Easy DIY 2016 Desk Calendar (& Free Printable!)

Hello, hello! Right before I left work for a nice little Christmas/New Years break, I realized I needed a new desk calendar. I know it's crazy that that's what I'm thinking about, but I look at that thing like it's my job and know I would be inconvenienced if I came back without a 2016 (HOW?!) calendar to reference.

I knew I wanted something cute but also practical so I decided to take it upon myself to come up with a DIY and I'm super happy with it!

Perfect Inexpensive Makeup Storage

Hi friends! Today's post is all about my new makeup storage. I've been in the market for larger storage and was also hoping to find something that was black. Let's just say, I hit the jackpot!

My Workout Must-Haves!

For the past month and a half, I've been going to the gym 5 times a week which is so unlike me. If you knew me in real life, you'd know I've always been a yo-yo gym goer. In the past, I've always lacked the motivation and drive it takes to get my butt to the gym multiple times a week.

Along with the immediate motivation of knowing I had a beach vacation coming up, I finally got together some items that keep me motivated and at the gym for more than 20 mins ;) Keep on reading to hear about my essentials!

December BoxyCharm Unboxing!

I'm obsessed with this month's box! I can't say enough good things about BOXYCHARM. Not only has this subscription helped me stop spending so much money on products (since I know I have 5-6 full size products coming to me each month), it's really helped broadened my horizons on beauty brands.

Sometimes it's hard to find great brands that aren't sold at Sephora or talked about on YouTube, so this box is the perfect solution. I've found so many favorites from this subscription and I don't see that stopping anytime soon! Keep reading to see this month's box.

Dry, Flaky Skin Remedy!

It's that time of year where your skin decides to become chapped and flakey. As you know from my last post, I just came back from a vacation in Mexico and my skin is nicely bronzed. The one issue is, I didn't prepare to come back home to almost freezing weather and my skin went into shock. Between some sunburn and frigid temps, my skin bugged out and became extremely dry and flakey.

I never experienced dryness like this before so I was kind of freaking out. I couldn't wear makeup without my face looking SO cakey and when I woke up on Saturday morning, my skin looked like it was all about to peel off. Luckily, I ended up at my neighbors house in the morning and she saw my face and knew exactly what to give me... almond oil.

BEST Vacation Ever | Platinum Yucatan Princess All Suites, Playa Del Carmen

Hellooo friends! If you don't follow me on Instagram (blog + personal) you would have no idea that I just got home from an all-inclusive vacation in Mexico! I looove traveling to the beach during the winter months (even though it was 65 degrees in Jersey when I was gone.. like what?) and I wish I could have stayed there forever.

I wanted to write a little review on the resort we stayed at since we both enjoyed ourselves very much! I highly recommend this resort to any couple looking for a romantic but super fun getaway. Keep reading for photos & full review!

Nominated for What?! The Liebster Award

Hi guys! I'm super excited for today's post! The lovely Becca, from A Dash of Becca, nominated me for a Liebster Award! I'm not positive when or where but started, but the Liebster Award is an award given out by bloggers to recognize other up and coming bloggers, to give them some appreciation! I've been seeing this pop up a ton lately so I'm so excited and honored to have been nominated by Becca :) Keep on reading to see how it works, my answers to Becca's questions & my nominations!

November 2015 Favorites!

Another month, another favorites post. How in the world is it the last month of 2015?! Time moves so freaking fast. November was a great month filled with birthday celebrations,  vacation planning, the start to the holiday season and more. Keep on reading to see what made the cut into my favorites this month!

Need It or Leave It? Hack Macadamia Oil

Hey guys! So in my 365 Days to a More Inspired You post, I challenged myself to create a new post series for Life Across the Hudson. I'm still going back and forth on the name, but the general gist will be me trying out products, hacks etc. and letting you guys know if they're worth it or not.

First up - Hask Macadamia Oil Moisturizing Shampoo, Moisturizing Conditioner, Moisturizing Shine Oil & Moisturizing Deep Conditioner.

Pantone Color of the Year 2016 | Rose Quartz + Serenity

It's official! Yesterday, Pantone announced the color of the year, with a twist! Yep, this year we get 2 colors, Rose Quartz and Serenity.

The colors look beautiful together, like a beautiful, soft sunset. I'm super excited to start seeing clothing, decor and makeup products begin to follow these colors trends. In the meantime, here are some of my current favorite pieces you can buy or you may already have laying around to celebrate the color(s) of the year.

