Independence.

Independence is an incredible thing, no? No matter the scale- possessing the freedom to make your own choices and to pursue your dreams is the ultimate luxury. I remember being a young teenager chomping at the bit to get my drivers license. Then, an older teen waiting to hit "adulthood" and leave my childhood home for college. Next, I waited to be able to drink and go out to bars with my friends. After that- all I wanted was to march across the stage in my cap and gown to take my career by the horns. I've grown up on the hunt for more independence and fewer boundaries, yet rarely took the time to ensure that I was ready for all of it.

I've always heard that as you gain independence, you also gain responsibility. This has been all too true. Getting a car comes with the task of maintaining it. Going to college meant learning to do the activities for myself that my mom did for me when I was still at home. Heading out to drink required planning to get home safely. Beginning my career came with a whole new set of responsibilities and well, work. So, how on Earth do you prepare for these things?!

If I somehow had the answer to that question, I probably wouldn't need to be working my full time job anymore. That would be a pretty valuable life hack to discover. I don't have it all figured out, but I do know that a little planning and soul searching beforehand can help make these life changes more enjoyable. You will not be a functioning adult for very long if you neglect the responsibilities that come hand-in-hand with your freedoms. In fact, overlooking certain aspects of these responsibilities can cause you to lose your independence completely!

One of my most impactful life lessons that I've learned in adulthood so far is that the seemingly small things in the short term can have a huge impact in the long term. Simply making a habit of considering what new freedoms will require of you is often enough to avoid those pitfalls. Be educated! Be aware! And relax- you'll be just fine.

What do you do to embrace the independence in your life? How do you handle what life throws at you?

How to Prioritize "Me" Time

Let's face it- life can be pretty hectic at times. While I love the hustle and bustle, it tends to exhaust me after a short while. I'm a huge advocate of understanding your own personality and cultivating independence, however I too forget an important aspect of my week/day- carving out "me" time. Especially when things get busy with work!

Although it's often overlooked, nothing recharges me and helps me stay on top of my game like a little "me" time. It doesn't need to be anything extravagant, just something that allows me to take a step back and refocus. My favorite "me" time activities are reading, blogging, at-home spa treatments, baking, and sometimes working out. What I find relaxing really depends on where I am in my day, how much time I have, and my current mood. Here are some tips I use to help prioritize "me" time during my work week:

Schedule dedicated time on your calendar/to do list. This is huge for me. I feel as though I live and die by my Outlook calendar, my planner, and my never-ending to do list. Setting aside time (especially if it comes with a reminder) helps me to remember to indulge. It also helps me to feel as though it's productive and something I need to do to complete my day.

Set a specific amount of time to recharge then return to working. During the busy seasons of my job, like right now, I benefit from taking a break mid-afternoon to reset my mind. This helps me to return to finish out my afternoon strong. When I feel like I'm overwhelmed, I'll decide to take the next 10-30 minutes to do a relaxing activity then return to work fresh.

Remember the benefits you will enjoy! When I look forward to something, I'm less likely to forget it. This is also true for "me" time! By meditating or focusing on how relaxed I will feel afterwards, I'm more likely to set aside the time to achieve those benefits.

Set aside your materials in a visible place. If I want to go running after work, I'll be sure to lay out clothes and put my sneakers in an obvious spot. If I want to read during my lunch break, I'll be sure to put my book in my purse. Even if I'm in a different mindset when the actual time rolls around, I'm more likely to do my relaxation activity if I have all my supplies ready for myself!

These are just a few tips, but I've found them to be extremely helpful to prioritize "me" time in the middle of the hectic work week. I hope you find them helpful as well! Looking for a great face mask to pamper yourself? Read some of my reviews here and here. Prefer to read a new book? Check out my recent reviews!

How do you prioritize "me" time during the week? What are your favorite activities that leave you refreshed afterwards?

5 Tips for Long Distance Friends

Hey y'all! I hope you had an excellent LDW! I'm always thankful for a long weekend and am just trying to get acclimated to working again. Yuck. My weekend was everything I had hoped it would be and reminds me why I can't wait to move back closer to my family. They're the best! Moving away was one of the best things that's happened to me from a growth perspective, but it has also caused strain in different areas that I hadn't planned for. Being so far from home has made many relationships different- not just those with my family.

