Ten New Year's Resolutions We Can All Agree On

Guess who climbed her way out of her busy, anxiety-riddled, and most recently sick hole?  This girl!  I figured since I haven't posted in about a week that I should muster up some creativity and post one more blog before the end of 2016.

With 2017 around the corner, everyone's getting together their lists of resolutions (if you're into that kind of stuff).  I've never been one to be dedicated to making resolutions because I'm honest with myself and I know I'll just forget about them come February.  BUT! I have compiled a list of New Year's resolutions that you just have to admit are very true. Number 4, though....

Seven Lessons You Learn From Your Dad

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Today is my dad's birthday, and just like how I made a post about the things you learn from your mom, here's a list of what you learn from your dad.  I've been lucky enough to inherit my wit, my stellar taste in music, and love for social events from my dad, but during my 22 years, he's given me more than that! Here are seven things that you learn from your good ol' Pops!

Stocking Stuffers Under $10

Some people are so sure of what to get someone for Christmas, but get stuck when it comes to stuffing their stocking with gifts.  To me, it's the other way around.  I have great ideas for what to put in stockings, but draw a blank when it comes to buying presents for family and friends for Christmas.  No one wants a sad, empty stocking, so I've found loads of things you can put in anyone's stocking this Christmas!

Friday Faves

So Christmas is a little over a week away? And I haven't bought my Christmas gifts yet? Guess I know what I'm doing this weekend! Everyone and everything is in full on Christmas mode (we'd even gotten snow in Portland!) and I love it.  Everyone is spreading that good ol' Christmas cheer and I can't help but feel all warm and bubbly and happy inside.  I've been enjoying reading all these great holiday posts this week, so I had to share my favorites with you!

Seven Things You Know Are True If You Look Younger Than You Are

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I've been #blessed with the fact that I look way young for my age.  It's more of a curse right now than it is a blessing, but I'll be grateful for it later... or so I've been told.  And if you're short AND look young, well then, I am sorry for you.  I'm in the same boat, and we'll just have to struggle with our plights together.  I have a feeling that I'll be well into my thirties and people will mistake me for a friend's younger sister who begged and whined enough to get invited out for a girls' night.  If you do look young for your age, you know that the following things are so true for all of us.

My Portland Bucketlist

photo cred: Brian (Thanks for letting me use your pic, bae!)

Having lived in Portland for five months already, I realized there is still a lot of this city to explore.  It's not the biggest city in the country, but it's the biggest one I've ever lived in!  I thought that once I moved here, I would explore as much as I could as soon as I could, but time gets away from you and then you're sitting there thinking, "Oh, wow, I still haven't checked this place out or tried this one restaurant, and when am I going to have the time to do all this now?!"  Even if you've lived somewhere all your life, it's nice to take some time to be a tourist in your own town, and now it's my turn to see what the City of Roses has to offer.

Routines, Routines, Routines

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The lovely Kimberley did an AM/PM tag a couple weeks ago, and I thought it was such a cute idea that I wanted to do it for myself! These kinds of posts are super simple if you're in a bind to write another blog post, and they're just a fun type of post to do overall. If you end up filling this one out for yourself, let me know so I can read your results!

My December Wishlist

Now that the holidays are coming up, I've been thinking of what I'm really wanting or needing lately.  At first I thought my Christmas wishlist would be short, but the more I thought about it, I was like, "Nope! This is definitely more than a 'few things'!" So as of right now, here is what's currently at the top of my wishlist.

November Monthly Crushes

I know, I know, I'm late to post this. But if you read my post yesterday, you'll know that I've been busy this past month and feeling pretty lazy.  Whoops, sorry.  Just because I've been feeling tired and worn down does not mean that I've forgotten about my crushes for the month of November! It's quite a mix of stuff, so I would check it out.

The Wine Chronicles - Sunday Recap

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Hello lovely people, it has been too long! November has flown by so quickly and I’ve had so much on my plate that it’s been hard to keep up with this blog! Working, wanting to being lazy, never ending to-do lists, and ignoring things on said to-do list… it all really tires you out. I feel like I have a lot to talk about so I’ll give you guys a quick recap of my week.

