hi guys today I wanted to talk through
my April favorite I kind of wanted to do
this video differently then and the way
that I've done favorites in the past
which is just kind of like listing off
products that brought value to my life
but actually kind of giving a fuller
picture of just experiences that meant a
lot to me this month and some of those
might have been receiving or like buying
something that was special but just all
with the mindset of how it made my life
better I had kind of a different month
to because April is my birthday month
and you know I had family in town for
that and Easter and everything plus we
just moved to Nashville a couple of
months ago and so we kind of have been
treating it as being a tourist in our
new town lots of different experiences
have meant a lot to me this month and I
just wanted to kind of run through them
with you today and just kind of use it
as a way to have a diary entry of sorts
that I can look back on years later and
remember what this moment in my life was
like the first thing that I really set
intention on was listening to audiobooks
I really want to hit my book goal this
year for me that just meant moreso
reading and experiencing and learning
more than actually opening up a book and
reading it off a page while I'm cleaning
and cooking I will be listening to my
audiobooks one that I've been loving so
far is Outlander book 6 you guys know
how much of a fan of Outlander I am so
I'll leave that brief the narrator is
incredible I will leave you guys a link
to my favorite narrator and where you
can read the audiobook version of the
series that I love the most and then
also out of respect for what happened
with no tree Dom I actually used the
audiobook version of The Hunchback of
Notre Dame written by Victor Hugo so
that was really interesting it was
something that you know I was familiar
with the Disney story and everything
with the Hunchback but actually going
back to the Victor Hugo version was
really interesting and even though it's
a fictional story reading about it in
the setting of no tree Dom was very I
don't know I was able to respect it for
what happened there and also learn a
little bit of not necessarily history
but the history of when it was written
and then also the version I listened to
was from Christopher
who I'm really familiar with from Lord
of the Rings being Saruman and he was
such an incredible actor and was able to
narrate that so beautifully it felt like
I was listening to him actually act it
out and that brought a lot more depth to
this story than if it was just reading
off a page next I've been really focused
on expanding my accessories collection
that's really just as a broad range of
how I've been developing my personal
style I started with not accessories
hardly at all like I started with the
bare bones of where do I need to start
from and if that's where you are today I
would definitely say to do what I did
which was pick out a very minimal color
scheme and I'm talking from day one I
went with black and white really maybe
just a little bit of beige Azure Browns
that I could mix together well and so I
would use different things like a basic
blouse and a pair of black silk pants
which I'm wearing today and and those
types of things if you buy them with
quality then you don't need to buy so
many of them to begin with and you can
wear them for several times and they
don't wear out so that's kind of how I
started then I built from there with
like outerwear and sweaters and things
to wear in addition to that now it's a
couple years later almost of the day
actually that's weird to think about so
now I am really investing in what type
of jewelry do I still need to my
collection jewelry has been something
I've I have been investing in along the
way from here I'm really trying to
curate that collection as well as purses
and just you know naked accident
accessories one of those being a
scrunchie so scrunchies are a little bit
less timeless per se but it's just a
very affordable thing that really makes
a lot of outfits come together and what
I mean by that is when I was looking on
Pinterest for some outfit inspiration
what you guys can see I post a lot over
there if you're interested but I found
that a lot of photos that were outfits
that I loved were very basic I'm talking
like a cami and a pair of jeans I'm like
what makes that photo is that she's
wearing a scrunchie on her arm or in her
hair like that was a trend that I fell
like that bring so much value and makes
your style so much more effortlessly
chic so I went ahead and got one that
was on Etsy that's 100% silk and I'll
link you guys down in the description
where you can find it super happy with
that one and then also there were a few
different pieces of jewelry that I want
to go into next some of the more
timeless pieces I'm really excited about
these were gifted to me from pamela card
so this one i'm wearing right here is
the springtime a Ligurian necklace i
this is the part I love about her stuff
is that she is inspired by museum pieces
and old coins and anything that is from
around the world inspires her work so
what this necklace represents is really
inspired by springtime which was
Primavera by Botticelli and it was just
interesting to see the influences from
that painting that she put into this
necklace one thing that I was doing
research on with that painting is that
there's this idea of a half circle which
is going around the head of Venus in the
painting and then also there's this
shape represented throughout the
painting where because it's springtime
every woman in the photo or goddess is
