His and Hers Valentines Day Gift Guide

Hey guys I'm back with a valentines day post. I wanted to do a gift guide because gift guides are always fun to do, and i wanted to help out some of you guys that may be having a hard time finding a gift for someone. This is for him, and her, so that way there is ideas for both parties. I am also going to try to do two posts this week but of course I'm over scheduled for work, and i have school work. I really want to do two posts because it just feels better to do it. Also there is like a new update or something for blogger, and now i have no idea how to comment on other people's sites, if someone can inform me about it i would love to know. Now i hope all of these ideas inspire you, and i hope you have a wonderful rest of your week. 

1)Steiff Honey Teddy Bear-Teddy bears always seem like a good option for a valentines gift. Around valentines day there is always ads for a giant teddy bear. They are good if you want to get a gift for your lover if they miss you. 

2)Tiffany & Co. Open Heart Pendant Necklace-If your partner is into jewelry you could get them a necklace like this with a heart or another cute symbol. 

3)H&M Lace Push-up Bra-It seems like a girl always needs a new bra, so minus well help her out. 

4)Michael Kors Sexy Amber Eau de Parfum 3.4 oz.-Perfume is also a good option for valentines day because it could spruce up the romance. The perfume i linked is one i really like, i still have to buy it through, but the samples smelled so good. 

5)Madewell 'Whisper' Cotton V-Neck Pocket Tee-Clothes are a good option for valentines day if your partner is really into fashion, or they simply need some new pants or something. 

6)Jessica Simpson Women's Bunny Ballet Slipper-My feet can get so cold sometimes and I'm sure every girl can relate, so get a girl some slippers. 

7)Peony Signature 9.4 oz Candle-Candles are nice for a night in to make everything smell nicer. I love candles because they create a nice warm light, and they make everything smell good. 

8)Adrienne Landau Rex Rabbit Heart Key chain-A heart key chain or a personalized key chain would be a good gift if your partner uses their purse a lot, or if they are always carrying some kind of bag. It's kind of like a simple reminder that can remind her of you. 

9)PJ Salvage Lip Print Pajama Pants-Now to be cozy, get your girl some PJ's. They are a must!!

10)MAC Little Lipstick/0.06 oz.-Lipstick or some kind of makeup would be good if your partner likes makeup but if not then this would not be a good idea.

11)Sweet Treats™ Dots Bralette-This kind of a bralette would be good if y'all are trying to have a romantic evening if you know what i mean. (this is why i don't do valentines posts because i know i gotta include something like this).

12)Xhilaration Women's Cozy Crew Socks Animals-Socks are always a gift because you can never have too many socks. Socks are awesome, especially Cabin socks, they are the warmest socks ever. 

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1)Paul Sebastian Fine Cologne After Shave Balm 4oz-After shave balm can't hurt to create a better smell.

2)Nike Benassi Slide Sandal-Slides are good if your man is athletic because these are so easy to slip on and be out the door.

3)Travel Shaving Kit-I honestly had no idea on what to put in this guide because it seems like guys are hard to shop for so i just put a shaving kit.

4)4.5" Valentine's Day Print Boxers-You could get kind of a gag gift, and get valentines day pizza boxers. They are funny.

5)Pillar Portable Speaker-Portable speakers are good if your partner is into music, and they want to amplify their music.

6)Logo Embroidered Twill Baseball Hat-Hats are always cool, and stylish, so you could get your man a hat, and I'm sure he wouldn't complain.

7)Adidas Diablo Small Duffel Bag-The duffel bag would be good if you have a partner that travels a lot, or plays a sport because a big bag will make their life easier.

8)Calvin Klein Euphoria Men by Men's Cologne-Smelling good is awesome, and you could get your man some cologne to put on for some romance.

9)Adidas Originals Sneakers-Sneakers are a must if you are always on your feet, or if sneakers fit your style. You really can't go wrong with sneakers.

10)Tommy Hilfiger Cotton Boxer Brief - Pack of 3-New underwear never hurts, so minus well stock up on valentines day.

11)Pico Brew Serving Keg-This would be a good one if your partner is into drinking, or if you're dating a college boy.

12)BOSCA Small Wallet-A wallet is always good for organizing cards, and everything else. It's a simple, and useful gift.

