High Five for Friday: February 14

Happy Valentine’s Day, my loves! Let’s see what brought the sparkle this week!

• I got this sweet Galentine’s card from my friend (and forever lab partner), Kate! Kate is the kindest, most hilarious girl. She’s one of those people that everyone unanimously knows and loves. (Mica strikes me as the blogland equivalent of this person!)

And then Timmi sent me this adorable MEOWENTINE! HA! I love it and shall henceforth refer to all cat-themed valentines as “meowentines”!

• So it’s been a rough week on the therapy front… namely because I haven’t had therapy! Scheduling changes caused me to accidentally not have therapy for almost two weeks, which probably doesn’t sound like a long time, but I was previously going 2-3 times a week. And, as you know, I’m a very calm, non-anxious person (HAHAHA). Where is the sparkle in all of this, you ask? Just that I’ve survived! I don’t do well with change, especially unforeseen change, but I am journaling and crying my way through this change like someone with actual coping skills! What the what??

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Preparing for the holidays ✨ #SocialTwerkers #HappyMondayYall #TheHolidaysAreUponUs #HolidayStress #StruggleBus • • • • #HumorIsMyCopingSkill #LifeOfASocialWorker #TheStruggleIsReal #ClinicalSocialWork #SocialWork #OverworkedAndUnderPaid #DamnYouDMH #SocialTwerk #CopingSkills #Humor #MentalHealthAwareness #SelfCare #BreakTheStigma #MentalHealth #Therapy #SocialJustice #SocialWorkHumor #MSW #MFT #SocialWorkProblems #Therapist #LCSW #LMFT

A post shared by Alissa 💁🏻 BS Psychology, LCSW (@socialtwerkers) on Dec 23, 2019 at 11:34am PST

• So when I used to work in the office, I basically worked 11-7 so as to not have to deal with traffic. Now that I work from home, though, I’ve been getting done around six, which means I can watch World News Tonight with Pops. (This is his nightly ritual. In our house, the show is also known as “David,” in honor of host David Muir, and “The Old Man News,” which is not all wrong.) This has become one of our new “things,” and it’s pretty nice. Except that I now find myself watching The Old Man News by myself when Pops isn’t even home! 😳😫

• Speaking of Pops, today is his b-day! Happy birthday to the best dad! Too bad this mustache isn’t still around… along with my hat.

• Lastly, this is hashtag too real:

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Adulting is fun 😅 (@ elle91 on Twitter) #SocialTwerkers #HappyMondayYall #CaseOfTheMondays #StruggleBus #AdultingIsHard #Ytho • • • • #HumorIsMyCopingSkill #LifeOfASocialWorker #TheStruggleIsReal #ClinicalSocialWork #SocialWork #OverworkedAndUnderPaid #DamnYouDMH #SocialTwerk #CopingSkills #Humor #MentalHealthAwareness #SelfCare #BreakTheStigma #MentalHealth #Therapy #SocialJustice #SocialWorkHumor #MSW #MFT #SocialWorkProblems #Therapist #LCSW #LMFT

A post shared by Alissa 💁🏻 BS Psychology, LCSW (@socialtwerkers) on Feb 10, 2020 at 12:00pm PST

Hope you have a great weekend! xo

Cute and girly for Valentine's Day!

You guys know I love purple, but honestly, pink has been my favorite color for like the past six months. Literally, every top I’ve bought has been a shade of blush or mauve. I’m not sure where this came from, but I ain’t mad at it! (I always liked pink, but I never felt like it looked “good” on me, as a pale redhead. Now, I just don’t care! 😂🤷🏼‍♀️) This love of pink also means that I have a lot of perfect lewks for Valentine’s Day! Yeah, I’m single AF, but who even cares? Valentine’s Day is also my dad’s birthday, so we celebrate it for that reason, and singledom takes a backseat anyway. And the Valentine’s Day decor is perfect for a girly girl like me. Pink, purple, hearts, and glitter?! Sign me up! 😍

I recently spotted this top on Amazon and had serious heart eyes. How adorable is that scalloped hem? I will say that it’s advertised as a sweatshirt, but it’s definitely not. It’s more like just a long-sleeved top. I also sized up because reviews said it ran a bit short, and yeah, sizing up was the way to go!

The links below are affiliate links, which means I make a small commission (at no cost to you) if you click through!

Top: Amazon

Leggings: Amazon

Boots: Keds

Headband: Forever 21 (about a million years ago!)

I’ve raved about these leggings before—they’re thick and soft, they have pockets, and they’re full-length without being too long, which is an actual miracle. (I’m 5’3”, which is not tall but also not especially short, so why are leggings so often long on me?) Together with the scallop-hem top, they make for a cute and comfy Valentine’s look! 💖

Linking up with Mica and Lisa!

High Five for Friday: February 7

Let’s see what put the sparkle in this week!

• On Saturday, I got to meet Kristin’s friend Elizabeth for the first time! I’d known “of” her for a long time, but we had never gotten the chance to meet. Well, she is just delightful! We ended up having a delish lunch at The Cheesecake Factory, and then we walked around the mall a bit. I even bought a few things from Aerie! (Thank you, Elizabeth, for letting me try on a million things!) What a fun Saturday! ❤️👯‍♀️

A toast to Kristin! ❤️

• Speaking of Aerie, I ended up ordering a few other things from them this week too, including this super-soft sweater that I’ve been eyeing ever since Tif posted about it for Black Friday! I finally got to try it on when I went to the mall with Elizabeth, and it is waaay oversized. I’m usually a small, but I sized down to an XXS, and it’s STILL a bit big! So consider yourself warned!

