2015: The Year of Making Things Happen

Happy New Year!
I hope that you all had a fun and safe New Year's Eve celebration last night. I know I did! But now, it is finally 2015, so let's get down to business. (points if you finished those lyrics and got that reference!)
2015 is going to be a big year for me. I'm going to hit a lot of milestones, and I'm also going to be celebrating some with the boyfriend, Darell, as well. There is a lot that I want to accomplish this year, and everything that I do this year will set the tone for next year (I also have some huge goals for 2016 as well. I know, I'm thinking waay ahead). 
I know that everyone talks about resolutions for the new year, but I don't like using that word because I feel like there is a more likely chance not to accomplish your goal if you use that term. Because let's be real: how many people actually finish their New Year's Resolutions from the beginning of the year to the end? 
Because of that, I refer to my "resolutions" as goals. Here are my goals for this year, not only for this blog, but my personal goals as well: 
Blog Goals: [] Rebrand/redo the blog design (only tweaks, not a complete overhaul :) [] Get back into #ootd posts, at least biweekly [] Host at least one giveaway every quarter [] Have Instagram following hit 1K [] Have Twitter following hit 1K  [] Attend at least two blogger events [] Develop at least 2 new blogger friendships [] Collaborate with more local brands and shops [] Launch my two projects I'm working on by June of this year :] [] Participate in at least one full-on photoshoot (with a hair stylist, makeup artist, a stylist, everything) [] Get published in a large publication (online or print) [] Host my first blogger event
Personal Goals: [] Go on a road trip with friends [] Get my own apartment! [] Learn to cook a Filipino dish that isn't lumpia [] Travel out of the country [] Find a job that will give me a stable income (or at least have my current job give me a more stable income) [] Turn 21 haaaay  [] Have my first legal drink (after I graduate and am off contract from my school, of course #Vanguardproblems) [] Witness Darell graduate & receive his AA!  [] Have a GPA of at least a 3.5 or higher for my last two semesters of college [] Go to Camp Whittle  [] Go back to Royal Family Kids Camp [] Read at least 6 novels for pleasure (since 12 didn't work last year) [] Go on a date with Darell where we look like tourists/too rich for our own good haha [] GRADUATE COLLEGE
Okay, so one of the main things I'm excited for is graduating college. As of right now, I'm set to graduate this December, and even though that's not until the end of the year, it's a pretty great thing to look forward to. And I also want to take this blog to the next level too. I'll be going on 2 years with the blog this year, and I want to really propel it into what I envision it to becoming. 
I'm declaring 2015 as the year of making things happen, and I hope that you will declare that for your life this year as well. Here's to a new year!
What are your goals for this year? What are you going to do differently?

Review of 2014 Goals

On the first day of this year, I wrote a post about my goals for this year, both personal and blogging related. I figured that the best way to end this year and the most fitting last post for 2014 would be looking back at what I've been able to accomplish, and looking forward to dreaming even bigger in the coming year. 
Here are my goals and what I've accomplished: 

Blog goals:

[x] Fix up site design

[x slacked on this in the last couple months, however] Consistently post 3 times a week

[I'm getting there!] Schedule more posts!

[x] Connect and collaborate with other bloggers

[x] Take better photos

[This worked up until October. ] Post YouTube videos on my channel (also meant to partner with this blog) at least once a week

[x] Film better quality videos with the boyfriend

[x I went to one this year and met some bloggers that have now become real-life friends!] Participate in a few events with brands and/or other bloggers

[x] Have at least 500 Facebook fans

[x] Increase following on all social media!

[x overall] Hit 10,000 pageviews

Personal Goals:

[] Thoroughly study through at least half the Bible

[x] Get back on with daily devotions

[x] Pray more

[Sadly, not even close.] Read at least 12 books by the end of the year

[x] Get my car PLEASE

[x] Get a job off campus

[x] Find a place to live for the summer

[] Get my community college transcripts omg I've put it off too long haha

[] Learn to cook a Filipino dish

[2 out of 3 ain't bad] Travel to at least 3 different states

[x] Go on a roadtrip

[x I attempted this one] Do a cover video

[x] Go to a museum

[x] Do something touristy in LA

[x] Try a new type of food!

