Beauty & Blazers: monthly post

Showing posts with label monthly post. Show all posts

Saturday, October 29, 2016

october favorites

Y'all, I say this every month, but I seriously cannot believe that October is already over!! I'm seriously so pumped for the holidays and specifically CHRISTMAS. But, since it's still October, here are a few things I was loving this month.

one // SOCKOS
Holy guac y'all. I know I've talked about how much I love my Chacos quite a bit on the blog, but Sockos bring it to a whole new level. Basically, you just wear socks under your Chacos and it's the comfiest thing you'll ever put on your feet even if you do look a little bit like your grandpa when you wear 'em.

A photo posted by Alison Helms (@beautynblazers) on Oct 24, 2016 at 5:41am PDT

two // Jessica Whitaker's Build & Bloom Photography Facebook Group
Okay so I have a couple photography faves for this month, because that's been on my mind a lot, but this Facebook group is AMAZING!! Everyone in it is so talented and I'm so inspired by all the images I see daily. Also, if you've never looked at Jessica Whitaker's work, you are MISSING OUT. Her photos are gorgeous and her YouTube is awesome for anyone trying to learn more about photography!!

three // Amy & Jordan Demos
For all my photography fans out here, this husband and wife team is seriously SO TALENTED. Also, they're freakin' adorable. They live in Arizona and take beautiful desert pictures in crazy desert light and they're definitely some of my favorite photographers right now. They have a amazing blog and newsletter for learnin' all about photography and how to run a business and it's been my go-to resource since starting Dixie Marie Photography!

A photo posted by Amy Demos (@amy_demos) on Oct 27, 2016 at 6:55pm PDT

four // allie biddle embroidered art
This girl is a local artist I've been following for a while, and I finally got to buy one of her pieces a couple weeks ago - I'm obsessed!! She does embroidery hoops with cute lil patterns, and she also does embroidered cards and notebooks. Her stuff is super cute and very well made! 10/10 would recommend to a friend ;)

That's all for this month!! What were you loving in October? Tell me about it in the comments!

Have a great day!

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Monday, October 3, 2016

october goals

Happy October, friends!! September flew by, and it's already time for me to share my October goals! However, I'm trying to change it up a little this month. Typically, my goal posts consist of general statements and a little elaboration about what I want to work on that month, but this month I'd like to make it a more actionable plan for myself, and a more interactive experience for my readers! In an effort to do that, I'll be going into a lot more detail about how I plan to accomplish my goals, and making accompanying 'challenges' for any of y'all that have the same goals as me. I'm super excited about this and really hope it will help make my content a little more worth-while for y'all!!

First, a September recap. My biggest goal for September was to book at least two senior shoots for my photography business. I actually had two booked, but one girl unfortunately had to cancel on me. I'm hoping she'll be able to try again in the spring, but we'll see! I also have a family shoot booked in a few weeks and I've got quite a few people who are interested in booking. Last month, I also wanted to grow my engagement in the blogging community. I'd say I okay on this, but not great. I read and commented on a lot of blogs and finally got my Instagram mojo back after a major creative rut, but I didn't do so well with Twitter and kind of slacked off on writing posts toward the end of the month. I also really needed to study for the PSAT. That didn't happen. I haven't had much time with school, but you can bet that'll be something I work on this month. My final goal for September was to start working out more. This also didn't happen, but this month I'm joining the Tone It Up 31 Day Challenge, and am planning to follow that so it's a little less open ended.

My biggest goal in October is to establish a daily Bible reading plan for myself that I actually follow. One of the blogs I follow on Twitter, Seersucker Sass, tweets out a chapter of the day every day so that her followers can read along with her, and I'm planning to do something pretty similar. I'm starting out with a study of Isaiah and I'll be tweeting out the chapter of the day every morning so y'all can follow along. I've also made the graphic below to show what chapter we'll be on for every day of the month.

I also really want to work on improving my photography skills this month. I've been feeling kind of down in the dumps in terms of photography and have been playing a lot of the comparison game. I really want to learn more about my camera and editing and that really just means more practice and more research. I'm going to start the 365 photography challenge (you make an album of one shot from every day of the year) and am going to practice with my Classroom in a Book Photoshop Book.

