A Quote to Live By - Be Open | MOTIVATION

Hello!

"gets you on the right track again"

You know the quotes you find on Pinterest, and occasionally pop up on your Tumblr and Twitter feeds, well I think they're great. It's a way to bring you back down to Earth, reminds you of your morals and gets you on the right track again. Well, this is one that really gets me back down to Earth, reminds me of my morals, and helps to get me back on the right track again. 

Smile, Be a Dreamer & Bloom | QUOTES

Hello!

"you know what they say, think good things, and good things will happen!"

Quotes are lovely. They make you take a step back and realise what life is about. It's so easy for us to get bogged down into our own little troubles and we forget how irrelevant they might be in the long run. Or we forget our morals and values, so it's always nice to take a moment and refer to them. That's one of my favourite things about these posts, we get a chance to just bring ourselves back down to Earth. Here we go:

"we get a chance to just bring ourselves back down to Earth."

Living in London, there's this 'unwritten rule' that you should never smile to strangers. Or so there seems to be. I, for one, don't follow that rule. Being lucky enough to live in a neighbourhood where people do say good morning to you, where it's acceptable to smile at someone out of courtesy, it's totally normal to say hello to 'strangers'. 

I remember going out and about with a friend who lives nearby, and I said hello and smiled to a 'stranger' as they did so back, and the friend said 'How do you know them?!'. I don't know what it was, but that completely shocked me. Is it not normal to do this? Do most people just walk past others as though they did not cross paths?

"so easy for us to get bogged down into our own little troubles and we forget how irrelevant they might be"

If you read my last blog post, you may have picked up that I'm a bit of a dreamer. I saw this quote on Pinterest and thought I had to include it. It's okay to dream a little - you know what they say, think good things, and good things will happen! 

"take a step back and realise what life is about."

This one is just speaks for itself. Just be you! <3

Hope you have a fantastic day, and tell me, if there's one quote that's stuck to you right now, what is it?

Fight the Fear: Motivation Monday

Hello!

I was watching Esteé from EssieButton the other day and her words drew me in. More specifically, the quotes she was reciting, and her description of the overall vibe she got from the growingly-famous book Yes Please by Amy Poehler. 

I'm going to be honest, I wasn't expecting that particular video from EssieButton to be my favourite, yet it really drew me in. Not being one to watch SNL, I don't really know who Amy Poehler is (don't shoot me), yet don't think I didn't go straight ahead and follow her on YouTube! I love the way Esteé described her as being such a positive person, up for laughs and is all for the idea of living in the moment. Some of the quotes she recited really got to me, so I rewinded and wrote 3 down. Out of those three, this is the one that fits me most in this moment in time, so naturally, I wrote it out on the whiteboard, and how could I not share it with you?

The quote is meant to portray "everyone has fear". The fear that we think only ourselves feel is probably felt by everyone, yet those doing the things you want to do have overcome that fear and fought. Although it's hard to admit it, we can do anything, and the fear is not what should stop us. We're all scared, just go out there and face it.

I know it's much easier said that done, but, it might be easier done if we believe we're not the only ones faced with the problem, and we can overcome it.

I wish you all the best is whatever plans you have for yourself, and I know you can overcome that fear and do what's best for you. You're never going to be 'ready', you just have to do it.

Tell me, what's one time you were scared, but did something anyway? & How do you feel about it now?

*Well, in some scenarios this isn't the case, because you may not be scared... but you get the gist ;)

Be Bright, Truthful, Positive: Motivation Monday

Hello!

"this quote is exactly what you need to remind you to stay calm but remember your goals. "

A little inspiration in the morning, to remind you of the person you are, the person you want to be, is good to get you going. Sometimes, all you need is a bit of scrolling through quotes, and here are a few that may just make you feel a little better:

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"make you feel better to think about the good stuff"

Ah, the good ol' Gandhi! An image for peace and determination, this quote is exactly what you need to remind you to stay calm but remember your goals. 

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"so simple, straightforward and couldn't be truer!"

If you follow me on Twitter (link), you'd know I generally post a link to a motivational post with the description 'Start your day on a positive note' or something like that, so you see that I agree with this a lot. Starting your day with a positive thought is great, and just sets you in the right mindset.

