What I Loved in October!

Unlike September, October was actually quite a good month for me. I find this to be ironic since most of my family members were away and I imagined it would get lonely but it actually felt really nice to have time for myself. I'm not sure exactly why but I felt so at peace with life and with everyone around me this whole month that I'm a little saddened that it's coming to an end. Until then though, I'd like to share some of the things I've loved this past month.

Being alone

I know I seem like a complete introvert by saying that I enjoyed being alone but sometimes, you just need exactly that! It felt exquisite to just relax and listen to music and read books and do whatever it is I wanted to just because I could!

Music

Since my family was away, I spent most of my time at home listening to music to keep me occupied (I hate silence, it creeps me out!). I put up a blog post recently with all the songs I've been enjoying but if you missed it, you can read it here. 

Food

My favorite thing to snack on this month has been apples dipped in yogurt! It might sound like an odd combination, but I promise you it tastes divine! :)

Online Shopping

So this month, I discovered the beautiful world of online shopping. It's been both a blessing and a curse, but I like to think it's leaning more on the blessing side. What I personally like about online shopping is that you can literally shop in your pajamas! There were also many great deals going on and I managed to buy some cute things that I'll be sharing in a post soon!

Cat phone case

I got this kitty case from Accessorize a few months back and I finally put it to use this month and I was very impressed by the quality! It's light and doesn't feel bulky at all (at least for me) but it protects my phone really well. It's also super cute so that's a plus! ;)

Motivational Monday: October #4 (Halloween Edition)

Did everyone have a nice Halloween weekend!? Even though we don't really do Halloween where I live, my weekend was pretty decent. I went to a sushi buffet and it was amazing! The past week was such a drag so it was nice to have a little free time to relax.

For this week's post, I decided that it would be appropriate to do something Halloween related. I gathered up a bunch of pictures of the cutest and most ridiculous Halloween costumes. I hope they make you smile and maybe give you some costume ideas if you still have any Halloween parties to go to! :P

Colonel Sanders

Lobster

Roast Turkey

Air Freshener

Picnic Basket

Little Old Lady

Cheeseburger

Green Grapes

Penny Head

"Pugkin" Spice Latte

Pizza Baby

Taco Baby

The last three are my personal favorites!! Seriously, I mean look at that pug! 

I wish you all a happy week ahead and a fun Halloween! Stay safe!

Kisses,

S

Previous posts:

Monday Motivation: October #3

Monday Motivation: October #2

Monday Motivation: October #1

My Fall Soundtrack

Sweater weather is the best kind of weather and now that the temperatures here have been going down, I've found myself gravitating to a more relaxed state of being. This state includes blanket cuddling, warm drinks, cozy sweaters, books and lots of music. Here are some of the songs that I've been playing on repeat while enjoying this perfect in-between weather, which happens to be my most favorite kind of weather, if you haven't caught on already! :)

Chocolate | The 1975

Mechanical Heart | Jon D 

Imaginary Tea | Jon McLaughlin

Love Love Love | Of Monsters and Men

Rough Water (ft. Jason Mraz) | Travie McCoy

Stay the Night (ft. Hayley Williams) | Zedd

These Broken Hands of Mine | Joe Brooks

All Too Well | Taylor Swift

Falling (ft. Alex G) | Tyler Ward

Some Kind of Beautiful (ft. Lindsey Stirling) | Tyler Ward

Teenage Dirtbag (Wheatus Cover) | One Direction

Change My Mind | One Direction

More Than This | One Direction

Moments | One Direction

Over Again | One Direction

Story of My Life | One Direction

Yep, I know there's a lot of One Direction in there I'm going through a phase okay but honestly those songs are SO good and they make me so happy (despite them being sad songs). What's on your fall playlist? I'd love to know in the comments below. I'm always looking for new songs to listen to!

Kisses,

S

Motivational Monday: October #3

How was everyone's weekend? I didn't have work since Monday last week so getting back to work this week after being super lazy needed some getting used to. For this week's motivation, I'm bringing you a few things that made me laugh so much these past few days. Enjoy!

When my sister first told me about "Starbucks Drake Hands", I was like what are you even talking about!? Then she showed me the Instagram videos and that's when I died. Watch this so you can understand what I mean! 

To watch more people who are doing this, check out this Instagram account - @starbucksdrakehands. They're literally so funny, I can't stop laughing.

Another video I couldn't get through without laughing 'til my stomach started hurting was one by Hudson (aka MrTukie on Youtube).

If you've got time to kill, creep on the Harry Styles hashtag on Twitter! Some things I found there were so scary, it's actually funny, not even kidding!!

And finally...

Ah, the Internet never disappoints when I need a good laugh. Have a great week ahead guys (and girls!).

Kisses,

S

Previous posts:

Monday Motivation: October #2

Monday Motivation: October #1

My Thoughts on the Fanfic 'After'

If you're part of the One Direction fandom, you have most likely heard of the Harry Styles fan fiction entitled 'After'. Let me just tell you right now that this fanfic has engulfed me as a whole, mind and body. When I started reading it, I literally couldn't stop and now, 2 weeks and over 200 chapters later, I have obviously become so attached to this story that I thought it was only necessary to make a blog post about it. 

Before I get into it any further, I want to acknowledge the author/creator, Anna! I think her writing is fantastic and her work truly speaks for itself with the 'After' series gaining over 120 million reads and counting. There are currently three books in the series. As of right now, 'After 3' is still being updated. I'm not too sure if this will be the last book though! All the links to where you can read these books can be found at the very end of this post.

Now I know if I were to give you a synopsis of the story myself, I'd give too much away, so I'm gonna borrow the author's instead.

