A - Z of Me

Welcome back, little birdies!

I did a bit of a different post today. As most of you already know the lovely, Peta, from Pe-Ta had created a WhatsApp group of about 19 other bloggers called The Blogging Friends (recently changed to M I E U - Motivate Inspire Empower Uplift) around the start of November. I've become so close with those girls I feel like speaking to them is part of my every day life. One day I think there were blog post ideas being thrown around and Peta had mentioned an A - Z of Me type of post. I've not seen anyone do it so I figured it would be something fun to do on my blog. So credit for this idea goes totally to Peta. I encourage you to do one of yourself as well! It's so nice to learn more of others - even the silly facts!

A - Anxiety

Sorry to start off on a sour note but anxiety is a part of who I am. Anyone that know's me well know how badly I struggle with it from time to time and how serious the matter can be. It's not a great part but it's something that definitely makes me - well.. me.

B - Birds

This may be a bit of a strange one. If you couldn't already tell by the name of this blog.. birds are my favorite animal. To be more specific, Sparrows. I just love the way they are. Cute little things! They're small and hop around instead of walking (waddling?). They kind of remind me of myself! Bubbly, small creatures. Haha :)

C - Christian

If you've read passed posts of mine you will know that I am a Christian. I got saved in September of 2013. Putting my faith in Jesus Christ was the best decision I've made!

D - Dog

For the majority of my life, I've had a little Toy Poodle named Sam. (Toy Poodles are an actual breed of dogs.. I don't mean a fake dog haha!) Fun fact: We named her Samantha because when I was younger my favorite singer was an Irish singer called Samantha Mumba.

E - Education

Education is a huge part of peoples lives including my own. Although I haven't been active in college for the past year, I'm excited to return to my classes this Fall 2017 to continue my journey on graduating and getting a degree for a career I'd love to be in.

F - Fashion

I love fashion as much as the next girl so it's no surprise this would make the list. I love putting outfits together and new trends that are happening. I also love shopping. Definitely love shopping. I went to a trade high school, so I was in Fashion Merchandising a good 3 of 4 years. I did really enjoy it and even searched Fashion Merchandising Colleges after I graduated.

G - Gullible

This is a bit of a tongue in cheek one. Sometimes I can be so guilty of being gullible that when my friends joke around they might have to tell me it's a joke. For example, one of my coworkers had a Dunkin cup and on it had the letters F and U and the number 2. My coworkers joked with me and told me that someone had written something rude on there and I was in shock that someone could be so rude and disrespectful as to put that on someones drink. Well.. once they started laughing at me I figured something was up. Apparently, the F stands for French. The U was actually a V and stood for Vanilla and the number 2 was just indicating 2 shots of it. Insert covering eye monkey emoji here.

H - Hugs

Once again if you know me you know I'm a hugger! I'll go around the room (room full of people I know.. not just strangers haha) and give everyone a hug when I see them and when I'm about to leave. Meaningful hugs are lovely, don't ya think!? As Olaf would say, I love warm hugs!

I - Independence

This is a huge one. One thing I strive to be is an Independent Women. Am I living at home at the moment? Yes. Are my parents amazing and help me out? Yes. But it's my parent's who have taught me to strive to be independent and to make sure I work hard for my own future. I made this reference before but I'd love to be as strong, brave, adventurous and independent as Lara Croft. :)

J - Jay

My name! Jay is short for my actual name that I won't mention haha. It came about in middle school when I made new friends and they wouldn't remember my actual name (it's not that common) so instead they called me Jay.  Only a few of my closest friends now and some coworkers call me Jay.

