Autumn Playlist 2018

Welcome back to Blogtober Day Six!

Today I wanted to keep it a little simple and just share with you some of my favorite songs that I listen to that help give my day a little more of an Autumn feel. Whether you're listening to them while you're sat out near a bonfire, or if you huddled up inside with a nice warm drink and a good book in your hands, these songs just exude Chilly Autumn Nights.

Anchor by Novo Amor

Slumber by Lewis Watson

What About Today? by Lewis Watson

Fever To The Form by Nick Mulvey

Birdsong by George Ogilvie

Cherry Wine (Live) by Hozier

Blood Bank by Bon Iver

If you want a new Autumn playlist but are stuck on where to start, I'd give those seven a listen first. They might inspire you to expand on that playlist. And if you have favorite songs this season, share them down below as I always like to listen to new things. Also, if you have a Spotify playlist of your Autumnal songs, comment them so I can go check them out as well.

Hope you have a great Saturday!

Jay



Mini disclaimer: I haven't had a proper blogging camera in a while and my iPhone isn't doing it. I'm hoping to purchase one soon but for now, my photos are free stock photos from the site StockSnap. Any photo(s) in this blog post is from that site. I'll update you when I've purchased my new camera.

Five Autumn Date Ideas

Welcome back to Blogtober Day Five!

It's this time of year that brings out my romantic side. The chilly nights and plenty of autumn activities made me want to come up with some ideas for some fun autumn date nights. Just some ideas from a singleton. I have been in love before and these are some things I feel like would love to do or would be good for others a bit more brave than I.

Hay Ride
What is one thing you think of when you think of Autumn? The foliage! The changing color of the leaves is one of the most beautiful things you can see, especially here in New England. So why not turn that into a date with a Hay Ride? It's the best way to be bundled, cuddled, and have a lovely scenic view all at the same time.

Corn Maze
What better way to get to know your significant other better than to get lost in a corn maze!? It's a mini adventure and you would have plenty of time to learn more about one other while trying to find your way out of the maze. Maybe grab a celebratory hot drink after you've completed your run.

Apple Picking / Apple Harvest / Apple Crisps
I'm not sure how many other places have it, but I love when the Apple Harvest Festival rolls around. That's when Autumn officially starts. What's more romantic than a walk around the grounds, eating apple fritters and watching some fireworks?

Cozy Night In
One thing that comes into my mind anytime I think of Autumn is a cozy night in. Shorter days and longer nights makes it perfect to snuggle up in the blankets, with the candles and fairy lights lit watching Netflix. Know what's better? To have someone to cuddle with at the same time. A comfortable night in from the chilly nights are always appealing. Check out my Blogtober Day Four post all about my Perfect Autumn Night in.

Hot Air Balloon Rides
One thing that I love to see in one of the smaller towns near by is the Hot Air Balloons that rise above the clouds. Personally, I'm afraid of heights so I'm not sure how effective that will be romantically for me, but it's the idea of it that seems like it would be perfect for those of you who don't mind heights at all.

Bonus! Rent A Weekend Getaway Cottage
Now this would probably be more for those of you who have already been with your significant other for a while - I personally wouldn't rent a weekend cottage as a first date but ya know. This also doesn't have to just apply for this season. Honestly, you can do this all year around. But the coziest time in my opinion would be within Autumn and Winter when you could be able to go out for a hike or activities in the snow, and then come back to the cottage to start up that fire.
Seems like a perfect weekend to me.

Let me know which of these you would try out as date night. Also, what other Autumn themed date nights you have in mind?

Hope you enjoyed Blogtober Day Five!

Jay

Mini disclaimer: I haven't had a proper blogging camera in a while and my iPhone isn't doing it. I'm hoping to purchase one soon but for now, my photos are free stock photos from the site StockSnap. Any photos in this blog post is from that site. I'll update you when I've purchased my new camera.

Perfect Autumn Night

Welcome back to the fourth day of Blogtober!

So, I failed the task already as I missed day two and three of Blogtober. But hoping to just keep moving on and continue on strong for the rest of the month.

With that said, today I just wanted to share my perfect Autumn Night In! Now, I know everyone has their own definition of their "perfect night in", but this is just what I love and makes me feel relaxed and comfortable. 

I'm going to start with freshly washed warm fluffy blankets. I seem to somehow collect small warm blankets and Autumn is the best time to bust them out.

I'm not much of a candle person but I love the look of them at night so I've recently busted out the "Dashing Through The Snow" by Bath and Body Works.

When the room is nicely lit with warm lights from the candles and fairy lights, and I'm starting to make a comfy fort with the fluffy blankets, it's time to prepare Netflix for the perfect show. What I love to watch during this time of year is rewatching Stanger Things and Riverdale. What are some of your favorite shows to watch during the Autumn season?

