Away with April | Goals & Favourites

What a crazy month! From finishing school to moving home it's just been one thing after another! I loved every second of it.

As the month draws to a close, it's time to reflect on what I've been loving throughout this month as well as the steps I've taken toward accomplishing my goals for 2016.

Favourites

1. Dangerous Woman Ariana Grande

I've always been a huge Ari fan, but something about this song makes it my favourite! The chorus sounds so strong and sexy. It's definitely a good vibe song.

2. 7 Years Lukas Graham

I think everyone has been obsessed with this song. It's so good!! The lyrics are absolutely genius and the message speaks to everyone. Lukas Graham sort of came out of nowhere and took the world by storm with this song.

3. Thich Nhat Hahn books

I've been on the path to becoming a more mindful person and Thich Nhat Hahn's books have been such a blessing for this journey. I've bought Peace is Every Breath and True Love: A Practice for Awakening the Heart. I highly recommend looking into his books!

4. Hazel ChewingSand YT

I've become a huge fan of miss Hazel Hayes! I discovered her through a video posted by Phil Lester and have been hooked ever since. She's so funny, has amazingly wise thoughts, and a beautiful voice for singing. Check her out!

5. Pregnancy Announcement

BOTH of my beautiful cousins have announced that they are expecting babies! Ashleigh and her husband are expecting their second and Ila and her husband are expecting baby number one! It's such an exciting time of life for everyone involved. I wish them safe and healthy pregnancies and I can't wait to meet their little ones.

6. Moving Home

I've been home for five days now and I couldn't be happier. I've seen quite a few of my family members as well as some of my best friends already. I took that photo just yesterday. My best friend and I decided to drive all the way around the island and we found this beautiful little spot!

7. Walt Before Mickey

This movie is perfect. I don't even have the words to express how much I enjoyed it! All I can say is watch it. It will change the way you see every Disney movie from here on out.

8. My Facebook Page

I made an official page on FaceBook to promote my photography work. You can check it out here; go on a give it a like!

Goals

1. Strengthen my faith: read a book on spirituality

I bought and read both of these books this month and I couldn't recommend them more. Even if you aren't on a spiritual journey I feel like these books would be beneficial for anyone who chooses to read them.

2. Love my body: appreciate my nude body in the mirror daily

At first doing this was uncomfortable. I had never taken the time to really look at my body like this. Now that I've done it every day for a whole month I feel like I really appreciate every mark and curve that I can see. I recommend doing this for a month and seeing how much more love you have for your body.

3. Explore new creative mediums: sketch something

I'm not good with a pencil so showing a sketch I did would be very embarrassing haha. However I've grown to love it. Whenever I have a photoshoot idea now I sketch it out so I don't forget what I want to create. I never leave home without a pencil and a notebook.

4. Find more joy: enjoy my last month in Ottawa as best I can

I definitely enjoyed my last month in Ottawa! I went to all my favourite places and spent good quality time with all my favourite people there. I left on the best possible note.

5. Have an open heart: be honest

This quote was what I had in mind when I set this goal for myself. I think a lot of people justify damaging comments as honesty. My goal was to be truthful in everything without ever being harmful to another person. There are definitely ways to be kind and loving whilst still being honest and I've learned that through this month. I feel closer to my friends and family and I feel like our mutual trust has grown.

What have you been loving this month?

What goals have you set for May?

Please do let me know in a comment!

Thanks for reading & check back again to see what KatieDidd, xo

Chatty Tuesday | April 28, 2015

April Faves

I can't possibly be the only person who loves favourite posts/videos since they are absolutely everywhere in the last week of every month! So here is what I have been loving throughout the month of April...

Skin

The first thing I have been loving this month is the Biore deep cleansing pore strips. I know these aren't a new thing as they've been around for a long time, however I've never found the combo pack like this in my city. My trouble areas for blackheads and clogged pores have always been my nose and chin. Finding these was so exciting for me as I knew they worked and now they could also work their magic on my chin as well as my nose!

The second skin care item is the Clinique take the day off cleansing milk. If you've seen any of my previous posts you will know that I am a total Clinique junkie. When I buy new products from Clinique now I have very high expectations and this product did not disappoint. It removes face make-up as well as eye make-up (including waterproof mascara) like a dream. The milky/creamy formulation makes for a very moisturizing and gentle experience. The back of the bottle says that it is "appropriate for all skin types; ideal for drier skins." This is what immediately drew me in. If you have dry skin you will totally understand the struggle of finding a make-up remover that doesn't do more harm than good.

Make-up

I haven't been too adventurous with make-up this month; I have been sticking to my everyday make-up routine that I have been doing for months (super boring, I know). However I have introduced a new mascara to my collection. The Covergirl lastblast volume in waterproof has been my new go to mascara (even over my old favourite Smashbox Fullexposure mascara). The thickness of the application wand deterred me at first but I can definitely get past it for this product. The formulation is amazing, even with one coat my lashes look long and full of volume. With a second coat I get almost a false lash effect without the hassle of applying false lashes. The waterproof version of this product is also amazing for allergy season.

Hair

I was on the all natural argan oil train until I discovered this product by Herbal Essences. The 7 in 1 Moroccan Me a Miracle serum does have argan oil in it, but I find that this product does so much more for my hair than a regular argan oil does. After using this, my hair is soft, shiny, not weighed down at all, and really easy to manage (it also smells amazing). I have had this bottle for months and it hasn't even gotten down to half yet; you need only the smallest amount of the product so the bottle lasts for ages.