K - Kitten

This is something that might be surprising. I love kittens and I'll love to pet them especially when they're babies. But I actually get nervous around cats! Haha I saw this show when I was younger and this cat attacked a person and now I'm nervous that they'll just run up to me and attack me haha. I'm more likely to give them a cuddle when they're small though. :)

L - Laughter

Who doesn't love to laugh? One of my many favorite moments in life is when I have a good ol' laugh! Like I mean a bent over, about to create a 6-pack of abs, teary laugh. Those are the absolute best and moments that I tend to remember because of it. What a great thing in life to enjoy time with your friends and family and have a laugh!

M - Mindfulness

This is something I've been trying to do recently. A certain goal of mine this new year. I would like to be more aware of things. The way I am, how I treat myself, what I eat, what I say, how I treat others or how others are feeling. I just want to be more aware of myself and the world around me. I look forward to doing more of that this new year!

N - Nurture
I'm not a mother yet but I'm already a very nurturing person. I always want to help people from any hurt or sadness they're going through. I've feel like I've always been a very caring person.

O - Ocean

Something else that kind of big in my life is that I can't swim! The many times I wanted to be a mermaid would be useless when the mermaid can't swim.. My friends have been trying to teach me and I'm not doing too shabby to be honest! I'm sure I'll get there one day.

P - Princess

Let's all move to Disney World and be princess', yeah?! Who's with me!? While watching the show Once Upon a Time I had the strongest urge to just be a princess for the rest of my life. It was a serious career move thought. Haha

Q - Queen

A fun fact I like to share with people is that I share the same birth day (not the year ;) ) with the Queen of England. I was born on April 21.

R - Romance

I am the biggest hopeless romantic. Although I'm single, I want all the gushy love that you see in those romantic movies. I wear my heart on my sleeve and love hard. That may be why I'm still single haha. I'm picky but only because you have those amazing romance movies and all the Disney princess' who have their prince charmings. I'm sure I'll have my own price one day. In the mean time, I'll have my heart explode confetti watching rom coms!

S - Shortie

This is another silly one but I'm a proud shortie at the grand ol' height of 4'11. Haha. My height is something I was made fun of a lot in school. What people didn't realize is that it never bothered me! I love my height! I think it's super cute and the great fact that I can wear 6 inch heels and be a "normal" girl height haha.

T - Thunderstorms

I love me some thunderstorms! That's honestly one of my favorite things about summer time is all the thunderstorms you get. I love falling asleep to it because I find it so relaxing. On top of that, I really enjoy watching lightening. Is that weird? Last summer we had a lot of dry heat that meant we got those lightening storms - when it's not raining but there are lightening flashes. Those are my favorite. I just really enjoy them.

U - Unconditional
I'm loved and do love others unconditionally! And I can't imagine just how much love I'll have for my own kids!

V - Visual
I'm very much a visual learner. I can't just learn something by hearing it - like lectures, I have to see how it's done and then have to do it myself. :)

W - Wanderlust

I've mentioned this before but I'm itching to start traveling. My mom is a big traveler. She loves to visit places she's never been before and has traveled to Europe quite a few times along with other places. I feel like traveling is in my blood and I'm ready to have it take over! My first trip will be to England! I've wanted to go for yeaarss but I've not been able to until now! I'm so excited. I feel like one day I'll end up living there. Another place I'd love to visit hopefully in the near future is Japan! Dream big!

X - X Ray
I've never broken a bone before which I feel is the most common reason people need x-rays but I did have pancreatitis when I was 8 years old and had to get my appendix removed at 16 years old. Those are pretty grim but I'm sure I needed x-rays for that some how haha.

Y - Youthful
I'm still young! I've got my whole life ahead of me to achieve goals and travel the world and fall in love. I want to live life with adventures that I will one day be able to tell my future grandchildren.

Z - Zoo
How original, I know ;) Trying to think back at it.. I don't think I've ever been to a zoo!? Is that not actually insane. I feel like it's part of life to go at some point in your life. I can't remember if we've gone on a field trip when I was younger but I have no recollection of going to a zoo. Or seeing Zebras. :)

That was quite difficult to do! It's a little hard to think of words per letter especially when it gets down to the end of the alphabet. I did have a lot of fun thinking of words that correspond with my life and hopefully you enjoyed getting to know a little bit more about me! It's not a tag but I would encourage you to do this as it's fun to do and entertaining to look back on things. If you do this please leave your link in the comments as I'd love to have a read!

