Welcome to another edition of Flashback Fridays. I hope that this post finds you doing well and excited for the weekend.

This week has been eventful yet somehow relaxing at the same time compared to last week. I was glad that things sort of slowed down for me yet I was able to get a lot accomplished and had more fun days than blah days.

Last week I was extremely busy with school work as I did my part in wrapping up a final group project. At work things were a little crazy as well as I worked more hours and days than usual in order to make a deadline.

This week I was able to get together with family a few times and enjoy my time with then. From shopping & dinners to arcade games and catching up on our favorite shows together including Project Runway.

We are 1 week into October and I feel like if I blink Christmas will be here in no time. I am wanting to get so many things accomplished this month yet take it slow. I will have to somehow find balance in there somewhere.

I wasn’t able to get as much leisure reading in as I had hoped this week, however, I was able to check out some magazines while I was sitting in a waiting room waiting for a family member. Of course I chose the fashion ones to look through first.

Normally offices only have older issues so I was shocked and excited to find the October Issue of VOGUE featuring Lupita on the cover. I devoured each and every page – taking in all of the fall fashion and reading as many of the articles as I could muster.

Fashion magazines have been my escape and happy place for as long as I can remember. They sparked my interest in fashion design & marketing/advertising. Even though I never went into those fields they continue to be things I am passionate about.

Random fact: I once stopped by the Art Institute of Atlanta because I was interested in a degree in Fashion Design but at the time they didn’t have a degree available so I almost ended up in Advertising. The Adviser talked me out of it (sort of) by reminding me not to take something that would take years and $ out of my pocket that I may not be fully committed to. She was right – best advice ever.

I’m glad that I was able to go through the VOGUE and other fashion magazines. I feel inspired. I haven’t been feeling happy about myself and how I look lately and it shows in how I dress. I haven’t dressed up much since I left my Retail Store Manager position and I plan on changing that. I love clothes and fashion – this little magazine binge I had may be just what I needed.

It was a great week to make new memories and enjoy time with the people I care about. I hope that yours was great and if you are in one of the areas in the path of Mathew I hope that you are staying safe. Have a wonderful weekend!

This week was a bit of a blur. I was feeling a little under the weather – body aches, stuffy nose and itchy throat. I made sure I stayed hydrated by drinking a lot of water and consumed a lot of green tea with honey to sooth my throat (and make me feel better). I actually surprised myself because I was able to get a lot done in regards to blogging, my business and school work.

One thing I realized is that even when I am not feeling well I always end up trying to push through and get things done. This can cause burnout and keep me from feeling better faster as well. After last semesters repeated sick days I didn’t want to go that route again. Instead of trying to push through – I napped. Whenever I really just felt like my body was saying “relax” – I listened. I laid down and took a nap for however long my body felt it needed to rest. Upon waking I felt refreshed (as much as I could feel while still feeling like crap) and was able to get back to getting things done.

I always laugh at how children get older they fight having to take a nap and as adults get older we fight it too but for a different reason. We fight it because we think that we need to be doing something – anything really – other than taking a nap. We don’t want to feel judged. We don’t want people to think we are a bad or irresponsible person. But deep down, even though we are fighting it, we actually crave being able to just relax and nap it out.

But Rose, naps are for babies. WRONG. Naps are mutherfrackin necessary. I give you permission to take a nap (or several) when you feel the need to do so – of course if you do it at work I am not responsible for what might happen. But if you are at home and just feel the need to lay it down for a bit – do it. I promise, you will wake up feeling refreshed and ready to face whatever is next.

You might enjoy:
How To Boost Your Immune System (Right Before Cold Season Strikes)
Information about napping from the National Sleep Foundation

My wins for the week:
I’m happy to announce that I made it to 1,000 followers on Pinterest! That made my day! Also, in my Avon business I got my first recruit to mentor – I am super excited to help them get their Avon business started. Another thing I was happy about is that we got a 23/25 on our group project and we are nearly done with the draft and presentation for our final project so we will be able to submit it for review and editing in more than enough time to edit it if the professor sees anything he feels we need to change. So even though I wasn’t physically feeling too good – I was in a good mood most of the the week. YAY!

