Hey guys, long time no write! I hope you all had a very merry Christmas, ate tons of yummy food, got cool gifts, and most importantly, spent time with your family. However, now that Christmas is over, you might be hit with some winter break boredom. Being bored isn't fun (but is better than being at school), so I've come up with a few things that you can do to pass the time.
1) Read: Break is the perfect time to curl up with a good book, some fuzzy blankets, and a cup of hot cider. You can listen to the wind howl and see the snow fly everywhere from the comfort of a blanket. I recommend the Shopaholic series. They are so funny and a really quick read.
2) Get together with some friends: Spending the day with friends will definitely cure any boredom. You could have snowball fights, have a movie night, spa night, or go shopping, the possibilities are endless!
3) Cook: Cooking is awesome for a few reasons. It fills up your day, makes your house smell nice, and you obviously have some yummy food when you're done. I absolutely love peanut butter bon bons. Basically, they are rice krispies and peanut butter covered with chocolate and they taste heavenly. But if you want to go for a healthier option (hello New Years Resolutions), you could go with something like banana bread, a slightly healthier, but just as tasty choice.
4) Clean: Yes, I am aware that cleaning is basically mandatory torture, but it certainly is a productive use of your time! You will also feel super happy when you are done and you have a super duper clean room/house. You can even make a New Years Resolution to keep it clean!
5) Exercise: Most people think going for a run or just exercising in general is pure torture, and sometimes it is. There are ways that you can make your workouts more pleasant. Going for runs with friends are one of my favorite things to do. It makes a boring run 10x more fun. If running isn't your thing, get a fun workout put together and do it with some of your friends. You will also feel so much happier after a good workout.
6) Play an instrument/sing: I have been playing my piano SO much over this break and learning new songs and it is honestly so fun. If you don't know any instruments, you can sing or learn an instrument. Something about making music is so awesome and enjoyable.
7) Get outside: Go outside and play like you're a little kid again! Go make snow angels, snowmen, have a snowball fight (provided you live in an area where there is snow) or even just roll around in the snow. Even if you don't live in an area with snow, there is still tons of things to do outside.
8) Do your homework: Okay, you probably don't want to hear this one, maybe you're even procrastinating doing your homework by reading this (literally me right now). But, I don't know about you guys, but every time I'm relaxing I remember the homework I have to do and get kind of stressed out. It's way better to suck it up and just get your homework over with.
9) Make a YouTube video: Even if you don't have a YouTube channel, and you don't plan on posting the video, it is still so much fun to sit in front of your camera and pretend you're a famous YouTuber. Since it's after Christmas, you could film what you got for Christmas!
10) Arts and Crafts: DIY's never turn out the way I envision them, but I still enjoy making them. Surf Pinterest for a while until you find a project you want to do, go to the nearest store to pick up any materials you need, and have at it. It keeps you busy, and even if it looks terrible, you'll have had fun making it.
Alright, that's it for today's post! I hope you enjoyed and got some ideas to bust your boredom. I hope you all have a happy New Years!
PS- Don't forget to check out our instagram @withlovemidwest !
Lots of Love,
Lizzie
December 26, 2016
December 3, 2016
3 Embarrassing Stories that will make your day seem not that bad
Hey guys, it's Lizzie and nearly daily I have a few awkward things happen to me ranging from mild to cringeworthy. Hopefully these stories will make you laugh and make you realize embarrassing moments aren't the end of the world (although they may feel like it).
1) My school has a small running group that about 10 people are on. On this particular day, we ran to a park that has a stream running through it. Everybody decided to get a running start and leap about 5 feet to a sandbar in the middle of the stream and then step across a little more water and onto the other side. I was one of the last people to jump and was really not too thrilled with the idea, but did it anyways. I got my running start and landed on the gravelly piece of land with both feet... and them face planted. I'm not really sure where I went wrong but found myself laying in mud, rough gravel and frigid water (this being the middle of November). My shirt sleeves were soaked, my shoes were wet, I managed to get water all over my face, and to add insult to injury (or maybe the other way around) I got a bloody, skinned knee. To top all that off, when we got back to the school, I had to walk past a bunch of guys in my grade looking bloody, muddy, and wet.
