Friday Favorites: Fall decorations!

I’ve never been a big decorator. I was also never much on fall until a few years ago. Now, all bets are off: I got out my “Fall” box in mid-September, and I want to decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving! Who even am I? (A girl who wants to work from home in a winter wonderland, okay?! 😂)

Because my fall decorations have been brightening up my days (and I’m wringing the serotonin out of everything rn), I wanted to share them! Spoiler: They’re mostly from the Target $1 Spot and Hyde and Eek sections over the years!

(FYI: I make a small commission for purchases or clicks made through links in this post.)

This IKEA cubby thing is next to my work desk, and I’ve repurposed the two cubbies at eye level with things that make me happy! (Sensing a theme? I’m just doing this with every area of my life. 😂) So this cubby is a sparkly, crystal dream!

This sweater-y mini pumpkin is part of a set from Hyde and Eek that I got in September—it’s actually still available! 😮 (Unlike pretty much everything else in this post! 😫) Though not fall-related, I recently found this candle at Home Sense and could not resist the lavender/rose gold/moon vibes.

These little pumpkins do light up, but I always forget to turn them on. 🤦🏼‍♀️ They’re from Hyde and Eek—last year, I think. I went HAM and got two sets of four, so they are pretty much everywhere, haha.

A felty pink pumpkin (and fake plant) from Target’s $1 Spot!

A knit pumpkin made by Timmi! Plus, a yellow Sugar Cookie candle from the $1 Spot!

An adorable pumpkin candle from the $1 Spot!

Love a good bottle brush tree, so I fell in love with these candy corn ones from Hyde and Eek! It accompanies a cute Halloween card from my mom that we now use as a decoration, because sure, why not?

This cute lil’ plushy candy corn also came from a Halloween card! He peeks out from behind some picture frames on a side table, as he should.

What are your favorite fall decorations? Happy Friday! xoxo

Linking up with Andrea and Erika!

Shirts that make me feel less depressed

As I was dealing with depression over the summer, I started wringing every molecule of serotonin out of anything that made me happy… and that includes these two shirts! 😁 I wore them literally every work week because they just made my day a little bit brighter! (The perks of WFH with no video meetings!)

(FYI: I make a small commission for purchases or clicks made through links in this post.)

Little Bit Alexis Tee - Etsy

I mean, this really needs no explanation. How can you be sad when you’re expensive sushi and a cute huge yacht?! Schitt’s Creek is such a comforting show for me, and I had it on constantly over the summer (like, big finish-season-6-and-start-it-right-up-again energy), and I especially love Alexis—she’s so hilarious and warm and human. I do wish I had one ounce of her confidence, but maybe a fashion pony would help….

*NSYNC Celebrity Tee - Forever 21

Oh, the late ‘90s, be still my heart. TRL and dELiA*s vibes always cheer me up, so I’ve been listening to tons of *NSYNC, BSB, Britney, and Christina since the summer (I mean, and always, but especially since the summer) and had to get this shirt. I was definitely more *NSYNC than BSB back in the day, but I can’t remember if I had Celebrity. I did rediscover “Pop” and “Girlfriend” over the summer, though, and let me tell you, they are still bops! 10/10 would recommend if you’re sick and tired of hearing all these people talk about what’s the deal with this pop life and when is it gonna fade out?

How do you cheer yourself up when you’re down? By wearing ‘90s boy band tees, I hope?!

Happy Friday! 💜

Linking up with Andrea and Erika!

Friday Favorites: Summer 2021

HELLO, friends! ❤️ I’m sorry I vanished again. I was just dealing with… a lot… over the summer, and once I get used to not posting, I have a really hard time getting myself back into it. But today I can say I’m back by popular demand, haha! Thanks Siobhan, Elizabeth, Korin, and Sue! (Especially Sue, my forever cheerleader and stand-in therapist!) Thanks for encouraging me and picking me up when I’m down! ❤️❤️

Now that’s it’s officially fall, why not talk about a few of my favorite things from the summer?

Pudgesicle

I got to stay with Pudge back in June, and you guys. This is monumental. SHE SAT IN MY LAP!!!! FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER! I will probably never get over it, haha.

Our excitement levels were slightly different. 😂 She was purring, I swear!

She also later napped half in my lap, and I’m not over that either! 😭

She is such a sweet, intuitive little being. I had had a rough therapy session that day, and it’s like she knew. She even came in and sat with me during therapy. She’s just the best! ❤️😭

The Phillies

I like baseball well enough, which is good because Pops got MLB Extra Innings this year, and it’s been wall-to-wall baseball! And I may be the only person in Philadelphia whose depression was helped by the Phillies! 😂😂 I don’t usually follow them, but I started paying attention in June—specifically, the epic week the net fell down (LOL wut) and Luke Williams hit his walk-off home run. (When he teared up, I was done for. Emotional vulnerability is my love language.) Yes, the Phils are, ah, maddening, especially this past week, but it was so nice to have something to follow along with over the summer—I had forgotten what a lovely distraction sports are, and I really needed that while dealing with PMDD and regular depression.

