Festive Movies and Cozy Winter Evenings - Kathleen

Hola!!! I took a quick break over Thanksgiving and it was much needed. School starts again tomorrow, and it's time to get back to work. What better way than to write a blog post?

So the past week it was REALLY warm. I found myself imagining Spring decorations, but considering that it is December second, I need to get myself solidly into the Christmas spirit. The easiest way to do that is get cozy and watch a Christmas movie. Basically have a junk food-y movie night. I have a few top movies for festive feelings, lets get started.

Elf is one of those Christmas movies that a list of Christmas movies would be incomplete without. Will Ferrell is just amazing.

It's a Wonderful Life should really be at the top of this list. It is the coziest Christmas movie I know of and always puts me in a good mood.

A Christmas Story reminds me of Christmas at my Grandma's house. We are going up there for Christmas this year and I can't wait to watch it there.

Muppet Christmas Carol is a classic. Miss Piggy is my favorite; when she and Kermit broke up I got so sad...

Those are my top four Christmas movies. Along with these movies, I really love to do a mix of snacks. Popcorn is an obvious must, but recently, I have also been loving Cara Cara Oranges as a snack. They are super similar to regular oranges, except they are juicier and sweeter. Other than that, a hot cocoa and a Dark Chocolate Noni's Coffee Cookie are absolutely delicious.

Lighting candles just makes things cozier, so I usually light Twisted Peppermint from Bath and Body Works which Emma bought for me, but if I'm REALLY feeling festive, I will light Balsam and Cedar from Yankee Candle.

I have a pair of Peanuts Christmas jammies which I love wearing around this time of year because they are so warm and cozy. I normally slip on a pair of fuzzy socks as well because something about having soft feet makes me so happy. I also don't really like slippers because they always fall off, or they don't cover all of my foot, so I really prefer wearing socks.

That is all for this week! I'm so excited for all the posts I have planned for this month and I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving!!

Kathleen

twodorkswithablog.blogspot.com

Mental Health - Kathleen

Thanksgiving Break is started!!

Hi everyone! It's Kathleen here, and because I live in America, Thanksgiving is this Thursday! I'm so excited, it's one of my favorite holidays. We always have the most delicious array of food; Turkey, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes with brown sugar and marshmallows, green mountain fluff (sprite, marshmallows, pineapple, walnuts) gravy, fresh bread, cranberry sauce, apple stuffing, pumpkin pie, chocolate cream pie, pecan pie, and coconut cream pie. It's a bit much but it's delicious.

Pretty much all year round I'm stressed. This lessens during the summer and heightens right around this time of year. I don't really know why I get more stressed this time of year, but it probably has to do something with school and less time for me to pay attention to my mental state. So I'm going to share a few of my tips for combating stress and improving my daily mental health.

To start out, whenever I'm feeling down, I like to read a few quotes that help me re-focus and evaluate what I need to do to get back to myself.

"Be happy in the moment, that's enough. Each moment is all we need, not more." Mother Teresa

It's okay if every weekend doesn't lead to big moments and campfires and laughter that carries on for hours and hours. Some weekends might be quite, still, with plenty of room to contemplate. And in that contemplation room, there is room to grow. So hold those weekends dear. Don't see them as less or as threats to the more exciting times. There is beauty and truth even in the seemingly mundane." -Morgan Harper Nichols

"I think everything in life is art. What you do. How you dress. The way you love someone, and how you talk. Your smile and your personality. What you believe in, and all your dreams. They way you drink your drinks, How you decorate your home. Or party. The way your write your grocery list. The food you make. How your handwriting looks. And the way you feel." - Unkown (via awwyeahquotes)

"We rise by lifting others." - Unknown to me (hunting louise)

"Don't forget to love the way you want to be loved, listen the way you want to be heard, speak the way you want to be spoken to, give the way you hope others will give, care the way you want others to care because change doesn't start with them. It stars right here." - Madalyn Beck

"You think attention is love, and that's why you suffer so deeply." - The Better Man Project

First up: Self-esteem, because belief it or not, your self-esteem/body-image affects your mental health insanely. If I'm not feeling confident in my body, I think of one thing. If I'm not doing anything to change the way I feel about my body, then I can't complain, because complaining isn't going to do anything. Whenever I'm in a funk, I go on a run. I do try to go to the gym, or even just do a bedroom workout. Besides doing something about the way you feel about your body, exercising gets your endorphins going and that also makes you happier.

