Now that Halloween is over, it's officially holiday time -- the best time of the year. It's such a cozy, festive time of the year. Unsurprisingly, it's my favorite time of the season, especially when it comes to shopping! I feel like as soon as November 1st hits, all of the stores are lined with holiday decor, bright lights, and red/green stuff everywhere. Even Christmas music starts playing in most stores.




I have my list of stores I hit up each holiday season, but one store that tops the list in terms of festive cheer is LUSH. I was never a big fan of the store until last year when a LUSH store opened up at my mall. And not going to lie, I'm a huge sucker for adorable-shaped things so of course this very rapidly became one of my favorite stores. Bath time also happens to be one of my favorite luxurious comforts during the frost season so I of course love all sorts of fun bath items like bath bombs, bubble bars, soaps, etc. I think LUSH does such a fantastic job of coming out with seasonal items. They have absolutely adorable stuff for the holidays and they have a wide assortment of things that cater to a bunch of people. Although I'm posting it later in November, I actually picked this stuff up within the first of November since their holiday stuff tends to run out super fast! I went in early December last year and a lot of their bath bombs had run out and weren't coming back until next year, which was quite disappointing. So I made sure to go embarrassingly early this year and stock up on my favorites before they run out this year.





As you can see, I got quite a bit of stuff...well more than I usually get from LUSH.  I made sure to get all the stuff I had been eying up because who knows if I can even indulge in bath time next year *sad face*. Seriously guys, not looking forward to residency hours next year. The item I'm most excited about this year is the Holly Golightly Bubble Bar. Holy moly it looks and smells just like Christmas. I'm a huge fan of the LUSH bubble bars and this one is ginormous and will probably last me a few baths. It also smelled the most Christmas-y to me -- like cinnamon and pinecones. Yummy! And of course, let's be honest and say that I got suckered into this because of all the glitter. The pink dollop next to it is one-half of the Rose Jam Bubbleroon in its old formula. I used the other half recently and oh my gosh it smells heavenly. Not a Christmas item, but definitely a really comforting scent, especially for Valentine's Day and the spring!



On the second half of my bath ledge, I have a few more bubble bars and bath bombs. The thing that jumps out is the cute little Butterbear Bath Melt. I'm not a huge fan of their Bath Melts, but I got this one because it was absolutely adorable, it smells heavenly like white chocolate, and it was only $4.95! The Bath Melts are sort of anti-climactic in the fact that they don't do much but they do leave my skin super soft since they're chock-full of cocoa and shea butters. Next to that is the all too famous Cinders Bath Bomb. Again, I had heard loads about this product online, but I never got the chance to try it out myself because it's limited edition for the holiday season (I think?) and it had sold out when I went in early December last year. It's made with vegan popping candy so it sounds like little crackles going off in your bathtub. I wish it smelled more like Christmas, but it has a fruity scent with maybe a hint of cinnamon. And lastly, the Sparkly Pumpkin Bubble Bar. I wasn't sure if I wanted to purchase this since it's more autumn-themed, but in the end I decided to get it since I love bubble bars and of course, it's covered in glitter. And it looks stunning along my bathtub.



So there you, my little holiday LUSH haul. The store had a ton more holiday stuff including tons of bath bombs, face masks, lip scrubs, lip balms, etc. but I tried to control myself and only purchase a few of my favorites. If you can only get one thing, I'd encourage you to get the Holly Golightly Bubble Bar since it's humungous and will last a few baths, it smells divine, and it looks (and smells) like Christmas. Seriously, even if I only had this my bath ledge would look stunning and ready for the holiday season. Thats another thing I love about the LUSH products, they really do jazz up your bathroom and bathtub area, and you can use the products once you're tired of the decorations too! They also scent your bathroom -- my bathroom now smells like rosy perfume. As for me, I'm probably going to keep these along my bath ledge until Christmas is over, and start using the products sometime in January. These will definitely keep me stocked up on bath products for the rest of the cold dreary season! Happy bathroom decorating! :)

10 Things I'm Grateful For This Thanksgiving Season

Happy Thanksgiving everybody! I spent an absolutely wonderful day with my family today -- especially considering this may be my last Thanksgiving at home for the next 3 years! Although it's easy to get caught up in all the Black Friday deals (which can save you a lot of money!), it's important to remember the true meaning of Thanksigiving. Stop and count your blessings. For so many years, I've spent the majority of Thanksgiving making sure everything's perfect, coordinating the food, rushing to make sure I have all the appropriate food ready, making sure my family's into the food preparation, making the table all pretty that I never really stopped to consider the true meaning of this holiday. It's not just about how delicious the food is or how many sides you have prepared. It's about spending time with family and being grateful for all you have, no matter how little it may be. Even if you only spend Thanksgiving with one or two other people or get the majority of your meal as takeout from Boston Market, the people you spend it with and the comfort you get around them is more important than anything else. And it's about thanking the good Lord for all that he has provided you -- the simple necessities and comforts of life that we often overlook. So this Thanksgiving, I thought I would write out all of my blessings and things I'm truly grateful for, not just today but throughout the year. Even though life has me down sometimes, I feel like I'm truly blessed to have such a wonderful life and God has provided me with so much more than I deserve.

