With the start of a new year it is common for most people to make resolutions or goals to accomplish for the year. I know that New Year’s resolutions aren’t for everyone. For the majority of New Years I have set goals to fulfill for the next year. I’ve learned some tips and tricks from setting New Year’s goals for the entirety of my adult life. I thought I would share them as most of you will be re-evaluating your 2020 and determining what changes you would like to make for 2021! 2021 can only go up from here, right? (Right???)
Set Short AND Long-term Goals and Break Each One Down. It’s tempting to only create long-term goals, because those are usually the most exciting. Buy a house, lose 30 pounds, or take a beach vacation are all goals that sound so exciting and are motivating, but they each need smaller goals in order to be attained. These are less glamorous, but are very important to reaching your goals. For example, to lose 30 pounds is a long-term goal. What short-term goals and habits do you need to implement in order to reach your long-term goal of losing 30 pounds? Add these smaller steps once a month or week and you will be able to reach your goal by the end of the year. Long-term goal: Lose 30 Pounds. Short-term goals: Workout 5x a week, start eating at home more, drink 100 ounces of water a day, or walk more often. The short term goals will help in reaching your long-term goal and will make goal setting less daunting and overwhelming. You got this!
Set More Attainable Goals (and ones that are just out of reach). I don’t know about you, but when I make a to-do list and can cross off items from my list it gives me a great sense of accomplishment. If all you have are lofty goals to reach, there will be fewer items to cross off your list. To me, that is defeating. Looking at a list that I haven’t crossed anything off of is intimidating! It makes me feel like I have made no improvements. When I set attainable goals that are still getting me to my somewhat-out-of-reach goals and can cross those off… I really feel like I am making progress– because I am! Maybe you’re not as visual as I am, but crossing items off just feels freaking good.
Write Your Goals Down This doesn’t necessarily mean putting pen to paper. I always put my goals for the year in my notes app on my phone. This makes them extremely accessible to me whenever I want to review them. If you enjoy physically writing them down… do that! Seeing them written (or typed) out really helps to visualize yourself attaining them!
Re-visit Your Goals Often If you take away ANYTHING from this post that is helpful, I hope that it is this!!! Don’t just plan and write out your intentions… re-visit them! And often. Anyone can put pen to paper and make a list of goals they want to achieve. But visiting them more frequently means the more they will be in the forefront of your mind. The more often you are thinking of them, the more likely you are to achieve them!
Set a Time Limit on Your Goals I am not saying that if you don’t reach your goal by the time limit to just forget about the goal. Absolutely not. If you set a time limit of a month or by the end of the year and you still haven’t accomplished the goal, it may be time to re-evaluate and see if there are other means to achieve your goal. If your goal is to lose 10 pounds by the end of the year and it is June and you haven’t lost a pound, it may be time to find new strategies or find resources that you aren’t using right now.
I hope that these 5 tips help you set your goals… and achieve them! I am a firm believer in making resolutions in the new year. If that isn’t your journey– that’s okay! I know I am not the only one who uses a new year to reflect.
Do you make New Year’s Resolutions? Do you already utilize any of these tips?
Happy New Year to you and your families!
This is where you could find me, Kevin, and Judy ringing in the New Year!
What is a micro wedding? Although they have been around for years, they are definitely becoming more popular these days due to COVID. Micro weddings consist of a wedding that has 50 or less guests. A lot of 2020 brides are having to choose between micro weddings, elopements, and having a mini-mony. Even though we weren’t necessarily planning to have a wedding in 2020– we were in the midst of planning a 2021 wedding when I got laid off from my job. Because of this, we decided to move up the wedding date and plan a micro wedding in 3 weeks. (I am still in disbelief that I pulled it off. If you want an insight to how I did that… I would be happy to put together a blog post about my 3 week wedding planning process!)
Growing up I watched shows like Say Yes to The Dress and Four Weddings and imagined I would have a HUGE, elaborate wedding. Then I got older. I realized how much I disliked typical “traditions”, how much weddings cost, how stressful it can be for the bride and groom to have big weddings, and that it’s hard to spend quality time with each guest who may have traveled far and wide to be with you on your special day. Prior to COVID I was itching for a smaller wedding… it’s unfortunate the circumstances in which what I wanted actually became reality, regardless it was the picture perfect day!
1.) Guest List This was a big one for me. We ended up having 19 people in attendance (including us!) Although there were a handful of people we truly missed dearly that day (my sweet Granny included), we felt like every person in attendance had been in support of our relationship from the get go. I already wanted to have a smaller backyard wedding in 2021. And even still… the guest list was creeping over 100. While 100 people at a wedding is a smaller event, it was still getting bigger than I was wanting. With qualms from either side of our families saying “Well, wouldn’t you like to invite this person or that person? They watched you grow up, don’t you want them to see you get married?” And while, yes, that is true. I would love to have an event where I could have every single person who has made an impact in my life recognized… that just wasn’t going to coincide with my priority of having a small wedding. This micro wedding really let me live out my dream of a small, intimate wedding.
2.) More Personal Have you ever traveled to a wedding, spent a significant amount of money and time to be there, and then you get to see the bride and groom all of two minutes? I didn’t want that for my guests and I didn’t want that as a bride. Those two minutes are usually filled with a “thanks for coming, how was your travel, be sure to enjoy the bar and dance floor, see you later.” With only 19 people in total, we were able to have actual conversations with those we loved for the entirety of the weekend. Especially with us living far from our families and friends, it was extremely important for us to have quality time with each person… and we accomplished that and I would not give that up for anything.