[x] Do a pinterest craft in real life

Okay so I did a pretty decent job at completing my goals so far, right? This year was intense, emotional, and very busy for me. A few of my personal goals I didn't get to accomplish but next year I want to make that change. Despite that, I still say that 2014 was a great year for me! I learned a lot about myself and the people around me, and it was a year of growing pains for me and Darell as well, hands down. I didn't talk much about my favorite personal moments of this year like I did last year, but it's okay, I'll remember those moments in my heart, as corny as that sounds. 

Well that's it! That is my last post for 2014! Tonight, I'll be spending New Year's Eve with the boyfriend's & his family. FUN FACT: We've never spend any holiday in the holiday season in the almost 5 years we've been together! So tonight will be very memorable for me :] Until tomorrow, Happy New Year! Enjoy tonight with your loved ones. 

What have you accomplished in 2014?

Preview of Apartment Life: Living with a Kitchen

I've been on winter break for just about a week and a half now, and I was so blessed to have a couple friends let me stay at their apartment while one of them went home to North Carolina for winter break. I stayed close to school rather than moving back home because of work so I wouldn't have to commute so far. 
I've really enjoyed living here so far mainly for one reason: A KITCHEN! 
Living in the dorms have been fun because of the community and being on campus, but the thing that I've always wished that I've had was a kitchen, and most on-campus dorms only have kitchens for those with special health needs and can't eat what's in our dining hall. 
Because it'll be my senior year next year, I really want to slowly transition to post grad life, and that includes living in an apartment off campus. One of the main reasons: having a kitchen so I can cook! I didn't grow up eating a ton of American food on a daily basis because my parents always insisted on feeding us Filipino food. I hated it growing up because I hated eating rice with everything but I'm so grateful for it now that I'm older. 
One of the biggest reasons for wanting my own kitchen is being able to eat Filipino food when I want! I can't do that now because most of my cooking consists of typical American breakfast foods, but as the break goes on (and when I eventually have my own apartment next year) I'm so excited to learn.  I love having my own kitchen because I love grocery shopping and the idea of preparing my own food for me to eat. There is also that satisfaction of your food tasting good and knowing that you made it yourself. 
I've been pinning lots of easy (and cheap) recipes for me to learn so that I can try cooking some new things on a college student budget. I love experimenting with new foods. Send me some pins if you have any ideas for me to try!
Follow Kriselle Mendoza (Livin' and Lovin' Blog)'s board Let Me Eat on Pinterest.

Even though I'm only staying in this apartment until mid-January, I'm going to enjoy it while I can, especially the kitchen. It's making me excited for getting to do this for real next year! Until then, I'll experiment with what I can, and follow me on Pinterest if you want some ideas too!

Color Swap with Wetherills Say I Do

Christmas is a great time for gift giving, and I had the awesome opportunity to participate in a kind of gift swap called The Color Swap, featuring a bunch of bloggers from The Peony Project (I've been mentioning them a lot lately!). The swap was hosted by Melissa of Two Miracles.
The Color Swap was a gift exchange where you had to buy your partner a collection of things that are their favorite color and things that they like, of course. I was paired with the lovely Madison of Wetherills Say I Do, and she's already posted what I got for her on her blog! You can check that out there. It's about time that I get to talk about and publicly thank her for what she's given me as well!
As you can see, my favorite color is orange, and she did a great job at getting me some cute stuff in that color. I would have to say that my favorite things are all the things she got me from Poppin. All of their office supplies are so sleek and I love how they color coordinate everything. That's a big deal for me. 

As a writer, I think it was very fitting that Madison had given me a notebook. I love notebooks even if I have no use for them. I will always find a use for notebooks. Any excuse for me to write things down or make lists is fine with me. 

Of course, a writer needs a writing utensil, right? I was given a neon orange Sharpie and I really like how the color looks on paper. I was a little nervous, but the color is easy on the eyes and is actually lighter than I thought, which I like. (And excuse my little typo where it says "family," haha.)

The two other products I was given included a pebble eraser and the soft mini tray. The eraser is simply too cute and perfect for me to even use it and the tray is perfect to hold random little pieces of clutter hanging around my desk. I like how both of them feel too. 

Orange recipe cards were the last thing I received in my package, and I couldn't be more happy with the timing of it too, especially since I'm living in an apartment over winter break and am planning on living in one in a few months as well. These will be perfect for me to record all of my mom's recipes for my favorite Filipino foods. I've already started asking her for help on that and these cards will be perfect for me to remember them. 