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Blogging While Your Life is Already Busy

Blogging is hard when you have other activities going on in your life. It's been really hard with blogging lately because my schedule is crammed to the brim, and I'm having a hard time finding time in the day to relax.  I'm a high school student, a track and cross country athlete, i work part-time, and i have this blog. Those things keep me so busy that i practically have no work life balance, and my only new years resolution this year was to have a work life balance, and i really want to achieve that. I decided that i would only post twice a week if i have enough time to post twice a week. I mostly just want the flexibility to post when i can. My posting schedule will be every Tuesday, but if i decide to do a second post it will be on Friday like how it normally is.While i really want to post two times a week every week, it's just not realistic for the circumstances I'm in right now. This week will just be one post but if my work schedule is kind of chill next week there will be two posts. So that's the new schedule I'm doing, and i hope this inspires me to crank out better content since i will be able to think over my content more. 

Over the weekend when i was having a hard time finding time to hangout with my best friend Gabby. I was initially going to do my blog work, go on my long run, and do my Instagram post but i thought, "does the Instagram post really matter that much"? So you know what i did, i put it off until later, and i went on my long run, and then i invited her over. I knew that Sunday was the only day i would be able to hangout with her the whole week due to working 5 times this week, and having track practice, and school, so i made it work because i will not let myself become so busy that i can't make time for the people that matter in my life. I'm tired of over working myself, and pushing work on myself, so i want to make this blog change for the better. I want to work to live, not live to work. For all of the bloggers that also have a job on top of blogging, you know how busy it can get, and i think we all need to cut back sometimes and treat ourselves to a relaxing day every now and then. 

Blogging is kind of like having a business, you are your brand, and your audience is your audience, your audience consumes the things you post. As a blogger you have to maintain everything, and keep everything going. It is really fun to have a blog, but it also is a lot of work if you have other stuff going on in your life. It's cool to create content, create your brand, and to make an impact on people. That's why i am still here blogging because i truly enjoy doing it, and it helps you discover what you're truly passionate about. It's just awesome but it sucks that I'm having a hard time finding the time to blog. Since i am cutting down my blogging schedule i want to try to post some Youtube videos. My first video is above this body of text if you want to check it out. I still don't really have a clue about Youtube but I'm going for it anyways.

Now to go off topic a little bit let's talk about social media. In social media there is always an endless cycle of content, and it never stops, but you can stop scrolling at any time. I totally love Instagram, but at times it can all just seems a little pointless. The Instagram algorithm is worse than ever before, and not everyone may be seeing your post unless your engagement is really good. Since engagement is low a lot of people have been joining comment pods. Comment pods are groups where everyone has to like and comment on everyone's photos, and then when you have a new post you can get everyone to like and comment on your post. It helps out a lot with engagement, and it makes your post more likely to be seen by your followers because only the "best" photos get shown to your followers. Comment pods are good, but i recently had a problem with a comment pod. A woman was being very rude to me because i didn't comment on everyone's pictures supposedly. But the thing was that i commented and liked everyone's recent photos, and she was getting mad because i didn't comment on photos from like 1 month ago. It's like some of these people have to chill out for real, like it's not that deep. So for anyone in comment pods i would just make sure that the people in the pod are not psycho or anything, and if they are i would leave the group because it's not a good idea.

Point blank, blogging is hard, and it can sometimes be frustrating because it's like unpaid work. I enjoy doing it but sometimes it overwhelms me. I will still be active on all of my platforms, and i will try my best to post frequently. I hope you all have a great week, and i will see you all on Tuesday with another post.

My Cringy Style Evolution

Here we are, you guys wanted to post, and now it's time to pull out some popcorn and start laughing. Some of these pictures are totally hilarious, and i totally looked so different 5 years ago. I went through some weird phases when i was younger to get to where i am now. As always sit back, and enjoy.

So as you can see, my style has changed a lot over time, and i have really evolved. Middle school was tough, and then high school was way better than middle school. I was very shy, and socially awkward in middle school, but now i am the opposite. I also really enjoy my style now, and i feel like i just had to go through cringy style to get to where i am now. I can't wait to keep showcasing my style, and do what i really love doing. I have always been into fashion, and design since i was young, and it's awesome that i have a little space on the internet to share my style. This fashion blog is really amazing, and while it's a lot of hard work i keep doing it because it's my outlet. Also i tried changing up the format of everything on this post, and decided to do text on my graphics. I think it looks pretty cool, but i think i will just do regular text next time for SEO purposes. But hey it's always good to change things up every now and then. I will see you guys on Tuesday with another blog post. Bye!

Some Valentines Day Picks From Gamiss

Do y'all have no idea what to wear for Valentines day? It's coming up quickly, and you may be going out on a special date with someone, or you may just want to dress up in general. Gamiss emailed me to tell me about their valentines sale. Their sale is up to 70% off on items, and they are holding their sale for 8 more days and then it will be over. Just in case if you don't know who Gamiss is, they are a clothing brand that specializes in affordable fashion. You can check out  Gamiss's valentines gifts on their site, they have really cute valentines day gifts if your loved one enjoys clothing, and fashion. Also this post is sponsored, but all thoughts are my own. To talk about valentines day, literally everyone at my school is going to be all lovey dovey on valentines day, and making out in the hallway probably. I'm just not looking forward to seeing that because it's like get a room. But anyways to talk about the picks, all of these things have a romantic, and valentines day color scheme, so they are good to wear if you're going for a romantic look. Really the best option of what to wear for valentines day would be to go with a red, or pink dress. It's basic, cute, and has that romantic vibe that you're probably aiming for. If you're going on a date i would dress up an outfit with some heels, and then i would go for natural makeup to not overdo it. So those are some of my valentines day pieces of advice for what to wear outfit wise.

1) Lace Panel Sleeveless Longline Blouse-A good basic pink top would be good for a casual kind of valentines day if you're not doing anything special really.

2) Floral Printed Back V Maxi Dress-This kind of a dress would be good if you're going out for a cute dinner date, or just a date in general. It would spice up the outfit to look very romantic, and fit the occasion of valentines day.

3) Lace Panel Off The Shoulder Vintage Flare Dress-This is a cute, and simple sexy dress that would be good if you want to show off your shoulders a little bit, but still be modest. Lace details are also good in general for valentines day because it's pretty, and adds sophistication to a look.

4) Butterfly Knot Flat Bottomed Beach Sandals-These sandals are really cute because they have a bow on it. Dressing more girly for valentines day is always good because it fits the holiday. These sandals would be good to top off a cute valentines day look.

5) Corduroy Frayed Hem Mini Skirt-This skirt would be good if you don't feel like wearing a dress. You could pair this skirt with a romantic looking top, and it would complete the outfit. This kind of a skirt would also be good for a casual outfit if you're not trying to be fancy.

That's all for today's post, i hope i inspired some of y'all on what to wear for valentines day. I've never been a huge fan of valentines day but if you are, i hope i inspired you on what to wear. I know it's a bit early to be doing valentines day posts, but i just wanted to tell you about Gamiss's valentines day sale going on. I will see you guys on Friday with my cringy style evolution post. Get ready!!!!

The Striped Top

Oh how i love to pose in the freezing cold acting like it's actually warm outside. My best friend Gabby took these photos for me while it was 16  degrees outside. I am seriously sick of the cold, can it just be spring already!! But on the bright side i really like these photos, they have a city girl kind of vibe that i like. We took these photos in the neighborhood right next to my neighborhood because the design of the houses are really cute, and modern. I love small, cute houses, with lots of bright light, so this was the perfect location to shoot these photos. We were rushing a bit to take these photos because of the cold obviously, but the photos we got turned out great. 

I love this striped top that i got from Anthropologie recently. They were having a big sale after Christmas, and i got this shirt for around 30 bucks, and it would have normally been around 65. I love the flared sleeves paired with the stripes, it looks super cute. I am also wearing my jeans from Kohls to make the look more casual, and well balanced. I know this outfit is not very winter appropriate, but i'm getting too excited this year for warm weather, so this is a good spring look. I think we still have three more months of the cold through, which sucks. I just want it to be April already because the leaves start getting back on the trees near the end of April, and it starts warming up. This week has not been bad at all when it comes to cold actually. Today we are supposed to have a 66 degree day, so that's awesome. The only thing about today is that i have exams, and then my last winter track meet right after so i will have no time at all for blogging, so this post might underperform, but that's okay. To talk about freezing my toes off i am wearing my favorite sandals from Dansko. I also spiced up the outfit with a couple of bracelets, and my wood watch from Jord.

Outfit Details: My top is from Anthropologie, my pants are from Kohls, my shoes are from Dansko, my watch is from Jord, and my glasses are from Coach. 

That's all for today's look. I hope you guys enjoyed, and i will see you guys on Tuesday with another post. 

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Reading Up

Hello guys I'm going to be posting more fashion related posts this week because last week i did not do a look book or anything, so both of my two posts this week will be look books. These photos i took a while ago it seems like, even through it was not that long ago. This look book is inspired by Sunday mornings because Sunday mornings are most of the time relaxing. In this look book I'm shooting with a magazine. I get a lot of fashion magazines in the mail for free, and it seems like i can't find time to ever read them so they pile up in a basket. But in this look book i was reading this Elle magazine, and i enjoy the Elle magazine because it always inspires with outfit ideas, and the way the magazine is designed graphically is very visually appealing. 