3.) Casual Atmosphere We are a pretty casual couple. We hardly ever do big date nights that include a black tie dress code. I don’t remember the last time I wore heels (didn’t even wear them on my wedding day) and I usually have to do a little begging to get Kevin into any shoes that aren’t Nike tennis shoes. Heck, we wanted a backyard BBQ wedding from the beginning! Yes, I had structure for the day (you have to! Especially with my family, those Powers need a little direction), but I left room for us to sit and mingle together. My brother officiated our wedding, Kevin got a silicone wedding band, I got my wedding flowers from Hyvee, my wedding dress came from JC Penny, we had our friend photograph our wedding, and our “dress rehearsal” was at our favorite Irish pub down the road from our apartment. Everything was casual… and perfectly us.
4.) It’s Official! Before we got engaged we had been together for a little over 5 years, had been living together for almost 4 years, and Kevin uprooted his life in IL to follow me to Nebraska for my dream job. We were pretty much as committed as committed gets. It felt so silly to have an engagement last over a year, but we were going to do it… because that’s what you’re supposed to do, right? The reason you get engaged is to get married, though… right? Why not make it legal as soon as possible?! That’s the whole goal. It just felt so right to have a 4 month engagement instead of a 15 month engagement and that’s really all that matters.
5.) Save Money I mean… this is a HUGE one! The national average cost of a wedding in 2019 was $33,900. I’m sorry what?! In order to declare my love in front of my family and friends I have to spend almost $35,000?! I think that is absolutely absurd and makes no sense, especially when the national salary average is $56,000. This was never our intended budget to begin with; however, decreasing the guest list by about 80 people helped us to not even come close to that national average! HA! I originally planned to spend $1,500 on my wedding dress and I ended up getting mine for $70. We saved A LOT of money by keeping it small and intimate and in the current economy and considering I lost my job, we didn’t have as much expendable income to spend on a party. Our family also helped us throughout the weekend which was SO helpful and we felt very grateful for that because I know that not every couple is put in that situation to have financial help from family.
While I am not shaming anyone who wants the large and elaborate wedding, I just knew in my gut that wasn’t for me and that I wouldn’t enjoy myself as much as if I had something smaller and more laid back. Like I said, it’s rough that we put this wedding together because I lost my dream job due to COVID (idk if you’ve noticed, but no one is having events with 500+ people at them LOL), but it really was the most perfect day that really encapsulated our relationship and who we are. Are there any other brides out there who really wanted a smaller more casual wedding, but felt the immense pressure to have a large party? I can’t be the only one!
If you are a bride-to-be… stick to what you want! Whether that be something small or something large… or maybe just the two of you and a justice of the peace… it is YOUR wedding day and something you will reflect on for years to come. Why not make it exactly what you want it to be?
Hi everyone! If you’ve been following along on my journey, you know that in the recent months I have lost around 20 pounds. Now I am not trying to promote anybody feeling like they need to lose weight or need to change the way that they look. You are beautiful just the way you are! But, I have always been an active person and I was beginning to feel constantly fatigued, uncomfortable in my own skin, and just not like myself. Losing weight is definitely not the most important step in being comfortable in your own skin… I also learned to love myself at every stage instead of only consuming myself with losing weight. Getting healthy + fit again was the goal… losing weight can come with implementing more healthy decisions (usually). These are the top 5 habits & apps I implemented into my life to get my results– I am not a doctor or have any kind of degree in nutrition & fitness– this is just what worked for me and maybe you can find an app or habit that you can add into your own lifestyle!
Tracking Some people track macros or calories and some people just intuitively eat. I kind of do a mixture of all three! I use the app My Fitness Pal. I find that the calories they suggest for you are far too little, so I did my own research based on my lifestyle to see what calories/ macros fit for me. I like that you can create your own calorie amount and are not stuck with what they suggest. At the start of my health journey, I was tracking every meal to be sure that the calories I was taking in was less than the calories I was burning off. Present day, I don’t track as strictly because I have learned what calories and macros I eat regularly.
Exercise You hear it all the time… nutrition + exercise are the key components to losing weight and getting healthy and that is for a reason! With my ever-changing, demanding work schedule I decided that 3-5 days a week would be sufficient for the goals I was trying to achieve. On days when I can’t make it to the gym or fit in a workout, I make it a priority to still be moving throughout the day. I try to get at least 10,000 steps on those off-days. If I have any advice when it comes to exercise… it is to find a type of exercise that you ENJOY! Whether it’s weight lifting, running, Orange Theory, Yoga, Boxing, Biking… as long as you enjoy it, it’s going to be something you are going to WANT to do and not something you feel forced to do.
Sleep Cycle Sleep is very vital to living a healthy life. Adults need between 7-9 hours of sleep a night (I thrive when I get a full 10 hours of sleep and am a monster if I don’t– LOL) and I can guarantee most adults do not get that. When you are exercising consistently, your body needs rest to repair your muscles. Not only is it vital to your exercise routine, getting enough sleep helps with brain health, is linked to a decrease in heart disease, and reduces stress. I am someone who likes looking at patterns and what I can do to improve any situation so I have been utilizing the app Sleep Cycle. It tracks your night’s sleep and determines how long you were in REM sleep. It also allows you to set an alarm with a 20 minute increment so it can wake you up gradually and not abruptly which can often leave you feeling super groggy at the start of your day.