2) So this embarrassing story happened a few years ago, but still makes me cringe. I had an orthodontist appointment earlier in the school day. I got back around 2nd hour, and it was now 3rd hour. My teacher was taking attendance and noticed it said I was missing. He asked me why and I said it must be because I was gone earlier in the day. He then asked me what class I had come back during. I could not for the life of me remember what class I had then. (This was like the middle of the year). I told him I had a mind blank and he kind of looked at me weird and told me to tell him when I remembered. I finally remembered at I had music then and told him. My face was burning, I just knew my face was beat red. To top it off, a guy whispered "Her face is red!!!" (No duh dude).
3) Yet another embarrassing moment by your's truly also happened to involve running and falling (I'm seeing a pattern!) It was homecoming and the cross country team was running from our rival's school back to our school with the football game ball. We had an assembly and came running into the gym to do a lap and present the ball (kind of cheesy, I know). Just as we started our sprint all packed together, my foot hit the back of my friend's shoe, and I stumbled. I did not fall though, so I'm grateful for that, but in my mind, it was a horrible and noticeable stumble. No one said anything to me about it so I guess it wasn't as bad as I imagined. Morale of the story? I'm a clutz while running.
Alright guys I hope you enjoyed those stories and got a laugh out of them, but in all seriousness, here are a few short tips to deal with embarrassing moments.
1) Remind yourself it's over and done with, and you can't do anything to change it. So why worry?
2) No one will remember in the days, weeks, months, or years to come.
3) Remember to laugh at yourself, even if you're mortified. It will make the situation seem less awkward, trust me!
4) The situation is usually not as bad as you imagine it to be.
Be sure to come back next week for another amazing post!
Lots of Love,
Lizzie
1) My school has a small running group that about 10 people are on. On this particular day, we ran to a park that has a stream running through it. Everybody decided to get a running start and leap about 5 feet to a sandbar in the middle of the stream and then step across a little more water and onto the other side. I was one of the last people to jump and was really not too thrilled with the idea, but did it anyways. I got my running start and landed on the gravelly piece of land with both feet... and them face planted. I'm not really sure where I went wrong but found myself laying in mud, rough gravel and frigid water (this being the middle of November). My shirt sleeves were soaked, my shoes were wet, I managed to get water all over my face, and to add insult to injury (or maybe the other way around) I got a bloody, skinned knee. To top all that off, when we got back to the school, I had to walk past a bunch of guys in my grade looking bloody, muddy, and wet.
2) So this embarrassing story happened a few years ago, but still makes me cringe. I had an orthodontist appointment earlier in the school day. I got back around 2nd hour, and it was now 3rd hour. My teacher was taking attendance and noticed it said I was missing. He asked me why and I said it must be because I was gone earlier in the day. He then asked me what class I had come back during. I could not for the life of me remember what class I had then. (This was like the middle of the year). I told him I had a mind blank and he kind of looked at me weird and told me to tell him when I remembered. I finally remembered at I had music then and told him. My face was burning, I just knew my face was beat red. To top it off, a guy whispered "Her face is red!!!" (No duh dude).
3) Yet another embarrassing moment by your's truly also happened to involve running and falling (I'm seeing a pattern!) It was homecoming and the cross country team was running from our rival's school back to our school with the football game ball. We had an assembly and came running into the gym to do a lap and present the ball (kind of cheesy, I know). Just as we started our sprint all packed together, my foot hit the back of my friend's shoe, and I stumbled. I did not fall though, so I'm grateful for that, but in my mind, it was a horrible and noticeable stumble. No one said anything to me about it so I guess it wasn't as bad as I imagined. Morale of the story? I'm a clutz while running.
Alright guys I hope you enjoyed those stories and got a laugh out of them, but in all seriousness, here are a few short tips to deal with embarrassing moments.
1) Remind yourself it's over and done with, and you can't do anything to change it. So why worry?
2) No one will remember in the days, weeks, months, or years to come.
3) Remember to laugh at yourself, even if you're mortified. It will make the situation seem less awkward, trust me!
