Let's Just Be Happy.

There are so many choices we make each day that all come together to create the bigger picture. One being how we choose to feel about ourselves. A few years ago in my darker days I went through a period of depression. I couldn't drag myself out of bed, skipped a lot of classes and spent a lot of my time thinking about how crappy of a person I was. That's when I started learning about the power of positive affirmations. Write down 5 positive things about yourself and stick them somewhere you will see them a lot through out the day. I wrote them on my bathroom mirror in dry erase marker. If I wasn't going to be home I made them my lock screen on my phone. That paired with lifestyle changes (less alcohol, less junk food, more exercise) were how I found my happy place again.

I'm a glass half full type of person. I like the sunny side of life... but I am also the type who thinks too much about the past and that occasionally comes back to bite me. It's really easy to wake up with a crick in your neck and assume that's the start of a crappy day. We don't have to put so much energy into negativity. We can rise above things and think happy thoughts. I know that sounds ridiculous (because I am also pretty realistic) but it's a bit part of how I have turned my life around over the past year or two.

So I challenge anyone that reads this to write down 5 positive things about themselves tomorrow morning and really read them. Take on the day with a glass is half full attitude even if that isn't your style. set goals and smile a lot! Life is to short to be so angry/upset all of the time. Let's seize the day!

Goals? I've Got Those!

Everyone has at least 1 goal, whether it's to quit smoking or take the trash out before the pick up comes. They come in all shapes and sizes and require varying amounts of effort to complete. Some are short-term, some may be longer. At the end of the day we all have some type of goal (or goals). The question is how and when will we accomplish them?

Today after hearing how in order to accomplish your fitness goals (but really this applies to any), you have to figure out your "Why". Your "Why" is the reason you are doing whatever it is you are doing. After that you are supposed to write it down where you can continuously look back at it as a reminder of why you started. In all of my years of goal chasing I have never done this and I really don't know why not. It's easy to get carried away and write down a lofty list of long and short term goals but it's not always easy to accomplish them. If you take the time to sit down and think about your "Why" for each goal perhaps we wouldn't leave so many unaccomplished. With that said, I'd like to take the time write a short list of my goals and my "Why".

Goals:

• Lose 60 pounds before my wedding day
• Lose a total of 150 pounds
• Stick to our budget
• workout daily

Why:

All of my goals correlate with each other. The first 60 pounds is so I can fit into a dress I bought a year ago that does not fit (It's also a good short term goal to keep me motivated). I want to lose weight so that I can be healthy for the family we are building. I want to stick to the budget to build a good financial future for our family and I want to workout daily to be fit, healthy, and strong for not only our family but myself. 

I've often heard that a good rule of thumb is to have attainable goals. Though I agree that they give you a good push, don't be afraid to have "unattainable" goals. Because who can really say you wont accomplish them? We don't have a crystal ball to see into the future. Go for whatever it is you want, for whatever reason and just be happy! Anyway, that's my two cents and you can take it or leave it.

Corgis Are My Spirit Animal.

For anyone who doesn't know, this is my sweet boy Zero <3

DIY Wedding

To save money I've had to break out my old box of craft supplies. Ever since I got engaged back in May I've been collecting jars for my dream rustic wedding. Our theme is New Hampshire meets Tennessee. I know the rustic theme has been a huge trend over the last couple of years in the south. Being a northern girl from an area that's known for its natural beauty I wanted a natural theme for our wedding. We decided on purple for two reasons: it's my favorite color, NH and TN state flowers are both a shade of purple. Unfortunately Lilacs and Iris flowers aren't in our budget so I plan on incorporating them into our cake design. One thing that has save us a TON of money is doing a lot of things handmade and finding deals through word of mouth.

The jars you see are (from top left to right):
A jar to hold my Sola Flower Bouquet  (ordered custom from Etsy for under $100 after tax and shipping) I monogrammed it with a leftover glitter iron on and the ribbon was left over from another project. The only part that isn't recycled is the lacey burlap ribbon.

Baby food jars I got from a friend. I cleaned all of the excess glue and printed on experation dates on the jars with a professional grade brush cleaner (please try to avoid doing this indoors). After the cleaning I put a thin coat of pearlescent white paint on the inside. I wouldn't recommend painting the inside if you plan to use tea lights. Our venue doesn't allow real candles for liability reasons so I managed to find some bulk LED tea lights at a craft store. They aren't very pretty on their on which is why I opted to paint the inside of the jar. I hot glued a chevron pattern ribbon that I measured and cut to where it just slightly overlaps. On the other half of the jars I used Washi tape to decorate and tied a skinny ribbon around them in a bow to hide the seams.

The last photo is of our centerpieces. I cleaned the jars the same way as the previous ones. I originally wanted mason jars but with pinterest and rustic weddings trending they are pretty pricey so I simply saved spaghetti sauce jars for MONTHS. I realize that mason jars are probably more convenient for a shorter engagement but I recommend trying to recruit friends and family to help collect. I used felt flowers I bought premade at a craft store. I didn't like the little puff ball center so I pulled them out and hot glued a gem. This was a really easy and cute DIY. I have 17 centerpieces for less than $100 which is almost unheard of.

Overall I am really happy with how this is going and if there is any advice I can share it would be to utilize your crafty side and give yourself more than a year to pull your wedding together. Time has really been on our side and its helped to keep us organized and stress free.

Good luck and happy crafting!