Friday Favorites III

Happy 2017! It is so crazy to me that another year has flown by. It's true what they say... time flies when you're having fun! 2016 was a year full of fun, hard work, love, adventures and lessons learned. If I learned one thing in the last year it's that, everything gets better with time. Heres to another healthy, and happy new year!

Another Friday Favorites post! This list could be never ending because I have so many favorite things  from Christmas, and the holiday season. I'm currently writing this post wrapped up in my super soft UGG robe under a heated blanket with a cup of warm coffee watching the snow fall outside the window. It's a blizzard! Twelve to sixteen inches coming our way on Cape Cod... send help!

• Dunkin Donuts Vanilla Cupcake Coffee

Speaking of coffee, this is the coffee I am sipping on right now! It is so delicious and seriously taste just like a vanilla cupcake. I have never seen this flavor at an actual DD, I've only seen it at the grocery store. I am known to stock up when they go on sale. (Oh man, I sounded just like my mom there!) I bring this flavor to work and its definitely a favorite with my coworkers too! And trust me, it is the perfect 0300 pick me up when its paired with a delicious gooey sugar cookie.  

• Aquaphor 

I'm pretty sure I have confessed my love for Aquaphor before but, holy crap... this stuff is saving my life this winter season. During the cold, dry winter months, my lips become so dry and cracked and they start peeling. Attractive right? The ONLY and I mean only lip product that moisturizes and hydrates my lips is Aquaphor. I have one in each room of my house, two in my purse, one in my car,  basically one everywhere. This product is also perfect to put on your lips before you apply a matte lipstick. It keeps your lips moisturized and prevents your lips from cracking from a matte or drying lipstick. Go get yourself one! Or two... or five. 

• Soup Season 

I'll spare you a picture for this favorite because soup doesn't photograph very well. I am loving any and all soups this time of year! Last night I made a hot Italian sausage and kale soup, and if I do say so myself, it is pretty darn delicious. It's filled with vegetables, potatoes, spices and sausage and it's the perfect amount of spice. Something about soup simmering on the stove, the Sam Smith Pandora station playing in the background, with the snow falling outside is so cozy. I've been on the search for another soup recipe to make next so if you have any you love, please share in the comments. 

• T-shirt Quilt 

My favorite Christmas gift this year by far was this T-shirt quilt my parents gifted to me. They saved all my t-shirts from my high school, college, events, etc and had them made into a quilt. It was so unexpected and so incredibly thoughtful. Every shirt has a memory attached to it and means something special to me. Every time I look at it I notice another t-shirt or another detail. It's something that I have been using everyday since Christmas. I love it and I'm so happy I'll have it forever! 

• Memories of Gunner

Two days before Christmas, my family and I had to say goodbye to our sweet beagle Gunner. Gunner had been in our lives for twelve years providing our family with unconditional love, laughter, and memories we'll cherish forever. He is no longer suffering and is in a better place now and with that, I find comfort. To say I miss him would be an understatement. I find myself every day or so going through my phone and looking at old pictures of him and it makes me smile. He was such a gentle, kind and happy dog who loved his family, digging holes and hiding his bones, his vest, soaking up the sun and sniffing the air, and his Mommy who he followed everywhere. Rest In Peace my sweet baby Gunner.

 

What are your favorites and things you've been loving this week? Please share in the comments! 

XO

Jenny

Friday Favorites II

Hi there! How are you? Happy Friday! For many of you, today starts the weekend. Woohoo! Any fun plans?

I thought I would come on here and share some of my favorite things lately. I really want to try and make this a weekly post. I've seen other bloggers do it, and I always loved seeing their favorite things week to week. And, yes I know I keep saying I'm going to post more and blah blah but this time I am serious! I took quite the hiatus from blogging and social media. Behind the scenes, I was still writing posts. In fact, I have maybe twelve posts I wrote but never ended up posting for whatever reason. I'm back now! I have so many things to share about my health, skin, fashion, etc and can't wait to share. So lets dive into my Friday Favorites!

• Fall Candles

 

Fall is my favorite season and I just love everything that encompasses fall. Apple picking, the leaves changing colors, pumpkin patches, Halloween, the cooler weather and delicious smelling fall candles. I've been burning this apple & pumpkin picking candle along with a sweet cream pumpkin one and I just don't want them to run out! 