4) The situation is usually not as bad as you imagine it to be.
Be sure to come back next week for another amazing post!
Lots of Love,
Lizzie
November 26, 2016
Finals Snacks and Study Hacks
Hello everyone!
I hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving, I know I definitely did. But now that Thanksgiving is over, I have the honor of having finals this week (yikes). To get into a motivated spirit, I thought I would share with you my favorite study hacks, along with some "brain food" to get you through the long days ahead of you.
Starting with food (everyone's favorite subject), I find it most necessary to share with you my FAVORITE study snack of all time, that takes less than three minutes to make. Now, I can't take all the credit for this (Pinterest ideas have helped me a ton), but these "baked" apples are the bomb.com. Simply cut up an apple (NO GREEN APPLES), a little bit of margarine, and a 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon and brown sugar. toss it all in a glass dish (make sure it comes with a lid. If it doesn't, just use a paper towel.), cover it up, and microwave it on high for two minutes. I swear, this melt in your mouth treat is calming, so you won't feel a stress overload while studying for that economics final, and will stall away hunger for a while. Another one of my favorites is roasted chickpeas. Roast them in the oven for 45 -60 minutes with some olive oil drizzled, and you're good. My favorite thing to do is to make Parmesan and garlic chickpeas, by adding some garlic powder, dried parsley, and Parmesan after you drizzle on the olive oil. Not only is this an easy snack to grab and go, but chickpeas are proven to be a good source of dietary iron (step away cheerios), and are beneficial to your immune system. Also, if anyone knows me, I have an undeniable love of bagels. While I can't always stop at Einstein Brothers and get my favorite (which happens to be the Nova Lox), and not be broke, I can definitely do it myself at home.
Now on to the study hacks. If it wasn't apparent by the previous paragraph, I am a firm believer that snacking while studying is going to help you stay focused. I'm not sure what it is, but whenever I snack when I study, I tend to remember things better than being on an empty stomach. I also recommend drinking water and/ or tea when you study. My go- to buddies are green tea (mine are from the brand Bigelow) and Republic of Tea's get smart® - No.16 Herb Tea for Memory/Focus. I realized that my past two posts, I have been going on, and on, about tea, but it is pretty beneficial for your body. I would recommend green tea in the morning for a boost of energy, unless you want to stay up all night. Also, a do NOT try to pull an all- nighter studying. There is a pretty extensive list of things that can happen to your brain, but I'll keep it short.
1. The National Sleep Foundation says you remember less when you are tired
2. Your circadian rhythm is thrown off
3.You'll stay stuck on any hard problems you have. Being tired= limited focus
4. You could possibly suffer from a sleep attack- where your brain forcibly makes you pass out, in spite of every intention not to (this could also be deadly. If this one doesn't convince you not to pull an all- nighter, I don't know what will)
5. Your brain stops functioning all together.
The best thing to do is get 8 hours, so don't save up all of your studying for the night before, and do studying in 20 minute increments for each class you have. to add on, don't forget to take a break. An information overload could possibly lead to a mental break down (that's not exactly fun). If you are more of an extrovert, try working in study groups. Collaboration can sometimes be key to getting good study habits. As an ex- AVID student, there is one thing that I still do, and that is mark up my notes and rewrite them. As much as I love typing, and like how fast it is, writing what you need to know sticks better in your head than typing.
Well, that is it for this week's blog post. Happy studying, and watch out for our next post! I think you'll enjoy.
Until next time
- Maddy
I hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving, I know I definitely did. But now that Thanksgiving is over, I have the honor of having finals this week (yikes). To get into a motivated spirit, I thought I would share with you my favorite study hacks, along with some "brain food" to get you through the long days ahead of you.