Waterlogged It’s shocking to me how many adults hardly drink water throughout the day… HOW?! At the start of my health journey I made the goal to drink a gallon of water a day. Drinking water helps with so many aspects of health and fitness, but I find I crave a lot less when I am constantly replenishing my body with water, my skin is clearer, and I don’t bloat as much. As I’ve said before I am super visual and like to track patterns, so I use the app Waterlogged to track my water intake throughout the day. It has a cute water bottle you fill throughout the day 🙂
Notes I am super organized and need to have a plan in order to do anything 100%, so I utilize my notes app A LOT when it comes to creating and following a workout. Throughout my workout I check off the exercise once it’s done and it helps me to stay focused and on track during my workouts. Failing to plan is planning to fail!
Again, these are all just tools and habits that have helped me in my health journey and this is in no way saying these are the only ways to do it! In all, I think being mindful and recognizing bad habits and patterns can really help you on your journey of health!
Hi everyone! Another blog within a week… who am I?! I know I am not the only person who did a little more internet shopping and Amazon package stalking since shelter in place orders began in March. Although most orders have been lifted now, I know the packages are still being delivered 🙂 These are the products that I am SO happy with and will more than likely be purchasing again (maybe not the couch any time soon… that’s a once every 5 years type of purchase! HA!). If you are like me, if I hear of a great product from someone… I immediately start researching to see if it’s a wise product to spend my money on. I have linked every single product, so if you are intrigued, you can check it out for yourself! ***Some of the links are affiliate links (the Amazon links) and I will make a small commission off of them if you decide to purchase from those links.*** If you purchase any of these items and you love them as much as I do… let me know! Or if you have made a purchase since March that you just can’t get enough of… I’d love to hear about those also! This list is in no particular order!
Ashley Furniture Sectional I know I said that none of these items are ranked, but this one is so obviously number one. Even though it took forever and a lot of miscommunication from Nebraska Furniture Mart, we eventually got our Ashley Furniture sectional and we could not be happier with our purchase!
Handheld Vacuum Never thought I would be someone who bought a vacuum specifically for our couch… but here we are! I found this one from Amazon and it’s small enough that it stores super easily.
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette When it comes to make-up I am usually a drugstore girl through and through. I definitely would never spend more than $40 on any one make-up item, but I have been eyeing this highlighting palette for almost two years and I figured my wedding day would be the occasion to purchase this from Hourglass. It is the perfect every day “inner glow” highlight and I plan to use the HECK out of it… especially because of the price! Ahh!
Diamond Dazzle Stick Ooooohh! This may very well be my best purchase of quarantine. If you wear jewelry on a regular basis, you know how amazing it is to get your ring back from the jeweler and it is soo sparkly. This little stick does the exact same thing. I highly recommend having this handy if you are newly engaged for engagement pictures and your wedding day. Highly, highly recommend.
Stars Above Lounge Pants Go to Target, buy these, and thank me later. They are the best lounge pants hands down!!! Don’t wear them in public, though, they are a little sheer. Ha!
Thred Up Clothes Okay, so I think I am going to do a separate review of Thred Up and everything I received, but I am so SO impressed with this online thrift store and the variety they had. It’s exciting to be able to try different styles of clothes and have fun with being creative without breaking the bank. Also, purchasing clothes from this website is much better for our planet than buying from fast fashion stores such as Shein (although I do love a good Shein haul).
Facial Steamer I had seen many “infuencers” and bloggers using this all over instagram and definitely thought they were unnecessary (and they honestly kind of are), but I absolutely love adding this into my skin care routine at least once a week!
Shoe Slot Organizers Ahhh. What has my quarantine life consisted of if not organizing every nook and cranny of my apartment. I saw these on Tik Tok and I HAD to have them. I can more easily access and see the shoes in my closet now 🙂
Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation Once again, I am a drugstore make-up girl at heart and have NEVER purchased a foundation that cost more than $15 before. If you follow beauty YouTubers or beauty bloggers you have for sure seen at least one of them talk about this foundation… and let me tell you, it is for a reason. Again, I bought this for my wedding day, and it did not disappoint. It has the most beautiful finish and literally does not budge. I highly recommend this for important events and, heck, every day life too because it just makes my skin look so. dang. good.
PINK Ultimate Biker Shorts If anyone follows me on Instagram, you have definitely seen me talk about my love for the biker short trend… and these are THE best. Hands down. If you have also fallen in love with this trend, you need these in your closet.
Bath & Body Works Serenity Aromatherapy Lotion I have been sleeping on Bath & Body Works. I never understood the hype, but I do now. I bought this lotion and went back the next day and bought three more lotions and also two body washes in the same scent. Haha! You’ll understand when you smell it, and the lotion bottle looks adorable on my sink.
Hairitage Magic Dust Texturizing Powder I saw Casey Holmes talking about this new affordable hair line at Walmart and well I love her and her hair is #goals… so I went and bought the three items she talked about from Hairitage: dry shampoo, flexible hairspray, and the texturizing powder. I could pass on the other two, but the texturizing powder is amazing and I don’t have any other product like it so it’s staying in my hair routine.
Invisibobble Scrunchie Less breakage, it’s freakin cute, and I get to act like I am 16 instead of 26.
Alani Nu Confetti Cake Protein Powder I have been following Katy (the brand owner) on Instagram for a few years now and her and her family are adorable. I have loved every product I have tried from her brand (Energy drink & Balance supplement) and this one is no different. It’s delicious.
