 Life's kinda boring, but I'll have a Christmas day. Oh my God, please never let me do that again. Hello everybody, good morning. Welcome to Vlogmas number eight. It is like 8.30 in the morning right now and I'm just getting ready to do some gift wrapping because I need to get a head start. Like before we know it, it is gonna be time for Drew and I to go back to Arizona and we have just a bunch of things to do and like travel and just prep and all that kind of stuff. So I figured, you know, I have a nail appointment coming up here pretty soon and I'll probably be filming like an entire other vlog, but in the meantime, I was like, I'm gonna sit down, get some present wrapping done and answer some of your questions. I feel like in the last, maybe like two or three Vlogmas' I have done like a gift wrapping Q&A. It's good for me because I get stuff done. It's good for you because we get to chat and just like, you know, answer your questions, all that kind of stuff. So let's do it. All right, I've got my coffee. I've got the questions ready to go. They've only been on Instagram for like 30 minutes. So we'll just see who was an early bird. You know, who's up early like me and then decide to go from there. I have all the presents surrounding me as well. I'll probably have to like scoot back a bit so that you're kind of able to see what I'm doing even though you probably won't. I'll probably have to readjust. So we have our wrapping materials. If you watched Vlogmas' day one, I bought this like roll of postal paper because I just feel like it'll be nice and simple. I don't want anything crazy, just like brown is good. And then we have a couple different twines. I have a green one and then like a candy cane one and then I've got some cute little bows. And then also I saw this thing on Jocelyn Davis' Instagram as well as like I think on TikTok as well where you can take like a Polaroid and then put it on the actual present. This is one where I was just like testing if my film was good. So I'll use that as an example but Drew and I need to like take Polaroids of ourself especially for the presents from like his family. I need a Sharpie. Okay, hopefully you can still see me a little bit back here. I guess there's nothing left to do than answer the first question while I try not to mess and spill my coffee everywhere. Okay, first I'm gonna wrap the presents for Drew's nieces. If they are watching this video, stop watching. They don't really watch my videos, but just in case. You better stop watching because you are not allowed to see this stuff. Drew's niece, the younger one, asked me for, she asked me for a locket that's shaped with a heart with a picture of us inside of it for Christmas. I love that girl. So that is one of the presents that might get hurt. It's like really, really tiny. So I'm just gonna cut out a small little piece of this and we'll chit chat. This is like not gonna be any kind of order. It's just gonna be, I didn't plan these in advance. We're just gonna go for it. What is your least favorite thing about the holidays? We'll start off with a banger, traveling. I mean, Drew and I made the decision to move away from home. So, oh, and I like, I listen. Every single year I have traveled for the holidays no matter what, pretty much. I've always been someone who lives like not in the same state as both my parents or like my entire extended family. I just come from a family that's like scattered all over the place. We're in like Minnesota, Virginia, Oregon, Colorado, Montana, Arizona, California, like all over the place. So, and that's pretty much just like my close family, Tennessee, how can I forget? So it's just like I'm used to having to travel but that's just kind of the worst part for me. And also like the stress of just like knowing what to get somebody and you know, knowing if it's like the right gift and has this person got me something and I haven't gotten them something or whatever, like that's kind of stressful. And I just wish that it was like, we just cut the presents part out of it. Except for like kids, obviously for kids it's like such a fun thing and that's like the part I enjoy the most. But yeah, other than that, like the traffic, how busy everything is, how unhinged people can act. Like, oh my God. We were, Drew and I were out yesterday doing a couple things like running a couple errands and it was like people were just not well mentally. Like I was like, is everyone actually okay? Cause this is scary. I still love Christmas time. I still love the holidays. I love the holiday season. I don't love Christmas that much. It's an unpopular opinion. I don't know. I just like, it stresses me out. I don't know why. It must be like a childhood force thing or something. Need your thoughts on 1989 Taylor's version vault songs. I am gonna go out on a limb and say that the 1989 Taylor's version vault songs are the best vault songs. Like they're better than like all of the songs on 1989, dare I say. And that might just be because they're newer or