Five Minute Fresh Face Makeup | Drugstore Products

Hello, hello! Today's post is going to be my go-to makeup routine. I do this almost every day for work since it's quick and simple but helps me look more alive for my work day. This look uses just 10 products from the drugstore and truly transforms my sleepy face lol! Keep on reading to see what products I use to achieve this fresh-faced makeup look.

DIY Christmas Decor!

Now that Thanksgiving has past, I'm in full blown Christmas mode! This is my second winter living out of my parents home, so it's my second time decorating for the holidays. Last year's decor was pretty basic as we had just moved in and were more concerned with decorating our place in general, so I knew this year I wanted to get some additional Christmas decorations and go more "all out."

Our space is pretty small, so I knew I only needed a few additions. I was determined to DIY something and when browsing some decor websites I stumbled upon a Christmas-themed shadow box I knew I could recreate. Keep on reading to see how I made this extremely easy & quick (literally 3 mins) DIY!

Who Am I? About Me Tag!

Hey guys! It's now been a few weeks of me "actively" posting on Life Across the Hudson, so I thought it was time to introduce myself! I found this tag somewhere on the internet and decided to fill it out rather than rambling about my life :) Keep reading to find out a little more about me!

Gift Ideas for Him | $100, $50, $25 & UNDER

Here's post two in my Gift Ideas series for this years holiday season! As mentioned in my Gift Ideas for Her post, I really like to get gifts that are meaningful, but sometimes you need that little bit of inspiration to figure out what that is.

I've always found choosing gifts for the guys in my life has been harder than for my girls. Maybe it's because they guys in my life are simple and don't need much, but I just think guys in general "need" less than us girls ;)

This list is perfect for your brother, boyfriend, dad, BFF and really any guy in your life. Keep on reading to find out my picks ranging from $10-$99 for 2015!

LORAC PRO Matte Eye Shadow Palette | Review

Lorac is one of my favorite makeup brands for numerous reasons. They're products are high-quality and fairly affordable on their own, but Lorac always has really great deals on their website, at Ulta/Kohl's and on HauteLook so you can almost always score a deal.

I was eyeing this palette for quite some time before I finally gave in and bought it. The colors are perfect for an every day eye look, but you can also create some really pretty night time looks with this as well. I'm a sucker for matte eyeshadows (aka why I never bought a Naked palette other than the Basics) so I knew I was going to love this product before I opened it.

Keep on reading for my review and some swatches!

My Current Apartment Tour!

There's nothing I love more than getting a little sneak peak into other peoples' apartments (is that creepy???) I just love seeing how people choose to decorate and set up a place and love pulling inspiration from them so I thought I'd give a little tour of the apartment I'm currently living in!

As you may have guessed from my blog name, I live in New Jersey just across the Hudson River from NYC. I work full time in the city so this location is absolutely perfect for commuting reasons (25 minutes door-to-door to work?!) even though the price tag on my place is quite high for the amount of space I have. You pay for location in and around NYC so I was prepared when I started looking to move out.

I moved out of my parents home a year ago and I moved in with my boyfriend of 5.5 years. We pay $2,200 a month ($1,100 each) for a 420 sqft one-bedroom apartment, which I knooooow sounds crazy but I couldn't imagine living anywhere but here at this point in my life (do you see that wall?!) I love everything about the apartment and the area I live in so I'm willing to spend 50% of my income to live here (yes, I know that's very bad but I'm young so whatever lol)

Anyways - Keep reading to see how I've decorated my place! I've managed to keep is girly, but not too girly for my very masculine roomie :P

November BoxyCharm Unboxing!

If you saw my best subscription box blog post back in September, you know BoxyCharm has my heart! I just received my November box and figured I would show you what I got since I'm a believer every product-crazed girl should subscribe. This month's box certainly didn't disappoint! Keep reading to see what I got & how I got $138 worth of products for $21.

Gift Ideas for Her | $100, $50, $25 & Under

I know it might seem a bit early, but before you know it it'll be 3 days before the holidays and you'll have NO idea what to get your friend, sister, co-worker, inlaws etc. I decided to put together a few gift guides that I will be publishing over the next few weeks with a lead up to Black Friday and Cyber Monday in hopes you all get the best prices on your gifts.

I love buying people close to me presents that will mean something to them, but sometimes you need inspiration to spark the idea so I'm hoping this helps! I'm kicking off this series with gifts for her. These would be great for your best friend, sister, sister-in law and really any lady in your life. I divided the list into 3 price levels to accommodate all incomes and relationships. Keep reading to see my 2015 holiday picks for her!

