen trying new recipes but this one has been made twice already!

No pics because I eat or give them away too fast, bwahaha!

Favorite Funnies Because, Always

Now that the cold front is probably over and I can get out from under the snuggle blankets I'm planning on doing some design work and taking down my tree. If I get it down this month I'll count that as a win but if I can get it down this weekend I may just have to reward myself with seeing a movie in the theaters.

What's on your agenda for the weekend?!

Linking up for Friday Favs with Amanda and High Five for Friday with Bright on a Budget, Coffee with Caitlin, Cup of Tea, and Della Devoted!!!

Book Review: This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp

10:00 a.m.
The principal of Opportunity, Alabama's high school finishes her speech, welcoming the entire student body to a new semester and encouraging them to excel and achieve.

10:02 a.m.
The students get up to leave the auditorium for their next class.

10:03
The auditorium doors won't open.

10:05
Someone starts shooting.

Told over the span of 54 harrowing minutes from four different perspectives, terror reigns as one student's calculated revenge turns into the ultimate game of survival.

Review

Wow! I knew when I read the synopsis for This Is Where It Ends I was in for an interesting read. I was drawn in from the start and did not want to put it down.

One of my favorite aspects of this book was the multiple viewpoints throughout the school. I could picture myself in MY high school throughout the entire book, well minus the upstairs because our small town high school didn't have one of those but you get the point.

Nijkamp wrote it very realistically and I'd definitely be interested to see her other books. At first, the multiple viewpoints were confusing and I thought Nijkamp didn't give enough description but you find out more about the different characters throughout the book, not all at the beginning. By the end, I could see my friends from high school in them.

I would have been very interested in having the shooter as a POV but I think it's very unrealistic to know exactly what a shooter is thinking and would be difficult to write. All in all it was an interesting, fictional look at what could occur in the time frame during which a shooter opens fire in a school.

It was a very out of body experience for me and I ended up having a nightmare the night I finished revolving a shooter and a hotel room.


Are you a reader? Check out my other book reviews here. Also make sure we're friends on Goodreads!!

I was provided with a copy of This Is Where It Ends in exchange for my honest review.

First Weekend of 2016!

Good morning lovelies!!

Although I must go back to adulting today I'm excited for that clean slate that comes with every new year and every new day. Since I'm not doing the whole resolution thing I am still trying to be the best me I can and am really looking forward to 2016!


Friday we toasted in the night at my parents house, it was cozy and really a good way to end 2015. I ended up staying a few more days than planned and really enjoyed the time to not stress about what was waiting on me at home.


After we got up and around, we FINALLY saw Star Wars VII and I now understand my friends sons obsession with BB-8 he's just so cute!


Saturday we also FINALLY got to go shooting. We have been talking about going as a family for months but just couldn't schedule the time. Well, a friend had company and wanted to go with so we all got to go, yay! I also got to fire one of the new "big guns" for the first time.


Since I wasn't driving all weekend I definitely consumed some alcohol and since mimosas were to be had New Years day for breakfast, we had extra orange juice that was perfect for Tequila Sunrise!


Throughout the entire break I did a lot of reading, finished up some design projects and rarely wore makeup. I would call staycation a major success.

Make sure you check out a guest post I did on Becca Dorr and I posted the things I want to focus on in 2016!

How was your first weekend of 2016?

2016 The Year Of...

Make sure you check out my post on Becca Dorr today as I put together a list of parties you can have in 2016 that don't happen every year!!

Last year I had lots of goals and resolutions. Some I surpassed and others I barely made a dent in. This year I intend to focus on a few things that I believe will lead to a multitude of change.

The year of ME.

I turn 31 this year.

Isn't that supposed to be when your body no longer bounces back, so I need to focus on being the best me I can. No more binge watching/reading because I'm lazy...unless I've done some working out, healthy eating or design work OR blogging for that matter. You know, just a few areas I am looking to improve upon in 2016.

Preparing for the FUTURE

After reading this article I decided my entire year of no spending really could make a huge change if I do six months of a shopping cleanse and then the last six months are buckling down and trying to save every penny.