whatever, but like those are the best vault tracks she's ever put out. Those are some of like her best work. That is insane. Those songs are incredible. I'm about to like really ruffle some feathers here but I don't rank 1989 like super high on my list. However, those vault tracks, like it just sends it all the way to the top. They're insane. Have you ever wanted to visit Norway or any other Scandinavian countries? Yes, because on my dad's side, I am Norwegian. I'm, I think Norwegian and Scottish on my dad's side. I would love to go visit Norway someday. I think that would be really, really cool. And just like unique and different from what I've usually done and where I've gone and visited. There are definitely so many places that Drew and I want to go but then we also love visiting places that we've already been because it's just fun and nostalgic. So I don't know. But yes, oh my God, Scandinavian countries definitely at the top of the list but probably not in winter. Thoughts on being a millennial on YouTube and thoughts on getting older on the internet. That's actually so fascinating because I lately have just been feeling like a dinosaur on the internet. And I think it's because most of like the fashion girlies and like people that I follow in like the body confidence space and stuff are like a bit younger than me. Okay, this is a book series that I got for Drew and I don't, they're not numbered. So I don't actually know they're like four of them but I don't know what order they go in because otherwise I would like, you know I'll have him unwrap them in order, but otherwise I guess we'll just kind of wrap them all together and he can figure it out. Geez Louise, this is a D&D plus series by the way. Drew asked for it. Like he sent me the link. This year we actually didn't like get each other we just sent each other links to stuff. Sorry, I'm not distracted. But I never, like so when I'm hanging out with like my friends from high school or people that are my age, I feel like so young because a lot of them are either parents, they like own homes, they have big girl jobs, whatever. And then like, I feel like, you know a 25 year old compared to them. But then when I hang out with people who are younger than me, who are like mostly are in the online space I feel like very, very old. So it's just an interesting spot to be in life. To me like, I don't know, it's like it's not weird to be a millennial online. We've been online for a very long time. We've been online since Gen Z was like babies. I'm gonna have to wrap these individually. So I don't know, it's so funny. Like I'll read comments on like Taylor Swift's tip talks or things that people will repost or whatever. And everyone's like, oh my God, she's so millennial. LOL, like, oh my God, I forgot how much she's a millennial. It's just so weird. That whole thing is like a whole other topic. Like the internet's sort of, I don't know, persecution of millennials is very weird out of the media to me. Especially if it was like, oh, they're all like racist or they do this or that, then that'd be one thing. It's just like, oh my God, they were side parts. Get a life. I'm making a little sticky notes. So I remember whose present is whose because I'm not decorating them all right now. I'm kind of just wrapping. But I love being a millennial. I think that we're a great generation and I have no shame about it at all. I love just like, I think sometimes the joke is funny. Like the Buzzfeed accent and being like, I did a thing. I think that's funny. I don't know any millennials who talk like that. I think that came from like the Buzzfeed, like Shane Dawson era. That was, you know, very popular on YouTube back in the day. But honestly, like sometimes I feel like incredibly young for my age and then sometimes I feel incredibly old. So it kind of just varies. As far as getting older on the internet, I mean, it's cool. It's a privilege. And I think that there should be more people on the internet who just like, I don't know. 35 is so young, like in the grand scheme of things. 35 is so young, but you're treated like a dinosaur if you make online content and you're 35. Like, I just, like it's, it's so young. Anyways, I think getting older on the internet is really cool. And I love serving this representation for us millennial babes. And I am not answering near enough questions for how long this is taking me. So let's do some rapid fire. I don't know who really cares, but I'm sometimes I get scared. Like, what if someone's bored or whatever? Do you ever wonder how the rats are doing? Actually, okay. So if you didn't follow me back in 2018, 2019, Drew and I lived in an apartment in Phoenix that was honestly like the cutest apartment ever. But very soon after moving into that apartment, we realized that it was infested with rats. And I mean like, infested with rats. It had roof rats, which are a really common thing in the area of Phoenix that we lived in. And it was just like, because of the excess of citrus trees, it made it so that rats just had a nice little feeding ground near where we lived. And it was so stressful. I'd say the low points for me were when I was in the bathtub one day and I could feel them moving underneath the bathtub, being woken up in the middle of the night to them screaming, not to mention people online were like gaslighting me and telling me that it was like not a big deal. And I was like, you don't live with rats crawling into your, you can hear them behind the bed in the walls at night. So anyway, they ended up letting us out of their lease. I think we ended up living there for like 10 out of the 12 months or something. And then we moved out and moved to LA and that was a whole other story. There were really bad neighbors, et cetera. But I am still in touch with my next door neighbor from that apartment and she has given me the tea quite a few times and also posted on Instagram about it. In 2023, four to five years after Drew and I experienced our thing with the rats, the poor girl who moved into the apartment after us, I don't know if there have been several people or if it was just her, but I was told that a pregnant lady is living in that apartment and she's losing her mind because the rats are still there. I don't know how that building is like still up and running. They had gotten sold to like multiple different management companies and stuff like that while we lived there. So I would imagine it's just like not doing good. It's probably not a great investment and like I can't believe people still live there and pay rent there, but yeah, she did post a thing on Instagram, my old neighbor. She posted a thing on Instagram like recently that was like, if you live in a place where you don't have rats climbing above you 24 seven, consider yourself grateful or lucky. And I was just like, oh my God, I am so glad we got out of there when we did because I cannot believe that it's years later and they still have a rat in the roof. Like that is crazy. One of my neighbors did have one in his shower which is like traumatizing, but these aren't like your typical, roof rats are like extremely like, what's the word I'm looking for? Risky for your health. Like they carry a lot of diseases and like they're not like cute at all, but I learned that their gestational period is like two weeks or something like that. So that's just, they were, they were multiplying up there, that's for sure. So as far as an update goes, they're still there, they're still there and thriving and I feel so bad for everyone who still lives there because that is horrible and thank God they let us out of our lease. That was a rapid fire at all, sorry. Favorite season of the bake off? I finished season 11 and I'm obsessed. Oh my God. Okay, so I think our numbers are different here in the US but my favorite season is probably the one with Raul. It's still my favorite. I just think he's like the most hilarious, precious little angel. So probably Raul, I loved his season. I also loved the season. His past season was really good. I loved the season with Jurgen and DeSephi. That one was really, really good. From this season, Saku was my favorite and she was that girl. And I'm sad that she went home but she was so entertaining and so amazing. Favorite Christmas song? Probably, I didn't think very Christmas happy holidays and the Britney Spears, Santa, that's my only wish this year. My only wish this year, I think is what it's called. Those are probably my two favorites and then like Santa telling me and then as far as like classics go, I mean, I love Ben Crosby, I love Nat King Cole, I love all the classics, Frank Sinatra, any classic Christmas song, I'm like all about. Would you ever get Botox? I haven't. I actually think there was a question that was like, how often do you have beauty maintenance appointments and like how do you manage it? And I don't really have that many. I mean, I get my nails done like once a month, twice a month. I was getting facials once a month but I did just cancel my membership because it's just like, I don't, I need like lasers and things like that. I don't really need like skincare and like that kind of thing. I need like more medical attention for like my rosacea and the skin texture and all that kind of stuff. So that would be something that I could do down the road but I've had my lips done once last November so it's been 13 months. I have no plans of getting them done again anytime soon. And then yeah, I get Botox like probably every six months so maybe like twice a year I would say. If that, it kind of just depends. Sometimes I go through phases where I don't get it at all and then other times I like get it touched up. It doesn't really matter to me, it's not that deep but as far as I can think of, that's it. I mean, I fake tan at home sometimes but that's pretty much it. Do you have a focus word for 2024? I love that. So my word for last year, I'll show you my vision board from last year. Oh my God, it's covered in dust. So this was kind of like my pseudo vision board