I honestly had a hard time dealing with being away from my friends at first. Not only did I miss them, but I harbored strange feelings towards them- feelings that I'm not proud to admit. I had this ugly surge of jealousy and loneliness when I saw photos of everyone hanging out without me. I knew that I wasn't there, so I shouldn't be upset to be excluded, but it still hurt. It took me many months to finally realize that I couldn't expect my friends to just put their lives on hold until I returned. I was the one who moved away- but they were all still together, in our city. That was hard for me. I think what made it most difficult for me is that I wasn't expecting anything to change. Our relationships would be different, but that didn't mean they'd be worse! Although it takes more effort, it is possible to have your friendships survive (and thrive!) through a long distance friendship. Here are 5 tips for long distance friends:

Understand that things will be different. You may not talk every single day or even every week, but truly good friendships are able to pick up right where you left off when you do talk again. Embrace the changes of your relationship and put effort into the time that you do get to spend together! Don't focus on the quantity of conversations, but rather the quality of your conversations. I think that acceptance is the first step to happiness with the changes you'll experience!

Schedule out Skype/FaceTime dates. Being able to see each other makes the conversation feel 100x more personal. Facial expressions and body language can be key to understanding what someone is saying. You truly miss out on an important factor if you restrict yourselves to phone/text/email conversations. It's also a fun thing to look forward to and helps me battle homesickness!

Stay connected with social media. While FaceTime conversations are awesome, you can't realistically have each and every conversation that way. Even if I haven't talked directly with a friend in a little bit, I love seeing what they are up to and chiming in on their Instagram/Twitter/Facebook postings. That's a great way to feel closer to them! Additionally, Snapchat makes for a fun platform to go back and forth- and can also let you see their lovely faces.

Send care packages! This is one of my favorite things. I can honestly think of few things that make me more excited than an unexpected package! There are so many opportunities to get creative and really show your friends how much they mean to you. A few months ago, I got a package with the most darling prints to hang up in my apartment after mentioning that I was having trouble finding the perfect wall decor. It was so touching and thoughtful that my sweet friend took the time to help me with something I brought up.

Plan getaways. Everyone loves (and deserves) a good vacation! And what is more fun than a weekend/week away with your besties? Not only does this give you something to look forward to, but it's a great opportunity to create new memories with your friends. Plus, it makes for a fun reason to plan and dream together!

How do you make your long distance friendships thrive? What have you learned from them?

How to Save Money in Your Twenties

Hi readers! I hope all is well in your world this week. Mine has been busy, but good. I really can't complain! Today's topic is something I've spent a lot of time thinking about. As a young professional, I feel as though I'm in a great phase in my life. I work for a great company, do a job that I enjoy (most days!), am financially independent from my parents, and am able to pay all of my bills while having a little left over for fun. But, finances can be tricky in your twenties. Not to toot my own horn, but I feel like I got on the right track pretty quickly from a financial perspective right out of college. I can't pretend to have gotten things taken care of on my own- I am very blessed to be surrounded by people who have great advice to offer from a financial perspective! On the flip side of that, I have also seen the financial struggles of people dear to me and my family during the economic recession that many are still bouncing back from. These experiences have given me a unique view on my finances and have allowed me to take charge from day 1. I want to share some insight with you so you can better understand how to save money in your twenties!

Thinking back on my initial job offer with my company, I was not thrilled with my salary offer. I was familiar with the cost of living in Atlanta, but I was going to be moving upon the acceptance of my position and was not sure what my salary would do for me in my next destination. I was pretty upset to be honest when I looked things up! It wasn't pretty. Thankfully, I signed on with a training program that had an increasing salary structure as I completed the phases and was able to live more comfortably as I moved through my program. Even though I felt strapped for cash and couldn't shop as much as I felt I needed to (getting a job required an ENTIRE wardrobe change for this gal! I couldn't wear Nike shorts and sorority tshirts every day), I decided to begin investing in my 401k immediately. I work for a company who offers a matching program up to a certain percentage of your salary. Y'all. That means FREE money from your employer for when you retire. Please, if you aren't sure, check to see if your company does this and opt-in for the maximum they match. I promise that you won't notice the small percentage missing from your paycheck! This is also the easiest way to save because it's already deducted before your paycheck is deposited into your bank account, so you never really know what you're missing! With all of the changes going on with Social Security and the instability of our economy, we have no idea what we will need by the time our generation retires. Saving early and diligently will absolutely help.