The other quote is great, whether it be towards the end of the day and you're reminiscing thinking about how rubbish the day might have been. Well, in all honestly, I'm sure there is something good that happened today. Even if it was the tiniest thing that was good, it was still something positive and it'll make you feel better to think about the good stuff!

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"to remind you of the person you are, the person you want to be"

My favourite of the quotes. It's so simple, straightforward and couldn't be truer! Be Happy. Be Bright. Be You.

I hope you have a super nice day.
Tell me, what gets you going in the morning?

Motivation Monday: Morning Thoughts

Hello!

"stay focused and look at the things around you."

Another Monday is upon us, and it's the first thing that pops into our heads on Monday Morning can determine the rest of the day... or rest of the morning, at least! It could either be: "Oh YAY, start of another fresh week" or "Let's just stay under the duvet for the next 50 hours?" Choose the latter and you're more likely to dread mornings!

"Be grateful and feel forever content."

This quote is simple yet always overlooked. Be grateful and feel forever content. It is so easy to miss the things right under our nose, like the quote 'You'll Only Miss it When it's Gone' - so just take a moment to think of the things you're lucky to have.

Is Roald Dahl EVER wrong? 

It seems as though the images did all the talking in this post and that's how morning should be: productive yet quiet... :)

What's your favourite morning ritual?

Motivation Monday: You are Enough

Hello! 

"To not just choose that happiness, but to feel it"

Happy Monday! There hasn't been a Motivation Monday in a very long time yet having read a post on The Tig, a site mentioned in this post, I felt the need to share. 

The Tig is run by Meghan Markle, also known as Rachel from the TV Series Suits! The idea behind her blog post was just so relatable and I couldn't agree with her more.. so here are some snippets from her post: 

"I am happy. And I say that so plainly because, well…it takes time. To be happy. To figure out how to be kind to yourself. To not just choose that happiness, but to feel it"

"iconic saying from Jerry Maguire -"You complete me” – frankly, isn’t true"

"I must have been about 24 when a casting director looked at me during an audition and said “You need to know that you’re enough. Less makeup, more Meghan.”"

" That five pounds lost won’t make you happier, that more makeup won’t make you prettier, that the now iconic saying from Jerry Maguire -"You complete me” – frankly, isn’t true. You are complete with or without a partner. You are enough just as you are."

Okay, I'm going to stop now before I basically copy the whole thing - but you have to read the full post here. 

It is such a post that would make you step back a little and think that life is much more than comparing yourself to others, it is about loving who you are right now and forever.. to remember that YOU are ENOUGH. 

So tell me: Do you believe that YOU are ENOUGH? 

Bullying: Can it Really be Cured?

Hello!

Happy Monday! This post is going to be something a little different. Normally you would see a 'Motivation Monday' or something positive on here yet today I wanted it to be an eye opener. It's nothing negative (that's not the way we roll), but a video to show life outside closed doors.

You may have seen this before and if you follow Lizzie V. (Who I've mentioned in this post) then you may have heard of this story. I'll also link Lizzies video here:

Lizzie mentioned such a good point: 'There'll never be a cure for Bullying' and I believe it completely. Being a realist, I don't think there will be a complete stop in bullying. Yet we don't realise how much of an impact it is to our world. To the little innocent people who get affected by it and the other people just watching it happen.

No matter how much we want it to stop, there'll always be someone being bullied somewhere and we shouldn't just let it slide, and we definitely not be the bully! A childhoods saying that I love is: 'if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all' we're not going to be fond of everyone we come across in life, so we can just keep our distance.

This young girl who was verbally and physically bullied, told to commit suicide and came home with bruises, is just one of many people who has been through bullying. I hope that she realises it does get better and I hope anyone else in the same position realises that too.

Have you seen the video before, and what are your thoughts?

Motivation Monday: Cherish the Days

Hello!

Happy Monday! I hope you're well and as happy as you can be no matter what stress you may have, or what burden may lay on your shoulders. As I mentioned in my last post, it's the stressful Exam Period for me and many others in the UK (do you have exams on too?), and I felt this post was much needed - to keep us grounded!

