Fall 2014 Wishlist: H&M

Hello Everyone! Today I thought I would write a post on what I am currently lusting after at H&M this season. As fall is rolling in, and as I am realizing that quite a bit of my clothes no longer fit as I have lost some weight over the past year, I have been spending a lot of time at the mall trying to re-stock my wardrobe. I have already done quite a bit of shopping and hope to post a few hauls soon (I get home too late to have natural sunlight for photos, so I'm waiting on a good photo taking day), but for now, here is what I am lusting after from H&M!

1. H&M Black Combat Boots $39.95; 2. H&M Hooded Sweater in Black $24.95; 3. H&M Plaid Cotton Shirt $29.95; 4. H&M Long Sleeve Jersey Top $14.95.

 

 

1. Since fall of last year, I have been trying to find the perfect pair of combat boots that if purchased, wouldn't drain my bank account. And I believe I have found just that. When I went into H&M a couple weeks back, I instantly fell in love with this pair, and when I looked at the price tag, I fell even more in love. Combat boots are the perfect fall boot, and will keep my feet and ankles warm in the cool Canadian fall air, and will last me into the beginning of winter, before the 4-5 foot snow banks arrive. They are trendy, can go with about any outfit, and the price tag is perfect for those of us who can't afford a pair of Doc Martens.

 

2. This is a pretty basic and rather boring item, but I need a simple black hoodie. There are so many times when I put on an outfit and wish I had a black hoodie to throw over top. Immediately I wish I could run to American Apparel and grab all of their unisex hoodies off the shelf, but that would only result in an empty bank account. These look almost identical to the AA ones, but the price tag is much more reasonable. I am specifically lusting over a black one, but will probably grab a few in other colours as well while I'm there.

 

3. Plaid shirts are all the rave right now for fall, and when I saw this in store, I fell in love. It feels absolutely cozy as can be, and I love the colour. It would be perfect to throw on over a plain white tee with a pair of American Eagle sky high jeggings (this pair that I own would look perfect in this ensemble) or to tie around my waist. I don't own very much plaid, and don't wear it very often, but I am totally in love with this shirt.

 

4. As much as I love sweaters, sometimes I get bored of wearing the same sweaters over and over during the fall & winter, and in Canada, you won't catch me dead in fall or winter in just a tee shirt. Therefore, I have been looking for the perfect loose long sleeve tee, and have had my eyes set on these basic long sleeve jersey shirts. I could pair these with a simple necklace and a pair of light wash skinnies or boyfriend jeans for a casual, everyday look, or pair them with a pair of leather leggings and a statement necklace for a night out.

 

Well, that's all for what I'm currently lusting after at H&M and let me know if you would like me to do more fashion/style related posts, as I haven't delved into that area much as of yet, and love shopping as much as the next girl!

 

Hoping you are all having a fabulous day, and let me know in the comments what you're currently lusting after for fall!

 

Ally

xoxox









STRESS

Happy Monday everyone! Well, today I wanted to talk about stress. Well, really it only just occurred to me just now that I wanted to write this post.

Stress. Stress is an everyday evil in my world. And I'm sure in most of yours it is too. If you tell me you have absolutely zero stress in your life, I probably won't believe you. It's something we all deal with, and so it is probably good if we learn how to deal with it. This is a big issue in my life right now as I deal with my own stress and often have to help others deal with theirs. I did want to be a therapist, so this is something I am quite passionate about. So, I have decided to include a few things in here that help me when I am stressed, and that perhaps you can give a try the next time you are stressed.

1. Get a second opinion before reacting to the situation at hand. When you get stressed your body goes into fight or flight mode. All of those brain chemicals have your heart rate either up, or down, may have your hands clammy, your mind racing.... and sometimes we may react too quickly in those situations. Before making a rash decision, sit down with someone you trust, let them know what's going on, and get a second opinion. You may realize you are stressing over nothing, and they may be able to talk you through calming yourself down and helping you realize the options you have that you may not be thinking of while really stressed.

