Month: July 2016

Just keeping track of my journey with the 30 Minimalism Challenge. I encourage everyone to try it out–it’s been eye-opening so far.

Day 4: No complaint day
Sometimes I can complain a lot through my Twitter, even though I try to limit my complaining. I spent this day limiting my social media and keeping a positive attitude.

Day 5: Identify your 3-6 main priorities

I typed up the list of my main priorities. They’re a bit personal, but I can share the general topics. I’m trying to work on my career, emotions, and relationships with several people.

Day 6: Follow a morning ritual

I follow the same morning ritual daily, so nothing really changed.

Day 7: Streamline your reading list

Unfortunately, I don’t have a reading list at the moment. I haven’t done any recreational reading since high school. It’s kind of sad because I was always the girl with her head in a book.

Day 8: Learn to enjoy solitude

If you know me, you know I’m always enjoying solitude. It was just nice to recognize it and realize that it’s something that contributes to my sanity.

Day 9: Downsize your beauty collection

I got rid of a lot of my makeup, especially those dreadful Colourpop Ultra Matte Lipsticks that I tried to force myself to love. I let my mom shop around my collection and she loved it! My makeup collection isn’t that big, but it was nice to get rid of the things that were just taking up extra room.

Day 10: No email or social media until lunch

This wasn’t hard for me at all. I woke up and had to pack for a weekend trip (yay Chicago!). It’s honestly such a relief to stay off social media for a bit.
Let me know if you try the challenge out as well!

Warning–this post is kind of all over the place.

With all of the malice and detestable acts going on in the world, it’s important to take a break in order to maintain your sanity.

I’ve always seen screenshots of Alex Elle quotes floating around on Instagram, and I finally decided to stop lurking and follow her. It’s amazing how healing and reassuring her words are. I took a few of the quotes I could take off her of account and created some simple wallpapers for my laptop.

I made four wallpapers that switch out every day so every time I get on my laptop, I see something reaffirming. It’s refreshing, and definitely a good pick-me-up.

———–

I’ve also started the 30 days of minimalism challenge from into-mind.com, and just wanted to go over my experience thus far. I figured this would give me something to focus on and create a simple, short-term routine.

Day 1: Stay offline for one day

I’m pretty much always glued to my phone. The day I chose to do this, I didn’t have too many responsibilities, so I tailored it to my own lifestyle. While staying offline was kind of a stretch, I stayed off social media instead. I used my phone to play a few games and catch up on my subscriptions on YouTube but that’s about it. It was definitely a breath of fresh air.

Day 2: Meditate for fifteen minutes

I started a special plan on my Bible app that’ll get me through the whole book within a year. I read two days’ worth of my plan and focused on that. It was a little more than fifteen minutes but that’s definitely no biggie.

Day 3: Declutter your digital life

I recently went through and deleted some old documents and pictures off my laptop so this one wasn’t too hard. I just tidied up a bit more. This helps because I can find the documents I’m looking for in a quicker manner, and definitely makes it less stressful. (I then found a bunch of hidden pictures. I deleted like 1000 files lol. No exaggeration.)

I’ll be reporting my journey with this challenge weekly!

———–

I’m subscribed to Claire Marshall on YouTube and watched this video. It truly resonated with me. It’s easy to get into a funk without knowing how to exactly escape it.

Sometimes working as a blogger can be tough. I’m definitely a night owl, and rarely start any type of work before midnight. I’m a homebody and like to write my posts while lounging on my couch. This isn’t exactly a good equation for someone who works at home! I try to force myself to focus, since I like to work late and can’t exactly head to a coffee shop to work at 2 am. A teacher in high school told me to never do work in the bed because your brain knows what your bed is for–relaxing and sleeping. Working in the bed is counter-productive.

As we recognize the horrible events that happen at home and worldwide, it’s important to sometimes detach yourself and do something that makes you happy. You’re not “ignoring the cause” just because you’ve decided to not allow the recent events to consume your entire life. It’s important to tend to your mental health. Being aware does not require subjecting yourself to tough material. Detach, deactivate, or decrease. Apply those words to your social media accounts in order to maintain good mental health and not feel drained.

black lives matter.

 

I decided to go ahead and put together my favorite things over the past few weeks! It’s a mix of fashion, beauty, and Instagram accounts!

RALYKS DEVIL’S ADVOCATE BRALETTE

I’ve been looking for a black lace bralette forever. When I came across Ralyks, a black-owned company, I was immediately sold. It’s cute, comfortable, and homemade!

UNIQFIND HYPER MARBLE SKIN IN WHITE

This is my second laptop skin from UNIQFIND and I’m still a fan of the company. Fast shipping, high quality designs, and long-lasting products.

CHINESE LAUNDRY ENDLESS SUMMER FLATS

I’m completely surprised I was able to find these shoes online because I purchased them from DSW for half the price. I never really considered myself a “sneaker girl”, but these were the first pair of flats I’ve bought in four years. I’m completely in love with them–the shade is perfect, and they’re surprisingly comfortable.

NYX TAME & FRAME TINTED BROW POMADE IN BLACK

I finally decided that I was a big girl and moved from a eyebrow pencil to a pomade. I really enjoy this product–it goes on smooth and looks pretty natural.

—————-

Most of my inspiration comes from Instagram. These are the pages I’m currently obsessed with.

Gucci down.

A photo posted by @alyciabella on May 17, 2016 at 12:49pm PDT

I don’t even have words for this outfit. Simply amazing.

@designbyaikonik 👀📞☁️🎶👟

A photo posted by Flatlays (@flatlays) on Jun 23, 2016 at 7:31am PDT

If you’re not a blogger/photographer/whatever, you probably have no idea how much effort goes into a flatlay! I appreciate all the effort that goes into each individual picture.

“store experience supervisor”

A photo posted by @kingdes on Nov 12, 2015 at 4:15pm PST

I love her style so much. Relaxed, but always upgraded with a bit of flair. I would wear every single outfit from her Instagram.

Today’s #OOTD @chanelofficial Snapchat ID: threads_styling #Chanel #ChanelSlingbacks #OOTD

A photo posted by T H R E A D S (@threadsstyling) on Jun 28, 2016 at 4:02am PDT

Who doesn’t love Chanel.. Enough said. They display the most amazing luxury fashions–their Snapchat is even better.

#chill #illustration #mixedmedia #smoke #veins #intoxication #pale #harumihironaka

A photo posted by Harumi Hironaka (@harumi_hironaka) on Nov 12, 2015 at 5:56pm PST

I’m a big fan of art that depicts women in taboo situations. I came across this picture on Facebook and dug around for the artist. This picture has been my phone’s background for months. I’m truly obsessed with her art.

What’s your favorite thing on the list? Let me know in the comments!