When I have everything all set is when I'll grab some comfort food. I don't know about you, but if I'm going to watch Netflix when I eat, I need it to all be ready before my food is finished.

Something I really want to get into this season is different soups I can prepare in the Crockpot. Soups have to be one of the biggest comfort foods I think of when I think of Autumn. If and when the soups are done, make some hot cocoa to help keep you warm during night.

After all that, I nestle up in my fort of comfortable blankets, relax and enjoy my cozy time in during the chill early nights.

Typing this out made me curious about what you guys do that makes it a perfect Autumn night in for you? Do you scrap the movies and play board games instead? Would you rather be outside for a bonfire? Let me know!

I hope you enjoyed Blogtober Day Four!

Jay

Mini disclaimer: I haven't had a proper blogging camera in a while and my iPhone isn't doing it. I'm hoping to purchase one soon but for now, my photos are free stock photos from the site StockSnap. Any photos in this blog post is from that site. I'll update you when I've purchased my new camera.

Fall Tag // 2018

Happy First Day of Blogtober!
Of all the on and off years I've been blogging, this is the first time I'm trying to attempt blogtober. I don't quite know what sparked my ambitious attempt but I'll just go along with it and see how it pans out.

I've decided to kick it off with non-other than a Fall Tag. This tag was created by the lovely Ell, from ELLDUCLOS. She's a successful entrepreneur blogger with a lot of great and helpful tips to other bloggers. I'd highly recommend checking her out.

All you have to do in terms of rules is:
Shout out the person who tagged you by linking their blog
Answer the questions provided
And tag 5 others you want to see answer these questions as well!

Easy peasy. Let's get into the tag!

1. What is one candle you MUST light every fall?
I'll be honest and say I'm not the biggest candle person! Ironically, I have a candle on right now from my Katie (KFPestell) in the scent "Sea salt & lavender". It's helping me wind down for the night.
2. When you think of fall, what does it remind you of?
Being cozy. One of my favorite times of the year when I love to bust out the fuzzy socks, fairy lights and cozy blankets.
3. What is your all time favorite fall/Halloween movie?
Hocus Pocus. Can you do Autumn time without it? Classic!
4. What Halloween costume do you have in mind?
I'm waaay too old to go trick or treating. I have work and class on Halloween so I might just wear cat ears or some crazy makeup. If I'm invited to a Halloween party last minute, I'm certainly not ready.
5. What is your favorite fall trend?
Over sized sweaters / jumpers. My favorite one at the moment is a mustard one from Primark. Better believe I'm going to grab more. Also, layering. I love that you can still wear skirts as long as you wear tights and chunky heeled boots. It's a look ;)
6. When you think of fall, what drink comes to mind?
Pumpkin Spice, duuuh. Haha funny enough I don't like pumpkin spice. I'll stick to my apple ciders or hot cocoa with whip cream.
7. What is your go to fall beauty product? A must have staple!
Berry lips. I love me some berry lips. I wish it was a bit more acceptable to wear them in the middle of summer.
8. Do you prefer apple pie or pumpkin pie?
Apple pie all the way. And apple fritters. Yuummm.
9. Do you have any fall traditions? If so tell us all about it!
Unfortunately, I don't have any fall traditions. I wish it was something like apple or pumpkin picking. Maybe I should start this year and create a tradition.
10. The moment of truth, is fall your favorite season?
Ooooo, I feel like I got caught out. It's actually my second favorite season. Spring is my favorite because I love when it starts to get warm after the many months of absolute cold. But Autumn is a very close second. I'm very excited that we've entered this season.

I tag:
Shannon-Marie
Alys George
Sincerely Angiejj
Elena Isabelle
Hello Bexa

Hope you all enjoyed and got to see the little things I love about Autumn. I'm excited to see what others have to say about their favorite things of Autumn so let me know if you did this post as well!

Enjoy those airy nights!

Jay

Sunshine Blogger Award

Welcome back!

I haven't done one of these in a while and I thought it would be fun to do another one after the lovely Mya from A Slice of Mya tagged me to answer her questions. She is new to blogging and is just a  lovely ray of sunshine. If you're reading Mya, thank you for tagging me! I love being able to answer some questions because I feel like it's a way to know the person behind the blog a little better even if it's just finding out what their favorite coffee is.

There are some rules to follow with this award and they are:
Thank the person who's tagged you and link their blog
Answer the questions they've asked
Nominate 11 other bloggers and ask them 11 new questions
List the rules and display logo (Sorry, I made my own "logo" but the original is still floating around out there!)

