Book Review: You are a Badass by Jen Sincero
This book changed the course of my life. I was stuck in a miserable job, mindlessly searching through the online dating world looking for love. In a brief conversation that went nowhere, one of these men suggested this book and I bought it on my lunch break. I sat in my car reading, avoiding walking back into that dark office and a seed was planted.
It took me all of two days to read this book and it is FULL of inspirational wisdom. Jen has a great way of expressing all that I have learned in great detail since reading this book, but her down to earth tone and her perfect timing of a well placed swear word had me hooked. She has sage advice and realistic suggestions for ways to take charge of your life and make the changes necessary to have the life you want.
This is a MUST READ and it’s now on my list of books to give as gifts.
Costa Rica - Pura Vida!
I was fortunate enough to spend a week in beautiful Playa Aranilla Costa Rica at the Secrets Papagayo Resort to celebrate my dear friend, Alicia’s 40th birthday. We have been talking about this trip and planning for a year now, so it was a little surreal to have the time finally arrive. Admittedly, we wasted most of our opportunity to explore this country and spend most of our time at the resort and in the pool. I felt a tad bit guilty about not seeing a volcano, zip lining through the rain forest or hiking to the hot springs, but if I’m honest, hiking is not my thing. I did manage to paddle board for the first time and I didn’t fall!
Having someone else cook, clean my room and bring me drinks IS a vacation from my real life. Indulging in food that is not on my eating plan and getting to work out if I wanted to was just what I needed. I managed to read a teeny tiny bit, meet some new friends and my skin got a little bit closer to a golden brown. Not getting sunburn, soaking in the pool until my fingers are toes were prunes was about all the energy I could muster and more fun than I expected.
My one “excursion” was to venture over to the gym one day to workout and to the Spa to get an amazing massage. It even rained during the massage, which was more relaxing than the sound of rain as white noise.
Our nightly dinners were amazing. We tried everything on each of the menus from Hibachi Grill and sushi to steaks, and Italian food. Each restaurant at this resort was delicious. The waitstaff was amazingly patient, as well.
Most of our days by and in the pool were spent planning our next vacation and coming up with our hashtags - some published and some only shared in our group chat on WhatsApp. If you’re curious, check out #costa40rica. In the end, though, we had a blast and came home with stronger friendships and excited about our next trip together - Turks and Caicos here we come in 2020!
View from our room
View of the Beach from the Main Pool
Best view from the gym ever …
So many laughs with these girls!
Resource: Insight Timer App
An App Review … really? Yes, really. Y’all. This app changed my world. I sleep better, it changed my meditations for the better and has made me more productive during the day while I’m sewing. Crazy, right?
First, I learned about guided meditations from this beauty. I had been relying on only my timer on my phone and my own silence to meditate, which was working fine, BUT … I did a few guided meditations that knocked my socks off. I felt so much more with the guided meditations and received downloads, feedback and sensations like never before. The guided meditations are categorized by the mood or energy that you’re looking to create, the feeling you’re trying to let go of (anxiety, depression, etc), and by time. It’s amazing. You can find just the right meditation based on how much time you have, which guide you prefer and what you’re trying to accomplish. BAM - perfection.
Secondarily, I have found sleep music that has drastically improved the sleep I’m getting. My favorite is Deep Sleep and is over an hour, but I’m usually asleep within only a few minutes. I sleep so sound, have amazing dreams and wake up so well rested. Please try this one if you try nothing else and report back. Does it work as well for you as it does for me? It’s seriously like magic.
Lastly, these binaural beats are kinda woo-woo, but I enjoy them. I play the Higher Vibration in the background when I really need to concentrate and get some shit done. It’s so relaxing, but I can’t help but feel like it’s helping me focus and be more productive.
All of my friends have heard me talk about this app and some of them roll their eyes or look at my like I’ve lost my mind, but I cannot say enough good things about how this app has changed my life. Seriously.
