Catch Up and Room Design

Very sorry I haven't had anything new posted here, these past few days have been absolutely crazy! I haven't even been home very much at all, and I was at family's house for Thanksgiving too, but now all the hype is over and I feel like I can finally think straight again.

I wanted to share these pictures of bedroom ideas I have because I went to IKEA for the first time yesterday with my mom and I was a bit overwhelmed! I told my parents I would rather redecorate my room than get Christmas presents because to tell you guys the truth I really don't want anything for Christmas..I mean maybe a makeup palate or two and some lipstick but thats really it :/ Anyway, seeing some of the showroom ideas they had there made me want to totally empty out my room and start over, which is basically what I'm doing. 

So here's what I'm thinking: I think I want a loft bed (bunk bed). In the show room it looks absolutely ADORABLE with a sleek white couch and table underneath, with fairy lights and pictures. Oh my god I loved it, and I can't believe I have never thought about it before! It would give me like an extra 7 feet of space in my bedroom 0_0

Then I want to get one of the plain table top desks, and put the Alex 6 drawer unit on one side of it, with either shelves on top or a mirror. And as for other storage in my room, currently I have one dresser and one hutch. So instead of the dresser I have I'll get a 6 drawer one, and then for the hutch I might want one of those cool cube units to display everything I have…I still need to figure it out because there was so much to look at! Then I want to add some simple shelves on the walls, some fairy lights, and i really don't even know my brain is in a jumble haha.

This post got lengthy real fast but please let me know your thoughts on this! I neeeeeeeed help.

Happy Sunday! :)

Maddie

Happy Thanksgiving!

To my fellow Americans, I hope you have a beautiful and safe Thanksgiving!! I'm headed a couple hours away to my cousins house for the day :) I have plenty of crazy family to keep me busy haha! My mom and I cooked our feast, a huge turkey, stuffing, roasted sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce. Mmmm I can't wait to eat it. Since there will be so much family in one house, there's usually  multiple tables of turkeys and other sides so I just eat what my mom makes because I'm not gonna lie she's the best cook in the family ;)

After we eat our Thanksgiving dinner my cousins and I have a tradition of playing either a family football game or baseball game until its dark outside and time for dessert haha! It usually gets freezing cold and we all end up snuggling together inside with hot chocolate and a Christmas movie :) Isn't that the best feeling? I love being with my family, especially now because I haven't seen them in over a year which is sad and insane!

Does anyone have any traditions or anything special planned for turkey day? :) I wanna hear all about it! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Maddie

First Experience: Boxing Class

(my free wraps i got ;) )

I finally did it. I went to my first group fitness class and I absolutely loved it. AND its at a boxing/kickboxing club so close to my house, which makes me even more excited to go since i've been looking for this for months. I got this coupon where I have an unlimited amount of classes for free for the next two weeks, and let me tell you I plan on going as much as I can.

When I walked in I was a little nervous, but it wasn't too crowded and there were people at all skill levels which made me feel a lot more comfortable. As soon as we started, I got all pumped up and gave it my all. Hitting that boxing bag (and maybe pretending it was some people that pissed me off last week lol) made me feel SO invigorated and confident. During the active rests we did lunges squats and different toning exercises and it was basically amazing haha. It was definitely hard and near the end i was counting down the minutes, but i honestly cant wait to go back. The trainers were so so nice and i felt like i had been going there for a while even though i had never set my foot in the door! 

Going to that class on Saturday morning helped me overcome a little fear I had of public fitness places haha but hey that's what life is about right?! When I got done I went to whole foods and made the most amazing salad bowl from the salad bar with roasted sweet potatoes, brown rice, arugula, walnuts, shredded carrots...ugh yum. Then I got home and took a power nap for about an hour and woke up very very sore haha! But I plan on going again today or tomorrow ;) 

I hope you're having a beautiful weekend!

Maddie

Girl Crush: Gigi Hadid

Guys. I'm having kind of a girl crush. Ever since a few weeks ago, I've been obsessing over Gigi Hadid. Well not just a couple of weeks, but when Cody Simpson was dating her. I was like, okay okay this girl is pretty haha. I mean, I don't know what it is about her, but I really think she is a model to watch. Already she's been walking in major shows and shooting for some big names. Just a couple days ago the Pirelli Calendar was released and I was stunned to say the least. Gigi has very prominent features and I think thats why I'm drawn to her. Shes also not stick thin, she's healthy and strong and you can tell. Anyway I thought I'd share this with you guys. Isn't anyone else obsessing over her with me?! 

