Fall Wish List

Just a few things I've been lusting after for the upcoming season.

LL Bean Boots - Perfect for muddy hikes with Sirius (or walks with Gatsby and Kanye!) or for trips to England regardless of the season:)

Restoration Hardware Robe - I'm imagining wearing this snuggled up in bed with hot cup of coffee and a good book.

Dogeared Necklace - I have been wanting a simple gold necklace and I love (almost) all of the Dogeared ones.

Ralph Lauren Cashmere Sweater - Oversized cashmere sweater, long plane rides, enough said.

Do you have any fall must haves?

My Skin Routine

I've gotten very lucky with my skin. I didn't have bad acne growing up and I was able to get away with wearing little to no makeup most of the time. I've always gone through phases where for a few months I would take really good care (I thought) of my skin but then I would miss one day and end up not really washing my face for weeks.

Recently I decided that I needed to take better care of my skin (I even made it one of my 101 in 1001!). My skin wasn't bad per se but it was probably the worst I have ever seen it. I didn't only want to make it better for the present though, I realized that if I wanted my skin to stay healthy I would have to start taking care of it before it got damaged. Through some trial (and lots of error) I have come up with what I think are pretty good morning and evening skincare routines for me. I am still playing around with some things though and definitely open to suggestions or advice!

Morning Routine

ROC Exfoliating Cleanser - This is a cleanser that I already had. I like it because even though it exfoliates it feels light and refreshing, perfect for starting the day! Unfortunately it looks like this product has been discontinued so I will have to try something else when mine runs out.

Neutrogena Pore Refining Toner - Not too sure how I feel about this product...I think it does its job well but it feels a bit harsh on my skin. I might do some searching to see if I can find something better when I finish this bottle.

No7 Pore Refining Serum - LOVE this product! It makes my skin so soft and even and definitely clears up my pores.

Urban Decay Naked BB Cream - I've been using this throughout the summer in place of moisturizer AND foundation. Definitely a staple in my beauty routine. The cream has the perfect amount of color and leaves my skin nice and smooth. SPF is also a plus!

Evening Routine

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser - This cleanser is amazing. I have really sensitive eyes and have always struggled to find a cleanser that removes my makeup without stinging my eyes and this is definitely a winner. Added bonus, washing it off with the hot muslin is super relaxing and always makes me feel ready for bed!

La Roche Posay Effaclar Astringent - This is another winner. I love the smell and it makes my skin feel great, it's almost as if I can feel my pores getting cleaner.

DDF Acne Control Treatment - As I mentioned before, I've never had bad acne so I'm not sure this step is really necessary for me. A friend of mine had given me a tube of this to try so I thought I might as well use it. To be honest, I'm not sold on it but again that might just be because I don't really need it. Either way, it's a bit expensive for me so I probably won't purchase another tube.

Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic - I received a free bottle of this with my Liz Earle Cleanser and I am totally in love. I don't know how to describe it but it just gives my skin a little extra oomph. I also use it in the mornings if my skin is feeling particularly dry and it does wonders.

Lush Enchanted Eye Cream - I tend to get circles under my eyes quite often so I thought adding an eye cream would sort that out for me. I've had a lot of success with Lush products recently (BB Seaweed Mask & Ocean Salt Scrub are amazing!) so I decided to give this a go. So far I like it and I LOVE that you only need to use a tiny bit.

Liz Earle Skin Repair Moisturizer - This stuff is AMAZING! You only need to use a little bit and it makes your skin feel fantastic and hydrated. I love using it at night because I feel like it really soaks in while I sleep.

What are your favorite skincare products? Any must-haves I should add to my repertoire?

Goals

I've been thinking a lot about goals lately. I've always been big on making goals, whether big or small I love having something to tick off a list. Unfortunately for a long time I got into the habit of making goals without coming up with plans to achieve said goals. I was just sitting back and hoping that things would turn out how I wanted them. Basically, I was living very passively and not going after what I wanted. 

A while ago I was talking with a friend and he mentioned a leadership seminar he had gone to where they discussed making goals. The leader of the seminar had all of the attendees do an exercise where they wrote down a goal they had and then wrote down everything they would need to do to accomplish the goal. Without overthinking about it (as I often do), they had come up with a plan to achieve their goal. Even though this seems quite simple it resonated with me for some reason and got me thinking about why I hadn't been doing that to begin with.

In all honesty, I think the reason for my holding back is two-fold. One, I think that a lot of my generation has been taught that we can be/do anything. This has created a lot of "kids" with big dreams who grow up feeling entitled to their dreams. Obviously not everyone is like this but in my experience in the workplace I have noticed quite a few twenty-somethings who don't understand why they are not C-level execs straight out of college. The other thing that holds me back is my fear of failure. Again, I don't feel that I am alone in this, I am sure that most people have some level of fear or failing. However, instead of accepting failure as a possibility and going for what I want anyway, I have held back from pursuing the things that I want to prevent failing at them. Unfortunately for me, while lack of trying does prevent failing it also guarantees that I won't ever succeed.

