My Favourite Outfits.

Hello my lovelies! I hope you’ve been finding some time to relax and look after yourselves this week. This week I’m starting off today’s post a bit differently to how I normally would; and that’s because there are some important things that need to be said before we continue with my usual positive post for the week.

As we all know, protests are going on across the globe as police brutality and racism against the black community has not stopped and we as human beings need to actively be anti-racist. Too many lives have been taken and continue to be taken because of the colour of someone’s skin. Enough is enough. We cannot stand here and accept this. We will not.

Say their names. #BlackLivesMatter

To all of the black community:

I am not black, but I see you.

I am not black, but I hear you.

I am not black, but I mourn with you.

I am not black, but I will fight for you.

#BlackLivesMatter

I have white privilege, and that means that I cannot begin to understand the fear and pain the black community must go through every single day. Having white privilege also means that I can use my platform and privilege to help stop these injustices that are happening everyday.

If you can please go to blacklivesmatter.com and find out about your local peaceful protests and how you can do your part by donating to BlackLivesMatter, to bail funds, to Stand Up Against Racism, sign as many petitions as you can and educate yourself on your privilege and ensure that we are all more than just not being racist. We must be anti-racist.

Together we will have justice. If you’re going to protests please stay safe, here are some resources you can use to stay safe and support what is right. And to anyone who will say ‘All lives matter’ to this, yes, you’re right, all lives matter, and THAT is why black lives matter. You don’t truly believe that all lives matter until you are standing up for black lives, saying all lives matter right now is taking away from the voices who need to be heard, the black lives that need our help. And if you still don’t understand, watch this video which explains it perfectly:

I’m doing my part to stop the brutality that black people go through on a daily basis and I hope you will too.

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Naturally because of everything that is going on at the moment we need to find time to look after ourselves. We must continue to fight and in order to do so, please look after yourselves, even if that’s just by making sure you’re carrying milk and water with you to protests and wearing your masks.

These times are hard and it can be hard to find a smile with everything going on (understandably and rightly so). So something I’ve been doing is wearing outfits that make me smile. And so, to hopefully give you at least five minutes of positivity today I’m going to be sharing them with you!

First up we’ve got some cute mom jean shorts with a black tee! I paired these with these amazing alien earrings and tiny black sunglasses which are just a complete vibe and I love them!

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Next up we have this adorable check smock dress that I picked up from Tesco and it is just so comfy and I love that kind of grungy look you get when you pair a cute dress with black boots. Plus, since this is a smock dress, it’s super flown and perfect for those hotter days!

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We’ve then got this button down cardigan paired with mom jeans I picked up from Tesco (F&F jeans are the best jeans and no one can convince me otherwise!) and some zebra print slip ons with rainbow heart hoops! I wasn’t sure how I wanted to wear this cardi at first but it’s so versatile that it goes with nearly everything! I chose to wear this cardigan by itself without a bra or top underneath because for one, it’s hot at the moment, and two – because why not!

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Here’s that cute cardigan again, but this time I’ve put it with these incredible trousers I got from ASOS!

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These trousers are so comfy because they’re high waisted, have little buckles on each side and on the ankles so you can adjust them and they are just plain (or rather not plain haha) adorable! And I think putting these with a simple black turtle neck (also ASOS) is such a cute look. I decided to accessories with black books for a grunge look and had to put my super cute iced coffee earrings with it to tie it all together! It’s one of my favourite looks of all, I just wish it was a little colder so I can wear it without overheating!

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Next up is my cute all pink outfit. The variety in my style always makes me laugh, one second I can be seen in a super smart look, the next a grungy one, then super intimidating and then super soft. It all depends on my mood for the day. And this outfit is what I like to gravitate towards on those days where I want to wear pink and be all stereotypically cutesy! So, here I’ve got these baby pink cargo joggers with a checked pink crop top; and sometimes I like to add a white tee that I’ve cropped myself and add a white beanie to top it all off.

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Here’s a smart, feminine and classy look that I love so much. Especially when I add the slim black sunglasses. Black mom jeans are comfy, look smart and are warm for those breezy days. I picked up the cardigan from ASOS (like a lot of these haha not sponsored, but it could be – ASOS.. I doubt you’re reading this but if you are, feel free to hit me up!) which has a nice 90’s vibe because of the black tiny ruffle trim which is cute by itself or open with a cute crop top and then I decided on these black flats that I’ve had for way over 5 years but have hardly ever worn, and I don’t know why I haven’t because they’re so unique and class up any outfit!