Maddie

Rough Patches

So this week has been interesting to say the least. I've had major ups and downs with my emotions, crazy thoughts, confusion. But I need to realize and remind myself that this is all going to pass.

 I'm still trying to convince my mom to pull me out of the school I'm in to switch to online. I really want to just finish the credits I need to graduate and be done with high school. I want to put all my focus on getting a job and working on my blog and Youtube channel(soon). Guys, you have no idea what I've gone through with this haha. My mom and I have had numerous conversations and I'm trying so so hard to get her to do it. Send positive vibes please <3

I need to work on keeping myself in a state of happiness and positivity. Because I have a tendency to let myself drop to that place of sadness and hopelessness when something doesn't go right, and that's not okay. It's easier said than done, but I need to practice that. I feel like I'm rambling on now but I just have to get this off of my chest.

I am also waiting on a couple of counselors slash nutritionists. Crazy. I'm not too thrilled to be going to them, but it's the doctors orders. I'm still pushing myself to eat more and get more calories and all that stuff. But no matter what I have to get help and address the problem. And I need an eating plan since I'm vegan that my parents will approve of. So. Much. Madness.

But no matter what, I need to be grateful. And I am. My parents are the absolute best and I don't know what I would do without them.

I hope everyone is having a good day/week :)

Maddie

5 Favorite Snacks

Snacks. They make me sooooo happy. I'm a pretty healthy eater as I've mentioned here before, so when I cut out boxed/processed foods I was kind of like "well what the heck do I eat now?" I remember 2 years ago, I wouldn't eat any fruit, any vegetables, nothing like that. It freaks me out to think I lived off of chips and crackers. Not that those are bad, but when its all I ate lets face it its not healthy.

So after a little while of slowly adding fruit and veggies into my diet, now thats basically what I crave which is really funny. Being a vegan also, I have to make sure I get enough protein into my diet, so these fit perfectly well! 

A match made in heaven. Apples and almond butter. Sometimes I only feel like a nice crisp apple with some cinnamon, but when I'm feeling extra hungry and wanting something crunchy/nutty, adding some of this almond butter is delicious. If I don't use the almond butter, sometimes I'll just eat straight raw almonds and thats also good. 

Mmmmmmm my home-made granola. It's sooooo good. Pecans, almonds, seeds, raisins, cinnamon, coconutty goodness. I eat this with fruit, nut butters, or just plain by itself. And this is filled with so many nutrients and protein so its perfect. 

When I'm wanting something a little sweeter, I'll reach for my dried apricots. These have a different kind of taste, but to me they are divine. Pairing them with the cacao nibs and shredded coconut is the perfect snack of sweet, crunchy, and even a little tangy haha! And the apricots are a good source for me to get iron. The middle picture is goji berries, which taste like a raisin, only a little more bitter. It takes getting used to but they taste delicious alone, with fruit, in smoothies, ontop of granola..really its endless!

Something you might not know about me: I absoutely LOVE bananas. But they have to be ripe. Like actually ripe, with brown spots and stripes. I love making fruit salads with them, but I almost always pair my banana with peanut butter. If you haven't tried this, you're really missing out. You can even add some chocolate chips or raisins to shake up the taste a little haha!

Look at how pretty! Just plain old fruit. I love love love it. I could live on fruit, and on some days I practically have. These are some of my favorites, strawberries and any berries in general, especially blueberries make me so happy. But I cant say I have a favorite fruit. I love em all ;) This pineapple I ate after taking these pictures and lemme tell you it hit the spot. 

So these are some of the things I reach for on the daily, but by no means is this all I snack on. I love to create different protein bites, healthy "cookies" and stuff like that. I thought this would be fun to share with you guys :) What are some of your favorite snacks?

Maddie

Weekly Recap

Where did this week gooooooo. Gosh and I'm really sorry I've kind of been slacking here. It's killing me. Since it was my first week back at school it's been a little crazy around here. Honestly these three days at school felt like a couple of weeks haha! Anyway I had a pretty good week, yesterday I also went to a college event for FIDM (Fashion Institute for Design and Merchandising in California), which is my DREAM school. I absolutely loved it and it gave me goosebumps to listen to the students' stories of going there. The only problem is I have no idea what I would want my major to be, so I have to think about that. I sat there and listened and munched on yummy food they had in the back. Seriously they had some good food.