1. A really amazing family who's incredibly caring, supportive, and always there for me through thick and thin.
2. Some really great friends, some new and some who have stuck with me through the years.
3. The ability to have gotten this far into my medical training with hopes for a prosperous future in a field as rewarding as pediatrics.
4. Getting a bunch of great interviews this application cycle despite all the hardships I had to face during medical school.
5. Living in a country full of opportunities, freedom, and resources.
6. Having the financial means to live a comfortable life.
7. Good health for myself and my family.
8. Experiencing the beautiful colors of fall and the cozy season of Christmas...and writing this post whilst drinking a steaming cup of hot cocoa!
9. My overwhelming stash of beauty goodies.
10. Our family's holiday traditions, as non-traditional as they may be!

Happy Holidays everyone. Here's to a wonderfully cozy, comforting holiday season ahead! 

Halloween-Themed Cupcakes

Look at me on a roll with all these posts this week! Definitely the post-CS and Halloween spirit! As I mentioned in my Fall Favorites post, I wanted to use this weekend to practice some cupcake decorating. After browsing Pinterest, I decided to attempt some monster cupcakes. They require super simple piping techniques, perfect for a beginner, and come out with excellent results! And they're a super fun craft to do with kids. I had a really fun time making some monsters with my younger brother.

Here are the supplies I used. It may seem daunting, but don't worry you don't need all these things! The only things that are essential to making these monster cupcakes are buttercream/decorating icing, a few decorating tips, and candy eyeballs. 

The Cupcakes -- You can make the actual cupcakes using any recipe you have lying around. To keep things simple, I chose to make yellow cupcakes from a box. The Duncan Hines box mix make really delicious cupcakes! 

Cupcake Icing -- This is the most important part and makes the difference between 'meh' vs. artisan cupcakes. You don't want to get just a regular can of frosting from the store!!! I cannot stress that enough. I've tried to decorate cupcakes in the past using the cheap $2 frosting cans and the results have been disappointing. That type of icing is super runny and it's literally impossible to decorate with it. You want a stiff icing that can hold a pattern, which is crucial to cake decorating. I would recommend going out and buying icing that is specifically meant for decorating. You can also make your own buttercream icing. But if you're lazy like me, try the Wilton White Decorator Icing from JoAnn Fabrics (also sold at Michael's). It was my first time using it and I was really happy with the results! 

Decorating Tips -- I only used 3 types of tips for my cupcakes, but I've pictured a bunch of different tips to show you that there are endless varieties when it comes to cupcake decorating! The 8-pack decorating  tip pack pictured above is from Walmart for only $3! Plastic tips are just as good as metal ones in my opinion. JoAnn Fabrics has a wall of different icing tips, many of which are only $0.99! For the cupcakes pictured above, I used an open star tip (purple icing), a grass tip (teal icing), and a closed star tip (pink icing). Again, you can get creative and use different types of tips to get different effects! I definitely LOVE the grass tip for making hairy-looking monsters! If you're new to cupcake decorating and have no idea what each tip looks like or the designs it makes, check out this video. She does an excellent job of explaining basic piping tips and techniques! 

Decorating Bags -- I like using decorating bags specific for cake decorating since they are super sturdy. They're relatively cheap too. However, you can also get away with using Ziploc bags if you don't want to invest in fancy decorating bags.

Food Coloring -- You can get a variety of different food coloring gels at craft stores, but you can also use whatever you have lying around and get creative with coloring! A few of my friends have used jelly, fruit syrup, etc instead of actual food coloring in the past.

Candy Eyeballs -- from JoAnn Fabrics for only $4.99! They have small ones and large ones. I chose the large ones for regular-sized cupcakes. Try the smaller ones for cookies or mini cupcakes.

Once you have all of your materials, now's the fun part! Get creative with the piping and try out different ones in different shapes and colored icing. I used the open star tip to make the purple monster, and the grass tip to make a fuzzy hairy monster, which was my favorite. I had a few writing gels I had lying around to make mouths with, but you can use chocolate frosting plopped in a plastic bag to make mouths with. The most important part is remember to have fun and share this memory with loved ones! :)