I am really excited to share today's post, as I was approached by Caribou Coffee to talk about a very special project that they are doing throughout the month of October in relation to their Amy's Blend roast. It's been a bit of a whirlwind that I was contacted by the company because I actually worked at a local Caribou for about five years when I was in college. How awesome is that?! It made me feel just a little bit proud that Mostly Lisa has done something in my favor when it comes to collaborations with companies that I have quite a bit of knowledge about.

So, what is the community project that I was asked to participate in? Well, I'll tell you! Caribou Coffee has partnered up with a really awesome company called Tribute - a creative video uploading app where people can send montages to their loved ones as a gift for a special occasion or cause. Their focus is spreading the word about the community and recognizing caregivers who donate their time to helping those in a time of need. This is such a unique and inspiring way to give back to an organization that means a lot to the company itself, and to really just anyone who has been affected by cancer. Amy's Blend focuses specifically on donating to cancer research + funds, and this year they are donating 10% of all Amy's coffee and merchandise to CancerCare!

They are also donating $5 to CancerCare for each video submitted on the #CaribouTribute page throughout October! You literally have double the chances to give back to those who are in need, and to really just let caregivers know that they are appreciated. While I have not been affected by Cancer personally, I have had my own share of medical issues and I relied heavily on the nurses and assistants who took care of me when I was really sick. I did upload my own Tribute video, and I encourage you ALL to do the same - it's free! It takes just a few seconds to thank people who give their energy + effort to make sure their patients are comfortable + taken care of.
In honor of such a great cause, I also wanted to do a special giveaway with a couple Caribou Coffee products* that will be sure to make you feel inspired to give back. You will get the chance to win - (1) lb. of Amy's Blend and (1) Tumbler - Amy's 2016 Edition! Just fill out this form below, follow the rules and you will be entered. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*These two items were provided graciously by Caribou Coffee for the purposes of this post. Thank you to Caribou Coffee #CaribouTribute for sponsoring this post.

All opinions + content are my own.

It has been one interesting + exciting week for Mostly Lisa! So many new ideas and collaborations are in the works this month and the next. I'm beyond excited to finish off this year with a bang! I am also just completely game to collaborate, connect and be inspired. One of the bigger sources all of this came from was the partnership that I have now started with Caribou Coffee! You may have seen the post/giveaway I did with them last month for #CaribouTribute! Well, they asked me to participate again with their holiday campaign this year. Ho-ho-ho, indeed!

The company's campaign for Holiday 2016 is all about the toppings - whether you put whip, chocolate chips or even Snickers on your drink, you are sure to satisfy your sweet tooth. So you have your classic drink combos, right? Well this holiday season, you can now choose from 500+ drink combinations.  Caribou Coffee has officially gone over the top! So they set out on asking influencers (yes, ME BEING ONE OF THEM!) how do we #TopBou? There was really only one way they could get us to answer, and that was by hosting an amazingly cool pop-up coffee lab in Mall of America on 11/15 + 11/16. They invited me, a few other local bloggers and guests visiting the Rotunda in the Mall to stop by and create our own unique holiday drink on Caribou!

Once we chose our drink of choice, whip cream flavor + toppings galore, we could then capture our creation on the special Coffee Cam they had up on the big screen! It was a really unique + interactive experience for everyone that attended. Being able to share the drink you made with people at the event and passing by felt like a really fun way to express yourself. You will see mine above + below, to which I decided to call the Mostly Lisa. Smart, right? The Mostly Lisa is pretty straightforward - a milk chocolate mocha, vanilla whip cream, vanilla chocolate chips, candy cane, toffee caramel crunch and brownie bites! It was pretty dang tasty, if I do say so myself. That being said, I would absolutely LOVE if any of you went to your local Caribou Coffee and ordered this drink. Make sure to do so on Tuesday because you can get $1 off a large holiday drink! Oh, and you better share a photo of that drink with me! #drinkgoals

Thank you so much to Caribou Coffee for inviting me to the #TopBou event this week! It was an absolute blast and I loved being able to get a jump start on the holiday season with a delicious drink.