I'm back with the Christmas pillow in the background, on my last post so many of you guys commented about my Christmas pillow. It is really the bomb! Now to talk about the outfit i am wearing a pajama top from Kohls that i actually got two years ago for like six dollars or something like that, it was really cheap and cute, and it had my initial on it. That was a good deal, like for real guys you gotta go to Kohl's because that's where the deals are going on. It seems like in all of my Instagram pictures i tag Kohl's because a lot of my clothing is from there. Next i am wearing my beloved pink pants from Loft, i love the color pink so pink pants are a must. To match the pink theme i am wearing heels from Kohls yet again, and i also paired the outfit with my pink bow bag from Kate Spade. I really love this look because it's something i would totally wear out in public if i could get away with it. Like you can kind of tell that it's a pajama top, and people would be like what on earth, and I'd be like "this is fashion". It is fashion through like the pajama trend was literally a thing in 2017, and hopefully 2018. 

Also if you guys want to know what I'm sitting on i just put a mini bench underneath me, and then threw my comforter over it, and i added a couple of pillows to make the sitting bench look cute for this look book. I'm seriously loving all the pink in these photos because it looks so cute, and i don't know but this year i have gotten more girly for some reason, i have no idea why, it just kind of happened. You know this is off topic but i was just thinking about blog posts, and i want to do a post on my style through middle school to now, kind of like a timeline of how my style evolved. I think it would be super funny, and so cringe worthy, but i want to do it because y'all middle school was a time of weirdness for me, let's just put it at that. If you guys would like me to do it you can message me, or leave a comment below, and get ready to be laughing. I don't really do funny posts that much so i want to throw in one here and there, when i can. 

Outfit details: My top is from Kohls, my pants are from Loft, my heels are from Kohls, my watch is from Jord Watches, my bag is from Kate Spade, and my my glasses are from Coach. Also the comforter is Kohls, the Christmas pillow is from Target, the artwork i made myself, and my grey pillow is from Pier one. 

That's all for today's post. I hope you guys enjoyed, and if you want to have a funny style evolution post be sure to message me or comment below, it will be funny. I will see you guys on Friday with another outfit post. Have a good one!

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Some Room Updates

Hello guys I'm back with another "At Home with Sugarcoatedbears" post today. It has been a while since i have done a post in my "At Home with Suagrcoatedbears" series so I'm glad to be adding to the collection with today's post. This post will be a bit short because i just wanted to just show you guys some room updates since i have taken my Christmas decorations down. To start out with i got a new white pillow on my bed from Target. My dog chewed up two of the pom poms on my white pom pom pillow so i decided to get a new pillow. In the picture the small rectangle pillow is the one i got. It feels so nice, and i love the texture of it. 

Next up i got this canvas print from Photowall. They were kind enough to send me this canvas print for free, in exchange for a mention of their site on my blog. So they are a canvas, and wallpaper company located in Sweden. They have a list of designers who collaborate with them for their prints, and if you don't like their designs you can import your own image to be printed on a canvas. I did my own image because there is this fashion illustrator named Blair Breitenstein that i really like, and i wanted one of her prints. You can check out her work here, here work is very creative, and has a high fashion vibe. Before i placed my order for the canvas print i was a little bit skeptical of how it would turn out since it was an image but it turned out great. It almost looks as if it was the original painting, you can't really tell by the photo because i took all of the pictures for this post when the lightning was bad, but up close it looks great. If you're going to do an image print at Photowall i would just make sure you resize the photo to be big enough for your canvas print. So if you want a giant canvas make the image size giant, or if you want a medium size print do around a 500 x 400 image size. I recommend Photowall if you're looking for something easy, and reasonable. They are located in Sweden but the shipping was incredibly fast, like I'm talking one week. They also have a variety of different designs, so i bet you could find a design from them that you would like because they have a bunch of options. I would like to thank them again for sending me the canvas print, and contributing to the "At Home with Sugarcoatedbears" series. You can get 20% off your order for the next 20 days with the coupon code CourtneyHardyCampaign2018. When i first started this series it was funny because i was looking for brands to collab with for this series, and no one got back to me, and now i got my first collab for this series. So big thanks!!! 

This is my dresser, nothing has changed much other than that i changed my garland back to the tassel garland, and that i took off the Christmas decorations. Also if you're looking at the picture thinking of my uneven tassels it's just because I'm not too great at DIY's. 

On my dresser i now have this speaker that i got for Christmas. I got the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom speaker. It is a portable blue tooth speaker with wonderful sound quality, and it's also water-proof. I was wanting a speaker for a while, and now i have one that is up my ally. I love pink if you have not noticed already. 

