The Wonderfulness that is Emily Ley

Photo courtesy of EmilyLey.com

Have you ever felt just drawn to someone's story? Like for whatever reason you are supposed to know as much as you can about a person that you only "know" through social media (and her incredible company)? Well that's how I feel about Emily Ley. Her search for grace instead of perfection is something that my 21 year old self can only hope to achieve at some point in my life. Because of this (and her more than adorable three children), I simply cannot believe more people don't know about her. Don't get me wrong, I love having blogs and shops that few know about but I just feel a push to get  the "in-between" age group involved.

One of my favorite things about her (as well as Lara Casey, an author, blogger, and much more that I learned about by reading Emily's blog) is the involvement of their religion. I grew up pretty firm in my Christianity and have learned to love it, even as I'm at the age where it's more normal to pull away from than give in to God.

So, here's how I'm going to incorporate this inspirational woman in to my day-to-day, hectic as my schedule can be: For the next 30 days, I'm going to search my way through her blog and create my own personal "highlights" if you will. Things that ring true to me as I am now as well as the me that I hope to be.  Maybe I'll do check ins on here or just kind of make one giant "Emily Ley for the young twenty-something" post, we'll see!

In any case, her planners are also AMAZING and perfect for busy college students as well as wives and mothers. She has a bunch of different options so be sure to check them out! 

I'll undoubtedly be in line to buy myself one for 2016, a year that will include the beginning of my adult life and more life events than I'll probably be able to count. Need something gorgeous so I can look back on them all with a smile on my face :)

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Scuba Diving: Tips and Tricks for the Modern Woman!

For our get-away this year, my family decided to road trip down to the Florida Keys. The drive's not too tough but we definitely all needed a change of scenery and a break from routines!

Look at that gorgeous water after our afternoon dives!

The main attraction (for my dad and I anyway) was that our hotel has one of the best scuba programs in the Keys. We got Open Water certified (the first level of scuba diving certification) back in 2012 but had yet to test out our skills past that. My dad's obsessed with fish, boats, basically anything that involves being on or in the water. We decided to get our Advanced Open Water certification and I'm happy to say I'm officially certified after four days of diving!

However, it was during this week that I noticed the crazy lack of women in this recreational activity. I started wondering why and I decided to write up a quick guide to scuba diving for women! I mostly geared it towards people who are just getting their Open Water certification or going on their first dive without an instructor. Just some dos (and plenty of don'ts) for being on and in the water!

• Don't wear make-up or do your hair nicely. You'll see plenty of people but they're not interested in what you look like, only how you handle yourself on the water
• Take off all your jewelry and don't worry about having a nice cover up or anything like that. You spend most of your time in your wet suit anyway :)
• Make sure your comfortable in your bathing suit (I prefer one pieces when diving but it's totally your decision)
• Learn any and every thing about the gear your using. There are no stupid questions (I asked about mouth calluses today...with no shame at all)
• Be calm! Panicking at any stage is going to over-exert you, causing you to be tired and use more air from your tank once you get in the water
• Yep, you'll see sharks, some mean looking barracuda, sting rays, and much more. Focus on observing how they swim and they won't come anywhere near you!
• Don't be intimidated by anyone (other divers, captains, teachers, etc.). They all learned to dive at some point and love teaching as well as encouraging newcomers!
• Take the time out of each dive and boat ride to marvel in what you're looking at. Skills are super important but so is appreciating what you've worked so hard to be able to observe

Comment with any questions about scuba diving or maybe fun suggestions for where my dad and I should dive next! 

Hair and Face and Eyes, Oh My!

Since I had one day last week off from my multitude of jobs, it became errand day. Luckily, returning something in Ulta and trying to find things for Father's Day as well as my parents' wedding anniversary were just a few of those errands so I was able to pick myself up a few things on the way!

Since I went last week, this is both a review and "share what I bought" kind of post for y'all.
First thing I got was Kiehl's Since Micro-Blur Skin Perfector.  I'm primarily using it as a base layer between my moisturizer and my foundation but so far my skin's appreciating this light "buffer zone" idea. No word yet on how it's dramatically helped my skin but I'll let y'all know!

From there I went to Ulta. I went in with full intention of getting Covergirl's Lash Blast Fusion Water Resistant Mascara in Black, since Jennifer from Southern Anchors recommended it to me so I obviously grabbed that. Since being in Georgia seems to have made me into a bit of a crybaby, I went with waterproof, which necessitated the Almay Longwear & Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover Pads. These are great at getting right to the clean off but the oily residue is not my favorite. Saw ones that were oil-free from Almay but they weren't for waterproof makeup so oh well!

My last item was a bit of a wandering purchase: basically this Georgia humidity and I have been fighting a vicious battle over the state of my hair. The second I walk out to my car, the great silky hair is a thing of the past. So, in an effort to solve the humidity crisis of the South, I got a small size of the DevaCurl 'Set it Free' Moisture Lock Spray. My roommate freshman year used there products to keep her curls in line and it smells incredible (I totally still use that as my #1 deciding factor, who cares if I'm 21, right?).  So far, it has been able to stand Georgia heat, non-stop work days, and the Florida Keys so more products might be in my near future :)

As always, my future purchases are open to any (and basically all) suggestions so let me know your favorites, new or old!!

Weekends are for Wedges

There is no doubt that my favorite type of shoes are wedges. They're great for not only adding a little height (I stand at an all too intimidating 5 feet tall) but also for dressing up an otherwise casual outfit.

Here are a few of my favorite options for this summer and I think at least the first three would work really well in to fall as well! They're also all reasonably priced because well...I tend to do more walking in my heels than I probably should since I live most of the year in DC and wearing out the grippy part on the bottom of any heels means you're more likely to lose your footing.

The next four are on my "some day" list (also known as once I'm no longer an unpaid intern and student):

Also fun fact from someone who owns a lot of shoes: try not to buy wedges without some sort of platform on them, no matter how cute they are. They tend to end up super uncomfortable to walk or stand in for a long period of time!

Summer in Savannah

I do my fair share of bad decision making, something bound to happen when a 21 year old lives 500 miles away from her family and tries to be independent. However, deciding to spend my summer home in Savannah was not one of those bad decisions.

Not only do I get the great benefits of being with my family and beloved family dogs for four months but I also have an amazingly gorgeous setting with tons to do and always lots going on. Since it'll be my last summer break of college, I wanted to make sure I had the ability to relax a little. Well that doesn't count the time I spend at my two jobs, working on the online courses I'm enrolled in, or taking Pure Barre classes but I do love being busy! 

Below's a gorgeous sunset picture I took last year but this is absolutely how gorgeous Savannah is whenever it's sunny. Notice I did not mention the heat and humidity...thank goodness for central air in basically every building!

In any case, hope y'all got to know me a little bit!