I hope that you had a wonderful week. Let me know what you think about naps. Do you think naps are necessary?

HostGator Mystery Sale. 55%-65% OFF Hosting. Effective 9/19-9/23

Normally my Flashback Friday’s posts are personal – I talk about work, school, blogging and family. I thought I would switch it up this week and share some of my favorite things from this week. So thank you for stopping by and take a look below to find out what has been bringing me joy. Especially since you have heard me complain about Mercury Retrograde and life two Friday’s in a row.
**This post contains affiliate links**

Flashback Fridays – What I’m Loving This Week

NARS Velvet Lip Glide in Toy-Toy Cloaks like a lipstick. Glides like a gloss. Confident color. Covetable comfort.Find out more about NARS Velvet Lip Glide

I am loving the NARS Velvet Lip Glide and want every color but Toy-Toy is by far my favorite color. They are only available until October so make sure you pick up your favorites before they sell out. I am also loving NARS Velvet Lip Glide in Unspeakable – perfect color for fall!

Fashion & Style

The interwebs have been abuzz with NYFW (New York Fashion Week) updates – everywhere that I turned online there were updates to check out. One thing I was super excited about were the plus size models that walked in Christian Siriano’s show along with the launch of his collaboration with Lane Bryant.

I was excited to find out that Sarah Jessica Parker has launched her Italian-made collection SJP by Sarah Jessica Parker which includes shoes, boots, flats, handbags and more. I really loved the SJP by Sarah Jessica Parker Women’s Bobbie Dress Sandal featured in the above image.

Flashback Fridays – More Things I’m Loving This Week

While going through some of my favorite blogs I came across Katie’s post about How to Update Old Content and it was a nice reminder to go through some posts this week when I had time. I was able to update some older posts and while doing that I was inspired to start working on some other content as well.

I have slowly became addicted to webinars and podcasts. Though I have listened to many different ones there are only a handful that a religiously follow and take notes on. I usually don’t get to listen until the weekend so I usually binge through a couple at a time. The most recent one that I really enjoyed was Myleik Teele’s one titled “How I QUIT My Job! A Chat with Courtney Sanders of ThinkandGrowChick.com” These are two of my favorite women when it comes to business and growing a brand so I was super excited to hear that Myleik was having Courtney Sanders on there. If you are building a brand, are interested in turning that side hustle to a business and leaving that 9 to 5 – listen to this and when you have time listen to their podcasts + visit their websites.
Myleik’s Website: www.mytaughtyou.com
Myleik’s Podcast: Myleik Teele’s Podcast
Courtney’s Website: www.thinkandgrowchick.com
Courtney’s Podcast: Think and Grow Chick Podcast

Music & Entertainment

Macy Gray released a new album last week and I am loving what I have heard so far. Her beautifully distinctive raspy voice always gives me good vibes and I somehow ended up on youtube to listen to her singing Christmas songs!! (I loooooove Christmas music by the way)

If you loved Stranger Things on Netflix as much as I did – I’m sure you also enjoyed the soundtrack. Get your fix of 80’s vibes with the Stranger Things – The Complete Fantasy Playlist (Various Artists). You can also pre-order the Stranger Things Soundtrack via Amazon here: Stranger Things Soundtrack Vol. 1 and Stranger Things Soundtrack Vol. 2 (which I just had to add to my Amazon wishlist.)

Speaking of Amazon, I am only now really taking advantage of all the great Amazon Prime Student benefits which aside from the great deals and cool shipping options includes exclusive movie, music and Kindle book options. According to Amazon “As a Prime member, you get unlimited access to over a million songs and hundreds of custom-built playlists for FREE.”

Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial

I have been enjoying the available playlists and making my own as well – you can even add music from your own computer. Not only can I stream music at no additional cost there are so many movies and shows that I can stream as well. If you have an Amazon Prime account (or don’t have one at all) and are a student I would highly recommend signing up for a Amazon Prime Student account – so many great benefits and it costs less than the normal Amazon Prime account! Amazon Student is the way to go!

Join Prime Student FREE Two-Day Shipping for College Students

Thank you again for stopping by! I hope that you had a wonderful week and enjoy your weekend. Let me know in the comments what you have been loving lately!