Happy almost March! And March means happy almost spring, which means happy almost graduation, which means happy almost summer! In the wake of all these crazy things going on in my life, I have decided to welcome better days.

What does welcoming better days mean, you ask? Well it means doing things you love, surrounding yourself with good people, and having fun! As you continue to read this post, I will go in to depth about each of these aspects and give you some ways to welcome better days!

Doing things you love is probably one of the most important things you can do. I absolutely hate the fact that I am always busy with school and work, but I find time to do the things I love. For me, I love love love to volunteer (which I will talk about more, later this week!) and I always make time to do so. I also love going to the Plymouth Coffee Bean, doing yoga, and obviously blogging and writing! It's not hard to find what you love to do, it's basically anything that makes you happy. For some people, lying in bed makes them happy and for others skydiving. Whatever it may be, find time to do it!

I adore the people I choose to surround myself with! They're always lifting me up and making life a little more interesting for me! If you don't surround yourself with good people, your life is probably going to suck (wow harsh, I know. I have to be harsh to get my point across.) Your friends are supposed to help you, not hurt you.










Last but not least, have fun! For me, I am graduating very soon and my life is about to get really tricky. I am about to have student loans and real life problems, so I'd love to have as much fun as I can! If that means taking crazy risks like driving to St. Louis with Amanda or going snorkeling in the Caribbean Islands, then count me in! But if having fun means watching The Flash (so good, watch it!) on Netflix than count me in for that too! The overall message is have fun, with whatever you do! Fun isn't what you're doing, fun is a mindset!

As you begin to welcome better days, you will start to notice that your whole life (and mood) will begin to change for the better! Cannot wait to see what is in store for you all!

xoxo, Aubs

excerpt from my journal no. 12

I meant to post this yesterday and I don't really have any good excuses, considering I had a snow day. So instead of making up a bunch of excuses or telling you what I did, I'll just cut to the chase. I have a poem for you and some photos of things.

01/12/16

head to toe

i make metaphors

and similes

out of the structures of your face

your eyes are like 

the dark brown trees

at night. they have 

so much depth

your nose is the beautiful

mountains i loved so much

in colorado

your hair is like pencil lead,

i'm always in the need of it

your mouth is my favorite part,

it reminds me of the first time

we met and the many

conversations we've had since

i cannot help but focus in, 

in on every detail about you

I know you probably think this poem is about Amanda because I put her photo there but it is not. It's also not about my puppy dog. It is about a cute boy lol. 

I also said I had something special for you, but I forgot what it was so I am very sorry about that also! But you'll live, I promise! 

love you guys! 

xoxo, Aubs

how's your year?

Ready to evaluate your life? I'm not either, it's okay. At the very end of January I posted my 2016 resolutions and now in the middle of February, I am going to evaluate how I have done. I hope that you came up with some resolutions of your own and evaluate with me!

My first resolution was to stop drinking soda and I am pleased to report that I have not had a single soda all month! Go me! (Yes, I am from Michigan and still call it soda, I spend a lot of time with my New England cousins)

Attend yoga classes more regularly. Yeah I have struggled with this one, mainly because I have to renew my membership and I am super broke. I'll find a way!

Take more risks. If you call lying in bed and watching a new Netflix show (example: The Flash) a risk then I guess I've succeeded...Kidding! I haven't taken many risks, gotta start soon.

Write way more than usual. I've written two poems this month, and made one my journal excerpt. But two is not enough, so I'll work on that.

Fall in love. HA!

Sleep more. My sleep schedule is very nice right now. In bed by 10 pm and waking up at 5:55 am for school. Feeling pretty good!

Read a lot of books. Yeah haven't done this yet, but I will.

Make peace with your past. Tried and failed, sorry guys.

Go phone free twice a month. I'll do this soon, maybe.

Forgive people who have wronged you. Sounds easier than it actually is.

Volunteer more. I need to make more time to do this!

Live your life. I suck at living on the edge, please help me!

Overall I give myself a C-, 7/10, Still have time for improvement. Just keep powering through my friends, I believe that we can do this! Philippians 4:13

See you soon guys, I have something super cool for you all tomorrow!

xoxo, Aubs 

excerpt from my journal no. 11

I went to my favorite local coffee shop today and also went on a giant shopping spree at Earth Lore with Amanda, how was your day? I hope it was fabulous just like you!

Anyways, I have a journal excerpt that is also a poem! It's a poem about love, shocker! I know. Maybe when I write another poetry book (I guarantee I will, but first gotta write more poems), this poem will be featured. So just think, you're getting a little preview into my next poetry book. So here goes nothing.