October 2015 Favorites!

Let's just start by saying I have NO idea how it is already November-- time moves so quickly the older you get and I don't think I like it. Anyways, I decided I want to start doing monthly favorite posts to give reviews on products and items that may not make it into another blog post. Keep reading to see what I've been loving this past month!

365 Days to a More Inspired You

I've found myself to be a bit uninspired lately. While I know I have my entire life to look forward to, I don't really have an hard set goals other than I want to get married and have a family one day. In recent months, my anxiety has gotten out of control and it has started to rule my life in a negative way. I knew I had to do something to get out of this "eh, I'll do it later" slump, so naturally I took to the internet. 

How I Finally Cleared My Skin!

I was fairly fortunate when it came to teenage skin. I didn't have acne, though I had my fair share of breakouts. They were mostly hormonal and I'd only break out around ~that time of the month.~ I figured once I grew out of my teens, my skin would clear but boy, was I wrong.

My skin became worse as I got older & early this yea my breakouts were more consistent than ever. I knew I had to do something so I started to do some research and found my holy grail products (mostly drugstore!!) Keep reading to see what they are!

NEW Products from theBalm!

I've realized I cannot take a trip to the mall without stopping into Sephora and Kohl's to check out any newly released makeup products. We all know Sephora is (almost) the one-stop-shop for all high-end makeup, but what a lot of people don't know is that Kohl's carries a few high-end brands that Sephora no longer sells (Lorac, theBalm, Cargo...)

This week, I found myself at theBalm stand in Kohl's when I stumbled upon two new products that I'm super excited about!

The BEST Subscription Box - Hands Down!

I first heard about product subscription boxes a few years back and was very intrigued by the idea. I tend to go a little overboard on buying products whenever I'm at my local drugstore, Target or Sephora so I thought subscribing to a monthly box would help me stop buying random things. While I can't say it cured my addiction, it definitely helped ;)

Keep on reading to find out how to subscribe to the best box out there!

Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

Let's start off with saying that anyone who knows me knows my favorite food is boneless buffalo wings (and quite frankly, buffalo-flavored anything.) When I was younger, I would go to Applebee's a few times a week and have boneless wings as a late night snack (God bless my teenage metabolism) and any time I go out to eat, if there's buffalo on the menu, I'm ordering it.

It seems as if the older you get the slower your metabolism gets. Needless to say, I can't be ordering buffalo wings on a weekly basis to satisfy cravings and expect to not gain weight. Queue my new favorite, Buffalo Cauliflower Bites.

Is it worth it? Lorac Back to Bronze Collection

I've recently been addicted to overhauling my makeup collection. I've been throwing things out and buying new products like crazy to try and find my perfect spring/summer makeup. I know it sounds ridiculous, but in my defense, my skin has changed dramatically in the past few months so I really have needed to find new products that work with my newly non-oily/non-breakout prone skin.

Since you know I'm broke, one of my favorite sites to order makeup off of it HauteLook. It's owned by Nordstrom and they post discounted high end clothing, home decor, beauty products, shoes etc. (literally everything) and their "events" update daily and stay around for about a week or so.

A few weeks back, Lorac (one of my favorite beauty brands) was on HauteLook so I couldn't resist buying. I ended up ordering this Back To Bronze Collection which features 4 full-sized and 1 travel-sized product and a makeup bag for all of $20 (yes, you read that right!) I thought this would be perfect to use for the summer, featured a wide range of products and the price was amazing so how could I not?

Beachy Curls made Easy!

As I mentioned in my How to Get Rid of Greasy/Oily Hair post, I was blessed with pin straight hair. While 95% of the time it's great how easy it is to just hop out of the shower and let my hair air dry, there are times I want a more voluminous, beachy look-- which has been impossible for quite some time. I can curl my hair and it looks great but then a half hour later it's pin straight yet again no matter how many products I use/don't use. I've been in the market for the perfect product combo and I think I've finally found it! Keep reading to find out how I get perfect, beachy curls on pin straight hair!

DIY Product Organizer!

I've officially been in my apartment for 4 months and have been getting a little anxious (what else is new) about some of my storage situations. I've been noticing a lot of things (products, clothing etc.) that I haven't touched since I moved in, so this weekend I went through all of it and got rid of a lot of stuff and I immediately felt better!