Finally, I really want to step up my piano game this month. Over the last few months I've been really disappointed with myself for not working more diligently toward improving my piano. I'm lucky enough that my parents pay for my lessons and that I have a piano - I need to take advantage of that resource more effectively. Most of the time I just practice whenever I remember to, but I'm going to start including piano in my everyday to-do list and setting an alarm on my phone to remind me to practice at a specific time.

Usually, I try to post 4-5 goals every month, but in addition to creating more actionable plans for reaching my goals, I want to scale down the number of things I'm trying to accomplish every month so I can really focus in on the one's I've planned for, so this month I'm only sharing 3 goals with y'all.

What are your goals for October?

Have a great day!

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

september favorites

I seriously cannot believe that September is already coming to a close!! I say that every month, but it always feels so short. This month I discovered a lot of freakin' cool new stuff, and I'm super pumped to share that with y'all!

one // kitchen aid tea kettle
My mom bought us this tea kettle at the beginning of the month and I'm seriously obsessed with it. I mean, it's a YELLOW TEA KETTLE!! How much cuter can it get? I love boiling some water in it to make my Harney & Sons peppermint tea and I can't even wait until I can start making hot chocolate later in the fall.

two // ban.do compliment generator
My favorite brand, Ban.do, released this adorable little compliment generator on their website a couple weeks ago and I love it! If you're ever having a really low self-esteem day or just need an afternoon pick-me-up, this little compliment machine is the way to go.

three // chance the rapper, coloring book
I know I'm so late to the party on this one, but I just started listening to Coloring Book and I love it!! I don't really listen to that much rap music (besides for Hamilton, of course) but I like Chance because his music is happy and not gross and doesn't make misogynistic comments and talks about God a lil' bit!! My favorites on the album are Angels, How Great, and All We Got.

four // target day designer planner

I've had this planner since the beginning of the school year, but the last couple weeks (and coming weeks) have been CRAZY and this thing has been a life saver! While I loved my Erin Condren, I'm actually enjoying this planner a lot more and it was so, so much cheaper.

five // bloglovin'
I used to not be a fan of Bloglovin' but they recently updated it making it a lot easier to use, and now it's my favorite way to read blogs! Before I started using it, I had a difficult time staying engaged and updated on all the blogs I follow, but now I can see everything in one place, as well as keep track of the traffic that my blog is getting from Bloglovin'. I'm always looking for new blogs to read, so leave your Bloglovin' link in the comments so I can follow you!

What are you loving this month?

Have a great day!

Saturday, September 3, 2016

september goals

Howdy y'all! I can't believe it's already September - it feels like just yesterday I was writing posts for the Be Bold Linkup in January, and it's been 9 months! As usual, with the start of a new month I've got a goals post for y'all!

Since I wasn't able to write a goals post for August, I just kind of rolled over my goals from July and continued to work on those. Here's a quick recap of how I did. My big goal for this summer overall, was to step out of my anxiety comfort zone and make some new friends. Y'ALL. I can not even explain to you the progress I've made in the last two months. I started taking anxiety supplements in July (let me know if you'd like to see a post specifically about that), and since then I've been on a roll!! I have overcome my anxiety in so many ways, but in terms of social anxiety, I've never even felt this level of comfort and excitement about talking to people. That's not to say that my anxiety has gone away (trust me, it's still there), but I've made huge steps in overcoming it. My next big goal was to work a lot on the blog. I did really well in July, but kind of slacked off in August. It's hard to keep up with right at the beginning of school, but I'm working on it. I also wanted to start looking for more photo opportunities to pull me out of the photography rut I've been having and while I was still kinda struggling in July, August has really been looking up for me in that department and I think I finally got my mojo back! Finally, I wanted to use my planner more. I really didn't use it for the rest of summer, but since school started I've been working in that puppy like there's no tomorrow!!

