Saturday, December 14, 2013

Holiday Freebies for You!



Hey guys! Recently, I've really been enjoying playing with photo editing programs to make pictures for my blog posts. So, I've decided to make some iPhone wallpapers for you guys! Feel free to use any of them, any way your little heart desires! I also want to thank you all for taking time out of your day to visit my blog! I just hit 3000 page views and that in itself is an insane thing for me! So thank you thank you thank you!! <3


The ones on the left row are for 4S & below and the ones on the right row are for 5 & up. To use any of the images above, first click the picture to open it up in full then right click and save it to your computer!


Kisses,

S

Thursday, December 12, 2013

A Gift Guide for Guys!



If you're anything like me, you know that shopping for a guy is probably one of the most difficult things out there! When it comes to getting something for a guy, the most common things that come to my head are watches, shoes and clothes. Those are great options but today, I'll share some other ideas that can be worth considering! As always, these are just ideas to help you guys. The best gifts are the ones that are personally picked out! :)


(3) Tea Creature Mug - $9.99
(4) Superman Apron - $19.99
(6) Laptop Sleeve - $35.99


(11) Sriracha Mug - $12
(12) SEGA Game Console - $68


(15) Ninja Star Coat Hanger - $11.04
(16) Light Saber Lamp - $31.99
(17) Melting Clock - $19.99
(18) Party Cup Trash Can - $19.99


(22) Laser Gun Alarm Clock - $24.99

I hope you enjoyed looking through these! Hopefully it gave you some ideas to work with! I'm working to put up more of these type of posts soon so look out for those if you're interested!

Kisses,

S

My other holiday gift guides:

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Holiday Nail Inspiration



The only rule for nails when it comes to the holiday season is there are no rules. It's the perfect time to go crazy with glitter, metallics, stickers or whatever it is your little heart desires and no one can judge you (or at least they have no right to!). Today, I'm gonna share a few fun nail tutorials from some really talented ladies that are perfect for this time of year! 


































Blue Snowflake







Kisses,

S

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Monday Motivation: December #2



I know I'm already repeating myself for the nth time when I say this but guys, can you believe we're already on the second Monday of December!? It seems like I just blink my eyes and my weekend is gone and I find myself facing yet another long week. Lately, I haven't been feeling so much like myself. I can't point my finger to it but I've just been feeling uninspired and ironically, unmotivated (that's a word, right?). So, I thought I'd make this post to cheer me up a little and maybe possibly, it can do the same for you guys.

Over the years, I've developed a strategy inside my head that helps me get excited for the future which in turn, always keeps me motivated. I think that the secret to staying motivated is keeping your inspiration personal. I can give you guys a million inspirational pictures and quotes but they can only help you so much. However, when your source of inspiration comes from a personal stand, I believe that's when it can truly benefit you. This is probably not making any sense at all so allow me to explain further.

For example, let's say I have something exciting happening in the next couple of days. I take all my energy and focus it on that. That way, I have something to look forward to. When that day finally arrives and it comes to an end, I'll find another thing to look forward to and focus on that and so on. This little technique, I find, allows me to wake up excited every day because I know it's a day closer to what I'm waiting on. Sometimes the things I look forward to aren't even that big, like sometimes I look forward to eating my favorite salad in the weekend, which to you may sound odd, but hey, it works for me! So honestly, it's up to you. You just need to find something you can allow yourself to look forward to and that can help you get motivated to get through the week! :)

As per tradition, I want to share a few videos I've come across this week that have made me smile.





Maybe those last two videos helped you get even more excited for Christmas? Hopefully that's the thing you could use to motivate you! Whatever it is, I wish you all a great week ahead. Keep your chin up and smile, you deserve to.

Kisses,

S

Previous Monday Motivation posts:


Saturday, December 7, 2013

What I Loved in November!



Okay 2013, hold up and please explain how is it that we're already in December!? It seems like this year is just rushing to come to an end! However, I still hope you all had a great month of November! Although life likes playing jokes on me most of the time, I have to admit that it's been treating me well these past few months, November included. With that said, I'd like to share some of the things and moments that made last month worthwhile for me.

One Direction

I'd like to start out with the thing that has affected me the most this past month and it's this freaking band. I found myself staying up late watching random videos of their interviews, concerts, performances etc. and I was drawn to not only their music, but their individual personalities as well. Their new album, Midnight Memories, came out (click here to read my post about it) about a week ago and I'm completely obsessed with it! I even watched an 8-hour live stream they hosted, guys. I've got it bad.

McBusted

While we're on the topic of bands, can we talk about McBusted for a minute!? When Busted split in 2005, I've only been dreaming about the day I'd hear them announcing that they were getting back together. You know how I say you won't always get exactly what you want, sometimes you'll get something even better - this is one of those moments. Sure, it's 2/3 but they're now joined with McFly and they formed a super group and it makes my heart flutter every time I think about it! They're going on tour together early next year and most of their shows are quickly selling out! The 14 year old within me is beyond excited to hear all the songs she used to sing in her bedroom come to life again! Ah! :)))

Catching Fire

I saw Catching Fire a few days ago and it was phenomenal! I noticed that the director of this movie was a different one and I thought that Gary Ross did a good job in bringing the first book to life but this one - WOW. The visual presentation was better than anything I could have pictured in my head and please, can we all just give Jennifer Lawrence a giant round of applause for her role here!? If you're a fan of the Hunger Games books and you haven't seen this one yet, I cannot recommend it enough!

