Category: blog

Sleep Hygiene

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Hello, my loves!

Welcome back to my blog. I hope you are all having a wonderful day. It is getting closer to spring and I cannot wait for the snow to melt and it to turn green again. I’m going to be talking about something that is important at any time of year and it is sleep! We need to talk about sleep today because I feel like a lot of people’s anxiety may be on the rise due to current world events.

So what is sleep “hygiene”? Sleep hygiene is just a healthy way to maintain sleep and rest during the night and even during the day. So, let’s get started.

Clean your room and your bedsheets. I think it is very important to physically remain clean in your bed. When you are going to sleep it will be easier to fall asleep when everything in your room is put away and you are in an environment that you don’t have to worry about. I recommend washing your bedding at least once a week and tidying your room once a day.

Avoid using technology before bed. I know we are all addicted to our phones, computers, and tablets but it is important we ditch them before we fall asleep. It’s a lot more difficult for us to shut off our minds when we are constantly scrolling before bed. Our minds need to rest which means turning off the lights, the phone, and even the books. Try to meditate before bed and clear your mind from the days noise.

Do not use your bedroom for anything but sleep. I know it is hard but your bedroom should be an oasis from the rest of the world. It shouldn’t be your home office or yoga studio. When you correlate your bedroom to relaxation and sleep it is much easier to relax and calm down at the end of the day because you aren’t about to pick up your client’s latest call. Avoid eating or drinking in your room and try to keep everything soft in your space.

Make your bedroom a sacred space. Try to keep your room an area of the house that is cozy and warm for you. You don’t want to get into a bedroom that isn’t comfortable for you. Put plants in the room, put nice pillows on your bed, and if you enjoy them maybe add some fairy lights. As said before, try to keep your room tidy and clean so that you won’t be in there as a chore. Light candles, burn incense, or diffuse essential oils like lavender and frankincense.

I hope these tips for healthy sleep works for you. If you have any suggestions please leave them in the comments below!

Love, Julie

Cottagecore Lifestyle Ideas

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Hello, my loves!

Welcome back to my blog. Today we are going to be sharing a few cottagecore lifestyle ideas. There are tons of things you can do to embrace the cottage core lifestyle.

Dress like it. So, of course we have the obvious but it can be so fun to do! When dressing for a cottagecore day you can dress up or down. You can add tons of beautiful layers and curious jewelery pieces. You can then go frolic in the meadow or have a tea party.

Have a tea party. Honestly, I love tea and drink it almost every day. It is so delightful to get out a tea pot and add some fresh loose leaf tea. Spring is coming around the corner so remember to add some hibiscus or lemongrass. You can set up a table for your friends or even just for yourself. You can add tea cakes and art work to your table.

Run through the meadow. As I stated before, when you are in your pretty dress you can run through the meadows and the fields with bare feet. It is a wonderful activity that gets you into the nature. You can sit down and relax and read a book whilst out in the fields.

Bake. It is always fun to bake something and you can wear a cute apron whilst doing so. You can create some masterpieces and share them with your family and friends. There is absolutely nothing wrong about enjoying a piece of cake in the afternoon with your tea.

Sing and dance. We all secretly love dancing and singing. It is a wonderful joyous pastime that can never go wrong. It doesn’t matter if you feel you aren’t adequate. Just get up and do it! It releases so much stress and anxiety. It’ll make you feel so good inside. Try to do this daily even if it is for a short period of time.

Be by animals. Animals are so cute and cuddly and even when we are at our worst they can bring joy to our lives. If you’re lonely, maybe think of getting a pet to help ease the alone time. Or you can obviously go to a petting zoo if you don’t have the ability to take an animal home. Go out into nature and see the birds and woodland creatures.

Well, that’s it for now. I hope you enjoyed reading a few of my ideas for a cottagecore lifestyle. I may make a part two, so look out for that!

Love,

Julie

My Curly Hair Routine

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Hello, my loves!

I hope you are all enjoying the autumn so far. Today I thought I would share with you my curly hair routine. I have naturally curly hair that has a mind of its own. I love to have curly hair but sometimes it is a beast to control.

