four important life skills you should learn in your twenties

I learned a lot in my 20s... I was introduced to make up, skincare, hair styling (I think I was around 20 before when flatirons became a thing), etc, but becoming a mother forced me to grow up in a different way. At 24, I was living with my husband, a mom to a newborn, and at that point I didn't even know how to cook. But then Pinterest became a "thing" and you know what? I learned almost all the life skills that my parents had tried to teach me, besides washing clothes and learning how to Google crap that I didn't know. 

You see, I was fortunate. I didn't have to cook, deal with a checkbook, or do "adult" things until I moved out. And when I did, I was very lost. Sad, I know. So today, I am going to share what things that would have been beneficial for me to learn in my early twenties, to help me later on in life. The things that one needs to know to become an independent adult. 

the perfect Fall women's watch

There have been so many JORD watches floating around social media lately, and I was so excited when JORD reached out and wanted to work with me for one main reason: all of their watches are beautiful! They are simple, cool, stylish, easy to care for, and best of all, they are made of wood. Yes, I just said wood. How awesome is that?

My jewelry style is pretty minimal: I usually only wear my wedding rings, an anniversary ring, a long necklace, and a watch. I have had a silver watch for over ten years now, and have been trying to send it to the company to fix some scratches, but just haven't gotten around to it. When looking at the array of JORD watches, I wanted a watch that wouldn't overpower my wrist, and go with everything.

links & loves

I love Sundays... it's the one day that I get to spend the day solely with the two loves in my life- Lil Man & the hubby. We generally will go do something if we have the money, or if we don't, then it's yard work. Whatever we choose to do, we do it together. It's our day. 

But before I go spend it the day with them, here's some things that I have been loving lately :)

my perfect foundation

To be honest, I was never a foundation gal; my interest in foundation actually developed within the past few months. Alot of beauty vloggers on YouTube like to use liquid foundation, and I have been on the hunt for the best one for my skin, so when Studio Gear gave me the chance to try out their Dual Identity Mineral wet/dry foundation, I jumped at the chance. I had used and reviewed their hydrating CC cream, so I knew I would love it.

Studio Gear is a "prestigious cosmetics brand featuring a full collection of professional makeup brushes, revolutionizing complexion formulas, and a wide selection of color products for the eyes, cheeks, and lips"*. The line consists of  high quality cosmetics at a reasonable price. The products are also talc, fragrance, and paraben free, and they are not tested on animals. 

Studio Gear graciously sent me the dual identity mineral wet/dry foundation, the revitalizing day serum, and the #3 domed foundation brush to try out, and I was definitely impressed.

five shows to binge watch on Netflix

At only $10 a month, Netflix offers more flexibility than cable, and there are plenty of good shows on Netflix. You can find old shows, like Quantum Leap, Alias, and the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer, current tv dramas, Netflix original series like Orange is the New Black, kids shows, and many great movies. 

I have a small confession... I tend to watch Netflix more than regular TV. Sure I still like to watch my favorite shows like Chicago Fire, SVU, and the like, but I love the idea of Netflix: there are no commercials and you don't have to wait until next week to see the next episode. I guess that's why alot of people, including me, will binge watch shows on the loved streaming subscription & today I am going to share five shows that I love to binge watch. 

Product Spotlight | bareMinerals

Spoiler alert, one of my favorite makeup/skincare lines is bareMinerals. I have been using bareMinerals for almost two years now for a few reasons. Other than the fact that their formula feel luxurious on my skin, it's also completely cruelty-free. Part of the BareEscentuals family, bareMinerals is the sister company to Buxom and md formations, and owned by Shiseido. bareMinerals is also a vegan-friendly and cruelty-free line, their products are not sold in China, and as an added bonus, according to their site, bareMinerals does not work with any manufactures that do animal testing.

Since I love bareMinerals so much, today I am going to share six of my absolute favorite products from the brand*.

one year

Today marks one year anniversary of my puppy's journey over the rainbow bridge. And I still miss him every day. Truth be told, my loss has gotten easier to live with, and essentially the guilt associated with my decision is almost nonexistent now. A year after his death, I am no longer cursing the heavens for the low blow it delivered me, I no longer have blame for anyone, and I finally realize that the reason for the decision was not made from haste or irresponsibility, but out of love. 

My favorite Facebook blogging groups

Since it's a great place to connect, there is no doubt that people spend way too much time on Facebook. You can sell gently used items, read company reviews, connect with old friends, and more. But Facebook is also essential to bloggers and online entrepreneurs for one main reason. 

In the past few months, Facebook has made it harder for fan page growth, but they have also made it easier for bloggers and online entrepreneurs to connect with other like minded people, get help with questions, learn about Pinterest group boards, promote posts/content, get inspired, and more via the emergence of blogging groups. Personally, I belong to a lot of different blogging groups, and today I am going to share seven of the ones that have benefited me the most and that I have had the most growth because of. 

Currently...

Sometimes when you just don't have anything special to write, a currently post is the best thing that you can pull out of your hat :)

How to create a printable with Canva

One of the best tools that a blogger can use is Canva. Not only, is it (mostly) free, but it is also fairly easy to use and to navigate. I use Canva for the majority of my blog graphics, including the hero images, Pinterest images, my header, and even printables that I send out with my newsletter. 

Today I am going to show step-by-step how you can use Canva to design and make your very own printables to either share on your blog as a freebie/newsletter opt-in or you can even open up an Etsy shop and sell them if you wanted to. No matter what you choose to do with it, having the knowledge of being able to make your own printables will definitely help you in the long run.

The best kept secret in skin hydration

*I was given product in exchange for a review, but opinions and thoughts are all mine*

This Summer I have been taking more showers due to the high temps and sweating, and since I have been bathing more, my skin, especially my feet, has been really dry. To combat the dryness, I have tried a few lotions after my showers, but didn't like that they either were either too fragrant or greasy; and I felt like I was going to have to deal with dry skin until Fall. I also had the notion of throwing out the idea of flip flops, because no one likes to see some cracked heels. It just looks bad. 

My skin salvation finally came in the form of a brand called Aquation. Powered by Hydro Balance, Aquatation uses an advanced dual phase technology that delivers hydration and creates an invisible barrier to help prevent moisture loss while encapsulated actives penetrate deeply for long-lasting hydration.* The products are dermatologist recommended, can be used on face & body, are fragrance free, and are non-comedogenic (meaning it is specially formulated to not cause blocked pores). 

Friday confessions

Happy Friday friends! I really love doing recap posts on Fridays, because it's a nice way to put the last week into perspective, and see what I've done. This week is going to be a little bit of a confessional, because honestly, this week hasn't been the best...

July beauty favorites

I can't believe that I haven't done a monthly favorites post since last year and the last time I mentioned any of my favorite products is when I talked about my top five summer essentials. It really surprises me, especially because I love blasting my new favorite products. 

Anyways, since August is going to be the last month of Subscription Boxes for me, I have started grabbing samples from my local Sephora inside JCP, and of course, grabbing up their sample packs (which are generally different from the Favorites kits at stand-alone stores & online). This month I found a few products from Too Faced, boscia, First Aid Beauty, and Origins that I really liked, & in return, today I am sharing those with you. 

August Goals

Can anyone else believe that it's already August? It's crazy to think that seven months of this year has flown by so fast! So, July wasn't a bad month for me. I worked my last day as a tutor in juvenile detention, went back to a job that I loved, spent alot of time in the pool, and so much more, which you can read here >> Goodbye to July (& freebie Friday).