November Journal Prompts + Printable

Edit: Updated and completed prompts are available in a printable version through etsy and an ebook version through amazon as of December 2018. 

Thanks for being patient during the extra wait for November's journal prompts. Hopefully I'll eventually get this whole teaching thing figured out, and I'll be able to not only blog consistently BUT ALSO teach 87 6th-graders every day.

Maybe.

But for now, I'll just be content to share November's journal prompts with you and attempt to get enough sleep to work tomorrow.

Here are November's journal prompts.

1. Your goals for this month
2. What don't you share?
3. A reason to celebrate
4. Describe where you are not
5. A dream that seems impossible
6. Something you hope for
7. What good are you doing?
8. The people who make your life better
9. A tradition that makes you feel at home
10. Your top five favorite movies
11. Someone you'd like to meet
12. Is your life what you imagined?
13. The best kind of laughter is...
14. A silly thing you'd really like
15. Where you want to be
16. Something that truly doesn't matter
17. What you do when you are lost
18. A book from your childhood
19. What are you thankful for?
20. An evening ritual
21. A small change you'd like to make
22. A big change you'd like to make
23. Something you're still not sure about
24. The best dessert to share with friends
25. One thing you can't stop talking about
26. How do you spend a rainy day?
27. Your favorite things about yourself
28. Three things you do well
29. A story that captures your imagination
30. Memories beside a fireplace



Get your printable PDF version of November's journal prompts here.

Enjoy your November! I should have a DIY and a book review to share with you soon! Although if things get busy, it may be time for December's journal prompts already before I get them posted. 

Make sure that you get next month's prompts by following along with Life of Lovely on bloglovin, pinterest, or twitter.

If you enjoy these journal prompts, help us out by sharing them on your favorite social media site (even if it isn't one of the ones mentioned above).

Thanks!

Edit: Updated and completed prompts are available in a printable version through etsy and an ebook version through amazon as of December 2018.

Reasons to Love Winter

Winter can be a difficult season especially once the excitement of the holidays has passed. The cold weather in addition the having fewer hours of sunlight sometimes makes us wish that winter would hurry by.

We're are now fully into the winter season. I don't know about you, but where I currently am is cold, and I don't like the cold. That being said, I have decided that I will still enjoy winter time. Because it makes no sense to spend part of the year wishing that it were another part of the year. Instead of complaining about what I don't like about this time of year, I need to focus on what I DO like.

With that in mind, here's a list of some of my favorite things to do during the winter.

- Preparing and eating a bowl full of soup.
- Drinking a cup of hot chocolate in the evening.
- Sitting around a warm fire.
- Wearing scarves all day, every day.
- Snuggling up under a blanket.
- Drinking mulled wine.
- Spending an evening reading a book.
- Taking time to work on my New Year's resolutions.

What do you like to do in the winter? Tell us in the comments below.

Today's post was inspired by one last week on A Beautiful Mess.

9 Ways to Make a Friend Smile

For all of you with sisters, roommates, best friends, and other important girls in your lives, here are some simple ways that you can show that you care.

1. Send her a letter in the mail.

2. Bring her flowers.

3. Show up at an event to support her.

4. Bake her a surprise treat. Like these cupakes.

5. Leave positive post-it note messages somewhere she will see them.

6. Lend her a favorite book that you've just finished reading.

7. Make plans for lunch together.

8. Invite her over to have a cup of tea.

9. Text her just to say hello.

This post was inspired during the weekend when I felt a little down only to check my mailbox and find not one, but two letters addressed to me. Instant happiness.

What are your favorite methods for showing your friends that you care about them? What makes you feel loved?

Leave the Comparisions Behind

Today's post is going to be a little different from normal. Usually I stick to topics like recipes, how-tos, and books. Partly because those are areas that I absolutely love, and I would be doing those things even if I didn't have a blog to share those interests with you. But partly, I always stick to those areas because they feel safe. I feel as if I know how to write about those topics, and I don't know if I can write about other areas.

Still, today I am going to try. Because a wonderful group of women called #fireworkpeople has a blog tour going on right now. This group is made up of women who have big dreams and who encourage each other. That's something I want to be a part of, so for that reason I'm participating in the blog tour today.

So, even though writing this feels a bit odd for me and I'm going to have to think for a while before hitting the publish button on this post, here it goes.

You know how there are people on facebook or your social media outlet of choice whose posts always seem exciting and who make you just a little bit (or maybe a lot) envious?

