back to school shopping round up

Howdy y'all! This week I'm participating in Olivia's back-to-school linkup and I'm super excited! I went clothes shopping this past Saturday so I figured I show y'all a little round up of what I purchased for the new school year! (Just a heads up, this post does contain affiliate links, meaning when you click on one or purchase something I earn a small commission at no charge to you.)

Our first stop, naturally, was Target. I only bought one thing, but trust me when I say I wanted to get literally everything in the store. I've been wanting a basic denim button up for a while now, and I found this one at Target for a little over $20! I think I'm going to get a lot of wear out of it so I'm excited!

Next up, we went to Old Navy where I went NUTS. 99% of my wardrobe is Old Navy because they always have such great stuff! I got a striped long-sleeve, a yellow tank with some gorgeous cut-outs, a new pair of jeans, and a super soft black cardigan. 

  

We also stopped in at Francesca's where I found a beautiful black dress that unfortunately I can't find on their website, but I've linked a similar one here. When I tried it on the sweet sales lady put this necklace with it and I just couldn't resist getting it. On the way out I picked up a black bralette - I've really been wanting one to wear under stuff and needed one to go with my new dress so I went ahead and got it!

Last off, my momma ordered me some new Converse and I am obsessed. I've had my old ones forever now and they are not lookin' too hot!

What are y'all shopping for this back-to-school season? Let me know in the comments!

Have a great day!

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*Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, which means that when you click on one, I may receive a small amount of monetary compensation at no charge to you. However, all opinions expressed are my own.*

how to stay out of the spring break slump

Howdy y'all! This week I'm excited to be participating in the Spring Break Bloggers linkup run by Olivia. It took me a while to come up with something for this, because my family usually doesn't do much at spring break. My mom has a different spring break than my sister and I, and my dad is self-employed, so he's usually working. In recent years, my spring breaks have consisted of laying around, eating an inordinate amount of Girl Scout Cookies, and watching Grey's Anatomy on Netflix. And then I come back to school in what I like to call, the 'spring break slump'. Basically, I'm lazy, tired, and bored which affects every aspect of my life - from school, to church, to social stuff. Here's how you can avoid the spring break slump and stay productive during and after your break.

Get up at the same time you would on a normal day. This is one I struggle with a lot - I'm a really heavy sleeper and once I'm out, I can sleep until noon or later. I've found that when I get up at around the same time I do on school days (or maybe a little later... it is a break, after all), I have much more productive days and it's easier for me to transition back into school.

Don't watch so much dadgum Netflix (or TV in general, really). I mean, it's fine to watch some, but starting a new series at the beginning of your break with the goal to finish it by the end probably isn't the smartest decision. In my experience, once I'm on Netflix for the day, I'm not getting off and when I get back into school, I don't want to do anything because the next season of that show I started is calling my name. I actually gave up Netflix for Lent this year, and I'm so glad I did it!! I've been so much more productive and while I am a little upset I missed the Fuller House release, I'm glad I haven't been wasting so much time.

Do a little spring cleaning. Put that Hamilton soundtrack (but really if you haven't listened to this do it now) on repeat and get to work!! When I get organized I feel less stressed and more productive. Plus, if you do this now, you won't have to worry about it when you're back in school. (Bonus!! If you live at home, like me, your parents will be super hype and more likely to get you the Chipotle you've been craving for weeks.)

Spend some time outside!!!!!! I never go outside enough but it's so nice! Last weekend I went camping with my youth group in Oklahoma and it was so refreshing and fun. I hung in my Eno for hours - and lemme tell ya', you can take some bangin' naps in one of those things. Go outside, read a book, take a nap, play with your dog, whatever!!

How are you staying out of the spring break slump? Let me know in the comments below! Also, here's the link to the rest of the posts in the linkup:

Have a great day!