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Last but certainly not least, we have one of my all time favourite looks. It’s certainly not cold enough for this outfit but I love it so much I had to include it. Here we’ve got an oversized grey SuperDry jumper with a black skort and black tights and boots. Oh, and of course I had to have the statement black sunnies make an appearance too. This look makes me feel so cute and I cant help but have happy vibes when I wear it. Plus, can we just appreciate how absolutely adorable this skort is!

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And those are my favourite outfits! My style really does depend on how I’m feeling and what I want my mood for the day to be. If I’m feeling artsy and it’s chilly I’ll probably go for something like the tartan trousers, and if I’m feeling like I want to be effortless then I might go for the black mom jeans – cream cardi combo and if I’m feeling like I want to be cutesy then I might wear any of my dungarees or my pink cargo joggers.

Basically I wear what I want, when I want. And the motto I stand by when it comes to getting dressed and style is that you should wear what makes you happy, feel beautiful, confident and like you.

Love who you are and embrace yourself. Anything you wear will look good if you feel good.

Well, that’s it from me for today! What are your favourite outfits? How would you describe your style? Mines definitely eclectic! Let me know yours in the comments or tag me in your looks on insta @theweightofmyworlds!

Stay safe out there and love yourself.

Love,

Having Confidence To Be Yourself.

Hello my lovelies! I hope you had a good week! This week has been super busy as usual, but I did manage to have a little time to see my sister, niece and nephew! And with seeing them, my sister brought me some funky new earrings that I absolutely adore. Which leads me to today’s post, having confidence to be yourself, no matter what others think.

So, this week I decided to talk to you about confidence. Specifically in having confidence in being yourself regardless of other people’s opinions.

For me, I can remember being tiny and having absolutely zero self-esteem issues and having complete confidence in myself and giving no fucks. And I can also remember when I began giving all of the fucks to what people thought about me and my appearance.

Sadly that day came in primary school when all of the year 6 girls (myself included) got to wear their Brownie uniforms to school. I had no care in the world about how I looked, I was just happy I got to wear something other than my usual uniform; and then came a comment from one of the kids in my class, it was something along the lines of: “why are you wearing those pants? You look stupid”.

And poof. Insecurities as far as the eyes could see.

Several years of bullying throughout school later, all I wanted was to fit in. And then a few years working in two different jobs types, and spending some time working on myself away from negative people.

As time went on, my confidence has grown quite a lot, and I think that is partly due to ‘The Weight Of My Worlds’! I say partly but I think that’s actually a huge factor for me.

Something just clicked in me one day and I decided that from then on I was going to be completely apologetically myself. Regardless of what other people think, because someone who’s worth spending your time with will only lift you up and not put you down.

My tips for building confidence in yourself are:

1. Looking at yourself in the mirror, as you are, without makeup, without fancy clothes, just as you are. Get used to you and your appearance.
2. Don’t be afraid to be weird when you’re by yourself, be as weird as you want to be by yourself so much so that when you’re with your loved ones you start being yourself more because you’re more comfortable with yourself.
3. Fake it til you make it! I love this phrase because it’s something that I’ve done for a long time and it definitely helped me in my early days trying to build my confidence. It’s also a good one for anxiety!
4. Wear whatever you want to. Wanna wear a skirt? Wear a skirt. Wanna wear a suit? Wear a suit. Wanna wear crazy patterns. Wear em. Wear what makes you happy!
5. Do a complete detox. Anything that doesn’t make you feel good, get rid! Social media was a big one for me, so I unfollowed all of the accounts that made me feel bad about myself and followed loads of positive ones that made me feel good.

So, what’re some things that I do now that I wouldn’t before?

Well, for a start, I now don’t care about what people think of my appearance or personality anymore; because I am me and guess what? I’m pretty great as I am.

How else do I know I’m more confident than before? Well, I would never pose or do photoshoots where other people could see me, and now I am not afraid to strike a pose in public!

