shooting stars will leave a trail for me to fill with joy and sorrow

Took this on my iPhone (edited w/ vscocam) while trying to find a vintage shop- being downtown was really refreshing. I hope Jack and I are able to move into our dream apartment there this summer!

1. Complete printing and placing of Project Life photos (photos have been printed! For at least two weeks! Now to do all my filler cards...)
2. Finish Star Trek: Voyager
3. Do Yoga Meltdown DVD! (lol I was so sore this morning, deleting this one.)
4. Do Yoga in general!
5. Drink at least 3 cups of detox tea 
6. Eat my recommended calorie allowance  Grilled chicken and rice for dinner aw yeah. I'm going to save some for work tomorrow too.... 
7. Organize my finances
8. Take a luxurious bath with one of my bath bombs (and try out a bubble bar!)
9. Zumba monday night! It's really relaxed, so I'll at least be active! 
10. Fill out my week-at-a-glance for the coming week, with cleaning, exercise, and meal plans. 

I have been really productive this weekend - 3 days at home allowed me to get on top of everything but laundry. I hope I am able to carry this over into the following weeks. I am not sure when I'll get a free day again. (laundry is the worst here. the machines are tiny, it's 1.50 for a load on each, and there are 2 w/d sets for 20 apartments.) 

I am looking forward to the coming week! The song, dreamer, which I've linked below got me all excited for life again, and pushing forward and ahead. 

current songs: eisley - please & elizaveta - dreamer

❤stephanie

twitter ❤ instagram ❤ pinterest

Oh weather channel, your social media ploy is so cute

So, that's happening!

I have the day off work tomorrow- the thought of driving in during a somewhat clear morning, then having to hope when I leave I'm not caught in a ton of snow at some point wasn't too appealing. It was a good week at work though. :) I was super productive.

I think I had an episode of SAD over the past few weeks - I gained some weight. I had no motivation to do anything and ate nothing but carbs. There is more too it than that, which led me to purchasing a phototherapy lamp. I've been using it consistently for about a week now and I feel it has been effective. I have also started working out more- this week I made it to Zumba and Caribbean Rhythm. As I'll possibly be snowed in the next few days, I plan on doing a few at home workouts and living on my yoga mat. :)

So here is the start of my list for the weekend!:

1. Complete printing and placing of Project Life photos
2. Finish Star Trek: Voyager (if you follow me on twitter, you have heard lots about the adventures of the USS Voyager crew)
3. Do Kickboxing DVD!  13:27, 2/8
4. Do Zumba DVD!
5. Do Yoga Meltdown DVD!
6. Do Yoga in general!
7. Drink two pots of detox tea
8. Eat my recommended calorie allowance
9. Complete my week-at-a-glance housekeeping items, including those I have missed
10. Organize my finances
11. Take a luxurious bath with one of my bath bombs (and try out a bubble bar!)

I have 72 hours for these items! I will be a bit disappointed if I do not complete them. :)

❤stephanie

twitter ❤ instagram ❤ pinterest

my list for this weekend (2/2, 2/3)

• Visit a vintage shop (today)
• Bodycombat (today)
• Bodypump (tomorrow)
• Visit Lush (today)
• Watch the Superbowl! (tomorrow!)
• Clean the apato (hahahahha)
• Take the most luxurious bath possible! (whenever)
• Revisit my favorite blogs to see how everyone has been (all weekend)
• Scrapbook! (tomorrow)
• Visit a friend (at some point!)

currently listening: the xx - sunset

things to remind me of home

1 2 3 4 5 6

Every so often I like to go through etsy and find things that scream I AM HOME. I am not about subtle influences at all. I may have to pick up that sweatshirt now. 

Waiting for Jack to get home! We decided to plan out our meal this week and it went over pretty well! I'll probably expand on this later with pictures- I've had to move them onto an external, and I'm not usually at my desk so I go along time between uploading/editing. I am starting to get a teensy bit better about taking photos that aren't of cats at least. :)

I hope everyone had a fantastic week! Happy Friday!

instagram and life lately

From left to right, by row:
1) Lush 'So White' bath bomb. I received this for Christmas, and really liked it. I was told by the SA to throw it in the tub/break it open, which I did, but I don't think it really added to the experience. I liked the scent, but not enough to make me want to repurchase. I continue my search for the perfect bath bomb!

2) Just a picture of me- I've been really into maiden braids the past few weeks. I have somewhat long hair, and this has been a really fun way to style it. I'll usually make 2 braids on each side and flip over. Pinterest hair pins are converting me!

3) Random sky shot on the way into work last week.

4) Lush Cosmetic Warrior fresh face mask. I picked this up the last time I was at Lush. I really liked it, but I don't think I used it thickly enough until I was nearing the end of the tub haha. I really loved this mask, and noticed a huge difference after I used it. I think I would prefer a more exfoliating mask. Next time!

5) Petra bein' cute. Aaaaaaw~

6) Mine and Jack's name cards from Christmas dinner. :) I feel very lucky to have had Jack's family welcome me this holiday season.

7) A picture I took looking out the window at work!

