Photo by Jan Romero

Oops, another month soared by and I unintentionally took a hiatus from my beloved blog. As you can see, consistency is a skill I'm still trying to master. Oy, at least I have something to work towards its month. But it feels sooo good to sit down and dedicate time to putting my thoughts and creative passions on virtual paper. And today, I want to focus on making a savvy bucket list to celebrate the holiday season. 

We all know how stressful this time of year can be between the busy work season, family obligations and the heavy cost of the gift-giving and travel season BUT that is not what we are focusing on this year. We are not going to live in a state of stress, burn-out, or fear this year! We are going to find small (and sometimes grand) ways to celebrate every single day for the month of December. 

I truly do love this time of year. There's beauty everywhere we look, and although a lot of us are experiencing grief in some shape or form, there is something powerful about embracing the highs and the lows of the season. No matter what chapter of life you're in right now, I am wishing that each day has a little magic in it. 

1. Watch a holiday-themed episode of your favorite sitcom to wind down from the day. 
2. DECORATE!! If you haven’t already! Or stock up on amazon
3. Play christmas music & make a festive cocktail 
4. Fun ornament shopping - I love finding a new, quirky ornament each year for the tree!
5. Holiday movie marathon + drinking game if you want to step it up a notch
6. Grab or make fancy hot chocolate and look at holiday lights/ holiday displays
7. Read a holiday book in a cozy environment 
8. Puzzle party!! Aka drink wine and out together fun winter puzzles
9. Get dressed up to the nines for no freaking reason and go to a fancy dinner... or a frugal dinner or just out to drinks - all are fun!
10. Holiday photoshoot
11. Holiday market day!! 
12. Explore a new hood with pretty lights 
13. Holiday botanical gardens! 
14. See the rockettes or a holiday play (or stream online with snacks)
15. Put on a holiday movie while having an at home spa day 
16. Fun holiday-themed nails like these!!
17. Have a baking day while blasting holiday music
18. Go shopping for others & donate toys/clothing + adopt a family 
19. Volunteer day
20. Holiday brunch with friends! 
21. Wear a festive holiday sweater 
22. Make a fun holiday craft - like wreath building, stocking decorating, ornament decorating day!! 
23. Have a game night! 
24. Visit a museum 
25. Dress up for the ballet or opera!! Dress up even if you just stream it from home
26. Bonus Activities: Head to a cute coffee shop and set goals/intentions for the new year 
27. Leave treats for your local delivery people 
28. Festive breakfast for dinner! 
29. Treat yourself to something luxe you’ve had your eyes on
30. Clean out your closet or a cluttered area to make room for the new year! 
31. Stay in pjs all day!! 
32. Host or go to holiday high tea!! 
33. Head to the movies and sneak in your favorite snacks
34. Sit by a cozy fire and make smores 
1. Don’t have a fireplace or a backyard? Grab a city bonfire (portable bonfire in a candle-like form) or head to a local spot that has a fireplace 
35. Check out a festive bar and grab a spectacular drink 
36. Hunt for the perfect Christmas tree
37. Do a random act of kindness 
38. Write a letter to santa - aka yourself cuz we grown-ass adults! But write a letter about everything you want in the next year and how proud of yourself you are 
39. Give a gift to a complete stranger 

Wow, I blinked at it went from being June to the 2nd weekend of October.. like HOW? October is by far my favorite month. but sadly, I have been too busy just trying to keep my head above water to deep dive into fall. Luckily, I finally have a chill weekend. I, like most of the American population, have been go-go-go since summer. I hit the ground running and kind of burned out (emotionally, physically, and financially - yeah traveling so much really drained my bank account). So I am beyond excited to have a nice, restful, and frugal weekend in the city to grant my mind, body, soul, and bank account the proper TLC it needs. 

But more importantly, I'm excited to have a low-key weekend because I finally have the time and energy (energy being the keyword here) to work on the projects I love and to organize the chaos that has taken over my apartment. Personally, my mental well-being is heavily tied to the tidiness of my surroundings, being organized, and working on the creative projects that feed my soul. Having the energy to do the things I want and need to do is probably the biggest obstacle I consistently face. But a crisp, fall weekend to myself offers the perfect opportunity to recharge and rest. 

My one goal for this month is to break my cycle of not showing up for myself on the weekends. Working a 9 to 5 (let's be honest, it's never just 9-5 for most of us) and heading to the gym/dance after work and then coming home to cook, clean, work on my creative projects, work a second job to generate extra forms of income so I'm not stuck in Corporate America for the next 40 fucking years, and get 7-8 hours of sleep ... that is just something I cannot handle at the moment. 