Here are the questions Mya has asked:

Who is your favorite artist right now?
I'm really loving Lewis Capaldi. Those heartbreak songs are my jam. I'm keeping an eye out for a tour in the States where he'll be on the East Coast.

What kind of phone do you have?
I have the iPhone 7 in Rose Gold. I love this phone as I'm quite small and petite I feel like this phone fits well in my hands. I've seen the newer ones and they're all quite big.

What blog software/host do you use and why?
As of right now I'm using blogger. Once I relaunch my blog with the new name I've chosen, I'll be migrating to Wordpress.

What is your favorite color?
I love anything earthy toned. Neutral colors - and the occasional coral.

What is your coffee order?
I don't drink coffee very often. I'll have to be super tired to think of picking one up but when I do I order the Caramel Ice Coffee light and sweet at Dunkin'. Yes there is A LOT of sugar in light and sweet. It's why I don't have it often haha.

What is your favorite store to shop at?
Right now I'm loving Primark. Quality clothes for great prices. There's only one in my state at the moment so I have to plan out what day I want to drive 45 minutes away to go shopping.

Do you wear makeup everyday?
Mostly. I work as a receptionist and as front desk, you're the first person a customer sees and need to make a good impression. Even if I don't go glam, I try to tone down the redness on my face and put some mascara on.

Water or juice/soda?
I have to try hard for water. If there was soda and water next to each other I'd probably drink soda, but we don't really keep soda in the house so I tend to drink more water.

Do you write your posts randomly or have a plan for each one?
I try to plan ahead as much as I can. There are times when I do post randomly but it's seldom. This one was definitely on a whim!

What is your favorite social media?
Hmm, well, anything blogging related Twitter is my favorite. Instagram would be second as I'm not great on that platform. For just keeping in contact with family and friends, I still use Facebook.

What grade level was your favorite?
I'm guessing this question means grade anywhere from childhood to high school. I graduated high school about 7 years ago now so I don't really remember which was my favorite and why. But of any time academically where I've felt like I was doing great and getting somewhere it's only really been this past year that's motivated me to go back to college and go to University for a bachelors.

Here are the 9 lovely bloggers I'm nominating! (I know, I've broken a rule, sorry!)

Alexandra from Alexandra Quinlann
Angela from Sincerely Angiejj
Melina from Melina Elisa
Shannon from Shannon - Marie
Jen from Beauty Life Mom
Ell from Ell Duclos
Elena from Elena Isabelle
Em from EmilyBecca
Emma from Pink Aesthetic

Here are your questions!

1. If you could visit a country you've never been to before, where would it be?
2. What's the last song you've played?
3. Have you ever played any sports?
4. What would be your dream job?
5. What was the last book you've read?
6. Have you ever been to a blogging event?
7. Have you met up with any bloggers before?
8. What's another language you wish you could speak?
9. Why did you choose your blog name?
10. Do you have an item that you never leave the house without?
11. Where do you see yourself in five years?

And that's it! I really hope you enjoyed. It was nice to be able to post something that didn't need any planning at all. I don't know about you but I'm a bit nosey and like to see how other people answer things. Also, it's a great way to get to know someone. Thanks again to Mya for tagging me!

Thanks for reading,

Jay

Travel Carry On Essentials

Welcome back!


Recently I took a trip down to Miami for one of my best friend's weddings and made it into a mini vacation / holiday. What I realized when I got home was that I was super grateful for what I packed in my carry on and decided that it would be my official carry on essentials for when I travel from now on. I hope this list will help you get some ideas on what could be helpful essentials for your next trip!

(Source: stocksnap.io)

Phone

My phone is something I can't forgot. Not only does it help me communicate, it's also where I can save my life long memories of photos. I think it's a must have for everyone, even if you brought a separate camera with you to take photos.

Earphones / Earbuds

I have an iPhone so the earphones I have can only connect to iPhones. I brought those along with me to be able to listen to music whilst I'm away. Here's a hard lesson I learned on the flight to Florida, if you have the earphones that plug in only to your phone, make sure to buy cheap earbuds that can plug into anything else. The flight never provided us with the earbuds for the mini screens and all I had were the ones that connected to my phone, so I spend the plane ride trying to lip read Monsters Inc.

Chargers

Make sure you don't forget your phone charger, laptop charger, tablet charger, etc. Mine comes along with me daily so I made sure it was packed into my carry on for my journey. Also, a great tip that I learned on my trip to England is to always bring a portable charger. I don't know about you but being out and about all day sight seeing and taking photos on your phone can definitely drain your battery. I get anxiety if I don't have a form of communication just in case so if I wasted the battery taking photos then I won't end up enjoying the rest of my day knowing I can't get in contact with someone if I needed. I brought a fully charged portable charger with me and my phone never ran low on battery while I was out. I would also recommend one of those international plugs if you're traveling somewhere that doesn't have the same outlets and plugs as your own country. I bought a UK one to plug into the wall as a mediator so I can plug my electronics in.