• I have a handful of beauty YouTubers that I love (which makes no sense since I hardly ever wear make-up 🤷🏼‍♀️), and my favorite gal lately is RawBeautyKristi. She’s hilarious, seems super down-to-earth, loves cats (!!), and I could listen to her all day (even if I’m def not going to be recreating a mint-green eyeshadow look anytime soon!). I wanted to link a video here, but I don’t have a fave—I literally will just listen to any video on her channel as comforting background noise!

• Have you been watching this season of The Bachelor? In case you haven’t heard, it’s the wooorst. (I don’t even always watch The Bachelor, but I always seem to watch seasons that people end up unanimously hating, so, go me? 🤦🏼‍♀️) You know what I love, though? Sharleen Joynt’s recaps over on Flare and her site. She’s a former contestant, so she has a very unique take on things and lots of interesting insights about the pressure cooker that is reality TV.

Bless Mykenna and her faces.

• Lastly, I loved this video of Dexter Purrington, um, tolerating his baby sister learning to pet. (Does anyone else follow the Taco Squad? I love them!)

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How to Make Your Cat Plot Your Death, 101.😹😹😹🦉👻☀️ #BigBrotherDexter #LifeWithEllie

A post shared by Dexter, Thor, Simba, Burrito. (@theofficialtacosquad) on Feb 6, 2020 at 2:47pm PST

Hope you have a great weekend! xo

Budget post: January 2020

When I was dealing with depression symptoms earlier in January, I really had zero interest in shopping. I only bought things that I was running out of. Buuut then I started feeling better and snuck in a few fun purchases before month’s end! Here’s what I got:

affiliate links below

1. Fitglow Beauty Lip Colour Serum in Nudie: $42 on sale for $36

2. Ro’s Argan (Lush): $36 - gift card = $0

3. Tarte Sugar Rush Lip Slip Lip Oil in Cherry Slush (Ulta): $15 - gift card = $0

4. Comfy Lounge Pants with Pockets (Amazon): $20 - gift card = $0

Not pictured:

1. Dream Cream (Lush): $8 - gift card = $0

2. Colourpop Just a Tint Lip Crayon in A Go-Go (Ulta) $8 - gift card = $0

3. Averr Aglow Clarifying Hydration Dew: $29

4. Averr Aglow Radiant Cleansing Nectar: $34

TOTAL: $99

The Fitglow Beauty Lip Colour Serum might be the most expensive lip product I’ve ever purchased, and I got totally influenced by The Birds Papaya on this one. It’s… good? The color I got (Nudie) is a perfect MLBB shade, but I don’t know that I totally love the texture of it. For $42, I better love it with my whole heart, you know? I still do wear it a lot, though.

I’m meh on the Colourpop Lip Crayon too—kind of drying, darker than I thought it would be—and I also have mixed feelings about the Tarte Lip Oil. I usually hate a lip oil because they’re too thin and watery, but this one is actually quite thick. So I love that, buuut it does border on sticky sometimes. My favorite thing about it? It smells HEAVENLY. Do I keep it on my work desk and smell it throughout the day? Yes. #trueconfessions

I love the Ro’s Argan, don’t love the price so much. But it is a big tub that should last me awhile, AND I’ve noticed that it’s totally been helping my dry winter hands. I hate wearing lotion because of how gross it makes your hands feel, but you wash Ro’s Argan off, so it’s kind of perfect for me! Dream Cream is great too. I like to use it on my legs after shaving because I have super sensitive skin that is easily perturbed.

The Amazon Comfy Lounge Pants are the ones I was raving about last week, and they are DARN soft and comfy. The perfect addition to my new work-from-home wardrobe!

The Averr Aglow items were re-purchases because yes, I blew through those two products in two months. 😱 I do see a noticeable decrease in redness since I started using Averr Aglow back in December, but these two products + shipping ran me $70. 😱 I don’t know that I can keep bank-rolling that groovy lifestyle!

Do you have favorite lip products OR comfy pants that I should know about?! What did you buy this month?

High Five for Friday: January 31

Let’s see what brought the sparkle this week!

• Remember my (possibly-medication-induced) depression symptoms? Well, I am thrilled to report that I’ve been feeling better this week! I’ve felt stable and just generally okay, which is great… but always a bit unsettling after being on such an emotional roller coaster. Does anyone else ever feel that way? Like, “Hey, I’m feeling better now… IS THIS A TRAP??” 😰🙃

• I had a lovely Sunday funday looking at astrology books and smelling candles with my friend Alana! (You might remember her from being the best and surprising me with a gift a few weeks ago!) We also had fries, which we’ve decided need to be a key component of all our gatherings!

• I decorated my work-from-home desk a little more, with a few things from my old desk at the office!

• I also got to experience a great work-from-home perk: working while wrapped in a blanket! (Could.not.get.warm. 🥶) And I now live in leggings and joggers because why the heck not? (Pro tip: these joggers from Amazon are insanely soft! The waistband miiight come up to your bra, but it’s a small price to pay! 😂)

• Lastly, this IG post really resonated with me, because I feel this internal conflict often. It’s a hard thing to reconcile—feeling so scared and also knowing that the fears are illogical. 😔

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The way we ACKNOWLEDGE irrational THOUGHTS is important in helping reduce anxiety. Question the validity of your thought, and if you need to relapce or reject it do so. Your mind will thank you for this - -🎨@ocdnashville - -#anxietytools #anxietyanddepression #anxietyrecovery #anxious #psychological #cbttherapy #itsokaynottobeokay #mentalhealthsupport #ansiedadegeneralizada @dlcanxietysupport

A post shared by DLC Anxiety Support (@dlcanxietysupport) on Jan 29, 2020 at 4:05pm PST

Hope you have a great weekend! xo