I take a shower every day but do not wash my hair every day. Sometimes it is better to have second or third day hair if you have the right products.

First of all, I shampoo my hair with Luseta Curl Enhancing Coconut Oil shampoo and conditioner. I absolutely love these products. Honestly, I can feel my hair growing thicker with each use of these products even though it is already so thick! I absolutely love the smell and it comes with a ton of product.

After I get out of the shower I immediately spray the Purelogy Color Fanatic Multi Tasking Leave In Spray. This is wonderful for getting my hair combed out and feeling smooth. It smells great and keeps my hair frizz free. It says it has 21 benefits in the one spray! As I said, I comb this through my hair and it has made such a difference in the texture of my hair.

After I spray that in my hair and is all combed out I use either the Botanical Solutions Styling Foam or the Morocanoil Volumizing Mousse. I like both of these products for building volume in my hair. I already have a lot of volume but it doesn’t hurt to build some more.

My last step is the Ouidad Vitalcurl. This product is great for keeping my hair shiny, hydrated and curly. I love this cream to finish off my look.

Another step I may add in depending on the day is the Not Your Mother’s Clean Freak Dry Shampoo. This is a really good dry shampoo that builds even more volume! It doesn’t leave a white cast or any residue and blends really well.

I also may use the Not Your Mother’s Beach Babe Sea Salt Spray. I absolutely adore this product and have been using it for years. It smells wonderful and is like going to the beach with beautiful waves/curls.

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I absolutely love talking about products so if you have any suggestions feel free to share them below!

Love,

Julie

What To Do On Your Own

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Hello, my loves!

Today I’m going to be talking about things you can do on your own, without any interaction with others. These things will bring yourself connected back to your natural self.

Read.

You can open a book and take a look inside and it is often like falling into another world. Make sure you get a book you’re genuinely interested in. It could be a fiction book or a self-help book. Try reading ten to twenty pages a day and see how far you can get in a short period of time.

Make tea.

Making tea can often be a ritual for some people. Heating the kettle, picking out a tea bag or loose leaf tea. Then of course we have to put the tea in the hot water and watch the magic happen. You could listen to music or read while you’re waiting or you can simply enjoy a few quiet minutes alone.

Declutter/Clean.

This may not be fun or exciting to some but to others we literally crave cleanliness. I personally like a clean space more than a cluttered one. Go through your clothes, create outfits, go on pinterest and find inspiration for what you already have. Clean your dusty room or kitchen. We all have spaces we can work on. This is a fun time to put on a tv show or listen to music.

Go for a walk/ garden.

When you have too much going on, it is time to go out into nature and go for a walk. Even if you live in a city you can take a walk around the block. There is so much to see and so much healing that can be done while outside. You could even work on a little garden inside our outside. Do what you enjoy, but try to do this at least a few times a week to reap the benefits.

Get creative.

There is nothing more enjoyable then being creative in my opinion. We all have such beautiful minds just waiting for our thoughts and ideas to come to life. I have been water coloring for a few weeks and it is like a magic relaxation activity. You could knit, dance, do yoga, anything that makes you feel like you’re doing something that benefits you.

Thank you for sticking around and reading my blog, it means a lot to me. I hope you are enjoying spring time and the change of weather it brings.

Much love,
Julie

Mental Health And The Holidays

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 Hi, my loves!

#christmas from vxgraphics--

Today I’m going to talk to you about mental health and the holidays. We all have our holiday traditions but sometimes, when you have mental health issues you can easily be thrown into a whirlwind of anxiety and depression. You need to have a plan to deal with these issues before they come on.

When you have a plan, you can resolve a lot of the issues when they arise. Some people just want to be left alone and others want to be outgoing but simply cannot because they are too consumed by social anxiety.

The first step is to try to calm yourself down before you go into a situation where there are going to be many people. Take a few deep breaths, grab your essential oils. Talk to yourself in affirmations. You can do this! You just must realize everyone around you wants you to be there and is not trying to make you uncomfortable.