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be bold linkup: my personal goals

Howdy y'all! This Friday I've got another installation of Be Bold 2016!! I can't believe it's the last one - I've had so much fun doing this linkup hosted by Christina, Gina, Allie, Kate, and Catherine! To see all of my posts, week one I talked about my word of the year, during week two, I told y'all all about my blogging goals, and last week I posted about my health goals. This week I'm talking to ya' about my personal goals for the year.

I've talked about this a lot in my other Be Bold posts, but one of the biggest things I'm trying to focus on this year is my faith. Just like I said in my other posts, praying more, doing more bible studies, and going to church more often are my main goals.

I'm also trying to read A LOT more this year. To be specific, about a book for every two weeks. If you want to see my reading list, I wrote a whole post about it here.

Another big one is to focus more on school. I'm a pretty motivated and good student, but lately I've had problems with procrastination and just really not wanting to work as hard, because I know I can get by without it. Because of that, I've seen a drop in my grades (not crazy or anything, still all A's here, but definitely not up to my standards [basically I'm doing the minimal possible to keep my A, and I don't want to encourage that for myself]).

Something I've been thinking about a lot lately, is my budget. As a high school student that wants to buy everything under the sun, and not having a job other than occasionally babysitting, my financial skills are not the best. I'm planning to create a budget, start putting x amount of whatever I make into a savings account, and hopefully get a steady job at least babysit more often by the end of the year. I'm not really rushing this one because I think if I try to do it all at once, I'll just give up on it, so I'm taking it one step at a time.

Finally, most of y'all know I take piano lessons. I really stink because I don't practice enough, but I have an absolutely amazing teacher and I should be utilizing that resource while I'm still taking lessons. I'm trying to make practicing a part of my daily routine and am choosing songs I love (even if they're a little challenging/completely out of my league) to motivate me.

What are your personal goals this month? Let me know in the comments below.

Have a great day!

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*Disclaimer: This post was not sponsored or endorsed in any way and all opinions expressed are my own.*

be bold linkup: my health goals

Howdy y'all! This FriYAY (okay, but how cute is this term?), I'm back with another Be Bold 2016 Post! This is a month long linkup for blogger's to share their goals run by Christina, Gina, Allie, Kate, and Catherine. You can check out my post from last week here.

This week's prompt was about health goals, and while I will say I'd like to (and need to) drop a few pounds, this year I'm more focused on my mental health.

As I've shared many times before, I have pretty severe social anxiety and just anxiety in general. I have been getting out there more and making friends, but this year I really, really want to step out of my comfort zone (beyond just like, a centimeter). I'm planning to do this by like I said, just getting out there. Saying yes to and going to things I wouldn't normally do, and talking to more people instead of standing around awkwardly.

Another big factor of mental health for me is my spiritual health. I'm working on reading my bible more and praying more (read how I keep up with my prayer list here) and want to continue that this year. I've also been considering getting into bible journaling to have a creative outlet while I worship and study.

Finally in the mental health department, my stress levels have been out the wazoo these first weeks of 2016, and I really want to focus on making time for myself just chilling and doing things I enjoy. This was actually one of my January goals, but I'm planning to extend it throughout the year.

In reference to like, actual, physical health, I'm starting small by just counting my calories with My Fitness Pal. I did this for a few months last year and I lost quite a bit of weight (naturally I gained it all back and then some). Also, water!! I love that stuff and am going to continue to guzzle it forever and ever (you can read my post on the love affair between myself and water here).

What are your health goals for this year? Let me know in the comments below!

Have a great day!

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*Disclaimer: This post was not sponsored of endorsed in any way and all opinions expressed are my own.*

be bold linkup: my blogging goals

Howdy y'all! This week I've got another post for the Be Bold 2016 linkup hosted by Christina, Gina, Allie, Kate, and Catherine. You can check out last week's post on my word of the year here.

This week's prompt is about my blogging goals for this year, and I've got a whole dang lot of 'em, so hold on to what ya' got. :)

First of all I'd really like to stay consistent. I've been doing pretty well with that over the last few months, but at the beginning of 2015, I was all over the place. (Okay, but really though, what the heck was I doing??) I find that when I stay consistent with posts I get a lot more traffic, which is real good.

