Autumn Amelia

Hello everyone!

Since the start of the new year, I have been reflecting over 2019 quite a bit.
I definitely let myself splurge more than normal (it was one of my resolutions!) and as a result, I discovered a few new things that quickly became my favorites.
I thought it would be fun to share these with you.
Maybe they will become some of your favorites too!

Nike Tanjun Shoes


For Christmas 2018, I received my first pair of Nike's.
I noticed a difference immediately.
They literally added a bounce in my step.
I am on my feet all day at work and these were a game-changer.
I am hoping to add another colorful pair to my wardrobe soon.

Goodfellow Crew Neck Sweatshirt

While shopping with Erik at Target I saw a simple sweater in the men's section that I took interest in.
I had wanted a cozy oversized sweater to lounge around in at home and this looked like it would do.
I bought one on a whim and now have almost every color!
The perfect sweater for lounging, camping and running errands in.
And SO affordable!

Your girl loves her some glitter...
So, I was pumped to receive these as a gift.
And let me tell you, they were made for me.
These eyeshadows go on wet and dry within seconds.
They give me the perfect glitter eye for any occasion.
I just added another color to my collection and am so excited to rock it in 2020!

CycleBar


I had been wanting to try out a cycle class for a while and was finally able to accomplish that last year.
I fell in love instantly...
It is such a good work out and I love the positive atmosphere.
I have gotten a few people to classes with me through the year and they have agreed it is awesome!

Jean Jacket

Scrunchies

I jumped on the scrunchie bandwagon last year and never looked back.
Why we wrote off scrunchies, I will never know.
They are so soft on my hair, unlike elastics, and add a fun pop to the simplest of hairdos.
I am sorry we forsake you, scrunchies.
I will not make that mistake again... 

Novelty Bags


I have wanted to purchase a novelty bag for years!
I have had my eye on quite a few.
Most of them, Disney themed.
Surprise, surprise.
Since we were going to Disneyland in 2019 I let myself buy one when it went on sale.
And that quickly led to another and another.
These bags add the perfect touch of whimsy to any outfit and make adorable shelf decor at home.
I can't wait to add some more to my collection this year.

Sincerely Us Shop



I found this shop at a home show and it was love at first sight.
The whole booth was my aesthetic.
They have the cutest prints, blankets and candles.
I have only added one print to my collection so far but, have my heart set on a dozen more.
Plus, when you buy from them you are supporting a small business.
Who doesn't love that?

Bando Planner



I finally splurged on my first Bando Planner in 2019.
These planners come with everything.
Stickers, posters, and even coloring pages!
It was so fun that I had to get another one for this year.
I can't wait to fill it out.

Max Pillow

Even though this pillow has only been with me for a few weeks, the amount of joy it has given me is unmeasurable.
I became OBSESSED with it as soon as I saw it announced with the Oh My Disney dog collection.
I added it to my Christmas wish list and my sister made my dreams come true.
Every time I see him I can't help but get a smile on my face.

I'm so proud of myself for indulging a little more last year.
I can't wait to discover and play with new things this year.
What were some of your favorite things in 2019?

All my love,
Autumn

Hello everyone!

Happy New Year!

The older I have gotten, the less into resolutions I have been.

Resolutions are great, don't get me wrong, but when I don't stick to them I tend to spiral.

So, I don't regularly make resolutions anymore.

I do love me a fresh start and any excuse to organize though. 

As we head into the first full week of the year I thought I'd share a few things I have done or will be doing to help me feel refreshed for the New Year.

Update A Space

We all have a space we spend the majority of our time in.

Maybe it's your desk at work, a desk at home or even your car.

No matter the space, start the year by giving it a little refresh.

Organize the clutter, throw out what you no longer need and add some fun new items that make you happy.

I decorated my desk at my seasonal job with some washi tape, illustrations and quotes.

It took no time at all and made all the difference.

Now my little desk is brighter and a lot more fun.

Enjoy Some Uplifting Content

I love bad TV.

I mean LOVE it.

It's one of the things that helps me turn my brain off.

That being said, I do notice a difference when I binge hours of bad TV rather than intake some good content.

So, turn off that bad TV show, put down that gossip magazine and get some uplifting content in your life.

You know, the stuff that motivates you to do better and be better?

I have loved watching Reese Witherspoon's Shine On series.

It highlights women in different career fields that are making a difference.

You can find it currently on Netflix.

I also love listening to the Awesome with Alison podcast.

She is a girl that lets her freak flag fly while sharing advice on how to live your best life.

You can find it wherever you stream your podcasts.

I have heard amazing things about Rachel Hollis' books Girl, Wash Your Face and Girl, Stop Apologizing.