Book Review: Girl Wash your face by Rachel Hollis
My book club chose this book for May and it was such a great read, also quick & easy, which was just my speed this month. Someone, please tell me why May is so darn busy! This the first book I’ve read and knew instantly who I was going to give it to. I even wrote an inscription, which I never do: “You are one of the strongest women I know. I hope this book is your one step closer to Truly Happy like it was for me!” It really was the best intro that I could think of.
Rachel shares such wisdom and insights in a straightforward way. She provides a dose of tough love, but equally balances that with empathetic encouragement. Having been criticized for being sanctimonious, non stop with her humble bragging and being so far removed from normal human beings, I was hesitant to read this one. I’m usually quite turned off by anyone who is too churchy and preaching at me, but this was a pleasant surprise. I found her relatable and while I am not bothered by another woman being proud of her accomplishments and the positive in her life, I know not everyone is. If you feel like someone expressing gratitude for their abundance is bragging, then you won’t love this book. I find it encouraging to hear how another woman has built and empire. I find it uplifting to hear about another woman’s success. For that reason, alone, I felt this was a great pick me up read.
Now, if you have done any amount of self help, self improvement and the like, then most of the book may not be earth shattering or new information, but her tell it like it is approach may be just the right way to convince another woman that she, too, can follow her dreams and have anything she desires. Besides, that’s what we should all be doing for each other anyways, isn’t it?
Outdoor Patio Update
In my attempt to Feng Shui all aspects of my home, my back patio needed some serious love. I have been updating my color palette throughout my home slowly, but the patio has been receiving some love in all shades of white. I painted my old rusted iron chairs, bought some new cushions for those seats. Loving this new look, so now we just need to start using it! (Also, still searching for the perfect outdoor rug.)
Next, I wanted some new outdoor cushions for my patio furniture because the red isn’t working any longer and they are quite faded from the hot Texas sun. Those suckers are expensive! The best I’ve found are at Target, but I was convinced I could do it better and for less. Here’s what I was working with …
Old outdated & Faded
Desperate need of a facelift …
Enter IKEA. I found these amazing covers in a color that was close enough to what I was envisioning. At $10 a piece, I was sold. I knew they were not going to fit exactly and I would need to stitch them up a bit. Once they arrived, though, I realized just how big they were. Oops!
Little Too Big
Right color .. Getting Close!
After a quick sewing job one evening after the kids went to bed, these cushions are now updated and I love how they turned out! Now I’m on a mission to find the perfect side table. And perhaps paint the chair frames. Always a project away from being done!
Feng Shui - Hallway
Some of you may know that I’ve started studying Feng Shui. Really, I’ve attempted to read all that I can on this idea of encouraging all the good energy to come and stay in my home and minimize anything that is detracting me from my goals. Sounds good right? Y’all this shit is complicated. I’ve read so much, listen to podcasts, bought audio books. When I want to learn something new, I dive in head first and don’t come up for air until the very last second. This has been no different. Quickly I got VERY overwhelmed, though, and decided I needed to just tackle one “issue” at a time. Honestly, Feng Shui can be complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. I’ll attempt to share what I’ve learned so far, but trust that I’m in infancy stages and I still have lots to learn.
With that said, however, let me just tell you that my kids have had challenges getting along for as long as I can remember. Sibling rivalry. They are both young. They spend so much time together. I had all the excuses to explain it away, but it was causing such angst in our home. Deciding this would be at the top of my list to “fix” with Feng Shui, I jumped in to find out what I could do to help.
While listening to the audio book, Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life, by Karen Rauch Carter, I discovered that a long hallway with lots of doors could cause fighting among family members. Well, mystery solved!