Thanks so much for reading!
Until next time,
Jay

Early Autumn Outfit (In the middle of Winter)

Welcome back, little birdies!

Before we begin this post I would just like to say how I started this post back in Autumn. Hence the title - Early Autumn Outfit. I decided to put it up regardless of being months late because I figured that we don't all live in a cold area as New England. Others live in those beautiful warm areas all year around or even across the world where winter is like our summer. What I'm trying to say is this can be worn as is or even layered for the cold. So, lets get into the post!

I'm so excited for this post - just as I am any other fashion post I put up because they are few and far between. I teamed up with my best friend Mia from ConfidentlyCurly to bring you a slightly more autumnal feel to this fashion post. This one was actually inspired by the absolutely beautiful Georgie from She Dreams . She did a beautiful outfit post showcasing her lovely dress, stylish booties, and super adorbs bracelet.

I saw this dress at Forever 21 when I was browsing around and once I found this gorgeous floral print, my ideas of what to pair it with starting flowing. This is more of a light weight material which is why I figured it would be great for the early weather of autumn. It can be paired nicely and just right for cold weather if it's layered. The front comes down to a deep V neck which does have a little clasp to it to help secure it in place. It's sleeves are kind of long but it's just the way I prefer it to hide my hands in. Plus, I'm 4'11 so I have pretty short limbs. It could end at the right spot for you taller girls. ;)

I paired it with this beautiful belt I also bought at Forever 21. I've been searching high and low for a belt like this so when I found it, I knew it would be perfect with this outfit. I decided to wear leggings with this outfit because the front was quite.. open. To be honest, I'm not sure if this is a shirt for normal sized girls but it sure does fit like a dress for us shorter folk. Haha! So to be on the safe side I just put on some comfy black leggings that my sister in law had given to me. I also decided to wear my little grey booties to compliment the outfit.

As finishing touches I put on my dark blush rose cat ears that I bought from Hot Topic. I don't wear it out often so I figured this would be the perfect time to show case those cute kitty ears. I also bought a ribbon choker from Forever 21. I have one in this pink color and also in black other than those I honestly wouldn't buy those from there again. They were about $4.00 for a ribbon I could of gotten from JoAnn Fabrics for less and done it myself. - rant over. Haha. I decided to help the ears stand out a bit more to wear the pink ribbon choker as well.

So there you have it! A bit of a late outfit post but can certainly be layered for the colder months. Or you can just read this again next Autumn for some inspiration. Either one ;)

What are your favorite outfits for Autumn that you'd layer up for the colder winter months? Have you checked out Georgie's outfit?  What are your favorite pieces from this outfit? Let me know in the comments!

Thanks for reading!

Until Next Time,

Jay

The Creme Shop - The OMG Brush

Welcome back, little birdies!

I hope you're all doing well. Today, I would like to share with you one of my favorite Christmas presents that I got from my sister. Before I go into what it is, we've all heard about the ever so popular Artis Brushes. Honestly, I've never been bothered to grab any regardless of all the hype I've heard over it. I was highly surprised when I opened this gift from my sister to see that it was actually a dupe of well known oval brushes. It's from a brand I've never heard before but will definitely be buying more from - The Creme Shop.

When I opened the gift I recognized the type of brush straight away. It was a clear dupe but from the brand The Creme Shop instead. My sister got me the "Omg Brush" which definitely lives up to it's name thus far. I wasn't expecting much of it until I took it out of it's packaging and rubbed the brush on my hand. The SOFTEST brush I think I've ever felt.