I think that at the moment, I might be one of those people.

Right now, I'm living in France and teaching English in two elementary schools in a small French town. The town has a beautiful river going through the center of it, and all of the houses have red roofs made of clay tiles. Each Tuesday morning, my town has a small open-air market with vegetables, fruits, and cheese. If you were to draw a picture of the ideal small French town that couldn't possibly be real, it would look a lot like the one that I teach in.

Basically, I'm currently living the dream of quite a lot of Francophiles (minus the ones who want to be living in Paris).

But.

There's always a but, isn't there.

But, the thing is that I still compare myself to other people.

I am doing exactly what I want to do at this point in my life. I want to be in France. I want to teach English. I want to work with elementary students.

Before I left, I spent some time talking with a friend, and I realized that almost all of my friends are currently working on getting their master's. By the time that I get back, most of them will be either finished or halfway through. And I won't.

Sitting at the table talking, even though I knew that I was about to leave to do exactly what I wanted to do more than anything else, I still felt left behind everyone else.

I felt as if what I had chosen to do wasn't good enough compared to what they were doing.

Which is just absurd.

If we compare ourselves to everyone else, we will never be satisfied with what we have.

It's so easy to forget that life is not a list of tasks to complete and then check off. And even if it were, we wouldn't all have the same tasks on our lists.

Chances are that while you feel down because you are comparing yourself to someone else, another person is looking at you and feeling envious as well. No one comes out well in this cycle.

We should always celebrate the accomplishments and triumphs of our friends, but we shouldn't let that little bit of envy creep in to mar the celebration. Not only does that create resentment in the friendship, but it also keeps us from recognizing the good in our own lives.

Leave the comparisions behind.

Live your own life. Whatever that looks like for you.

5 Fun Ways to Celebrate Fall

Fall is one of my favorite times of year because of all the cozy, fun, and delicious things the cooler weather inspires us to take part in. Here are a few of my favorite things about fall and some fun ideas to help you make the most of this beautiful season.

1. Plaid
It's time to don your favorite plaid shirts. The plaid look is effortlessly cute with a side braid like the one in this tutorial How to: Reverse Side Braid by the beautiful Luxy Hair ladies.

2. Warm Drinks
My favorite hot drink during the fall is Starbuck's Pumpkin Spice Latte. The rich, sweet pumpkin flavor is the perfect way to make any day more festive. If you want to brew up your own creation, try Celestial Seasoning's India Spice Chai Tea. This tea has the perfect balance of spiciness and warmth from black pepper and cinnamon. It also has the best iced chai recipe I've found on its box. I love to drink it to warm up on chilly mornings or drink it while I settle down with a book at night (decaf of course!).


3. Cozy Scents
Familiar scents have the power to bring us back to our favorite moments in life. I've become obsessed with candle warmer fragrances because they heat up so fast, and I don't have to commit to a scent with a big candle. Some of my favorite scents this fall are Better Homes and Gardens' Comfy and Cozy scents that are inspired by flannel and fleece. Fleece and flannel are the fall version of summer's clean linen fragrance. Some other more traditional scents that bring back joyful memories of campfires and family gatherings are Gooey Marshmallow S'mores, and A Thankful Harvest.

4. Sweet Treats
One of the best things about fall are the tasty goodies! One thing I look forward to are the yummy veggies like Acorn Squash. Now, I know that vegetables are not what usually first on the list of tasty treats, but good roasted acorn squash is delightful! Yes, I just called a vegetable delightful. Sunny Anderson makes this treat super simple with her Sweet Roasted Acorn Squash recipe. Another one of my fall favorites is a thing called Spoonfudge. You're probably asking yourself what is a spoonfudge? It's only the most delicious homemade fudge that you've eaten in your life packaged into cute little jars with an adorable spoon . This fudge hails from the colorful Sebastopol, Mississippi. (Now you're probably asking yourself what is a Sebastopol? I am too y'all.) My personal favorite is the Salted Caramel flavor, but the Pumpkin Cheesecake is perfect for fall. It's like regular fudge but so much creamier and more fun to eat. Luckily for the world, Spoonfudge will ship its delicious fudge to you.

5. Go Outside!
The real magic of fall can only be enjoy outside! So go outside and take a walk, admire the leaves, have a picnic, go to a bonfire, play in the leaves, breathe in the crisp air, sit on a bench and drink coffee, read a book, and find local fall festivals. Enjoy the last few weeks of beautiful weather before it gets too nippy outside.