favorites – Jaclyn Grace

Friday Favorites

Yay for the weekend! Tomorrow is my big test and I am SO excited for it to be over with. Here are a few things that I was loving this past week. 🙂

1. This week I really loved some of the excerpts that I read from my book before bed. They all focused on having faith rather than planning for and worry about the future. They spoke about how God has a plan for us all that is already set and will be slowly revealed to us moment by moment.

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Some days I like the readings more than others, and this week I felt like they really were all things that I needed to hear.

2. On Thursday night my Dad and I went out to dinner in Hoboken to a restaurant called “Margherita’s Pizza and Cafe.” I had been looking forward to our visit all week! It was nice to get out of the apartment and spend some time catching up.

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I had a feeling that the food would be good here because each time that I previously walked by there had been a line out the door. The atmosphere was really cute and cozy and felt like your typical small family owned Italian restaurant.

They started us off with bruschetta and Italian bread and butter. Then for our main meals, my dad had chicken parmigiana and I had raviolis stuffed with eggplant, sun-dried tomato, and cheese. Both of our meals were fantastic!

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We then finished off our evening with a coffee and cappuccino before heading out.

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Overall we had a great time! We hopefully are going to try to do something like this once a month or so. 🙂

3. Lastly, two of my favorite things this week have to do with my bedroom coming along in my apartment. As of right now, the kitchen and living room feel nice and cozy, but the bedroom is a mess. For the past (almost) two months I have had no rug, curtains, or even a bedspread. Luckily that all changed this week!

My aunt had been working hard on a hand-made quilt for my bed for a little while now and she just finished it! I haven’t seen it in person yet, but it looks absolutely beautiful from the pictures.

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My grandma picked out the fabric for me when she was in Amish country this past summer and I immediately fell in love with it. I knew that it would make a beautiful quilt, but I’m not super confident in my quilting abilities yet so I decided to ask my aunt to make it for me. Luckily she said yes and it’s already one of my very favorite things that I own (despite that I don’t actually have it in my hands yet)!

Even the small details are perfect!

To go along with this, I got a nice surprise from my Grandma telling me that she bought me a braided rug for the bedroom as a Valentine’s Day gift!

Screen Shot 2017-02-17 at 8.52.54 PM.png — Here’s the photo she sent me, but I’ll be sure to post actual pictures when I get it!

I had been looking at very similar rugs online for weeks now but hadn’t mentioned it to anybody. I was so shocked when she told me that she bought me one in the exact color that I liked! I am so excited to get it into my bedroom and see how it helps things come together.

I will definitely be doing a post on the apartment in the near future to share my attempt at making this place feel like home!

That’s all for this week. I am so grateful for my fantastic family who truly made this week fabulous.

Have a great weekend!

xo,

Jaclyn

Friday Favorites (On Sunday)

**Disclaimer: I wrote this post on Friday evening and just now am realizing that it never posted :(. I’ve been having some troubles with WordPress lately, but I’m hoping that its back to normal soon.**

We finally made it to the weekend! I am going to visit my dad today and hopefully spend the rest of the weekend relaxing and catching up on some studying.

I wanted to bring back something that I have done in the past called “Friday Favorites.” I really enjoyed sharing different things that I liked with you, and am going to try to get back into the habit of doing so each week. Here are a few things that I’m loving right now!

Sweaty Bands

For as long as I can remember, I have struggled to find a headband that was comfortable and effective at holding my hair out of my face during my workouts… until I found these!

Dan’s mom and sisters introduced me to them a few months ago and since then I have been obsessed. They are so cute, comfortable, and don’t slip at all when you’re moving around. They also come in tons of colors and patterns. These are a new must have for me!

Screen Shot 2017-01-22 at 9.48.20 AM.png — SweatyBand still in place after 30 minutes of cardio!

2. Aquaphor Lip Treatment

I have the most horrible dry and cracked lips in the winter time. It happens instantly the moment the weather cools down. This year it felt especially bad. I was even struggling to sleep during the night without waking up in pain every hour or so… until I found this.

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This is like a miracle lip treatment and immediately provided me with so much relief. It doesn’t strip your lips of any natural oils or leave them even drier once it wears off, which I have found of most similar products. This comes highly recommended from me!

