2016: MY "YEAR OF YES"

I remember back to last year when I was thinking about what I wanted my 2016 New Year's resolution to be - I knew I didn't want it to be something that I would look back on after a month of starting and say - well that lasted all of two seconds, better luck next year... I decided there would be no resolutions of working out X times a week etc., eating healthy Monday - Friday, you know the stereotypical goals everyone sets and I've yet to see someone stick with an actually accomplish. Instead I wanted my goal to be a mindset change. Hence, my 2016 New Year’s Resolution turned into my year of "YES!”

So you might be wondering what a year of “Yes” entails. Well I first heard about a year of “Yes" during a Ted Talk I was watching of Shonda Rhimes (shout out to all my #TGIT gal pals out there) - you can watch the Ted Talk HERE...she also wrote a book called Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person that you can purchase HERE (I haven’t gotten around to reading it but it’s on the top of my list for 2017). While Shonda's "Year of Yes" was a year of saying "Yes" to all things that scared her, I wanted my "Year of Yes" to be something a little different. I decided my year of "Yes" would be saying "Yes" to any and every opportunity that was presented to me. If I got asked on a date - instead of finding any and every excuse not to go (I had a tendency of being pretty great about saying "No" in regards to this topic) I was instead going to say "YES". If I was asked to hang out with a group of friends I didn't normally hang out with... I was going to say "YES". You're starting to get the picture... when I started to think back on the past 21 years of my life I felt like I had lived a lot of my life saying "No" to things or opportunities that were presented to me. I still haven’t been able to pin down why I had a tendency of saying "No" but the only explanation I could come up with was that if I didn't commit to anything than it always left a window open for something better to come along – I know that’s a horrible mindset to have… trust me I lived it.

So where did my year of "Yes" take me - well to start it introduced me to a wide range of individuals that have now become close friends, it helped me take the plunge and move to Chicago - a city that I knew nothing about or a single person living there, it encouraged me to push through the first few months of wanting to move back home, it took me to visit my two best friends in Houston and LA, and it ultimately ended up making 2016 one of the best years I have ever had.

I can't tell you how refreshing it is to look back on a year and know that you took and ran with any and every opportunity you possibly could. Did all “Yes’s” lead to rainbows and butterflies… absolutely not but I can say wholeheartedly that I will never think back to 2016 and have “What Ifs?”

So where does 2017 take me... well I'm declaring 2017 the year of "Me" and while this likely sounds like a very conceited resolution, I can assure you it is anything but. For me 2017 will be a year of focusing on and developing myself as person... I want to be better about volunteering, I want to learn how to sail, I want to work on my patience, I want to learn how to love my body more and not be so critical of its beautiful flaws, I want run a 5K, and most importantly I want to end 2017 a better version of myself than when I started. I don't think I am always going to get it right and I don't think that I will be able to knock everything off my list of things I would like to accomplish but if 2016 taught me one thing it was that – a simple mindset change can have a much greater impact than you could have ever imagined. 

I hope you all have an amazing Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

NOTHING WORTH HAVING COMES EASY

It's crazy to think this Thursday will mark 3 months in Chicago and while I don't think I was ever truly prepared for a move this big... I'm so glad I took a leap faith. If I had to explain to anyone how these past couple of months have been it would go a little something like this - graduating and moving across the country by yourself and not knowing anyone feels a little like someone tied weights onto your ankles and then threw you in the deep end of the pool. I know... I'm dramatic but that is truly what the first couple of weeks felt like. I don't think you are every truly ready to grow up but somehow you just start going through the motions and before you know it  you are going through your days, paying your bills, cleaning your apartment, and you wake up and are like "Holy crap! I did it! I'm figuring out this thing called growing up one day at a time!" A couple of things I've learned since moving to Chicago.

1. Use a gas powered stove
2. Navigate public transportation like a #BOSS
3. Set up auto pay for bills #NoLateFees
4. Build IKEA furniture
5. Set up an internet router
6. Enroll in benefits
7. Be responsible for another being beside myself... I love you Doak
8. A/C is expensive - opening your windows is free
9. Sometimes you just need a 2 hour phone call with your best friend  
10. Leaving everything you've ever known is never easy but "Nothing worth having comes easy"

Chicago, I can't wait to learn everything else you have to offer and thanks for being the best decision I ever made for myself. 

xo,

Lauren

IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE

It's amazing to think that I started this blog over three years ago when I was going through a break up and needed something to focus my time and energy on. Although I've ignored my blog off and on for the past year or so... I never forgot about her (yes I refer to my blog as a her - we have shared a lot of personal stories together lol). There have been plenty of times that I would log on, type up a blog post about what had been going on in my life, and it would end up getting saved as a draft and never posted.

While it saddens me that I haven't had the time to give my blog the attention it deserved, it also excites me as I am about to enter an exciting time in my life and I can't wait to share it with you all. I recently graduated from Florida State University and decided to pack my bags and head to the Windy City of Chicago to start what I think will become my dream job! There has been so much change in my life over the past couple months from finishing my senior year of college, having an internship with HSN, going back to FSU to graduate, and ultimately packing my life up and road tripping to Chicago. I can honestly say it is so nice to know that I am here to stay and have some consistency in my life again!

As you all know, when I started this blog I was a 18 year girl trying to find her voice - I was obsessed with makeup, clothes, and any other girly things I could get my hands on! Well here I am now 21 almost 22 and I can honestly say I have grown up a lot in last 3 years - and with that means its time for my blog to grow up as well. Thus, new posts might not be what you are used to if you have followed my blog since the beginning.