My surroundings also change the way I feel. I try and keep my room clean. Usually my to duvet makes me super warm at night, so I've started taking it off before I go to sleep and draping it over my desk chair. I still have 3 layers of blankets so I'm plenty warm. Then when I wake up in the morning, I have to make my bed because I literally can't do anything with this humongous blanket draped over my chair. Then once my bed is made I have to clean everything else up because otherwise everything looks out of place.

The next thing is so important, in fact, my mental state relies on this almost 100%. When I do my school, I make sure that I'm doing what needs to be done that day, and then working on anything extra. When I have a paper due and I would much rather procrastinate, I get to it and completely ignore the fact that I would much rather be on Pinterest. Then when I'm done, I feel so much better and my assignment is turned in. This honestly cures so much stress because the longer you procrastinate on anything, the more stressed you feel. That being said, another rule I have is that I never work past 8 P.M. This prevents me from working too late and getting a headache.

My last important mental health/stress-relief tip is to pamper yourself a little bit. I always take my time to wash my face with a scrub, cleanser, and moisturizer. I always do a lip scrub and swipe on so much chap stick. I use a homemade lip scrub; I made it a really long time ago, but I think it is coconut oil, sugar, and peppermint oil. I then use some Burt's Bees ( Beeswax Lip Balm with Vitamin E and Peppermint) then I use my Body Shop (Born Lippy, Strawberry) Lip Balm. If I have any chill time, I will light a candle and do a facemask. Sometimes I write a blog post, others I just lay down and not do anything. I love using the Yes To Tomatoes Charcoal Sheet Mask. It literally clears my skin SOOO well. It's also very refreshing.

That's it for my relaxing/Mental Health tips. Obviously this wasn't intended to help with anything serious; it's just how I keep my life relatively stress-free.

Tell me what your plans are for Thanksgiving this year, and I will see you next week!

Kathleen

twodorkswithablog.blogspot.com 

My Makeup Essentials -Emma

So...The daunting task of writing an intro...

Hello everyone! I'm finally here with a new post! I've been getting super into makeup lately (yes, even more than before, for those who know me). I've been watching a lot of makeup tutorials on YouTube and just obsessing a bit. So I thought the perfect post would be to talk about my essential makeup products.

To clear things up before I start: I DO NOT wear makeup everyday, in fact most days I wear little to no makeup, maybe just some concealer under my eyes and some mascara. And nor does anyone else have to wear makeup to be beautiful. I wear makeup purely because I enjoy it and like trying new styles.

So there.

Anyway.

Starting in the order in which I would put on a full face of makeup...
I use the Maybelline Baby Skin Primer. I just recently started using this after seeing it on (you guessed it) YouTube. It really does work amazing though and I like the feeling of having a barrier between my skin and all the makeup I am about to put on. I have noticed a good amount of acne disappearing after using this for a few weeks.

This is my all time favorite foundation. I've tried sO many different foundations and BB Creams in the past (even $40 ones from Sephora) and nothing compares to this. And it's at an unbeatable price too, for those of you who are like me and are usually pretty broke.

It's full coverage, not oily at all. I use a brush to blend it out (which I will show later). I use the shade 120 for anyone who is wondering.

Yet another Maybelline product...
This is the everyday concealer I use. It works pretty darn well. My only complaint with this product is sometimes it doesn't come out very well onto the sponge and just doesn't cover enough. And it is a bit pricey for the size. But overall, it is one of the best drugstore concealers around.