If you are talking to someone who makes you uncomfortable, feel free to excuse yourself. Don’t’ feel obligated to engage in conversation with anyone who is making you nervous. If you can’t get into certain topics, tell them you prefer to discuss something else.  I know this can be difficult; but it is worth your mental health to protect yourself.

Pamper yourself. At the end of the day we need to have a little time for ourselves. Draw a bath for yourself, dance like no one is watching, and sing loudly. You deserve to feel good. Taking time to yourself and getting on top of self-care is important.

Don’t over-do it. You can take your time to enjoy the holidays. Bake cookies or watch holiday movies. We can try to follow hygge and take time to get cozy and productive. Maybe work on a project to keep your mind off of things.

Talk to someone you trust. If you are in therapy, talk to your therapist.
If you’re not in therapy, talk to a friend. Make an effort to express yourself and your anxieties this time of year. You are worth it. Letting yourself get worried and sick are not necessary. Open up
or write in a journal you can share with someone or even just keep it to yourself.

That’s all for now, folks!  Take care.

  • Julie

Summer To Fall Hygge

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Hello, my loves!

istockphoto-1059074326-612x612
Pink brush calligraphy Let s hygge with teapot and cups of tea on white background. Vector illustration.

 

Today I’m going to talking about Hygge. Hygge is another word for comfort. There are certain things in this life that bring out comfort and coziness. Whether it be the heat of summer or the chilly fall, we can bring things into our life that make us feel good.

Summer can be an extremely cozy time despite us not bundling up in clothes and covers. In summer there are some things you can do to bring in the Hygge. First, you can have a bonfire outside. This screams hygge to me. You can roast marshmallows and drink cider. You can decorate your patio with fairy lights and plants. Playing your music and sitting on a blanket in the grass with a picnic is a great way to celebrate summer.  Light a scented candle that reminds you of the beach!

The beginning of fall is always a wonderful time to adjust to the cooler weather and celebrate the time of apple cider and pumpkin drinks! You can bundle up with sweaters and sweatpants. You can cook hearty meals and drink hot tea.  Apple picking is one of the fun activities that are available to most. You can ride on a hay ride and pick out a pumpkin. Wear fuzzy slippers and snuggle with your fur babies.

Much love,

Julie

August Goals

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Hello, my loves!

Today I’m going to go over a few of my August goals! I hope it inspires you to set some of your own.

 

Goals for August:

  • Walk twice a day (morning and evening)
  • Drink only water except on weekends
  • Eat adequate fruits and veggies during the day
  • No food after dinner
  • Work on new class
  • Dance, Sing, Do yoga daily
  • Write as much as I can
  • Have a good birthday

 

 

How To Stay Hydrated

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Hello, my loves!

 

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Today I was thinking about talking about how to stay hydrated. There are a lot of people who don’t like the taste of water but there are ways around that! I{‘m going to give you some tips for drinking enough water during the day.

  1. Drink water right when you wake up. Your body is dehydrated of fluids when you wake up in the morning and this is a great time to replenish.
  2. Get a cute water bottle. This will inspire you to drink more water. We all love a good aesthetic water bottle. Carry this around with you and keep drinking!
  3. Drink infused water. If you don’t like the taste of water, you can try to infuse your favorite fruits and herbs into your water. This will make you want to drink more water during the day and it will also give you the antioxidants of the water.
  4. Measure your water intake. You can do this through an app on your phone or by purchasing a bottle online that marks how much water you want to drink.
  5. Put packets of drink flavoring in your water. I know some people won’t even drink infused water. There are drink flavoring packets that you can put in your water. These do have artificial f sugar in them so don’t drink them too much but if you’re desperate to get water intake, they are worth a try.
  6. Try to push yourself and set goals. If drinking water is a problem for you. Try to set a goal each week to drink more water. If you drink enough of your water goal, then reward yourself with a treat.

I hope this inspired you to get out and drink more water. If you have any other ideas, please leave them in the comments.

Love,

Julie