Unsure if your feelings about something are justified? You find yourself asking "Do I have a right to feel sad/mad/upset/hurt about this or am I just being crazy?" 

A flip in your stomach that moment when you hear the opening notes of your favorite song and you know that the next 2.5 minutes will be awesome no matter what?

So frustrated with the technical side of your blog (especially when there is a problem with it) and you don't even know where to begin to fix it so you just avoid your blog for a week?

That you should have been a cat so it would be acceptable for you to just eat/sleep/play all day and have people call you cute for it?

Mad at someone for a fight that you had with them in your own head just because you already know how they would react to you confronting them?

Overwhelmed with all the changes that can happen in your life in just one day? Or even one hour? 

That it is okay to eat a few extra pieces of chocolate in order to get rid of it and not have it sitting in your kitchen for the next few weeks?

Satisfied when your day doesn't go the way you planned, but actually goes better? 

Like writing a post inspired by Katy Perry?

As if 100 pounds are lifted off your chest the moment you get your feelings out of your head and onto paper (or in this case, a blog post?) 

 I apologize for this slightly emotional post, but I have been feeling overwhelmed with life lately (positive and negative things!) I have been having all the feels and I am thinking maybe this is what a senior in college is supposed to be feeling? Lately, when I open my planner, I have only been looking at what lies ahead for the next day because planning for the future (both near and far) has becoming daunting. So cheers to taking things one day at a time! 

I wish you all the best week and I am looking forward to catching up on all of your blog posts this week!

Am I Feeling 22?

So I turned 22 on Saturday! 

I am actually a little sad to be writing this post because I feel like the weekend went by so fast! In typical fashion, I forgot to take pictures of the weekend (don't worry, they would have been awkwardly posed and/or of me in my pajamas, so you aren't missing anything good).

I lied, I found one picture from the weekend on my phone...donuts buried under M&Ms, Oreos and frosting from Saturday brunch! 

Some years I have felt like my birthday fell behind in the excitement of Valentine's Day with my friends having dates or boyfriends that they want to see or restaurants being overcrowded with couples or people incessantly complaining about how much they hate Valentine's Day. This year, however, I truly felt satisfied with how my big day played out. I had a nice brunch and dinner with John (he came to visit!), and I got to do some much needed relaxing. Aside from fighting our way down icy roads trying to get home from dinner, the day was serene. Although it sounds simple, I cherished this lazy time because of how much rushing around I do during the week. I feel well rested and ready to tackle this crazy week ahead of me! 

I don't have much more to share about this weekend, except that I ate way too much candy and that I am touched by the outpouring of love I received from my friends and family. I received some really thoughtful gifts and cards that surprised me because of how my friends pick up on my little quirks. For example, I friend I study with noticed how I bring rice cakes and a jar of peanut butter for a study snack, so she got me a pack of peanut butter "to-go" cups so I don't have to carry around the whole jar. I laughed so hard and thought it was so funny that she thought to include that in a gift. I always forget the sense of overwhelming joy that I experience on my birthday and I am so thankful for my friends and family who provide me with that joy. With every text and call I received, my eyes got a little teary because of the sweet messages that people had. They were the best presents of all!

I am sending you all some of my cheer (and candy...I wish!) to get you through this week. For those of us on the east coast, I am seeing that we are supposed to get hit with some more snow this so lets cross our fingers that the weathermen are wrong. For those of you not on the east coast, please answer your doors when you hear a knock in the middle of the night because it's me running away from this arctic blast here in Virginia! 

I hope you all had a lovely Valentine's Day, and have an even better week! 

Angels on Bare Skin | Lush

I present to you, Angels On Bare Skin, my favorite, new skincare product! I recieved a Lush giftcard for Christmas and so stopped in to our local Lush, with the thought that I would be finding a new face cleanser. I felt like the cleanser I had been using for years wasn't cutting it because it's really meant to remove makeup and not do much else. I have written about my finicky skin before and over finals/beginning of winter break my breakouts were just out of control.  

I had actually never been to Lush before, but knew of its "all-fresh" skincare/makeup concept through reading about it online. When I walked in, I must have had an overwhelmed puppy dog look on my face because I was quickly scooped up by a sales associate who flooded me with questions about what I was looking for. After explaining that I was in the market for a new cleanser and explained what kind of skin I have, they sat me down and showed me AOBS. I instantly fell in love with it when they demonstrated on the back of my hand how it is used!

(With a few drops of warm water added)

I usually use it in the shower, when my pores are open from the hot water. I just take a small amount (they suggested a pea-size, and I didn't believe that at first...but its really all you need) and add a bit of water to it so it spreads across my face easier. I just massage it on for 1-2 minutes and then just rinse it off. If I could send scents through these blog, I totally would for this cleanser/scrub because its such an invigorating scent! You can definitely smell the lavender, with hints of a woody-ness I would say. It is definitely a stronger smell, but one that wakes me up while also relaxing me at the same time. 

 (Yikes, bare-faced on the internet!)

It is made from ground almonds and lavender (among other ingredients) so its a gentle scrub that takes off dead skin without causing dryness for me. This was interesting because I used to use facial scrubs with harsh beads that I thought were really taking off dead skin...who knew something more subtle would do the trick?! Every time I use it, my face feels as soft as velvet! 

I have been using it for about 6 weeks now, and I feel so much more confident about my skin. I only ever have breakouts now if I don't wash my face thoroughly with this and my skin just looks more healthy! I highly suggest this product to those of you with combination skin who just can't escape the sometimes oily/ sometimes peeling dry cycle! It has become a part of my everyday skincare routine.

Let me know if you use it already or if you try it!

I received no compensation or anything for this review...just obsessed with this product and wanted to shout about it from the mountains!

Some Pawsitively Purrfect Pins

My blogging plans for this week were rudely interrupted by a test, papers, clinical and simulations... Fortunately I did well on my test yesterday (cardiac critical care, woo woo!) and just have classes, a clinical day and one more simulation to tackle before my week is over. Good thing my scrubs are purple, because living in my favorite color isn't so bad! 

I have been missing my cats at home after hearing some funny stories about them from my mom  this week and I turned to Pinterest for some cat stalking. I thought I would share my favorites (and most relatable) cat pins! I hope they make you smile a bit...even you non-cat lovers out there. 

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Cheers to getting halfway through the week! We are almost there!

Are you a cat person or a dog person?