Breaking bad habits

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Seriously, the amount of bad habits I posses are annoying. Eating too fast, touching my face, spending too much time on social media, etc.

So, I have decided that I am going to pick one bad habit that I don’t like that and work on breaking it.

I did some researching and found that it only takes 21 days to break a habit. 21 days in the scheme of life is NOTHING. I also read that if you become conscious of that habit, then switch it with something else (like gum if you bite your nails) then it becomes a lot easier to break.

I wrote myself a post it note of all the habits that I want to break and I am going to work on a new one each week! I will keep you updated on how it is working, but I already feel better just acknowledging what I want to change. If you feel like you have habits that you want to break, I definitely suggest writing them down!

If you have any suggestions for me, leave a comment and let me know what they are!

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Stacking your bracelets

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Okay, so I am a little biased because I work for the wonderful ladies that came up with this bracelet line, BUT even if I didn’t I would still be obsessed with them. They come in sets and they are literally to die for.

Each bracelet set is a few single bracelets stacked together:

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(Me wearing Erimish)

This is a HUGE trend right now and Erimish honestly has the cutest sets I’ve seen.

Check out all their bracelet stacks if you are looking for this style!

erimish.com 

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How to achieve good college graduation photos

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So you’re graduating from college? It has become a trend to put your photo on/with your graduation announcement but you don’t know what will look good without being cheesy like your high school senior pictures.

Well, here are some tips on how to achieve a mature, appropriate graduation photo to add to your announcement!

1. Include the school mascot in the background:

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Most schools have a statue, large painting, etc. Taking your picture in-front of one screams school spirit and also has tradition written all over it. I love this one by Creations by Kelsie. (Go check her out!)

2. Pose with a funny sign/or decorated graduation cap.

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Another by Creations by Kelsie that is cleaver and gets the point across. “I’M DONE!” is exactly how I felt, too!

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How cute is this photo of this graduating couple and her decorated cap? That is actually the cap I decorated/wore at my graduation! Although I didn’t get near as cute of a picture!

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(No one kissed me…)

3. Go simple and just use the school colors:

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Every campus has beautiful features, incorporate them! Pitt State always has red and yellow flowers (their colors) in the spring and they went perfectly with Haleigh’s girly outfit.

4. Use props:

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How adorable are these balloon pics!? Nothing says “Come help me celebrate” more than balloons!!! (Okay, maybe alcohol but I don’t think grandma would appreciate that.)

Creating a unique, fun graduation announcement can be quick and easy if you incorporate a photo! Show some examples to your photographer and they will definitely help you achieve the look you’re going for.

(Please feel free to share on your Facebook and Pinterest pages!!!)

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The “Facebook” effect

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So you think that girl/guy you’re so jealous of and stalk on social media has the perfect life right? They seem happy 24/7. They are beautiful, smart, funny. Everything YOU want to be. And to top is off, their boyfriends/girlfriends seem even more perfect.

I catch myself doing this a lot. Looking at other people’s lives and finding myself disappointed with my own. Yesterday I was looking at a fellow bloggers Instagram upload where her boyfriend had gotten her Gerber Daisies (my favorite flower) “just because.” At first I was all like “What the hell Austin, you suck!”

Then I realized him not getting me flowers for no reason doesn’t mean he’s a bad boyfriend to me. There are plenty of other things that he does for me that make me happy. People (including myself) mostly share the good things and rarely share the bad.

The point is, don’t be so quick to get unhappy with your own life. Think of all the shitty things that happen to us in REALITY. Do we share those things? No. Neither do those that you are jealous of.

I’m mad at myself for even comparing my life to others’s based off of social media. Sure, some of the stuff shared on social media is genuine, but ask yourself, if someone is THAT happy with their life, why do they have to share it and let everyone else know just how happy they are? I’d say at least 50% of peoples posts are pretty sugar coated.

We share our “Ideal” selves on social media, not our REAL selves.

We ALL have something beautiful to bring to the table. It may not seem like you have the perfect life, but no one does. Just remember that.

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Favorite Items for Spring

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There are MANY reasons why I want warm weather and sunny skies to hurry up and get here. Most of them being because I want to wear cute clothes and actually enjoy being outside again. Since I started working for a boutique, I have seen a TON of cute items coming in and out of the store and it’s making me even more anxious!!

Here are my favorite things for spring:

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1. Stacked bracelet sets from http://erimish.com. Their summer sets are AWESOMEEEEEE. I got a white set and a rose gold single so that I can basically wear them everyday.

2. Graphic tees and tanks. There are so many funny/cute sayings to wear around about how you’re feeling about life.

3. Cut-off jean shorts. Now that I have been working on my fitness and learned how to walk in heels, these are going to be my best friend. All day errday.

4. Heart shaped sunglasses. They speak for themselves. Adorable.

5. Bootcut/Bell Bottom jeans- Ahhh! Wore these the other day with a pair of wedges and they made my short stubby legs look SO long!