Where I Get Inspiration

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Every blogger, writer, artist gets writer’s block sometimes, and I am no stranger to that! I absolutely hate it, and I can be stuck for days trying to think of something to blog about.  Sometimes you just have to take a break from thinking to observe more of what’s around you to gather inspiration, or even re-read some of your favorite pieces to realize why they inspired you in the first place.  Here is a list of the top five things that I look to to find inspiration.

November Birchbox Review

I've been so busy these past few weeks that I completely forgot that my Birchbox shipped until I got an email that it was delivered to my apartment! That came as a nice surprise and I was very eager to open the box to see what goodies came this month!

And can we talk about this box?! I didn't notice that it had an eyeliner pen, mascara wand, lipstick and lips, and a brow pencil on it until I read that note that came inside the box. How cute and creative is that?  Birchbox never fails to come up with really cute designs for their monthly boxes.

Upping My Eyelashes Game With This One Step

 So I actually thought of doing this blog post a long long long time ago, but I could never get around to actually trying the hack, finishing the post, and uploading the pictures, and yeah. But here I am! Finally coming to you with this weird, but pretty useful hack.

Therapy From Hair Cuts

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So last Saturday I got my hair cut and it was honestly what I needed.  I had so much hair that was past the point of no return that I had to let it go.  It's always nerve wracking whenever you go get a hair cut, especially if you have longer hair and love it because your hair is your security blanket.  It's what makes you you. It gives you confidence, it gives you reassurance. Okay, I'm getting too far.  But hair is important to a lot of us! I had been letting my hair grow out for years now that I honestly forget when the last time I got a haircut was, let alone a trim.  So this appointment was a long time coming.

Tips for Saving Money in College

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College is the time where most of us start to learn how to really manage our finances.  We still have that support from our parents, but for the most part, we're on our own.  It's scary, but also freeing because we're really starting to get that taste of independence.  With independence comes responsibility, though, especially with money.  Everyone is that #BrokeCollegeStudent at some point (more often than you think), so here's five tips to help save money during your college years!

The Little Things That Warm My Heart

If you live in the United States, then you know that today is the day!  I feel like this election season has lasted forever, and it's hard to believe that it's coming to a close.  The future of our country can change in one minute, so it's important that you go out there and vote if you're of age!  Your vote counts, I promise.

With that said, I feel like we have been so caught up in this election, and with it, all this hate (which is completely unhealthy and the wrong way to go if we want progress, in my opinion).  It's important to stop and smell the roses, or the newest Starbucks holiday drink, and remind yourself what makes you happy so we can kick this hate to the curb.  Here are ten little things that I can always count on to make me smile.

Five Helpful Reminders For Your Anxiety

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Hey guys!  Sorry I haven't been posting in a while--life has been busy and I've been feeling so drained at the end of every day.  So I am very relieved that the weekend is finally here!  I thought that I could share some love and give you some nice reminders to tell yourself whenever you feel anxious.  When life gets hectic, it can get stressful, so it's nice to remind yourself that you can get through anything.

Monthly Crushes: October

It's that time again!  As October comes to a spooky close, I'm here again to share with you some of my absolute favorite items of this past month.  Some of these things I've been eyeing for quite some time where others in this group were a complete surprise.  No matter if I was planing on buying them or not, I've been obsessed with these ever since I got my hands on them, and I'm so excited to share these finds with you!

Bryn Tries Bullet Journaling - Part 2

It's been a month since I made my bullet journal, and it's been quite an experience so far.  I started it in hopes that I would be able to organize my life even more than I already was and work my crafting skills to turn this into the journal of my dreams.  I've gotten the hang of it in a month, but there are definitely some changes that I want to make for the future.