Besides the absolute beauty that is rose gold hardware on it, the bristles itself is what makes this brush. After trying out just how amazingly soft it is, I was so ready to put it to the test. I used it with a very light weight foundation from Bare Minerals and their concealer. At this moment, I might even like it more than my Real Techniques sponge.

I've been enjoying this brush so much, I've been on the hunt for others like it for the rest of my face from this same brand. They have a bit online but I also heard they're sold at Walgreen's if you're from the U.S. I checked my local Walgreen's and unfortunately they didn't have them there so I'll have to double check where my sister got it from and if they have different ones.

I can't wait to find more of these as I was surprised how well this works. It makes my foundation so flawless I'm just so excited that I was given it for Christmas. I would definitely recommend giving this a try if you're looking for an affordable option of those more expensive oval brushes. I'll definitely have to try and find others and keep you updated on how they all work out for me when I do. This is defintiely going to be a staple of mine for the year of 2017.

Have you tried this brand before? Do you know of any dupes of the ever so popular oval brushes?

Thanks so much for reading!

Until next time,

Jay

Ulta's Sample Beauty Bag

Welcome back, Little Birdies!

As many of you, I did quite the shopping this holiday season and I wanted to share with you some goodies I got. I did some Christmas shopping on the Ulta website for Black Friday and Cyber Monday and because I spent over a certain amount on the site, I was eligible to receive a Ulta bag with some sample to try in it. I picked this super cute gold bag that I can use as my makeup bag when I travel. I'll try and divvy these up into beauty, skincare and hair care samples to make it a bit easier.

Beauty:

• The first thing I noticed in the bag beauty related was this Eyeko London Eye Do Liquid Eyeliner. I've actually never tried anything from Eyeko but I've heard great things about it. I did a swatch on my hand of it and it looked to be really good quality so I can't wait to give this one a try.

• I also received a sample of Benefit's Porefessional which I have used in the past and did love it but never actually got a full sized product of so I'm glad to have a bit more before I do decide to buy the whole thing. 

• I found in my little bag of sample goodies was this Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal! I was over the moon to find this in my bag because although I've heard amazing things about Becca cosmetics I've never tried any of their products. So I will happily try on this highlight to see how I get on with it. 

1. (Going along with my Becca highlight) I didn't receive this product in my bag but it was a sample from Ulta so I thought I'd share it as well. It's the Becca Aqua Luminous Perfecting Foundation. I love to find new foundations to try so I'm really hoping one of these sample colors match so I can test it out. :)

• I'm pretty sure I've tried this product before but I can't recall how well it worked for me. It's the Smashbox Photo Finish foundation primer. At the moment I use the Kat Von D foundation primer so I'd like to see how this one holds up compared to that one. 

• Lastly in the beauty category are the EcoTools single pack makeup brush cleansing cloths. I've never heard of these cleansing cloths and am super excited to try them out and see how well they work. They're meant to give your brushes a quick daily cleanse. I think they'll be great for eyeshadow brushes - that way your colors won't mix. :)

Skin Care:

• Once again the first thing I noticed in skin care was Proactiv+ Skin Purifying Mask which is a Sulfur Acne Treatment. I love trying out different skin care but I also get a bit weary because my face is sensitive and can break out quiet easily. So maybe I can try this bad boy when I'm not having a really good skin day. :)

• Next, I found Philosophy Purity made Simple 3 in 1 cleanser for face and eyes. As you might know from my previous skin care posts I have purchased the full size of this product and absolutely loved it. It's super gentle on the skin with giving it a good cleanse as well. This will definitely be used up and might even tempt me into buying a full size as backup when I've run out of my Origins.

• Speaking of Origins, there was a Origin's Original Skin Retexturizing mask with Rose Clay added to the mix. Origins has to be my favorite skin care line thus far (with Philosophy at runner up) and love to try new things from them. Excited to see how I get on with this.

