Today is January 31st and it just hit me that the first month of 2019 is already over. Although it definitely feels a little weird, I thought it would be a good opportunity to list some of my favorite things from this past month. So, these are the things I have discovered, used, and obsessed over in January 2019!
Blog
To start off my new tradition, I feel that it’s only natural to mention my blog! In the past week since I launched TMTM, it has already proven to be an incredibly fun and educational journey. I have received so many compliments regarding my content thus far and it motivates me so much to keep writing, expanding, and influencing others.
My main goal is to provide inspiration and advice to college girls (just like me!) with tips that I have learned through personal experience. I also aim to be a resource for anyone to reach out to in times of uncertainty. Here’s to continued learning and growth!
Music
I am obsessed with listening to music and sharing it with my friends. In fact, I make monthly playlists that consist of music that I really enjoyed that month. This is super fun to do and I highly recommend it — it’s like a having an ever-growing, musical time capsule. I’ve been making monthly playlists since my sophomore year of high school, so sometimes I like to listen to my very early playlists and reminisce. It can be pretty cringy at times due to my questionable musical taste in high school, but it’s entertaining nonetheless.
I also make playlists for different moods, genres, and events. For example, I have a workout playlist for when I’m at the gym, an emo playlist when I’m sad, a collaborative beach playlist for my upcoming girls trip to Miami, and much more. Follow my Spotify to explore it all!
Lately, I have gotten into the habit of adding ~aesthetically pleasing~ cover photos to all of my playlists so that my profile looks put-together. This can be kinda time-consuming depending on how many playlists you have, it was super worth-it for me.
My JAN19 playlist is comprised of music within my normal style as well as songs that I would consider outside of my comfort zone. I love the entire playlist, however, and I have recommended so many of the songs to my friends. Here are my top 10 favorites:
- Laughing on the Outside (Crying on the Inside) — Dinah Shore
- Again — Doris Day, The Mellomen
- Slow Down — Gabriel Kahane
- 24 / 7 / 365 — Surfaces
- Happy & Sad — Kacey Musgraves
- I Fall in Love Too Easily — Caleb Belkin
- Why Not Me — Forrest., Biskwiq
- Slow Burn — Kacey Musgraves
- I Hate This — Tenille Arts
- Falling Out of Love With You — Rome Hero Foxes
Academics
Since we are in the midst of Spring semester at W&M, it is finally the time that sophomores declare their majors (and minors)! I have been excited from the first day of school to declare mine, so the very moment I saw “Major: Neuroscience; Minor: Psychology” on my DegreeWorks, I flipped out. It all feels so official now.
Right now, I am enrolled in 6 courses — adding up to a total of 19 credits. (I applied for an overload of credits since our normal max is 18.) I’m taking Organic Chemistry I, Calculus II, Physiological Psychology, Motivation and Emotion, Musical Theatre Performance, and Voice Lessons. I’m also doing psychology research on the side with my major advisor. It’s a lot for one semester, but I’ve learned to make the most of my resources and time. It’s a hard skill to master.
Clothes
It has been so incredibly cold in Williamsburg this January, so I’ve been bundling up a lot recently. Right now, I have two favorite coats that I switch between every other day: 1. my signature I.AM.GIA teddy coat and 2. a Marmot parka from Costco. Both are so warm, cute, and work with a lot of outfits. The teddy coat is a little more ~chic~ for days that I wanna look extra cute… and fuzzy. The parka is a bit heavier and it has a furry hood, so it’s perfect for extra-cold days in the ‘burg.
Another thing I’ve been obsessed with lately is the new Target clothing line: Wild Fable. It seems like very single time I go to Target (which is too much to say without embarrassing myself), I leave with a new clothes purchase. The line is affordable, great quality, and adorable — complete with a 90’s vintage vibe. AKA Cher from Clueless on a budget.
Fitness
I have been on a bit of a health kick lately — read more about this in my post from last week, feeling fit. Since starting my fitness and diet plans, I have felt so much more comfortable and confident in my body. For example, I have been buying clothes that show off my figure, rather than hide it. It feels amazing to love my body again.
My very favorite thing to do at the gym (to lose weight and release endorphins) is run on the elliptical. I also love doing weighted squats, planks, crunches, and leg-raises when I have the extra time. I set aside 2 hours every day to maintain this routine: 1.5 hours at the gym and 30 minutes to shower/re-do my makeup.
Monday through Friday, I run 6 miles for approximately 1 hour while I blast my workout playlist or binge a TV show on Netflix. This allows my mind to relax after a long day of classes without feeling guilty for wasting time — because I’m not wasting it all! I definitely recommend anyone that likes mindless exercise to try running on the elliptical while multitasking with music or Netflix.
Beauty
Story time: This past week, I had a giant zit on my lip (a zip, if you will) that seriously messed with my normal skin routine. I have no idea where it came from, but it was so aggressive that I had to give him a name. It was Jericho.
Due to Jericho’s unfortunate location, he caused my lip to become extremely swollen, red, and painful. It was embarrassing, especially because concealer didn’t seem to mask him at all. He was relentless.
I tried basically everything to make him go down. First, ice. Then, the Milk cooling stick. Then, my favorite Mario Badescu drying lotion every night while I slept. Also, daily facial masks. I even tried popping him…..don’t do that. Eventually with time, patience, and my myriad of skin care products, Jericho became much smaller and scabbed over. Then, I used a bunch of moisturizer and he virtually disappeared!!!
Now, Jericho the Zip was obviously NOT one of my January favorites. So, why am I telling you this story at all? Because I put basically all of my skin care products and tips from last week’s post, skin care, to the test. And they worked!! The MB drying cream and Little Pink face masks were the true MVP’s in helping destroy my zip.
The Battle of Jericho has taught me two major things: First, that my skin care routine rocks. Second, it taught me to be thankful for every day that I wake up without a giant crater on my face. Sometimes you have to learn things the hard way, my friends.
Overall, January was pretty awesome. This month, I made a lot of memories and a lot of self-improvement. Here’s to wonderful beginning to 2019 and a wonderful February!
the moore the merrier 