02/08/16 

untitled

is everyone too scared to love me

because they think i'll write a poem

about them?

because i will; 

i'll write one when we meet

i'll write one when we begin to talk

i'll write one when we date

and when we kiss

and everything in-between

i'll write one when we drift

i'll write one when we fight

i'll write one when we end things

and when i delete your number

and when i unfollow all our friends

yes, i'll write a poem about you 

when you love me, but chances are, 

i've already written one. 

If you'd like to read more of my poems, you can buy my book on amazon, or read some of my poems on allpoetry or hellopoetry.

xoxo, Aubs

I've had the time of my life

and I owe it all to youuuuuuu!!!!

If this is your 2nd or 500th time on my blog,
Thank you so much for being you! I really appreciate all your love for my blog, without you this blog wouldn't be where it is now. Happy 1 year family! A year ago today, I wrote my very first blog post not knowing that people all over the world would be viewing it! Thank you again and again! Let's throw this back to my very first post!

If this is your first time here,

Welcome! I am so glad you could join the party! I wrote a little something for you, 

Hello and welcome to my blog! For a lot of you, this will be your first time here, which means that you really don’t know anything about my blog.  I started my blog out as a fashion blog, but it quickly turned into a blog about my life. I still have posts dedicated to fashion, but I also post DIYs, favorites, journal excerpts, etc. My blog is purely for enjoyment, but it is also a place for me to post about the companies that I am an ambassador for. My blog is a place for me to be my crazy self and for you to discover that is okay to be yourself.

I am so happy to meet you! You can find all my social media on the side, feel free to talk to me anywhere. If you're interested in reading some posts, here is my most popular post and my favorite.

Thanks for such a great year and an even better 100th post! Cannot wait to see what 2016 has for all of us! Can't wait to spend next Valentine's with you all again! Much love! God Bless!

xoxo, Aubrey 

Love Yourself

Happy (almost) singles awareness day! And for all my followers who aren't (lucky you) single, have fun spending ridiculous amounts of money on flowers and giant teddy bears. As I have said time and time again, being single has its ups and its downs, and one of those downs in Valentine's Day. Sorry for being so cynical.

So for this post, I was originally going to tell you how to love being single, but I decided that idea was cliche. So here is a post on things you can do to love yourself for Valentine's Day and everyday! I put together a fairly detailed list on what I do to show love for myself.

A good brushing. Every morning I try to dry brush before I take a shower, and then afterwards I smear on my korres lotion.

Netflix and food because Netflix and Chill is gross. Currently watching Nikita and obsessing over Mikita (watch the show and you'll understand), but this weekend I plan on re-watching all of the Galentine's Day Parks and Rec episodes and eating a buttload of salt and vinegar chips!

Find someone to be your Galentine. Sorry boys, but this one is for my ladies! Find yourself someone whether it be your mom, best friend, or cousin to be your very own Galentine. Angela and I are each other's Galentine, obviously!

Shop till you drop. Why spend money on cheesy gifts when you can buy yourself two new pairs of boyfriend jeans and just pretend they belong to your boyfriend named InvisoBill (@ Lia for coming up with InvisoBill)? But don't get out of your comfy bed to shop, just do it online!

Change it up. Say bye-bye to my lime green walls, they are getting a major makeover that I just cannot wait to share with you! Here is one final photo of the green before it is gone for good! Obviously you don't have to paint your room, you can always just buy new pillow cases or a fleece blanket.

One last thing...

Jam. Not the food, but like jam out to music! I would say JBiebz because who wouldn't want Justin to be your Valentine? 

Just have fun and remember that God has someone out there for you and it's probably not Justin Bieber. 

Happy Singles Awareness Day and Happy Valentine's Day! 

xoxo, Aubs

excerpt from my journal no. 10

Whether you know me personally or just through my blog, you know that I dabble in poetry and that I love nature. For this journal excerpt, I put poetry and nature together to create perfection.

I also didn't have time to photograph for this post, so enjoy this really old photo of the moon that Angela took and also a desktop wallpaper and phone wallpaper from Free People. 

Here is the desktop wallpaper thanks to Free People, I love this calendar because now I know when to look out for a full moon and such. And now here is Angela's photo of the moon from 3 summers ago.

moon phases

new moon;

i love you’s echo through the room. some may call this the honeymoon phase, but i believed it

was so much more. as your arms wrapped around me, i pictures more of our future.

waxing crescent;

you met my parents and i met yours, we were intertwining our families one by one. We started to fight, which meant our relationship was good, right?

first quarter;

first three months went by and i just about wanted to cry all the time. you came home late with lipstick on your face.

waxing gibbous;

why, why, why, why, why?

i cannot do this with you.

full moon;

i am so angry, so so angry. i screamed and screamed, all you say is “i can explain” explain what? how you killed me.

waning gibbous;

i gave you an inch, but you took a mile. you will never regain my trust, but i love you.

third quarter;

i started talking to someone new and they told me to leave you. i wanted to give you one last chance.

waxing crescent;

i’m leaving soon, i saw you with her, i cannot do this anymore.

new moon;

i am made new again without the curse of you. i will be me again soon.