ThirdLove Bra Again, another company I may have to do a whole separate review of, but this is the comfiest bra I have ever worn and I actually measured in their half sizes and I have never had a bra fit me so perfect. Highly recommend, but I do want to try a couple more styles.
Hello everyone! I know it has been awhile since I’ve posted here… and well… do you blame me? It’s so hard with the present world to be motivated to share fun and happy things. In May when quarantine was still new Kevin and I were trying to get creative with at-home date nights we decided to do an at-home wine night for as cheap as possible. Although quarantine and restrictions have been lifting, I know many who are still trying to keep their public exposure to a minimum. Plus… quarantine or not, everybody loves a good, cheap, at-home date night.
I had heard a lot of good things about ALDI, more specifically their wine selection. Then when I saw the prices… I HAD TO HAVE THEM. Under $5 for a bottle of wine?! Some under $3?! If I tried them and it wasn’t good… oh well! THEY ARE FIVE DOLLARS. I love a good winery visit with a little charcuterie action so I figured why not create our own while at home.
I was able to pick a variety of items for our snacks and wine all for $60. Honestly, you could make it even cheaper with less wines and less variety of cheeses, meats, crackers, and chocolate. The items I ended up purchasing from ALDI for this date night were:
Wines Winking Owl White Zinfandel $2.49 Winking Owl Chardonnay $2.49 Flirty Bird Sauvignon Blanc $3.99 Flirty Bird Red Blend $3.99 Moiselle Sweet Red $4.95
Snacks Mini Pretzel Sticks $1.95 Buttery Round Crackers $1.95 Savoritz Veggie Crackers $1.99 Roasted Peanuts $1.79 Spinach and Tomato Pizza $3.29 Green Grapes $3.10 Red Grapes $2.15 White Chocolate $1.99 Dark Chocolate with Almonds $1.49
Subtotal: $60.86 Total: $62.11
I created a charcuterie board with the cheeses, meats, fruits, and crackers. I warmed the brie in the oven at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. The desserts and pretzels were placed on a separate dish.
Instead of just trying the wines and snacks, we decided to rank each wine out of 5 in three categories and decide what each wine paired the best with. Here’s what we came up with:
Winking Owl White Zinfandel Overall Taste: 4 Fruitiness: 3 Drinkability: 5 Overall Score: 4 Paired Best With: Cheddar and Mozzarella
Flirty Bird Red Blend Overall Taste: 0 Fruitiness: 0 Drinkability: 0 Overall Score: ZERO (this one was SO bad!) Paired Best With: White Chocolate and Regular Crackers made this slightly bearable
Flirty Bird Sauvignon Blanc Overall Taste: 2 Fruitiness: 2 Drinkability: 2 Overall Score: 2 Paired Best With: Green Grape
Moiselle Sweet Red Overall Taste: 4 Fruitiness: 4 Drinkability: 5 Overall Score: 4.33 Paired Best With: Red Grapes & Mozzarella ***This one was the BEST! Would absolutely purchase this one again!
Once we finished ranking each wine, I looked up fun couple questions and “would you rather” questions for us to answer. Even though we’ve known each other for almost six years, it’s always fun to ask new questions and learn new things about each other or trying to guess what the other person’s answer may be to a question.
I highly recommend an at-home date night like this! We had a blast. Not every wine turned out to be good, but it was even fun tying the bad ones together 🙂 We will DEFINITELY be doing this again… we want to try it next with craft beer. If you and your significant other try out any of the other wines ALDI has to offer and there is a winner… I would love to hear about it! We can add it to our next date night.
As my first quarter of a century has come and gone, I figured it was the most opportune time to have others reflect on their own.
I am certain that most people have heard of the terrible twos, right? When a toddler is struggling with testing their new found independence and they don’t quite have the verbiage to express what they need… often resulting in temper tantrums. The “terrible twenties” are kind of like that. You’re exploring how you fit in the world and it can be completely frustrating because there’s forks in the road everywhere. Initially, I wanted to create a post that could act as a road map for twenty-somethings who are struggling to feel like they have a grip on anything. All of us started on the relatively same path- going through elementary school, high school, college or work- and now we are all drifting into our own lanes and comparison is everywhere. Some of my friends have three kids while some aren’t planning to have any. Some live in my hometown while others have moved across the globe. I am here to tell you that every scenario is perfectly where you need to be. Growing pains are inevitable, but I thought it may be helpful for some of us twenty-something women out there to hear from other women who made it out the other side of 25. All of these women I have looked up to, have shaped me into who I am, are people I want to emulate, or I know have a story to share. Here’s 25 women’s responses to the question “If you could go back and give your 25 year-old self one piece of advice… what would it be?”