Starting with food (everyone's favorite subject), I find it most necessary to share with you my FAVORITE study snack of all time, that takes less than three minutes to make. Now, I can't take all the credit for this (Pinterest ideas have helped me a ton), but these "baked" apples are the bomb.com. Simply cut up an apple (NO GREEN APPLES), a little bit of margarine, and a 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon and brown sugar. toss it all in a glass dish (make sure it comes with a lid. If it doesn't, just use a paper towel.), cover it up, and microwave it on high for two minutes. I swear, this melt in your mouth treat is calming, so you won't feel a stress overload while studying for that economics final, and will stall away hunger for a while. Another one of my favorites is roasted chickpeas. Roast them in the oven for 45 -60 minutes with some olive oil drizzled, and you're good. My favorite thing to do is to make Parmesan and garlic chickpeas, by adding some garlic powder, dried parsley, and Parmesan after you drizzle on the olive oil. Not only is this an easy snack to grab and go, but chickpeas are proven to be a good source of dietary iron (step away cheerios), and are beneficial to your immune system. Also, if anyone knows me, I have an undeniable love of bagels. While I can't always stop at Einstein Brothers and get my favorite (which happens to be the Nova Lox), and not be broke, I can definitely do it myself at home.
Now on to the study hacks. If it wasn't apparent by the previous paragraph, I am a firm believer that snacking while studying is going to help you stay focused. I'm not sure what it is, but whenever I snack when I study, I tend to remember things better than being on an empty stomach. I also recommend drinking water and/ or tea when you study. My go- to buddies are green tea (mine are from the brand Bigelow) and Republic of Tea's get smart® - No.16 Herb Tea for Memory/Focus. I realized that my past two posts, I have been going on, and on, about tea, but it is pretty beneficial for your body. I would recommend green tea in the morning for a boost of energy, unless you want to stay up all night. Also, a do NOT try to pull an all- nighter studying. There is a pretty extensive list of things that can happen to your brain, but I'll keep it short.
1. The National Sleep Foundation says you remember less when you are tired
2. Your circadian rhythm is thrown off
3.You'll stay stuck on any hard problems you have. Being tired= limited focus
4. You could possibly suffer from a sleep attack- where your brain forcibly makes you pass out, in spite of every intention not to (this could also be deadly. If this one doesn't convince you not to pull an all- nighter, I don't know what will)
5. Your brain stops functioning all together.
The best thing to do is get 8 hours, so don't save up all of your studying for the night before, and do studying in 20 minute increments for each class you have. to add on, don't forget to take a break. An information overload could possibly lead to a mental break down (that's not exactly fun). If you are more of an extrovert, try working in study groups. Collaboration can sometimes be key to getting good study habits. As an ex- AVID student, there is one thing that I still do, and that is mark up my notes and rewrite them. As much as I love typing, and like how fast it is, writing what you need to know sticks better in your head than typing.
Well, that is it for this week's blog post. Happy studying, and watch out for our next post! I think you'll enjoy.
Until next time
- Maddy
November 13, 2016
School Morning Routine (Fall/Winter)
Hey guys! It's Lizzie, and today I have a school morning routine! I know I have a pretty specific morning routine, and I thought I'd share that with you guys!
So first thing I do when I roll (literally) out of bed at 6:30 and turn off my alarm (which is purposefully located far enough away so that I have to actually get out of bed), is to grab a throw blanket from off my bed. Getting out of my nice warm bed and going around my cold house is difficult, but a throw blanket makes the transition a little easier. Then I head out to my kitchen and make myself a bowl of cereal, because I'm not ready to make a big breakfast right away in the morning.
After that, I head back to my room and get dressed for the day. Finding what to wear is hard. Sometimes I have an outfit picked, but even so, I usually end up trying on like five different shirts before deciding on one. (I know I'm not the only one who does this.) Next, I head to the bathroom to brush my teeth (usually getting food from breakfast out from under my braces). I brush my hair, and try to do something with my hair. My go-to hairstyles are leaving it down, and doing a french braid back into a low ponytail and pulling out the baby hairs to make it look more effortless. Then I do really minimal makeup which usually consists of the Benefit They're Real mascara, the Benefit Porefessional primer, and occasionally concealer. I have a pretty good complexion so I don't use foundation and only use concealer for the occasional pimple.
Next, I head to my room, spray on some perfume and/or body spray, and make my bed. I usually end up with about 15 minutes left to pack my bag if it's not already, find a pair of shoes to go with my outfit and relax.