I swear the Maybelline products will end soon! This is the powder I use. It's from the same collection as the foundation I use. This pressed powder is actually amazing. Some days I really just use this on my face and nothing else. It just smooths everything out and makes your face look much more natural when you're wearing foundation. I LOVE it!

This is the highligher/blush I use on days that I'm doing more light makeup. It has just enough glow, but isn't too glowy. It also gives a great amount of color on your cheeks. I like to take my highlighter brush and just swirl the two together so they combine (saw this from Summer McKeen on YouTube).

Next up: brows. I am a blonde, so doing my brows is a must. My eyebrows are basically non existent without this. I use the Maybelline (of course) Brow Define and Fill Duo. This works fantastically, even better than the Sephora brand pencil I used to use.

This is my absolute favorite makeup item at the moment, and probably the only high end product I will have in this post. This is the Too Faced Sweet Peach Palette. The colors are so vibrant, and the palette smells like peaches. I've only had this for about a week but have been using this constantly. It does run on the very high end of prices at $48. But I was lucky enough to get it with a coupon I had to save a few dollars.

I normally use a few different products for my eyelashes, but my favorite is this Loreal Voluminous Lash Paradise mascara. It really works like a dupe of the "Better Than Sex" mascara from Too Faced. So this saves you like, $14.

Lastly, I will show my favorite brushes. From left to right: Elf Foundation Brush, Luxe Cosmetics Foundation Brush (but I use this for bronzer/ contouring), Glamour Dolls Highlighter Brush (for highlighter and blush), and Elizabeth Mott Blending Brush (for eye shadow).

Thank for all so much for reading! I think this might be the longest blog post I have ever written... probably because I tend to rant about makeup...

Let me know if you'd like me to do a post on the Too Faced Sweet Peach pallet, because I would love to do a few tutorials.

Talk to you all soon!

-Emma

My Nightime Routine - Kathleen

Fall is here and I'm soooooo excited I would type in caps but that kind of annoys people I've heard...

Hello my lovely readers!! I have come to grace you with another blog post. It's fall and I've been feeling very cozy lately. Watching people's nighttime routines always makes me feel even more cozy so I am sharing mine with you. Lets get started!

I know this may seem early for many people, but honestly I have a somewhat old soul/brain. I go to sleep at 9:30 and 5:45 is generally the time of day I either start relaxing for the night or I go to a friends house. So I'm either chilling out, or going crazy having fun with friends: one or the other, there is no in-between. So after I eat dinner and clean up my desk, I get in the shower.

 I have been loving the JASON Normalizing Tea Tree shampoo. It helps regulate dandruff and itch which I love. Whenever I rinse my hair I feel like I have mermaid hair, but I've talked about the shampoo a few times before. My body wash is Tutti Dolci Golden Honey Praline from Bath and Body Works. I got it right around Independence Day when they had a big sale, so it was three dollars for a full size and I was like, "Yes please!!"

After I get out of the shower I slather some of NIVEA's Post Shave Balm on my legs. Yes it is a men's product, no I'm not a freak, yes it works soo well. I don't have any poke-y hairs and it's been 2 days since I shaved. Plus it moisturizes and helps keep my skin looking vibrant and not pale like are in the fall/winter. I also put a little Alberto VO5 Conditioning Hairdressing gel in my hair. Guess what. This is a men's product to. But really it's not like it does anything special for men's hair that a girl wouldn't want. It helps prevent frizz, add shine, and makes your natural highlights stand out. I don't know if anyone has noticed, but I've seen an extra vibrancy to my hair and the red-ish highlights are standing out so much in the right light.

After this I put on some comfy clothes. This sweater is a pinky/beige sweater I got at Sears, but it's by Simply Styled. I love this brand, all their clothes are so soft and comfy. I also put on my floral drop shorts. I know you wouldn't normally wear a sweater with shorts but it is super comfy and sometimes long sleeves AND pants make me a little sweaty.