So instead of biting off more than I can chew and getting upset with myself when I'm too exhausted to do all the things after work, I'm setting manageable expectations. For now, the weekends are my holy grail. The weekends will be dedicated to me going after what I want in my career and getting my mind, soul and physical surroundings in order. Then, once I feel like I can handle incorporating my weekend rituals into my weekday routine, I'll move on to the next level and will be able to dedicate even more time to creating a life I am excited about. 

But for now, I will appreciate the chapter I'm in and be kind to myself. I'm excepting that I only have a limited amount of energy right now and that I cannot accomplish all of my goals as quickly as I would like to. But that's ok. I'm retraining my brain to relish in the here and now. To find the beauty in just accomplishing one of the 5 million things on my to-do list. And to find more fulfillment while I'm on this path to creating the life I want. 

So what activities do I have planned for my wellness weekends? Well let's see: 

• Slow mornings filled with slowly enjoying my coffee and breakfast 
• Cleaning the kitchen, living room, and bathroom 
• Decorate for fall/Halloween
• Cook delicious yet healthy meals at home
• Sitting down to write, filming fashion looks, creating inspiring content 
• Cleaning out my closet and switching over to a fall wardrobe that I'm excited about 
• Putting up laundry 
• Watching all the fun Halloween movies & shows with a bottle of wine nearby 
• Deep conditioning my hair 
• Selling clothes I no longer want or fit into 
• Putting together my digital portfolio 
• Researching and creating strategic business plans and content calendars 
• Journaling and becoming clear on my vision and dreams so I can escape the toxic cycles I'm in that don't serve me.

Ooops, I took a little over a month off from writing on my blog and wow, I am always surprised by how much I miss just sharing my thoughts, dreams, sources of inspiration and ideas with you guys. This truly is a therapeutic outlet for me, just like dancing. But again and again, I talk myself out of sharing so many posts that are on my heart because I just get in my head and guess what, can I be a cold-hearted Capricorn bitch who talks myself out of doing a lot of things I love. Yeah - I'm working on it in therapy. 

But this isn't meant to be an emotional post today. Don't worry, I've cried a minimum of 5 times this week. One of those times occurred on a plane so yeah, it's safe to say my mental health has been teetering towards rock bottom and an emotional post is n the agenda for next week. Surprisingly, today's post is actually being written from a place of excitement, inspiration and awe. I guess you could say there's literally something in the air, because it feels like full-on fall in the city and it is exactly what the f*ck my soul needed! 

There are so many little and luxe things I want to implement into my life this season to have a happy fall. I want to be frugal, yet fashionable. I want to splurge and I want to save. And I want to create life-long memories with my loved ones. And the fact that I am still excited for so many things this season while dealing with some major b.s. in life means that I am seriously leveling up. In the past, bullshit has knocked me flat on my butt. But now I'm like naw, I'm going to endure the mess life is throwing at me, geet to work, fix the things I don't like about my life and look fabulous while doing so. After all, half the game is not knowing what the heck is going on but showing up in a confident state anyway. 

I don't really know how this intro has anything to do with my current fall muse board, but I really just wanted to catch up. I missed talking to you. And I hope this sage/jewel-toned mood board fills you with the same inspiration and excitement it brings me. Cheers to us feeling mysterious, sexy, powerful and luxurious this season. 

And thank you for spending a moment of your day to read and support my site. It truly means the world to me. Until next time my friend 

Photo by Shayna Douglas

Another glorious weekend is here! The closer we get to fall, the more I value having a soothing and restorative weekend. Life seems to be picking up pace quite quickly. Our schedules are filling up again. Our time is in higher demand, but I think we all learned the beauty of slowing down over the past year. Unfortunately, it can be really easy to forget to make time for (or strickly feel like you don't have the energy) the things that bring us peace and replenish our cups.  

Hence this weekend's self-care scavenger hunt. I'm using it as a fun and simple way to romanticize my weekend before heading into another chaotic and busy work week. Whether you're job hunting, grinding away at a corporate job, building a business, or dedicating your days to raising a family, we are all working very hard and giving so much of our time, energy and love to others. We deserve to show up for ourselves in the most loving way possible too. 

I'm dying to know what's on your self-care checklist this weekend! Let me know in the comments or over on IG! And thank you so much for taking a moment of your day to read this post. Your support means the world to me. And please share this post with anyone whom you think would enjoy it. The more positive people in our virtual circle, the better. Until next time my friend. 