I'm finally feeling like myself after being sick for almost a month. I mean, I still have a bit of a headache and a sore throat, but I've been able to workout and feel GOOD again :) lalala yay.

How was everyone's week? Catch me up :)

Maddie 

What the Future Holds

Today I went back to the doctor for a check up, just to see how the medicine I took worked and if I'm feeling okay, which I am! :) I'm definitely feeling full of energy and more like myself, which I am soooo thrilled about. I knew the doctor was going to bring up if I've been eating more, and I was stern with him to make sure he knew i most surely am. I mean seriously guys, I've been doubling my portions and eating an extra meal at night too. What I don't understand is I've only gained two pounds since I saw him three weeks ago, so that kind of bothers me. For anyone who doesn't know, I have to gain about 12-15 pounds to get back to a normal weight :/ The doctor still wants me to see a nutritionist, which i'm not completely sure about. I've already learned so much about food and the body, that a nutritionist couldn't outsmart me or talk me into anything. So I guess I'll just have to see how it goes. And tomorrow (wednesday). Oh boy. I have to go back to school tomorrow after being gone for three weeks. I'll be honest and say I'm nervous. I really hope some of my teachers give me a break on the work I've missed, I know it sounds childish of me and I'm almost 18 and I should make up what I missed, but this is a different kind of school and it's hard to explain the kind of work we do haha. Anyway, I'll have to keep you guys updated on whether or not I'm even staying at this school. Loooong story.

Okay well this post is already long enough, I didnt think it would get this lengthy! How is everyone's week going? :)

Maddie

Those Brows Though

On Saturday I drove down to an outdoor shopping center where there is my local Sephora...yeah I think you know where this is going. I picked up my first ever Anastasia Brow Wiz in Ebony because my brows are basically almost black. I was trying it out in the store and absolutely loved it. Ever since getting my eyebrows waxed, they have looked so thin and sparse, which isn't normal for me as I usually have really thick brows. So I mean basically I talked myself into buying it! I used it for the first time yesterday and I'm not gonna lie I kept looking in the mirror and just staring at my face. Filling in my brows, which is something I don't usually do, totally changes the look of my face and I can't believe I hadn't started doing this earlier on. Especially since I watch so many beauty vloggers on youtube!! What is wrong with me? In the picture above, I had barely put any of it on because I was afraid I would look like a crazy mad man haha, so that's why they still look a little thin. Later though I added more with the confidence I gained and LOVED it lol ;)

The rest of the weekend is kind of a blur to me. It went bye so fast, I feel like I didn't have time to do anything. I went job hunting and looked at a couple of stores that I thought I wanted to work in, like Urban Outfitters and Forever 21, but the people that worked there seemed really nasty and not very nice, and I wouldn't want to hate where I work or feel put down. I've been thinking about it a lot and I think it would be so fun to work in a restaurant, especially since I love food and being around a lot of people. What do you think? Do any of you work in a restaurant and can give me any advice? Haha :)

I hope everyone has a good week, oh and I have no school today or tomorrow...But since I've been sick I haven't been in school for three weeks soooo.....I guess it doesnt really matter anymore 0_0

Maddie

Winter is that you?

There is actually 46 days until Christmas....I mean really? Where the heck has time gone? As excited as I am for the upcoming holidays, I just want time to slow down, just a little bit :) 

Are you excited for Christmas?! Did you buy any countdown apps? <3

Maddie

Week(end) Goals

Update: I'm still getting better from being sick. I didn't make it to school this week either, and I think in all I've missed about 14 or 15 days. Honestly seeing that typed out freaks me out. I've never missed that many school days in my life, and to think of all the makeup work I have to do or will probably have to do makes me cringe. Anyway, since I've been stuck in the house I haven't really been able to accomplish much. BUT, I'm pretty sure I'll be able to get my butt out of the house to do the things I want to. Liiiiike:

// Apply for jobs...seriously there are soooo many stores looking for holiday employees, I need to get my face out there quickly!

// Bake some holiday cookies, because ya know that's all people are talking about since Halloween is over!

// Write write write

// Take Vitamin C so I get this sickness out. of. my. body.

