Project 365: Week 52 (The Final Week!)

Here is it...the last Project 365!

Day 359. An amazing Christmas and new Hunter rainbows! They are so cute! =)

Day 360. I went out for the night with a few girls from work! We met Kevin Faulke and Patrick Pass which was awesome!

Day 361. A gorgeous morning at Charlestown Beach

Day 362. I don't enjoy when Gronk is inactive...because I love him. <3

Day 363. Coffee is the best way to start a Monday morning!

Day 364. On my dad's birthday we headed out to a local restaurant Matunuck Oyster Bar where I had the most delicious pesto!

Day 365. Ready for New Years Eve!

Thank you all for sticking with me throughout Project 365. It has been a year that has certainly been memorable and I can't wait to see what 2015 will bring =)

2014...2015

Well, it's here New Years Eve. It's time to start thinking about what we want to change in the next year. What goals we want to set and what we regret from the year that has passed by. Here's what I want to change:

1. Be Social.

In case you weren't aware (I don't think I've ever discussed this on the blog before) I suffer from anxiety. One of the best things one of my ex-boyfriends ever did for me was convince me to see a doctor and get anxiety medication. My anxiety is mostly social- I get nervous entering into crowded rooms or going somewhere and meeting someone. I'm always nervous that I won't be able to find the person I'm supposed to meet and will end up wandering aimlessly while people around judge me. It sounds stupid- but it's really difficult to function in a world like this.

My goal for 2015 is to work on being social. I want to talk to more people and not hide in my shell. I'm a pretty shy person and it's difficult for me to think up things to talk about in social settings. I want to work on combating that this year.

2. Let My Guard Down, But No Broken Hearts

I fall fast and hard. This is something I also haven't discussed here on the blog since it's a more personal issue, but I think it's important to share. I tend to do one of two things when meeting someone new: I either guard my heart with walls of steel or I let my guard down too quickly and end up with a broken heart. I know it seems like an unrealistic goal but I would like to find a happy medium where I'm not hurting but also not regretting how I lacked putting myself out there.

3. Find A Healthy Balance Of Health and Fitness

I now work at a place with a gym built in- and get a free membership. It's a pretty amazing perk but I also don't want to hang around at work more then I already have to. I need to create a plan to fit exercise into my life in a healthy way. I also want to start planning out my meals and making sure I'm living a healthier lifestyle. This isn't to lose weight or reach a crazy fitness goal- it's simply about being healthy.

4. Create Balance On The Blog

I need to work on creating a balance in my life that allows me to get all my work done and still have fun. I also need to remember my responsibilities. I go through phases where all I can think about is this blog and getting new content on the site as quick as possible. Other times I forget about it for days because there is so much going on in my personal life.

I enjoy blogging so much that I know I could never give it up- but this year I may not always post five days a week. Project 365 will be ending tomorrow and I will not be doing it again in 2015. Couponing Wrap-ups will no longer be weekly and I will only post them when I actually feel like couponing. I'm not sure what other changes will come throughout the new year but I promise my presence in this little corner of the web will never disappear. =)


What are your goals or resolutions for 2015?

Have a great New Years Eve everyone- be safe and I'll see you all next year ;)

Paper Towns

Before I start today's post- I must say a huge HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my dad! I hope you have a wonderful day dad!!!! =)

Back when I read The Fault In Our Stars and ugly cried more then I've ever ugly cried before, I decided that I wanted to read every book that John Green has to offer. Finally, a few weeks ago in Target I saw Paper Towns on super sale and decided to pick it up!

Although I wouldn't say that Paper Towns in comparable to the epicness (is that a word? well if it's not, it is now!) of The Fault In Our Stars, it was still wonderfully written and had me hooked from the first sentence. John Green certainly knows how to tell a story! This particular one started with Quentin Jacobsen and his neighbor Margo Roth Spiegelman who at a young age discovered a dead man together in their neighborhood. Quentin wanted to forget it, but Margo was interested in investigating the situation. Flash forward to their high school years and Quentin and Margo are not exactly what you would call close friends. However, one school night Margo enters Quentin's bedroom through his window and they go on the greatest adventure he's ever had taking revenge on their classmates. Quentin's obsession with Margo only grows when he discovers she has gone missing...and left clues for him to follow.

I was hooked trying to figure out where Margo could have gone and I loved reading about how Quentin carried a torch for Margo throughout his entire childhood. This was an easy read that I finished in one night and would definitely recommend. Although, if you haven't read The Fault in Our Stars- you should make that your first priority. 

