OCTOBER 2016 GOALS

I was reading my blogger friend Ashley's October Goals and it inspired me! I love reading what goals others are working on and how they are achieving them. I've been off/on with blogging for awhile and have been feeling a little more inspired lately so here I am! I decided to share some of my October goals with you to keep you in the loop. 

We are in transition on a lot of things right now: becoming foster parents, becoming biological parents, selling our home, Colten graduating, new jobs, etc. So instead of worry about all the things I can't control, this month I'm really trying to focus on what I CAN control. Which is me! So here's my goals based on Luke 2:52.

WISDOM 

Read 4 books this month. I just finished No Ordinary Women by Elaine Dalton on audiobook and loved it! Now I'm starting a book about yoga and so far so good. I'll try to do an October book update like I did for September. 

STATURE

Practice yoga every day- even if it's only a couple of stretches before bed. 

This is something I'm working on to try and help with my anxiety, and so far I feel like it's been helping a lot! 

FAVOR OF GOD

10-30 minutes of "SIT" time every day. I need to write a full blog post to explain this concept, but basics of SIT time is that I spend time Studying wherever my heart desires as long as it is spiritually uplifting, spend time in Intentional prayer/meditation, and give myself Time to write in a journal.

FAVOR OF MAN

Go on a fall-themed date with Colten! I've been wanting to go pick pumpkins and make caramel apples so we are definitely going to figure out how to make this happen. Fall is my favorite season!

That's all for now. I've been working through my mental illnesses and it has been very life-consuming for awhile. I finally feel like I'm getting a routine down that works! But I am still giving myself grace when I fall and need to pick myself back up. I hope you'll do the same for you this month.

Where to Buy Halloween Leggings

A bunch of my friends who sell Lularoe were able to snag a few pairs of the Halloween leggings capsule! I was so excited for them. I am totally into cheesy holiday outfits, so once they were posting the leggings I popped over to their Facebook pages to see what they had.

EVERY. SINGLE. PAIR. OF. LEGGINGS. WAS. SOLD.

In seconds! You guys! It is insanity. Now I'm seeing them being resold for $50, $60, $70+ dollars! It is insane!!

Of course it made me want some cute Halloween leggings, but not for that price! I decided to do a little internet research and thought it might be helpful to share what I found. So here are some places I found to buy Halloween leggings that aren't Lularoe!

+ Skeleton Leggings from Amazon


+ Spider Web Leggings from Amazon


+ Nightmare Before Christmas Leggings from Kohl's


+ "Creepy" Halloween Leggings from K-Mart 


+ Jack O Lantern Leggings from K-Mart


+ Spider Web Leggings from Tipsy Elves


+ Candy Corn Leggings from Tipsy Elves


I hope this post is helpful! Let me know if you find some cute leggings for yourself, I'd love to see. And be sure to share with your other leggings loving friends so they can get in on the fun!

September Books I Read //

End of August I joined a book club in my ward. Even though we weren't able to meet with them once the book was finished, I really enjoyed getting back into reading. Reading has been one of my hobbies for so long, but as the years have gone by and my anxiety has gotten worse I set it aside. Reading for the book club reminded me of how much I love it!

I committed to reading 10 pages a day. If I wanted to read more I could, but if nothing else I'd read 10 pages of a book for pleasure every day. I finished four books in September! (Needless to say I read more than 10 pages most days!) 

Fishers of Men by Gerald Lund

This is the book I read as a part of the book club. I'll be honest, it took me about 100 pages to actually "get into". I felt really confused. But after those first 100 pages or so I started to get super into it and loved it! It follows some families who were alive at the time that Christ lived on the earth and as he began his ministry. I really enjoyed hearing the stories of Jesus in a new way, through the eyes of fictional characters who were there. There are a few more sequels and I want to read them soon!

Uninvited by Lysa Terkeurst

I had seen a lot of bloggers posting about this book so of course I bought it to read! I hadn't read anything by Lysa Terkeurst yet, and I must say I love her writing style! This book gave me some amazing eternal perspectives on why we feel left out, where our worth comes from, and how to overcome those awful feelings of loneliness and comparison. If you're even a tiny bit interested in this book, give it a read. 

Let God Love You by Wendy Ulrich

I just finished a full review of this book. You can read it HERE.

Anxiety: Panicking about Panic by Joshua Fletcher

I purchased this book back when I was first diagnosed with anxiety and panic disorder back in May. It wasn't enough to know that "something was wrong with me." I wanted to know what and why and how. This book explains what can cause anxiety, and what's going on biologically when you are experiencing anxiety and panic attacks. I have found it super helpful. Knowledge is truly power! I believe one of the best ways to dispel fear is to gain more understanding about what it is that you fear. 

I've already purchased a few books for October and my Amazon list is FULL! What are you currently reading that you love?? I'd love to add some to my list!

Let God Love You - Book Review

Wendy Ulrich is one of my favorite authors. As a psychologist, I just feel like she GETS me. She understands the mental challenges we experience, and she understands that they affect us spiritually. 

I recently was given the opportunity to review her newest book from Deseret Book titled, "Let God Love You- Why We Don't, How We Can." The idea behind the book is coming to understand that our past and current relationships have affected the way we picture God. 

If we've had relationships that were really good, and then that person let us down, or abandoned us, or turned against us, we know the pain and trauma those experiences cause. We may start to put those ideas into Heavenly Father. Well if my husband left me, why wouldn't Heavenly Father? If my best friend gets impatient with my long stories, why would Heavenly Father want to listen? If my parent abused me when I made mistakes, how could God ever love me after this mistake?

See what I'm saying? After reading this book I realized just how many incorrect ideas I have about Heavenly Father that have come from past relationships. This book is amazing at helping you uncover what it is that is keeping you from closeness with God.