Please send good vibes my way haha. I've been so not myself recently, just unmotivated and down, and being this sick isn't helping. So send happiness and positivity to me pleeeeease! :)

 Maddie

Social Media

I've really been getting into Twitter and Instagram lately. Don't even ask me about Pinterest, I could  scroll on that for hours haha! But I want to know more about what people think of Twitter and Instagram. There are so many blog posts stressing how important it is for bloggers to stay connected through social media, and I'm just wondering how many actually do. There are days where you can't get me off of the internet, but some days I feel like its all fake, you know? It's not like how it used to be, where you can genuinely make new friends. Now it's more like "I'll follow your blog if you follow mine" and that drives me insane. 

Does anyone else feel the same way? On instagram, I'll be scrolling through some of my favorite accounts, and all the comments say are "like for like" "first" "follow back". I mean seriously! These social platforms are meant to help and create. Now it's all turned into a competition to see who can get more followers or likes. It truly makes me sad and I wish I could change it.

Now that I have my iPhone, I'm really making it a priority to make my twitter and instagram accounts nice and fitted to me. I want to put out genuine content and meet real, genuine people. I think it would be so cool to connect with different bloggers around the world. Wouldn't it? I've tried to join some of those blogger chats, but they are on a completely different time zone than me so it's so difficult to do. But one of the big reasons I started blogging was to make friends. I LOVE to chat with people who have some of the same interests as me, like many people do. So I think getting to know people through social media is awesome. It's important to me and I don't want fake people to troll my accounts either. But, i guess thats what comes with it nowadays so I shouldn't complain. 

What do you think about social media today?

Maddie

Being Honest

Happy Sunday everyone. Look I have to come right out and saying, getting pneumonia really knocked me to the floor. I haven't been myself, and I have felt absolutely terrible. I can't tell you how many times I've opened my computer, tried to write, and just sat there going crazy. I didn't want to force any junkie posts, so I just shut my laptop. I've cried more times than I can count in the past few days. Don't you hate that feeling when you just want to feel better or like yourself and it doesn't happen? It's seriously driven me crazy. I've been stuck on the couch for almost 10 days and I haven't been able to leave the house. And I am not one to just sit all day! Even when I'm sick I have a hard time staying still and resting, which isn't a very good thing haha. 

I've also had a lot on my mind about eating more. I can't mess around this time, so I have been eating a ton more. It's been tough, especially for me whose a control freak. I've had to eat huge meals when I'm stuffed from the meal before, and eat more before I go to bed, but it's what it's come down to. I have to gain a minimum of 15 pounds, so we'll see how it goes. My mom also forced me to eat some chicken soup, so I had to eat that. She also bought me a piece of salmon too, so she made me eat that. I guess I just have to suck it up. Eating no chicken or fish has done nothing good for my body, so I just have to accept that my parents are going to make me eat it. I don't agree with eating animals, but like I said I have no choice until I can get some weight on my body. I will keep updating you guys on how I'm doing. 

My iPhone came in!!! Which totally put me in a better mood. Seriously I danced when the mail guy dropped it off haha! 

So that's just whats going on with my life at the moment. I really hope to get my creativity back. I don't know if I'm going to school tomorrow (i may or may not be praying to stay home lol). I hope everyone has had a good weekend :)

Maddie

How I Style: Stripes

I. love. stripes. If you opened my closet you would see a massive spot just filled with stripes. I don't know when I started to like this pattern, but I know I haven't always been fond of it. I used to be obsessed with polka-dots, which now I can't even understand because I really don't find them attractive on me anymore....anyway! I particularly love stripes because they are so versatile. You can wear them with pretty much anything, any color, any kind of jewelry, and that makes me a very happy girl haha!

Now I just realized most of the pictures I picked for style inspiration are black and white, which is totally me. I didn't mean to do that on purpose but that explains my style! Most of the time, I wear stripes with denim, light or dark wash. I especially love to wear denim cutoffs, then tucking in a bit of a striped shirt with some simple jewelry. Love! I also really love the look of making stripes casual, just by throwing a cardigan over a top or putting on some cute white sneakers. You can create so many different looks with just one shirt.

I want to make this a regular feature on the blog a "How I style" then a certain piece of clothing or accessory :) Give me some requests down below! 

um...when did it become the first day of november?! time is flying bye wayyy too fast if you ask me. 

Maddie