I hope you guys enjoyed this post! Please leave a comment giving us feedback and ideas of what to post next. It would honestly make my day!
Love, Lizzie
Instagram: @withlovemidwest
So first thing I do when I roll (literally) out of bed at 6:30 and turn off my alarm (which is purposefully located far enough away so that I have to actually get out of bed), is to grab a throw blanket from off my bed. Getting out of my nice warm bed and going around my cold house is difficult, but a throw blanket makes the transition a little easier. Then I head out to my kitchen and make myself a bowl of cereal, because I'm not ready to make a big breakfast right away in the morning.
After that, I head back to my room and get dressed for the day. Finding what to wear is hard. Sometimes I have an outfit picked, but even so, I usually end up trying on like five different shirts before deciding on one. (I know I'm not the only one who does this.) Next, I head to the bathroom to brush my teeth (usually getting food from breakfast out from under my braces). I brush my hair, and try to do something with my hair. My go-to hairstyles are leaving it down, and doing a french braid back into a low ponytail and pulling out the baby hairs to make it look more effortless. Then I do really minimal makeup which usually consists of the Benefit They're Real mascara, the Benefit Porefessional primer, and occasionally concealer. I have a pretty good complexion so I don't use foundation and only use concealer for the occasional pimple.
Next, I head to my room, spray on some perfume and/or body spray, and make my bed. I usually end up with about 15 minutes left to pack my bag if it's not already, find a pair of shoes to go with my outfit and relax.
I hope you guys enjoyed this post! Please leave a comment giving us feedback and ideas of what to post next. It would honestly make my day!
Love, Lizzie
Instagram: @withlovemidwest
November 6, 2016
The road to de-stressing
Hi everyone!
Remember me? I for sure have been the most busy I have ever been in these past two months. School is hitting me like a ton of bricks. I went out a couple weeks ago with the request of post ideas, and I got a great one (thanks to Anna Marie). Since I have been so stressed, I haven't been remembering to write, nor have I had the motivation to write. But then the realization hit me: when I need to relax, I need write. So, hey, why not update? I always have ways of making myself less stressed, but never remember them. So, when Anna gave me the request to send in my "de-stressing routine", I knew I had to jump on it. So, from the person who should probably not be giving tips on how to not be stressed, is how I relax and get everything settled to get the job (or million jobs) done.
The first thing I do is take a breath, and write what I have to do. I am a very visual person, and when I can see things when they are due, and how I have to do them, I feel so much less stressed. I am a planner, so having those due dates lets me plan and gain structure in my week. For me, structure is calming.
For when I need a quick way to help get rid of my stress, I result to tea, more often than not. Herbal tea, like chamomile is proven to help with problems such as insomnia, anxiety, and you can even use chamomile tea bags under your eyes to hide the fact you got about two hours asleep last night. For when you can't sleep, brands such as Celestial Seasonings (my favorite is the Sleepytime Vanilla) and Yogi (I recommend Honey Lavender Stress Relief) are available at places like Walmart for less than $5.
Because stress shows on my skin, I find some time while I work on my assignments to use a calming facial. Feeling Beautiful dead Sea Minerals Facial Anti- Stress Mask is a quick and easy mask that I can definitely say leaves me feeling refreshed. To relieve the fact that I haven't got sleep in the past month, when I have time, I use the Nugg Depuff Eye Mask. It works wonders for my eyes.
So, that is all for this post, I hope you guys can use this to help be less stressed. Check out our contact post if you wanna get a hold of us!
Until next time- Maddy
Remember me? I for sure have been the most busy I have ever been in these past two months. School is hitting me like a ton of bricks. I went out a couple weeks ago with the request of post ideas, and I got a great one (thanks to Anna Marie). Since I have been so stressed, I haven't been remembering to write, nor have I had the motivation to write. But then the realization hit me: when I need to relax, I need write. So, hey, why not update? I always have ways of making myself less stressed, but never remember them. So, when Anna gave me the request to send in my "de-stressing routine", I knew I had to jump on it. So, from the person who should probably not be giving tips on how to not be stressed, is how I relax and get everything settled to get the job (or million jobs) done.