Another thing that’s changed is that I’m not afraid to wear whatever wacky, weird and quirky things I want. At the moment I’m really into crazy shoes and jewellery! My sister gave me these awesome gumball machine earrings that I can’t get enough of!

So, that’s a bit about how my confidence has gone through ups and downs and ups again and how I have improved my confidence! Have you got any tips and tricks that make you feel more confident? Let me know in the comments!

And remember, you are perfect just as you are. Be apologetically yourself because you’re incredible! Be bright, be bold, be you!

Have a great weekend my lovelies!

Love,

Taking Some Me Time.

Happy Saturday my lovelies! This week we’re talking me-time. Self-care. Down-Time. Whatever you like to call it, I’m letting you into how I like to make time for myself.

We all have stressful days here and there, and we all deal with them in different ways, so this week I’m hoping to either give you some ideas on how you can make time for yourself. Or this’ll just be a healthy reminder of some of the small things you’re already doing without realising it’s something you do to make yourself feel good as self-care.

Self-care is often perceived as a bubble bath and a face mask in my eyes, and don’t get me wrong, those’re definitely I like to do to relax too, but there’s loads of other small things I do for some me-time.

So, enough blabbering from me, here’s what I like to do!

Get an early nights sleep.

Who doesn’t like staying in bed? If we love having lay-ins so much why not go to bed earlier and have longer in bed? I struggle to actually stay in bed once I’ve woken up – which is usually around 7 without my alarm so going to bed earlier let’s me have at least an extra hour in bed without feeling like I’ve wasted the next day.

Spending time on my hair.

Ever since I decided I wasn’t going to straighten my natural curls and waves anymore, I started taking care of my hair in a way that I have never done before. Before I’d brush it like mad, hate the frizz and straighten it everyday all whilst using sulfates and silicones on my hair damaging it. Whereas now I do bi-weekly protein and moisture hair masks, use more natural hair products and I avoid using heat at all costs. It takes more time than before, but I like to listen to my favourite music and spend that time in the moment, relaxing.

Organising my things.

I love a tidy room. And I’ve learnt overtime that when I begin to see mess piling up in my room it’s a sign that mental health is taking a dip. So I then take time to get everything organised and make sure that I do spend some more time doing things that make me feel good(in other words, what’s on this list!).

Taking a bubble bath.

It’s a classic I know, but I won’t deny that I enjoy a big bubble bath with candles, Netflix on my laptop and a nice cold drink. There’s not much else to say about that one!

Listening to my body.

This is new to me. Something you may or may not know about me is that I struggle with back problems (I’ll do a post about it all at some point!), and for me that means that I’m near enough in some form of constant pain. Sucks I know, but life goes on! Because I’m often in pain, over time I stopped listening to what my body needs and then suffering because of it. So recently I’m trying to actually listen to how my body is feeling and if I’m struggling then I give myself permission to simply stay home in my bed with snacks.

Doing my physio exercises.

Leading on from my last one, when I’m in pain that can be an indicator that I should try doing some more of my physio exercises to try and ease my pain. Plus, this helps me in the long run, and it’s time well spent since it then make the next day a bit easier on my body!

Reading a good book.

Who doesn’t like to curl up somewhere cosy with a good book? I’m currently reading ‘Happy Fat’ by Sofie Hagen and I’m loving it. It’s all about loving yourself, how society continues to spread fat phobic messages (whether we’re aware of it or not) and why you should stop hating your body.

Making myself a cup of tea.

If you’ve been here since the start of  ‘The Weight Of My Worlds’ then you’ll know that I’m a bit of a tea addict.. which is why I’ve recently switch to exclusively decaf tea! And I try to stay mindful when I’m making my tea and of course I just love a good cuppa. Bonus points if it’s in a super cute mug like this!

Watching old TV series’ that I love.

Although disputed, I love old TV series that are no longer in circulation or that came out years ago, in particular crime/CSI style shows like Bones, Castle, NCIS, CSI and so many more. That doesn’t make me weird does it? Well.. I don’t care anyway haha it’s great television.

Spending time on my hobbies.

I have a long long list of hobbies, most of them creative. So I like to spend time drawing, painting, sculpting, up-cycling, sewing, playing the piano and interior design. I can’t count how many times I’ve redone my room in some way, in fact, I’m actually re-painting mine as we speak!

