Hello from the Grand Tetons everyone! I know it has surely been a while since I have updated you all on my whereabouts, that is if you don't already follow me on Instagram (link above), and I have had quite the adventure out west. It's summer and a breathtaking getaway to a mountain range was the perfect escape. 

My family and I went to the Jackson, Wyoming area, and Yellowstone for a week. It was definitely a trip to remember for a lifetime. Words and pictures cannot do the views justice, but I hope they suffice.  If you know me, then you know I'm really outdoorsy at heart. I love waking up in the morning to birds, views, and no makeup or judgment in sight. It's humbling to get to live in the beauty that remains in the States and to appreciate all it has to offer. 

Waking up to the view above of the Grand Tetons was something I wanted to get used to all the time. I needed to be out there before I go back to city college life. The air, while rather smokey and hazy from the forest fires in California and Oregon, was rather fresh and I never really felt the altitude like my sister did. 

Our major plans were to really just explore and see wildlife around the parks. We rented a Chevy Suburban and went on our way from Salt Lake City, Utah. It was about a five-hour drive and the view in the car of the mountains already had our jaws open the whole way there. Once we saw the Grand Tetons, we just about broke our jaws then. 

The main city near the Grand Tetons (and the closest Starbucks) was Jackson Hole. It's a very cute little town with shops and restaurants. Of course, we ate some bison. It's a bit touristy and ol' western looking but has charm and character I've never seen before. 

My younger sister Emily and I are posing in front of a vintage tour bus that has run for almost 50 years or so. This year was the last run for it! So, it was special to be taken around Yellowstone and have our tour guide Jackie educate us about the wildlife, trees, rocks, rivers, lakes, and so on. 

For food, we mostly ate at our lodge we stayed at which had a restaurant and gift shop, a small convenient store and gas station, and then our small cabins that we slept in surrounding the area. It was like a large campground resort in a way. We had burgers, sandwiches, pizza, and quesadillas! Pretty great meals at the Signal Mountain Lodge. I would highly recommend staying there. 

The first day we took a ski gondola up 10,000 feet to view the Grand Tetons. The pointy one in the back is it. What a great way to start off our trip and also get to eat waffles 10,000 feet up in the air! I would recommend the bacon and peanut butter waffles all day. 

Did we see wildlife? Of course! We saw so much that we didn't expect to see! On the gondola, we saw a moose, we saw many bison in the fields up close, we saw elk and deer, bald eagles, a black bear and her four cubs, and my personal favorite—five beavers. The buffalo and the beavers were massive. The elk's horns were huge. The black bear and cubs were just phenomenal to watch in the woods. The eagles were majestic. I felt almost like I was watching a nature documentary the entire time. Italics because italics. 

It was nothing like seeing these animals in captivity at the zoo. They could roam free and this was their turf. It made me kind of upset when I would see some people getting way too close to animals to take pictures. We need to help preserve these majestic animals and it got me thinking about how much we actually affect nature. We don't even stop to think about it. I want to keep living in a world with animals and ecosystems. I want rivers, oceans, and lakes to share with my kids. My dad said, "don't wait until you're 55 like me to come to see the earth's beauty". He couldn't be more right and true. 

We ended our trip with a Snake River float tour. Nothing like extreme white water rafting. That was probably my favorite thing we did. It was so peaceful to float along a river and through the forest that's been there for thousands of years. Like a dream. 

I know I didn't go into much descriptive detail about my trip—no need. However, I can't stress how much I want to urge people to go and continue to visit and support our national parks. You can actually donate to The Wilderness Society to keep our nature's beauty conserved and able to be shared on for generations. It has truly made me realize how much waste I use and contribute to the planet, destroying our o-zone and ecosystems little by little until there are none left. 

We need to take it all in and not treat our beautiful earth like trash. It does us so much good and we need to protect it. 

My skincare has been evolving and changing all the time recently and with the warm summer heat, my skin changes and tends to get more oily and high maintenance than normal. I'm more of a fan of skincare products than I am makeup, but I still need to be careful when I try out new products because my skin reacts to so much that I never know if it will work or break me out even more. 