This was a great gift to receive right before Christmas! I could always use more things to help organize myself, and with each coming year I make a goal for myself to be more organized. I'm hoping that these will help with that, haha. Don't forget to visit Madison's page to see what I got for her as well!

From New England to the South: Annaliese of Southern Belle in Training

This is the last of my sponsors posts for this month, I promise! Haha, but my last sponsor for the month was Annaliese of Southern Belle in Training. This isn't the first time she's been on the blog, and it probably won't be the last. Haha. 
She, along with Liv of Liv, Love, Laugh both held the "Dating" ad spots on the blog this month as a surprise prize from winning my birthday giveaway a couple months ago. 
Annaliese is someone I've been "friends" (I only use quotes because we've never met in person) with since summer 2013 when I first started this blog. She's seen my blog from its beginnings and I've watched her blog grow and evolve as well. 
Her blog has improved so much as a fashion and lifestyle blog and I'm honestly very impressed at how much her photos have improved specifically! I'm hoping to have more quality photos like that more consistently in the future. She has such a cute sense of style!
One of the first things that drew me to her and her blog when I first met her was her faith. See, I had just started blogging and wanted my faith to be apart of my blog, even if it wasn't the primary topic I talked about. She was already blogging and seemed to have successfully write a quality blog that incorporated her faith into it. Not only that, she herself just seemed like such a sweet and genuine person, and those kinds of people are the ones that I tend to like and be more likely to follow. I'm all for being real. I always talk about this when I talk about her but it's because her love for Jesus is so evident in her life. I love it.
She wants to go into radio (which I think is rad, especially because I've never met anyone aspiring for that) and she is also currently living in the South although she's originally from Maine (hence her blog name, haha). 
Annaliese is just the girl that would love to meet and genuinely be friends with anyone! She is such a sweetheart and I have loved getting to know her over the past couple of years. 
So check her out! She's a cool girl and you won't regret it! Here is the past couple of times she's been on the blog:  Her previous sponsor spotlight with another blogger Guest post: Maintaining your faith in college
Some posts I really like on her blog: Perfect Sweater Dress A New Season of Singleness (an oldie but a goodie, even if I myself am not single)
Facebook // Twitter // Instagram

For the Love of Journalism & Theology: Liv of Liv, Love, Laugh

I love meeting and following bloggers who blog about things with substance, and Liv from Liv, Love, Laugh is one of them. Every time she writes, there is meaning to it. She's also an aspiring journalist like me, which is also something that makes me immediately like a person more [: haha. 
Liv is one of two bloggers who had my "Dating" ad spot for the past month, and it has been fun working with her. She was actually one of the winners of my recent giveaway celebrating my birthday, and as a surprise addition to the prizes, I offered Liv and Miss Alk ad space on the blog! 
Liv blogs over at Liv, Love, Laugh. The name is resemblant of the phrase, Live, Laugh, Love (to me at least), but I believe the name is meant to also describe her life and how she lives it. Those are my thoughts, not hers. Haha. I've been following Liv's blog for a year or so now, but I've only started getting to know her a little bit more this year. 
She is a journalism student living in New York. SO JEALOUS. I feel like if you're going to do journalism anywhere, you either need to be in the heart of LA or NY. Especially New York. Most major newspapers and other publications have HQ in NYC. 
Fun fact: we also have a mutual friend in real life! Liv & I have never met in person. We have only met online through blogging. But this past spring, I met a guy from her school that worked on the newspaper with her, and she later told me that she was on the same staff. I didn't know that at the time that I met him, so that was pretty cool. 
One thing I love about Liv is how she isn't afraid to talk about her faith. She talks about it on her blog and talks about unique things in regards to faith and religion. She goes to a Catholic university and her dream is to be a correspondent to the Vatican City, so it's safe to say that she is a proud Catholic. I like her perspectives and posts, like her tweet about how the eucharist is made: 

ever wonder how they make the eucharist? http://t.co/ilsU8nNHSm an inside look by @Crux #catholic
— Olivia Cunningham (@livlivinglife) December 10, 2014