I want to buy a house that I can make mine with more than just paint, like built in book cases and freaking window boxes!


Apartment living is nice and has shown that I bask in the laziness since I don't have to do anything like yard work or DIY projects to make things so pretty.

While I was writing this my girl crush shared something on Instagram that really hit home and reminded me of why I just love her.

You all know by now that I'm not one for making resolutions. I am, however, a big believer in setting intentions. My friends @iamhertribe hit the nail on the head so perfectly today that I'm going to go ahead and repost what they wrote, and wish you all an incredible, focused, narrow & deep, beautiful year ahead. Put your action where your heart is 💗 ・・・ Be easy on yourself. Don't rush to write down half-hearted resolutions + force accelerated change on your life, all in effort to make the January 1st mark. Now is a time for reflection. For pausing. For learning. For letting go and transcending. What is heavy? What is light? What would you like to see shift? Create an intention, a positive calling, your own personal spark of magic that will manifest itself. All rooted in loving self, then back it all with your action. #iamhertribe

A photo posted by Sophia Bush (@sophiabush) on Dec 31, 2015 at 9:53pm PST

And now I have girl crush song stuck in my head.

What are you looking to improve in 2016?

2015 Goals + Resolutions How I Did

Whenever I write a New Year Resolution I'm always gungho about getting it accomplished in the beginning and then I typically forget about it as the year goes on...until the end that is. Statistics say something like 50% or 70% of resolutions get tossed out in the first two weeks of the year, let's see how I did for 2015.

This year at the halfway point I posted a check in.

I'm excited that some things DEFINITELY got accomplished and reminded of the things I need to work on NEXT year.

In 2015 one goal I was really striving for was Spend Less, Use More.

I think I did a very good job of that for the first six months and then I realized I didn't need to so it went out the window. Like completely out the window and my apartment is just overflowing with stuff. Every year, every month it seems Spring cleaning rears it's ugly head and I'm constantly wanting to purge the old things to make room for the new things I just had to have. Anybody else?

2015 Personal Goals

Healthier Me in 2015
Nope, while I tried a few things this isn't something that stuck. Unless I have a really good, healthy year I'm not sure this one will ever get off my list of things to do in...

Read 125 Books
This goal had to be upped to 150 and I still surpassed that by 14 books for a total of 164!!

Try a New Thing Each Month
I did pretty good with this and I'd like to keep it going for many years to come!

January - Gasparilla!!
February - Sunrise / Sunset in the same day
March - Blogger Get Together Mingle
April - Mardi Gras at Universal and a Concert
May - Lived by myself for first time
June - Movie on the beach
July - 4th of July party for one
August - Sister moved to FL, road tripped with a cat
September - Seattle and Forks, meeting S. Meyer
October - Haunted House at Universal Halloween Horror Nights
November - Met Heidi Swapp - Meet and greet goals!
December - NFL game

Live by myself.
I did it and it's all I was hoping it would be. I do get lonely, but the third floor isn't where I want to raise a dog. Now my goal is to save $$$$$$$ to by a house with a yard!

Blog Goals

I'd like to:
Post one DIY or recipe each month.
This was probably an every other month or something but it's a goal I want to work on for 2016 for sure!!

Post one video (makeup, haul, books, any ideas, etc.) a month.
I'm kind of over the Youtube thing. It was fun but it takes a lot more work than I'm willing to put the time in for right now.

Sponsor one blog a month.
Yeah, kind of forgot about this for a few months but I sponsored Becca Dorr this month and need to find someone to sponsor in January!

Business Goals

Bring on at least one new client.
You guys, not only did I bring on new clients I had a repeat customer that found me simply through a random person sharing my Facebook page. It was pretty amazing!

Finish my business site.
Yeah, the work is steady enough that I haven't been too worried about this but you can bet it'll be on my list for 2016 again.

How did you do on your 2015 goals and resolutions?

Next post will be my goals and aspirations for 2016. It's going to be another great year!