TGIF! Even though it has been a short week for me, I am feeling so exhausted. I have carefully made sure that this weekend is a weekend for me to just relax in comfy clothes and watching TV. I am so excited for that, you have no idea.
Before I get to my weekend of self care, I want to take the time to share with you some of my favorites of the week:
1. Coachtopia Ergo Bag: There definitely will be more content about this bag in the near future, but I just want to share how obsessed I am with this bag. I got the largest size that it comes in, and I love how simple and classic it is. It is such a high quality dupe of the Prada Cleo. This bag will definitely be a part of my bag collection for a long time.
2. Our Whole Heart Bracelets: If you’re a returning reader around here, you know that I love a good bracelet. I bought the hamsa and the Italian horn on, and they have been on repeat all of this week.
3. Grogu Weighted Stuffed Animal:I love Grogu, and I have always wanted to get one of the Disney weighted plushies. And, I love it. It has been really helpful with trying to get to sleep faster, as well as with my anxiety.
There is one stop that I make on my way to work without fail. That is the trip to Starbucks. I am a zombie without my daily fix of coffee. Fall is definitely my favorite time of year in terms of flavors, between the basic PSL to the new fall flavors.
This year has been the year that I have been conducting science experiments when it comes to my coffee. Since we don’t gate keep around here, I wanted to share some of my go-tos lately so you can enjoy your little cup of joe.
1. Pumpkin Spiced Latte: I love pumpkin spice, and this is probably one of the more simple of the drinks that I will share with you, but it’s a classic for a reason. It is so good, and is great for the days when you want something good without thinking about it.
2. Iced Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso with Pumpkin Cream Cold Foam and 2 pumps of Toffee Nut Syrup: I don’t like toffee, but don’t be fooled by that. This tastes exactly like the cookie butter at Trader Joe’s. It is a little expensive, so I definitely recommend getting this one on a double star day or on a treat yourself day.
3. Iced Shaken Espresso with Brown Sugar Syrup, 2 pumps of Classic syrup, and pumpkin syrup: This one definitely feels like fall in a cup, and I have no complaints. This one is a little less expensive than the one I just previously mentioned, but it’s still really good.
4. Iced Starbucks Blonde Latte with Pumpkin Syrup: This fall was the season where I discovered the blonde espresso, and this one was so good. This one has a lot of calories, but I definitely savor this when I order this one.
5. Iced Apple Crisp Oatmilk Shaken Espresso: Last but certainly not least, I wanted to share the newest drink on the menu. This one tastes like apple pie, and is so delicious!
I was scrolling on TikTok when I discovered the concept of junk journaling. Junk journaling, which according to the Artsy Craftsy, is a “handmade book of recycled items.” Some of these recycled items, according to the article, include magazines, mailers, and postcards. When I discovered junk journaling, I immediately went down a TikTok FYP rabbit hole. Before I knew it, I began ordering a journal from Amazon and stickers.
Since that discovery, my Junk Journal has become a scrap book of memories. It’s not perfect, but it’s something that I’ve been enjoying to do as a way to capture memories in a cohesive way. That said, here are some tips to getting started with your junk journal:
1. You don’t need much to get started: All you really need a notebook and a way to stick things onto the page. Anything else is extra. What’s nice about junk journaling is that you can use the things that are around you, such as mailers, stickers, notes from friends, things that you did with friends, and so much more. One thing that I use is Instax Polaroids. I have a photo printer, which makes it easier than ever to convert my photos into memories.
2. Ditch the Judgement: Throw your critical lenses out of the window. Do it. Right now. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, make sure you just be creative. After all, journaling is supposed to be fun, right?
3. Use Pinterest/TikTok for inspo: Okay, so this is contradictory to what I just said, but sometimes you need some inspiration to get started. That’s when you need to consult Pinterest or TikTok. And, that’s okay.