She's an awesome girl. She has a lot to say and isn't afraid to voice her opinions about it. I like her for that. I also love her love for journalism. A woman after my own heart. 
Check her out if you haven't already! Go stalk her. (It's okay, I won't tell her you did). 
Some cool posts by her:  Giving Tuesday 100 Hours of Poverty
Facebook // Twitter // Instagram

November + December Sponsor Spotlight: Peony Project Ladies

It's been a while since I've had a sponsor spotlight, but I just relaunched my sponsors page last month along with Adproval's new beta system allowing for coupon codes for ad spaces. If you are interested in purchasing an ad spot with me (they're relatively cheap!) use the code TISTHESEASON for 25% off any ad space worth more than $5 at checkout!
To celebrate, I recently had a few ladies from the Peony Project, a Christian blogger support group I'm in, sponsor me for the past month! Unfortunately, due to finals their sidebar ads are no longer on my sidebar and I didn't have this post up sooner, but better late than never, right? 
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This here is Susana from Hurray I'm a Mommy. As you can tell, she's a new mom exploring and enjoying motherhood. She writes a lot of personal posts about herself and thoughts she has on certain things. One that I really enjoyed was her post about surviving the holidays after a loss. No matter what time of year you lost a loved one, there are always those first few holidays that you spend without them, and it's hard.  Other than talking about her personal thoughts, she shares some recipes, talks about owning a puppy vs. having a baby, and so many other fun types of posts that come with being a newlywed and a new mom. Show Susana some love and check her out!
Facebook // Pinterest // Instagram

Kenji is a very strong and beautiful woman of God and Rheumatoid Arthritis survivor and she blogs over at Kenji is Here! She has a french bulldog named Poopsy, loves karaoke, and is loud and loves people! She writes a lot of meaningful posts, whether it's about the tattoos she has or even just how grateful she is for being where she is in life. Kenji is very real and vulnerable on her blog, something that I really appreciate and look up to in other bloggers. She isn't afraid to talk about the positive and negative things going on in her life, but she always does it looking on the bright side, always finding the joy in every situation. I applaud her for that because many bloggers can't do that or just don't. If you want to follow along with someone who will talk to you as if you're right in front of them, definitely check out Kenji! She is a great girl. 
Twitter // Bloglovin' // Facebook

Norkor blogs at Voyageur Africaine, which translates to African Voyager in English from French. She is originally from Ghana and has been traveling the world since she was 6. She is currently in a gap year, and she's using that time to travel, of course. I love that she will bring her African culture into some of her posts and she definitely writes a lot about her faith in Christ. I especially love how bright and vivid her photos are in every post because I feel like they are able to allow the reader a peek into the beauty of her adventures. She will definitely leave you with a longing feeling of wanderlust!
Facebook // Instagram // Bloglovin'

Heather blogs over at Broken with Remedy, an inspirational lifestyle blog. She is an expectant mother writing about her pregnancy and encouraging others through her posts for teen girls or about prayer. She is still navigating through the blogging world but she's definitely enjoying the process! She definitely has a heart to serve and wants her blog to be an outlet for that. 
Facebook

Bijee is the woman behind The Reflections of a Good Woman, an inspirational blog that talks about relationships, friendships, and life in general. She works to reach out and help out everyone who may need the encouragement. Her blog very well reflects the name. Her posts are meant to motivate you to do something or change something in your life for the better, usually little by little. Some of them include: the blessing of breakfast and devotional time in the morning, or an honest post about telling people that they cannot dictate who her own daughter should become. Bijee does a great job at definitely working hard to motivate people to evaluate and reflect on themselves as people and even on a spiritual level at times. Her faith definitely shines through. 
Twitter // Facebook // Pinterest




So those are my sponsors for this month! It has been amazing being part of the Peony Project and getting to meet such a wide array of women who share the faith that I have. Sometimes it's hard to be a blogger that incorporates their faith into their work, so it was heaven sent for me to find this group and be part of it. 
If you are interested in being part of The Peony Project, there are directions on Betsy's (the founder) page about it! If you are interested in sponsoring Livin' and Lovin' Blog and want to be part of this community, get some more information here. I have a variety of options, from free swaps to a two-month long sponsorship where you get all the perks plus some customization to your experience so that you are getting the love you deserve! Don't forget to use the code TISTHESEASON at checkout to get 25% off any spot more than $5!
Stay tuned, because I'll be featuring my two top sponsors for the month very soon! [: