My Top 5 Travel Essentials

Hey there guys! Today I thought I would share my Top Ten Travel Essentials with you guys seeing as I am a VERY frequent traveler myself! These are just some of the things I have learned I literally can’t live without on flights, road trips, etc! So let’s get into it.

1. My first essential on ANY trip has definitely got to be my Ipod/Iphone because music is literally my life on trips. You will never see me without my earphones and Iphone! Music is such a great way to pass the time. Some of my favorite albums right now for trips are 5 Seconds of Summer’s Sounds Good Feels Good Album(and any of their other songs *wink*) and Taylor Swifts 1989( Swiftieforever!).

           

2. Moisturizer is actually one of the most important things for me when I am traveling because it dries out my skin SO bad; flying does it worse than driving. Either way I recommend taking moisturizer with you to keep your face soft and flake free. My go to is the Aveeno Naturals because it has SPF plus Vitamin A, C, and E!

3. BOOKS! I am probably the biggest bookwork you will ever meet in your entire life! Nothing passes the time on a flight or in the car like a great book. One time I actually brought four different books with me on a trip just because! Here are two of my favourites that I HIGHLY suggest you guys pick up(my list would go on forever honestly so I stopped at two!) Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, This book is so amazing. I cannot say enough great things about it, plus the second installment is coming out next month! My second favorite is Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen, this trilogy is beyond captivating! It has everything, Romance, suspense, action. It will have you hooked from start until end!

 

4. I always bring a journal with me when I am traveling because I love to write down accounts of my days or little tid bits of something I did just so I will have those memories to look at later. When I went to Europe for 3 months I was so busy I just knew I would forget things about the trip, so I started jotting down things I did, saw, ate and then when I came home and read through them all andit was like reliving my trip all over again. I even glued postcards and tickets to museums inside to go along with the stories.

 

5. My last essential that I have to bring on every trip with me is Dry Shampoo! I can’t tell you guys how many times this stuff has come in handy during trips. It saved me so many times in Europe when I didn’t have enough time to wash my hair but also didn’t want to look gross in picture or public! Batiste is one of my ALL time favorite brands and I definitely recommend them!

 

 

I hope this helps out any of my fellow travelers out there! Let me know what some of your traveling essentials are in the comments and follow my Instagram account, @sweetserendipity96!

 Kisses, Alex!

~BEAUTY/MAKEUP HAUL~

Hey Guys! 

So as you all know I am literally a makeup junkie! The obsession is so real, I really probably need help but anyway I went to Target a few days ago and of course no one leaves Target empty handed. I mean how can you it's Target!? So here are the products I picked up, oh and  most were on sale so that justifies it right?

I picked up this Maybelliene compact thingy because it was only $7 and it looked amazing! The highlighter and eyeshadow were basically calling to me.

Then as I ventured deeper into the makeup aisles I saw this Pacifica Foundation CC cream which was regularly $15 and was on sale for $12, yeah I know not a steal but Pacifica is paraben free and mostly natural so I was just like "why not?" 

After that find I went to get what I actually came for my Pixie H2o Tinted Moisturizer($25, I believe). If you follow my Instagram you know that I CANNOT stop raving about this stuff! It's basically my holy grail base because it's just SO amazing and hydrating. The coverage is actually really good for a tinted moisturizer as well. 

And of course being me got distracted looking at all of Pixies products and decided to pick up their Glow Tonic. I've heard amazing things about this toner, it's supposed to help with pores, give your skin an amazing glow, help with acne, and some people even said it helped with fine lines and wrinkles. So I picked it up for me and my mom to try out. It cost me $15 but I've wanted to try it forever so I didn't mind. 

Thankfully I got out of there before I could buy anything else, my wallet definitely thanked me. I hope you guys enjoy this post and if you've tried any of these products comment below and let me know how you liked them. Also if you want to follow my Instagram it is @sweetserendipity96. Xoxo Alex~

5SOS CONCERT PICS

Okay so honestly guys 5SOS literally give such amazing shows! This was my second time seeing them and I swear they get better and better. Their shows are so lively and just make you want to dance and have a great time. If you ever have a chance to see them live DO IT you will not be disappointed! Okay so let's get to the pictures, they're a little blurry because all I had was my iPhone and I was dancing and moving around like nuts! Anyway enjoy!

Waiting for the show! 

THEYRE ON!!!!

I loved all the different screens the used! 

They look really far in this pic for some reason...

Sadly that's the end and they take their bow! 

Oh I alsmot forgot, you guys have to see the adorable T-shirt I bought! 

This is the front

And this is the adorable back! I'm literally obsessed with it!

Throwback Tuesday?

