The secret to happiness

Don't mind the random rambles this week. I have a lot to get out. What better place to share but with a few if my closest friends on the internet. #sorry not sorry.

Anywho, I think I've figured out the way to happiness. Yep I did it. Want to know what that secret is?

Let it go.

Yep it's true. Those books and therapists aren't kidding you when they tell you to do this. What they don't explain to you is that you need to be ready on your own terms to do it. You need to find your own journey to pursue.

I know I have mentioned this a lot lately, but since I started up a yoga practice again, I've been able to work through some of my issues in a way that soothes me and calms my mind.

I've started doing little things to help me stay balanced and on track. My temper has gradually cooled down and I don't feel set off as easily.

I'm compiling a list of what is working for me and hoping to share it with all of you soon. I hope you will find it helpful.

What do you do to keep yourself balanced? Have you been able to let it go?



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All the feels

You know those nights where you're so tired yet you can't sleep? Well I'm having on of those, except with writing. I have so much on my mind and don't know where to begin.  A fully loaded mind can be a dangerous mind as they say.

We all have our motivations or things that spark a good post. For me, I tend to get my best writing done when I'm angry. My real emotions seep up and I put passion into anything I am doing. My house also looks amazing after I've been angry. I clean like a mad woman to calm myself down.

Today I woke up in a fairly decent mood and quickly went south with a short conversation. I got angry; but a different kind of angry. It was the anger that has been held for a long time. Something I have been wanting to say. The passion in me flared.

Letting go of some of the prolonged anger really can turn a mood around. It can make the weight on your shoulders release. It can remind you that that fully loaded gun, we call our over thinking mind won't go off unexpectedly.

It may not always make everyone else around you feel the same, but at the end of the day, we must remember, we matter first.

Chew on that.

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Fri-Yay!

Happy Friday! I just dragged my butt up out of bed early and headed to the gym. I call that a win already for a Friday? Now can I go home?

Fat chance. Anywho this is just a quick "hello, how ya doing" kind of post. I don't have much to report today other than I am still sticking to my new workout plan and eating better. That alone is a huge accomplishment for me. The pants are starting to feel loose. High five to myself!

Also I just started a new book; A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. I am OBSESSED! It was a little slow moving at the beginning for my tastes but now that I kept at it, I'm very pleased. This is book 1 in a trilogy so I am really excited to read the other two books. Have you read it?

Lastly I am headed to NYC this weekend with R and meeting up with my cousin and her fiance. Should be a nice quick weekend getaway. The weather is going to be a little chillier than I had hoped but as of now Saturday is supposed to be 45 and sunny. I'll take it. It could totally be 0 and snowing.

Well that's about it for me. I hope you all have a great weekend! 

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When you procrastinate in wedding planning + Flash giveaway winner!


So wedding.. yeah.. let's talk about that today (Oh and the winner of my flash giveaway..). It's been awhile and as much as I want to say I have it all done and I just forgot to post, that would be a lie. I have seriously slacked over the past few months, and I wish I didn't. I have seriously kicked some butt in the past week at getting myself into a better place with planning, but I wish I didn't slack as much as I did.. See exhibit A:

On Saturday R and I met with our venue coordinator. We were there to set our menu, pick out the beverages (We are getting married at a winery so this is kind of important), and talk logistics. John, our coordinator and chef started asking us questions like:

"Who is your photographer?" Uhhhhhh

"Do you have a DJ?" Does my iPod count?

"Have you decided on a cake?" Well we have some appointments set up...

"What about flowers? Will you have them on the tables?" Oh shit flowers?! Forgot about those..

Welp John, let me just respond with, we are totally unprepared for this meeting, so uh yeah sorry?

Thankfully John was very understanding and told us we have nothing to worry about. Everything will work out. Right?

So, let's look at the things I have gotten done:

Wedding dress - Check!
Venue - Check!
Bridesmaid dresses - Check!
Photographer - Check! (This one JUST happened)
Save the dates - Check! (They even got mailed!)

So as far as the cake goes, we have 2 appointments set, so I am not very worried about that. Our new photographer has some calls in to a few DJs that he is familiar with so hopefully that works out. I am still very unsure on what I really want with flowers, but none the less I should probably make a few calls.

There is still plenty to do, but I feel a little better having all those bugger items crossed off my list. I have learned my lesson along the way in not procrastinating any further in this process or something may not work out in my favor.

Do you have any advice to keep the ball rolling for this wedding planning stuff? I'd love to know in the comments below!

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So yeah I did a quick flash giveaway.. Not as much response as I would have hoped but none the less..  I asked you which of my tax return wish list items I bought with my money.

There were only a couple of entries and MOST of you guessed right. I bought myself a new laptop! It was on like a super sale so I still saved a ton of money, which makes me happy. I am going to put the rest of my money towards my wedding. Yay to all of you for participating!

The winner is: Nicole M! Hopefully this $20 of your choice can go towards your new laptop as well!


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Sunday Snaps: Flash Giveaway!


Yay! We made it back to Daylight Savings Time! Did everyone survive losing that 1 hour of sleep last night? I promise, even though it is rough today, it is worth it to come home from work and still have a few hours of light everyday. Anywho, today I wanted to give you a quick weekly update.

I've been thinking a lot lately about what I want to do with my life currently. We all have those dreams. Some are more long term and some pop up at specific times in your life. For me the signs keep pointing to yes lately with one of my dreams.

On Tuesday I got my tax refund money so I decided to write a list of useful things to spend your return on. You might be surprised of things out there that you can spend your money on that won't feel like an impulse buy. I even surprised myself a little.

I have been keeping with my goal of working out 6 days a week. I went to the gym Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I went to my yoga class on Thursday. Saturday I walked 5 miles at the outdoor outlets, and today I am headed out for a hike. It makes me feel so much better about myself when I keep active.

On Thursday in my yoga class I had a revelation. We were learning about the Humble Warrior and how it reminds us about humility. I have been having a tough time with my feelings lately. This pose reminded me that I need to take a step back in tough situations in order to protect myself and clear my head. The class was amazing. I felt so full of life and energetic.

On Saturday R and I met with our wedding coordinator and chef at our venue. We set our menu and went over some logistics. And of course there was some wine. Okay maybe a lot of wine. Perks of getting married at a winery. I feel really good about all of our decisions. Our wedding is going to be a great time for all who attend.

We headed from the winery to the outlets where I really enjoy shopping end of season sales at amazing discounts. I left with 4 new sweaters and a pair of sneakers for under $60. Can't beat that at all.

Now let me get back to my list of things to spend your refund on. I sent out a tweet on Friday about a possible giveaway coming.. this is going to be a flash giveaway of sorts.. I ended up fulfilling one of these ideas on Wednesday. I purchased something for me...

Flash Giveaway Rules

I listed 10 useful items to spend your tax refund on on Wednesday. To enter the flash giveaway you need to tell me in the comments which item you believe I bought for myself. I also would love to know which of those items you would use your tax money on as well. Winner must have shared what they would choose to spend their refund on as well.


I will enter all correct guesses into a drawing. I will pick one person at random. 

I will pick a winner for this giveaway on Tuesday evening and post the winner on Wednesday's blog post. Because this is a flash giveaway that is being entered in the comments you must be "present" to win. This means I will only post the winners name in the blog post. I will not be sending out an e-mail.  You must e-mail me within 48 hours of me announcing the winner. 

The winner will get a $20 gift card of your choice!

Good luck to all that enter!

Happy Sunday!



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