3. Urban Decay Naked Skin One and Done

For a long time, I’ve been looking for a sheer foundation that is gentle enough for me to wear everyday. I had been eying this product for a long time before I finally bit the bullet and bought it, and it is so worth it.

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I apply it every morning after my moisturizer and it makes my skin feel softer and look more even. I’ve also noticed that it has seemed to decrease the size of my pores as I use it more consistently. I also love that it has SPF in it. It’s so important to protect your skin everyday – especially if you want to try and avoid getting any wrinkles for as long as possible.

4. Essie Gel Couture Polish

Some people love getting their hair done frequently, others love getting monthly facials, I love having my nails done. It just makes me feel so much better when I look down and see freshly painted nails with no chips. In the past, I loved gel manicures because they lasted 2+ weeks without chipping at all. This was my go-to because each time I got a regular manicure, I felt like I was taking the polish off within a day or two, which was a complete waste of time and money. Unfortunately, the gel polish ended up being far too harsh on my nails. They hurt all the time, were brittle, peeling, and burning. It was awful. It took about 6 months for my nails to completely heal from this.

Since starting a new job, I have been on a mission to figure out how to have my nails look nice all time time without using UV gel polish and I finally figured it out. For almost the past month now I have been getting my nails done with the Essie Gel Couture Polish. This goes on and can be removed just like regular polish, but lasts almost two weeks! I am not kidding you – I had NO chips after 7 days and very minimal chipping after 12.

Screen Shot 2017-01-22 at 11.06.11 AM.png — Loved this color!

It cost me $3 more than a regular manicure, but was still far less than a UV gel manicure. My nails feel and look healthier than they have in a long time and I couldn’t be happier. I would highly recommend this polish to anyone who has trouble with sensitive nails.

That’s all for now, but I hope you enjoyed reading. I would love to hear what you’re loving lately!

xo,

Jaclyn

Friday Favorites – Australia Style!

Here are a few of the things that I am loving most about Australia:

1. Greek Food

I neverhad true Greek Food before, and I am in love! One of my group partners was born in Greece, so we have had quite a few meals. One restaurant is right next to our work and we have made our way over twice. The first time I had “The Greek Burger.” It was a burger with eggplant, veggies, cheese, and an egg on it. It also had a Greek sauce called tzatziki on it, which is sort of like a mayo/sour cream mix.

This past Wednesday we went there and I had the “Open Souvlaki.”

It was chicken that came with pita bread, tzatziki, and a delicious Greek salad. I loved it. I am going to have to find a Greek restaurant back at home!

2. The night market

I talked about this before, but every Wednesday in the summer there is a night market full of food, music, and entertainment. We went again this week and I loved it just as much. Of course, I had another strawberry, nutella, and coconut crepe…

3. Artwork

The graffiti here is incredible.

We came upon these walking to dinner with one of our advisors the other night. I can’t imagine being able to paint something like this on such a large scale.

4. Tim Tams

I should probably be ashamed that three of my last four favorite things this week are related to food… But I’m not! These are delicious. Everyone who comes back to school from Australia raves about these and now I know why. They are chocolate dipped cookies with a chocolate filling inside. There are so many other flavors too- salted caramel, peanut butter, white chocolate, and so on. I am definitely bringing some of these home for my family to try.

5. Skyping with my best friend!

Victoria is in Santa Fe, NM studying abroad right now as well and we finally got to Skype on Tuesday! I’m so glad we picked the same term to go away and that we are going on another cruise together when we get back.. only 64 days until that vacation! I’m so glad you’re having a blast and I miss you tons!

I don’t know if this qualifies as a favorite per say, but tonight I went to an internet cafe down the road to catch up on some work and schedule my classes for next year. I ordered an iced coffee and a small pizza for dinner so that I could use their internet. This is what I received…

It had ice cream in it! I felt like I was drinking a root beer float rather than a coffee. You definitely couldn’t get one of these at Dunkin Donuts!

xo,

Jaclyn

Friday’s Fabulous Five

Lately I have been in a serious shopping mood. Unfortunately, when you’re a college student and trying to save every penny that comes your way, a shopping spree isn’t always a possibility. Instead, I like to browse online and make note of things that I love so that when I do have a little extra money, I know exactly what I want to use it for. A few of the things that I’m loving this week are things that I have found online, but don’t actually own.