8) The best coffee. How did I live without thee? I went to get gas at a station which had a Green Mountain Coffee sign at the window, but the coffee side was all closed down. It was a sad spot on a nice Saturday morning.

9) Neat tap handle over at the Manchester British Beer Company! We really like their food- and their wide selection of beer. I thought it was fantastic that they actually put real blueberries in my already blueberry beery. 

Jack and I are watching The West Wing! When I saw it on Netflix I knew it was destiny- I will finally have a buddy to watch this show with me! So great.

I think  I am holding well with my resolutions so far. I wrote them on a nice sheet of paper, framed it, and put it on top of my dresser so I'll notice it at least once every day.

I ❤❤ Autumn Tag

I've seen this around a few places and have always wanted to do a tag post/video, so here we go!

1. It's finally Autumn; what are you most looking forward to this season?
The Foliage already passed! So right now I'm most looking forward to Thanksgiving with my new family circle here in New Hampshire. :) 

2. What Autumn item in your closet are you most excited to pull out?
My fur lined boots! Sometimes when we go out a night it's already reached 30F or below, so they're a huge help. 

3. Since Halloween is the first holiday to celebrate, we all get treated with a horror film marathon all month long...What is your favourite scary film to watch?
Well, Halloween for me was spent curled up in bed watching Burn Notice! But my favorite scary movie is probably the original Shutter. 

4. What is your favourite Autumn treat?

Pumpkin everything! I am a huge fan of pumpkin candles, pie, cookies, muffins, cold drinks, warm drinks, ice cream, etc. And a new addition to this may be the fall quesadilla at the local T-Bones restaurant which had apples, and walnuts in it. Who would've thought?

5. Now that summer is finally over, What will you miss about it?

I think what I'll miss most is spending time with my mom in our backyard. We all put a lot of work into it and it was the perfect relaxation area. You can see some snapshots in a recent post. 

6. What make-up/beauty products do you love for Autumn?
I haven't changed my make up! I only really got into it this year, so I'm still learning a lot. I have noticed my skin gets drier a lot faster, so I've been upping my lotion use. 

7. What have you recently bought in preparation for the up and coming season?

A winter coat! I posted about some of my other winter readiness items in a recent post. I made sure my jacket was waterproof, and will probably pick up some leather waterproofing sprays for my boots. Which said they were waterproof. My toes still got wet!!

8. Have you ever been trick'or'treating?
When I was younger it was a high light for me! I was always a princess or some zany thing I came up with. I can't even imagine how much candy I ate in one night! There is no trick or treating in our area really, so I just bought the big bags to eat myself this year. 

9. Name the first 5 things that come to your head when you think of Autumn.
Foliage, apples, wind, warm colors, pumpkin.

10. What is your favourite season and why?
Probably spring - the weather finally picks up and everything is warm and lively again. :)

Met with a recruiter earlier at a staffing agency, she seemed optimistic about how easy it would be to place me and get a good fit with me. I just need to complete some software assessments and hopefully that will be off! Have a phone screening tomorrow which I'm excited about, even if it is retail. It's good retail! 

Jack is at his second job interview, we're hoping that goes well. We got invited to a friends for dinner afterwards which will be awesome. I hope everyone is having a fantastic monday, at home or at work! :)

the first little bits of winter

The beginning of winter is still a month and a half away, but I think I see it creeping in every day. A few people I've spoken to are surprised that we haven't seen any snow yet (last Halloween there was a nor'easter) but it looks like we may be getting some tonight! Barely anything according to the weather channel, but it's enough to have me excited. The average for New Hampshire in November is 1.9 inches, and the month is only beginning.

Over the past few weeks I've been working to get myself prepared for the cold & snow. Some of the essentials I've chosen are: boots, a jacket, good tea and cider, and some warm winter recipes.

1) Columbia Bugaboo Interchangable Jacket. I don't think this is the exact one I picked up at TJ Maxx last week, but it's close. I got the jacket for $80, and it originally retailed for $230, so I am pretty proud of myself. :) Jack and I ended up at the Merrimack Premium Outlets yesterday, and they have Columbia  outlet but they did not beat the price I got at TJ Maxx. :)

2) The Teva Tonalea boot. I found these at a discount shoe place, and so far have been super happy with them! They keep my feet very warm, and are super fashionable. I plan on spraying them with extra waterproof soon, as I've seen some mixed reviews on if they're actually waterproof or not.

3) Hot apple cider yesssss. I have seen a bunch of recipes for hot apple cider (some with rum!) that I want to try, as well as a plain ol' Starbucks Carmel Apple Spice. I'm pretty sure all of these will get me nostalgic for the coffee shop on Main St. at Disneyland.

4) I haven't gotten into the hot chocolate yet, just tea. I found this Genmaicha at the grocery store the other day and am in love with. The toasted brown rice makes it a bit more earthy so I still feel a bit of autumn.

5) This Winter Spice Cookie recipe looks delicious! I am normally attracted to everything with spice in the name or description, so I am going to be all over this once Jack and I get around to making it! Right now we have a long list of recipes we both want to try.

My first winter will probably be a little tough! But if I can stay warm and have delicious things I think I'll be okay. :)

❤stephanie
twitter ❤ instagram ❤ pinterest