The first thing I do is take a breath, and write what I have to do. I am a very visual person, and when I can see things when they are due, and how I have to do them, I feel so much less stressed. I am a planner, so having those due dates lets me plan and gain structure in my week. For me, structure is calming.
For when I need a quick way to help get rid of my stress, I result to tea, more often than not. Herbal tea, like chamomile is proven to help with problems such as insomnia, anxiety, and you can even use chamomile tea bags under your eyes to hide the fact you got about two hours asleep last night. For when you can't sleep, brands such as Celestial Seasonings (my favorite is the Sleepytime Vanilla) and Yogi (I recommend Honey Lavender Stress Relief) are available at places like Walmart for less than $5.
Because stress shows on my skin, I find some time while I work on my assignments to use a calming facial. Feeling Beautiful dead Sea Minerals Facial Anti- Stress Mask is a quick and easy mask that I can definitely say leaves me feeling refreshed. To relieve the fact that I haven't got sleep in the past month, when I have time, I use the Nugg Depuff Eye Mask. It works wonders for my eyes.
So, that is all for this post, I hope you guys can use this to help be less stressed. Check out our contact post if you wanna get a hold of us!
Until next time- Maddy
October 18, 2016
How to Throw an Epic Halloween Party
Hey guys! It's Lizzie here, and Halloween is right around the corner! Sorry the post is a little late, school's getting crazy. Anyways, I absolutely love having Halloween parties. For the past seven or so years, we've been having a Halloween party, so I've come up with a list of helpful tricks and treats to help you throw your own epic party.
1) Obviously, you need to figure out who you're inviting. I usually invite around five of my friends, and Emma invites about the same amount of her friends. Depending on the size of your house though, that can get a little crowded.
2) The next thing I love to do is decorate. There are so many ways to spookily decorate your house. You could have a theme (ie. skeletons or pumpkins), you could randomly throw Halloween themed things around your house, etc. Personally, I've come up with a collection of Halloween decor over the years, so I kind of throw things together. Some of my favorite things to use are fake cobwebs and spiders, skulls, pumpkins around the room, and witches hats. Now I can't tell you exactly how to decorate, so get creative. Also, cheap but cool decoration can be found at Walmart.
3) Who doesn't love food? You can't have a Halloween party without some killer (not literally) food. Candy seems obvious, but keep in mind you'll probably have tons of sugar as it is, especially if your Halloween party is on Halloween. I also like to have cupcakes. You can buy cool cupcake tins, get creative with the flavor, frost them Halloween colors, add some cool toppings. This year, we made cupcakes with white frosting, and then stuck these fake edible knives that we got from Walmart in them. You could also add red gel to make it look like the cupcake is bleeding. Next, something that is super simple, cute and tasty is chocolate covered pretzel ghosts. We took pretzel rods, white chocolate chips, and some black icing. Then we melted the chocolate chips, coated the pretzels about 3/4 of the way, and made ghost faces on them. Since all of that was pretty much junk food, it's a good idea to have some fruit there too. It doesn't necessarily have to be super Halloween related. Cantaloupe (which is orange) caramel apples, or just a bowl of fruit could be a possibility.
4) You'll also need to decide what you want to do at the party. Now, most parties will pretty much flow on their own, but just running around and talking with your friends isn't the most ideal party. You could really do anything at the party, but here are a few ideas.
- Haunted House- They are so much fun if you don't mind being scared, and are obviously very Halloween-y (is that a word??)
-Get outdoors- Something that we like to do living in the country is a hay ride. You can get some hot chocolate or apple cider and sip it as you go around the country talking to your friends. Now, I get that not everyone lives in the country, so you could get outside by playing games like ghost in the graveyard, going for a walk, or trick or treating (assuming that it IS Halloween).
-Costumes- Costumes may seem childish, but they really are fun. You and your friends could get dressed up, do scary makeup, and take pictures with your awesome costumes. Costumes are always hard for me-I never know what to dress up as. My best advice is to go on YouTube and find a list of costume ideas. I think it would be cool to dress up as a Snapchat filter, especially if you're good at makeup.