• Red Wine 

Now that the temperature has been cooler I find myself gravitating towards red wine. Something about 50 degree weather, a fall candle burning, snuggling under a blanket watching a movie drinking a glass of red wine is just glorious. Am I right? My favorite kind has been this Apothic Red. My best friend Carly introduced me to it and as you can see, I am quite the fan. ;) And how cute is this wine stopper? 

• Bluefins Sushi

I love sushi and could easily eat it once a week. I recently went to Bluefins Sushi and Sake Bar in Chatham and was quickly reminded of how much I love it there. They have the best sushi on Cape Cod. The atmosphere, the staff, the decor, the food, the drinks, everything about it is just awesome. And the best part... they're open all year round! If you happen to find yourself at Bluefins, please get the Cape Cod Monster roll or the Surf & Turf roll. You won't regret it! Also, I just saw on their Facebook that Tuesdays is locals night which means you can save 20% off your food. 

• John Legend

Oh this mans voice. He has so many beautiful songs out and he is so incredibly talented. I've been totally obsessed with his new song "Love Me Now". This piano version is just beautiful.

• Cape Cod

I know I have said this a thousand times over but, I really love where I live and am so incredibly lucky to have a family, friends and a career here. Something about a drive to the ocean and a walk on the beach is so overwhelmingly calming. I never want to leave this beautiful place. 

Please share your weekly favorites in the comments below. As always, thanks for reading and following along with me! xoxo

Jenny 

Onto 2016

Three months into the year 2016 and I am finally sitting down to reflect on 2015. I'm not one to set New Years resolutions but, I do like to look back on the year and think about how I can improve myself in the new year. 2015 was a big year for me. From January to May I was pretty much only consumed with nursing school. It was really my only focus. I ate, slept, breathed nursing school. It sounds dramatic but you only know how nursing school is if you're going through it. I wanted to be successful. And I was. I accomplished one of the hardest tasks I have ever done… and it felt damn good. As soon as graduation was over, I was right back studying for my boards. I locked myself in my room hours on end doing questions after questions and tests after tests. It was worth it because I passed.

By July 2015, I had completed two of the hardest things I have ever done. I was on cloud nine. Five years of really dedicating myself to something was finally worth it. By August I had accepted a full time RN position in my dream specialty. The first few weeks of working, and my first few paychecks (lets keep it real) I kept thinking to myself, this is why it was worth it. For the feeling of helping people, for the rush that comes over you when a patient is crashing, even for the exhaustion that comes after working three twelve hour shifts in a row, you know deep down in your heart that you are doing something not many people can do. I loved it, and I was hooked.

A major reason why I was so motivated to complete nursing school, and be successful was because I wanted to have a comfortable life. I was fortunate to grow up and see both my parents work hard to provide their family with everything they needed and more. I wanted that. I had a serious boyfriend throughout college for five years and every time I got down in the dumps and was frustrated with how much studying I was doing and the lack of sleep and social life, I would look at him and quickly be reminded why I was working so hard. I wanted a good life for us. Of course I was doing it for me too but in reality I was doing it for us. We had plans after college. Goals and dreams that we wanted to accomplish and achieve together. I was ready to finish out 2015 was a bang and think "Wow 2015 was my year. Our year". 

Unfortunately, that's not how 2015 ended. It was a rough rest of the year between switching to night shift, a breakup, a family death, etc. It was really tough to swallow. My goals and dreams suddenly needed to be shifted. All of a sudden I was going through this thing called life alone. Of course I had my family and girlfriends by my side but you know what I mean. It was scary and I didn't quite know what to do. The end of 2015 didn't quite end of how it started and it was a big stab to my heart. After accomplishing so much and being on cloud nine, how could it really end up like this?

As this blog states, I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. However, it's a hard concept to believe in when your life completely changes and your world turns upside down. With the start of the new year, I have one concept I want to keep in mind. I don't want to make any resolutions or promises to myself. I want to be able to tell myself that everything gets better with time. Even though yesterday, today, or next week I won't understand why certain things and events happened, I do know that it gets better with time. February was better than December, today was better than yesterday and next month is going to be better than the last.

So here's to 2016! Believing that everything does happen for a reason and it only gets better with time.