Now the issue was I didn't like how my products were stored on my dresser. I have the long, 6-drawer MALM dresser from Ikea, so it's not that there wasn't room for all of my stuff on top, it just looked messy and cluttered. So I took to Pinterest for some ideas on how I could store my stuff where it looked pretty and was also practical. I noticed a ton of people using tiered cake stands in my search and though they looked adorable! And so, my DIY tiered product organizer was born :)

How to Get Rid of Greasy/Oily Hair!

I may have been #blessed with straight, manageable hair but I wasn't spared the grease and oil that came along with my fine, thin locks. I went through stages where it felt like I'd blow-dry my hair and 20 minutes later it already looked greasy. I felt like I had to wash my hair everyday (which everyone knows is miserable) and it was getting ridiculous. I knew it was time to make changes to my haircare routine. With these changes, I can now go days (literally!) without washing. Keep on reading to find out my secrets!

Simple Chipotle Chicken Pasta

One thing I told myself I would do when I moved out is learn to cook. When I was commuting 2+ hours to and from work each day, I had no desire to cook anything for dinner when I got home so I'd normally settle with a PB&J or some leftovers from my family's dinner they ate earlier. Now that I have a beautiful 25 minute commute (yes, door to door!!!), I have more than enough time to cook a nice meal. Queue my Chipotle Chicken Pasta.

Small Apartment Hack: DIY Shelf Bedside Tables!

If you're anything like me you always pictured your first apartment to be the size of a small mansion, fully equip with walk-in closets, double sinks in the master bath, waterfall shower heads etc. But as a 24-year-old working an entry-level job living minutes to Manhattan, you know very well that's impossible. While my apartment is small (420 sq ft to be exact....), it's newly renovated with exposed brick and stainless steal appliances so naturally I couldn't say no. All of this being said, the bedroom is tiny. Luckily, we're able to fit a Queen-size bed and two IKEA dressers, but the only wall we could put the bed on is shared with our closet leaving no room for side tables. While not totally necessary, I'm used to having somewhere to keep my phone and a water bottle next to the bed overnight, so I was determined to find a solution - And luckily, I did!

The PREFECT Breakfast Smoothie: Just 4 Ingredients!

I've always saaaid I wanted to try meal replacement shakes/juicing etc. but realistically that will never happen. I like the physical act of eating too much and they don't taste all that great. But one day when I was lost in a never-ending Pinterest binge, I found myself pinning a ton of smoothie recipes. Me being the "I'm going to become healthy when I move out" person that I am, decided I was going to craft a smoothie that was healthy, filling and actually yummy that I could take to work for breakfast everyday. Keep reading to find out how!

Say Goodbye to Winter Lips for under $5!

Anyone who lives on Northeast Coast knows how winter is here. One day it's below freezing and as windy as can be but the next day it's 50 degrees and sunny. Mother Nature's bi-polar attitude can wreak havoc on your skin/immune system and of course, your lips. I was determined to find an easy (and cheap) remedy for my winter lips this year - here's what I found!

Fully Customizable DIY Photo Ledge

Pinterest truly creates unrealistic expectations of decorating and furnishing your first apartment. Literally everything is either super expensive or super hard to recreate and it's quite defeating when all you want is a really cute apartment you can showoff to your friends. That being said, I was on the hunt for something to put on the blank part of the wall between the two windows in our living room when this photo ledge was born.

EASY Parmesan Zucchini Chips

Does anyone else have a severe salty tooth? Yes, salty. Forget the chocolate cake, cookies and brownies and give me chips, french fries and pretzels. I physically cannot eat a sandwich without a salty, crunchy side-kick. It's gotten so bad I've slowed down on eating sandwiches to avoid eating chips (dramatic? maybe but seriously the combo goes hand in hand!) I've been searching high and low for the perfect alternative and I think I have it: Zucchini Chips!

First post?!

Hello, hello! I never thought this day would actually come. I finally decided to stop just reading blogs and to have one of my own.

A little about me: I'm a 20-something living just outside of NYC in New Jersey, hence Across the Hudson :) I work full-time at a social media/digital agency in the city (yes, I get to manage brands' social pages for 9 hours a day... hello dream job). I moved into my first real apartment this past year and I've come to realize growing up is harder than I thought.

I live with my boyfriend of almost 5 years and I'm obsessed with our apartment. It may be mini, but it's perfect. I've created a lot of DIY decor pieces and found tons of cheap alternatives while furnishing and I cannot wait to share them with you guys! Other than decor/apartment tips, I will also be sharing various recipes I've been trying out (they're easy, I swear! I'm no chef and queen of "Pinterest fails") and my favorite beauty/lifestyle tips and products.

I hope you enjoy my future posts! Happy reading!

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