Having spent some time thinking all of this through I realized it was time for me to grow up a bit. I can either let my fear hold me back and stay in limited jobs forever or I can throw a bit of caution to the wind and go after what I actually want. Obviously the latter sounds more exciting and so that's what I have chosen to do. While I happen to have many goals at the moment (hello, 101 in 1001) my main goal is to be accepted to graduate school for next fall. As terrifying as it is to tell people knowing that come January I may very well have to tell them that I didn't get in it is also thrilling. Thrilling to know that I am going after something I really want and thrilling to know that I just may get it. At the moment I am in the beginning stages of mapping out my application process and while it will be a lot of work I am super excited about it and having a great time planning it all out!

What are your goals right now? What methods are you implementing to achieve them? I'd love any extra input!

101 in 1001 - 3/101

I have been making some slow but steady progress on my 101 in 1001 days challenge. Here is a little update on my first 3 completed goals!

60. Go to a music festival in another country. (Isle of Wight Festival 2014)

This was so much fun; I bought George tickets for the Saturday of the festival (that still counts, right??) because his favorite band, Red Hot Chili Peppers, were playing. I honestly wasn't expecting to have a great time, I had been to one festival back home before (Stagecoach 2012) and I didn't have a great time plus I am not a huge RHCP fan. Suffice to say, I was pleasantly surprised to have a really great day! We met up with one of George's high school friends and his girlfriend, they had already scoped out some great spots fairly close to the stage so we had a good view for the opening bands and then were able to move further into the crowd/closer to the stage for RHCP. We spent quite a bit of time beforehand wandering around the festival and even went on a carnival ride; the atmosphere was much more relaxed and a lot prettier than Stagecoach so I think that helped. It was also a smaller environment which usually lends itself to a better experience. I am glad I went because I had pretty much written off festivals after my Stagecoach experience but now I would be interested to try out some more!

73. Spectate at a **** Horse Trials.  (Badminton 2014)

Probably one of the greatest experiences of my life. I have dreamed of attending Badminton for as long I can remember and it was truly a magical experience, I may have teared up a bit when we arrived! The weather was pretty crummy but even that couldn't put a damper on my excitement. We watched some of the most talented horses and riders in the world, went on a course walk with the one-and-only William Fox-Pitt, shopped till we dropped (literally), and basically just had the time of our lives. The only problem is now that I have been once I can't imagine watching it via live stream again so I may just have to figure out a way to go back every year...

88. Get a new computer. (MacBook Pro 4/14)
This purchase has been a looooong time coming. My prior computer was a MacBook Pro that my parents got me for my high school graduation back in 2006. Surprisingly, it actually still works but it has some serious issues, namely speed, lack of battery function, and the fact that it won't upgrade to the more recent software, leaving me without updates to a lot of programs that I use regularly. The new machine was a bit of a splurge and I debated getting the Retina display model but I ultimately chose the regular because of the disk drive and the storage space. Plus, I have a couple friends who have had issues with the Retina screen cracking easily. Honestly, I can barely tell the difference between the screen quality so it wasn't worth the extra cash. I also figured that if I end up getting more into graphic design and photo editing I will want a desktop and will invest in the higher screen quality then.

That's all I've got so far! I am definitely loving crossing items off of the list so hopefully I will have some more to recap soon!

~Elena

Content

As you may have noticed, I have taken a little break from this blog. I am fairly new to the whole blogging scene and I seemed to have jumped in a little to quickly. I was not planning my posts in advance and quickly found that writing them spur of the moment was not leading to the kind of content I wanted to create. So, I took a step back, I read loads of other blogs, did some self-studying and decided that yes, I do want to commit to this endeavor and make it a regular part of my life. However, that means a lot more work on my part and I had to make sure I was prepared for that and that I wanted it. I don't like the idea of doing anything half-heartedly but I also don't want to put a lot of time and energy into something that I don't really want. 

What this all means is that you can expect to see regularly scheduled, planned out posts from me as I explore everything that being a 20-Something has to offer. It is also important to note though that regardless of how much time and effort I put in, this blog is still in its early stages and there is always going to be a learning curve when pursuing something new. I'm sure that I will still have posts that aren't up to my standards but I am also sure that I will learn from them and hopefully, have a lot of new skills to take away from this experience. 

I look forward to sharing the next stages of The 20-Something Project with you!

~Elena

Checking in From Across the Pond!

Well guys, it finally happened! I had my last day at my job last Wednesday and am now writing to you from cozy (and surprisingly sunny) Isle of Wight!

I'm not quite settled in yet but will have some new posts coming up in the next few days on packing and traveling and should be posting much more regularly now!

xoxo, Elena

Mini Update

Got some exciting things going on lately but unfortunately, no time to blog about them! Work has continued to be crazy busy while I am training my replacement and preparing to leave. Hopefully I will have some more time next week to update on everything that has been going on/publish some posts I have in the works including:

• Bikram Yoga
• Packing
• Room Make-Over
• Beauty Routine

Hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of summer!!! I am super excited to spend my weekend watching the live stream of Rolex Kentucky and packing up for England!

xoxo, Elena