A Year Later

Hi All!

It has literally been over a year since I have written a blog post & I am happy to be investing time in this space. My year was invested in growing into a new position in my job, creating new routines at home and traveling. 

I thought I would share some photos taken by the lovely Kaihla Tonai . I was so excited to be apart of one of her Free Spirit Sessions. These photos took were taken in Fall 2015. Oh gosh, I know it was a long time ago but we recently crossed paths & it had me thinking about the mini session we did & the photos are too beautiful not to share!

Check out Kaihla on Instagram! She is such a talented photographer.

ThePeachBox

Hi All! Its been a while since I have blogged and I am happily back! If you follow along with my Instagram account @jess_samantha you will know my love for podcasts. In a recent podcast I listened to by Jess Lively was discussing value-based intentions. I plan to go deeper into this topic in a future post, basically I am saying their is no shame in not blogging constantly, it is suppose to be fun! Life gets busy and your priorities shift continually. This space is here to have fun with it!

With all that said, spring is just around the corner (even thou it has been snowing here again...) & I am a lover of delicate jewelry! I am a sucker for pretty packaging & recently arrived the cutest package in the mail from ThePeachBox! They are an Australian based fashion jewelry retailer. Inside was the perfect rings to stack or simply wear on its own! If your like me & are always looking for new jewelry designers you should check them out!

Gold Flutter Ring

Tribal Triple Stack Ring

Receive 15% off your purchase from The Peachbox with the code: jess_samantha! It is valid till the end of March!

Autumn Hues

Currently I am listening to Daughter & sipping on peppermint tea in bed while writing this post. Hello cold season.

 With the colder days upon us come sniffles & chills. So far I find drinking lots of tea, using essential oils, bed & Netflix help with my cold! Oh & snuggles with Harper is a must. 

Do you have a certain cure for the cold season?? If so you must share I would love to hear! 

 Not too long ago Evan & I went to this location close to home. It's a relaxing drive through back roads that leads to this incredible opening overlooking the Bow river. Not many people are there & its great spot to hang out. 

I thought I would share a simple fall outfit. A staple in my closet is knit sweaters & a good pair of boyfriend jeans. Keeping it basic! What's your favorite fall item??!

Cardi | Denim | Hat | Tee | Similar necklace | Similar boots | socks

Peyto Lake

 

We had so much fun going to Peyto Lake for the first time! When we had discovered Peyto Lake through social media, we saw there are easy hiking trails & made an afternoon of it. Its located north of Lake Louise on the Ice fields Parkway. First off let me say that we are not hikers by any means. Maybe one day we will work up to difficult trails but for now I need to work on my bear phobia haha! It's just nice getting outside & who doesn't love fresh air with a beautiful view. 

The weather was great not to cold & we brought Harper with us. We only had one incident where we hadn't seen anyone for 50 minutes & out of nowhere we start hearing people shouting, shaking bells & clapping loudly. All I could think is great it would be my luck that we would run into a bear... So I did what every person shouldn't do & panicked. Evan described it as drowning on dry land. It was awful. I even listen to podcasts on what you do when you run into a bear & in the moment nothing came to mind. In the end we never ran into anyone or bear, which hey it could have happened! We will never know..( is what I tell myself so I don't feel so pathetic haha) although Ev is positive people were probably just doing it to be cautious & that he is signing me up for an outdoor course if they exist.  

Regardless on your level of hiking this is the perfect place to get outdoors & see stunning views with an easy walk. You can walk up to a lookout or pick a level of trail to take to see more! 

  

 

^^^ Meet Evan ^^^

Jacket  (similar) | | Boots | | Scarf | | Denim | | Toque | | Thermal 

Thoughts & Day Trips

Hey guys! It has been a long time since my last post...(Worst blogger ever haha)! The main reason I have been absent was when I first started my blog I wanted this space to be a reflection of me & for it to be fun. Like I have said before I love blogs & always wanted to start one. I really enjoy the activity of laying out photos & seeing it come all together, it is rewarding to me. I started to feel like my Instagram and blog was a chore & that I was rushing my posts instead of taking the time to learn & enjoy the process. Basically I have been overthinking the crap out of everything; it's one of my horrible traits that I am working on! 

So I took the summer off focusing on friends, family & my overall health. I am currently making goals for the year on where I would like to be with my career, relationships, overall well-being ...basically everything :) I plan to share each month what my focuses are on & how it went, what worked & what didn't! 

I contemplated sharing personal posts in this space. In the end I realized what keeps me going back to certain blogs is due to the fact they are personable, funny & incredibly inspiring! So why not share! Here's to growing, holding myself accountable & sharing a little more into my life other than your average style post! WOO! 

 

 

 

 

Evan & I decide to drive up for lunch to one of our favorite bakery with the best mac & cheese near Lake Louise. We grabbed our food & found a deserted day area to hangout! It was a nice change considering that area is known to be packed with people all the time! We snapped a few pictures then headed home! It was nice to get out of town.

Happy October!

 

 

Dress || Scarf || Boots || Tights

Braided Crown

Hey friends! Today I am sharing my quick go to hair style. Whenever I am on day 2 of not washing my hair or I am having a hot mess of a hair day I go to the braided crown. I am no hair guru - I just love a good messy crown.

1. Start by dividing your hair in 2 sections down the middle & start braiding each section or if your feeling adventurous do a fish tail braid. I just stuck to a simple braid for today. Secure each braid with a clear elastic that way you don't see it. I leave out pieces to frame around my face its really up to you.

2. Once you have each side braided. I pull pieces of the braid out to give it a "fuller" look. 

3. Grab one braid and pull it across to the other side of your head & secure it with a bobby pin. Than repeat with the other braid.

And that's it! Pretty easy! I will sometimes pull at the braid some more to give it a messier look. 

Harper clearly is interested in a braided crown tutorial. 

Some products I used for this tutorial:

roller lash 

bareMinerals

rings / Essie nail polish in mint candy apple

lancome

I hope you enjoyed today's post! Have a wonderful rest of your week! Cheers!

Post Details

Necklace / Denim / Urban Outfitters shirt similar here