6. Not Rated “Blue Sea” heels (find them here http://lovecocos.com/products/bluesea-bronze) When I first saw them I thought “ew those are so gaudy”. But once I put them on my feet I fell in love. SO cute and they are neutral and can go with a ton of outfits and they are also comfortable.

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April Fools!

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In the spirit of April Fools day, which is also my best friends birthday (HAPPY 22nd Haleigh!), I am going to tell you about the best April Fools joke I ever played. It was my junior year of high school and my mom still woke me up for school every morning. I had a habit of falling asleep on the couch, which really ticked my mom off, so I knew it needed to be incorporated into the plan.

I laid out two pillows from my bedroom and covered them up with my comforter. (I froze that night but it was TOTALLY worth it.) Then, I laid out my hair extensions in the perfect way to make it look like it was me that was laying out on the couch.

I wrote a note (which I have no idea how she didn’t see it first) that said “April Fools Day Mom!!” LOLLLL. When ACTUALLY she woke me up (in my bed) that morning, I asked her if she thought it was me. Her reply was awesome and exactly the reaction I was after. “I thought that you were dead when I felt a soft pillow which I expected to be you, and I jumped back for a second! Then I saw the note and laughed to myself.”

Of course I start cracking up. She then said that she not only did it once but when she walked through the living room after fixing her hair she tried waking the fake Taylor up AGAIN! HAHA. I was so pleased with myself.

This plan went much better than the year I told my sister that our dog died…

Whats the best April Fools Joke You’ve ever played on someone?! (leave a comment below! Seriously, I love April Fools so much.)

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Ice Blonde Hair

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So even though I LOVE bronde, I think I have a new favorite hair color. It is called Ice Blonde.

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Of course I could never do this, but holy moly how smoking hot is she? If you have light skin you HAVE to do this for summer!!!

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Think positive everyday.

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Sometimes I forget to stop and think about how lucky I am to have the things that I do. When I look around and see so many things that I don’t have yet, so many things that I want, I get jealous and begin to think so negatively about myself. “I’m not good enough.” ; “She’s so much prettier than me.”; “I am not happy”…the list goes on.

Last night I was having a lot of those thoughts and couldn’t sleep. I texted my friend Alyssa and within 5 minutes she was calling me. (Something to be so thankful for.)

After talking to her I realized (and this is not the first time I have realized this) that it’s all about my perspective.  I woke up this morning and told myself that I was going to try my best and have a good productive day, no matter what. Sometimes it doesn’t work, but today it did.

My mom always tells me “Happiness is a choice, not a destination.” None of the things (relationships, clothing, cars, etc.) are going to make a difference in how happy a person is, maybe for a little while, but eventually the feelings keep coming back. I’ve learned that I need to be happy with myself before I can be happy with anything else.

Don’t think negative and you won’t have a negative day.  It’s that simple.

I have a list on my phone of things that make me happy. When I get in moods like I have been this past week, I read over it and then add one thing to the bottom of the list. Reading these brings me back to reality and helps me think positively. It also helps me see how many great things I really do have.

Choose happiness today!

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Blue Flats

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Blue Flats

Topshop jeans
topshop.com

Brown handbag
lovecocos.com

It Aint Me Babe
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DIY: Flower Crowns

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So flower crowns are about the most adorable thing of my life… The other day I got the honor of making a few at work for a fashion show we were in last week. (they looked amazing, btw!)

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They were super easy to make and I ended up doing one for myself out of the leftover materials because I loved them so much.

Real flower crowns are to die for, but since we want to use them over and over in our pictures I decided that we wanted them to be made of fake flowers. Here are some tips on how to make long lasting flower crowns easily and for cheap.

1. Plan out what color scheme you want your flower crown to be. We decided to go with black & red; different shades of purple; and for the last pink & white.

2. Go to Hobby Lobby when STEM flowers are on sale. I got the ones I used for 50% off! I advise you to do the same because those things are pricey. ($5.99 for one rose – HA!!!)

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3. Make sure that you get a variety of sizes and greenery to cover the headband part. For a dramatic flower crown you will want big flowers such as roses or gerber daises. For a more subtle flower crown you should get stems of baby’s breath or other small flowers. Also get green grapevine wire and floral wire. They look like this:

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4. Wrap the grapevine wire to fit around your head, leave a little extra to wrap it around a the end to make a circle, and cut with wire cutters then wrap the ends around each other. (make it a little bigger than your head if you’re going to use a lot of flowers.)

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5. Start cutting pieces of the greenery you picked to wrap around the grapevine wire to cover it up. Twist a piece of the floral wire around each section, then wrap that around the grapevine wire. You are trying to hide it with the greenery to make it a little more dense.

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6. Finish by wiring on your main flowers. Hot glue on any peices that look like they could be loose. (Especially big heavy flowers.)

Finished products:

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