Burning candles

Now that the weather has officially cooled down, I find it only logical that it's the best time to burn candles. Early this month, I went inside Bath and Body Works and found a coffee scented candle and I sort of flipped out! Quick fact about me: I adore the smell of coffee but I'm not big when it comes to drinking it! So naturally, when I saw coffee in candle form, I gave a silent prayer to the Gods above. This one in particular makes my room smell like a mixture of coffee and chocolates which is 100% a-okay with me.



Music

Aside from the Midnight Memories album, I've been going back to Ed Sheeran and listening to a whole lot of him! This month in particular, I've been loving his songs 'Autumn Leaves' (thanks to The Girl in the Moonlight for recommending this!) and 'Wake Me Up'. There's just something about Ed's lyrics that find a way to that soft spot inside my heart that makes me want to curl up inside a ball of love and die there (if that makes absolutely any sense!).

TV shows

My favorite TV shows finally came back last month and they've been keeping me company and making me really happy! Right now, I'm watching Awkward and The Carrie Diaries! If you watch Awkward as well, let me know in the comments below! I'm really loving sassy Sadie this season! ;)

Beauty Products

I have three beauty products that made it into my favorites this month! The first one is a lip product and it's the soft matte lip cream by NYX in the shade 'Amsterdam'. I'm normally not one to wear bright red lips but this color just looks stunning on and I don't feel it overpowers my face, like other reds do. Here's what it looks like on!



The next two products are both from Clinique! I've absolutely been loving their moisturizer! I use it in the morning and at night and it just sinks into my skin leaving it really hydrated. I have combination skin that's oily around the T-zone and dry around the cheeks so I focus this mainly on my cheeks and neck area.

The next thing I hauled a few months back and it's their bottom lash mascara! I only started using it during this month and I love how it can make a subtle yet drastic difference to my eyes. The best thing about it is it doesn't smudge so 1000 points to you for that, Clinique!

Writing my Monday Motivation posts

I feel like I've been neglecting my blog recently, posting nothing but Monday Motivation posts, but honestly, I've really been enjoying doing those and I hope you enjoy reading them as much! I've been uninspired lately but whenever it comes to making my Monday posts, I find my fingers tapping away. Most of the time, what I write in those posts I write as a reminder to myself and if it's helping any of you guys, that's a bonus! ;)

Tumblr

Tumblr has always been a personal favorite but this month in particular, I've found myself there constantly! Aside from pictures, I go on there to listen to music, look for recipes and even to read news! It's like an all-in-one place.

Reunions

The last week of November was possibly my favorite thing ever this entire month. Aside from Catching Fire and Midnight Memories coming out that week, I was reunited with my sister! We've been together throughout our whole life so anytime we're apart from each other, I have severe separation anxiety so having her back was great. Also! One of my best friends from high school (who I haven't seen in over 7 years!!!) came over to visit that weekend. It was incredible and a little surreal how much nothing, but at the same time everything, changed. It was just like we were still in high school, only a little older, not so much wiser! Ha :P Here's one of my favorite pictures we took together. The lighting and quality is terrible but we were on a mock Euro Tour and that's the "Eiffel Tower" in the back! ;)




I wanna know, what did YOU love last month? What are you looking forward to next month? Tell me in the comments below. It's hard to wrap my head around the fact that there's only a few days left until we say goodbye to 2013! However, here's hoping December ends this year being nothing short of amazing.

Kisses,

S

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Monday Motivation: December #1



Hey everyone! I feel like I haven't blogged in a long time! I hope you all had a lovely weekend. If you celebrated Thanksgiving, I hope it was fun for you! Sadly, where I'm from, it's not a tradition but it still didn't stop me from appreciating the things I have and am thankful for. On that note, I'd like to dedicate today's Monday Motivation post to everything that has to do with being thankful!

A while back, I stumbled upon an app called 'Gratitude' and it opened my eyes on how it's so easy to take the things we have for granted. Most of the time we don't realize the things we're already blessed with because we are being blinded by the things we still don't have. When I opened up this app, it came with one simple instruction and that's to just list down three things I'm thankful for at the end of every day. It can be absolutely anything! By practicing this every night, I found myself taking the little things that happened throughout my day into thought that I wouldn't have done otherwise, and reflecting on them. It opened up a whole new perspective on my life. By doing this, I was able to just be grateful for the many simple things I'm blessed with. So, instead of thinking of what I didn't have, I focused my thoughts on the things I do have and allowed myself to be thankful for them. Having a grateful heart doesn't always mean being thankful for all the good things that come your way, it also means understanding that bad things also happen to you to make you appreciate the good things going on in your life.

If you're feeling like you have nothing to be grateful for, please think that thought over again and I'm sure you will find something. My challenge for you right now is to find one thing you're grateful to have today and be thankful for it! You can step it up tomorrow and choose one more thing and keep going as the days go by. The key is to make this a habit! Overtime, you will find yourself a much happier person, I can guarantee it! ;) 

If you're alive, breathing and reading this, that's already one reason to be grateful. I wish you all have a lovely week ahead!

Kisses,

S