• This next brand of skin care I've never heard of before. I received a Lasting Hydration Collagen Boosting Coconut Body Butter from the breand Whish. I'm actually quite intrigued to try this product out. On this sample packaging it says, "Whish is dedicated to the discovery of natural ingredients which enable intelligent choices for your skin. Welcome to a gentle new world." That right there made me super excited to use this. I tend to have very dry skin especially in the winter months. So trying out this new body butter that prides itself on natural ingredients is a plus!

• Next thing I picked up was this Julep Love Your Bare Face Hydrating Cleansing Oil. I'm excited to use this for the fact I stated before but my skin gets VERY dry. It's worse when it's on your face because no one wants foundation sticking to dry patches. I'll love to see how this rejuvenates my skin to a more softer and hydrated glow!

• Another item that I received was the Lancome Advanced Genifique Youth Activating Concentrate. I think it's a serum but I'm not quite sure if I use it before I put on my makeup or I use it just before washing my face morning and night. Something I'll have to look more into :)

• Lastly, I got two samples from Ulta Beauty Radiant Skin Collection. I got the Warming Charcoal Cleanser and the Sleeping Cream. To be honest, I'm really looking forward to seeing how the Sleeping Cream works out for me. If I like it I may just grab the full size version.

Hair Care:

• I see a trend happening here! I noticed the larger sample first haha. For hair care I got this Redken 25 Benefit One United Multi Benefit Treatment. The bottle doesn't tell me too much of what it does and how it benefits my hair. I'm guessing by the directions that it's a leave in conditioner? I'll have to do some research on this before I start using it.

• Going along with Redken, I also received their High Rise Volume Lifting Shampoo and Conditioner. I love the sound of this seeing as I love when there's volume in my hair. The only thing I'll have to double check with it is if it's color safe as I color my hair a lot.

• Last in the hair care was this Orlando Pita Play Volumizing Shampoo. I've never heard of this brand before but just the sample package itself make me excited to try it out.

Scents:

• I left scents to last mostly because I'm not huge on perfume. I mentioned in past posts that I'm very sensitive to smells and can easily get a pounding headache and nauseous from scents that are too strong. I tend to lean towards light, airy scents. Regardless, I'll share what I got in the bag. First up is the Michael Kors Wonderlust which caught my eye with non other than the beautiful pink and gold packaging. It's a very feminine scent but probably not one I would purchase. 

• Next I noticed was the I (heart) Juicy Couture sample. I've never really been a Juicy Couture kind of girl so I might just hand that one over to my sister and see if she'd like it. :)

• I got three samples of Burberry's Brit For Her. It comes in the cute little pouch that I honestly don't want to break open because it looks adorable. 

• Last of the whole bag, I received this Prada Sport perfume that also came in a little sample casing that I really don't want to open. I'm sure I can give them to my friends or family to test out the scents so they don't go to waste. :)

And there you have it! Along with some coupons that were added to the bag, those are all the samples I got from Ulta during their sales! There are SO many great products in here that I can't wait to try out and hopefully fall in love with some great ones. I love trying out new things and this is a perfect way to do so.

Mini disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. I did get this bag for free with samples in them but only because I made a purchase over a certain amount on their site to become eligible to receive one.

If you would like to see a review on any of these products to see how I got on with them, let me know!

As always, thanks for reading!

Until next time,

Jay

Cheers to a Good Year!

Happy 2017, little birdies!

As like many other's I am SO glad that it's January. It's just a fresh start and new beginnings. I love fresh starts so I'm ready to take on the year and make it my own. I know everyone makes "resolutions" during this time of year. To be honest, I don't like making resolutions. I don't like feeling as though I'm going to change only for the fad that is the beginning of a new year. I tried last year and went way over my head with the whole "going to the gym" "eat healthy forever" kind of thing. But it was never really personal. This year I'm thinking of myself, growth, and strength. There is so much I'd like to accomplish and I know that it won't all happen this January. Regardless, here is what I'd like to accomplish this 2017:

(This isn't in order of importance. It's just random order.)