I haven't had the chance to dive into them just yet but I am excited to devour them this year.

Switch To A Reusable Product

If you are like me, you have at least one thing that will help you go green you keep meaning to do.

For us, it was buying reusable shopping bags.

Every time we go to the store and add another plastic bag to our plastic bag family the guilt would get real...

We finally bit the bullet and used some Christmas cash to invest in a few reusable bags.

I am excited to finally be helping the environment in a small way and to also get a drawer in my kitchen back.

So, whether you have been meaning to buy a reusable water bottle, add a second trash can for recycling or get some of them fancy aluminum straws, invest in it now and feel good that you are doing your part in some small way. 

Schedule Those Appointments

The holidays are officially over which means it's time to get back to the real world.

Boo...

A few of my least favorite things happen during the first part of the year.

Taking down Christmas decorations, my yearly trip to the doctor and tax day...

We try to get these taken care of as soon as possible so we don't have to think about them until the following year.

It's such a simple thing to do but it makes me feel hella accomplished and adult AF.

Schedule your doctor's appointments, schedule your tax appointment and then if you are like me reward yourself by scheduling something fun.

This year I scheduled a stay at my favorite hotel for my birthday.

Now that's one appointment I am not planning on missing.

Clean Out A Cluttered Space

We all have those small areas in our lives that collect clutter like crazy.

Bathroom cabinets, mail cubbies, nightstand drawers.

For us, like most homes in America, it's the dreaded kitchen junk drawer.

These spaces are so small but collect random junk like crazy!

Take a few minutes out of your day and organize that space!
It really doesn't take that long and will make finding things SO much easier.

These are just a few simple ways I am starting the year feeling accomplished.

They are all easy and took me less than an hour to do. 

Do you set New Year's resolutions?

If so, what are some of yours for 2020?

All my love,

Autumn

Hello everyone!

Are y'all ready for a new decade?!

Because it's basically here...

To help us celebrate I made this fun DIY disco ball piñata.

I have made a few piñatas in my day.

They aren't hard but, are a little time-consuming.

Make sure to give yourself a few days to complete this project.

You will need:

36 Inch Balloon

Newspaper

Scissors

Flour

Water

Silver Crepe Paper

Fringer Scissors, Optional

Tape
Silver Ribbon

Start by inflating the balloon to your desired size.

I inflated mine about halfway, 18 inches.

A 36-inch balloon is rather large...

I'm lazy and didn't want to decorate the whole thing but still wanted it to be large enough to make an impact.

You can blow it up to the full size if you prefer.

Cut your newspaper into 1-inch strips.

Cut A LOT because you will need it.

Once your strips are ready to use, create your papier-mache.

Mix 1 part flour to 1 part water until a paste is made, it should be a thick glue-like substance. 

1 and 1/3 cups of each is the amount that worked for me.

You will need to make more or less depending on the size of your balloon.

Dip the strips of newspaper in the paste and slide off any excess with your fingers.
Add the wet strips directly onto the balloon.

To help keep the balloon in place, set it in a box.

Repeat until the balloon is completely covered.

Let dry completely.

I recommend 24 hours but, have gotten away with 12 when I was in a hurry.

Once the first layer is completely dry, apply another layer in the same manner.

Let dry.

Add a third coat to make it extra sturdy.

Let dry.

Once the final layer is completely dry, poke a hole through the papier-mache to deflate the balloon. 

Cut a small flap in the top of the papier-mache, large enough to fit your hand into so you can stuff it with your goodies.

Open the flap and remove the deflated balloon.

Cut long strips of crepe paper.
With the fringe-scissors, fringe one side of the crepe paper leaving about an inch of space at the top to attach to the piñata.

You can fringe the crepe paper with regular scissors as well but, the fringe scissors will save you quite a bit of time.
I'd highly recommend investing in some! 

Starting at the bottom of the piñata, add a layer of the fringed crepe paper.

Use small pieces of tape every few inches to secure into place. 

Continue adding strips of the crepe paper up the piñata until it is entirely covered.

Poke two slits in the top of the piñata and string one end of the silver ribbon through.
Tie the ribbon into a knot on the inside of the piñata.
Repeat with the other ribbon end to create a loop in which to hang the piñata from. 

Open the flap and fill with your goodies.

 Seal the flap with tape.

Hang and enjoy!

I love how this piñata turned out!

The size and metallic silver make it the perfect pop of fun every party needs.

I am planning on using it as decor for our New Years' Eve at home.

It's too pretty (and took too long) to wreck!

Maybe next year?

How are you spending your New Year's Eve?

All my love,

Autumn

Hello everyone!

Does anyone still have their Christmas decorations up?

I finally bit the bullet this weekend and took ours down.

