Good Morning, Sunshines!
I hope you all had a great Christmas! Mine was filled with lots of family, friends, and food (probably too much food). As I was prepping for the holidays and out getting my shopping done for gifts, the idea popped into my head to create a blog of my winter favorites. I used to do monthly favorites, but I may try and start doing them by season instead! Let me know what you think!
Also, I know I promised to get this up before Christmas, so I am sorry about the delay! However, as I am writing this now I realize that winter only started 8 days ago so that helps justify my procrastination, right?
STYLE FAVORITES:
SWEATERS: I post my outfits on my Instagram to what seems like almost daily but it’s apparent that one of my guilty pleasures for winter style is BIG, CHUNKY SWEATERS. They are so versatile; you can wear them around the house or dress them up to go out to dinner. I wear them tucked into high-waisted jeans or with leggings most days. I also love wearing them with mini skirts for a cute date night outfit or to dinner with friends.
I became obsessed with sweaters when I was Spain because I could buy them for decent prices at places like Pull & Bear, Stradivarius, and H&M. Since I don’t have those first two stores in the U.S. (in Kansas anyways), I like to go to H&M when I am looking for thicker sweaters because I can always find the style of sweater that I am looking for and I feel that they are also decent quality there and last a long time.
Blanket Scarves: Scarves are probably my favorite winter accessory. You can use them to dress up any style and they work with casual, athletic, dressy, or professional looks! I bought most of mine this year from Old Navy and some are left over from Europe travels.
Booties and Boot Socks: It’s 28 degrees outside in Kansas as I am typing this…so it goes without saying that these are a must to keeping your feet warm, plus they look cute with (most) outfits.
I threw in some general accessories that are my go-tos this winter. I have gotten really into neutral colors this last year so most of my outfits follow that color scheme. So for jewelry, I tend to opt for rose gold or pearl because I think they match the neutral tones really well and help keep everything looking fresh (insert manicure emoji).
BEAUTY FAVORITES:
I have gone back to using BB cream everyday instead of foundations. I like the lighter feel and I don’t have a lot of ache or scarring to cover so in general I enjoy using BB creams for a more “natural” look. I started using this Garnier BB cream in Spain. I don’t recommend it if you’re face gets really shiny or oily, because it’s not a matte finish. I tend to only have an oily T-zone and with the dry air, my skin does really well with it.
As you all know, I love winter!…but if you’re like me, you’re skin and hair get super dry in this freezing temps. To help ease the effects of the weather, I have started using Aquaphor on my lips, hands, and dry skin spots. I really recommend if you are like me and struggling with this. It can be a bit expensive, but a little does a long way so a small tube lasts me forever! I have also been doing regular face and hair masks to help moisturize and keep them conditioned and soft.
FITNESS FAVORITES:
If you are looking for ways to step up your glute workouts, I have two words…booty bands. I have been wanting to purchase one forever, but I just couldn’t find any that I was impressed with. I am very leg and glute dominant so I naturally have a very strong lower body and most resistance bands don’t do much for me or they eventually end up stretching out. I ended up purchasing this Shinyee Booty Band on Amazon and it does my body wonders during a workout. I have used it for probably about 10 workouts now and I have left the gym sore every time. I wear it when I do squats, hip thrusts, and for hip abductions. I think I paid $10 for it and it has been one of the best purchases I have made in regards to fitness products.
My final “favorite” as been expected for a long time, but I finally bit the bullet and bought a pair of Lululemons. I have been wanting some for two years and promised myself that if I kept with my fitness journey I would buy some and they are everything I dreamed of and more. They are very flattering and the material is so soft and comfortable. This is disgusting, but guys I will wear them all day to run errands even if they are dirty because I love how they feel so much. My only complaint is that they are a bit loose, but I think that is more because I need to get a size smaller and not because the fabric has stretched out. I would also say that I don’t think I will become a Lululemon addict, I may be over-reaching, but I still love my Old Navy Active leggings just as much. However, I can say that I will probably buy Lulus in the future (budget allowing, lol).
To track my fitness, I ordered the Garmin vivoactive 3. I can’t say this is a favorite yet, but I hope it was because it was a pricey investment. I will probably post more about it on myInstagram and give a small “review.” But I thought I would throw it in here because I plan on using it to help track my gym progress and monitor my HR level to make sure I am always getting in an effective workout.
That’s all I have babes! Thank you for reading and if you have any winter favorites or recommendations for me, drop them below!
xoxo,
mm