With that being said, I also believe it's important to have additional savings outside of a 401k. It's recommended to have 3-6 months of living expenses in an easy-to-access savings account as an emergency fund. Calculating this value is a great exercise because it forces you to look at your required costs vs extra costs (a great place to start formulating a budget...). Set this emergency fund as a goal and really do what you need to in order to build it quickly. So what if it means drinking water instead of soda at lunch? Or ordering frugally at happy hour? Or skipping the extra trips to Starbucks? You will survive, I promise. Establishing this fund ensures that you can live if anything happens to your current income flow and should be a priority. Oh, and once you've accomplished this? LEAVE IT ALONE. Don't dip into it next time Lilly or Nordstrom has a sale- you'll regret it if you ever happen to need this fund.

On top of an emergency fund, you may want to set an additional savings goal depending on where you are in your life. Do you want to purchase a new car or your own place? You'll need a down payment. How about replacing your hand-me-down furniture? That's not cheap. Are you going to be financially responsible for your wedding? You might want to start getting some extra cash set aside. Regardless of your goal, this is a great way to keep adding to your savings. Take a look at what you'd like to save and how long before you want to do so. This will allow you to break down what you need to save every month. I am currently allowing myself more flexibility here than I did with my emergency fund, but I do my best to keep track of extra spending so I can make up my shortcomings the next few months. I do this so my end goal isn't disrupted. This girl is hoping to buy when I move next, so I have a ton of saving to do!

As I mentioned before, bugeting is a great idea when you're first starting out. Getting paychecks larger than you've ever gotten before can trick you into thinking you can spend freely. Now, sometimes that is true (please refer me to your company if you have this kind of job) but more often it's an illusion. Required spends tend to increase when you're getting a full-time paycheck and need to be taken care of first before spending for fun. You should use some sort of visualization (I used Excel) to identify all of your earnings and spendings each month. I recommend splitting into sections with income, required spends (rent, car, gas, heating, power, etc.), and optional spends (eating out, concerts, shopping, etc.). This helps you to identify areas that you can have more flexibility in vs. those that are consistently there month to month. If you'd like more information on how I set up my budget, please send me an email and I'd be happy to go into more detail with you!

I hope you find my experiences useful and are able to start saving ASAP if you aren't already!

How are you saving? Do you have a savings goal? How do you prioritize your savings efforts?

What I've learned from living with AWFUL roommates

Hi guys! I can't believe we are so close to the end of August. It's blowing my mind. I'm headed out to Memphis for Labor Day weekend to spend some time with my family and it cannot come fast enough! I don't get to see my extended family very often- we are all scattered from California to New York and everywhere in between. Unfortunately, we won't get to have everyone there but I will take time with anyone I can. Family is super important to me.

As I've shared previously, I'm currently living alone. For me, it was an easy choice that I'm thankful to be able to pull off financially. I've never lived on my own before my current situation. I went straight from my parent's house to dorm life, to sorority house living, and then apartment living- always with a roommate/several roommates. I've roomed with complete strangers and I've roomed with close friends. It's been good, bad, and messy (but never ugly because I've been blessed to live with people with awesome taste!). To be completely transparent with y'all, I'm a Type A person. I like lists, and organization, and cleanliness. I picture myself as flexible and forgiving with others but there are definitely things that get under my skin when it comes to shared spaces. With it being back to school time and also when many people are making career transitions, I wanted to share some lessons to help you avoid similar struggles that I've experienced with your roommates!