Twelve Last Minute Cute DIY Halloween Costumes

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When I got invited to a Halloween party last year, I had no costume planned.  At the last minute, I threw on a brown dress I had bought the week before, some dark brown wedges, put a red bow in my hair and said I was Clarice (aka Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer's gf). Not my best, but it worked for the night, and it was pretty original.  If you are a Halloween costume procrastinator or got invited to a party last minute and have no costume planned, I'm here to give you twelve DIY costumes that you can make in one day using the items in your closet.  You can thank me later.

My Boyfriend Dressed Me For A Week

I wouldn't call myself a style guru, but I like to think that I have some sense of style.  Whenever I feel like I'm not digging my outfit, my boyfriend always comes to the rescue to make me feel better and confident.  He offers some decent style advice, so I decided to see how he views me and my style.  I asked him to dress me for a week, and I was fairly surprised with how it turned out!

What's In My Bag?

Alright, I'll jump on the bandwagon.  I feel like you can tell a lot from someone by what's in their bag, so I'll let you in on a little piece of me.

The Five Things You Shouldn't Do When You Start At A New Job

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It's always nerve-racking when you start a new job somewhere.  It's a whole new environment to get used to, especially if it's your first.  Whether you're entering the job world for the first time or if you're used to it already, here are some things you shouldn't do when you start somewhere new.

October Birchbox Review

This month, I picked the curated box that Birchbox created for its subscribers because there were two certain products that captured my attention and inspired me to pick that box rather than one made specifically for me.  Although I knew the products I was getting for the month, I was still surprised when I opened the box because they weren't what I was expecting.  Did I like them?  Did I hate them?  Find out my ratings for each of these products below!

The Wine Chronicles - Sunday Recap

Hello, everyone! Even though I've had scheduled posts lately, I figured I'd give a little recap of my life for this past week!  I feel like it's been pretty uneventful, even though it's been more eventful than others...  We've been having crappy weather here lately because of a typhoon that was heading toward the PNW.  It's been rainy practically every day, which has made me not a very happy camper, but I enjoy the bits of sunshine I get every now and then!

How to Relax When You're Stressed

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Sometimes I feel like I'm the Queen of Stressing Out Over Everything.  I'm serious, I will worry about the smallest of things sometimes.  We all need to take a minute out of our busy lives to stop every now and then to relax.  It not only helps our mental and physical health, but it could probably help us live longer, too, tbh.  Here are ten great things you can do to relax because you are too blessed to be stressed.

Decor Love: Peace, Love, and Pineapples

Pineapples have been everywhere lately, and it inspired me to decorate a room around that theme.  I haven't done a Decor Love post in a while, so I thought right now would be a perfect time! Pro-tip:  whenever you want to design a room around one object, it's best to do it in small doses--you never want to overdo it.

All of these items are so great together, and I'm super excited about the sequined pillow!  Check out the pieces below and where to find them!

How to Stay on Top of Your Schoolwork

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By now you probably have a good system for homework and studying down, but as the semester goes on, it's harder to maintain and you might end up doing homework later and later at night.  I've found that I always started the semesters out strong and got work done the day they were assigned, but as the weeks progressed, I slacked off more, resulting in me staying up for hours into the night to finish schoolwork.  I know a lot of students face the same predicament, so I made a list of tips for any student who finds they're struggling to keep up with schoolwork. I personally found number 4 to be very helpful when I was in college!

Closet Confidential Tag: What Do I Wear?

I came across these style tag questions the other day, and I felt this would be a fun thing to share with you guys! If you want to join in, I'll list the questions at the end of the post so you can copy and paste them and answer them on your own blog!  It's also a perfect way to create a post if you're stuck in a writer's block.

How to Nail Your Disney College Program Phone Interview

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So if you passed the Web Based Interview, you're on to the next step--your Phone Interview!  No matter how confident you may feel, the nerves always settle in the closer the days get.  As someone who has had two phone interviews with The Walt Disney Company, I've come up with some helpful tips for you to absolutely nail your DCP interview and stand out like a perfect candidate!

