High Five for Friday: October 25

Let’s see what brought the sparkle this week!

• Saturday was a pretty rough anxiety day, but I pieced together a solid plan to cope: I went to a gentle yoga class in the morning and had one of my friends come keep me company (and watch Dawson’s Creek!) at night. Bonus that some random music channel was running Queen content all day, including Hungarian Rhapsody, so that helped too!

• Sandwiched in between yoga and Queen on Saturday afternoon was a quick stop at TJ Maxx, where I picked up the coziest sweater (coming up in a post on Monday!) and few cute notebooks!

• On Sunday, Pops came home from a trip to Cali! I literally greeted him at the door playing the theme song to Welcome Back, Kotter, haha! We went out to dinner for his homecoming, which included this delish dessert!

• On Tuesday, I decided to go ice skating for the first time in months! Every time, I forget how much I miss it until I’m back out there again. I’m so glad that Timmi brought one of my favorite childhood activities back into my life!

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I’ve been dealing with some hip issues + some (seemingly inner child-related) anxiety for the past few days, so I hit the ice today! I haven’t skated since I was in Chicago in April (😭), but I’m always amazed at how my body just remembers what to do. The body can remember and store trauma, of course, but also the fun things that you forgot you were even capable of. It’s an incredible thing.💕💕 . . #innerchildhealing #innerchild #healing #iceskating #skating #anxiety #depression

A post shared by Jess (@jessie_face4) on Oct 22, 2019 at 8:47am PDT

• Did you ever have a song that you just wake up singing every day? “Can We Still Be Friends?” by Todd Rundgren has been that song for me for literally months. (What does this say about me, I wonder…) This week, I stumbled upon this gorgeous piano cover, and I cannot get enough:

What put the sparkle in YOUR week?

Hope you have a great weekend! xo

High Five for Friday: October 18

Let’s see what brought the sparkle in this whirlwind week!

• On Saturday, I had a “treat yo self” day of sorts. But it was less about shopping and the spa and more about just giving myself space to do anything what I wanted. The big treat was getting a new iPhone (woo!), but this meant I could go to the mall near work by myself and actually give myself time and space to explore, instead of running there after work. A leisurely afternoon to myself was truly lovely. (And it got me out of the house! When my depression and anxiety are bad, doing optional things outside of the house is a real struggle.)

• ICYMI, I put up a Fall Haul post on Monday! I am fully in the fall spirit! 🎃🍂

• Well, this was a strange week! I’ve still been pretty down, which I guess is to be expected when you’re grieving. But I had forgotten that, by preordering Marie Forleo’s new book, Everything Is Figureoutable, I had signed up for a free course with her—and that course was happening this week! UGH. LET ME BE MISERABLE IN PEACE. (Tbh I had completely forgotten about the book. I had bought it way back in early September, which was a much simpler time when I was capable of optimism! 😂)

But, here we are. And what do you know, Marie’s little course is all about mindset shifts and the importance of having helpful beliefs and self-talk—basically the opposite of where I’ve been lately. What excellent timing, thx Universe! ❤️ Despite how annoyed I felt about it at first, I’ve actually been doing all of the coursework and getting into it! This is my first course with her, and she really is as great as people say. Her mindset hacks actually have pulled me out of my funk, to a degree, and given me hope that I can figure out this disaster of a life! 😂

• In that same vein, Sarah Nicole posted this on her IG Stories, and it utterly blew my mind. This is me. This is why I get paralyzed: I experience negative emotions and see them as a stop sign rather than just a fact of life. Like, holy shit.

• Oh, and lastly, one of my favorite teachers subbed my usual Sunday yoga class, hooray! She has the most calming voice, and I def need all the calming things in my life right now, haha!

Hope you have a great weekend! xo

Fall haul!

I’m really a spring and summer gal, but over the past few years, I’ve started to have a real love for fall. I hate the cold weather it ushers in, but the foliage and pumpkins and warm beverages and cozy clothes that accompany it are pretty great!

I noticed that I’d recently picked up a few things that felt very fall-y, so I thought, why not do a little haul post?!

• Felt pumpkin from the Target $1 Spot

• Pumpkin Pecan Waffles candle

• Hot Cocoa and Cream candle

• Zoya polishes in Hera and Tawny ** affiliate link

• Velvet scrunchie

Y’all already know I’m obsessed with the Pumpkin Pecan Waffles candle! It’s stronger than the Hot Cocoa and Cream one, but they both smell super delicious and are nice, cozy scents. Perfect for lighting on a Sunday night when you’re getting ready for the week ahead with KUWTK on in the background. (…Just me?)

I love the orange iridescent Zoya polish, but I haven’t used it yet. (I’ve been very lazy lately about painting my nails.) But my toes are currently sporting Hera, and it’s a gorgeous mauve.