“If I could tell my 25 year old self anything I think it would be to trust yourself above everyone and everything else. If something doesn’t feel right for you, then it isn’t. Honor yourself by listening to your own voice first and last.” Heather Nielsen
“At 25, I wish I wouldn’t have been so hard on myself for many reasons, but especially for life not going exactly as I planned. At 25, I thought I would be married, a homeowner, and I definitely thought my incredible father would still be with us, but life doesn’t ever seem to go as planned; I know that now. It’s important to realize that many of the things that happen to us, we have zero control over, and it’s okay.” Barbara Alvarez
“Looking back I don’t think I could or would change anything. If I didn’t take the path I took I wouldn’t be where I am today, which is a good place in my life to be. At the time I would wish it was easier, but have learned that life often throws up road blocks. Keep the end goal in mind– patience and lots of hard work eventually pays off.” Grandma
“What I would tell my 25 year old self? Good question. The first thing that came to mind was- don’t settle. Don’t settle covers many areas… don’t settle for a job or career you don’t want or like. Don’t settle for a man or woman just because there is no one else. Don’t settle for anything less than your hopes and dreams. There is a lot of time in your life to NOT SETTLE.” Kim Keefe
“I came up with a bunch of advice I wish I had known when I was young, but these are a couple that are high on my list. Start saving for your retirement now. Don’t take your parents for granted. Talk to them and ask them questions about their youth.” Aunt Jill
“Something I wish I believed when I was 25 was to embrace and accept every opportunity! These moments and opportunities only come around once in a lifetime; it’s important to live in the moment, take on the opportunities, and enjoy these adventures with the people closest around you. You’ll never get to rewind these days and embrace those opportunities you chose to dismiss but you’ll always have another day to strive to be the person you want to become.” Bree Bjorklund
“I have been thinking about your question on what I wish I knew at 25. I wish I had known that 50 would come so much faster than 25 did. You don’t really think at 25 that you will be 50 in a blink of an eye. Life really starts moving at 25. By then you have somewhat of a career, boyfriend or maybe even husband. Then children come into the picture and you start raising a family, buy a house and a mini van. Next thing you look and your kids are graduating high school and leaving for college themselves. You ask yourself where did the time go. I wouldn’t trade any of that time from 25 to 50. But just know at 25 take some time to smell that rose, save that extra penny, go on vacations, spend time with the people you love and don’t stress the next 25. We can’t predict our journey at 25, but we can try to make it the best that we can.” Wendy Shahrikian
“It’s okay to say no. You don’t have to feel guilty or feel like you must please everyone by saying yes. Teach yourself that saying no sometimes means you are saying yes to other priorities in your life.” Mariah McMullen
“Can I express TIME is big. And learn to make yourself a priority, too or you will never do it or it won’t last long in your scheduling. And move your body every day. Take a half hour and just do it. If you start young you will start a habit for life. Your metabolism just slows down as you age so fire it up now so you will feel better and have energy for life.” Christy West
“I think I wish I would have known that you don’t need to be in a big hurry to “mature” your life… ie marriage, babies, super successful. I think you should use that time to truly discover yourself, know that you can be independent and self-sufficient. Take chances and travel you can always come home!” Aunt Annette
“Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. When you’re starting out in your first career with your first apartment/ house and possibly even your first child, there will be times when you are financially uncomfortable. There will be bills you haven’t had before, and life will throw curve balls and all of a sudden you’re sitting at a car dealership buying a car for the first time or you’ll be standing in a Walgreens aisle contemplating whether to cheap out on wipes or diapers that month. Accept it. Create a budget and see it through. If it means you are penny pinching just to save $50 at the end of each month, that’s perfectly fine. It won’t feel “comfortable” but hard work pays off. Don’t be too good to cut coupons, shop only the sales, skip eating out, find a second hand store, or opt to workout at home instead of paying for a gym. These times won’t last forever, but they will determine a lot about your future. Also, if you can communicate and tackle the uncomfortable with your significant other, that means more than flowers and chocolate.” Alexa Chiefari
“What I would tell my 25 year old self knowing what I know now… this is some sage advice so pay attention. Firstly, live in the moment. Don’t allow the stresses of your everyday life weigh you down. Second, be honest with yourself and those around you even if the truth hurts… the world is full of liars and deceivers don’t be one of them. Third, be happy with being alone. Take yourself to a movie or out to dinner it’s important to get to know yourself before settling down. Lastly and most important, pay your bills… that shit will follow you if you don’t.” Elizabeth Nickerson
“What I know now that I wish I knew at 25… a few wishes first. Wish I had the patience I have now. Wish I spent more one on one time with each child. Wish I went back to college. Wish I had saved for retirement. Wish Daddy & Mommy had taken more alone time. I could go on and on… and I guess that’s my point! There are so many things I wish I knew then or done differently, BUT all the living I’ve done between 25 and 77 has made me who I am today, and mostly I love the me I have become! Not always, but mostly… If there is one thing though, it would be, pay attention to life! Within your family and within your community! GET INVOLVED AND STAY INVOLVED IN BOTH! This was a difficult question for me but I thought on it for a week, and this to me is the most valuable advice I would give to 25 year old me! Having learned that if we want a better life or world for our children we have to make the changes at home first, then expand getting your whole family involved!” Granny
“Yes I wish I knew a lot when I was 25 that I know 29 years later. I would have gone back to college and finished. I wish I put others before me. I wish my looks didn’t mean everything. I’d like to have married and waited for the right person. I wish I wasn’t so obsessed with my weight. I wish I knew how to love myself.” Aunt Patti
“I would say worry less about the house being clean and everything being done– and what I thought was important. Just enjoy the moments. Time does go fast!!” Molly Noble
“There is a whole world out there that you don’t know about. You can drastically change your life at any moment. Travel, learn, grow.” Amber Bottensek
“Not to care SO MUCH about what others thought of me. Looking back I really limited myself from being true to the real me because I was so scared of what others would think. It was after becoming a mom that I finally felt comfortable with myself. I’m not sure if it was the hormone change or just constantly being in mom-mode that distracted me from thinking about others thoughts. Whatever it was I’m grateful. I’ve finally realized that you’re not going to be someone’s cup of tea and that’s ok.” Brittany Schweitzer