Seven Lessons You Learn From Your Mom

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Since today is my mom's birthday, I decided to dedicate a post to her.  (Hi, Mom!)  Moms teach us a lot of lessons, whether they mean to or not.  Here are some that I've learned from mine over the past 22 years.

Monthly Crushes: September

Now that September's over, I've come to round up all of my crushes for this past month!  Unsurprisingly, this month's crushes all come from Birchbox! I am honestly loving this service and I can say nothing but good things about the products I've received over the past few months.  Although I love all the beauty products I've gotten through Birchbox, these are the ones I've been crushing on the hardest this past month.

Decor Love: The World Traveler

Feel like decorating your room this season?  The second post of this series will be dedicated to "The World Traveler." I've been obsessing over this globe from Target lately, so I wanted to create a design centered around that object.  Check out some of these pieces and make the traveler in you happy!

A Thought on "Adulting" - Is it Holding You Back?

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"Coffee because adulting is hard." " I don't want to adult anymore. Let's be mermaids."

You might hear or see these words quite often in society today.  "Adulting" is a fairly new term, coined by Millennials to help them cope with their responsibilities.  It's become very popular over the years, and I've found a lot of people have strong opinions on it.  I honestly haven't found myself using "adulting" in my everyday conversations, but it has been on my mind a bit these past few days.

September Birchbox Review - Are they time-saving?

With just a few days left of September, I finally got this month's Birchbox in time for the first day of Fall!  This month, Birchbox is jumping into multitasking mode, and wants subscribers to know that all these items are versatile and time-saving, making our lives easier.  I was definitely excited to try out these products, hoping I would find a new monthly favorite, and I must say, the Milk Makeup Ubame Mascara, which I picked myself from the brand's three September choices, surprised me the most! It is definitely up there on my favorites list!

Decor Love: Autumn Fever

Hey, guys! Thought I would try something new and make the interior designer in me happy.  I've always loved decorating rooms and have been doing so ever since I was little (which explains my obsession for Fixer Upper--Joanna Gaines' style is impeccable).  I thought I would try out a different kind of blog post to explore this a bit more, so without further ado, I give you the Decor Love Series! These posts will be home decorating designs that are based around a theme, an object, or color scheme.  I'll pick out several pieces to style a room, and hopefully it will give you guys some inspiration if you've been looking to redecorate your room.  I hope you guys enjoy and let me know what you think!

Happy first day of Fall, everyone!  What I love most about this season is the colors--red, orange, cranberry, gold, and everything in between.  I figured I could dedicate the first post of the Decor Love series to the first day of the season, so enjoy some Autumn-inspired decor! I'm personally loving the leaf garland and the framed deer print.

Bryn Tries Bullet Journaling - Part One

Ever since bullet journals became popular, I've wanted to try it for myself.  I'm a huge lover of organization and planning, and I think bullet journaling combines the two perfectly.  I did my research and ordered some supplies offline that showed up at my doorstep in a few days (thanks, Amazon Prime!).  Since I've never had a great track record with keeping journals, diaries, and the like, I figured I could share my bullet journal journey with you guys!  By filling you in here and there with a blog post and sharing bits and pieces of it with pictures is a great way for me to stay on top of it.  Read more about how I started my bullet journal below because right now, the score's looking like Bullet Journal 1, Bryn 0.

How to Make A Stress-Free Bedroom

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Your bedroom is supposed to be a space where you can relax, but more often than not, it causes us some stress, whether we realize it or not.  Even though we might take pride in our messy rooms and our organized chaos, it can ultimately cause added stress that we don't need in our life.  I don't know about you, but that's a narrative I don't want to be a part of! Here are some tips to turn your bedroom into a stress-free area.

8 Tips for Exercise Beginners

If you're like me, your expectations of your summer bod have come and gone, and you're thinking of getting back into shape but are lacking the motivation.  I've come up with eight tips for beginners or anybody who wants to start exercising again in hopes of helping others as well as motivating myself to get back out there!