My biggest goal for August is to try to book at least 2 senior shoots for my photography business. I just ran a huge promo where I got 1 booking, but I'm hoping to get a few more as the year goes on. Even if I can't book 2 that are set in stone, I'd at least like to talk to a few of the seniors I know about their senior photos and see if they'd even be remotely interested in me. :)

Another thing I want to work on is growing my engagement in the blogging community. I've been working on that a little all summer but I'd really like to push it a little more this month. I'm hoping to do a few more Twitter chats (I've been slacking on those a lot) and comment on and read more blogs. (Send me a link so I can follow you on Bloglovin' if ya wanna!!)

Next up, I really need to be studying for the PSAT a lot this month. I'm eligible for National Merit this year and I'm really hoping I can get it so that I'll be more likely to get some scholarships. I bought a practice book as well as a strategy book, so I'll be working out of those a lot this month as well as studying on Khan Academy.

Lastly, I'm planning to start working out more this month. My dad has been going to the gym everyday after work so I'm going to start tagging along a few days a week and hopefully start running in the mornings as well!

What are your goals for September?

Have a great day!

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

august favorites

Howdy y'all! It feels like I haven't done a favorites post in forever and it's only been two months! I was really sad about not getting the chance to do my July goals and favorites because these are some of my favorite posts to write! I'm super pumped to share a few of the things I've been loving this August.

one // Harney & Sons tea
I've always had a thing for tea and while I won't say I like tea better than coffee, I drink more tea at home than I do coffee. I tried Harney & Sons for the first time a few years ago and I love it!! I haven't had it for awhile but when my mom and I went to Target last week it was on sale and I just couldn't say no! I will admit, I think the branding nerd inside of me just bought it for the gorgeous packaging.

two // black Old Navy cardigan
Y'ALL. If you don't have one of these cardigans, you are seriously missing out. I bought it for back-to-school and have been wearing it non-stop because it's just so comfy!! It's a little pricey in my opinion but it's such a staple that I think it's worth stocking up on a few of 'em.

three // The Constitutional Thought of Thomas Jefferson by David N. Meyer
I've been working on this book for quite some time now, but in the past few weeks I've been really digging in and trying to get through it. Thomas Jefferson had some very, very interesting governmental ideas and I'm having so much fun learning about them! If you're a history buff like me, I would definitely recommend this book.

four // Room Essentials bath towels from Target
I was in serious need of some new bath towels, (mine were absolutely nasty) so my mom and I got a couple at Target and I'm obsessed with them. They had some really pretty colors and I ended up getting this stripey one and this solid peach one. I'm planning to redecorate my bathroom in the near future and thought these colors would look pretty so I'm excited! Plus, they're cheap and super soft!!

five // A Color Story
I finally got on board and downloaded A Color Story and I really like it! If you don't know, it's a photo editing app that just about every blogger on the planet raves about. When I tried it out the first few times I was a little skeptical, but now I've kind of got the hang of it. I'm not sure that it will ever be able to replace VSCO, but I've enjoyed messing around with it!

A photo posted by Alison Helms (@beautynblazers) on Aug 27, 2016 at 5:33pm PDT

six // 30,000 feet playlist
My family went on vacation in Colorado at the very beginning of August and I put together a playlist for all the travel we would be doing, but I've become obsessed with it for much more than just the occasional plane ride. It's got a few of my all-time favorite artists and some new finds, so you should definitely listen!

What have you been loving this month? Let me know in the comments!

Have a great day!

Saturday, July 2, 2016

july goals

Howdy y'all! I actually cannot believe it's already July - summer is going by so quickly!! I've got a lot planned for July, so I'm super pumped to share this month's goals with you!!

First, here's a quick recap of my June goals. First off I wanted to work a lot on my photography business which was definitely the goal I did the best on! I did three shoots and booked four more, so I'm doing pretty well there - if you want to see some of my work, I have blog posts up on my website and a Facebook page where you can keep updated! I also wanted to do daily bible reading and journaling this month, which I'm ashamed to say just didn't really happen. I started the month off strong but as I got busy I let it slide. I'm hoping to do better in July! My next goal was to bring a lot of attention to and educate more people on Alzheimer's Disease. June was Alzheimer's Awareness Month, and I think I did pretty well bringing some attention to it! I tweeted a lot about it and tried to talk to anyone that would listen. I wanted to be able to read more, but again it just didn't happen. Right now I'm thinking there will be a lot more time to read in July, so we'll see!