“I’d probably tell myself… Relax! There’s still plenty of time! I think most people think that they should have it all figured out by 25 and have their shit together. I feel like 25 was just the start of getting it all “right” ya know?! There isn’t a certain timeline you have to follow. Things will come and happen when they’re supposed to. I’m 31 and I’m just figuring out who I am, what I love, what I’m passionate about… and it’s completely different from when I was 25.” Jaimie Baker
“Be patient with yourself and allow yourself to make mistakes, but make sure you learn from them and find the value in the lesson. Truly learn to love and accept yourself for who you are and don’t focus so much on what people think. Lastly, learn to set healthy boundaries.” Lynette Erickson
“Just start. Time flies, so start today. Start reading or writing the novel, start contributing to the 401k. Start learning to play the piano or cook the perfect lasagna. Just start, because you will blink and realize a lifetime has passed. Oh, and floss, like every day. Do not neglect your gums.” Jackie Powers
“Quit waiting for someone to give you permission, validation, or an invitation to use your gifts, create your best life and shine.” Megan Valentine
“I had lost my dad by then… was married… and then the rest of my family moved away. All I can say is spend time with the people you love and care about. SAVE MONEY. Be good to yourself. Just be the best you.” Mom
“Iguess I would have to go with FAMILY! I say this, because thank god I followed through with it… but knowing this is going out to others… I think it’s the Best Advice I could offer. I would tell my 25 year old self to take all those things my deep Sicilian Family instilled in me… Loyalty, Commitment, Unconditional Love, Trust, Forgiveness, Values, Morals… And instill them into Any… Any Relationship you have because FAMILY… isn’t just about Blood! “Trust in those that trust in you!” “Look out for those who look out for you!” These are statements that were made over and over again on my grandparents back porch years and years ago… and something I am super grateful I listened to. No matter who you are… how much money you do or don’t make… what kind of family you come from… there will Always at some point in everyone’s life… be a moment when you need someone or a LOT of someone’s! I Promise, I was convinced for a lot of years I could conquer the world all on my own… and then BAMMMM…. I get hit in the face with something so devastating I’d lay in bed at night wondering what the hell am I going to do…. then… out of no where… all those people, the people I’ve loved, supported, helped, mentored or just spent time with… they just start showing up… some I’ve seen on a regular basis, some I haven’t seen or talked to in years… but here they all are… Showing Up! It’s hard work, super exhausting at times… lots of Great Times and definitely mixed in with some bad… but through it all… I’ve always made sure that every person in my life that has stayed is because I Trusted Them and They Trusted Me… and no matter what… I Always had Their Back because I knew they would Always Have Mine!!! It makes no difference what God they worship (or don’t) who they love or what color their skin is… you bring people into “Your Family” because no matter how off the deep end you may go at times… they are always there to throw the rope and reel you back in… because you have or would do the same for them! I would also slap myself upside the head and tell me to quit spending money on everyone else… Save IT! Cause there is life after your 40’s and if you work hard… you deserve to have some time to enjoy it without the worry of money! When you’re a kid… you spend money on crazy stuff… cause you’re a kid and it’s the coolest!!! I promise… when you get into your 40’s and beyond… that’s when the “cool stuff” really starts happening!!!” Terri Agate
“I think the biggest thing I’d say is to remember to take care of yourself. It’s too easy to put work, boyfriends/ husbands, and kids ahead of yourself. But having some time for you is so important. I wish I’d started doing it sooner.” Ariel Atkins
“I would say at 25 I had a lack of confidence in myself and worried too much about what people thought of me. If I could give myself advice it would be to stand tall and be the strong person you know you are!” Sherri Rader
I have quite a few friends who are either vegetarian or vegan and have always been intrigued by the notion of cutting out meat and animal products from my diet. I knew there were benefits from opting to not eat meat, but was unsure of the actual pros & cons of doing so and wondered how potentially difficult that may be. Considering I grew up and still currently live in meat and potato central, meat-based protein was/ is always the center of any dish. I somehow got Kevin to agree to going vegetarian for a week… well, a work week. Before diving into the meatless week, I did some research and found that these were the most prevalent reasons that becoming vegetarian could be beneficial:
Positively Impact the Environment
Animal Welfare
Combat Disease/ Improve Health
Avoid Toxins
Knowing all of these benefits, it made me even more interested to see how easy going meatless was in practice. I perused Pinterest for some lunch & dinner inspiration, in addition to the already vegetarian meals I have in rotation (these are few & far between, but I do have a couple!) and made my shopping list! In addition to discovering how easy becoming vegetarian would or wouldn’t be, I also wanted to see how much it would affect my grocery budget and how we would feel throughout the week. During the week, I have the same thing for breakfast every morning- two scrambled eggs, 1/2 an avocado, and a pinch of cheddar cheese- which is already a vegetarian meal so I didn’t need to brainstorm a meal for breakfast. Below is the menu I came up with for lunch and dinner, including ingredients:
Monday Lunch: Lasagna Roll-Ups Lasagna noodles, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, cottage cheese, pasta sauce Dinner: Creamy One-Pot Zucchini, Mushroom, and Pea Pasta Spaghetti noodles, heavy cream, grated parmesan cheese, sweet peas, mushrooms, onion, zucchini
Tuesday Lunch: Lasagna Roll-Ups Lasagna noodles, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, cottage cheese, pasta sauce Dinner: Zucchini Taco Boats Hollowed out zucchini stuffed with Spanish rice, tomatoes, corn, black beans, onion, and cheddar cheese
Thursday Lunch: Lasagna Roll-Ups Lasagna noodles, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, cottage cheese, pasta sauce Dinner: Creamy One-Pot Zucchini, Mushroom, and Pea Pasta Spaghetti noodles, heavy cream, grated parmesan cheese, sweet peas, mushrooms, onion, zucchini
Friday Lunch: Lasagna Roll-Ups Lasagna noodles, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, cottage cheese, pasta sauce Dinner: Cheese Ravioli Spinach Artichoke Lasagna Layers of cheese ravioli with spinach, artichokes, cream cheese, sour cream, heavy cream, garlic, mozzarella in between
Now that you’ve got a blueprint of what we actually ate throughout the week, I am going to evaluate how becoming vegetarian for a week affected our budget, cooking, and how we felt.