Who Run the World: A Playlist for Every #GIRLBOSS

I love making playlists for whatever mood I'm in.  They're a nice soundtrack to what I'm doing whether it's running errands, blogging, or just relaxing.  If you need a quick pick-me-up, I created a playlist for all the girls who are currently #KILLINGIT right now and slaying the game.  It's nice to celebrate yourself every now and then, so how about playing this while you run the world!  Listen here!

7 Things to Consider Before Applying to the Disney College Program

The Disney College Program is every college-age Disney lover's dream. You get to work in Walt Disney World or Disneyland for an extended amount of time all while having fun.  I was lucky enough to participate in this for the 2015 Fall Program at Walt Disney World.  Even though I felt prepared and I thought I knew what I was getting myself into, there were still many things that came to my surprise.  The Disney College Program was one of the greatest opportunity I've had in my life and I would do it again in a heartbeat, but sadly, it is not for everyone.  Here are a few things to think about if you want to apply for the Disney College Program.

5 Reasons Why You Should Hire a Recent College Graduate

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If you're a recent graduate, you know that the job search can be kind of difficult.  Some companies see recent graduates as too green, too risky, and not worth hiring, but I beg to differ.  I think recent graduates have a lot of benefits to bring to companies because we have lived through a culture almost vastly different than the ones previous, and that has shaped us into hard, driven workers.  Below are five reasons as to why you should hire a recent college graduate.

L'Oréal Foundation and Concealer Review

PSA:  This is just going to be me (a person who knows almost next to nothing about makeup) raving about stuff.

So let me tell you all a story.  I recently got a Target gift card from my parents because they think I can't feed myself, even though I've been doing pretty well so far.  Anyway, I took the free money and went to Target because I was in dire need of concealer because old concealer on its last leg plus hormones and pimples equals disaster.

In the makeup section, I didn't know if I wanted to go with my tried and true concealer by Revlon or try something new.  Thinking I should go out on a branch and do something different, I headed toward the L'Oréal section, which I don't normally go to because I just haven't had much success with some of their products?  Don't know why I decided to give it a shot this time, but I'm so glad I did.

The New iPhone 7 and 7+

So Apple kicked off an event to talk about the most recent updates they'll be doing as well as the launch of new Apple products like the new watch and iPhone. I've compiled a summary for anyone who wants to know about this new update so you don't have to sift through numerous articles.

Bryn's End of Summer Favorites

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So now that Labor Day Weekend is over and it's getting cooler in Oregon, I guess summer is practically over.  I wanted to share some of my favorite things I have found over the summer that are great things to have.  Leave a comment below on what some of your summer favorites were!

A Night With Snoop Dogg

As promised, here is a post about seeing Snoop Dogg last night!  The night was off to an interesting and frustrating start.  We took a Lyft to the venue and as we stepped out, a security guard came over to me and my boyfriend, pointed at my boyfriend's hat, and said, "You can't get in. There are no hats allowed, so you better tell your friend to come back." As we stood on the curb in confusion as to what to do, we shrugged our shoulders and decided we might as well request a Lyft back to our apartment so he could drop off his hat.  As frustrating as it was, I understand that the owner of the venue and the security have their reasons.  It put a damper on the start of our night, but once we got back and were let in, we forgot about the whole ordeal and decided to have fun.

Update: Bloglovin'

In the craziness of starting a new blog, I've decided to check out Bloglovin' to see what that's all about.  Follow my blog on there if you wish!

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Hello September!

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Well, hello hello! Welcome to the first official post of The Wine Chronicles! I'm very excited about this, and I hope you are too. I've wanted to get back to blogging and writing for a long time now, but I just haven't gotten around to do it until now.  I feel like writing is just something you have to dive back into, but I've never been someone to do that.  I always just dip my toes in the water and wade in until I'm comfortable enough.  I feel like writing can be a little bit of both, though, right?  You can write a little here, write a little there, but you gotta just jump in and fully submerge yourself in it.  In the words of Shia LaBeouf, "Just do it."