for last year and my word for this past year is balance. I also have just like other random things on here like Taylor Swift, I did see Taylor Swift. I had wine which like did drink some wine, got some coffee. This was more just like things that I liked. We were going through magazines and I was just kind of going through stuff. Hollywood Hills, I don't know what that meant. I think it was just like manifest my dream home someday type of thing. We got some champagne, we got some drinks, we got charcuterie boards, we got like a little body like, you know, be more comfortable with my body. I haven't gotten there yet but that's okay. This one says old institutions can disintegrate and crumble, we love that. This is my sun, moon and rising signs. This says best believe I'm still be jeweled. You know, don't forget that you still got it. There's pickles on there. I don't know why. I just was like, I like pickles and I want to eat more pickles. This is like, you know, go out more, do more fun things, smile, maybe get a new car. I did not get a new car because honestly car prices are crazy. My car's paid off. I'm just going to hang on to it until like literally the wheels fall off. Good friends. I feel like I've gotten into a really good place with like friendships this year and just like in past years as well. But I loved that. Just like, wanted to surround myself with good friends, hot. Love being hot, you know what I mean? Nothing wrong with wanting to be hot. This little thing from a magazine said, this is a lens of possibility and of profound delight. And I just loved that. So yeah, balance was my word for 2023. So where's 2024 goes? I don't have one yet. I need to think about that. But if I had to like think of one right now off the top of my head, maybe it would be, hmm. I don't know the exact word yet but next year I just want to like believe in myself more, take myself more seriously, cut this like imposter syndrome thing out, connect with more people. Like I feel like if, and probably everyone can relate to this, I feel like if I really believed in myself and applied myself and wasn't like trying to shrink myself and be like, no, it's not a big deal. Like my job is stupid. Who cares, whatever. If I didn't do that, I don't even know how successful I probably would be. Like if I just believed in myself and you know, let myself feel comfortable putting myself out there and you know all that kind of stuff. So yeah, whatever that is, that would be what I would love to do in 2024 and like focus on. Okay, I got quite a few questions about my hair. Like what did you ask for? Like what haircut did you ask for, et cetera? That's just like my normal hair. I didn't get like a haircut. I just got a little bit of a trim but I just styled it differently. And I basically made a Pinterest collage board of a bunch of photos of Sabrina Carpenter thing. And that's what I asked for. So do you just go on Pinterest and look up like Sabrina Carpenter hair? That's what I, I just was like, I want like long curtain bangs and I want them to look like this. And that's what my stylist gave me. She's amazing. Does it feel weird to still call Drew your boyfriend when you're more like life partners? No, I don't think so. I mean, I guess if it's like, if it's someone's preference and they want to like use a different word, I think that's totally fine. But I think I've given up on the presence thing by the way. I'm not doing a fair good job. I mean, there have been times for sure where if I'm trying to like intimidate a guy, like a man's coming over to like service the house, I'll be like, oh yeah, my husband will be home or whatever. But no, it's not really something that I worry about much at all. To me, we are just like best friend, lover, life partner, boyfriend, girlfriend, whatever you want to call it. So to me, it's like all good. What are you reading lately in any book recs? I am reading Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by, I think it's Gabrielle Zevin is the name. I've only just started it, but I've heard really good things and I've also heard that it's going to make me cry. So I'm a little scared about that, but I just needed a break from all of the like sort of smutty books. I wanted something just a little bit, a little bit more, a little bit more thought provoking. So don't give me any spoilers, but I've heard it's really, really good. This one is actually really fascinating. I was talking about this with a friend recently. I feel like I've also opened up a little bit about it on here and that is how do you accept you need to adopt healthier habits without focusing on weight loss? That is such a tough one because for me, that is like the balance that I'm trying to strike at the moment and just like not go back into sort of like a bad place with, you know, restricting everything I eat and making it all about calories and this and that, but there are things, I think these are like, yeah, this is like a pair of shorts and a shirt that I got for dinner. Anyway, I