-Last but not least, I love watching a scary movie at night. You can get some popcorn, get in your sleeping bags, and enjoy being scared with your friends.
Alright, that's it for this week's blog, I hope you enjoyed it! Hopefully you got some ideas and are going to throw an epic party! It would mean a lot if you guys tell your friends about us, follow this blog, check out our instagram @withlovemidwest , and lastly come back next week for another post!
1) Obviously, you need to figure out who you're inviting. I usually invite around five of my friends, and Emma invites about the same amount of her friends. Depending on the size of your house though, that can get a little crowded.
2) The next thing I love to do is decorate. There are so many ways to spookily decorate your house. You could have a theme (ie. skeletons or pumpkins), you could randomly throw Halloween themed things around your house, etc. Personally, I've come up with a collection of Halloween decor over the years, so I kind of throw things together. Some of my favorite things to use are fake cobwebs and spiders, skulls, pumpkins around the room, and witches hats. Now I can't tell you exactly how to decorate, so get creative. Also, cheap but cool decoration can be found at Walmart.
3) Who doesn't love food? You can't have a Halloween party without some killer (not literally) food. Candy seems obvious, but keep in mind you'll probably have tons of sugar as it is, especially if your Halloween party is on Halloween. I also like to have cupcakes. You can buy cool cupcake tins, get creative with the flavor, frost them Halloween colors, add some cool toppings. This year, we made cupcakes with white frosting, and then stuck these fake edible knives that we got from Walmart in them. You could also add red gel to make it look like the cupcake is bleeding. Next, something that is super simple, cute and tasty is chocolate covered pretzel ghosts. We took pretzel rods, white chocolate chips, and some black icing. Then we melted the chocolate chips, coated the pretzels about 3/4 of the way, and made ghost faces on them. Since all of that was pretty much junk food, it's a good idea to have some fruit there too. It doesn't necessarily have to be super Halloween related. Cantaloupe (which is orange) caramel apples, or just a bowl of fruit could be a possibility.
4) You'll also need to decide what you want to do at the party. Now, most parties will pretty much flow on their own, but just running around and talking with your friends isn't the most ideal party. You could really do anything at the party, but here are a few ideas.
- Haunted House- They are so much fun if you don't mind being scared, and are obviously very Halloween-y (is that a word??)
-Get outdoors- Something that we like to do living in the country is a hay ride. You can get some hot chocolate or apple cider and sip it as you go around the country talking to your friends. Now, I get that not everyone lives in the country, so you could get outside by playing games like ghost in the graveyard, going for a walk, or trick or treating (assuming that it IS Halloween).
-Costumes- Costumes may seem childish, but they really are fun. You and your friends could get dressed up, do scary makeup, and take pictures with your awesome costumes. Costumes are always hard for me-I never know what to dress up as. My best advice is to go on YouTube and find a list of costume ideas. I think it would be cool to dress up as a Snapchat filter, especially if you're good at makeup.
-Last but not least, I love watching a scary movie at night. You can get some popcorn, get in your sleeping bags, and enjoy being scared with your friends.
Alright, that's it for this week's blog, I hope you enjoyed it! Hopefully you got some ideas and are going to throw an epic party! It would mean a lot if you guys tell your friends about us, follow this blog, check out our instagram @withlovemidwest , and lastly come back next week for another post!
October 5, 2016
Kick off to Fall (FALL FAVORITES)
Hi everyone! I hope you enjoyed last week’s post, because I know I definitely did. This week we are going to shift gears a bit and get more into fall. It’s October, so that means the leaves are changing, it’s getting a bit colder, and it’s time to change things up a bit. So for this week, I’m going to be giving you my fall favorites! Favorites posts are one of my favorites, because I get to rave about the products I love, and maybe you will find some love in this product too!
Another small update: as you can tell, this post did go up on a Wednesday, which is really late. If you didn’t read our post titled “update”, i had a pretty bad glitch with my computer. Because of this glitch, I end up posting a few days later than it is scheduled. I am getting this fixed, but for at least my next two posts, I will be either posting on a Sunday or a Monday.
