I Never Thought...

I never thought blogging would....

I never could have imagined the connections I've made simply through putting my life out there in the blogosphere. There is a sense of camaraderie between bloggers, we get why we take pictures of EVERYTHING and ANYTHING, while others thing we are pretty crazy. The constant instagramming, tweeting, blogging, etc...it all makes sense to fellow bloggers. I also love how you could bounce ideas off bloggers and get feedback and connect that way. One of my favorite things is link ups, I know some people get annoyed of it, but I love link ups like BlogTober because there are prompts that give you a little creative juice to be free with your answers. It also keeps me motivated to keep blogging.

I love all the friends I've made and bloggers I've met from this awesome blogging world.

Linking up with Taylor & Helene!!

Best Halloween Memory

Time for a little throwback guys, it is Thursday after all. I haven't done too much in the past few years for Halloween, but back in the college days was where it was at. I remember one year we "trick-o-treated" downtown in Lincoln Park and got handed a case of beer from one guy, that was awesome. My best memory would have to be when we all went down to U of I. I had always heard that the Halloween parties down at U of I were definitely one for the books and it didn't disappoint.

A lot of the weekend is slightly hazy, but thank god there are pictures to help remember. I dressed up like a cowgirl and it was back when I was skinnier so it was a great look. I think the boy also said that was his absolute favorite look on me.

oh hello 21 year old Nikki...

I don't remember a whole lot about this Halloween, but what I do remember is the absolute blast I had with my best friends and all the new friends I probably won't remember, whoops...to be young again...

Linking up with Helene & Taylor for #BlogTober14

Letter to Future Nikki

Happy hump day folks. I'm sure a bunch of you guys have thought about the future, where you think you'll be in 5, 10, 15 years. The future helps us not only plan, but dream about things that are to come...well today's prompt is a great way to write to a future you

Letter to yourself in 10 years...

Hola 36 (yikes) year old Nikki,

I hope you are living a fabulous life as a 36 year old hottie. Jk let's be realsies. You are probably a hot mess running around after (hopefully) 2 active kiddos. I hope you are still blissfully in love with A and traveling as much as possible. I would hope that by this time you've enjoyed and experienced Europe and some sort of beautiful tropical paradise (Bali, Tahiti, Bora Bora, or Fiji...take your pick). I also hope by now you've gotten used to the hot and humid weather Houston has to offer, but don't worry you definitely don't miss that cold and snowy weather in Chicago. Last but not least, I definitely hope you are happy and healthy living the best life you possibly can, still learning and still growing into the person/daughter/wife/mother you are supposed to be.

Love 26 year old Nikki

So if you had to write a letter to your future self, what would you say/think/wish?

Linking up with Helene & Taylor for #BlogTober14

Best Vacation Ever

Hola lovies, oh em gee I'm blogging for 2 days in a row...it's a near miracle here. I'm again joining Taylor & Helene for #BlogTober14.

Today's prompt is Best or Worst Vacation...

I think hands down I have one amazing vacation that I still cannot get over. The events leading up to the trip to New Orleans was shaky and drama filled, but when my Prince Charming swooped in and made the horrible situation one helluva memory.

If you just started reading, my boyfriend and I took an amazing trip to New Orleans which was originally meant to be a bachelorette party gone sour. Since tickets were booked for the original bachelorette party and the fact that I had still wanted to go to this beautiful city, my boyfriend decided we should just take the trip together. This couldn't have been a more amazing trip because it was the trip where I knew I was officially head over heels in love with him. My favorite memory out of the entire trip was enjoying beignets at Cafe du Monde because we talked about our future and all of that mushy stuff, it was amazing. Now I'll let pictures do the taking...

So this was my absolute best vacation ever, if you want to read the full trip recap do so here! 

What was your best or worst vacation ever??

Doing the Blogging Thing Again

Wowza guys, it has felt like forever since I've dusted off this old blog of mine. I had kept meaning to come back to it and blog, but something just always came up and the blog got put on the back burner. So much as happened in this month long hiatus and instead of bore you guys with words, here are a few pictures of the last month or so.

Finally met up with the lovely Kate & Emily for a blate!!

So so glad I can officially call myself a certified medical assistant, such a big accomplishment for me

Fall is in full effect here in Chicago, and my outfit choices definitely reflect that

Got my very first Alex & Ani bracelets with my sissy, only logical that it's a sister one <3 td="">

Some big changes possibly happening, this was the first interview I've had in over 3 years, eek

Had family in from New Jersey which meant we had to go out and have a great time!

Such a cute baby shower for a family friend, can't wait to welcome this bundle of joy in December!!

So now that everyone is caught up with my life so far, onto some blogging. I have been wanting to join Helene & Taylor for #BlogTober14, but again life got in the way. Now I am deciding to hunker down and join in on the fun!! 

Today's prompt is 10 things I'd tell myself when I first started blogging.

It's crazy to think it's been over 2 years since I've started this whole blogging thing and I've learned so much and met a bunch of awesome people in this time. Onto the prompt...