2. Take on one task at a time. While I was in school, and now working as a receptionist, there are often times when I find I have a hundred things to do all at once and I get really stressed out about having so much stuff to do. My advice? Take it one task at a time. Instead of trying to do little bits of all of your tasks at a time, and stressing about all of the work you have, take one task, perhaps the most urgent or the one that's due first, and focus on that until it's done, and then move onto the next one. You will not only accomplish a lot more and feel less stressed, but your work will be better quality than if you did small bits of each task at once.

3. Breathe. I know this is a common sense one, and you have probably heard it a million times, but really, just BREATHE. Take in a long deep breath for four seconds, and breathe out for four seconds. Do this for about 5 minutes everyday and you'll be good to go.

4. Take your mind out of the past or the future and bring it into the present. This is another one of those bits of advice you've probably heard a lot. A lot of people choose meditation to accomplish this, but my therapist taught me a neat trick that helps me take my mind out of the past and my worry and brings me into the present and out of the mess of my mind when I'm stressed. Go out for a walk. And instead of using that time to worry and staying trapped in your mind focus on what is around you, And not superficially. Actually actively think about the things around you. Perhaps you're walking through the city and you see a beautifully built building. An example of actively thinking in that situation could be thoughts such as "Wow, look at the architecture of that building, it is absolutely beautiful. Those gargoyles are quite scary looking. I love the colour of the trim, and I wonder what time of stone that is, it's quite lovely." Actively think about the world around you, and it will help teach you how to get out of your own mind and bring you into the present moment.

5. Exercise. When I am angry, or stressed, or sad, I love to exercise. I already exercise 4 times a week, but if I'm particularly moody or angry, I will often take a 20 minute run. Not only do I end up pushing myself harder than I normally would, but I am left feeling so much more calm and level headed. If running isn't your thing, a walk could do the same, especially if pair with the tip I mentioned above. Exercise has been shown to decrease levels of depression almost as effectively as antidepressants, and really exercising and eating right will just really help your whole overall health and happiness in general.

6. Take a bath. If I'm really panicky and stressed out, I will often run a really hot bath, put on a face mask, and lay in the bath for 10-20 minutes, and BREATHE. I'll close my eyes, try to relax all of my muscles and breathe deeply. I know not everyone is a fan of bathing, but I always feel looser and more relaxed and a bit more level headed after a nice hot bath.

I could continue this post on with many more tips and tricks I use to help me through the especially tough days, but this post would go on forever! I really hope this post helps at least one person, and please let me know if you have any other tips and tricks for dealing with stress, please share them in the comments below, and let me know if you try any of these tricks!

I hope everyone has a really great and not too stressful week!

Ally
xoxox

Instagram Life Update

Hello everyone! Since I have been terrible with my blog, I thought I would share an Instagram life update to let you know what's been going on in my life lately! I'm not sure about you, but I love being nosey into other people lives and living vicariously through them, and not only that, but I love how the internet is bringing us much closer to each other, and you can feel like your best friends with the people you admire. So, if you were interested, here is a sneak peak into my life! And in case you want to follow me you can find me @allymariecatherine on IG!


1 - 2. I currently work full time as a receptionist (and am obviously SO busy in that at work selfie!). To be honest, it's definitely a great learning experience not only for the skills that I am building but for the fact that I am being thrown into the adult world and having to figure out how to live in it. However! I have been accepted into school! If you didn't know I just graduated in June'14 from a Bachelor of Arts Honours in Psychology from University, but have decided to go to College for Practical Nursing. I'm at a point in my life where I want to start a career, and I think with my Psychology and Nursing degree I can hopefully work with patients with mental health issues and I think I will really enjoy it! I will be going back to school in January 2015 and so look forward to back to school posts coming mid-way through everyone else's school year!

3 - 4. I've currently been exploring my city, which is not only excellent exercise, but I love exploring the beauty where I live, and I haven't really noticed how many beautiful corners there are in my city until recently! Going for an hour or two walk gives me time to think, I get in some exercise on my rest days, and I just get this calming and relaxing feeling exploring and appreciating the beauty around me, because I really am one of those people who focuses a little bit too much on my internal world rather than the world around me. It just opens my eyes and gives me and really helps me focus my energy outside of the mess of our human minds.