think that there are things that, yeah, I learned about myself with flood work and just like other stuff that like would pose risks for my health in the future that I really need to focus on in the coming year, but I also like, yeah, it's just hard not to make the focus about that. I think just my biggest piece of advice for that is that I'm focusing on like living up a long, healthy life. I'm focusing on my health and not about my size. I didn't learn super healthy habits growing up and so I'm just sort of now learning that as an adult. It's a lot of like inner child stuff as well, which I talk about a lot, but the goal is like better health, better blood work, better, you know, things like that instead of focusing on like a number on the scale or a size of jeans or whatever that may be. But yeah, I think that it's just something I'm gonna keep talking about next year and we're gonna keep trying to figure out together because I know a lot of us are in the same boat, especially if you're like close to the same age as me or you have any of the same like health conditions I do. I just like wanna get to the place where I, you know, never have to go to the doctor. Just like never have to deal with that because it's annoying, it's a pain in the ass, it's exhausting emotionally and physically and I just don't wanna do that. So yeah, focusing more on health for sure is where I'm going with that. Any moving plans? So I've gotten quite a few questions about that, like are you gonna stay in LA or are you gonna move? And we have no idea. So there's like a possibility that we would move out of LA but like still stay in Southern California and that's like not for sure yet, but we don't necessarily need to be like in the center of it all. I don't go to like crazy events. I don't work somewhere in the city. Like I don't feel like it's necessary for us to be like super smack down in the middle of the heart of LA. So like we've thought about Orange County, we've thought about other places outside of LA, we've thought about the valley, you know, but we are almost positive that this is gonna be like it for this apartment, which is so sad because we really have everything at this apartment. We have all the amenities, we have parking, we have a little fenced in patio backyard area, we have the extra bathrooms and the dishwasher and the washer and dryer and all that kind of stuff, which is rare. So, you know, central air. So I don't know, I don't know what's gonna happen, but we are just like, I mean, at the tippy-tippy top of our budget at this place, it's not like a little bit over, but like if we were to try to find something comfortable in LA right now, it would be way more than this. So I don't know, it's just a weird position to be in. I also have like quite a lot of friends here in LA, like a lot of my hometown friends with here. I've talked about that a million times before, but having them around is super nice and like this piece isn't big enough. Let's go wrap some wiggles. This is a present for Drew's niece. We got her a Chamoy pickle kit. Yeah, I don't know, we'll see. There is like a very strong possibility we will be moving when our lease is up in a couple months. Well, it's like a few months actually. So we have a little while to figure it out, but I don't know, I think we are gonna start just like looking around, taking weekend trips, you know, just trying to see what else is out there in advance so that we're not rushed and it's like a week before we have to be out of here and we're like trying to find something. We will see what ends up happening, but yeah, there is like a, I would say at least 50% chance that we're moving out of this place which is sad, but also, you know, I guess it's necessary. Although I just, I really love this place. Like it's so walkable and it's nice. It's a real like neighborhood vibe. I don't know, well, I'll see what happens. Okay, let's answer like one or two more. I just can't stop talking. Do you feel that you are more creative in LA versus Arizona? I think so, a little bit. I feel like in LA there's just like more to do. There's more kind of creative people around or at least like a more concentrated amount of creative people. So I think like, yes, also there's just like more to do. There's more restaurants. There's more pop-ups. There's more estate sales, thrift stores, like all that kind of stuff. So yeah, it does kind of leave me feeling a little bit more inspired like flea markets, you know, all that kind of stuff. And so like creatively, that's what I love to do with my content is go to flea markets, go to thrift stores, create outfits, hang out with my friends, you know, that kind of stuff. So yeah, I do feel like in a way that does make me feel a little bit more creative but Arizona has plenty of creative people and things to do. I guess just you have to look a little bit harder to find it, but yeah, I would probably say that I do feel more creative here for sure. What travel destination would you like to go to in 2024? It'd