 Clean your dishes. I had a roommate right out of college who I met the day we signed our lease. We both relocated for our job (same company) but had never met. She is a sweet girl and very similar to me, but was not particularly clean. I enjoy cleaning and am able to deal with most messes without being bothered with a few exceptions- one being dishes. In my home growing up, we weren't allowed to leave the dishes in the sink unless the dishwasher was running. Even then- the plate needed to be rinsed and potentially soaped-up depending on the meal so the food didn't get caked on. I blame this for my lack of tolerance, but please don't make someone else clean up your dirty food dishes! Even I have times where I don't load my dishwasher right away, but if you share a kitchen do remember to come back and do it. You're not living with your mom anymore and unless you have a conversation to assign this task to a specific person, YOU are responsible for YOUR mess!

Chore share. Regardless of my schedule, I always make time to clean. It's important to me to have a clean space to live in! I'm also one of those people who will procrastinate by cleaning, so that distraction goes away if my place is already tidy. Because of my tastes and tendencies, this is something I do without thinking. Although I may wish- I am not super woman and cannot do everything I set out to accomplish, so I've found that my living situation it much easier if we divide chores between roommates. It's hard for one person to clean up for several people- that's a full time job! Plus, tasks are more easily accomplished when broken down into more manageable activities. A clean house is not unattainable with teamwork!

Respect personal space. Learn your roommate(s) or simply ask- how they feel about sharing items in your common spaces. Do they mind if you use their Keurig? Or favorite coffee mug from Europe? Their KitchenAid mixer? The candle in the living room? Will you be sharing shoes? Or clothes? Make sure you are both clear on these boundaries so that you won't accidentally cross one and cause problems later. Living together can be tough and silly problems don't help! 

Understand needs for alone time. Every person is comprised of a unique mix of introversion/extroversion. Therefore, we each have different needs when it comes to alone time. Depending on your job/class schedule/extracurricular, you might need time to decompress when you get home. Or, you might need to be welcomed by friendly faces when you walk through the door. Make sure you express these needs so you can be supported/be supportive of your roomies! This will help keep you on the same page and help to minimize animosity.

Be thoughtful with guests. When I was in college, I had a year in an apartment with 3 other girls. We each had our own rooms, were paired off for the bathrooms, and all shared a kitchen as well as a living room. At the time, we all had boyfriends and were having them over at different times depending on our schedules. I liked all of my roommates' significant others, but I think it was hard to be respectful in our small apartments. If someone was having a fight in the living room at 1 AM or having a pre-gaming party to go out, we all heard. Make sure you are mindful with friends or significant others. Yes, it is your home and your oasis- but the same goes for your roommates!

While these lessons won't prepare you for every single roommate situation you're bound to run into, they will help you steer clear from some of the sticky spots I've gotten stuck. I hope you find them useful!

What are your tips for roommate living? How do you make sure things go smoothly?

4 things you should try alone

Hey out there! If you've been following along with me for some time now, you've probably gathered that I'm currently living alone. I've been through periods of life with roommates, but can honestly say that I've experienced some crucial growth since I've moved to be on my own. When you live with a roommate, you constantly have companionship (which is good and bad sometimes). This means that you can always have a partner-in-crime for binge watching Netflix, grabbing meals out, going to grocery store, etc. This may lead to the misconception that you NEED someone else to do these activities to have a good/productive time. Y'all, that is SO FALSE. Doing certain things alone can be scary but totally worth it. Here are a few things I think every adult should do alone at some point in their lives:

1 Live alone. While there's absolutely value in co-habitating, I think that everyone should experience living alone. There's nothing quite like it! You have the flexibility to reach out when you want company or just relax in your own awesomeness within every square foot of your place if you want to be alone. You are forced to identify your own design style/taste and I think it's healthy to learn how you live naturally. Do you make your bed everyday even if you know no one else will see it? Do you leave dishes in the sink? Are you tidy? It's absolutely a self-discovery experience and will prepare you to understand what you bring to the table (both good and bad) when you live with someone else again!