5. My boyfriend and I celebrated our two-year anniversary in August. For my first relationship, I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty ecstatic that we've made it two years. We have our ups and downs, but I've come to love video games and fitness, and I feel I've really grown and learned things that I never would without him. He is currently up North about a 16 hour drive away, and although it's tough being in a long distance relationship, it's only six months and then we'll be going to school together in January! Here we're enjoying some extra delicious burgers before going out for a few drinks. He comes home the last weekend of the month and I'm so excited for cuddles!

6 - 7. I've been into fitness for a few years now, but recently I've taken the bull by the horns and fitness has become one of my number one goals. Going to the gym and getting enough protein have become priorities, and I'm in love with who I'm becoming. I'm becoming healthier, leaner, fitter, and going to the gym and squatting some heavy *ss weights is really just an amazing feeling. I hope to include more fitness and lifestyle tidbits into my blog because it was really intended to be more than a beauty blog when I started it, so let me know if you are interested! Posts will be coming your way in the near future :)

8. Speaking of fitness and protein, I have started to love smoothies, and here I have one that I had on my last cheat day and it tasted exactly like Reese's peanut butter ice cream. I will definitely be posting this recipe and sharing a some other food and tips related to eating to get fit. I am not a clean eater - go ahead and shame - but my goals are different from what clean eating will do for me. That being said, I do go by an 80-20 rule for healthy/"unhealthy" foods, and my main goals are to lose fat and build muscle so I eat according to my goals. I will have to give a lot of credit (about 75%) to my boyfriend for everything I've learned about fitness and nutrition, and maybe I will get him to do a guest post sometime! Let me know if you would be interested! I'm sure he would love to write a post and answer any questions you may have!

9. It is officially fall in Canada, and in some places like Calgary already winter, and therefore it's time for skinny jeans and sweaters! To be honest, I have never been a fan of any other season other than summer. I am allergic to the cold ;) But! I'm excited for jeans, and comfy sweaters, and sweatpants, the smell of the crisp air in the morning, pumpkin and other fall scented candles, and dark nail polish and lipstick!

Anyways, that's all for my update, I hope you enjoyed getting the inside scoop on my life, and let me know.. are you excited about fall/autumn? What's your favourite part of fall?

xoxox
Ally

PS: accidentally pressed publish while trying to save! *facepalm* sorry for the awkward "insert photo" draft post!

Loves: The Body Shop's Coconut Body Scrub

Hello everyone! Today I will be talking about The Body Shop's Coconut Body Scrub! The first time I used this scrub, I was unimpressed. It was very moisturizing but I didn't expect there to be so much leftover grit on your body. Therefore I put it on my shelf and forgot about until just recently when I pulled it back out to try it again, and I have to say that I love it!

 

This scrub, like I said above, has tons of scrubbies in it. After I get out of the shower after washing my body, I will spend about 15 mins thoroughly scrubbing in the cream all over my body. I don't use it on my face as I have face scrubs for that and am not sure if this would end up breaking me out! I find the process extremely relaxing, and the scrubby bits take off every last layer of dead skin cells on my body and leaves my body feeling smoother than it has ever felt and super moisturized. I am not the fondest of the smell, which although okay, does turn me off a bit. However, the moisturizer itself works so well and leaves my skin feeling so amazing that it isn't that big of a negative. One other con, is that it does leaves tons of grit all over your body, and feels like you've been laying around in the sand for awhile. However, I just wipe with a towel on my body and the grit comes right off and doesn't stick.

Overall, I am in LOVE with this product, and it is currently on sale for $10 at thebodyshop.ca!

I highly recommend trying this scrub! It will definitely continue to be part of my regular pampering as I find it so relaxing and leaves me feeling smooth and moisturized all over!

Have you tried this scrub from The Body Shop or any of their other cream body scrubs? I'd love to try some more!

xoxox

Ally