As y'all are reading this, I'll be at a church camp which is the first of three camps I'm going to in July. This is definitely the most I've ever done in one summer and I'm gonna be around a lot of people I don't know well, so this month I'd really like to step out of my anxiety comfort zone and meet some cute new friends. :) This is going to be a tough one and I'll probably be exhausted but I think it will be worth it in the long run.

I also want to do a lot of blogging stuff this month. I kind of slacked off in the middle of June, but I picked it back up at the end of the month and I'm super happy with the way my content turned out. I'm also working on being more present on social media and making some blogging besties!!

Because I did so much in June with my photography business, I really slacked off on my personal photography and blog photography. I'm really missing that (and my Instagram feed is struggling), so this month I want to look for photo opportunities where ever I am. In the past, this has really helped me when I get in a creative rut, and I'm hoping it will help now too!

Finally, I want to start using my planner again. I've barely used it since school got out, but on the weeks that I did it was super helpful. This will be especially helpful this month because of how much I'm going to have going on.

What are your goals for July?

Have a great day!

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

june favorites

Howdy y'all! As we're reaching the end of June, it's time for yet another favorites post! These have easily started to become one of my favorite posts to write since I started doing them, so I'm excited to share what I'm loving this June!

one // black nike shorts
I've always had a lot of trouble finding shorts that fit me well and I'm also cheap as heck so you can guess how that affected the short search. I went to Academy and they had Nike shorts like $10 off, so I decided to give them a try. Aaaaand naturally out of all the ones I tried on, these were the only ones that fit right. I really do love them, even if I'm a little salty that I can't find cheap shorts.

two // flamingo and donut pool floats
We just got our pool all cleaned up for the summer so my sister decided to buy some cute pool floaties. We got these donut and flamingo ones from Target and are hardcore obsessed with them. Plus, they fit my Instagram aesthetic so really just 10/10 would recommend.

three // alaska by maggie rogers
I found out about this song through a video my mom shared on Facebook, and she finally released it about a week ago! I'm literally in love with this song and all of the rest of this girl's music.

four // The Young Hopeful blog
Y'all this blog is seriously so good - I've talked about them on Twitter a lot, but I don't think I've ever mentioned them on the blog! Even though it's a college blog, I've gotten a lot of great stuff from them even as a high schooler. They recently had their one year blogiversary, so make sure to check them out!!

five // barklyn grace usa tee
This company is too stinkin' cute and a percentage of all profits go to dogs shelters and rescues. They recently released their 4th of July tee and I'm obsessed with it! If you'd like to order from them, use my code "Alison20" for a 20% discount on your purchase!!

What were your favorite things this June?

Have a great day!

Saturday, June 4, 2016

june goals

Howdy y'all! As is tradition, after posting my monthly favorites, it's time for my goals for the new month! This is what I'm hoping to accomplish in June.

First, here's a recap of my May goals. My first goal in May was to workout more often, which just didn't between finals and the end of year stuff happening. I also needed to get ready for all my tests which I ACED! I'm super confident with how all my finals went and I'm so glad we're finally done! I also wanted to work on photography, calligraphy, and lettering a lot which I did a TON of this month. I've been working on my photography business all week and did a few custom orders for calligraphy. Finally, I wanted to get some spring cleaning done. I did clean up this week but all month I've been an absolute mess so I guess I failed but also succeeded?

My first goal this June is to get a bunch of shoots done and work more on my photography business. I've booked a ton of shoots for this month and have been working on setting up prices and a calendar for my business. I'm super excited about how it's going and can't wait to book more!

I also want to focus a lot on daily bible reading and journaling. I'm starting a 99 day challenge with the girls' bible study group at my church and will be reading 4 books of the bible and journaling about them everyday.