pregnant and so that's just another
symbol there this is a really beautiful
piece though because it looks just kind
of like luscious and fruitful and and
playful not necessarily perfect
geometric and then also it's got again a
very organic piece with a pearl down at
the bottom which is about an inch long
all of them are but then also they're
all unique they're gonna have different
shapes so I like that to that it's one
of a kind and it's very much like made
to where you're wearing something that's
unique to you and I just love the art
history behind that too another piece
was this one which was the Madonna
necklace it was the Madonna halo so it
looks a lot like her magi necklace but
then it also has this little string of
little dots all the way around it which
really looks like Madonna's halo and a
lot of older paintings would look like
there too so more art history for you
guys today I just find that to be really
inspiring
I have a background in design but I
don't and you know I've been in art and
oil paintings for quite a while but I'm
no art history expert and there usually
is someone out there watching these
videos today so if you know more about
the paintings that inspired these pieces
I'd love to hear more about them in the
comments below
and then one more piece that I am so
thankful I didn't lose was this ring
that she gave me to which was a signet
ring and it's got kind of like
symbolically a little face on there you
know a lot of Signet rings they used to
be used to seal your stamp into anything
like wax that you would send off as an
official document and so just to have
something like a signet ring is very
special in that way what I mean by I'm
so thankful I didn't lose it is that on
Easter I decided that I would wear it
out then I realized that I really don't
want to lose it while I'm like playing
tennis and stuff I hit it so well and
perfectly placed it so well that I
thought I lost it and I found out where
it was eventually I connected the dots
and remembered where I hid it from from
myself really so thankful but I still
have it because oh my gosh I would feel
so bad and then something that's more on
the trendy side and this is actually
really affordable too it's from Etsy and
it's a snake chain necklace so I love
the one that I have that you guys have
seen before that was from the Daisy
brand that's a very like smaller snake
chain this one is more for impact and it
just has such a beautiful reflection on
it and I've just been wearing it with
layering other pieces with it is a
really pretty look there's times where
with necklaces a snake chain necklace
looks really good with really casual
outfits and it just gives a little bit
of flare that you know jewelry can bring
to an outfit without it feeling too
ornate and so that's been fun to just
kind of play with that as well so if I'm
just kind of running around town and I
don't have a beautiful outfit on I'm
just kind of wearing you know a
sweatshirt or whatever then sneak chains
are a really good option for that
another thing that I have been investing
time in is masterclass which you guys
know it's like a place where you can
take courses online
four skills that are really cool and
this isn't sponsored or anything it was
just something that I felt like I wanted
to actually invest in and kind of
improve on things in my life one is they
have like all sorts of cooking classes
on there that I haven't taken yet but
I'm really excited for that I've been
mainly focusing on the wonderful Natalie
Portman and just learning from her on
things like communication through her
acting classes I don't really have any
career aspirations for being an actress
but just learning from Natalie Portman
on how she moves around and like when
she's in character and the outfits that
she's wearing can give a lot to how
she's portraying her character she
talked a lot about that and then also
just you know communication things like
when she takes a breath or how she
delivers an emotion has been really cool
and just kind of helps me while I'm
trying to know like even today like
talking through a favorites video has
some sort of ramifications of what I
learned from Natalie Portman and then
also I was able to watch her jaci movie
I rented that and I could see a lot of
the techniques that she was describing
in her master class to then like talk
through like actually come through to
life on stage or not on stage but like
on camera I've just found her to be
really inspirational and learning about
how her techniques have influenced that
has been really cool and then also there
have been amazing authors I've just
started to crack open their courses on
on how they write and I just find it all
to be really inspiring so spending time
on that this month and then because I've
been faced with another birthday know
I'm actually really pumped for that and
I'm excited for the new year but some
things I've been prioritizing in my life
have been reflective of that it allows
you to kind of evaluate like where
you're at so one thing that I've been
prioritizing is a multivitamin and this
one was actually recommended to me a few
months back from my registered dietitian
I went to her seeking advice about like
how I kind of eat for what I'm going
through with PCOS and so
has made a big difference even when I'm
like sick you know I can really tell a
difference then where I can I'd feel
like I've just pumped with vitamins and
I feel so much better and why I have
kind of shied away from multivitamins
sometimes has been just because I feel
like I always break out and one reason