Mom just got back from the grocery store and she brought home a caramel-chocolate-pecan caramel apple so I had to have some of that. Let me tell you: this was the best thing I have EVER tried. You all should eat them, or make them or whatever. Just get your hands on them somehow!

Now. If you were here about a year ago, you will remember my obsession with all things Department 56. And if you were keen, you will notice above the picture of my chocolate-caramel-apple-pecan-delicious-diabetes-ness had a Department 56 house in the background. If you are KEEN (capital letters KEEN) you will notice that it had lights inside of it. You will then remember that I could not put lights in the Dept. 56 houses last year. Well I figured it out this time. That got me a little excited. So my project tonight was to make sure all the Christmas lightbulbs worked.

I pulled all twelve houses out.

All 12 houses worked.

It's October.

By now it was about 9pm so it was time for me to get ready to go to bed. I headed into the bathroom to wash my face. I have been using Biore's Pore Unclogging Scrub to gently exfoliate my face. I can't even describe why I love this so much. But give me time because it will be in my favorites. My skin is always soooo soft I literally feel like a baby. Then I cleanse with AVEDA's Botanical Kinetics Purifying Cleansing Crème. I've already said a lot about my cleanser so I won't say much about that.

So then I just get into my jammies and cozy in bed with a good book until I fall asleep.

I really hope you enjoyed this post because I had so much fun writing it!!! Leave a comment down below telling me what your favorite fall snack is!!

Kathleen Pederson

twodorkswithablog.blogspot.com

Morning Routine - Kathleen

Wowza. School is not fun.

Hey guys! I just had a massively productive day and then I got a ton of ideas for blog posts.

Today I'm doing a Morning Routine post. Lets just get right to it!

First thing I normally do in the morning is washing my hair. It really helps wake me up if I do it with cold water. Plus this makes me shiny. I also really love this shampoo; it really cleans my hair and I can feel it freshened and clean. Then the conditioner makes my hair feel like mermaid hair. I love it. The tea tree makes my hair smell amazing as well.

Then I eat breakfast. I didn't take a picture of this, but I had cinnamon toast and melon. Delicious. Not necessarily healthy...

Right after breakfast, I take wash my face. This starts with me brushing my teeth and then using my mouth wash. Then I wash my face with the Aveda Purifying Crème Cleanser. It's moisturizing and cleansing, and also smells amazing. I use the coldest water I possibly can because it wakes me up and it closes my pores. I'm pretty sure everyone does that though. :D

After I finish washing my face and getting dressed, I put on some hand lotion and chap-stick. Now I'm ready for the day. Now that my morning routine is done I can start school.

I always make my bed before starting school because then my room is cleaner and my productivity goes wayyy up. So yeah.

Comment down below and tell me what your morning staples are. So, that's my morning routine, I hope you enjoyed it!

Kathleen

twodorkswithablog.blogspot.com

Breakfast on the Go - Kathleen

Hi guys!!

This is Kathleen from the past because Kathleen from the present just got back from camping and probably horseback riding. I was at Camp Ondessonk for the eclipse on Monday.

Since school has started, (or is starting for some) I figured I would write a post about some on the go breakfast ideas. Insert a random mom talking about how breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But seriously, it is. Aside from breakfast giving you essential nutrients and vitamins (shouldn't every meal?) having a good breakfast can determine your mood for the day. For example: you are running out the door and don't have time for anything but a piece of toast. No butter, no jelly, just toast. How are you going to feel emotionally after that? Like a crab. On the flipside, if you got to sit down and eat a delicious meal (heehee, it only took you five minutes) that fills you up just enough and gives you key nutrients, one would probably feel much happier and awake.

So, today I am going to show you just how many breakfasts you can make and eat in 15 minutes. Let's go.

#1 Oatmeal

When I used to think of oatmeal, I thought of mush that didn't taste good without too much maple syrup. Now I really like it. I like putting strawberries, blueberries and chia seeds on it. Besides toppings, finding a healthy oatmeal to make is tricky. Lots of different oatmeals put too many sugars and sweeteners in them. I really like the Think Thin oatmeal. They come in portioned packages. They are super easy to make and are a quick, healthy breakfast that will keep you full and awake!