June is Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month so I want to bring a lot of attention to and educate more people on Alzheimer's. I'm planning to use all my various forms of social media to get the word out and just talk to more people about what the disease is!

This month I would love to read a lot. I'm super behind on my 2016 reading list so this is a big one for this month. I'm currently working on a book about Thomas Jefferson and after that I'd really like to read Girl Boss!

That's it for this month's goals! What are you hoping to accomplish in June? Let me know in the comments below!

Have a great day!

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

may favorites

Howdy y'all! I haven't had a post up in this last week because I've been super busy with finals and then we had Memorial Day weekend off - I'm a mess. Even though it's already the first day of June, I wanted to go ahead and post my May favorites. Here's what I've been loving this month!

one // 22 summer blog post ideas
Rachel over at Seashells + Sparkles put this post up a few days ago and I was super pumped about it!! I've been having kind of a creative block in the post ideas area, so I'm super excited to use her prompts for some summer inspiration!

two // twin tides otter ball cap
I recently found out about Twin Tides from Cathleen's Instagram! Their stuff is so nice and this ball cap is callin' my name (even if I can't decide which color I like best). If you want to place an order with this cutie company, you can get 15% off your entire order with my code "Alison15"

three // cutie ban.do downloads
As I'm sure you've all gathered from posts past, I'm high key obsessed with ban.do. I recently found out that they have a whole page dedicated to downloads!! A whole page, people!! As you can probably imagine, I've downloaded basically every single one and honestly I've never been more lit.

four // dear wormwood by the oh hellos
I've been listening to this album NON. STOP. all month!! It's truly one of the most beautiful albums I've ever listened to (especially on vinyl) and I love love love that they based it around the Screwtape Letters (which I actually just read and reviewed). Also, if you're going to listen, listen to it in order first!! It's a concept album so all of the songs flow together like one big piece, plus you get to hear the story!

five // z/2 chacos in wicker mandarin

I just got Chacos a few weeks ago and I am obsessed!! They're super comfy (after you break them in a lil' bit) and go with almost everything. Over the weekend, I brought them to the lake and they were perfect for trudging around all over the place and were totally fine if they got a little wet. So far, I'm loving them!

That't it for this month's favorites!! What have you been loving for May? Let me know in the comments below!

Have a great day!

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Saturday, May 7, 2016

may goals

Howdy y'all! Now that May is officially here, it's time for another installment of my monthly goals.

First, here's a recap of my April goals. My first goal of April was to start drinking more water again, which I rocked the socks off of. I also wanted to work really hard towards driver's ed, which went well for the first part of the month but was kind of a bust after that. With all of the standardized testing and finals coming up, I really wanted to get studying to ace those tests. I think I did well on the ones I've taken, but I have an AP test next week that I'm SUPER nervous for. I also wanted to keep a more positive attitude. While April was better than March, I still kind of had a crap month and it appears that's going to continue into May. I'm really just looking forward to getting this semester over with.

My first goal of May is to try to workout more often. I can't say that I'm going to do it everyday because I have so much stuff happening this month, but I signed up for the 8 week Bikini Series (even though I don't wear bikinis) with Tone It Up. The first 2 weeks I kind of failed, but I'm hoping to get into it in the following weeks.

With finals coming up, I want to be prepared so I can end the semester on a good note. I created a study plan to get ready for my tests and am planning to have some sort of finals prep almost every day.

Something I've really been missing as of late is all my creative hobbies (besides blogging of course). I really want to be able to work on my photography, hand lettering, and calligraphy more because I am having major withdrawals. I'm planning a big calligraphy project for when school gets out and am hoping to do more blog photography this month, but it just all depends on how busy I am.

Do a little spring cleaning. Y'all, I'm a hot mess. Our house is disgusting (which isn't completely my fault), my room is a mess, and my bathroom is a straight up pig sty. I'm hoping to get some stuff done this weekend and the rest of the month I'm going to try to keep up with it more.

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

Have a great day!