Photo by Will Truettner

Idk why (well actually, I’m 99% sure it’s because it’s almost that time of the month for me) but I have been in a pretty bad mood ever since I got back from Italy. Because summer is so short and sweet, and I don’t want to spend another week feeling down and out. After all, this is supposed to be hot girl summer, not sad girl summer or mad girl summer. I just want to feel all the positive vibes... but positivity is something I'm really struggling to hold on to right now. 

Although we are all for processing our emotions, staying in a funk for a week+ is not the vibe I want right now. So I’m surrounding myself with a lot of positive quotes, books, podcasts and people. Here are a few quotes I found last night that reminded me to take a moment, breathe, and accept that life is messy and sometimes uncontrollable and everything will be ok. I hope these quotes add a little inspiration to your week like they are for mine. 

And here are a few books I'm leaning on this week to reset my attitude and see the positive side of life right now. 

Thanks for spending a moment of your day to read and support my dreams. Sending you lots of love! Until next time my friend 

Photo by Igor Oliyarnik

 So I took an unintentional break from writing. You know when you get in those moods and just can't find the energy to do the extra things you love? Well that's the vibe I had for most of May, but now that Summer Fridays are in full swing,  I'm in my friend Vondell's amazing creative/career/entrepreneur course and have a few vacations on the books to look forward to, I feel revived! Summer is so sweet. The relaxed nature of work, the excitement of being able to internationally travel again, reuniting with friends whom I haven't seen in over a year! This summer is in full swing!! And I want to savor every moment of it by making more time for the things I love. Here are a few things that are inspiring me to have an invigorating summer. From simple pleasures to normalizing luxury in my life, there's a wide range of things I am focusing on consistently doing this season to find more joy. After all, I think 2020/ the first part of 2021 was hard for most of us. We deserve nice things (even if we are on a strict budget) this season. Cheers to a magical, fulfilling and inspired summer! 

Photos by: Martyna Bober, Will Truettner, Heather Ford, Angelo Pantazis, Mathilde Langevin, Annie Spratt

Summer 2021 Muses 

• Leisurely drinking coffee and tea in the morning
• AM workouts
• Feeling confident in my body, especially through dance
• Embracing the jet-setter lifestyle
• Oranges, pinks, yellows, pastel blues, and emerald greens! These colors are dominating my wardrobe right now. I keep gravitating towards them. 
• Tennis outfits
• All the water destinations
• Alfresco dinners
• Long lunch breaks while WFH
• Morning dips in the pool
• Fresh seafood
• Chilled rosè and posh outfits
• Cookouts with friends
• Flipping through a glossy magazine
• Reading outdoors under the shade
• Turning my outdoor spaces into an oasis
• Long walks with good friends or podcasts
• Dancing in the mirror daily
• Fresh mani pedis
• Fresh picks from the farmers market
• Seaside escapes to remote areas
• Luxury handbags and accessories
• Friday nights in, curled up on the couch, snuggling with the one you love

Ella Jardim

Thank the lord it is finally spring here in the city! The other week, we had 3 days of glorious spring, then it got cold again, but now it's back in the 60s! I hope this glorious weather is here to stay because I'm too deep into a spring mindset to turn back now. I really want to prioritize turning my place into an inspiring little haven this season, and Amazon is killing the game right now. 

Clearly, I love pink and like having a feminine space. It just makes me smile from ear to ear when I look up and see pink flowers everywhere. Plus, drinking water out of a beautiful glass truly makes the water taste better. I'm pretty sure it's been scientifically proven... right? Sounds like a study Harvard would conduct if you ask me lol. 

Anyway, this is the first round of home decor I'm treating myself to this season. Although it would be extremely fun to binge shop and get everything on my wishlist at once, that's not the most responsible thing to do, so little by little, I will transform my apartment ... and backyard into an oasis. What's on your home decor wish list this season? 

Shop my favorite finds below

Thanks for taking a moment to read this post. Your support means the world to me, and I hope we can all create an inspiring and tranquil space for ourselves this season. 

Photo by Ellieelien

Disclaimer: the intro to this post is very honest and raw. If you only want to see the positive messages, I recommend scrolling down until you see the first image. We all have days where we can't take in anything other than positive messages, and this post is meant to help anyone who's feeling off, feel less alone. I want everyone who reads this post to walk away feeling inspired or uplifted so take the messages that are right for you and leave the rest. :) 

Do you ever get into a funk where everything just feels kind of meaningless? I'm clearly not a doctor, but it feels quite different from my typical depression episodes. I know for me, I can still experience joy and even random bursts of motivation when I'm in this mood that unfortunately has been visiting me way more than I freaking appreciate. Even when I seek out joy or fun, something still just feels... off, and the joy feels like a distraction from what's really going on beneath the surface. 