Budget: Like I have said in previous blog posts, I try to keep our grocery bill to around $100 per week and was pleasantly surprised when our grocery total came to $86.90. That was an early check in the pro column 🙂
Taste & Ease of Cooking: Lasagna Roll-ups are a meal that I prepare for us on a regular week so this is one that we already knew we would like and was easy for me to batch prepare and “meal prep” for my lunches. (Kevin had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for his lunches!) Monday’s dinner is also something I have prepared before and we definitely enjoy. Because it’s a one-pot dinner, the ease of preparing & cooking this meal was pretty simple. The zucchini taco boats on Tuesday are something I have previously done, but typically I add taco seasoned ground beef. Because I cut out the ground beef, it took me 10 minutes less than it typically does- another plus in the pro column! I actually have a post where I dictate exactly how I prepare the buffalo & sweet potato bowls I made on Wednesday. You can view it here. This was an easy swap and took much less time than the chicken usually does. The last meal was a Kevin find… and looking at the ingredients, I think you can see why. LOL. He came across this meal on Facebook and told me this was his one request for the week… so of course I had to make it! This meal was very dairy heavy, so definitely not vegan-friendly, but it was super delicious! (Like, super delicious!)
How We Felt: I’m not going to lie, I think I would have to give up meat for 2-4 weeks to actually see how beneficial it would be and try to not use as much dairy in my recipes 🙂 Because quite a few meals were pretty heavy on the dairy ingredients, I did’t feel less bloated, however; I did feel much less sluggish!
Now, I don’t see us giving up meat any time soon… or ever… but I definitely think the benefits of incorporating more meatless meals outweighs any cons. It was much easier to do than I was anticipating and honestly, the hardest part I thought would be getting Kevin to agree- and that was surprisingly easy! This is my way of telling you that it is worth looking into and becoming more educated about why others choose to eat plant-based and why it might be beneficial for you to consider a “Meatless Monday”… or be super daring like us and try an entire week without eating any meat!
In my previous blog post I discussed how I am the queen of organization. Which holds true when it comes to grocery shopping, paying bills, school work, work life, etc., but when it comes to areas in my house I have been struggling to learn how to best get organized. It has been a goal of mine at the start of 2019 to organize and decorate our apartment to function best for us. The bigger goal was to not break the bank doing it. Everything at Home Goods and Target is so adorable, but c’mon, $30 for a basket to organize?! Yikes.
Although I made this goal at the beginning of 2019 and we are already more than halfway through… now is as good of time as any to start the organization! On my list- our bathroom is first. In our previous apartment we didn’t have a lot of bathroom space… so there wasn’t much that needed to be organized. I kept most of my make-up, body sprays, nail polish, etc., on my vanity instead of in the bathroom while everything else went under the sink. Now that I have more room organization is much needed!!
I have been keeping my make-up and every day products- leave-in conditioner, perfume, deodorant, etc., on top of our counter, which had been working, but it just felt so cramped. It was time for a change. I moved our shelving unit that I had in our entrance way into the bathroom and decided that was the best place to store my every day needs. This way it was not on the counter, but was within easy reach.
To start, I took every item out of the drawers and closet and put them into categories all over the floor and counter. I classified all of my items into 7 categories: beauty, medicine cabinet & first aid, Kevin’s, towels, paper products, oral hygiene products, miscellaneous. I also took every storage item I had been using in the bathroom (a basket, 2 drawer storage units, fabric basket, and a couple organizers for the drawers in the vanity) and took inventory of how they could be most effectively purposed. Once everything was in their respective categories I determined if there were any products that needed to be tossed, either because I wasn’t using them or they were expired. After dwindling all the bathroom products into what I use regularly- and getting rid of some OLD bathroom towels– I started adding each category into existing baskets.
The organized chaos…
With the remainder that didn’t have a home or storage bin- foundation, toliet paper, paper towels, nail polish, our eye “accessories” (aka glasses & contacts), my robe, and extra “medicine cabinet” items- I determined how many more organization items would be needed and what size would be appropriate. I made a list in my Notes App on my iPhone as I do with just about every list in my life. LOL.
Now, usually I would make a trip to Target to get some trendy baskets, but since a big part of my goal was to get organized without blowing my budget out… I headed to Dollar Tree! I’m not going to lie, this was the first time I had ever stepped foot into a dollar store at all, but I recently watched one of my favorite YouTubers who does DIY and home decor on a budget who said that dollar stores are the best place to get small organization needs that are budget friendly. Since these baskets were literally just going into my closet or a drawer, I decided that the dollar store was definitely worth a trip.