Styling clothes.

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You look good when you feel good, right? I certainly do. Plus I was known for changing my outfit multiple times a day when I was younger, but what can I say, I like to change things up! I wear different styles depending on my mood and creating and styling clothes based on that is always fun.

And that’s it from me! Those are some of the things that I like to do when I’m needing some me-time. There’s more, but I think we’d be here for quite some time! It’s important to make some time for yourself, because you matter and self-care is NOT selfish.

What do you like to do when you need time for yourself? Did you get some new ideas from here? Or did you not realise you might already be practising some self-care without realising it? Let me know in the comments!

Might I suggest spending some time this bank holiday for yourself? Have a good one my lovelies!

Love,

What Is Classed As Selfcare?

It’s #SelfcareWeek ! And it’s got me thinking, what do we actually think classes as selfcare? For me, I typically start thinking about face masks and bubble baths. And well yes that can be classed as selfcare; but as amazing as those things are, there are hundreds of other things you can do. And over the last few days, I’ve been partaking in a few of these myself.

The thought for this post came to me whilst I was walking home from the gym; it occurred to me that even though I think of lots of luxurious things as self-care, there are lots of small things I do for myself that make me feel good, and these count too.

Here’s a few things I’ve been doing for myself that aren’t always considered self-care:

• Going to the gym, and doing what I want there, if I don’t feel like doing the stair climber today, I just don’t do it and I refuse to feel guilty about it!)
• Buying myself a hot chocolate when walking home after going to the gym.
• Putting on my moisturizer.
• Listening to the Peptalk app (I highly recommend this one for when you’re commuting and walking anywhere, it’s a great motivational tool!)
• Watching videos by Glamour, Ladylike, As/Is and the Try Guys.
• Self Affirmations.
• Watching Nikkietutorials (believe it or not I watch Nikkie’s videos when I’m at the gym and they make me so happy!)
• Cleaning my room.
• Playing with makeup.
• Putting on makeup when I’m not going anywhere!
• Lighting scented candles.
• Having a bubble bath.
• Unfollowing any social media profiles that make me feel bad about myself.
• Watching my favourite films.
• Cooking my favourite food.
• Singing in the shower.
• Talking to friends.
• Finishing work ON TIME.
• Related to the above – not looking at work emails when I’m off work.
• Making myself a great breakfast.
• Blogging.
• Painting, drawing and being creative.
• Getting 7/8 hours sleep.
• Wearing thermal socks.
• Using a 99p face mask.
• Chatting to my sister.
• Seeing my Niece and Nephew on FaceTime reeking havoc in my sisters house.
• Driving round to look at Christmas Lights when they go up.
• Making myself a cup of tea.
• Meeting up with friends for a chat/food/movies (basically spending time with the important people in your life)
• Wearing my favourite clothes.

Honestly the list could go on and on. I love selfcare, sometimes I do still feel selfish or guilty for spending time on ourselves, but we really shouldn’t. We’re stuck with ourselves for life so we better take care of that person we see in the mirror.

And at the end of the day, if something makes you happy and feel good, it’s probably your own version of selfcare. We’re all different so it’s impossible to say that one thing will work for everyone; telling someone to go take a bubble bath to relax if they hate having baths is pretty pointless. It’s a personal thing.

Some of the things in my list you might not consider to be selfcare, but for me, they are. Just doing one small thing for yourself a day can make such a difference to your mood and wellbeing. And myself from a year ago would say something along the lines of “I’ll start next week or in the new year”, but that’s not how I think anymore, the time to start is now.

That’s all from me today, I’m off to go get myself a hot chocolate and sit in a blanket with a book. Have a great weekend lovelies! You’re all amazing!

Love,

P.S. The UK Blog Awards are now open for voting! It’d mean the world to me if you could vote for me my lovelies!! 

10 Cheap Things To Buy Yourself For Self-Care

We all know that feeling when pay day hits; you know, the feeling you get when that little voice in your head says treat yo self! You deserve it! And then you go and buy a load of stuff that you forget about until you’re surrounded by loads of mystery packages.

I’m pretty bad for buying stuff that I don’t need when pay day hits, and I always forget about budgets and keeping track of my spending habits, which is until the week before pay day where I don’t stop checking my bank balance.