So with the title of the post, you would've released the theme of this post: Cherish The Days.
Well, with life I think we all come to a point where we realise how short our life is. Who knows what's going to happen tomorrow? Who knows how long we have?  (okay that sounds really serious and a bit sad, but lets be real!!)

Life will have good things in store, but I always tend to live in the future. It's nice to be seeing things more clearly the way it is now than wishing it was something else, or, like the quote: Waiting for something else. Lets cherish now!

As well as living in the future, you may find that you may live in the past too. We can't change what happened yesterday, let's cherish those moments and create new ones today! Its like the quote from Kung Fu Panda:

My driving instructor used to say this all the time and whenever I think about it, I remember how lucky we are for today - oh gosh, that does sound cheesy but it's so true!! 

Well, although it may seem like life will start after the exams, after something happens but no, life is always going, so cherish the days! 

Hope you have a lovely day and tell me: are you living in the past, future or the present? 

BerryReads: Book Wishlist #2

Hello!

Happy Monday! Considering the last few posts on Monday's have been either Mani Monday's or Motivational Mondays - which I love doing both of them by the way - maybe it was time to switch it up a bit. Considering the enthusiasm I have for books right now, it was the perfect time for a Wishlist post! Having done one of these before and only reading one of the three I had then been interested in, lets hope its more successful this time!

Gone Girl
You probably have heard of this book before! I definitely have but it had never caught my eye... until I read the blurb earlier today: 
' Who are you? What have we done to each other? These are the questions Nick Dunne finds himself asking on the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary, when his wife Amy suddenly disappears. The police suspect Nick. Amy's friends reveal that she was afraid of him, that she kept secrets from him. He swears it isn't true. A police examination of his computer shows strange searches. He says they weren't made by him. And then there are the persistent calls on his mobile phone. So what really did happen to Nick's beautiful wife? '

Tell me you're not intrigued! No wonder it's a bestseller - it's quite bad how I just judged the book by it's (almost) bland cover. Yet, I cannot wait to give this book a try!

The Bookstore & Penelope
These two books are about girls who go to University - both in America in this case. These two were mentioned in 'Stylish' Magazine and the blurbs again caught my eye. These are not as well known as 'Gone Girl' but definitely seem interesting - more of a light read, if you may. I don't like to read too many "intense" books at a time, so maybe these will be nice breathers! (Is that really weird, or do you do the same? :P)

Insurgent
Having had a debate on whether Divergent is better than The Hunger Games on Friday, many of you said to read the books too! I didn't get around to finish reading Divergent, not sure whether it was because I wasn't 'in to' reading at the time or because I didn't like the book - but I loved the movie. Therefore, I'm going to give this a shot!

Have you read any of these books, and what's on your "wish list"? 

*picture from here, here, here

Motivation Monday - Excitement is Good!

Hello!

Yet another Monday has arrived at our doorstep, but this Monday is different... It's Easter Bank Holiday Monday! Wooo! Okay, you may be thinking I am over exaggerating with how excited I am about this day, but that's kind of the point of this post...

As we grow older, somehow our brains seem to think that getting excited over the small stuff is very weird - or unacceptable. It makes us feel as though we're childish and immature. Honestly, though, the youth are said to be the best years of our life - so why purposely (or unconsciously) try to rid that happiness sooner than necessary? 

Is it wrong to be excited about the smallest things? No. Would people think it's weird? Maybe. Well, you know that you can never make every single person in the world happy - so do it for the person that matters most in the world to you: YOU.

For the last couple of days, I have been happy for no particular reason, yet for almost every reason. Making the most of the situation. Admiring the beautiful things in life and just smiling.
The quote about is very true - there are so many beautiful reasons to be happy.

Okay, I understand that it is almost (I said ALMOST) impossible to Always be happy - yet the time we spend unhappy is time not well spent. Try and be happy, even when it feels impossible. Look at the things you love most. Make the most out of the things you have to do and hopefully you'll find something beautiful..

So, this Motivation Monday may seem a bit cliché, but I feel it's important to tell you to be happy. Even though you've read it in more than one other motivation monday - I still believe the overall goal in life is to be happy.