#2 Toaster Waffles

SHOCKER!!! Healthy toaster waffles!! Seriously, Kashi has Gluten Free/Vegan toaster waffles. Guys they taste delicious!! I like putting blackberries and honey on mine, but they have suggestions on the back as to other toppings such as peanut butter, bananas, and chia seeds. They are super easy to make and honestly guilt-free!

#3 Toast

Now I know what you are thinking, "Kathleen, you just said that eating a piece of toast on the way out the door is not good for you." But this is different. This is heaven on a slice of bread. People. Trust me. Toast a whole slice of bread. Spread peanut butter over it (thin layer) cut up any fruit, drizzle on some honey, generously sprinkle some chia seeds. Oh my Lord, it's so easy and soo good. Look at it like this, if you use whole wheat bread, (like I do) you get your grains, your protein, and your fruits, all on one piece of toast. What could be better?! And you can literally put whatever fruit  you want on it, it really is a seasonal thing. I love putting peaches on it. But you could use strawberries, kiwis, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, bananas, melon, or even cranberries. The options are endless. I highly recommend that you make this for breakfast tomorrow.

Now you don't have an excuse for not sitting down and eating breakfast!! And if you are so late that you can't even make these, you need to read my last post on school organization.

Thank you so much for reading! Tell me in the comments what your favorite breakfast item is!

Kathleen

Back to School Tips and Organization - Kathleen

Hi readers!!

Sorry for the late post, I've been a little busy and the bridal shower I was at yesterday ran a little late.

Anyways! School is starting soon and to be honest, I'm actually kind of excited!! It's been a great summer but I'm excited to have more of a schedule and a more predictable life. As much as a love the sun and extra exercise I get in the summer, leaves and sweaters and fall is my favorite season and school comes along with that. :D

So today I have some a list of some back to school tips and organizing that I like to do! Let's get started!

Tip #1
Have your backpack packed before you go to bed the night before school.

We all know it's hard to get up in the morning, especially on the first day of school. Have backpack ready to go in the morning. This makes you feel confident that you have everything and you are well prepared. And actually, if you do this, you are less likely to forget something because you weren't throwing stuff in your bag and then running out the door.

If you are homeschooled (like me!) you won't have a backpack. In this case I would suggest making sure you know where all your books are and know what the syllabus says the day before. Having all the books where you need them the day before is honestly awesome. It makes things so much easier.

Tip #2
Pamper yourself the night before.

Exfoliate, do a face mask, (nothing major maybe just a moisturizing or a little something to make you feel squeaky clean) and maybe do your nails just so they look nice. Pampering yourself the night before helps you feel confident. You will know you look good. Just make sure to clean of the zit cream if you used it. :P

Tip #3
Make sure you have any required work done before and that it is ready to turn in.

This is kind of a no-brainer, but how many times do you forget homework during the school year? Yeah. So just make sure its ready, and don't start the day before school begins.

Luckily for us homeschoolers, Required work to be turned in the first day of school is usually non-existent :D

Tip #4
Have an alarm set for the next morning.

Put it across the room from you. When you turn it off. DO NOT LOOK AT YOUR BED. Go to the bathroom and immediately make your breakfast. When you do this, you won't feel like getting back in bed because you are already awake!

Even though I'm homeschooled, I still wake up at 6 am. That way I have two comfortable hours to eat breakfast, take a shower, maybe go to the gym, and then get started on school. I highly recommend this even if you know you don't need 2 hours (I don't know when your school starts or when you have to leave) because then you could do something a little extra like eat your breakfast outside or something.

Tip #5
Don't look at your phone.

If you read the mindful eating tips, they say not to read or look at your phone while you are eating. This is because when you read or look at your phone, you aren't paying enough attention to the kind of food you are eating, how much you are eating, or your mental health. I like to take this a step further and not look at my phone until I'm completely ready for the day.