Taking Control of My Anxiety

Last year was a pretty low time when it came to my anxiety. It had gotten so bad that I had the worst panic attacks and hyperventilation I've probably ever had. This year, I want to take back control of my life when it comes to my anxiety. I've missed great opportunities due to it and that's not a way I want to live. I strive to be a strong, brave, independent, adventurous woman. Much like Lara Croft ;)

So this year, I'm hoping to take control of this feeling and taking chances and being brave.

Wanderlust

With 2017, I would like for it to be the first of many years of travel. My mom is quite the globetrotter and has been to so many different places around the world. I feel like travel is something in my blood that hasn't got it's fix until now. This year I'm planning a trip to my first destination.. England. This has been top of my bucket list for years seeing as not only do I love the culture and history of that country, I have a very special and close friend of mine there that I'll finally be able to see. It's going to be one of those thing's that I'll have to keep occupied with other goals until that time as I'm beyond excited!

Blogging

One of my goals last year was to start blogging more. That has been successful seeing as last year was my most active year of blogging. I'd love to continue that this year with beating last years number of posts. I've grown SO much the past year when it comes to my blog. I've made unforgettable friends all around the world! To name a few, Katie from Kindest, Katie has become one of my best blogging friends. Along with my Wanderlust, my trip to England, I'm hoping to hang out for a day with that English Beaut! Srna, from A Crush On Life and I have grown quite close as blogging buddies over the past couple of months. Her life is kind of like a fairy tale and I love to listen whenever she has the chance to feed me updates! Also, her blog is #goals! The absolutely lovely Jen from Beauty Life Mom has also found a special place in my blogging buddies heart. One of the sweetest and most genuine lovely people ever. Along with those 3 ladies, I've been in a WhatsApp group called The Blogging Friends which consist of 19 other blogging beauties. They've become a big part of my life and I couldn't be more thankful to have the pleasure of knowing them.

Well that became a little bit of a shout out haha... I'm excited to continue to watch my blog grow, my content get better and to continue to fully enjoy this little space of mine on the internet.

Wholesome living

Now, I know I won't be going to the gym every day, eating super healthy and become a lean mean health machine. I just want to look after myself a bit better. I'm at my ideal weight but I'd love to start trying those easy at home morning workouts to get me started for the day and possibly tone up just a bit. I'd like to start waking up earlier because I've noticed just how productive I am when I get up earlier versus when I sleep in. I feel like having morning workouts will help me with that and have more energy throughout the day to get things done. I'd also like to be more mindful of what I put into my body. I love me some Chinese food, burgers and fries but I've noticed not only in my appearance - some unfortunate tummy rolls.. but I've noticed just how crap I end up feeling after eating junk food. I don't feel well at all which definitely affects the mood. I'd like to take into consideration what I put in my body and would like to eat more that will help nourish it.

Faith

As you might know from past posts. I believe that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Saviour. This year, I'd like to be more involved in my reading, studying, and my church events to hopefully grow closer in my relationship with God. Being a Christian doesn't mean I have everything together. It means I need and lean on Him to help me. This year, I hope my relationship with Him will grow stronger.

Career

I haven't been to classes in over a year! Yikes! With work and trying to figure out what I want to do in life - it's gotten in the way of my studies ironically. I love beauty, fashion, travel and blogging! So I'm hoping to see what with that I can do or if I'd like to continue my blogging later on in life as a career. For autumn this year I would like to go back to my studies to graduate. That's something I'm determined to get done regardless of if I want blogging to be my full time career or not.

That's just some of the main goals I'd like to achieve this year among many. I get so pumped and so refreshed that I strive to make these come true. Even to tick off the little things on my list would be amazing. I'm excited to start this year and making it my own. I'm looking forward to all 2017 has to offer so.. Cheers to a Good Year!!

Jay