I hope you have a fabulous Bank Holiday Monday if you're in the UK, or just a Beautiful day anyway!

Tell me a beautiful thing you've seen today, maybe the look of your tea this morning, or the flowers in  the garden, or the look on your dogs face when you gave it some breakfast - what has been a beautiful thing you've seen today? 

Motivation Monday! - It takes time

Hello!

Another Monday, another week. There's two ways you can look at it: either "Eh, it's just another week" or "Let's make this week good"… obviously you'd like to choose the latter, however, I've noticed this doesn't always work. You can't go from never trying something to becoming a pro in one day - it takes time… but without spending that time, you'll never be a pro.

I hope this keeps you going, I know what it's like when you try really hard at something and yet it's not as perfect as you want it to be.

Motivation Monday - Smile

Hello! 

Happy Monday! I hope you had a fantastic weekend, enjoying the beautiful weather if you are a Londoner like me - or anywhere that may have received a few kisses from the sun! Having really enjoyed my Sunday, I decided I shouldn't let the Monday Blues bring me down - and you shouldn't either! Whether you had a rough or smooth weekend, let this be another day to make wonderful memories! 

This quote by Dr Seuss is an eye opener in many ways and really warms my heart. Sometimes I find we seem to regret where we are now and prefer how it was like before. We say things like 'Oh, back in the good old days' - well, if you think about it, these days will be the 'good old days' in a couple of years time, so why not make the most of it NOW. 

Don't cry because we aren't in those 'good old days' but smile because those good days existed. Smile that we have another chance to make it good for ourselves! 

Wishing you all a positive day and tell me, what are POSITIVE sayings or quotes keeping you going? 

Motivation Monday: Be You

Hello!

Well, it's another Monday so time for another post. Actually, this post is based around something I saw on YouTube. Okay, we all hate those annoying adverts that appear before a video, yet sometimes don't they just reach out to you so you can't bring yourself to press the 'skip' button?! Well, this was one of those times…

The song is really good and the message even greater. You see people labelling other people all the time. It's like because they look or dress a certain way, they have to act that way. This is not the case and shouldn't be regarded as the case either. You can be whoever you want to be, no matter what other people think of you: Just Be You and don't let anyone else bring you down.

I thought this quote was appropriate, too:

So, let's end on a lighter note: Just be happy! :)

So, what do you think of the video? Wasn't it great?!

Motivation Monday

Hello!

I was scrolling across FaceBook - a site I rarely spend much time on nowadays - and came across this beauty. Being it Monday and it being the day we generally feel most down-in-the-dumps, I think this will leave you enlightened and feeling good this fine morning.

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This is quite amazing and shows that if we really put our mind to something - we can achieve it. Okay, I'm not saying that everyone will be able to draw the New York skyline from memory, I probably can't even draw something that well after looking at it for 3 days. However, what I am trying to say is that what you might feel is impossible to do, it is possible. Our body and minds do amazing things and we don't realise this - yet, I feel we should just take a step back and realise all that we can do, instead of things we can't do. 

So, step out of your comfort zone, love life and do what you want to do…

What is the one thing you've always wanted to do yet never got around to it? 

NOTD - Diamonds on the clouds...

Hello!

Itttt'ssss Monday - you know this calls for a Manicure Monday!
I love these posts as I love painting my nails. Okay, let's be honest here: I like it when my nails are painted - I don't like painting my nails. However, when they're painted, I feel better than when they're not painted - so painting them it is!

I felt like rocking a lighter shade as the last manicure I had were darker in colour and quite bold.

This time I went for a Champagne, nude base colour and a sparkly top coat. I used a couple of coats of both to make my nails look nicer.

I've received many compliments from people asking if they are gel nails!

The top coat is by Barry M, a jewelled glitter paint called 'Diamonds'. It's very subtle on this shade and twinkles in the light.

The nail look reminds me of snow and 'winter whites'.

I like painting them while watching something…. and that way I am patient enough to let them dry properly between coats! This makes them stay on longer, so I have to paint them less often - avoid chipping and still have painted nails… it's a win, win situation!

Oh, and Happy December!

What's the best time for you to paint your nails?