Well I don't know is Throwback Tuesday is a thing but hey if it isn't it should be am I right? I wanted to share some photos of our trip to the Vatican City. It was so beautiful there and I loved the Egyptian Hall. I'm literally OBSESSED with any and all things Egyptian so they won me right when I saw that. They even had a mummy so I was basically freaking out. The square was also really gorgeous and neat to see in person because until then I'd only ever seen it on tv. Anyway here are a few pictures from the trip. 

Ramadan Begins!

Today is the first day of Ramadan! Ramadan Mubarak to everyone, I am so excited to start. Now as much as I love the month of Ramadan I'm not gonna lie, I really miss it being in the winter. Getting up(or sometimes staying up) until 3am really messes with you're schedule! But hey it's only for a month and it's totally worth it. This year we aren't in a home so we will be doing Ramadan in a hotel, so that's going to be a new experience. As much as I miss the food while I'm fasting I love the awareness fasting brings me. Im so blessed to have so much food at my fingertips that it's easy to forget that not everyone does. My family does a lot of crafts for Ramadan so I will definitely be making another post sharing some great craft ideas with you guys. If you have any cool crafts please let me know below!  

Doctors Today!

So today I have an appointment with my family doctor to talk about this lump I found in my left breast a few weeks ago. It has been hurting and swelling for almost 4 weeks now so I'm going to get it checked just to be safe. It's honestly probably nothing really serious but since my mom had breast cancer I'm a little paranoid. My mom thinks it's fribroids which seems most logical but better safe than sorry right? I'm really not looking forward to having my breasts felt up but I guess you gotta do what you gotta do! I'll let you all know how it goes. Positive thoughts and prayers are much appreciated. 

Haters Gonna Hate

Hello Blog World,

Today I'm going to be sharing the story behind my nearly 2 month absence. The reason I stopped blogging and posting on Instagram was because I was basically having some stupid, childish girls from my town trolling on my stuff. One my best friends(or so I thought) was angry at me and decided to tell some people about it and basically it got out of control and all the girls who don't particularly like me started trolling my Instagram account and blog. They wouldn't leave me alone so I decided to just take a break from all of it. Looking back now I wish I wouldn't have let them make me stop blogging and posting because that's exactly what they wanted. I had a lot of great people stand up for me and they will always have my eternal thanks. Knowing  that I had people on my side was a great help. I am definitely not going to let some girls and their cyber bullying keep me from posting, in the wise words of Ms. Taylor Swift, haters gonna hate. I hope you guys will continue to follow my journey and forgive my long break. I am back and better than ever!! You can all look forward to many more posts by me in the future!

Thigh Gap Rant

I was looking through Instagram earlier and I couldn't help but notice all the comments about people mostly young girls, obsessing over the highly sought after "thigh gap" so I started looking into it and I realized that girls are becoming obsessed with achieving this very hard unrealistic ideal of beauty. They are purging, starving, using laxatives, etc. to try and attain thigh gaps. Girls having or not having a thigh gap does not define your beauty. Some girls naturally have thigh gaps because of their build but some girls are just NOT built for them. Starving yourself or harming your body to try and achieve this when its not meant for you is not worth it. I am a healthy, petite size 0-00 and I do not have a thigh gap. My thighs just aren't built to have one as many girls bodies are. Starving yourself sick for a gap between our thighs is NOT worth it. You are beautiful just the way you are.  I just want you all to know that, thigh gap or no thigh gap you're all gorgeous, wonderful ladies who don't need to go to extremes to try and attain this. 

Fun in Nature/Senior Pictures?

So about a week ago I was in the country visiting some Family and because I'm a model in training I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get some great pictures in the gorgeous country setting I was in. The sun was shining perfectly and honeslty I was having a great hair day so basically everything lined up perfectly ;) Since I'm homeschooled I never thought about doing Senior Pictures or anything like that but these could almost count as those so I'll just call them my Homeschooled Senior Photos. Here are a few for you guys to check out. 

My Secret Weapon

May has officially begun!!!! I don't know about you guys but April flew by for me. It seems like it was barely even here. Since its the first day of a brand new month I thought I would share one of my biggest tools that I use to stay in shape and exercise with my CRAZY schedule. I travel a lot so finding time to excise or space can be a challenge. One thing that really has helped me on my journey these past 3 years are the Popsugar Fitness workouts. I found them at the beginning of my fitness journey and have literally used them ever since. Popsugar Fitness has an app that I greatly recommend all of you download and on the app are all the workout videos you could ever want. They range from 5 mins all the way to 1 hour. My favorites are the 10 min videos because I will mix and match them to build an amazing workout. Another thing I like about them is that they explain everything so simply that anyone can understand the moves and do them. They also offer various modifications so you can go easier or harder depending on your fitness level. Honestly these workouts have really changed my fitness life. I can take this app anywhere in the word and have workouts at my finger tips. It's basically my secret weapon for working out on the go. I highly recommend everyone try their workouts and download their app. 