On my way through the tempting kiosks in Sephora to check out, I spotted the Tatcha Pore-Perfecting Moisturizer & Cleanser Duo. I've always heard good things about Tatcha, but couldn't dare spend so much on a full size, singular product. I mean I'm a college student, so $50 dollars on a face product isn't where I should be really spending my money. However, this duo was only $25 dollars, so I decided it was time to try them out.

Now I actually bought this because I was really interested in trying out the moisturizer. The cleanser, though, impressed me way more. I loved how the cleanser had a fruit exfoliant and the way it reduces my breakouts really shows. 

While the moisturizer is rather light and smooth, I didn't notice so much hydration afterward. I think I can get even more hydration from my Simple moisturizer which is one of my all-time favorites. I don't know, there's something to be said about high-end skincare, but I really think you can get the same results and products for far less at the drugstore. 

Maybe it's my inability to really differentiate between brands, but I've had great experiences with other products half the price. The packages are small and there's hardly a lot of product between the two. I'm on the lookout for more products to try out as usual, but I'm not so sure that I would revisit Tatcha. What do you think about high-end versus drugstore skincare products? 

There's something about having a fully decorated place to call yours really satisfying and gratifying. When I was 7 years old, I was changing and organizing this very room probably three to five times a day. It might seem like I'm overexaggerating, but if you ask anyone that knows me, I love to organize and decorate. 

I would spend hours trying to figure out where I liked my cute Target baskets on my shelf or how I wanted to place my Zac Efron poster next to my hot pink butterfly chair. My neighbors even paid me to organize their kid's rooms. They would be relieved when I came over because they knew I would change something or help clean up my friend's rooms. It was just something I loved and continue to love. 

It started with lining up my Bratz dolls on my bookshelf and limited to the half of the room when my sister and I shared it. I had a small twin bed, the current dresser and side table, the Ikea shelf I still have, and a small cherry print rug. My design ideas were very censored by how much space I had and what my sister would and wouldn't allow me to add to it. You can say I was pretty flustered. 

When my sister eventually moved out of my room (thank the lord), I had some very important decisions to make. My room has been three colors throughout my childhood. That's a lot of paint for a kid. However, each color was a stage in my life and I grew out of them and tired of staring at banana yellow and dark periwinkle. I recently painted it this mint or seafoam and have decided that it will stay for awhile. 

I added my personal touches with cheap Dollar Tree knick knacks and crap that I've either donated or sold at garage sales by now, but at the time, I didn't have any money and it gave me something to do—hound my dad to go to the Dollar Tree all the time. I probably have spent more than the average kid on room decor. Even in my dorm room. There's just something about the little details that make me love designing and getting to call a space my own. 

My style has definitely developed over the course of my childhood. When I was little, I used to love rainbows and bright colors. When I got into my young teens, I was all about Parisian style. Paris prints everywhere, hot pink and purple, a black and white baroque rug, matching pillows, a metal Eiffel tower, everything. I think in High School I really got sick of it all. 

I got obsessed with the "millennial pink" and rosegold phase, glad I didn't paint my room pink and wanted something more modern and mature. As my mom calls my room the "spa" room, for reasons I don't know why it's definitely different than what it used to be. I love metallics and minimal touches. Geometric pastel prints, industrial-looking decor, furniture, and just a more modern feel. I know my style will change in the future as trends change, but that's okay with me because it means more trips to Target and Home Goods. 

People ask me what I want to do when I get out of college and to be honest, anything in Interiors would be a dream. If I could design spaces or get into any field of recreating spaces, I know I would love it. I took interior design in High School and would go past due dates to perfect floor plans and dream boards. My sister even says I should just become a professional organizer, but something with a little more "oomph" might be better for me. 

My ideas go as far as my wallet will allow me. As a college student on a budget, I've found it hard to finance things I want to create or make, but Youtube and other bloggers have reimagined inexpensive and practical ways to find pieces and interior accents for pennies less, and that might be something I want to do in the future as well on the blog. 

Even if you are just getting into interiors or are just fascinated by it and want to redecorate, it truly is not as hard or as costly as you think. Even just a can of spray paint can go a long way. I will always be changing my mind about the rooms I'm in and get to change, but because living in a space should be more than just living—it's a direct expression of yourself and that's something I will never forget when I decorate and design.