Dear Me.

A good friend once told me, 

I can't let anyone love me until I love myself.

I'm pretty sure my whole world shattered in that moment, ya'll. And it was from that moment that I struggled with loving myself. To this day, at age 24, I still struggle to love myself. So how do I start?

Thank GOODNESS that Wikihow has all the answers! Lets look at their suggestions and see how well I do.

I Love You, Me.

1. Treat other's with love and respect: I think I'm doing a good job at that! I give everyone the same respect that I think I deserve.

2. Create goodwill and thankfulness by practicing random acts of kindness and sharing your being to many: Okay, I don't think I do this...yet. I have a project in the works right now where I would be sharing my positivity and (at least trying) to spread random acts of kindness...More on this later!

3. Express yourself, perhaps in letters or articles when you have a topic: Oh my garsh, blog much?! I do that! Actually, I think I've really starting doing that. I tried so hard to be every other cute blog out there but it's just not me. So I'm sticking to my guns :)

5. Forgive yourself: *Note: I will be skipping some numbers because there are 24 of these so...* This is something that I think I need to work on. I put myself down way too often. I mean Jacob and I used to fight about it bc he hates that I do it. So I'm working on that. 

6. Post positive statements everywhere so you can smile: Two post it's that are a must on my mirror, "You are beautiful," and "I have courage."

10. Be persistent: I should keep at loving myself. I def go through phases where I'm super positive and upbeat and love myself then literally 12 minutes later I'm down in the dumps. I just need to believe in myself!

13. Hug yourself: Okay :)

20. Do what you love: I spend at least an hour each day blogging, which is something I love. I also have been exploring dance classes for when I have a job. Doing something you love lifts your spirits and reminds you what real joy feels like.

23. Don't compare yourself to others: Oh, I do this a lot. I think I majored in it in college. I have to stop doing this. Anyone got pointers??

24. Stop trying to be perfect: I think I have that one in the bag. I am so okay with not being perfect. I'm probably the weirdest person I know and I am darn proud of that!

Sorry for all the mushy self-love but I'm feeling like I'm in the need right now. I've been job hunting for what seems like YEARS now and, with no end in near sight, I just need a little affirmation that I can do this. And who better to be my pick-me-up then, well me!

Do you have any tips on reaching self love??

Check out the full article here.

Magazine Hunting.

One of my favorite things about summer is traveling. One of my favorite things about traveling (and actually summer as well) is the one chance in the year that it's okay to buy trashy magazines!!

I love getting a new magazine and looking through it, picking out outfits, cool purchases and make up ideas that I would usually not look into. It's fun to dream, right?!

Well I actually have a subscription to Redbook (thanks to Jacob's company...) so I get to indulge every month! But I saved my new issue for the plane ride to Toronto. They have this cool section that's called 50 Under 50 that I'm totally addicted to. So on the plane, I picked out the items I'm actually interested in looking into! Here's what I found:

I first liked this black and white striped skirt from Mandee for $19.99. Sadly, it doesn't look like they have online shopping so I'll have to wait till I'm back in the States to find a store! If it's near you, go check it out and let me know!

Ironically, the second thing I liked were these belts from Mandee as well. And guess what, $5 each! Man I wish there was a Mandee store near me! Good find, Redbook!

Raspberry.

What a great addition to a summer wardrobe!!! This raspberry dress is from Forever 21 and is on my must-have list, especially since it's only $19.80! Steal!

I loved these earrings by Sophia Vergara. Purple is my new black. I love purple and I'm trying really hard to get into gold. I think gold is a really soft color and adds that summer warmth to any outfit. You can find these at K Mart for $9.99!

I had to put all of my handbags into storage when I moved this week so I'm looking to get a few good bags for the year and this caught my eye. Rainbow Shops may be my new favorite site. I mean this bag is only $12.99! I think I may be onto something here! Thanks Redbook!

Let's face it. Nautical is in, baby! And I'm pretty excited about expanding my wardrobe to encompass this look. Maybe starting with this Capelli New York scarf for $9.95? I think yes!

Going with this nautical theme are boat shoes, which have been blowing UP this season I think! I see them everywhere and need to get a pair. I've heard they are really comfortable!!! These go for $17.60 on Go Jane.

Lastly, I saw this shirt that I love! One of the main reasons that I like it, besides that bright fun colors, is that fact that it looks pretty loose. In the summer, I'm a huge fan of loose clothing. It's hot and everyone gets a little sweaty. Tight shirts are a pain!! You can find this little number at Marshall's for $9.99! Steal, again!

What are some of your favorite summer finds??? Are you a magazine hunter or do you go into the trenches??

DIY: T Shirt Head Bands!

Hey guys!!! Multiple posts in one day?! I know, I have 

too much time on my hands!

Anyway, I was chatting with a fellow blogger the other day and we were talking about natural hair and bangs and styling said natural hair.

See, about 3 or 4 years ago, I had the best idea:

Lets get BANGS!

And I continue to enjoy them but more and more these days

I've been pinning them up or wearing head bands.

On that note, I remembered finding a DIY a few months back so

I thought I would explore!

I found this great DIY:

Follow the directions over here and it's actually ridiculously easy.

I made three yesterday.

The first one is red and I made it from the sleeve of a turtleneck.

FIY: One fun fact about me is that loath turtlenecks. Like. I will burn them all. So when Jacob, of all people, presented me with a red turtleneck to dismember, I cut it up...even though I didn't need to in that moment. It was satisfying. 

The second braid I turned into a...

BRACELET! I love it! It's great! 

I want to make a head band long enough to wrap around

my head twice too...but then I got sleepy!

Anyway, I've been really enjoying all of these.

It's a fun way to spend the afternoon, 

it's a fun way to enhance my outfits,

and it's a great way to kill all turtlenecks reuse old t shirts!

Do you have any head band DIY's or cool ways to reuse old t shirts??

Easter Weekend!

Happy Saturday and Easter weekend to you all!!

i hope we all have some fun plans for the next day or so.

I've been feeling under the weather the past three days,

so I've been a little lack on the posting. 

But I'm back and with some fun ideas for Easter!

But first, lets take a quick look at my weekend so far!!

I bought two sets of page markers, basically paper clips. But I love my bicycle so I thought it was appropriate!! 

The second set I bought were mustaches :) They make me giggle.

After a few drinks with some good friends at my bar, I decided that it was time to engrave my name into the already destroyed table! This way, New Haven will always have a piece of me :)

In an attempt to eat better, I made this for dinner last night. I would post a recipe link but I did this all on my own! Go me :) 

As for Easter...I bought some candy yesterday with these in mind and they actually are really friggin cute! While Jacob and his friends did this...

...I made these!

It was easy to make the carrot...the leaves were a bit harder!

I tried a few different ways but found one to be the best.

I only wish I had some cute small children to give these to.

Kids make holidays so much more exciting!

I'm also working on these cupcakes for tomorrow...I plan on sending Jacob to work with them on Monday!!

I also attempted to make my own coffee creamer, since I drink a LOT of it. 

Out of all the recipes I found on the internet, I stuck with this:

Vanilla Coffee Creamer

I may try another one later in the week...it's not bad exactly, it's just not what I'm looking for.

But my efforts to eat better and make things from scratch won over just buying a bottle of creamer at the store :)

What plans do you have for this weekend and Easter??