Money / Passport

Definitely an essential in anyone's travels is money and a passport. Make sure you have at least some cash with you just in case places don't take cards. If you're renting a car, a hard lesson we learned was the person who's name the reservation is under, needs to have a credit card day of picking up - at least the car rental place we used was like that. I didn't have to take my passport with me because we were traveling within the United States but obviously if you're traveling internationally it is something that you'll need to obtain a head of time and pack it away so you know you'll have it on your travels.

Disinfecting Wipes / Wet Wipes

I, for some reason, started taking disinfecting wipes with me on travels and I'm so glad I did. If you need to take a train, or subway, or if you're not at a place you can easily go wash your hands for some reason, disinfecting wipes are ready in your bag. When I was in London last year and I finally got to meet Katie (from KF Pestell) I somehow ended up cutting my finger and wasn't in an area to wash it before placing the band aid - so I used the wipes to try and help as much as it could.
Also, getting a little TMI here but a small pack of wet wipes can do a world of good. Just sayin'.

Motion Sickness Tablets

I've never been the type of person to get sick on a plane and neither have anyone I've taken a journey with until last. My friend got super sick on the plane and I felt really bad for her that she spent two and a half hours of being sick instead of being able to relax. When we landed she bought herself some motion sickness tablets for our journey home. Good thing she did because for the first time ever, I got nauseous on our way back. They definitely came in handy.

Face / Under Eye Masks

Lastly, this is something I never thought about until my last trip, my friend told me she bought us face and under eye masks for our flight. I don't know about you but I do not like wearing makeup on flights so this was a nice skincare routine that helped us refresh our skin while on our journey.

Those are my seven top carry on essentials that I will be bringing with me on every flight I take. I hope this as helped you if you're wondering on what to bring on your carry on with you and if you have must take carry on items that are different to mine, I'd love to hear about what they are in the comments!

Thanks for reading,

Jay

ReBranding My Blog & Growing As A Person

Welcome back, little birdies!

I hope you're doing well today. Recently. I've been having a little bit of a think of why I haven't been into my blog as much as I used  to be - besides the obvious reasons of classes and work - and this is what I've come up with.

One major reason is the layout of my blog. It just doesn't inspire me anymore and I'm looking for something a little more sophisticated and crisp. I am in the works of giving my blog layout and maybe even the site I use, a major upgrade.

Another reason would be the name of my blog. It's a little bit of a bittersweet moment thinking about it but I don't feel like it truly fits anymore. When I first made my blog I made the mistake of giving it a "username" title. It was Jay18xoxox (or something like that). Jay being for my name, 18 because that was how old I was when I was first creating it (mind you, that was 7 years ago). I never posted back then when I first created it, then I redid the layout years later and actually started to post. A little while after that I decided to change the name to Blissful Beauty Bird. A name I will forever hold dear to my heart. I have an older post on why I chose that for my blog and at the time, it fit perfectly.

I started my blog in hopes of being a "beauty blog". I wanted to share my passion for products I was loving just as I've seen in previous blogs and even YouTube channels. Although, I still love beauty products and I am planning on sharing the occasional, it's not what I'm passionate about anymore. It's not what I crave to write about. The year 2017 had a major impact on who I am as a person and I realized myself starting to grow and really trying to "find myself"? I use the term "find myself" loosely as I did write posts back in November of Finding Myself and how I was on the quest of doing so but that year really helped me learn things about myself, whether big or small.

When it comes to interests, I've noticed myself moving away from beauty being the majority, to wanting to talk about lifestyle things - what's happening in my life, travel, what has been on my mind, what books I want to read, etc. I've noticed it's what I've been drawn to reading more of as well.

It did make me sad to think about knowing I wanted to move on from my little beauty world of Blissful Beauty Bird but I think it's the right thing for me to do to stay authentic to who I am as a person. People grow and change and it should be embraced. I am now 25 years old and I'm not the same person I was when I was 18, or 21, or even last year and that's okay.

The changes shown on my blog will take a little while as I want to make sure the name, layout and what I put out is exactly what I'd want. I will still be posting before the changes happen as I'm already in process of writing a post about travel and a post involving beauty products from a subscription box I was given for my birthday in April.

I hope you continue on this journey with me and are looking forward as much as I am of what's next for me and my little space on the internet.

Thanks for reading,

Jay