This is why I’ve decided to create a list of 10 presents you can buy yourself for a treat which are great for some self-care without breaking the bank! And they’re all available on Amazon!

Lets get into it!
1 . Success & Inspiration in a Jar. £14.99

Because who doesn’t need a little pick me up every now and again? These are little quotes, inspirations and motivations to give you a boost every day for a month and are great for if you’re having a bad day and need a little positivity boost!
2 . Mini Elephant Shaped Candles Gift Set. £5.11

These are just so cute! They are all scented as follows: Purple is Lavendar, Green is Jasmine, Pink is Rose, Red is Strawberry and Yellow is Lemongrass. These would be great for when you have a big bubble bath to relax!
3 . BiC Coloured Pencils. £10.00

Coloured pencils are always a good treat, and are necessary when you buy the next gift for yourself!

4 . Millie Marotta’s Animal Kingdom Colouring Book. £7.19

Colouring isn’t just for little kids; it can be really therapeutic and great for mindfulness. I personally love tuning out and doing a bit of drawing, so being able to chill out and just colour is great!

5 . Bath Bombs Gift Set. £8.99

Bath bombs are great for going with those cute elephant candles and these are a great gift to buy yourself and forget about. They come in a cute box so it really is like getting a present in the post!

6 . Bluetooth Shower Speaker. £17.99

This one is a little more pricey than the rest but still less than £20. And is great if you’re like me and love singing in the shower!

7 . Bumper Retro Sweet Selection Box. £11.50

Sweets and chocolates are a great way to do a bit of self-care; and retro sweets are so yummy! This should keep you going for quite a few weeks too, and are great for a movie night!
8 . Weighted Fitness Hula Hoop. £12.99

We’ve all heard a million times about how exercising is good for our mental health as well as our physical health, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun! Which is why I’ve put this fitness hula hoop in here!
9 . Glow In The Dark Star Stickers. £11.99

I’ve had these for quite some time now, and they’re just plain great. I will warn you though, I stuck all of mine above my bed on the ceiling and it took about 1/2hours in total. But the result in completely worth it! Especially as someone with mental health challenges, these really help my mind settle when I’m trying to get some sleep.
10 . Burt’s Bees Tip and Toes Kit. £9.99 in the sale and £12.99 usually

Finally, good ole Burt’s Bees! Because who doesn’t like stuff from Burt’s Bees?! A great way to take care of yourself is with a bit of pampering, and using things like this are a great way to distract yourself from any anxiety or panic thoughts.

So that’s it for this weeks post! I just thought that a little bit retail therapy never hurt anyone? Well at least these prices won’t! And the majority of these can be bought with prime so you get free next day delivery!

And remember, no matter whatever some people may say, ‘self-care is not selfish.’

Have a great week everyone! Let me know if you decide to get any of these gifts to yourself! Love,

DIY Self Care Kit

If you’ve been following me a while now then you’ll know that this month I’ve been trying to focus on my mental health and self care, so at the start of May I begun by writing myself some self-affirmations. And to carry on with my self care this month I thought I would finally get round to making myself a self care kit for when I’m having a tough time.

The past two weeks have been pretty stressful and I’ve had a lot on, I’ve had family members in hospital, college assessments and my niece finally arrived (that one was a happy thing but stressful with the days in hospital waiting). Luckily everything I was stressed about worked out and it was then that I then realised I had neglected my self care a bit.

So how do you start/make a self care kit? Well you need to get yourself the following:

• A box
• Pretty paper
• Sharpies or coloured pens
• Tape or glue
• Anything you use to relax

Here’s how my box started out:

Here’s how it looked after I had decorated it:

So what sort of things did I decide to put in my self care kit? Well, things that can shift my focus from what is causing my stress and panic; for example different sensory items. I found that face masks, hand lotions, essential oils (in spray bottles diluted) and stress slime work well.

Here’s everything in my box:

• Notepads.

I added these in my kit because I love drawing and writing, and I found that these were good for writing down what I am grateful for, positive quotes and doodling.

• Coloured Pens.

These are obviously to go alongside my notepads for drawing and writing. Making patterns with them and drawing mandalas is a great distraction for thoughts that are stressing me out.

• Clay Mask.

I added a clay mask (you can use any kind of face mask) to my box as it’s nice and cooling on your skin which is a great distraction from any anxieties, stresses and panic thoughts.

• Nail polish.

This is another good distraction as  you focus on your nails rather than what’s going on around you, and you get to give yourself a mani pedi and have pretty nails!

• Headphones.

Great for tuning out background noise and relaxing with your favourite tunes or any meditation/mindfulness apps.

• Hot chocolate drink sachets.

Having a mindful drink (especially if it’s sweet!) is great for relaxing and helps me calm down in pretty much all situation.

• Essential oils.

If you have any favourite smells then this one is a good one for you. I have several essential oils due to the fact that I make bath bombs, but you can get them online for pretty cheap on places like amazon (amazon is just amazing, it has EVERYTHING). Put the essential oils in a small spray bottle with water and you can spray that on fabrics and just yourself in general which is a great way to feel comforted if there’s a smell that you are familiar with.

• Hand lotion.

This ones similar to the face masks as it’s a good way to distract yourself from everything, it’s cold and cools you down (it’s a great way to help panicking if you put cold things on your wrists!) and you get great soft hands!

• Comfy socks.

Comfy socks may not seem like something you’d use for self care, however; in regards to myself, I’ve pretty much always got cold feet, so getting some comfy warm socks on is a good way for myself to get comfortable and calm down.

• Fidget spinner.

These aren’t classes as cool anymore (by my younger siblings as they were happy to tell me..) which is fine by me!! I found this is a great way to distract and prevent myself from anxious nail biting and picking.

• Tissues.

Pretty obvious one, I felt like I needed these because every now and again you just need a good cry.

• Positive Notes.

Positive notes are always a good shout as it’s easy to forget little life lessons and mantras when you’re in crisis and are having a bad day.

So those are just a few of the things I’ve got in my self care kit. It’s also important to remember that if you are in crisis there are people you can call to talk too, for example the Samaritans, who are there for all mental health challenges, whether you’ve got a diagnosis of anything or not, they’re just there to listen.

If you decide to make your own self care kit then please let me know what you put in it and if you’ve got any suggestions then please pass them on ad my box is always evolving!

Have a lovely weekend everyone! Love,

May Affirmations

You may be wondering why I am writing this post. Well, the reason I’m writing this is because within the past few months I have realised that my self esteem is pretty low. Having anxiety and an eating disorder will do that to you unfortunately. This is why I’ve decided to write down a something nice to tell myself each day for the entire month to see how it can improve my self esteem. If it works out well, it may become a monthly thing! After all, the more self care the better nowadays!

So, lets get started:

1. I believe in me.
2. I am not my anxiety.
3. I am not my eating disorder.
4. I am worthy.
5. I choose to be happy.
6. I am beautiful.
7. I am not my past mistakes.
8. I am strong.
9. I will achieve my goals.
10. I am lovable and loved.
11. My past does not define my future.
12. Today will be a good day.
13. You are pretty.
14. You have a great smile.
15. I am unique.
16. Today I will replace ‘I must’, ‘I should’ and ‘I have to’ with ‘I choose’.
17. The number on the scales does not define my self worth.
18. Inhale confidence. Exhale fear.
19. I am creative.
20. I have a good life.
21. However hard the struggle gets, I can do it.
22. Without struggle comes no progress.
23. Feelings are just visitors and I choose to let them go.
24. The worst days do not last forever.
25. I am lucky.
26. I have a beautiful strong body.
27. I will not be afraid of what could go wrong, instead I will be excited by what could go right.
28. No bad thoughts will last forever.
29. I am getting healthier.
30. I deserve life.
31. I am enough.

I intend to write one a day on a post it or on my mirror so I see it when I am getting ready in the morning. I think it’s important to have some aspect of self-care at least once a day, after all, we all need to look after ourselves in this day and age. With all the photoshop, perfect instagrams, magazines and stuff like that out there it is easy to not feel good enough. I feel like these are a bit cheesy (well, a lot cheesy) but hopefully by the end of the month I will begin to believe them and it won’t feel as awkward saying them.

That’s all from me for today! Have a great weekend my lovelies!!

Love,