A Few Of My Recent Favorite Things

Hello all! For this week’s post, I wanted to try something new and talk about what I have been loving recently. The things in this post have no connection to one another and there is no one category that I want to focus on. I simply have a lot of things that I like and would want to share with you all! This might not be something most of you are interested in which is completely fine, I just am trying to push through this writer’s block and come up with new ideas and this is one of them. With that being said, let’s get into the blog.

The first thing I want to bring to light is my holy grail of hair products. A couple of days ago I straightened my hair without using heat protectant (stupid I know) and it destroyed my hair so much so that my bangs looked dead. I began basically panicking because I love my hair and always loved how nice and healthy it was. So I went to the store and got the Raw Sugar Healing Power hair mask that literally saved my hair. The mask has a bunch of natural ingredients such as avocado oil, banana, coconut milk, and agave. After two uses of the mask not only was my hair almost back to its original state, but it was also super shiny and very pretty looking. Granted, my hair is not back to its original state just yet, but it’s getting there and that's all that matters. For shampoo and conditioner, I use the Odele clarifying shampoo and volumizing conditioner which I have been using for almost a year now and also adore. Their products have no harsh chemicals, are color-safe, not tested on animals, are unisex, and are completely woman-owned. I have never been disappointed by this brand and highly recommend you try it if you’re looking for a new shampoo and conditioner. Both the shampoo and the hair mask can be found at Target for a very affordable price.

Next up is my Christmas haul. Firstly, I got new boots from my Nana and Grandfather and they are my current favorite pair of shoes. They are called Blundstones and are kind of like a Chelsea boot with a granola twist. I got the Woman’s #1351 High Top boots in rustic brown and they go with almost every outfit. I will say that they are a pain to break in but once you do, they are super comfy and can be worn all day long. I also got an electric car starter from my other Grandmother which is a lifesaver when I need to warm up my car in the winter. Finally, my parents got me the new iPhone 13 Pro and AirPod Pros as well which I am so grateful for. The AirPods specifically are so cool because they have a noise-canceling feature so even in the busiest of places, the noise gets blocked out.

Something else I have been loving recently which is so random is sweet potatoes. I never ever liked sweet potatoes in my life but all of a sudden for some reason, I have been obsessed with the food. I first time I realized I liked them was when I tried a sweet potato sushi roll. Then I came home from break and my mom decided to make them in the air fryer and it was life-changing. I put them in rice bowls, salads, and even just eat them by themselves. My mom also made mashed potatoes out of them with salmon and they were super tasty. All I’m saying is that if you don’t like sweet potatoes, try cooking them a different way because I am now a sweet potato fanatic.

I also have been adoring my new room here at school. My roommate Ava recently moved out of the house because she is studying abroad in Florence (which I am so jealous about and Ava I hope you have the most amazing time.) Because of this, I moved upstairs to a bigger room with my own bathroom and balcony and it is so nice. I have never really had a big room but it is so spacious and fun. I put a T.V. in there and the outdoor balcony is something I plan to take advantage of. The balcony faces the same direction as the sunrise so I plan to watch it as much as possible. As much as I love spending time with my friends, having alone time in my new room is definitely something that I have a newfound appreciation for.

Another thing that I have been really appreciating is hot chocolate. Right before winter break, I had a realization that caffeine has been making my anxiety a lot worse than it actually was. Before I would occasionally get anxious from a latte but recently, it was after every coffee I drank. With that being said, I chose to cut caffeine out of my diet as much as possible which meant no coffee or tea unless it was decaf. I do still drink diet coke on occasion but other than that, I rarely drink coffee anymore. However, I still love going to coffee shops and reading a book or writing my blog post for the week so I chose to start ordering hot chocolate. I truly feel like not enough people appreciate hot chocolate because it is so good. My tip is that when you order it, ask for a shot of hazelnut syrup in it and it tastes like you’re drinking Nutella.

Moving on to music because I can’t have a favorites blog post can not include some of my favorite songs and albums. Firstly Tyler Childers and Maggie Rogers have been the two artists I have been listening to the most. Tyler Childers is an artist I would mostly fit into my “granola” music category, however, he has more of a country twang to his music which is something a little different from the artists I listen to. I really like his most popular songs Feathered Indians as well as All You’n but I’m working on listening to his entire album. As for Maggie Rogers, I would describe her as more of an indie/alternative artist. Specifically, I have been listening to her 2019 album Heard It In A Past Life which is such a pretty sounding record.

If we are talking about single songs in general, the song Underground by Cody Fry is a song I have been playing on repeat. It is the type of song I would put during the climax of a movie when the main character finally discovers that their best friend was actually the villain the entire time. Listening to this song is such an experience because it starts off sweet and peaceful and it gets more intense the more you listen to it. Another song I have been loving is the song Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) by Edison Lighthouse. This is an older song from the ‘70s and I will admit that I found it through Tik Tok but it has quickly become one of my favorite songs ever. It’s such a cute love song and my new goal in life is to have someone think of me when they hear this song.

The last thing I want to talk about is the new glasses that I got. For those of you who don’t know, I have terrible vision and have to wear either glasses or contacts at all times if I want to be able to see two feet in front of me. Over break, I had an appointment with my local eye doctor and got to pick out new frames for my glasses which is something that I rarely do (the last time I got a new frame was probably back in 2017.) For most of my life, I have worn my contacts because I always hated how I looked in glasses. I think that the reason for this is that I never found one that complimented my face shape. But the glasses I chose are so cute! They are round with a cat-eye effect and a tortoiseshell exterior. I wear them a lot more now and am trying to make them a staple for some of my outfits. The only downside that I’m working on is that whenever I wear a mask with my glasses, they always fog up so if anyone has a life hack on how to stop that from happening, please let me know.

I’m probably missing so many more things that I like but at the moment, this is all that is coming to my head. Also, I apologize for the late post, last night I was invited to the studio to sit in on Ava’s radio show and got a bit distracted. With that being said, it was super fun and cool to watch! If you are free on Mondays at 9:00 p.m. you should tune into WRIU’s station 90.3 and listen to Ava’s on The Islands. You can also follow their account @avasontheislands on Instagram. With that being said, that concludes this week’s blog post!

I hope you all have a lovely week!

- Meg

P.s. Here's a photo of me in my new glasses because I love them so much! Enjoy!