Hey everyone! Back on the blog to share our engagement photos + experience with you all. Nick and I had the best time taking our photos in our favorite place, Las Vegas! We got engaged there a few months ago and plan on getting married there as well, so why not take engagement photos there too? I loved the idea of taking them somewhere that we love to be together. I love a mountain view and Nevada is surrounded by them – so we chose to take them at Red Rock Canyon shortly before sunset. A friend recommended an awesome photographer for us, Nichole LeBeau. She is amazing to say the least! She helped us pick a location based on our vision. We felt so comfortable and she did a great job at capturing these moments for us. We had so much fun taking these and the view was absolutely breathtaking!

Outfit from Sugar Love Boutique: Casey Jumpsuit

Get in touch with Nichole

XOXO, Lex

Hello everyone! I’m on the blog to share with you why I decided to create a blog of my own:

What is Lifestyle with Lex?

For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Alexis! I’m currently a college student working towards my health and human services degree. My goal is to work with grieving children. I’ve also been interested in psychology and interior design, but ultimately found that my heart is with working within our communities and potentially creating my own grieving center someday. I am passionate about helping others grieve, as I have grieved myself and understand the need for support. ♥︎

I recently got engaged to my handsome fiancé Nick and I’m a dog mom to a sweet boy named Archer. The boys keep me busy most of the time, but I also love to spend time with family and friends, travel, read, shop, eat, exercise, create and write!

I created this blog initially just to write about anything. I have always loved expressing my thoughts through writing and when I started the blog, I was looking to do just that. I was going through a difficult transition in my life and wanted something positive to focus on to keep me feeling inspired. I was searching for happiness when I started this blog and so far it has definitely helped me find what I am truly passionate about in life. It has also allowed me to open up and interact with incredible people.

I chose to focus on ‘lifestyle’ because I want to help others obtain the life that they want to live through inspiration. I have been inspired by so many people on social media. I’ve learned how to cook meals, complete a 30 minute full body workout, and shape my eyebrows all through social media influencers (Some important things to know if you ask me!) I’ve learned many lifestyle tips + tricks along the way that I would love to share with you all. I love all things fashion, beauty, and travel – so lifestyle made sense! 

Blogging hasn’t always been easy or natural for me. My fear and anxiety have held me back several times. I have spent a lot of time worrying about what others may think of me. It has taken me several tries, but I am here! I am still learning and that is ok. Blogging makes me happy because I can express myself! I have realized that it’s important to remain focused on the positive and just do what is best for me. The connections and impact that I can make through blogging mean much more to me than the worry and doubts. This mindset is why I am here today and have more exciting things planned! 💪

I want this blog to be a positive and fun environment filled with inspiration for everyone. The more love + kindness that we can spread through the internet – the better! Creating an online destination for anyone to join and feel inspired is important to me.  

Lets come together + talk  l i f e s t y l e ☀︎

XOXO, Lex

I am so excited to share this with you all!

Introducing You•ology 

A customizable skin care solution that you create based on your own needs!

Not everyone has the same skin type and I have always struggled to find the perfect skincare product that works just for me. With You•ology, I was able to create my own skincare regimen that specifically fits my needs. With up to 40,000 possible combinations, you can create your own regimen too!

Start by selecting three target boosters to create your own cleanser, serum, day moisturizer, and night cream. If you’re not sure what to choose, you can take the skin care quiz to find out your specific needs. You can create a regimen or any of these products individually.

I took the quiz and created my own skincare regimen, Lex•ology. I‘ve been loving it! Here are the boosters that I chose for each product:

Cleanser

• Replenishment booster

• Pore diminishing booster

• Exfoliating booster

This is everything I look for in a cleanser! It leaves my skin feeling refreshed and smooth.

Serum

• Firming booster

• Brightening booster

• Glow booster

This was my favorite product to create, because I love anything that will keep my face looking youthful and gives me a natural glow! I added these three boosters to my serum to keep my skin firm and glowing, especially during these gloomy winter months.

Day Moisturizer

• Oil control booster

• Poor diminishing booster

• Environmental shield booster

I love to use this light moisturizer to keep my skin from getting oily throughout the day! I also added the environmental shield to protect my skin and keep it nourished.

Night Cream

• Replenishment booster

• Hydrating booster

• Time correcting booster

Give me all of the hydration! My skin tends to get dry during the winter and this night cream helps keep my skin hydrated without being oily. It does all of the work for me while i’m sleeping!

How to:

Blend the three boosters together with each base product and that’s it! Use in your daily skincare routine.

One week difference of using lex•ology:

Create your own skincare regimen for healthier skin!

Take the quiz or build your own

xoxo, lex

I have been absent from my blog this summer due to a huge loss in my family and now I’m back to share this experience with you all.

Grieving is not easy. It’s an indescribable process that has no limit on time and pain. I have experienced grieving in the past, which has led me to my passion of working with grieving children and teens. I have seen how grieving affects others physically, mentally, and emotionally. I understand the impact it has on an individual for the rest of their life. It’s not an easy process and every individual grieves in their own way, but we have to keep pushing forward.