We are now in the throes of summer and that means really only one thing: it's going to be insanely hot outside (global warming at its finest, folks) and you have to prepare yourself. Yesterday, temperatures reached to almost 90 degrees and that wasn't even one of the hottest days last week! While I was going about my day, I began thinking of ways that I could make this summer more tolerable for myself and everyone else. These three things should make this season somewhat enjoyable, if not at least somewhat fun. Read on below!
1. Hair up, don't care: I thought I would include this step first, since it's something I would not normally want to do while keeping cool. I'm a little self conscious about putting my hair up, always have been since middle school, and I only tend to wear it up when I'm at home. It's the weirdest thing to be anxious about, self-image wise, but I don't like showcasing that I have a double chin and sometimes I feel like it's not flattering for the frame of my face. It gets to the point though of being so hot outside, that I literally just don't care and have to get my thick hair off of my neck. This was the case yesterday, and with a little help from Julia Engel and a Snapchat story she shared a week or so ago, I attempted to do the top bun. Lemme tell you, it felt super freeing to wear this out in public and to feel the breeze on my neck. Will definitely be trying this again.
2. Keep that complexion fresh: Because you can't forget a necessity like a hydrating moisturizer or mist primer during sweat-inducing weather. Want to know what is great about this tarte cosmetics product? It literally comes with a 4-in-1 blend of hydration, primer, setting spray and skin refresher! Having not purchased any product from the brand before, though secretly coveting every product in the Rainforest of the Sea™ line, I ventured out and finally did while shopping in Sephora! I've only had it for a couple of days, but after applying a few times here and there, I can really tell that this is a game-changer for my setting spray. If you spray it on before or after applying your foundation, it leaves the skin renewed and holds onto the base of your makeup.
3. Stay hydrated with water and cool drinks: As anyone knows, you will want to stay hydrated with water during these warmer days. While I enjoy water to keep my thirst quenched, I also enjoy mixing it up with other cool drinks from my favorite coffee houses! Whether it is Starbucks (who I found this amazing photo from) or Caribou Coffee, they both offer delicious drinks that will make your thirst feel extra satisfied. WARNING: Do not drink smoothies too quickly, as you will get a severe brain freeze, like I did yesterday. ;)

There you have it, my three tips to keep cool this summer. If you missed it, I shared these tips on my Snapchat yesterday, so go check that out! How do you stay comfortable during the summer?!

This is super belated, but I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year! I hope that it was an easy transition this weekend into what is sure to be a very interesting year ahead. I guess it's now back to work and the doldrums of what January has to offer! I'm still thinking of how I spent the weekend - traveling around the Twin Cities with a very good friend, eating good food and forgetting ALL my worries while they were sipped into a wine glass. It's pretty crazy but I didn't even get a hangover, so lucky me! After a few Uber rides back and forth, we found ourselves at a regular spot underneath a net of balloons and country music playing in the background. Not where I had imagined the night to end up, but it was still such a great evening! It's probably the best NYE I've had in a really long time.

While it is time to move forward and I don't necessarily want to look back at how horrible 2016 was in general, this post wouldn't be complete without a tiny review of some of the personal highlights that I had over the course of the year. There were definitely a lot of lows, more so than I had expected, but there were some rays of positivity in there. Those rays included: visiting two of my oldest Livejournal friends in Chicago for a weekend in April, hosting two different holiday shopping parties at the Mall of America in December, collaborated with Caribou Coffee for a few different holiday posts, created the most successful #mostlylisagiftguide week I've ever done along with the biggest giveaway at the end of it, purchased a new pair of glasses after eight years! I also got to see Adele at the last minute (thanks to my brother-in-law) and it was beyond epic, worked with some lovely local photographers + creatives for a few style posts and got more into finding new beauty products to incorporate into my daily routine.

So what do I want to do in 2017? Mostly I just want to maintain being content and happy with who I am as a human being, and not taking things too personally. I'd like to also find a new path or journey that will lead me to a new career; whether in fashion marketing, customer service or social media. I don't want to get as down as I did last year during these first few months, so I'm making a goal to read more, watch different movies and find more ways to keep active during days when I'm not working. There's also room to blog more often - now that I have a brand NEW layout - so look out for fresh content coming soon. Finally, I obviously want to travel more often this year. There may be a chance for me to go to Florida next month, but I'd also like to go to New York or even London again for a bit of inspiration. Guess we'll just have to wait and see what I can make happen for myself this time around.

What were your goals for last year? What about this year? I wish all of you health, happiness and love.