I've been doing this more often and I can honestly say that the extra time the adds, and the positive influence makes me so much more positive. When we look at today's society and think about how much of it is social media based or geared, it's kind of scary. People go places just so they can take a cool picture. The want that cool picture so they can get the views, the comments, the likes. Now I love to take a cool picture. But I won't take a picture and post it somewhere (if I had an Instagram... Mom...) just so that I can get big numbers. I will take it and post it because I like the way it looks and I'm proud of it.

Tip #6
Make sure you have one spot for all your classes.

As you can see, I'm taking four online classes this year: Bible Study, Medieval History and Literature, Chemistry, and Latin.

I use two binders a year. One for first semester and one for second semester. I always make sure to keep all my work for all my classes in that one binder that way I don't get lazy and stick an assignment in another classes folder. It won't get lost and I'm more organized.

Tip #7

Have your syllabi in the corresponding section of your binder.

By doing this, you always have your assignment schedule with your assignments and you will always know where it is. I like to put my teachers name, email, and the class link at the top of the first page of each syllabus. That way if the site isn't working I know the link.

Tip #8

Make your binders and notebooks look cute.

I just bought some cute scrapbook at Joann's fabrics and used double sided tape to apply it to the notebook. I wrote a DIY about it on International BFFs. (Link beneath the signature)

I really think that having your supplies look good really makes a difference in your attitude throughout the day and it just makes me feel like a happier person.

Tip #9

Keep your room clean.

This is incredibly important for me because I'm homeschooled. When my surroundings are a mess (bed is in-made, laundry in a big pile, and I haven't even gotten dressed yet) my school is usually a mess too. In the beginning, it's hard to get used to, but when you get in the routine it's easier. Your laundry doesn't sit in a huge pile because you do it every weekend. You don't want to have a big clean up session on a Saturday so you just start putting things away the first time. I adopted this policy of only having 15 minutes to clean up on Saturdays, and it makes me keep my room clean throughout the week.

Thank you so much for reading!! I hope this post helped you feel a little more ready

Kathleen

DIY Notebooks - Kathleen (IBFFs)

New Room Tour!! - Kathleen

I did a thing...

Hey guys!!!!! It's me again, back with another post!

A little backstory, a few Christmas' ago, my parents gave me a free can of paint. (It was empty, but it symbolized the paint they would by me to paint my room.) That was four years ago. Over those four years I could never decide what I actually wanted. That was probably just because my style identity was changing all the time and I had no idea what I really liked. Now, I feel like I have a better grip on what I like in my bedroom. Soooo, we went to Lowes and picked out a color.

I chose Valspar's Voyage (4006-1B) in the eggshell (I think) gloss "level." I did have to use a primer on the bottom half of my room because, in case you didn't know, it was pink and I think it did slightly change the color.

Anyways, I thought I would give you a new and updated room tour! Let's get started!

So this is my room. As you can see the color is a nice, light blue/grey color. It's very chill and relaxing. We also left my chair rail on just to break up the color. We gave it a fresh coat of white paint to clean it up seeing as it was 10 years since it was painted last.

This is my bed! I've had this mattress since I was big enough to sleep on a big girl bed. My throw blanket is my baby blanket. I think the colors in it look good with the color of my wall. My duvet cover and sham is from Aeropostale (I think, but it's not being sold anymore) and then the duvet itself is the Mysa Vete one from IKEA.

This is my beanbag. Emma loves it. Whenever she sleeps over, she doesn't bring a sleeping bag because this is squishier and comfier. It is from the brand Comfy Sacs and I think it is the small size. I have a pillow my neighbor made for me when I was little on it. The stars are pretty cute I think.

I have these Christmas lights on my window. They are bundle lights so there are more lights on a shorter, 12 foot strand. I got them at Walmart. I made my banner with some scrapbook paper from Joann's.