I lost my grandma suddenly on June 2nd, 2018. I was on my way back home from a mini trip to Chicago when my dad called me and told me the news. My initial reaction was shock and confusion. I had just talked to her a week before on her birthday. I told her I loved her and I would call her soon to set up a lunch date. It just didn’t make sense to me at all. Once I found out, I rushed over to say my goodbyes with my family and that was very hard. My grandma was the root of our family and without her, what now?

Like I have mentioned, I have grieved before, but I had never experienced the funeral process until now. If you have ever gone through the funeral process, you understand how quickly everything happens. With my grandma passing away so suddenly, there were so many changes and decisions to be made. My mind was not prepared for any of this, but it happened. It became my new reality.

During that time I felt as if I was shutting down emotionally and mentally. My mind was blocked and all I could think about was my grandma. What more could I have said to her? Why didn’t I spend enough time with her? Thoughts of her not being there for any other life events like my college graduation or my wedding. Not only was I grieving personally, but I knew that I needed to be strong and be there for my family who was also grieving.

The past two months I have been focusing on being surrounded by my family and loved ones. Having support through a time of grief is very important. Everyone grieves differently and I can’t even begin to explain the amount of overwhelming emotions that I have felt since, but I can honestly say that I have made it through with support. In an odd, but special way this brought my family closer and I am very thankful for that.

I’d like to share a few helpful tips for grieving over the loss of a loved one.

• Understand your Grief. Grief is a normal response to death. Understand your feelings and the different stages of grief, which can include denial, anger, depression, and eventually acceptance. There is no “normal” amount of time while grieving. Take the time you need during this process. Practice self-care during this time.
• Support. Everyone needs support during a time of crisis. More than anything else, we need to feel loved and supported. Reach out to a family member, friend, support group, therapist, etc. Don’t hold back from explaining what you feel. It is ok to feel the way that you feel. You are not alone!
• Focus on the positive. Consider positive things going on in your life. During this time, I had started a new job, my birthday was shortly after her passing, and I was planning for vacation. Although I didn’t have much motivation to be excited, I understood that I had much more to look forward to. I had to keep moving forward. Don’t feel guilty for getting back into the swing of things.
• Keep the Faith. Know that you will always heal and grieving does not last forever.

Speaking from experience, these positive tips have helped me in times of grief. I hope to inspire you to keep pushing forward.

In loving memory 

XOXO, Lex

If you don’t know me, I love coffee.

Give me all of the coffee.

Morning. Night. Any time.

Coffee.

 I’m sharing with you my favorite choices of coffee at Starbucks and Keurig K-cups. I try to stay healthy with some options, but others are just simply too good to care. If you’re looking for different drinks to try, give these a go:

Starbucks

Vanilla Latte

Iced Black Tea Lemonade

Iced coffee

I add:

• Two pumps Toffee Nut
• Two pumps White Mocha

Iced White Chocolate Mocha

Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew

“Sick Drink”

I found this drink on Pinterest once, (I can’t remember where) and decided to try it while I was congested and had a sore throat. It worked wonders!!!

• Steamed lemonade
• Jade citrus mint tea
• Peach tranquility tea
• Honey
• Peppermint (optional)

Keurig K-cups

Green Mountain Coffee – Breakfast Blend or French Vanilla

Starbucks Pike Place Roast Coffee

The Original Donut Shop – Regular

Leave a comment of your favorite coffee and favorite coffee shops!

XOXO, Lex

Over the weekend, I had my first winery experience at Oliver Winery in Bloomington, Indiana. This winery is beautiful. I love wine and I have been searching for new wines to try. I did a wine tasting of eight different wines and found two that I really like. I like them so much that I had to bring them home with me!

There are so many different wines to choose from here!

Click on the links below to read all about the wine that I brought home with me:

Recently turning 21, I have found quite of few drinks that I love to get while I’m out or make at home.

Mixed Drinks:

• Tequila Sunrise. I love tequila! Not very many people that I know do, but if you do this is a great drink option. This is a cocktail mixed with tequila, orange juice and grenadine syrup topped with an orange slice and/or cherry.
• Vodka Cranberry. Super simple, vodka and cranberry juice! I really like cranberry juice and I think this mixed drink is perfect for a lighter option.
• Whiskey Ginger. Whiskey and ginger ale. I rarely get this drink, but if I’m feeling bold then this is a great option.

Beer:

• Corona. This is a pale lager. I love this beer with lime of course.
• Blue Moon. A Belgian white beer.
• Coors Light. Light lager.
• Budlight. Light lager.

Wine:

• Reggae Red. Sweet red wine. I typically choose a sweet red wine while I’m out.
• BayBridge. I found this wine one day as I was grocery shopping and noticed it was only $3! I was a bit suspicious, but decided to try it anyway – so good! I usually get the Pinot Grigio (white wine grape), or the White Zinfandel (a dry to sweet, pink colored rosé).

XOXO, Lex