I started by going to Family Dollar. There I was able to find a door hook for my robe ($2.25), 2 small drawer organizers for my hair ties & bobby pins ($1.00), a small gray tub for the extra medicine cabinet items ($2.25), and 3 small black drawer organizers for my nail polish, foundation, and our contacts & glasses ($1.00). I was wanting baskets for the extra toliet paper and paper towels that we have, but the baskets that were available at Family Dollar were around $8-$10 and I knew I could find some more reasonably priced ones than that. I ended up venturing to Dollar Tree and found a white basket for $1.00. Yup, ONE DOLLAR. I bought two. So in total for everything to up my bathroom organization game I spent $8.50. Just for kicks and giggles I researched what I would have spent on similar items at Target and folks… it would have cost me about $58, WHAT?
Once I got everything home, I put all the items into their perspective baskets & bins and in the closet I put the things I use most often at eye level. I am planning to add some more decor to our bathroom- especially now that we have more counter space! If you enjoyed this organize with me blog post… let me know and I can post more because there are a few spots in my house that could use some TLC in the organization department. LOL.
As long as you are trying your best, everything will eventually fall into place. Or they won’t. Ha. There are so many uncontrollable variables in your 20’s that you just can’t plan everything. I went through a lot of growing pains throughout my teens into my early twenties, but honestly nothing compares to the pains of your mid twenties. (I hear your thirties are kick ass, though, so that’s something to look forward to.) The number one thing you can control is your attitude and doing your best every day. Wake up, do what needs to be done in order to get you where you want to be, take care of yourself, and enjoy yourself. It all goes way too fast! Be gentle with yourself… nobody is getting it all right 100% of the time.
Don’t play the comparison game with everyone’s curated version. I love social media: you get to keep in contact with family and friends that you don’t get to see as often as you would like and it’s a constant stream of entertainment lol. HOWEVER, it is hard to keep yourself feeling positive about your life and your struggles when Sally from high school shares all about her promotion and engagement. You are living your behind the scenes while watching everyone else’s highlights… and it is frustrating! Stay in your lane and know that you are more than likely not the only twenty-something driving the struggle bus.
Not everything is worth your energy. This comes with age for sure. I used to NEVER be able to say no to anything, but now if it’s something I don’t want to do.. I don’t do it. It’s that simple. Not everything & everyone are worth your energy. You learn what is most important to you and make time for those people and things.
Take care of yourself. This is important. I spent a couple years in my early twenties drinking everything, eating whatever I wanted, not taking my vitamins… basically treating my body like a trash can not a temple. Now I am trying to reverse the bad habits I created in my early twenties. My advice: just always take care of yourself. Not only should you be taking care of yourself physically, but also mentally. Know when to take a personal day and do what your body is telling you it needs. For me, that’s a day filled with bubble baths, beer, face masks, and shopping. HA. Find out what is going to get your mind right & know when it’s needed.
YOU GOT THIS. I know it feels like the sky is going to fall on your head at any moment. Seriously- I KNOW. But, many have come before us and many will come after and they survived… for the most part. Be your own cheerleader and take one day at a time! You can and will succeed 🙂
Just remember we are all trying to do our best! Adulting doesn’t come with a handbook- and like I’ve said before- someone should create one! (Maybe that’ll be an upcoming project- HA. I don’t know if my advice for adulting should be publicized.) I need to tell myself all of these things more than once a day so I figured someone else could benefit from these reminders.
I’ve been thinking about this topic a lot lately and felt obliged to share my thoughts with all of you. I’m sure you have often heard the saying, “comparison is the thief of joy,” which is completely true; however, it can steal so much more from you than joy. I know we are all guilty of comparing ourselves to our neighbor, co-worker, friend, family member, high school acquaintance, etc. Comparison is everywhere. I am not here to tell you that it is going to go away, who am I to judge? The moment you start celebrating others’ victories instead of using them as a measurement for your own life events, you can concentrate on making yourself the best version of you. Look, it took me 6 years to graduate undergrad.. SIX YEARS. People who entered college after me were graduating before me and it was tough to not notice how everyone else was progressing around me.This way of thinking just takes away from my accomplishment. As much of an “expectation” graduating a four-year school is still only 37% people are doing it. I just recently started working out again after two years of not having a consistent gym routine. Getting back to the gym was TOUGH. So many people who knew exactly what they were doing and had a consistent routine that they were diligently following and I felt so lost. Instagram fitness models don’t help the equation either. Wow, that’s a lot of bodies to being comparing myself to… on the DAILY which is completely unfair to my own accomplishments I have made while on my own fitness journey. This year I started my first big girl job and was feeling pretty at ease with how it was going. One of my co-workers, only a few months older than me, has been with the company longer than me and got a much deserved promotion, but I can’t help but think about how if I had gotten on my path earlier maybe I would have been in that position. Then I remember that I have worked really really hard to be where I am and I have only been in this position for less than a year!
Honestly, the amount of times I compare myself to others in a day is absurd and it hurts my heart because we’ve all been taught along the way that by X age we need to have this and by X age we need to be there… IT’S A LIE. We all need to be kinder to ourselves because the way we talk to ourselves is the way we will allow others to think of us. You set the tone and if the tone inside your head is constantly telling you you aren’t good enough, you will not amount to your potential.
I’ve been learning to start every day immediately thinking of the traits that make me who I am. The things I don’t like, I am learning to allow myself a little grace. I think we all need to remind ourselves that we are all just trying the best we can. As long as we are doing that and only comparing ourselves to who we were yesterday- we are on the right path. I’m sure someone else needed to hear this as much as I needed to write it.
Be gentle with yourself. You are doing your best. No comparison needed. XO