Speaking of traffic - I want a lot a' that. It's not so much that I'm all about the numbers, but it is very encouraging to me personally to see those stats increase and see my progress. Also, better traffic leads to better opportunities, and more of them. Also, new friends!!

Speaking of new friends - I also want a lot a' them. I've been working so super hard on engagement lately, and I want to continue that to make some blogger besties. Being a part of this community has made me so crazy happy, and that's always a good thing.

I'd really like to work with some companies this year and monetize my blog, but that's really dependent on my traffic.

Like I said in my last post, technical stuff has been a struggle for me so I'm planning to learn a lot about photography, design, and CSS. Really, just research all the blog thingz. Pinterest (follow me here) has been a great resource for that, and I'm definitely going to continue using that platform to learn.

I've got a lot of work to do this year, so get ready for a real rockin' 2016 on Beauty & Blazers. What are your blogging goals this year? Let me know in the comments below!

Have a great day!

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*Disclaimer: This post was not sponsored of endorsed in any way and all opinions expressed are my own.*

be bold linkup: my word of the year

Howdy y'all!! This week I'm super excited to be participating in linkup hosted by Christina, Gina, Allie, Kate, and Catherine. The Be Bold 2016 linkup was created so that bloggers could share their goals for the upcoming year. I think it's a really awesome concept and can't wait to share with y'all! If you want to participate, here's a link to all of the prompts and dates.

This week I'll be talking about my "word of the year" or my one word that describes what I would like 2016 to be like - essentially one big goal. I have seen a ton of bloggers writing and tweeting about this, and think it's such a cool idea to have an all encompassing goal that you can branch other, smaller goals off of for the rest of the year. This was actually a question in a Twitter chat I attend called Creative Coffee Hour. During that chat, I picked "growth" as my word.

In 2015 I finally got back into blogging and couldn't be loving it more, and now that I'm all settled, I'd really like to make some big progress with this site. My pageviews have been growing steadily since I came back, and that is something I'd like to focus on continuing to grow so that I may have the opportunity to work with a few companies and other bloggers.

I'd also like to grow in engagement. I've recently joined a blogging community, She Can, and I am super excited to get to work with all of the lovely ladies involved in that. I want to do more Twitter chats, and linkups, and make some wonderful friends. I want to read more blogs and find new blogs and rediscover old favorites.

I want to grow in the technical side of things. Improving my photography is high on my list, as well as learning to code and design my website to make it the best it can be. I want to learn all of the things I should already know about blogging and just learn in general!

Even outside of blogging, growth is a great word to describe what I want to do this year. I want to grow my faith and learn all about my great Lord. I want to grow my knowledge and soak up all the information I can. I want to grow as a sister, a daughter, a cousin, and a friend.

I want this year to be the year I work hard. I want this year to be the year I love others a whole dang lot. I want this year to be the year I live more like Jesus. I want this year to be a year of growth.

What's your word of the year? Tell me in the comments below!

Have a great day!

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*Disclaimer: This post was not sponsored or endorsed in any way and all opinions expressed are my own.*

blogger secret santa

Howdy y'all, and merry Christmas!! Christmas is definitely my favorite holiday, so I'm super excited about today, and specifically this post. I participated in the Blogger Secret Santa linkup hosted by Cathleen and Olivia, so today I'll be sharing who I was Santa for and who my Santa was!

First off, I was a Santa for Pick Your Beau. I was super excited to buy for her because her blog is absolutely precious!! From her wishlist, I picked out a couple of things including some Lush goodies and a few other things. To find out more about what I got her, make sure to check out her blog!!

My Santa ended up being Rachel from Seashells & Sparkles. She is such a sweetheart so I was very excited when I found out it was her! Rachel gave me an adorable initial mug which I am absolutely obsessed with along with some earl grey tea. She also sent me a really pretty pink lipstick, and 2 pairs of fuzzy socks which I have been wearing non-stop. :) Finally she hooked me up with this candy stash of Twizzlers, Reeses cups, and Kit Kats.