Since it has been awhile since I have updated you all I want to share a little about me and what I'm currently obsessed with. I absolutely love minimalist design and learning more about how to live a minimalist life. I have also grown to have an interest in learning about clean eating and transitioning over to completely vegan and cruelty free makeup up and beauty products. So while these might not be the topics that I would have talked to you all about in the past they are topics I have grown passionate about and can't wait to share more with you.

For those of you that have reached out during my break from blogging I will be forever grateful for you!

WHERE HAVE I BEEN?

I just want to preface this by saying... I had no clue it had been almost 8 months since I have been on here until I logged on the other day and saw the date of my last post! 

So much has happened since that post that I figured I would give you all a quick little wrap up on my life happenings!

When I left off back in February I had just become the Editor-In-Chief of Clutch Magazine "FSU's Premiere Fashion Magazine". Well little did I know but that position would come to take up my entire spring semester and leave me with practically no time to do anything else! Don't get me wrong I love my job and am still the Editor-In-Chief today but the time commitment was definitely not something I was expecting and left me with little time to log-on to here and talk to you all! 

You can actually check out our Spring Issue by clicking HERE. 

Once school ended in May I had a month off before I headed to New York City for my internship with Ross Dress for Less. I left on May 29th and was in New York until August 8th! Truthfully my time in New York deserves an entire post of its own because I came to realize that maybe New York wasn't for me even though I had been dreaming about it since I was at least 14! I'll include some of my favorite photos below from New York incase you don't follow me on my Instagram: xfashionistagirlx.

Once I got back home on the 8th I had less than 24 hours to unpack and repack for my 21st birthday in LAS VEGAS! I got to spend a week at the Venetian with two of my best friends and still to this day I could not have asked for a better way to celebrate being 21! 

We got back to Orlando at 7am Friday morning and then I packed my car and headed straight to Tallahassee for sorority recruitment! Recruitment lasted a week and we brought back the most amazing pledge class ever and I couldn't be more excited to call them my new sisters! I'll include a link to our bid-day video below for anyone that has an interest in watching that! 

Nope, I'm not done yet... you can see why I haven't been able to sit down and find the time to type this out for you all now can't you!

My senior year of college started on August 24th, which was a whirlwind of emotions. Tallahassee has become my home away from home and the thought that I have less than 8 months before I walk across the stage at graduation is still not something I have been able to fully grasp! 

Like I said before I am still the Editor-In-Chief of Clutch and working to complete my last issue as Editor-In-Chief which is set to be realized in Mid-November. I can't believe how fast time has flown by and I thank you to my readers that still reach out from time to time... or to my new readers that message me asking anything from dorm advice to sorority advice (these are personally my favorite emails to get because I get to talk about some of my favorite experiences from college and share them with girls that are just starting their journey!) 

I look forward to getting back into the swing of things and posting on here more regularly!

xo,

Lauren Nicole

JANUARY EMPTIES

I am so proud of myself for using up so many products this month! I am slowly eating away at the excessive amounts of beauty products under my counter! But before I throw away this months trash I figured I would share with you all and tell you which products I loved, hated, and would repurchase! So lets get started...

Batiste Dry Shampoo: This is a staple product in my hair routine! I will repurchase this product over and over again! I'm waiting to use up the rest of my Pssssttt Dry Shampoo before repurchasing this one but don't worry I will be back to this product in no time!

It's a 10 Miracle Leave in Spray: Another staple product in my everyday hair routine! No matter how much conditioner I use I seem to always have tangled hair when I get out of the shower! However, this product detangles that mess in less than 10 seconds with just a few sprays! I am working on finishing up a Biolage spray similar to this product but I can't wait till I am done so I can go back out and purchase my beloved It's a 10!

Skintimate SkinTherapy Lotionized: Nothing special about this product... it did its job and that is all I can ask for!

Hypoallergenic Cosmetic Rounds: These are super cheap from Publix so what is there to complain about!

Blonde Care Weightless Conditioner: I liked this conditioner but I wasn't crazy about it!

Bath and Body Works Hand Sanitizer: This stuff smelled great and I loved using it before applying my makeup so I knew my hands were germ free!

Chanel Correcteur Perfection Concealer: This stuff worked amazing but it isn't worth its hefty price tag! I'll be sticking to cheaper concealers from now on!

YSL Babydoll Mascara: Hands down one of my favorite mascara's I have ever used! Now if I could just use up the other 10 mascara's I have so I could go out and repurchase this one!

Clairisonic Sensitive Head Brush: I love my clairisonic but my skin is on the more sensitive side so this works great! I apologize that it looks so dirty in the picture! At least it did its job!

L'Oreal Ideal Clean Towelettes: These were sent to me from L'Oreal when I was apart of Rent The Runway's On Campus program. I was not a fan of these and would use a cleanser after using these wipes to remove the oily layer left on my skin! Even though they did remove my makeup I couldn't get over the feeling they left on my skin so I will not be repurchasing them!

Candle: My Aunt got me this candle for my Paris inspired bedroom and I should have just used it for decoration because it burned so unevenly that I only got 2-3 uses out of it before I had to throw it away!

Hope you all enjoyed this type of blog post! I will be doing monthly updates on the products I am going through as I work towards my goal of living a simplified lifestyle!