I am thankful

all images via Pinterest

In honor of Thanksgiving, I thought it would good for me to share with you all things that I'm thankful for. I try to live my life in a way that I'm always thankful, not just on Thanksgiving. It's so easy (and I'm guilty of this also) to think of all the things we don't have. But it's so good to think of all the blessings that you do have and be truly thankful for them. There are so many things I could list and I'm sure once I post this I will think of more things, but here's just a few of the things I'm thankful for.

1. My health

2. My family (specifically my mom and sisters)

3. God

4. My faith

5. Love, the love I have for people and the love people have for me

6. Being alive

7. Gods grace and his mercy

8. Food

9. A roof over my head

10.Things that I need as well as things that I want

11. Opportunities

12. Second chances

Please share with me in the comments some of the things you're thankful for. Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Who Knew?

that Bob Marley was such a brilliant man when it comes to life and love? I didn't until just recently. I came across a few of his quotes and I fell in love. He was able to sum up love in a way that I think everyone can relate to. I decided that these quotes were too good not to share. So here goes a few of my favorites. BTW, I got these quotes from goodreads. Such a great place for finding all your favorite ones in one place.

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“Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. You tell them things that you’ve never shared with another soul and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more. You share hopes for the future, dreams that will never come true, goals that were never achieved and the many disappointments life has thrown at you. When something wonderful happens, you can’t wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement. They are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are hurting or laugh with you when you make a fool of yourself. Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful. There is never any pressure, jealousy or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around. You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are. The things that seem insignificant to most people such as a note, song or walk become invaluable treasures kept safe in your heart to cherish forever. Memories of your childhood come back and are so clear and vivid it’s like being young again. Colours seem brighter and more brilliant. Laughter seems part of daily life where before it was infrequent or didn’t exist at all. A phone call or two during the day helps to get you through a long day’s work and always brings a smile to your face. In their presence, there’s no need for continuous conversation, but you find you’re quite content in just having them nearby. Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you. You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do. Simple things bring them to mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind or even a storm cloud on the horizon. You open your heart knowing that there’s a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible. You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you. You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life.”

“He’s not perfect. You aren’t either, and the two of you will never be perfect. But if he can make you laugh at least once, causes you to think twice, and if he admits to being human and making mistakes, hold onto him and give him the most you can. He isn’t going to quote poetry, he’s not thinking about you every moment, but he will give you a part of him that he knows you could break. Don’t hurt him, don’t change him, and don’t expect for more than he can give. Don’t analyze. Smile when he makes you happy, yell when he makes you mad, and miss him when he’s not there. Love hard when there is love to be had. Because perfect guys don’t exist, but there’s always one guy that is perfect for you.”

“If she's amazing, she won't be easy. If she's easy, she won't be amazing. If she's worth it, you wont give up. If you give up, you're not worthy. ... Truth is, everybody is going to hurt you; you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for.”

“Just because you are happy it does not mean that the day is perfect but that you have looked beyond its imperfections”

Well said, Mr. Marley.

Weekly Roundup

Welcome back to weekly roundup. I didn't do one last week simply because life has just been so busy. But, it's back this week so let's get caught up.

Monday: a post all about forgiveness (something I struggle with)

Wednesday: lace and denim OOTD

Thursday: distressed OOTD

Friday: yet another edition of Pin-spiration Friday

Saturday: let's get personal

As always, be sure to catch up on any post you may have missed this week. I'll be back tomorrow with an all new post. Thanks for reading and have an amazing day!

Let's get personal

Standstills, stagnation, expectations, and turning points

I never expected to be that person who is just clueless about what they want to do with their life. I just always assumed it would just come to me. When I was a little girl, I would always say I wanted to be a doctor. Then I would say a surgeon and then that changed to a nurse. I think back to those times and now I'm pretty sure I was just telling people what they wanted to hear or what I thought would sound good. It felt good to say with pride that I want to be a doctor and see the people around me happy that I had such ambition. Now I feel like that ambition is gone. It's like my life doesn't mean anything. I've been feeling like this for awhile; years actually. When I talk to people about it they really aren't supportive or they just don't know what advice to give. I just want people to understand that I'm genuinely not happy with my life. I put up a good front and I'm really good at pushing those feelings aside, but deep down at my core those feelings are there, loud and clear. Since people don't understand, I do keep things inside. Thinking maybe I'll have an answer tomorrow. Maybe I'll feel better tomorrow. My biggest fear is of disappointing my family. I want to make them proud, but I also want to be happy with my life and the decisions that I make. I also want to prove people wrong. There are some people in my life who would be happy if I failed. I do want to be successful and have a career, I just want to be happy with my choice. I want to feel passionate about what I do. I don't want to be stuck with a job that I hate and stuck with a degree that I can't use. But then I think why not just get my degree? Why not just accomplish something and then see what happens? Then I realize that if I really wanted to be in college doing what I'm doing, I would be doing it. Once I'm motivated to do something, there's no changing my mind. I am also so grateful that God has blessed with me a second chance and so many opportunities that I don't want to waste it. I don't want to disappoint Him either. I'm so conflicted and I just want to be ME! I want to feel happy with what I'm doing and it sucks that I don't.

