5 Free Ways to Destress

Happy Monday! I feel so refreshed after the weekend. The last week has been a thorn in my side and I needed some recovery time. My anxiety was out of control and when this happens, it’s really important to take a step back and relax. I feel so much better now that I wanted to share with you 5 (free!) ways that I relaxed this weekend.

1. Brew something hot– Whether it be cocoa, coffee, or tea, for whatever reason we feel better when something is warming us from the inside out. It probably stems from our positive association of warm drinks and soup with our parents or even grandparents taking care of us when we were sick as kids.
2. Help someone else– Doing something good for another person, even if it’s just smiling and asking how they are, takes your focus off of your problems and allows you to think about someone else’s.
3. Read– Since graduating college, I’ve slowly started to enjoy reading again. It takes my mind away from where I am and all of my worries and lets me think about something else for awhile.
4. Take a nap– When we’re sick or tired we take naps. The same goes for when we have a lot of worries. Sometimes we need to take a break from our anxiety-filled thoughts and just sleep it off. Waking up after a long rest leaves you with clarity and feeling refreshed.
5. Go where you feel loved- For me, this means I go home to my parents or if my beau is in town, I go to him. It’s so important to be around people that you feel safe with. Find those people, whether they’re the baristas at a coffee shop or right in your mother’s kitchen, and go spend time with them.

What do you do to relax? Leave me a comment!

Rejection Hurts

I think there are some days that are just better left forgotten. Yesterday was one of those days. I was rejected for not one, not two, but three jobs all before 11am. It was my own personal record! How embarrassing. My mood went from Pharrell’s ‘Happy’ to Green Day’s ‘Wake Me Up When September Ends’. There’s nothing like a slice of humble pie for an early lunch. This whole job hunting experience has been nothing short of humbling. Being rejected time and again for jobs you’re probably overqualified for is becoming a right of passage for young millennial graduates like myself. Frankly, it’s a right of passage that sucks.

Instead of curling up under the covers for the rest of the day, I decided to make a short list of things I (and you) can do that will fill up our time and keep us sharp. When that dream job comes, we’ll be ready!

Read- How many times in undergrad did we wish we had time to read a new book that came out? For me, it was quite often. There was always a book series that looked cute or a Nicholas Sparks novel that would probably have me in tears I wanted to read. Guess what? We finally have time to read what we want to and not what’s assigned to us!

Network- Catch up with friends you made in various internships and places you lived during college. For me, I have a vast network of people from all over the world that I can connect with. These people also may have access to information regarding jobs and places looking to recruit. Send them a note and grab a latte together.

Start paying back student loans- In a previous post I mentioned a website that connects companies who are looking for people to do short-term, freelance work with graduates who are looking to pay back student loans using money other than that of which they earn in a full-time job. Some of these jobs pay upwards of several hundred dollars while others pay about $20. It all depends on how time intensive the work is.

I’m going to be working on these things this week along with a few other little projects I have going on. I can’t wait to share those with you! Enjoy your day loves and keep the faith!

Christmas Spoils

It’s over. Christmas is over. We can all get our houses back in working order and stop baking pies like we run Marie Calendar’s factory. In fact, we may as well assume we did run it while we choose a gym membership for the new year (that will be used for January only).

Before I move on to New Year’s and all of the resolutions I won’t keep, I thought I’d give you a little look at what cute Christmas gifts I received. I debated doing this because it’s slightly vain but I figured I may as well. My parents decided that since my sister and I are older we would be having low-key Christmases from now on. Honestly, I’m fine with that. I have all the things I need and then some. With that said here are a few little things I got for Christmas!

This lovely decoration can be found at Target for half price!

One of the Bath and Body Works candles my sister gave me!

Pj bottoms from Old Navy and lovely pink OPI nail polish.

This was kind of a joke between my mom and I ! I saw the book on Amazon and said that I should read it and she went ahead and bought it!

I love this little thing! Hallmark had them for only $17.

I absolutely love the gift giving at Christmas and appreciate every gift I get. However, more than anything I appreciate having my family around me and the true meaning of this season. There are so many others with much less than I.

Don’t forget to tell me about your Christmas and what you enjoyed! Comment below!

Self-Improvement Books for Young Women

Do you ever just wake up one day and have loads of energy? Yeah, me neither. Sometimes however, I come across something that inspires me and gets me excited about life. Right now, this “something” is self-improvement books. Through life’s ups and downs there’s one thing that will remain constant: your ability to react. And often enough, how you react will determine whether the next hill takes you up or down.

Currently, life is a bumpy road. If I’m honest, I’d say that most of 2014 was a bit bumpy. It had its good moments, but I’m looking forward to a new year and hopefully a fresh start in a new place. Between school, part-time work, finding full-time work, blogging, and other little things, I’m a bit overwhelmed. Planning the future is hard when the future won’t allow you to plan it. In the meantime, I’m going to enjoy spending time reading a few books I’ve wanted to get my hands on. I’m a pretty independent girl but I also strive to be a classy lady. The books I choose to read will reflect that.

5 Books on My Reading List

1. “It” by Alexa Chung

2. “#Girlboss” by Sophia Amoruso

3. “Classy: Exceptional Advice for the Extremely Modern Lady” by Derek Blasberg

4. “Place to Go, People to See” by Kate Spade

5. “How to Marry Money” by Kevin Doyle

Some of these are more for pleasure and entertainment than self improvement, but hopefully I’ll enjoy reading them and learn a thing or two. Let me know what books you might like me to review!

Book Review: Cupcakes and Cashmere

During my short beach/camping trip I brought along some reading material. Since beginning college 3 years ago, I haven’t been able to just sit down and read a book without anxiety. This is the first one I’ve read for pleasure in a long time. Cupcakes and Cashmere by the lovely Emily Schuman, is a delightful book full of color and her personality. Essentially, it’s her blog in a book!

Cupcakes and Cashmere: My Thoughts

First of all, this lady is talented! I admire her zeal for life and willingness to be who she is. Her tremendous success is demonstrated through her new clothing line and endless offers from companies to collaborate with her. This leads me to my next thought: Bloggers who have had so much success have lives and budgets that, for the rest of us, are unrealistic. I cannot afford to add all the little accessories and staple pieces for each season to my wardrobe. It’s just too expensive, especially with the brands she chooses and advertises for.

The book is divided into “seasons” (summer, fall etc.) and within each season she includes on-a-budget-beauty-buys. As much as she tries, Essie is not a “budget buy” and neither is Juicy Couture perfume. Maybe for the more established adult it isn’t a big deal, but for Schuman’s younger audience it can be a budget buster.

I really did enjoy her suggestions for creating a beautiful home and entertaining. They were practical and pretty at the same time. She even teaches you how to reupholster a bench! The diversity of topics in the book is nice because there is something for everyone.

However, even though the topics range from food to clothes, her taste in clothes isn’t as broad. To be quite honest, most of the outfits she puts together are not my style or taste. Most of it is “what’s in style at the moment” where as I prefer classic pieces with a new accessory here and there. Again, this is just my preference. She gives some good tips on how to put together an outfit for every season though.

What were your thoughts on the book? What did you like or dislike? Comment below!