Having just gotten married this past year, I’ve had the opportunity to purchase a lot of bridesmaid gifts. One of the hardest things that I’ve had to do was figure out what to give my girls when I asked them to be my bridesmaids as well as what to give them as a small thank you for my bachelorette party and for being by my side for the big day. Here are some of the things that I gifted my girls, that they still use to this day. Spoiler alert: not many of these say bridesmaid, which makes them equally as useful.
1. JoJo Loves You Earrings and Necklaces: As a thank you gift for my girls, I got them each a pair of earrings and a necklace to match their dress. They all loved it, especially since they got to pick out a dress in a color that they loved. Since my wedding day, I’ve seen them wear the earrings to parties and other events. In general, these make an amazing gift, but I highly recommend brides check out JoJo Loves You.
2. Little Words Project Bracelets: I am a huge fan of these bracelets, because they give off a subtle bridesmaid vibe that we are here for! My two maids of honor got the maid of honor one, while the bridesmaids got bridesmaid! I also gifted them all a custom one with a word that means something about them personally. I am here for subtle bridesmaid things, so this is something that I will highly recommend.
3. Mugs: One can never have too many mugs. I gave each girl a mug, but the twist is to get something that they would enjoy. For example, I got one bridesmaid a cat one, since she loves cats. However, you also can’t go wrong with an initial one!
4. Tote bags: Just like one can not have too many mugs, one cannot have too many tote bags! There are so many different ways to get tote bags, however, I ended up using my Cricut to create ones that had each of their names.
5. Riley Convertible Crossbody: This gift is one that is constantly used by all of my bridesmaids, and something that I love. I love this, because it can be both a crossbody bag, as well as a wristlet. There are so many different colors to choose from, but I ended up going with the black one, because one can’t go wrong with a black one.
6. Heart shape Sunglasses: These sunglasses are so fun, and something that I even wear now! I got these for my girl’s bachelorette gifts, but I honestly just loved these to wear everyday.
With that being said, the biggest tip that I can give someone who is about to work on bridesmaid gifts is you know your girls better than anyone else. I ended up getting different gifts for different girls, because everyone is truly different. So, the biggest tip I can give all brides is to give a gift that you know that they will love. There is no need to get something expensive to get something that will be used long before the vows are being said.
You may have heard of the term Kindle Unlimited, which is Amazon’s book rental service. For the price of $11.99 a month, you have access to borrow 20 books at once.
Basically, think of old school Netflix for books.
I had Kindle Unlimited for the past year, and I’ve really enjoyed it. The books on it can rotate, but there’s always some authors on there that are popular and beloved, including: Ana Hoang, Lucy Score, and even the Summer I Turned Pretty series — just to name a few.
Over the course of my time using it, it’s safe to say that I’ve gotten my money’s worth of books that I’ve downloaded it from.
But, is it worth it?
I honestly think so.
As an avid reader, Kindle Unlimited does save me some money. What I like about it is that if I don’t like a book there is less strings attached. All I do is return it back to the Kindle Unlimited store. That said, it also saves me money when it comes to getting books onto my Kindle, because let’s face, the price of ebooks can add up, especially when you read as much as I do. So many viral books are available on Kindle Unlimited, such as the Things We Never Got Over, the Twisted Love series, and many of Colleen Hoover’s books. If I were to buy these books, it’s usually $5 to $10 for an ebook, and about $16 for a paperback physical copy. $11.99 a month for an unlimited amount of books to read makes things so much easier than ever to read and return.
Furthermore, Kindle Unlimited also has a great selection. There are so many New York Times Best Sellers, including True Believer by Nicholas Sparks, the Summer I turned Pretty, many of Lucy’s Score’s backlog, Ana Hoang, Frieda McFadden, the Harry Potter series, and so much more. There’s a lot of YA, fantasy, and so much more. And, many of the BookTok books that have gone viral are available right at your fingertips. What’s nice about Kindle Unlimited is that the books sometimes rotate, and it seems like they are always adding something new to the list of titles.
One other thing that I love about having Kindle Unlimited is the fact that I can download a book that I already have a physical copy of, and be able to read in the pool, or travel with a book without having to actually purchase the ebook version of it. Because of this, I am able to get through more books than ever, because there is more opportunity to read them.