I have been on the hunt for a good dry shampoo for a few months now and I am so pleased that I've finally found one that I can say I really like; Pantene Pro-V blowout extend dry shampoo. I think Pantene is a really good brand first of all, and this product in particular is really nice. It gives volume, texture, weightless moisture and shine all while controlling oils. What more can you ask from a dry shampoo?

Nails

Move over Essie, there's two new kids in town who whip your bum! This pink colour (Rosey 180) from Sally Hansen is absolutely gorgeous on the nail first of all, but the Miracle Gel polish line truly is a miracle to the nail world. Without light, the gel formulation is sealed only with a topcoat, and lasts for absolutely ages! I've had this on my toes for 3 weeks and not a single chip yet.

Revlon nail enamel has always been one of my favourite brands for nail polishes as I love the colours, the formula, and the applicator brush is nice and small which I much prefer over a large brush since I can be quite messy. This orange shade is my absolute favourite in the entire line (Privileged 715) and a perfect colour for spring .

Fashion

I noticed once the snow melted that I didn't have many spring shoes (Northern Ontario usually doesn't get a legitimate spring- we go from winter to summer) so whilst I was walking through Wal-Mart, believe it or not, I found these two cute pairs of shoes (I can't find links for them, sorry!). The mint lace pumps are so cute and so comfortable and were only $8.00! The grey shoes are also just as cute and comfortable and were also very well priced at $10.00. You can see I have been loving these shoes a lot this month as they already need to be cleaned despite the warmer weather just starting.

Music

I am not typically a fan of song covers but this one I could listen to on repeat forever. I don't know who these people are really as my friend sent me the song (and I immediately passed it on to another friend of mine), however I absolutely love their voices together; she sounds like an angel. When they went into the Ed Sheeran song I was smitten and sold.This is going to be one of my favourite songs for a long while I do believe.

Books

I have taken an interest in cooking over this past year. Since I live at home though, I have the ability to use lots of ingredients and I usually have as much time as I need to prepare whatever feast I have imagined. I'm going to college in the fall, so I picked up The Ultimate Student Cookbook to try to curtail my lavish cooking habits. I've tried a couple recipes from this book and have not been disappointed at all. The book is divided into 8 sections plus a little forward about staple pantry ingredients and food hygiene. The sections include: 1. Breakfast with Tiffany 2. Real fast food 3. Food on the move 4. Healthy days for the girls 5. The boys are back in town 6. Tiff's Tuesdays 7. Wasted weekends 8. House parties and 9. Tiff's treats. Just to clear something up, the author of the book is called Tiffany ha ha.

The fiction book I have been reading this month is Husband and Wife by Zeruya Shalev. I'm only about half way through but I am completely hooked and will probably finish this book within the next few days. It's about a diseased marriage that comes to head when one morning the husband wakes up unable to move his legs with no clear explanation at first. The doctors then find that the problem is a lot less tangible than they could have ever imagined. All while this is happening, secrets of the marriage start to work themselves out into the common space between the husband and the wife that may or may not tear their family apart.

Random

I have recently gotten into a little rut with my breakfasts. I find myself eating oatmeal every morning! The Quaker one minute oats are so convenient because they are cooked stove top (microwave oatmeal is not my cup of tea at all) but don't take 20 minutes to cook like traditional oatmeal does. This oatmeal is still 100% whole grain Canadian oats, the secret to the faster cooking time is they are cut thinner than traditional oats. I cook 1/4 cup oats in 1/2 cup 2% milk and top with cinnamon and raw cacao bits.

I have recently replaced my morning coffee with a cup of cocoa. Cocoa powder has tonnes of health benefits and naturally has caffeine so it does help to wake me up but, unlike coffee, does not effect my heart as much and doesn't make me shake. I also don't feel completely drained all day if I miss my morning cocoa where as I did before when I would miss my morning coffee. I really don't plan on ever getting back into the coffee vortex.

I picked up the delicious donuts sign from an antiques shop in a town an hour away from my city. It seemed the whole town was antique shops! It was one main road with 2 restaurants, a church, a library, a bank, a town hall, 2 gas stations, and 4 ANTIQUE SHOPS! It seemed a bit like over kill to me, but my friend and I went in all four and I stumbled across this little gem. When I walked into the shop I saw it immediately and bolted for it. It's just so cute! I picked up some other little bits as well but haven't gotten the chance to fully fall in love with them yet.

My last favourite of April is the candle. On our way to the town with the antique shops we stopped off at another little town and found a shop with a bunch of cute little bits and bobs. This candle was a bit more than I would typically spend on a candle at about $20.00 but it is made locally and I think it's really important to support local business. It's also all natural and clean burning. Besides those amazing qualities, it legitimately smells like cupcake frosting! I can't think of many other scents better than cupcake frosting.

So that wraps up my April favourites. I think April has been really good to me and I hope May is just as wonderful. I want to start being more adventurous with make-up this coming month as well as bring more spring and summer clothing into my wardrobe in hopes that we may actually get a day above 10 degrees Celsius here!

Thanks for reading, xo, Katelyn