2 Eat a nice dinner out alone. The idea of this used to terrify me. When I worked in a restaurant, I always felt pity for people who came in to eat alone. I caught myself thinking "Aw, how sad! I hate that they don't have anyone to come out to eat with!" Maybe it has come with age, but I never realized the courage and confidence it takes to take yourself out to a nice meal. It's absolutely easier to stay at home and order Chinese if you don't have a dinner date. And while it does feel weird at first, I now find it to be empowering. If you want a steak, go get yourself a steak! Bring a book, or your iPad, and enjoy a quality meal. Why? Because you can and you deserve it!

3 See a movie alone. This is another silly thing that I used to care too much about! I was embarrassed to go out alone to see a movie, no matter how badly I wanted to see the film. When you actually think about it- this is the EASIEST thing to do alone because it's a solitary activity! You go and sit down in a dark theater to stay quiet and enjoy a movie. Then you leave. I promise you, no one cares if you walk in and out alone. They probably won't even notice. Go and get yourself a popcorn, icee, and some twizzlers- or wine if you're at that kind of theater!

4 Go to the grocery store alone. Now that I do this alone every week, I am not sure that I want to do this with company again. It is so much easier to get through the store and to get everything you need (and nothing extra) when you are alone. You don't really need to discuss much while in the store, especially if you come with a list, and if you're going slowly to socialize- you're probably holding up others!

Do you have anything that you are afraid to do alone? I urge to you give it a try, it can be so invigorating to challenge yourself and step outside your comfort zone! Let me know if you've done something that was scary at first (or if you plan to tackle something soon) in the comments!

6 Ways To Rock This Summer

Hello hello! Y'all. Can you believe that it's finally SUMMER?! No more threats of snow or waddling around under layers wrapped in down puffer jackets! Hallelujah! I'm loving it so far. I've spent plenty of time at the pool- reading and listening to Serial (more to come with both of those topics in the near future..). It's my picture-perfect way to pass my free time. For me, summer has taken on a new persona in my adult life. Even though I went to school during my summers in college, it was still MY summer. I had plenty of time to do what I wanted with whomever I wanted basically whenever I wanted. I definitely miss those days. But I have learned to capitalize on my new relationship with summertime and wanted to share a few ways you can rock your summer!

Take a day trip.  Living up in metro-DC means that I have a ton of attractions within a short driving distance. Last summer, I tried to make the most of my weekends and visit some cities within 1-3 hours of me. I'm not native to this area, so everywhere is a new beautiful experience for me. Annapolis, Baltimore, National Harbor, Fredericksburg.. I am hoping to grow my list this year as well! Pack up a cooler, make a new playlist, grab your friends, and hit the road! Even if you're revisiting a city, you can definitely find a new perspective!

Throw a pool party. Pool parties aren't just for 13th birthdays anymore. Skip the balloons, streamers, and cake (actually, I say keep the cake..)- add good friends, a wireless speaker, and blended fruity cocktails to a pool deck then stir. That is the recipe for a perfect pool party in my book!

Create your own summer reading list. Now, the words "summer reading list" may send a wave of fear through your body, but I promise it's more enjoyable when you make your own. Do a little research of popular reads and create your own list to enjoy in your down time. No deadlines or reports due at the end!

Explore your surroundings. No matter how long you've lived at your current residence, neighborhoods are constantly changing. Try a new restaurant, take a bike ride in a new park, go hiking on a new-to-you trail. Finding new things to do in your immediate area not only allows you to fall more in love with your present hometown, but may also help you discover a new hobby!

Grill out/picnic. No summer is complete without a good cook out. There's just something so special about eating your grilled (or any, really) meal outside. I think it actually might taste better- and we all could use some more fresh air. My apartment complex has community grills around the property and I am determined to try one out this summer! Wish me luck!

Attend local free events. Many towns and cities offer free or donation-based events to their residents over the summer! There are several blogs and Facebook groups dedicated to publicity for these and I encourage you to find one near you. Whether it be attending an outdoor movie, a fitness class, or a baseball game- there's no reason to miss out!

Hopefully these ideas will help inspire you to make the most of your summer. I know I plan on doing each of these things at least once before Fall comes around. Did I miss any good ideas? Please share your thoughts in a comment!

How will you rock this summer? What are your favorite summertime activities?