So upon discovering that mirrors could help the stagnant energy, I set up to buy some mirrors. Stat! Well, I set out to find CHEAP mirrors because I really, really want to be a frugal human being, but I stepped one foot into Home Goods and found THE MOST AMAZING mirrors covered with an intricate distressed wood design, I instantly thought it warranted the $25 price point each. Ha! Frugality flies out the window when I find something I love. But also I can justify any purchase that brings me joy. These are beautiful! They bring me joy - Marie Condo would approve because I felt a Zing of happiness when I found them.
Not only did I buy those amazing wooden mirrors, but also a mirrored tray and a mirrored frame with the best vision of what this amazing hallway was going to look like. Most of the Feng Shui cures that are suggested are not esthetically pleasing, but I won’t let a little obstacle like Feng Shui deter me from having a pretty home. I mean. Who decorates a hallway, but then with mirrors? What would that even look like?
Naturally, like most of my projects, my vision makes me happy, the things I have to do before I can implement my vision give me anxiety and my to do list keeps me from implementing. In this case, my old wall of photos would come down and those brown frames had to be painted white. I needed to actually build the shelves I found on Pinterest and I needed to paint the hallway. Notice all the steps here? I could have hung those damn mirrors the day I got them, but no. I set them in the hallway, on the floor, leaning up against the wall and there they sat for WEEKS.
Slowly, I did manage to paint the picture frames. And then they sat in my living room, on the floor, up against the ottoman and the wall. My kid even knocked into one and broke the glass because they were ON THE FLOOR. Stop it already. I couldn’t even be upset with him because it was totally my own fault.
Next, I did manage to build the shelves. They are amazing! They were simple and easy, but it admittedly took me way too long to first stain, let them dry, then glue, then screw in place. BUT - they turned out great and I made them all by myself.
Want to make your own? All you need:
9 ft wood from Home Depot (Two 1x4s, One 1x2)
Stain - type and color
Gorilla Wood Glue & wood screws
Once the shelf was built, I only needed to paint the hallway. I had previously decided after soo much consideration on the most perfect neutral interior paint for my walls. Seriously, I gathered input of anyone who visited my house over the course of a few months to choose their favorite of all those paint swatches were on my living room walls. I settled on XOXO and it’s perfect. It works with brown. It works with grey. Every room and each wall I paint with this color makes my heart sing. After I painted the hallway, I just stood there and stared. I love it!
Just the second the paint dried, I finally hung the mirrors
Next, I hung then the shelf with some help from my little man. He had to hold it in place while I screwed this into the studs in the wall. This shelf is small but mighty - it’s heavy! Finally, after deciding which of the dozens of photos I had hung previously would get to stay, I settled on these …
This finished hallway makes me so happy. I find myself just standing here and staring at it. The part I forgot to mention though, was after a few days of the mirrors lying up against the wall, my kids had stopped fighting all the time. I didn’t even notice at first, but now, they come home from school and they play games together instead of begging for screen time. They create imaginary worlds and talk and play and laugh. It is like MAGIC. I will notice it’s gotten quiet, which is usually cause for alarm, but I will find them playing together in one of their bedrooms. They are getting along so well now!! I don’t know how much of this was really due to my Feng Shui cure, but the I love the mirrors, my new hallway decor and my kids have stopped fighting, so I’m going with it! Thought I’d share in the event your kids also fight like cats and dogs and perhaps you have a long hallway with lots of doors. Throw some mirrors up! Feng Shui doesn’t care if it looks pretty. Mostly, though, if you try this and it is working, please let me know!! I’m super curious to know.
Final product …
Outdoor Cushion Covers
The thing about having a friend who knows how to sew things is I get hit up all the time with a “but these are so expensive, I thought you might be able to make them”. While I do have the ability, as we always find out, it takes a long time which is where the cost comes into play. I’m usually able to do it for less, but there may still be some sticker shock involved. Wish that said, however, this project was a success!
I was given four of the five old cushion covers that the birds were attempting to use as their nest stuffing. They were pecked full of holes and I only had the brand name of the fabric. After a few samples were ordered, we nailed the color matching and made new cushion covers to match the old.