All of us bloggers have pretty similar taste, so this was a really fun group to engage with! If you'd like to find out more about what everyone got, make sure to visit Cathleen or Olivia's sites to look at the link list. Also, I'd love to hear what you gave or received this Christmas, so make sure to leave me a comment below!

Finally, I'd like to leave you with a bible verse that really touched my heart this morning, "A light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness." Isaiah 9:2. When Jesus came into this world, it was lit up by Him and the hope He gave to man from the very day of His birth, to His death on the cross, where He saved us from our sins. As you celebrate today, remember to say a prayer of thanks, and always remember the reason for the season.

Wishing you a joyful Christmas,

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the ultimate christmas playlist

Howdy y'all! After my week long hiatus, I'm happy to be back with a new Gal Pal Holiday post. This super fun linkup is hosted by Cathleen, Rachel, and Cristina (read my October and November posts at the links). I start listening to Christmas music in July, so I'm pretty ready to share my "Ultimate Christmas Playlist" with y'all.

I use Spotify to listen to all of my tunes. Spotify is such a great platform because it allows you to listen to literally anything and save it so you always have access to it. It also allows you to save music to you phone so you can play it even when you're offline. I personally invest in Premium which is $10 a month, and I think it's worth every cent.

Now originally, my Spotify was linked to my personal Facebook account, so I haven't shared it for obvious reasons, but since I really want to be able to share my playlists with y'all, I have made another account and will probably be switching over to that one eventually. All of my playlists have been moved there so you can listen to them now!! Here's the link, or you can look up beautynblazers in the search bar.

Now on to the playlist, I started making this thing in like, October, and it's pretty rockin' - I won't lie. I've got everything from folky Christmas, to jazzy Christmas, to country Christmas. Not to mention the classic and silly tunes. Here's the link to the physical playlist and I will also list all of the songs below.

Mvmt. I, "Rejoice, Rejoice!" by the Oh Hellos from the Oh Hellos Family Christmas Album

Mvmt. II, "Begin and Never Cease" by the Oh Hellos from the Oh Hellos Family Christmas Album

Mvmt. III, "Silent Night, Holy Night" by the Oh Hellos from the Oh Hellos Family Christmas Album

Mvmt. IV, "Every Bell on Earth Will Ring" by Oh Hellos from the Oh Hellos Family Christmas Album

Twinkle (Little Christmas Lights) by J.D. McPherson from Twinkle (Little Christmas Lights)

Blue Christmas by Michael Buble from Christmas (Deluxe Special Edition)

Cold December Night by Michael Buble from Christmas (Deluxe Special Edition)

Mis Deseos/Feliz Navidad (duet with Thalia) by Michael Buble/Thalia from Christmas (Deluxe Special Edition)

Baby It's Cold Outside (duet with Michael Buble) by Idina Menzel, Michael Buble from Holiday Wishes

Baby It's Cold Outside - feat. Norah Jones by Willie Nelson from ...Featuring

Christmas Coming Home by Lennon & Maisy from Christmas Coming Home

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear by Josh Groban from Noel

Believe by Josh Groban from The Polar Express - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Special Edition

Hot Chocolate by Tom Hanks form The Polar Express - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Special Edition

Dominick the Donkey - The Italian Christmas Donkey by Lou Monte, Joe Reisman's Orchestra and Chorus from Christmas with Lou Monte

All I Want for Christmas is You by Mariah Carey from Christmas Hits

I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas by Gayla Peevey from I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas - EP

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas by Harry Connick Jr. from What a Night! A Christmas Album

Baby, It's Cold Outside by the Robertsons from Duck the Halls: A Robertson Family Christmas

Ragin' Cajun Redneck Christmas by the Robertsons from Duck the Halls: A Robertson Family Christmas

Away in a Manger by the Robertsons, Sadie Robertson, Alison Krauss from Duck the Halls: A Robertson Family Christmas

I may be adding a few songs to this as time goes on, but for now I really like what I've got! What are some of your favorite Christmas songs? Let me know in the comments below!!