It's seriously one of my least favorite days of the year.

It's like a bad break up.

Christmas just decides to leave me and I am taken by surprise. 

I thought we meant something to each other.

I thought we had something special.

Time passes and it gets easier.

My friends and family tell me it's time to move on but it's too soon.

Then one day, I wake up and I have accepted that it's over and it's time to move forward without Christmas.

All of it's stuff gets put into boxes.

And what's this?

Someone new to share my life with?

Valentine's Day, you say?

I have mentioned before that January is not my favorite month.
Christmas breaking up with me every year really doesn't help...
But, something that does help is my first ever giveaway!
I love to give people gifts so, giveaways have always been something that interested me.
I am proud to say we are finally doing it!
My hope is to do one giveaway each month this year.
This month I am giving away a bando planner on my Instagram.

Hello everyone!
Happy New Year!

This year I realized I struggle with focusing on where I currently am.

I like to focus on the future and this causes me to lose out on the present.

This is especially true for seasons.

When it's spring I am looking forward to summer

When it's summer I am looking forward to fall.

When it's fall I am looking forward to winter.

And so on.

To help me enjoy the present I started making a list for each season and focusing on what I could enjoy and accomplish in each one.

I drew inspiration from the kids gift list of Want, Need, Wear, Read. 

And came up with Eat, Buy, Read, Try.

Eat because I love to eat seasonally.

Buy to encourage me to buy something for myself.
Either something I need or just to treat myself. 

Read because I love to read books but rarely do.

Try to encourage me to try something new.

It could be a new hair style, a new work out routine, a new fashion anything that caught my eye. 

I looked at trends and styles I was loving and added them to my lists.

Here are the things that I came up with for 2018.

Spring

Eat: Radishes

Buy: Jean Jacket

Read: Girlboss

Try: Half up hair

Summer
Eat: Artichokes
Buy: Romper
Read: Where Did You Go, Bernadette?

Try: Fishtail Braids

Fall

Eat: Pumpkin Seeds
Buy: Reader Glasses
Read: Whiskey In A Teacup

Try: Bubble Bar

Winter

Eat: Pomegranates
Buy: Velvet Top
Read: The Nightingale

Try: Red Eyeshadow

I loved having these lists to help me focus on the present.

And since each season is roughly three months long completing four things each wasn't unrealistic.

I will be honest I did not complete everything on all of these lists but it did push me to try new things and help me to enjoy the current season.

I am excited to implement this into the new year and hope to cross off many more things.

What would be on your list for the start of 2019?

All my love,

Autumn

Hello everyone!

We only have 4 days left in 2018 and i'm not going to lie, I am excited to say goodbye to this year.

2018 wasn't a bad year but it did challenge me.

That being said, there were also many amazing moments and since we like to focus on the positive I thought we'd talk about my top five favorites.

Celebrating My Birthday In Disneyland

Being in Disneyland on my birthday has been on my bucket list for years.

My friend Shea and I had been tossing the idea around of a girls trip for awhile and we decided to pull the trigger.
Shea was kind enough to let it be for my 25th birthday.

I will never forget being on the Indiana Jones ride, wearing my brand new rose gold Mickey ears Shea bought as my birthday present and getting tossed around like a rag doll.

I remember thinking "Is this actually my life right now?"

It was too good to be true.

Seeing Taylor Swift In Concert

Another item that had been on my bucket list was seeing Taylor Swift in concert.

I have been a die hard "Swiftie" for years.

Every time she came to town I wanted to go but just couldn't afford it...

I was so disappointed when I missed her last tour that I promised myself the next time she came I was going no matter what. 

I even started putting aside money in my savings for it. 

When she came back with Reputation I was on cloud nine.

Of course this was the tour she decided to do limited concerts and Salt Lake City was not on the list.

Well, I said I was going no matter what and I meant no matter what so I convinced Shea, my sister and my mom to drive to Colorado to see her.

We drove for 18 hours in a 32 hour time period and were in Colorado for less than 24 hours.

I would do it all over again.

Celebrating Five Years Saving Baby Sea Turtles

Okay, okay.

I know I keep saying this but, helping baby sea turtles hatch has been on my bucket list for years.

I am talking Elementary School on this one folks...

Erik and I wanted to do something special for our five year wedding anniversary so we decided to take a cruise to the Caribbean. 

While looking at the excursions they offered I came across the save a sea turtle program.

And it just so happened that we would be in that port on the date of our actual anniversary.

If that isn't fate, what is?

I showed Erik and he told me to book it without even hesitating.

He knew how long I had wanted to do it. 

We spent our anniversary helping baby sea turtles out of their nests and releasing them into the ocean.

It is an experience I will never forget.