There are so many quotes in this book I want to share! But the best thing to do would really be to go buy the book from Deseret Book and read it! Here's one of my favorites I shared on Instagram. 

"Christ's disciples once asked Him to teach them to pray. He can teach us too. Sometimes we need more practice with submissive prayer, or grateful prayer, or penitent prayer. Sometimes we need to try praying longer, out loud, or with a paper and pencil in hand. And sometimes we need to simply invite God to join us at whatever empty chair we can see or can imagine, opening our heart to let Him come close, and sit with us as we wrestle with a problem, or feel sad, or just stare in wonder at the night sky."

This book has changed my perspective on how to get closer to God. I'm so grateful I took the time to read it. I have so many quotes marked in it. Most books I donate or share with a friend after reading, but this one is going to stick around so I can re-read it someday. God is truly waiting for us to let Him close! His love is unchanging, it is simply, always, there. 

Cariloha Bamboo Towel Review + Giveaway

I'll admit something here- I'm a cheap-skate. I just really really really hate spending a lot of money that you can get for super cheap. However, being a blogger has opened my mind and made me realize that sometimes... you really do get what you pay for.

One company where I've found that to be especially true is with Cariloha! They have bamboo bedding, clothing, and bath sets. I recently reviewed their bamboo sheets and a blanket here. RIP Walmart sheets, I am NEVER going back.

I've started to understand the benefits of spending money on things that you will use every single day. Every time I climb into my sheets at night I am instantly happy and relaxed because the sheets feel so silky without the slipperyness. So when I learned Cariloha also sells towels... I was ALL OVER THAT.

I must tell you... they are just as heavenly as you're imagining, maybe even more so.

They are SO. SOFT.

The washcloths are my favorite because I wash my makeup off every night before bed and the washcloths I've been using have felt scratchy on my face but what else would I use ya know? Well Cariloha's washcloths don't scratch at all! They feel so good on your face. When I first pulled them out of the box I just rubbed them all over my face because they felt so good and I was so excited to use them.

Here's some of the info about Cariloha's bath towels.

+ They are highly absorbent
+ They are odor resistant
+ Luxury softness in every towel
+ Bacteria-resistant  (perfect for washing your face!)
+ Hypo-allergenic
+ Snag-resistant

They sound amazing right? They are. I promise you will be obsessed with them. If the price tag is hard to swallow (I already admitted I'm a cheapo) try out just the washcloth set. It's only $24 for a set of 3. It's the perfect way to test it out without getting too deep into your wallet. So pop on over to Cariloha and get yourself some amazing new towels!

P.S. Be sure to be following @brooklynjolley on Instagram because there's going to be an AMAZING giveaway happening soon!


Cariloha sent me a few towel sets to review in exchange for this review post.

Academic Mormon Mom Planner - Review & Pictures!

A few years ago I used a Mormon Mom Planner and loved it! As a planner lover I often change planners multiple times per yer, but I always remembered how much I loved my Mormon Mom Planner from Life Organized. I reached out to the company and they sent me one of their new Academic Mormon Mom planners to review and share with you! (They are $10 off right now too!)

These planners have SO many functions! So many I would never be able to use them all! It's so nice to pick and choose which sections to focus on and which ones to not worry about. 

I keep meaning to fill this birthday chart in because I am SO BAD at remembering birthdays! It's so cute and convenient. 

There's also copies of some important LDS documents which I love having in there to read and review often.

Visiting teaching is something I'm so not good at... I want to get more into it and be consistent about visiting the women I am supposed to be ministering to. This section of the planner would be SO helpful in keeping track of those women! Remembering their favorite things, their birthdays, when you visited them, etc. SO AWESOME. 

The scripture reading charts are gorgeous too! 

Here are some views of the weekly and monthly pages.

Like I said, there are so many features in the planner I can't even name them all! Be sure to pop over to Life Organized and get your own!

Anniversary Makeup by Rachael Kiss N Makeup!

Last year on our anniversary we didn't have any plans because I wanted to save money. We ended up going to City Creek to shop and eat dinner and... we spent the whole night fighting. Not joking. LOL. So this year I told my husband I really wanted to plan something, even if it wasn't expensive, I just wanted to plan SOMETHING so we didn't end up spending the whole night fighting again ;) 

Colten ended up planning a surprise getaway! (One night at Anniversary Inn & one night at 5th East Hall). It was an amazing anniversary weekend. I absolutely love having little getaways with him. 

I wanted to do something a little special since he was doing so much for me, so I had Rachael come doll me up with her makeup powers!

She did such a good job! I usually don't wear much makeup so this was a big change for me! But I loved feeling a little more dressed up than usual for our special anniversary night. I can't believe it's been over 3 years now!!

Rachael was so amazing to work with. She had me send her a bunch of inspiration pics so she could see what I was looking for. She new how to pick colors that were good for my skin tone and she contoured my face like a boss without making me look too overdone.

She also gave me some tips along the way and I asked her a million questions. Despite being a hairstylist, makeup is something I'm just not that good at. So it was fun to learn her favorite products (Some of them are from the drug store! Holla!) and some of her tricks for making my makeup look the way I wanted it to.

She also used Lipsense Dark Pink on me and it was bold but not too bold for this Carmex-wearing gal. I'd absolutely recommend Rachael for all your makeup needs! I wish so badly I had booked her for my wedding 3 years ago. I mean, how great does this makeup look in my pictures? She was so sweet, she came to my house and made me feel pampered and pretty. So go check her out on Instagram at @Rach.KissNMakeup and see all her amazing transformations!

Rachael did my makeup in exchange for a blog post review, but you know, I only promote products & services I truly believe it. She goes the extra mile for ya!