Luckily, I have dedicated a lot of time (and freaking money - hello NYC psychology bills) to investing in my mental health. Seeking out help has prepared me for these darker episodes so I always know in the back of my head that just because I'm thinking negative, toxic, self-deprecating thoughts doesn't make them true. And I know that these dark spirals I get into really all stem from the same damn place. Anxiety. 

Anxiety helped our ancestors stay safe from lions or tigers or slave owners who were hunting runaway slaves seeking freedom and asylum (yeah, I went there) because it helped them run away from danger. But living in a constant state of anxiety no-longer serves us because modern society doesn't possess the same sense of continuous, urgent danger that existed for our ancestors. You don't need to take my word for it, I'm just repeating what multiple psychologists and psychiatrists have said about the history of anxiety. 

For me,  hearing this breakdown about anxiety helps me to beat myself up less for feeling this way. It doesn't mean there is something inherently wrong with me or broken about me; it just means this is my brain's fucked up way of trying to keep me safe from the unknown. And the reason I'm being this honest on the internet and painting myself as a pretty little target for anyone to stumble upon and make fun of me for is that I know I'm not the only person who feels like this. The last thing we all need right now is to feel lonelier than we already are. So instead of sinking deeper into a toxic mindset, we are going to pick ourselves up out of our dark spaces (when we are each ready to do so) and take baby steps to get our zest and hope back. 

Tackling anxiety looks different for everyone. It's a long process that can't be fixed overnight. But I think we can all benefit from adding positive messages into our daily routine. It's simple, it's free and maybe it's the stepping stone someone needs to take the next step in their wellness journey. No matter what place you're at in life right now, I hope something in the quotes below resonates with you and helps you smile today. And if you have a beautiful quote you'd like to share, feel free to leave a comment below or DM me on instagram. It would be fun to share everyone's favorite uplifting quotes in a post. Sending you lots of love, and thanks for taking a moment to read this post. Your support means the world to me.

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez

This might sound crazy (or maybe even basic bitch-esque, whatever idgaf), but after getting through all of 2020 and a long-ass, draining January (although we had a few wins - shoutout to Georgia voters and Biden/Harris in the House!!) without a significant other to lean on as an additional support system/intimate connection, I am in this mindset of saying "fuck it! I'm going to build that intimate relationship with myself! I'm going to treat myself like a queen." Embracing the whole self-love club movement that's been sweeping the internet for the past few years has always been somewhat challenging for me. I know that's terrible to admit, but as a natural perfectionist, loving myself when I fail to show up for myself has never been an easy task for me. 

But as I reflect on 2020, it becomes more and more apparent that enjoying the here and now is sooo soo sooo important. And yet, in a year where loneliness, isolation, depression, and the mundane wfh lifestyle have swept the globe, enjoying each day has truly become a hell of a lot harder to to achieve. That's why I'm embracing February, the designated month of love, to dating myself. 

Yep, that's right. I'm officially jumping on the bandwagon. The challenge is pretty simple tbh, each day, I just have to do one small, romantic, indulgent or decadent thing for myself to make my day. Anything that will put a smile on my face and remind me that I'm that bitch. A minimum of 28 things for 28 days. And of course, we are going to do this the frugal way. 

I have a running list of ideas that I'll keep adding to. That way, I'll have a constant bank of inspiration to lean on during the days that I feel burned-out out or just unfulfilled with life. The beauty of this list is that I keep reminding myself that even the smallest things can bring me the highest form of joy. Things like buying myself a beautiful bouquet of flowers from Trader Joes, treating myself to a cute new necklace from Anthropologie, sleeping in satin pjs, and exploring a new, chic cafe just to pick up a delicious dessert are all extremely simple and affordable ways to show me how much I appreciate myself. It takes a lot to show up for ourselves every single day, and we deserve to celebrate that win. 

And I already got a head start this year; I bought myself some beautiful, affordable lingerie and valentine's themed pjs. Then, just to take things up a notch, I found the cutest valentine's day decorative pillows for only $4! Like I said, the smallest things put the largest smile on my face. Here are a few of the things I purchased last week and things I have my eyes on for the next month or so. 

So cheers to a year of making ourselves smile and reaching a whole new level of intimacy with ourselves. I'd love to hear what you're doing to treat yourself this month! Leave a comment or shoot me a DM. It will be fun to keep each other accountable 

My Treat Yo' Self List