that that could be is because iodine
some people might find that it breaks
you out a little bit with I don't really
understand it all but that has been
something I've noticed so if I take this
I don't break out ever so I've been
taking these probably like six months
and I've loved them so much I got some
for Zack too and he could he takes the
kind with iodine and iron we just kind
of both have our own supplements and I
think for him it's made a big difference
in just like how he fights sort of
things like infections and stuff and now
I've just been going to the gym almost
every day or working out at home my
foods here one second sorry so I've been
going to the gym like every day and
that's been so helpful because I've got
one close by and just prioritizing that
or else I'll just work out at home I use
all sorts of apps I'll leave links down
in the description if you're interested
in what kind of apps I use for that but
just kind of prioritizing that has made
me feel a lot healthier and just I don't
know like I am I'm achieving something
and having routine if you're new to your
city or you just kind of feel like off
having routine has helped me so much
another routine in my life that I am
prioritizing is my nighttime routine
I'll leave this brief because I actually
want to go more in depth with a
nighttime routine video but some pieces
that have really helped me so far my
belief I cream I in the past I've used
this belief cream the peak miracle
Revital cream for my face but I
specifically bought the eye cream
because I was so happy with the face
cream next I switched up my neck cream
and so I'm using this one that I can't
pronounce by tarte it's just a neck
treatment is what it calls it so I
really like this one so far it's just
been helping me to
evaluate the need for that I used to use
one that was by Perricone and I just
wanted to kind of try a different brand
this time this is what I'm using so far
I really love it and you know when you
get to a certain age it's never too late
actually to start using a neck cream and
then oh my gosh I am in love with this
stuff it is an agave lip therapy so you
use it overnight and it just feels like
a really dense chapstick but more sticky
than that I wouldn't wear it during the
day at all and it's just made a big
difference when I wake up the next
morning you guys know I have talked at
length about how much I hate having
chapped lips it's a problem in my life
and so far this has been really good so
if you're like me and you have issues
with that definitely look into this I'll
leave a link down below I'm gonna fly
through these last ones because I feel
like this is getting a bit long okay so
I have been focusing on my house this
month some things that have really come
to mind have been I wanted to kind of
redo my plates and saucers and mugs and
all that in my kitchen because I've got
open shelving now and I just want it to
be more curated and something that will
last a long time so these are a couple
of pieces from my sets of Buffalo China
and I just really like how thick they
are like it's something you find at a
restaurant like a nice restaurant and
it's more of a natural color it's not
quite white and then these cups have
been absolutely perfect because I want
something that's a little bit thicker
that's been really nice for some
mornings where I just got a nice little
cup of coffee it's the perfect size and
then I also like to have thin cups
whenever I have something like tea and
so this has been really great I am just
happy with finding something very like
dainty so I've got a set of these little
tea cups and then also some saucers that
match it and it just looks so pretty I
posted a picture of it like on my
Instagram - I think that having stuff
like this makes my house feel more homey
- so yeah the rest of the month was
really just about being with family
spending
date nights with Zack we went to see
42nd Street at the movie theater and
then we also were able to pick up some
topiaries that was a birthday present
from my parents and so just having those
outside has been really nice spending
time laying out in the Sun in the
beautiful weather got a new towel for
that that was really nice to just
anytime I feel kind of like overwhelmed
or stressed I'll just go outside for a
few minutes and like get it under
control and then I can go back in and
kind of tackle things and then another
thing for my birthday that I
specifically requested was to pay off
our debt like so we're not completely
debt free we've got a little bit left
but just getting another thing taken
care of and just kind of sorted bring so
much like personal peace to my life
feels so good student loans are no joke
other than that it was fun to be able to
try out some new cafes and also to
attend the new solo event was so special
they treated me so nice I was just able
to have like a front-row view of how
unspoken podcast was there they were
interviewing and the founder of new solo
and so that was so much fun to be able
to listen and observe all that I will
leave you guys a link to go watch a
little bit of a clip from that I was
able to get that in my vlog so this
whole month has been very fulfilling and
new and different and much different
than anything I've experienced before so
I'm just very grateful and I'm excited
for new things to come so I will see you
guys later I have a few videos that I
have coming up that I'm so excited for
and I'll see you then
love dancing in the rain you never mind
cloudy day make the world a better place
do you love dancing anyway
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