Erik MOTHER FREAKING Graduating

Erik has been working towards his Bachelor's Degree since we got married.

Since he could only go to school part time we thought it would take him four years instead of two.

And six years later here we are...

We faced many challenges getting Erik his Bachelor's Degree.

I won't bore you with the details but it took a lot longer and was a lot harder than we had originally planned.

We both got so discouraged and honestly thought the day would never come but it did!

He got his degree this December and will be walking in May.

Here's hoping that the degree actually pays off.

On another note, does anyone know of someone who is willing to donate a load of money to two loving people who have a huge amount of student loans to pay off?

Asking for a friend...

Personal Growth

As I mentioned 2018 wasn't a bad year.

I mean it was a great year for my bucket list.

But it did challenge me...

I grew a lot personally and it was really hard.

I had to face a lot of things I had been suppressing for years and it sucked to say the least.

When I was 19 I discovered I had anxiety and did absolutely nothing about it.

Afterwards I started wondering if I also suffered from depression.

I have always been the "happy" girl and the thought seemed absurd to me but you can only lie to yourself for so long.

Not taking care of myself for so many years finally caught up to me and it was ugly.

It made me realize how important mental health is and one day I would love to share my story and spread awareness.

 As for now, it is all so fresh and raw and quite honestly my story is still being written.

To hold myself accountable I vaguely shared on social media about this year and the negative emotions I have felt.

I am a closed book and never in a million years would have thought about posting something like that before but now that I have shared it I believe it will hold me accountable to come back and tell my story when it has developed more.

I am grateful for this year.

It held so many amazing experiences and helped me learn about myself.

But all I have left to say is...

Thank U, next!

Tell me all about your 2018, the good and the bad, below!

All my love,

Autumn

Each year I make a video recap for my family to enjoy on New Years Eve.

Here is 2017.

What are your 2018 New Years Resolutions?

2014: https://youtu.be/E5lRYUWs2nA

2015: https://youtu.be/Z9cjOqtBfvY

2016: https://youtu.be/A6P7C_XsMWo

Hello everyone!

And hello 2018!

This year I will not be posting a Makeover Monday every week.

It has gotten to the point where I do not have the time and money to keep it up!

I will still post when we do an update to the house. 

I am hoping about once a month...

I also wanted to take Monday's in a different direction this year.

I have gotten a lot of feedback regarding my content and how perfect my life looks.

I don't want to ever give off the appearance of perfection.

My life is far from it. And that's okay!

So I thought we would cut through all of the fluff and get a little personal here every Monday.

Our first topic: my plans for 2018.

I am such a planner...

I like to plan out every single detail of my life.

With the start of the new year I would normally have a list of goals I want to accomplish and at least five or six baby steps of how to get there.

Last year I set the largest goals I had ever imagined and I didn't complete a single one.

Some difficult things came up and changed our direction.

It really changed me and engrained in my mind that you cannot actually plan life.

For the first time in a long time I have no idea what this year will bring.

I am staring it out with no job and no plans.

It is so unlike me...

Can I tell you how terrifying it is?

But can I also tell you how exhilarating it is?

The only goal I have is to focus on what feels good and chase it.

There will be some big highs (checking items off my bucket list) and big lows (we don't expect Scout to be with us much longer.)

And I cannot wait to share every single moment with you.

So whether you have your goals written down or plan to take it one day at a time like me I wish you the best.

Know that I am cheering you on every step of the way.

I hope this year brings you happiness you never thought imaginable.

2018 let's do this!

All my love,

Autumn

Hello everyone! 

Happy Makeover Monday!

I gave my desk a little makeover to help me keep my resolutions this year.

I am the type of person that has to write everything down.

If I don't I forget...

Plus I love checking things off of lists.

When I saw this cute desk calendar in the Target value section I knew it would be a great way for me to keep track of my goals.

I went through and added what I wanted to post for the blog for the next two months, three posts a week, to the bottom left corner,

Then I added in any events we had coming up in the center and the due dates of our bills in the top right.

I also updated my cork boards to help me focus on my goals.

There's a board to remind be to spread joy.

A board for Erik and I, we have a goal to have a weekly date night.

There's a board for my friends to remind me to host a quality get together for them once a month.

And a board with some inspirational quotes and pictures of us in Disneyland to remind me to chase my dreams.

How are you doing with your New Year resolutions?

2013 was full of some life changing moments. 

We got engaged.

Our niece Baylee was born

I turned 20.

We lost our uncle and puppy Noel.

We moved out permanently. 

We went through the temple

And of course got married.

It truly will be a hard act to follow. But I think it can Be done 2014.

What big changes did you experience in 2013?

2014 Resolutions?