I am keeping out my Christmas deer pillow a bit longer because it's super cute and it looks wintery, so i can still have it out for the winter months. I have it sitting on my mini bean bag, and i'm actually laying on it right now while i'm typing this. 

I added a new addition to this area of my room, i added a mini pantry. I know this is so stupid but i was getting food for Christmas, and just in general so i decided to have my own pantry set up. I like the way it looks, and it's also great for when i'm hungry. At the moment in my pantry i have white fudge animal crackers, Triscuits, Lindor chocolate, and some off brand Nutella. 

Last but not least i hung up my 2018 calendar to start the new year off right. I hope you guys enjoyed this post. I know the photos were not so great but i was trying to put together this post last minute for you guys. I will see you guys on Tuesday for another post!

New Year, New Changes

It's officially 2018 guys, it's crazy how fast 2017 went by, and now it's 2018. With the new year I want to focus on some things that I normally wouldn't have focused on too much in the past. I also want to leave some things behind but also gain a couple more new things. Also just so you guys know I'm not the kind of girl to wait till new years to improve myself, so this new years I would just like to make blog changes since I figured it would be a good time to implement these changes. So to start out with, the one thing that I want to focus on the most in 2018 is work life balance. I have struggled with work life balance because I have to balance school, work, sports, and my blog, so it can be hard to manage everything sometimes. This year I want to focus on school, sports, and work the most, and then dedicate less time to my blog because my blog is the main reason why I don't have much work life balance. I will still be active of course, I might just be a tiny bit less active.

What I achieved in 2017
This year I have grown up so much, and really grown into my own person. I discovered running this year, and since then I have joined the track, and cross country team. I have learned a lot from running, and it really changed my life for the better. You can read more about my experience running here. Over summer break I got serious about my blog, and have since grown my blog, and I now have a pretty good following on my blog. I got my first job in December, and now I'm making money to save up for a car. I have also had a great year with my friends, and me and my best friend Gabby's friendship is getting stronger. I really have appreciated this year because I have developed into the person who I want to be, and I can't wait to see what next year holds for me.

What I want next year to hold for me
I'm already 100% happy with myself right now, but there is always room for improvement. In 2018 I want to get faster in running, and keep shaving off seconds from my personal records. I want to improve my blog content, and showcase a realistic image of being a fashion blogger instead of just a false perfect image. I want to grow my Instagram account to 5k, and I would like to grow my blog following in general. I also want to have more of a work life balance, and unplug a little bit more often. I also of course want to put together super cute outfits this year to showcase.

 I am excited to announce that I am re launching my YouTube channel, and I also want to cut down my Instagram posting schedule to only a couple times a week instead of every other day. I will also be discontinuing my magazine due to having it take up too much time to put together, and not having enough popularity. I want to experiment more with video this year, even through I really have no idea how to edit professionally. With the YouTube channel I have made videos on it in the past, but it was from last year around Christmas time, and then I stopped doing it. The link to my YouTube is here if you want to check it out. 

Here is a basic graphic of what I want 2018 to hold for me blog wise. I'm really alright with the way things are now but I just want some new changes to my blog to allow me to have more of a balance in life. Not much is going out the door, but there's exciting things coming. 

Instagram

For Instagram my ideal kind of posting schedule would be whether or not I'm feeling it, or if I have time. So I may post 2 days in a row, and may take a couple day break, or skip a couple days and then post. At a minimum I would like to post three times a week on Instagram, but sometimes it may be more or less depending on my schedule. 

Youtube

 I would like to post at least one video every two weeks, but it may be more or less, it just depends. I would like to post vlogs, and some fashion related videos if I can learn how to film it properly. I want the videos I post to follow along the lines of fashion and lifestyle because I am a fashion, and lifestyle blogger, and that's what I enjoy doing. 

Overall

 This year I want to focus on having more of a balance, and doing things because I want to do it, not because I feel like I have to. I also want to keep shaving off time from my personal records in running. I want to showcase the two sides of blogging more instead of just the fashionable side of it. This year I want to make my posting schedule in general more flexible, but my blog posting schedule will stay the same unless it becomes an issue. So really the only major things that are changing is my Instagram posting schedule, the discontinuation of my magazine, and that I'm going to be doing videos now. 

That's it for today's post. I hope you guys will enjoy the new changes, and I also hope that you guys liked the photo recap. It's kind of funny to look back at old photos every now and then. I will see you guys on Friday with some home inspo. Have a great day!