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

april favorites

Howdy y'all! It's May! Wow! No but really, it's super crazy to me that my sophomore year is almost over (also super exciting). Anyhow, I've gotta finish off April with my monthly favorites - here's what I've been loving this month.

All of the outfits in my most recent post. I'm not even sorry about the shameless promo - I'm highkey obsessed.

THE NEW BAN.DO AGENDAS OH MY GOODNESS. I can't even believe how beautiful they are. This one is my favorite right now.

Summer is a comin' and I really need a new bathing suit. I love these Kourtni Jeane swimmers. Right now, I'm liking this top and this bottom.

Sunflowers. Y'all, I already love sunflowers, but this month they're just 10x more beautiful to me than normal. Really I've just been overly attracted to anything yellow this month.

The song "Kingdom Come" by Joel Ansett. I don't know why I'm so obsessed with this song but I really like it a lot.

I recently started watching New Girl again on Netflix, and I went through like a season and a half in one weekend. It's so frickin' funny, y'all!

What have you been loving this month, friends? Let me know in the comments below!

Have a great day!

Saturday, April 2, 2016

april goals

Howdy y'all! For the first post of April, I've got a new installment of my monthly goals!!

First, here's a recap of my March goals. My biggest goal for March was to finish up the yearbook. Unfortunately, we missed our deadline, but we are much closer than we were this time last year and are hoping to finish this week. I also wanted to spend a lot more time outdoors, which I did a lot of in the beginning of the month, but slacked off on towards the end of March. With my AP World History test coming up, I was planning to start studying really hard which was a total bust. I am however starting to study now, so hopefully I'll be ready to go by test day. Finally, I wanted to start a budget. I didn't actually get one on paper, but I did do a really great job of saving my money in March, so that's a huge plus.

My first big goal of April is to get back to drinking a lot of water. Y'all know how I feel about water (in fact I wrote a whole post about it), but lately I haven't been drinking as much and I am definitely feeling the effects of that. I'm going to try to start drinking at least a Liter if not 2 every day.

This month I really want to work hard towards my driver's ed stuff. I am 16, but we didn't get my permit until about 2 weeks ago, so I'm going to try to get my license ASAP. I have to complete a butt ton of online driver's ed and start on actually like, driving a vehicle so yeah...

All students know that April and May are the months where you have to take like 5,000 standardized tests, but unfortunately I'm an overachiever and am going to have to take like 10,000. So, I'm going to study really hard for all those tests and also work towards some better grades to finish out my last quarter of sophomore year. My grades are definitely not bad (still A's), but I want them a little higher and I also want to like, actually learn things.

Finally, I want to keep a more positive attitude in April. March was a really tough month for me. I'm exhausted and annoyed by a multitude of things and it is really affecting my behavior in that I'm a Negative Nancy all the time. I love spring and April has a lot of exciting stuff coming up, so I want to maintain a better attitude and whole-heartedly participate in one of my favorite months.

What are your goals for April? Let me know in the comments below!!

Have a great day!

Saturday, March 26, 2016

march favorites

Howdy y'all! I can't believe it's already time for March favorites, but here we are! If you want to read last months favorites, you can check it out here.

This sweater from Target. I bought it early in the month and have been wearing it non-stop bc all the spring vibes.

This month I started a lil photography business and I'm a little obsessed with the photos I've taken and the platform I'm sharing them on.

Cacti. I already had an obsession with all succulents but this month I finally got a cactus (her name is Peggy Sue if you were wondering), and it is so lit.

Y'all if you've never ordered from Jimmy John's, you are hardcore missing out. I always order the turkey slim with provolone and some salt & vinegar chips - A1.

The last week or so I've been reading Pride & Prejudice (aka my favorite book of all time). I've read it several times before, but the story never gets old and I grow to love it more every time. Jane Austen, you da' real MVP.

Cristina's productivity tips post rocked my socks this month. I watch her snap story and that girl is always getting stuff done, so these have gotta work! Also just her whole blog is pretty bangin'.

What have you been loving this month? Let me know in the comments below!

Have a great day!