The only downside to using Kindle Unlimited is simply that you have a hard limit of 20 books being renting out at once, but the solution is simple. Just return as soon as you’re done reading a book (or if you’re a bookstagrammer like me, taking a photo for the review), and take out whatever is on your wishlist.
So, yes. Kindle Unlimited is 100 percent worth it. But, that’s just one reader’s opinion.
November is National Writing Month, also known as National Writing Month, and this is the year where I will actually complete my novel. For me, this is going to be a challenge to actually get back into fiction writing. However, for someone who has fallen out of the habit of writing for a while, this is going to be daunting. So, I decided to start preparing for it now. Here’s how:
1. Journal Writing: Writing is writing. Journaling is a great tool for not only writing, but for mental health as well. I’ve been working on trying to be more consistent with my journaling so writing becomes more of a habit.
2. Writing short stories: To get myself back into the practice of writing more fiction, I purchased a book of short story prompts and a notebook to write some short stories. They may not be perfect, but they definitely will help me sharpen my skills in time for November.
3. Mapping Out My Story: Outlining is an essential step of writing, but also one that I slack on. Before I open up that word document on November 1, I want to have as much as I can planned out beforehand. I have been using the Writer’s Workbook, something that I purchased from Amazon, and it has been a great tool to help map out my characters and work on plots and scenes.
Having just gone through the stresses of wedding planning, I’m here from the other, married side to share some tips that I have for the future brides out there stressing about planning a wedding. For those of you who may know, I am a 2023 bride, and am so happy I can leave the stresses of wedding planning behind me.
That said, here are some tips for all of the future brides out there, or for anyone who is planning a wedding:
1. Remember the why.
With every goal that you have, you have to remember the reason why you have the goal. The same goes for wedding planning. Why are you planning this wedding? For me, the wedding planning was because I wanted to celebrate a lifelong commitment to my best friend. I feel like so many brides out there often forget that, and get swept up with the smaller details and drama of the day — myself included. But, the goal is to celebrate two lives molding into one.
2. Create a List:
With so many moving parts, a to-do list is your BFF to make sure that you have everything you need to done.
3. Delegate:
One of the hardest things that I have had to learn was the ability to delegate — whether it was with my bridesmaids, mother in law, or husband to be. Delegating different things helps make it easier than ever before to make sure that you get everything done with as little stress as possible.
4. Make sure you take off time at work the week of and after.
If you’re taking a honeymoon, chances are you’ll have the week after your wedding off; however, I highly recommend that you take off a few days before the wedding for the very reason to give yourself some breathing room. I did not do this, and I highly regret it. There were so many last minute details that I couldn’t attend to during work hours, and of course, it was overwhelming trying to balance everything.
5. Start Early:
With weddings booking into 2025/2026, it’s easy to procrastinate. However, don’t. Try booking the venue ASAP. That said, don’t get me wrong. Enjoy your engagement. Soak it in. But, make sure that if there is a venue that you’ve been dreaming of, you book it.
6. Use Instant Cameras for Guest Book.
One of the best things that I did that was a hit was my guest book, which was using an Instax Mini camera for guests to take pictures and write messages. I loved this because I can see my wedding through the guest’s point of view. I highly recommend it to any bride looking for a unique guest book idea.
TGIF everyone! I have a three day weekend coming up, and I couldn’t be more ready to just take some time for relaxation and fun. I have a few fun things planned, but I also have some fun self care activities for myself planned as well.
But, before we get to the weekend fun, here are this week’s Friday Faves:
1. Spotify’s Daylist: Thank you to my friend Marisa who showed me this really cool feature on Spotify. Basically, all you do is type in “daylist” in your Spotify search bar, and boom, you have a playlist. What I really like about this feature is that it changes based on the time of day. Therefore, I am able to get a different playlist for my various times of day for driving to and from work, as well as playlists based on when I listen when.