be really cool to go back to Japan in the fall. Like that's something that we've talked about doing with our friends. Obviously it'd be cool to go back to the UK again but it would also be really, really cool to go to new places. I would really love to finally take Drew back to Tennessee in 2024. That would be really cool because he's never been. Like, and we've been together almost seven years and like, yeah, he's just never, we've never gotten around to it. So those would be really cool. I got a couple of questions that are like, would you ever move to England? Like still asking the same questions sort of like, what are your current thoughts or plans on moving to England? Well, I wish that there was a way that we could but it's just too much. It's like almost impossible to get a visa so we're not even gonna try, probably. When are you moving to the UK? Like, trust me, if I could, I would. I would be there, I would be there in a heartbeat but it's just like, it's not as easy as it seems. Getting a visa is extremely difficult. Okay, the last one I'll mention is like, I'll do it sort of an umbrella. This one says, how do you deal with questions from friends slash family about kids? I don't want them but the questions are endless. I feel like I don't get the questions from friends and family like at all. My parents have never pressured me or asked me. My friends either like, just are kid-free or they have kids who are grown up or they're just like doing their own thing. So no one has really ever asked me. The only time I get questions about it is online. I think there were like a few other questions that were something like, do you feel weird for like not wanting kids or how does it feel to be like child-free in a world where it's sort of expected to have children, et cetera? I never feel weird about it until people ask me if I feel weird about it. Like, I feel like sometimes, I was talking to my friend about this the other day, like I never think twice about it, it's just something that, you know, I've made a decision on and it's not like 100%. I mean, there's still a small chance that I probably would have kids someday but also it's mostly no. So like, I never feel weird about it until people ask me about it. And then I'm like, wait, shouldn't I feel weird? Like, I don't. I just feel really content and comfortable in the place that I'm at in life and I know how overwhelmed I get emotionally. I know how hard of a job it is. I think also like an aspect that I guess I haven't really talked about much online is that I was 12 years old when my younger brother was born and then my younger brother and sister were born when I was 15, 14. So I think I just like, I lived that. I realized how it's a 24 seven job and like I, that really just shook me up as a kid. Like most kids were on the weekends, you know, like going out to parties and stuff and I was like literally changing diapers and taking care of my siblings and obviously they had their parents and stuff but yeah, it was just like, it was definitely a unique experience growing up being in middle school and high school and like having babies and toddlers around, you know? And so I just, I think I was like, I'm good after that. Like I am good. I just enjoy my peace and quiet. I enjoy my solitude. I enjoy my life the way it is now. And if I feel like, you know, it's this overwhelming yes, like all of a sudden one day, you know, it's, oh my God, I can't live without having a kid. Like I absolutely need to do this. Then yeah, Drew and I would talk about that. But yeah, I mean maybe someday, but probably not, you know? And I saw a podcast recently. I think it was Shambu Drems podcast called Lovers and Friends and she had this couple who had like made a decision to be child-free. They've kind of gotten back and forth about it for a while and they talked about how they realized that it wasn't like we want to have kids more than anything. We want, this is a want. And it was, the conversation was always like, should we, it's a should type of thing. And that really struck home with me. I was like, that's exactly how I feel. It's never like, I want this more than anything. It's like, should I, should I do this? You know, type of thing. So that could obviously change over the years, but I don't know. I don't think it probably will. So that is where we will leave it. This was so chatty. I need to go get ready because I have to leave for my nail appointment soon. But thank you so much to everyone who sent in your questions. I definitely blabbed a lot, but that's sort of what we do here. And you know, this will help me have a vlog ready to go and then I can like chug right along with more vlogmas content as I like ease back in after being sick. I still have a lot more wrapping to do. So I will probably tackle more of this when I get home. It was more about the like chit chat and the Q&A. But thanks for being here. We will do like more ad-fed in the next vlog. And I will see you very soon from always number nine. Crazy. Bye.