"Tessa Young is an 18 year old college student with a simple life, excellent grades, and a sweet boyfriend. She always has things planned out ahead of time, until she meets a rude boy named Harry, with too many tattoos and piercings who shatters her plans."

Upon reading the first few chapters of After, I noticed that Anna's style of writing was very similar to one of my favorite authors, Abbi Glines. Easily, I was sucked into the story. Personally, how I consider a book to be a good one lies solely on the fact of how much it's able to attract and keep my attention. When I find myself completely indwelt in the story and it's characters, I know that that book did it's job. With After, it did that and so much more! I found myself completely immersed in the story that even when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it - ALL. THE. TIME. Once, I was at work and I thought the universe was playing a joke on me when I got a patient with the name 'Hessa'. Obviously, I had to Instagram the moment...

Anyway, now onto the actual story! The book is written from Tessa's, the main character, point of view and occasionally, Harry's as well. So much happens in the first few chapters, that you're left wondering what more could actually happen that can surprise you. The author takes on that challenge and presents you with so many plot twists that will leave you on the edge of your seat. That's all I'm going to say about the story because I really don't want to give it away if you haven't read it yet and are planning to!

Now if you're planning on reading this, I will let you know from now that it is rated 'R' and there will be some parts where it gets ehem, too sexual. So if you're uncomfortable with that, I don't recommend this for you. However, if that doesn't bother you, go ahead! I also want to warn you that whatever form of a social life that you have will be at risk! I will admit that there were multiple times that I would be in actual conversation with someone and I'd zone out making up theories in my head of how I think the story will go. Your sleeping schedule will also most probably be destroyed, along with your image of Harry Styles. Honestly, whenever I look at Harry now, I literally think of the Harry from the story. The damage can't be undone.

Despite everything, the After series has definitely become my current guilty pleasure! If you're also reading After, let me know your thoughts about it in the comments below! If you haven't read it yet but want to, let me know as well!

LINKS

After

After 2

After 3

Anna's Twitter: @imaginator1dx

Anna's Instagram: @imaginator1d

Kisses,

S

What I Loved in September!

Okay I know that it might be a tad bit too late to put this up but I wanted to anyway! Unlike the rest of the other months this year, I actually felt the entire month of September pass me by. It was like time just froze and refused to move again BUT it did and I'm SO thankful because this one has by far been the most exhausting one! However, there were a couple of things I enjoyed this month and I wanted to share them with you!

BriBryontour's Videos

If you've read my midweek inspiration posts last month, you already know BriBry! I've really enjoyed his music and videos this past month. He puts up music and other random videos on his channel. The cool thing about it is that his YouTube revenue goes to charity. So, the more views he gets, the more money goes to charity. I think it's a wonderful thing! You can check out his channel here. I'll link a few of my favorites: Adventure Time, Your Life Over Mine, To Our Future Child, Surprise Proposal in Paris

Motivational Monday: October #2

I hope you all had a great week and an even greater weekend! I had a huge load at work last week but I'm not even complaining because we have a 5-day public holiday (for Eid Al Adha) starting tomorrow and that makes up for everything! If you live somewhere that doesn't recognize this holiday, I'm deeply sorry for you and today's post goes out to you! <3

I get so sad sometimes when I see people who have a lot going on for themselves, allow little things to get to them! Honestly, just ask yourself, is it really worth it?

We all have dreams and goals that we want to reach and most of the time there are going to be people who will stand in the way making you believe that you're incapable and unworthy. Please, don't let them get to you!! In the end, it's only you who can control the decisions you make and those decisions will get you to where you dream to be. Maybe you'll make mistakes along the way but those will only help you become a stronger person. I love that quote in the picture above because it's simple, short and very true. Life is too short to be worrying about things that don't matter! Next time someone tries to give you a hard time, just think of the bigger picture and ask yourself "Is it worth it to stress over this?" Your answer will probably be a no. Let it go and move on! Those people will only get the satisfaction when they see you fail so prove them wrong and work hard to reach your dreams. Nothing can stop a determined dreamer.

I hope you have a fun filled week ahead! 

Kisses,

S

Previous posts:

Monday Motivation: October #1

Motivational Monday: October #1

Last month, I decided to start a little 'Midweek Inspiration' series on my blog. I thought I'd continue on with that for this month as well but I'm changing it up to 'Motivational Monday'. I plan to put up new posts every Monday sharing some motivational pictures, quotes and stories to get you all (myself included) excited for the week ahead! :)

This week, I'd like to share some of my most favorite Draw My Life videos. I find all these people truly inspiring because they chased their dreams and it brought them to where they are right now.

My VaVaVoom Haul!

About a month ago, I blogged about VaVaVoom's recycling program and since then, I've put my vouchers to good use! Today, I thought I would show you guys the things I was able to purchase using those vouchers!

Before I show you guys the things I got in detail, I'd like to talk about my experience shopping there. I received my vouchers during August but they were only valid for use in September. I made a few trips to VaVaVoom beforehand to see what things interested me and that made me even more excited for September to arrive. So, come first of September, without a doubt, I sprinted (literally) to my nearest VaVaVoom branch and foraged through the store, grabbing everything that was on my wishlist. Sadly, most of the things I wanted were out of stock (already! can you believe it!) but I did manage to score a few good things. Among my first purchases were these Essie polishes.

The Liebster Award

I was nominated by the lovely http://thegirlinthemoonlight.blogspot.com/ for the Liebster Award! I wasn't fully aware that this was a tag going around but if you don't already know what it is, it's a tag where the person who nominates you gives you 10 questions to answer and once you're done, you nominate 10 more people and give them 10 other questions to answer!

RULES

1) The tagged/nominated blog must have less than 200 followers

2) Mention the person/blog that tagged/nominated you

3) Let the person/blog you nominate know that you tagged them!