And then this is my desk. I got the actual desk as a bundle from Lowes. The legs came with the two pieces of wood. We painted it white with furniture paint. I highly recommend you use this over regular paint because this dries harder and won't be sticky. I just keep my laptop and school books on it. You cant really see my organizer/display area but I will go through it anyways. I have two mason jars. One I just keep knickknacks in and the other I sometimes put flowers in. I also have a candle in the scent White Gardenia from White Barn. Then I have my two succulents, I got those at Marshalls. (They aren't real but they look real.) I have my little earring box with my favorite earrings in them, and they my little Beethoven bust. I play piano and my piano teacher gave him to me. I think he fits my room theme well. Then I have my two perfumes. The tall green one is Sweet Magnolia and Clementine. It is my everyday scent and Emma got it for me at Bath and Body Works. The smaller gold one is the Jeweled Amber scent from Charming Charlie and it's my special occasion scent. Last but not least I have my alarm clock. I love it so much! I got it at Target. Its from the Capello brand and I am almost positive they still sell it because I just bought it in June!

Thank you so much for reading!!! Tell me about your favorite part of your room! Byee!

Kathleen

My Night Routine -Emma

Hey everyone!

We're trying to get a bit more active on the blog again, so I hope you all are enjoying the new posts! :P

Today I'm going to be showing you all my night routine! I've always wanted to be one of those YouTubers who makes routine videos and things but I've tried, and it's just not my thing. So I figured I'd do my little version of my routine in a blog post!

Without further ado, lets get to it!

7:00-

This is the time of night I normally get done with dinner. After dinner I take my puppy, Sadie, outside and spend some time with her, feed her dinner, playtime, that kind of stuff. Some nights if it's not too hot or rainy outside I take her on a walk around the neighborhood.

8:00-

After playing with Sadie for awhile, I change into my pajamas. I usually just wear some grey sweatpants/joggers (I'm obsessed, I have so many) and a tee shirt. After getting changed, I do my nightly skincare routine.

I don't wear makeup everyday, but when I do, I start off using the Neutrogena makeup remover towelettes. Let me tell you, these are amazing. There are a lot of makeup removers that irritate my skin or don't take off makeup well enough and you just have to keep scrubbing away, but these are amazing. They are a bit on the pricier side, but extremely worth it.

Next, I cleanse my face using the St. Ives Green Tea Scrub. I just recently started using this and it is AMAZING. My face cleared up from having a lot of acne in just a few days. It's a must try! Makes my skin feel so smooth and refreshed, and smells really great too. It's also pretty cheap compared to other cleansers, at only $4 at Target. 

The last step in my skin routine is to use the Clean & Clear Dual Action Moisturizer. It's really difficult to find a moisturizer that is oil-free (won't cause acne), and this one is perfect. It not only is oil-free but also helps treat acne. It made my skin visibly clearer immediately. 

After my skincare routine, I also brush my teeth and put in my rubber bands for the night. Yes, braces suck.

8:15-

After getting ready for bed, I watch T.V with my mom and sometimes Sadie for a little while. Right now we're re-watching Pretty Little Liars. We LOVE that show just like everyone else. Watching T.V before bed really calms me down and gets me ready to go to sleep. I know some people don't recommend it, but it works for me.

9:00-

Once we finish an episode of PLL, I take Sadie outside one last time to go potty, and then put her in her crate for the night. 

Before bed, I read. First, I read my devotional and whatever verse goes along with that day in the bible, then I read a normal book. I'm currently reading "The One" which is in the Selection Series. I'm obsessed with this series. If you liked the show "Reign", you'll love this series of books. While I read, I sometimes like to light a candle just because it's calming and gives that "good vibes" lighting.

10:00-

Before going to sleep, I check my Instagram, @emmalacroix, and Sadie's Instagram, @sadieonthemove. I also send out my last texts for the night, and that's about it.

Thank you all so much for reading! If you'd like to see more routines/day in my life blog posts, just let me know! Talk to you all again soon! :)

-Emma