{1} Be consistent about posts...granted I'm not the greatest at this even after 2 years, but I still try

{2} Pictures! Pictures! Pictures!...add them and make them big enough so people can see them

{3} Network!!...commenting and being active in the blogosphere will get you very far

{4} Grammar counts people...proofread then proofread it again. I can't tell you the number of times I've read a blog with noticeable spelling mistakes, I'm guilty of this too though

{5} Don't sweat the haters...when you put yourself and life out there for the world to see, there are bound to be haters, but like T-Swizzle says Shake it off

{6} Don't be a no-reply blogger...if you have send me an email and I can't email you back then I most definitely won't be searching on ways to contact you, it's an easy fix so just do it

{7} Scheduling posts will be your bff...I cannot believe it took me so long to learn how to do this, but once you do so, it will quickly become your bestie

{8} Take a break at times...this contradicts #1, but every now and then you gotta take a break and collect your thoughts, god knows I've done this more than a few times

{9} Instagram is amazeballs...I love the connections I've made not just through blogging, but Instagram as well

{10} Blog design...this is an awesome investment, you don't need to spend a whole lot, look for designers who do a great job on the cheap...Brianna did mine and I love love loved working with her she listens and gives you everything you ask for and then some!! 

Mainly my biggest advice for anyone who is first starting out,  I would say enjoy the blogging world and be yourself over anything else.

Makeup Routine Vlog

Hello loves! I'm back and excited for today's post. I have been wanting to do a beauty routine post and decided a vlog would be the best way to go about showing you my routine. I hate when I do vlogs because I feel like I sound SUPER Chicagoan and it's just an awkward ordeal for me, but nonetheless I have filmed one just for your guys' viewing pleasure. 

This is my normal everyday makeup routine that I wear on a daily basis. I love how quick and simple the process is and have it timed to take under 5 minutes to accomplish, it's a great time saver in the mornings when I hit the snooze button a few times.

{} Benefit total moisture facial cream

{} Benefit the POREfessional pore minimizing primer

{} bareMinerals BareSkin serum foundation-Bare Caramel #14

~Coastal Scents flat head foundation brush~

{}Benefit boiing concealer

{} bareMinerals mineral vein tinted powder

~ecotools fan brush~

{} Nars blush-Orgasm

~Coastal Scents blush brush~

Sorry for the cruddy iPhone pic

What's Going On?

Oh hey guys, anyone still reading this? Sheesh I can't believe I haven't blogged in 2 weeks, it honestly has felt like I haven't blogged longer than that, but the past few weeks have been crazy. In the past few weeks, I turned 26 (gasp) and had an amazing weekend with my boyfriend in town. I am such a bad blogger and didn't take many pictures, but I was truly living in the moment and just enjoying spending time with the boy and hardly looked at my phone during the weekend. 

On the day of my birthday my sister, friend and I headed downtown to the One Direction concert (yes, I know I'm 26 and not 13, but they were really awesome). I am not even ashamed of admitting I went there and we sat SO close to the stage. We were sitting so close that Harry Styles got water on us when he threw it. I'll let the pictures do the talking though.

The following day, the boyfriend flew into Chicago and we hit the ground running. We headed downtown and I showed him around town since it was his very first time in Chicago. We headed to Millennium Park, had dinner at PF Chang's, then headed to Navy Pier to walk around and board for our fireworks architecture tour. I highly recommend if you are in Chicago during the summertime to not only do the architecture tour, but if there are fireworks that night, shell out for that. It's amazing to watch the firework show on a boat. 

(Unfortunately the only picture we took while we were downtown)

The next day we slept in and headed for a late lunch then for a little mini-golf date. I loved being able to do normal things with him here because we don't have the luxury of just going mini-golfing whenever we want due to the distance.

The last full day we had together we spent at Arlington Race Track and it was such a beautiful day out, perfect for hanging and watching some horse racing. I didn't get lucky and win any money, but A made up for it and then some with his winnings.

Later that evening, A met my parents and sister and I think things went really really well. My parents loved him and it wasn't as awkward as I thought it would be. Now I can't wait until November when I get to meet his parents!! Also he is the biggest sweetheart and as if coming to Chicago during my birthday weekend wasn't a perfect gift, he got me an awesome Michael Kors bag (and his mom got me matching MK flip flops, such a nice gesture!).

In other news, my older nephew started his first day of Preschool yesterday and I think I'm going to cry, he is getting so so big already and I want time to freeze and for him and his brother to stay tiny people forever!!

I also got to hang with this adorable pup the other day and it just makes me want to get one so much more. I seriously can't, look at those eyes!

Lastly, I've been seeing this float around the blog world and always love a good link up. Whitney has prompts set up so we all can get back in the blogging game after this slump. She has prompts for each weekday, but you can link up any post as long as you include her button and link back to her. I think this is not only a great way to get back in the habit of blogging, but to meet some great new bloggers. I didn't really follow today's prompt, but I'll pick that up tomorrow :)!