Right now I've moved on to An Abundance of Katherines...which you will be hearing about soon!

What books have you read lately?

December Birchbox Review

This month I got some nice products in my monthly Birchbox! 

I thought this Rusk texture spray would be more of a texture inducing spray instead of a hairspray- but it is definitely hairspray material! This gives my hair more of a hold then anything else and also smells like hairspray.

I will definitely continue to use it up but it's not something I would ever feel the need to purchase in the future.

I used this Dr. Jart+ BB cream instead of foundation a few days and found that it has terrific coverage. I like BB (and CC) creams because I find them to be lighter on my skin but still have great coverage. I found that the color isn't always an exact match for me though since my skin is so light. This particular beauty balm was nice, not an exact match for me but I managed to make it work.

I am not usually a lip product person since I am completely addicted to my Burts Bees chapstick, however I've been trying to wear more lip products when I go out and a few weekends ago I wore this  Date Worthy Lip Lush out and loved it. The color is very subtle so it's not obvious that you are even wearing a gloss. I also felt that it kept my lips fairly moisturized which is my biggest issue when I'm not wearing my Burts Bees. I will definitely use this again next time- and I also love the name of this gloss, very creative!

I've used this SeaRx serum under my moisturizer a few times and don't know that it's doing anything too much for my skin- but it's been fun to try out. I will use up the same but I don't think it's something I need to repurchase or use long term (at least not yet!)

This Kajal extreme liner by Vasanti is so much fun! I wasn't totally sure how I would feel about this rose gold eyeliner but it is beautiful! I love how subtle it is and have been using it on my lower water line mostly. The color really brightens up my eyes and isn't too intense! I will definitely be using this more- and it has made me consider bolder eyeliner choices in the future!

Stay tuned this week will have some fun blog posts- including my last Project 365 as well as some New Years Resolutions!

I hope you have a great start to your week! =)

Project 365: Week 51

Sorry for the delay in this weeks Project 365 post- with Christmas and everything happening it has been hard to just keep up in day to day life lately!

I can't believe that I only have a few more days of Project 365...next week will be the last one! Here's what happened during week 51...

Day 354. It was ugly sweater day at work, I wore my dads Grinch shirt since I didn't have an ugly sweater, which I think I will have to run out and get during post-Christmas sales! 

Day 355- My co-worker Kate gave this to me, how cute! She made them with her daughters and she told them that I loved Kitkats...so of course they gave me almost all Kitkats =)

Day 356. This Saturday was a day of baking- mom and I made all of our pretzel treats and also a new Christmas bark recipe we decided to try.

Day 357, on Sunday my trivia team (the A-team) had a Christmas party and we had a blast eating, exchanging gifts and of course playing a trivia game. I forgot to take any pictures while we had the party- so I snapped a quick picture of all the things I received!

Day 358. Finally everything is coming together. This is the fireplace area in the living room and it's officially a construction free zone!

Day 359. It was a cloudy day and I decided to braid my hair that morning. 

Day 358. I spent Christmas Eve with my family and it was a really nice night. I love spending time with my family and it was especially nice to have my cousin Andrew home from the navy!

How was your week 51?

50 Shades...

It took me almost two years to muster up the courage to read the 50 Shades of Grey series. I had heard so many things that encouraged me not to read them. I heard from people who were uncomfortable while reading them and many who told me not to read them. However, a few people continually told me to read them..so eventually curiosity took over and I decided to read the series.

I expected the series to be absolutely disgusting, filled to the brim with sexual scenes and no plot line. That's not what I discovered. I found myself addicted to the plot, wondering what in the world could have happened to Christian Grey in order to get so screwed up.  I read books one and two in two days and then waited a couple of weeks before reading book three. 

Although the writing itself was pretty poor- the concept that the book was originally based on Twilight's Edward and Bella kept me looking for similarities in their characters. I really did enjoy the story and wanted to know what had happened in Christians life. There was also a nice air of mystery as Christian's foes attempted to take him down and he dealt with life in his childlike manner. 

These are not books I would ever need to read again- but I'm glad that I did read them and understand the concept and backstory behind them. As for seeing the movie- it's something I would like to see although I'm not sure I want to see it in theaters! =)

Have you read 50 Shades of Grey? What did you think of it?

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

I hope you enjoyed a wonderful day with your friends and family! =)