Have a great day!

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*Disclaimer: This post was not sponsored or endorsed in any way and all opinions expressed are my own.*

diy thanksgiving place cards

Howdy y'all! This week I'm comin' to ya with a new post for the Gal Pal Holiday linkup, hosted by Cathleen, Cristina, and Rachel. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and we all know how I feel about gratitude (read my post about it here), so this week I'm going to show y'all how I made some little turkey place cards for our family dinner.

In celebration of all the things we've been blessed with, my family always does a Thanksgiving dinner at my Grammie's house. It's the whole sha-bang complete with turkeys and stuffing and pumpkin pie. My Grammie usually does the place cards (she has mad calligraphy skillz) but this year, I've requested that myself and my little cousins, Sarah (6) and Emily (2), be recruited to make them.

What you're gonna need:
a whole dang lot a' fall colored card stock/paper
scissors
glue (I used tacky glue so it would dry quick)
pens/markers (I used this Prismacolor brush pen and a metallic pen from the dollar spot at Target)

How I did it:

First off, I used Sarah's hand as a stencil to create your basic hand turkey with the brown card stock. Sarah drew, and I cut, about 15 for our group. After cutting them, I hand-lettered all of them with the names of our group, and drew a little accent at the bottom in the metallic marker.

After doing this, Sarah drew and cut out feathers in red, orange, yellow, and green card stock which I then drew designs on, again in the metallic marker (I think the metallic really makes is pop, and seems very fall-ish). Then I glued 2 of each color feather onto each of the body's, but you could always do more, or less.

Finally, I finished these cute lil' guys off with a beak, which I made by cutting triangles out of the yellow paper. Then I added a little red thingy (I think they're called giblets??) below the beak with some red paper, and just drew a black dot for the eye.

These really didn't take very long, and the only difficult part was cutting out so many feathers. Also, I never did figure out a way to make them stand up, so we will just be laying them flat on the plates at our dinner. Here are a few more pictures of the process and the finished product.

(Snack break ft. Cheez-Its)

What kind of DIY's are you doing to get ready for your Thanksgiving events? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter!

Have a great day!

making halloween plans, even if you hate halloween

Howdy y'all! This week I am participating in the #galpalholiday linkup hosted by Cathleen, Rachel, and Cristina. I am so so pumped for this linkup especially because it's my first one!! This week's theme was Witches, Ghouls, and Goblins.

I have never really been a big fan of Halloween, mostly because I'm such a scaredy-cat. In recent years, however, my friends usually had other plans, which resulted in me staying home, eating candy and waiting for someone to show up at the door in a neighborhood where no one trick-or-treats. Not exactly the ideal situation. This year I have vowed to have a good holiday, even though I am definitely not a fan. Here are a few ideas to make your night awesome, even if you just aren't all that into Halloween.

The obvious answer, at least to me, hang out with some kids. They all wear cute little costumes and are so pumped up and once the night is over they're practically drunk on candy. You're guaranteed to see a baby Yoda and have a hilarious night. Actually, my plan this year is to go out with my little cousins Sarah, who is six, and Emily, who is two. Needless to say, I'm pretty excited.

Now while I may not be a lover of Halloween, fall is my actual jam. If you really aren't feelin' those spooky vibes, just have a "fall themed night". Basically, paint or carve a pumpkin, drink some cider, eat a whole lot of apple crisp, and wear fuzzy socks while jamming out to an autumnal playlist and/or Rusty Clanton's song, "Fall". (Don't forget to take an Instagram picture that's cute as frick)

Finally, if you are simply too lazy to even, get your Disney groove on and queue up Twitches, Halloween Town, and Hocus Pocus, not to mention some Charlie Brown. Eat some junk food with seasonal packaging to really get that festivity going.

Sorry this post was so short, but Friday's post is a good one so get ready for that! :) Do you love Halloween or hate it? Let me know all about it and your plans this year in the comments below!

Have a great day!