Pops and I even got out to two games, so here is the obligatory shot of Bryce.

❤️

Zelda

I first posted about Breath of the Wild back in February, not long after I’d started it, and it is really remarkable how little I’ve accomplished seven months later, haha. But here I am, still playing, and still loving it! The world is absolutely enormous, so all I do is wander around, check out all the sights, talk to all the people, and pick up every rock! (Clearly, I never would have beaten Ocarina of Time had it been an open-world game. 😂) Walking around and looking for Koroks and chests has become like an oddly calming nightly ritual. So I feel you, Frightened Townsperson!

How are you guys doing?! What put the sparkle in your summer? Let me know down below! xoxo

Linking up with Andrea and Erika!

Friday Favorites: New things!

Before my blogging break last year, I’d done High Five for Friday posts nearly every week for five years. I wanted to give myself more flexibility this time around, so here we are, haha. I haven’t been feeling amazing, so all I’ve been doing in my spare time is napping, playing Stardew Valley, and watching Schitt’s Creek!

But there actually has been some excitement around here!

Shots shots shots shots

I got my first covid vaccine! I can’t believe this all came together so quickly—I was able to go within days of PA opening it up for people 16 and older! I’m so relieved to be on the road to some normalcy (and lessened anxiety!). The nurses were soooo incredibly nice and created a really calm, caring environment. I wanted to stay more than the 15 minutes! 😁

I can see clearly now

My new glasses finally came in! My eyeglasses were a few years old, but my sunglasses were NINE years old, so this is big news indeed! (My sunglasses were definitely not the most effective anymore! 😬)

Picking out sunglasses was so easy—I fell in love with these ones immediately. They are completely different from my old ones (black and oversized, very traditional), so a nice change, and I LOVE the pink mirrored lenses!

I had a much harder time finding eyeglasses. I ultimately picked these ones just because they were in the brown family and sat well on my face, and I came home feeling very uncertain. It’s just such a big commitment when you have to wear glasses all the time and require super-expensive lenses! But now that I’ve had them for a few weeks, I do like them! I feel like I look like a glamorous beauty YouTuber who’s just taken out her contacts at the end of the day. 😂

If your friends are there, then everything’s all right

Lastly, I got to have a magical socially-distant bonfire with Maggie, Karuna, and Tara, three of my friends from yoga teacher training! (Maggie is also Pudge’s mom!) As you can see below, Maggie lives in a lovely wooded area. We had a lot of laughs and pulled tarot cards, and it was just SO RESTORATIVE AND WONDERFUL to be able to see these girls in person! (Including Pudgesicle, who gave me a few tentative bumps and then immediately started purring! 😭😭)

Happy Friday! Hope you guys are doing well! 💜💜

Linking up with Andrea and Erika!

Friday Favorites: March buys

And now for something completely different! 😂

Since I’ve come back from my little blogging break, I’ve realized that I don’t have to do things the way I’ve always done them—I can try stuff that is more interesting to 2021 me! So I think I’m going to revamp my budget posts and just highlight a few fun things I’ve bought in the past month.

(FYI: I make a small commission for purchases or clicks made through links in this post.)

Clothes

I don’t usually go to Kohls, but I went last weekend because I was in desperate need of a new pillow. Not only was I successful on that front (hooray, no more upper back pain!), I also found this cozy top to boot! I don’t love dip-dye (I wasn’t into it when it dominated dELiA’s catalogs either 😬), but I do love this lavender-blue moment that seems to be happening in the world.

I also got an Aerie half-zip pullover from Poshmark. I love the color, and it’s very soft. Perhaps most importantly, though, I can get it over my head easily. That’s clutch when you wear glasses! 😂

Accessories

When I saw these super sparkly C&C California headbands at TJ Maxx, it was love at first sight. I especially like the one that’s a mix of different colored sparkles. Unfortunately, I can’t find them online to link to. I want us to all be sparkly princesses together, dammit! 😞

I also picked up this headband on sale at Kohls because I liked that the braid isn’t huge or super puffy. However, the headband itself is very loose? Like, if I bend over, it almost falls off my head? Def never had that experience before! While I appreciate that it won’t hurt my ears, I’m also nervous to wear it on a windy day!

Beauty

I said last month that fancy on-sale lip gloss is one of the things bringing me joy in this dark time, annnd sure enough, I picked up a few more this month. (In normal times, I have a tiny bit of self-control. I think.)

I got the Bare Minerals Buttercream gloss, and I LOVE it! So much so that I went back for another! It’s creamy, non-sticky, and smells faintly of cupcakes—a perfect trio! I only wish I’d gotten it in colors that aren’t basically clear, haha. (I got Forbidden, a pinky nude, and Totally, a tan nude.)

I also picked up Lorac’s Alter Ego gloss in Socialite, which I feel like has a little more color payoff—and a stronger cupcake smell. It’s also a little bit sticky, but not terrible.

I love a bold lip. 😂🤦🏼‍♀️

What fun things did you get this month?

Linking up with Andrea and Erika!