Winter Vacations to Sunny Places!

Hello world,

I'm sorry for the lack of posts. My birthday week was a whirlwind of fun, but I got sick on Christmas Eve, and have been quite under the weather since. No worries, I'll get better! Here are a few fun links for resort shopping this winter - many of you are planning, or already in warm destinations. I'm jealous! Hahaha! Have a great one darlings!

Alice & Olivia

Tribune Standard

Marc by Marc Jacobs swimwear

Thakoon

Jenni Kayne

Portugal Gems: TemaHome

Hi everyone!

Since I'm home for the winter break, that means I get to watch satellite TV and a lot of Portuguese and Brazilian programs. There was a segment a few days ago on up-and-coming businesses in Portugal, and one of their original exports was TemaHome (who are based in Lisbon). Even during the recession, this company has flourished! I loved what I saw in their showrooms, so I decided to scoop out a few lovely pieces online. They're like an upscale, durable Ikea but with nicer designs. The minimalist in me is rejoicing, and the quirky weirdo in me is doing a 'cat-daddy when I dougie'. ^-^ Anywho, I hope you enjoy my petit discovery! It made me so happy, and proud. I'm now back to decorating my future loft/house in my head. Best visualizations ever!

I hope you're all having a wonderful holiday. Remember to keep thinking positive, happy thoughts. The more you practice, the easier it will get. Negativity just clouds judgement and does nothing to solve your problems. 

Clear the mind, walk on sunshine.

images: temahome

I love TemaHome's tagline:

"Living your dreams"

Present tense. Booya.

Happy Birthday to Moi!

Hola everyone,

Today I turn 23! I'm so glad I had a marvellous year under my belt, and I'm looking forward to the crazy adventures the next 12 months have in store for me. Currently, I'm laying in bed waiting for my family to arrive; we're going to eat delicious Italian food, have some Bailey's cheesecake, and a few glasses of white house wine. I'll be heading out later on, and if anything exciting happens I'll mention it on my blog or tumblr. I just wanted to wish everyone a wonderful week. Christmas is almost upon us! HOOORAYYYYYY! That means lots of family and friend time, food, and many many laughs. I'm so excited! :D


image source: girlybubble

"Most of us would be upset if we were accused of being "silly." But the word "silly" comes from the old English word "selig," and its literal definition is "to be blessed, happy, healthy and prosperous." - Zig Ziglar

Dear beautiful people,

I'm bouncing with excitement for my flight home tomorrow. It's going to be a marvellous holiday! I hope everything is going well on your end. I know many of you are finish up with finals, and I want to remind you to have something fun planned for right afterwards (be it a night bar hopping, or snuggling up with your favourite movie & a steaming hot cup of tea). Make yourself happy! It spreads like a virus, and the worst that can happen is a] nothing, orrrrrr b] someone gets inspired by you, thereby offering an opportunity/situation that makes you even more content. Hellz yeah! Keeps smiling, and don't let your current state of affairs imprison your mind. I know that each of you have experienced "It always gets better".

Believe it, and it will happen. ☺

image source: closet therapy

No one is in control of your happiness but you; therefore, you have the power to change anything about yourself, or your life, that you want to change. - Barbara de Angelis

BONJOUR MES BELLES!

I just had a great epiphany the past 7 days, and I'm walking on sunshine. 70% of my days are now spent jolly-good and happy, especially before I go to bed - I'm practically bursting at the seams with excitement. After a 5 days of research into positive psychology, meditation and the likes I realized two things:
1] always be grateful 
2] situations are never as bad as they appear, you're just a victim of your own thoughts. 

 So I stopped thinking about negative stuff (which gets me nowhere), and I started focusing on beautiful, wonderful thoughts that make me HAPPY! 

There are a couple things that keep me on track, because this takes practice and dedication:

1] Every day I write a list of things that I'm grateful for/made my day (ie/ talking to my parents on the phone and hearing how excited they are to have me home for Christmas, listening to a song that really moved me, getting invited to an event I think is going to be crazy fun, etc)

2] I attempt to meditate every night to get to sleep. Sometimes I can nail it and clear my mind then pass out in 15mins, but other nights my brain is in overdrive and I have to consistently force myself to stop thinking and focus on my breathing/a blank wall/ocean waves.

3] Every time I feel upset, I stop whatever I'm doing and force myself to get rid of those thoughts & replace them with fun, positive, optimistic ones. It's harder than I thought, since your emotions get the best of you, BUT your mind controls your emotions. There's much more practice ahead of me for the next few months, years, life, but if the outcome is continuous joy = I'm up for it.

I looked up fun balloon editorials for this post and ended up discovering the photographer of these beautiful shots above: Luis Monteiro [He's either Portuguese or Brazilian, which makes me super proud.]

* CHRISTMASSSSSSS: Flight home in t-2 days!

* Blogger just linked up my Google + account, add me! [I dunno how to use it and never use it.]

* My tumblr is full of good stuff that I find on my 'positive psychology' journey.

* I just downloaded an iPad app that will play "Feeling Good" by Michael Bublé  every.single.morning. Hellz yeah!

Cheers,

CC

"Stay hungry. Stay foolish." - Steve Jobs

Hey everyone,
I've come across some amazing stuff on the internet as of late. Thought I'd share. I absolutely love reading!


+ How to use your brain to its full potential
+ I've just recently taken an interest in positive psychology, meditation, and happiness. I'm going to start a personal word document where I collect all the information to keep me on track, and discover more about myself. Here's 95 Questions to Help You Find Meaning & Happiness. I'm working through it this weekend!
+ I also started writing a list of things I'm grateful for/ made my day, each day.
+ The surprisingly relaxed lives of elite achievers -> I really hope I'll reach this level one day. I am one of those people that spreads things out, and takes a lot of breaks, which cause me to work later into the night.
+ I've added the gmail app onto my ipad, so now my school email (which worked something out with google, because we use the same platform. AMAZING!) and my regular gmail for this blog don't conflict.
+ Talking to my dad for 2 hours about the recession, and having him explain the economics behind it in layman terms. It was amazing. I love having conversations where you get a lot out of the other person, and in turn become a more informed being. Good stuff!
+ Caramel dip. Makes apples taste even more delicious. I just used it in a bowl of raspberries, blueberries and flakes. Nom nom nom....
+ I was watching a positive meditation video, and this one question came up that has been sticking around in my mind since then: Picture yourself ten years from now. What would you say to your present self?

Cheers,
CC

“It’s only after we’ve lost everything that we’re free to do anything.” - Fight Club (Tyler Durden)

I'm in love. I'd wear this entire get-up in a heart beat.



image source: stardust & sequins

P.S. This is the first time I deactivated Facebook. I am doing it until the end of exams, and possibly further. It's such a freeing experience.

P.P.S I'm still updating on my tumblr, but I've made it a bit more personal with random daily photos, or exercise & diet journals. I'm NOT trying to lose weight, but rather keep/increase my total muscle mass the healthy way. I detest when people tell me to get fatter by eating a bunch of unhealthy foods. Le GROSS!

"Here's kind of my motto - if you're not happy at home, you're not happy anywhere else." - Angie Harmon

I've been on such an interior decor high this past month, that all I can think about are crisp whites & beautiful topaz. Anywho, here's a lovely gem from last week. Also, if you don't have flipboard on your iPad... get it!
Sometimes I think about my future abode and get excited. I hope it's a nice mix of old and new. Sometimes TOO NEW stifles creativity.

source: freshome