Roasted Chickpeas aka The Best Snack EVER

Okay so I just want to start off by saying my Dad and I were making and snacking on roasted chickpeas before they were the trendy cool snack they are today. Since he is from Pakistan he is already a chickpea fan and he passed that love of chickpeas on to me from like birth. So I've been eating chickpea basically since I could chew. Roasted chickpeas are a great, healthy snack that provide a good amount of protein and fiber to help keep you full. They are a fantastic substitute for chips and you can basically flavor them however you want! The options are endless. 

My personal favourite is just plain old roasted chickpeas with salt, pepper, and grapeseed oil. All you do is take a can of chickpeas rinse them and then toss a few tablespoons of your oil of choice on them. Then add your spices and put them on a pan to roast. Cook them for about and 1 hr on 375 or until brown and crunchy. You can store them in little snack packs for about a week in your pantry. So instead of grabbing a bag of chips grab a bag of these little babies! 

Biore 1 Minute Self-Heating Charcoal Face Mask Review

I was at the drugstore the other day when I saw these Biore Charcoal masks. Honestly the self heating and charcoal are what drew me in because I heard charcoal is really good in helping draw out gunk from your pores and the self heating just sounded really nice during these cold winter months. They cost around $7 dollars I believe and you get 4 packets. I took some pictures of my first time using a packet that I'll share with you guys. Please excuse my makeupless face!

The excitements is real guys. 

And it's on. It was very easy to apply and I loved the self heating. It also smells amazing!

Washing it off. When you rinse it off it heats up again which feels really great!

And it's off. My face felt super clean and refreshed. I will definitely be taking these on my trip to Europe to give my face a little pick me up whenever I need one. 

When in Rome

Definitely one of my favorite cities that I saw in Europe was Rome. I absolutely LOVED it there and didn't have enough time there at all. When we drove through Rome we were on our way to a different city and unfortunately could only spend I day there. It was short and sweet but still amazing in every way. Seeing the colosseum was just mind-boggling and roaming the ancient Roman cobblestone streets was priceless. You could practically feel the history in every nook and cranny of the ancient city. I would definitely go back again and recommend everyone go at least once if they can. Here are some pictures from my trip.  

Here is the view driving towards Rome

Rome here we come!

First stop,Colosseum!! 

Colosseum up close, about to go in. 

Finally Inside!

It's huge guys!

After we left the colosseum to find the Trevi Fountain we stumbled upon some ruins. 

"Rome-ing" the streets(get it?) ;)

Finally found the Fountain!! I threw in 4 pennies! 

Circled back around the Colosseum on our way to our hotel. 

Sick Day Essentials

Today I woke up with an awful cold and it couldn't have come at a worse time either. I'm in the middle of packing for our trip to Texas and then Pakistan and Europe but since I'm not getting anything done today I thought why not share my sick day essentials with you guys. So let's get into it!

 Green tea is one of my sick day staples. It's full of antioxidants and the warmth is so soothing on your throat. 

I don't take multi vitamins on the daily but if I feel like I might be coming down with a cold or like today, if I wake up with one I will start taking it in the morning until I'm feeling better. This one is one of my favorites because it also helps your skin and gives you a nice glow, which is nice when you're sick and look like death. 

SMOOTHIES are definitely must sick day must have! I literally cannot stress how much they help me and how good they are when you're sick. They deliver so much nutrients and antioxidants which I feel like is exactly what you need when fighting off a cold. I have the recipe for my Power Smoothie on my blog if you want to check out what I put in mine! 

Okay so this essential sounds a little gross but I swear it helps, eating raw garlic. Now don't freak out, it's definitely not the BEST tasting thing ever for sure but it's bearable and I swear by it. I've done a lot of research and many people say that eating raw garlic helps soften their colds significantly and also eases symptoms. If just chewing on a raw clove is too much for you, you can try a trick my mom uses she takes 8-9 cloves, 6-7 cherry tomatoes, half a red onion and then blends them together in a food processor. Then add a little salt and pepper and it's almost like salsa just REALLY garlicky.

My last essential is Lemon Water. It helps wash down the garlic and will help you heal faster. You need to drink a lot of fluids when you're sick and lemon water is my go-to. I have a hard time drinking plain water when I'm sick so lemon water became my staple because the light lemon flavor helps me get it down. 

Well that's all my sick day essentials, let me know what yours are down below. I'd love to know what helps you guys through your colds!