Someone else in the H54F linkup posted about the Target pumpkins, and I fell in love, so one came home with me soon after! They come in a bunch of cute colors, but I had serious heart-eyes for the blush one.

I kind of can’t believe scrunchies are back in style, but this velvet trend is very cute! I’ve mainly used them as a fun, bracelet-like, accessory, but these ones do, miraculously, hold up all of my hair! They came in a three-pack, but the grey velvet felt particularly fall-approp.

What fun fall things have you picked up?

High Five for Friday: October 11

I like to keep these posts as sparkly as possible, but it also feels weird not to speak honestly about how I’ve been feeling, so here we go. On this week’s edition of the Grief Emotional Rollercoaster, we made stops in Numbness Knoll and Depression Downs! FUN! Basically, I just want to be snug in my bed watching Supernatural con videos. But I had done a ton of feeling last week, so maybe it’s natural to feel burnt out after something like that? On the good news front, the suicidal thoughts have been almost nonexistent (hooray!), and I came to several conclusions about them: a.) they’re just thoughts—I don’t have to believe them or get worked up about them and b.) I know I’m not going to act on them even if I do have them.

You know what has been bringing me genuine joy amidst the numbness? Blogging! So let’s get into this week’s sparkle:

• On Saturday, I went to Ulta and got a mini-facial at a Tula event, which was so.nice. I got a lactic acid treatment, and though I was legit scared for my sensitive skin, it went well, and my skin felt incredibly soft afterward! Bonus that Timmi texted me during my facial, which means I got to say, “Sorry I missed your text, I was getting a facial!”—probably the bougiest thing I’ve ever said!

• Later that night, I lit this candle for the first time! It smells sooo delicious and pairs well with the cooler weather that we’re suddenly getting!

• Pops was around on Sunday, so we went to the mall together! Aww! I love my dad, but we do live together, so we can drive each other nuts at times, haha. But Sunday was such a fun little outing! And, you guys, I DIDN’T BUY ANYTHING! (It was just one of those times when everything looked ridiculous or didn’t fit blah blah.) Even though shopping was mostly a bust, we had a delish lunch at The Cheesecake Factory, and I got to show Pops around some of my favorite stores at the mall near work, which isn’t something I usually get to share with people.

Crispy crab bites and avocado egg rolls YUM

• I was feeling especially down on Tuesday night, but a mix of Supernatural con vids and these guys brightened my mood!

• Lastly, I give you the perfect tweet for anxiety-addled English majors! #tooreal

Hope you have a great weekend! xo

September 2019 Budget

Hey, it’s only October, so let’s get the September budget post up, shall we?!

(Some of the following are affiliate links)

1. I Dew Care Cat Headband (Ulta): $6 - sale and gift card = $0

2. Colourpop Ultra Blotted Lip in Zuma (Ulta): $7 - coupon and gift card = $0

3. Anrabess Summer Tank Jumpsuit (Amazon): $24 - gift card = $13

4. Zoya Nail Polish in Tawny (Ulta): $10 - gift card = $0

5. C9 Active Tank Top (Target): $15 - gift card = $0

Not pictured:

1. C9 Twist Back Tank Top Tank (Target): $13

2. Zoya Nail Polish in Hera (Ulta): $10 - gift card = $0

3. Clinique Pep Start Eye Cream (Ulta): $28 - coupon and gift card = $0

4. Colourpop Ultra Glossy Lip in Pretty In (Ulta): $7 - coupon and gift card = $0

5. Essence Volume Booster Lash Primer (Ulta) : $5 - gift card = $0

6. Nike Training Shorts (Amazon): $20

7. Under Armour Play Up Shorts (Amazon): $17

8. Heathyoga Leggings (Amazon): $17

9. Treat Lip Balm in Confetti Cake (Amazon): $13 - gift card = $0

TOTAL: + $34 (assorted scrunchies and headbands from Forever 21) = $114

WHEW. Thanks to a slew of birthday gift cards, my spending was almost back to normal. Or at least closer to where I would want it to be.

You know what my two favorite purchases of September are? (Besides the cat ears headband, obviously!) The jumpsuit and the Heathyoga leggings. Finally, I’ve found pieces I’d like to be buried in! 😂😂 The jumpsuit is a jersey-type material and basically like a more fashionable onesie, while the leggings are soft and thick and have cell phone pockets (!!). I’m seriously considering getting another pair because I want to live in the one pair I have now!

The Treat Lip Balm is pretty great too. Besides smelling amazing, it’s super hydrating—I actually took it to Arizona with me as my overnight lip balm, and it worked really well.

Did you buy anything fun in September?