1. Color Karma Bracelets

I am obsessed with these bracelets. They come in a variety of colors that each stand for something different – beauty, balance, strength, wisdom, hope, bliss, love, calm, harmony, and goodness. I think my favorite is the “calm” one pictured above. I love the little charms attached and how they come in a stack. I think that these are so cute and could make the perfect gift for a sister or friend!

2. Nude Wedges

In the warm weather, I love wearing wedges. I love how you can dress them up or down, and don’t feel like you are going to fall over every time you take a step. I have one fun colored pair that I wear often, but most of the time I find myself reaching for my mom’s nude colored ones. I am always on the lookout for a neutral pair of my own, and I think I finally found exactly what I have been looking for!

These Dolce Vita wedges are so cute and have awesome reviews, though they are a little bit on the expensive side. I absolutely love the braided detail on these. They also come in other fun colors.

3. Statement Necklaces

Lately I have been on a kick with these. I love how they can pull together an entire outfit so effortlessly. I was hoping to grab a few more for myself before I leave for Australia. Since I’ll likely be repeating the same outfits over and over, different necklaces and accessories could really help add some variety to my wardrobe.

I thought this necklace was really cute and fun! It also comes in fun a bright fuschia color.

4. Emergen-C

I know my mom is so proud to see that this is one of my favorite things this week. Don’t get me wrong I hate the taste and texture of this, but I do believe it works wonders to combat a cold. I mix it into a cold glass of water and chug it first thing in the morning as soon as I start to feel under the weather.

5. Dance Team

I’m so proud of my college competition dance team. We worked really hard on our dance all year and last weekend at our competition it paid off! Even though we still have a lot more work to do, I’m proud of how far we have come over the past few years.

Here is a picture of my Little, my BFF, and I before we performed!

xo,

Jaclyn

Friday’s Fabulous Five

Thank God It’s Friday!! This week has been extremely long for me, so I truly mean that! This weekend won’t be very relaxing though as I have tons of homework to catch up on… but that’s okay. I least I can do it from the comfort of my warm apartment rather than trudging up to campus!

As usual, here are the five things that I am loving most this week. 🙂

1. Vigoss Skinny Jeans

I just love these! I bought myself a pair from Nordstrom Rack after Christmas using a gift card, and I couldn’t be happier with my purchase. I had read so many rave reviews about these jeans, but never tried them myself because of the price. When I saw them on sale at the Rack I couldn’t help but buy a pair and I’m so glad that I did. These are jeans that I can just tell will last forever due to their high quality and construction. They also have the perfect amount of stretch. My only complaint is that I ordered a size up based on reviews, and they are a little big. Next time I will get my normal size – and trust me, there will be a next time!

2. Brookside Dark Chocolate Acai Snacks

I am so addicted to these little chocolatey snacks it is not even funny. What I love most though is that they are pre-packaged into single serving sizes. What I hate most is that a single serving is only EIGHT TO NINE of these tiny pieces.

Thank God for these little bags or I would probably be eating at least 5 servings per sitting 😉

3. Bean Boots

When Cfab and I went away for our anniversary this year, we went to Freeport, ME – home to LL Bean. We both absolutely loved it and could not have asked for a better weekend. In the spur of the moment, we both bought a pair of Bean Boots for the winter!

He wears his constantly, but I have only recently begun wearing mine more. I had a hard time breaking them in, but now that I have they are one of my favorite shoes to wear. Especially with the gross weather that we have been having lately. The best part about these shoes is the lifetime guarantee that they come along with.

Not to mention that there are so many cute ways to wear Bean Boots!

4. Scandal

Do I even need to say more? I have watched every episode TWICE at this point and am so happy that it is back on TV this month! It never fails to leave me on the edge of my seat and counting down to the next episode. I may have gotten my mom and step-dad addicted to it too… If you don’t watch it, you should now!!

5. This quote…

For some reason this really resonated with me today. I think it speaks for itself.

Enjoy the rest of your Friday!

xo,

Jaclyn