Now, let’s get into this! Starting with my fashion favorites, I’m going to talk about some little trendy pieces that I have been loving in my wardrobe. The first of these is these little petite gold accents. There is something about yellow gold that I love, and I personally think it’s because it reminds me of the yellowish leaves that fall off the trees. My first of these favorites is this gold bracelet from American Eagle Outfitters (can get it in a set ). The main reason why I bought this set was to get this bracelet, because the accent on this bracelet is a gorgeous color of green that matches the gold fantastically. My other two favorites are rings, which I got from a store called Fun Sisters (Fun Sisters is a local store from my state, and you can check out what they have to offer on boutiques.com). Dark colors are always a go to for fall, but my favorite is dark green. My absolute favorite dark green right now is best displayed in these pants from American Eagle Outfitters. I absolutely love the fit of these pants, and the color is another benefit to creating the best looking fit. These pants are so versatile, and also go very well with another one of my fall favorites: chambray. I cannot describe my relationship with chambray with any other word besides fantastic. This top is from the Gap, and is one of the softest tops that I own. Now, I wouldn’t recommend wearing it with denim, because let’s face it: that would lead to a pretty odd outfit, but you can definitely wear it with pants like the ones i mentioned, leggings, the options are bountiful.
Fall beauty is something I really like to get into. I may be the only one to experience this, but whenever it starts to get colder, the dark circles under my eyes embrace the one’s of a racoon. To help fix these dark circles, I have been loving the Benefit “It’s Potent!” eye cream to reduce the puffiness and dark circles. I apply this before bed and before makeup in the morning, and look less racoon like. Moving on to makeup, I’m going to start with the eyes. My favorite colors this year are found in the Naked 3 palette by Urban Decay, which is available at Ulta, Sephora, or the UD website. The colors are fairly warm toned and versatile, so it is easy to create a casual or a dressy fall look. My all time favorite colors that I have been using with this palette are dust, buzz, and blackheart (I’ll attach the link to the palette, and to the other products I am talking about below). I have also been a huge fan of both matte, and berry lips for fall. So, to complete my normal fall look, I have been loving the Revlon Ultra HD Matte Lip Color in Addiction and Passion. The color pay off is absolutely AMAZING, and stays forever.
Now, this category is one of my favorites. Miscellaneous is where I talk about my fall go-tos, whether it be coffee, food, or music. One of my most common ones is coffee, so that is definitely going to be talking about that today. Now, if anyone knows me, they know I am an iced coffee drinker, no matter the weather. Since there is pretty much a Starbucks everywhere in the United States, I thought I would talk about my go- to order that gives a very fall- vibe that’s available all year long. My normal fall order is an iced caramel macchiato. Then, i get a little complicated by adding soy milk, and getting rid of the vanilla syrup, and substituting it with hazelnut syrup. I used to get this drink with normal cow’s milk and getting half vanilla syrup and half hazelnut syrup, however, the soy milk at Starbucks has a bit of a vanilla flavor. So, when I just get the soy milk, you can just cut out the extra sugar from having two different syrups all together, and getting an even creamier texture. Now, usually I don’t do scents, but I have been loving the Pacifica Spray Perfume in Sandalwood. This scent is a little bit musky, but don’t let it scare you! I find that there is a little bit of a citrus scent that lightens the woodsy smell, and it smells absolutely amazing. Another favorite scent of mine is the Unconditional Love perfume from Philosophy. It has a warm scent, with a little bit of a sweet undertone that just screams cozy.
So that is it for this post! I hope you enjoyed today’s post, and I will leave a link to the products below!
Until next time,
- Maddy
PRODUCTS:
Fashion:
Bracelet set: click here
Pants: click here
Top: click here
Rings: check out boutiques.com for new Merchandise from Fun Sisters
Beauty:
Eye cream: click here
Naked 3 palette: click here
Revlon Ultra HD Matte Lip Cream: click here
Miscellaneous:
Pacifica Perfume Spray: click here
Philosophy Unconditional Love Perfume: click here
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