And now here is the phone wallpaper that inspired me to write this poem. Feel free to save any of these photos and make them your wallpaper.

See you very soon!

xoxo, Aubs

book club launch

Do you read things? If you say no, you're lying because you are reading this post. Ha. (It's very hard to be funny and sarcastic on a blog post) Anyways, do you actually enjoy reading books or is your New Year's Resolution to read? If the answer is yes, then you have come to the right place (or post, ha.)

Angela and I have thought about this long (not really) and hard (not really), thus we have decided to start a book club. We originally planned on making a group chat with everyone who joined, but I was thinking that might be a little bit of an invasion of privacy so I talked to Angela. So instead of a group chat, Angela and I are going to read a book and post discussion questions and thoughts, on our blogs as we read the book.

(My room is currently a disaster because we're getting ready to paint it!! eeeek) These books we read will be good for almost anyone, and if you have a book request you can always comment on one of our blogs or communicate over social media. We'd love to talk with you all about books and stuff!

If you are interested, we will be starting as soon as we get it all figured out. All you have to do is be on the lookout for book club posts!

If you have any questions feel free to comment or ask me here.

xoxo, Aubs

repairs

A lot of you know that I did a mini series called "Freedom" last month and you also know that it was about minimizing your life. I am not going to bore you with my personal philosophy or more about freedom. Instead I am going to talk about rebuilding and repairing all that is broken in your life.

After 2015 I was physically and emotionally destroyed, I had a lot of repairs needed. Physically, my shoulder, that I injured 5 years ago, still continues to ache; my eczema likes to appear at the worst times, and I was drained. Emotionally, the stress of junior year was taking it's toll on me, my life was filled with constant drama that I despised, and I was emotionally destroyed. Basically what are emotions because I felt like I was a robot?

To repair myself I have set aside time for myself to do something that makes me feel better. For starters, I started yoga again. I also meditate everyday, I spend time alone and just pray and talk to the Lord. I also try and go shopping or even online shop because clothes (Actually studies show that shopping increases mental stability so).

My personal goal to repair myself this year is to rekindle a relationship with someone I lost along the way. I lost my Nonni, to cancer, as many of you know, but I also lost someone I adore, to life. I am hoping to rebuild that relationship this year. 

I encourage you to set time aside for yourself and also to rekindle relationships that you hate being without. Just don't do anything that could destroy you again.

I decided to include some polaroids in this post because I really had no idea what to take photos of so there you go!

  I hope you enjoy the cuteness of these polaroids, I know I love them!!

Remember, make repairs that are necessary to make you whole and happy again!

xoxo, Aubrey

excerpt from my journal no. 9

I was first introduced to yoga when I was in fourth grade, my teacher did a short yoga flow with us everyday before recess, which helped ease aggression and lead to less fighting. I extended my yoga practice when I took yoga classes at my local rec center as a freshman in high school. At the beginning of January, I extended my practice even further by joining my current yoga studio, Plymouth Yoga Room.

Finding a studio/place to practice and having the right intentions, was a little bit of a struggle for me. I was worried about price and convenience more than comfort and environment. When I was told about the Plymouth Yoga Room it met all four of those, so it seems to be the best option to me. When it comes to having the right intentions worry more about your body than convenience. Now for the real reason we are here, my journal excerpt.

01/22/2016

Dear Yoga,

I am glad you have been there for me the past four years. You have taught me about the depths of peace and quiet as well as detox and gratitude. I am so thankful for all the stressful situations and sleepless nights you have helped me get through. I sincerely apologize for giving you up for a year, I was in pain, both physically and mentally. I know you could have helped me with all that pained me, but I was too naive to let you. I express deep gratitude that you welcomed me back with open arms and a pleasing heart.

We will continue to grow as I find myself approaching the mat every day. We will grow together in my practice and discover ourselves once again. I will be in less pain and I will be able to control my stress levels. I am excited to see what the future holds for us, I cannot wait to feel better because of you.

With every child pose I have to take and each tripod I must forfeit, I will still continue to grow in my practice. I do not know what I would be able to do without you, if anything. There is so much I have been able to achieve with you in my life; I have been feeling better mentally, my back has released a lot of the stress induced pain that I had for months. I generally feel better with myself and with everyone around me. Thank you for being there for me at anytime I need you, I really would not be me without you.

xoxo, Aubrey