2. Dagne Dover Cameron XS Bag: I’ve been carrying this bag a lot lately, simply because it’s a Mary Poppins type bag, which we love. I love that it’s easy to carry everything I need, and it’s just so lightweight. You can see what I carried in my bag in this post here.
3. Essie Espressie Nail Polish: Essie is my favorite brand of nail polish, and I just recently discovered the espressie line, which is the express dry line. I have worn Take the Espresso polish all week, and it has worn wonderfully.
4. Mophe 2 Quad Goals Multi-Palette: I need some makeup that I could bring to work if I was not to put any makeup on. This is such a great thing to have if you no time, and you don’t need to have to carry a brush.
To get waterproof, good quality gold jewelry often comes with the assumption of a hefty price tag as the price of solid gold continues to rise. That said, the popularity of other inexpensive options have continued to grow, from gold plated, gold vermeil, and gold filled — which can loose their luster and gold color over time so you have to baby it.
Enewton promises to change that expectation. According to their website, the brand only sells what their founder, Elizabeth Newton, would wear herself. All of the pieces offer a “commitment to quality materials,” so its wearers can “shower, sweat, sleep, and swim” in their eNewton pieces.
eNewton offers a wide variety of bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and rings, all of which that are gold filled. I have a huge collection of their necklace and bracelets, and they are the perfect everyday pieces.
Let’s take a moment to talk about my favorite pieces of theirs, which are the bracelets. The bracelets come in silver, gold, pearl, and two-toned. They can be worn stacked,or on their own. The price of the bracelets range from $42 to $172, depending on the materials of the bracelet and the size of the beads themselves. The size of the beads range from 2 mm and up.
What I love about eNewton is that it is life proof, but they make a great everyday piece to wear. I love that I can mix metals, or go with a stack that is silver or gold. Furthermore, they also go with my other repeat bracelet offenders, such as my Cape Cod bracelet that I have not taken off since the day I purchased it.
In addition, they also offer gemstone stacking bracelets, which I love because they add a little pop of color to your stack.
That said, I wanted to note one thing about the brand. Many of their bracelets do in fact run on the smaller side, measuring a 6.25 inch circumference. The brand does offer eNewton extends, which is 7.25 inches, and is a much looser fit. I have a 7 inch wrist, and tend to gravitate towards those, because they fit so much more comfortably for stacking purposes. However, I have found that the regular ones do fit as well.
Furthermore, I also have a few of their necklaces, all of which are pieces that I absolutely love. All of the pieces that I have are just great everyday staples that I can wear with anything — dressed up or down, no matter what the color. I love layering them, or layering them with other pieces. The only thing that I do not like about the necklaces is the fact that most of them come in 15 or 16 inches. I bought the extend to go with it, and sometimes don’t mind a necklace fitting closer to my neck. However, I wanted one so I can stack multiple pieces together or make it longer if I so choose. This is one thing that I don’t like about them, because this size may not fit everyone, or fit someone the way that they want it to.
That being said, I will say that the quality of each and every one of my eNewton pieces is 100 percent worth the hype. I don’t like to use the term “investment piece,” but these pieces are ones that you will have for a long time. I do take mine off at night, but I will say that I’ve worn mine to the gym, and yoga and they have not changed colors whatsoever.
Furthermore, the price of $50 is a little higher than some of the other beaded bracelets out there. But, comparing it to other beaded bracelets with the same quality, such as the famous Tiffany and Co. bracelet, or even the Beads and Pave bracelet, this price is a little less hefty, especially since I think they have the same quality as those brands.
With that, I bring up the point that any of these bracelets will become go-tos in your collection. They are worry-free, they go with everything, and they are easy to get on your wrist. Therefore, the cost per wear will lower, but it will also make it a piece that you will have for years to come.
One of the newest bags in my collection is the Dagne Dover Landon in the XS in the black. So far, I love this bag. I love that everything has a compartment and a place, as well as it’s so lightweight. The bag fits a lot, and is so cute.
thenutmegmillennial.com 