The reason why I'm writing this and sharing this with you is because I haven't talked about it. Like I said, I've pushed those feelings aside and to be honest, it feels really good to be not only writing this, but to be sharing it with you all. It's so hard to hold feelings like this inside and I'm hopeful that I will find what it is that makes me happy and what it is that I want to do with my life. Thanks so much for reading! 

all images via Pinterest

Pin-spiration Friday

Hi guys and welcome back to another edition of Pin-spiration Friday. Before we get started I want to say thank you all for reading my blog. It really does mean a lot to me! With that being said, I was pinning like crazy this week (not surprising). There's been a whole lot of quotes, flowers, and decor being pinned lately. Again, it's really hard to narrow it down but as always, here are my favorite pins of the week.

whatever is true

love this 

black and white with a pop of pink

dahlias

hot pink peonies

city life

all images Pinterest

That's it for this week's Pin-spiration Friday. I hope you all enjoyed it and remember to follow me on Pinterest here. Have a great day and an even better weekend!

distressed

I love a good pair of distressed shorts. I distressed these myself (don't know that I did a good job, but I tried) and I think they are a perfect way to transition into the fall season. It's still not that cold in Texas so by adding a slouchy cardigan, distressed shorts become fall appropriate. 

What I'm wearing:

Wal-Mart cardigan

Target tank

DIY shorts

Payless flats

Thanks so much for reading...

lace and denim

Well, I'm at it again. Now matter how hard I try, I just can't stay away from my denim shirt. I love it too much. I'm literally going to wear this thing until it falls apart. Anyway, I love it paired with this lace shrug. It's always nice to be able to style your favorite pieces in a number of different ways. Makes me feel a little better about wearing it all the time.

What I'm wearing:

Forever 21 shirt

jeans from a local boutique

Payless shoes

Thanks for reading

forgive?

I'm going to share something with you, okay? It's hard for me to forgive. Yeah, I said it. I have a hard time forgiving people. It's something that I'm not entirely proud of, but it's the truth. If you do me wrong, expect me not to talk to you for at least five years. And I won't even think anything of it. I will go about my life and pretend like you never even existed. Now, I'm totally exaggerating on the five years thing but you get the picture. I'm not a good forgiver. This quote though inspires me to forgive others a little more easily than I have been. I am a sinner. I want God's forgiveness. I need His forgiveness. So in order to be forgiven, I need to forgive. It's like saying God, I'm not perfect, I make mistakes and I need your forgiveness but I can't see that other people make mistakes and need forgiveness too. Doesn't quite make sense does it?  Still so hard, but I'm trying. I'm trying. 

If I were to be asked, why is it so hard for you to forgive, I'm not sure I would have a straight answer. I mean, I'm not sure why forgive-ability is something that I lack. But I'll try to give you guys the best answer that I know how. Okay, I have a problem with the whole forgive and forget thing. I can forgive you (it might take me awhile but eventually I'll do it), but forget what you did, that's a whole other story. Here's my reasoning. You know the saying fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. Well, I sort of live by it. I can forgive you, but I would be a fool to let you keep doing the same thing over and over to me. I can forgive you, but from now on I know where I stand. I can forgive you but let you hurt me again, fat chance. I'm not sure if I'm making any sense here, but too many times I've forgiven someone just to have them hurt me again. That's no bueno. So I've learned that forgiveness is necessary. Holding a grudge is so unhealthy, but I cannot let you hurt me again. Don't judge me, I'm still a work in progress. 

This quote right here is what truly makes the whole forgiving thing a smaller pill to swallow. So many times (myself included) we think that forgiving someone is giving them a free pass or it's something for them. We (myself included) fail to realize that true forgiveness is for us. It's what makes us stronger and it is so freeing. It's much harder to go out of your way and hold a grudge toward someone. Let me tell you, it's exhausting. It's much easier and less stressful to just forgive. Let it go. That being said, forgiveness is no easy task. For me, it's been a hard thing to master, but I'm praying to be a more forgiving person. 

I'm challenging you (and myself) to forgive that person in your life who has done you wrong. To let go of the pain and move forward into the future. To make forgiveness about you and release that burden (yes, forgiveness is such a burden to carry) and be free.

You need to forgive that person today. Just believe me.

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Pin-spiration Friday

This edition of Pin-spiration Friday is going to be a good one. I have been pinning like crazy this week and it was so hard to narrow down my favorite pins. I have been loving quotes and romance this week. So here's a look at what I've been pinning recently.

guard your heart

renew me

please be kind

remember to always

we invented it

simple

this moment

cozy sweater + leather mini

lipstick

pink+hearts+balloons=perfection

dainty gold rings

all images via Pinterest

That was a lot of pins! What has inspired you on Pinterest lately? Remember to follow me on Pinterest here and I hope you all have an amazing day!

50 random facts about me

I thought it would be fun to share with you all some pretty random things about myself so here goes...

1. I'm obsessed with dancing and I secretly wish I could dance. Like I really want to be a ballroom dancer or something.

2. I do not like change.

3. I'm a routine kind of gal and I hate to stray from it.

4. I'm afraid of dogs.

5. I'm a huge romantic. Obsessed with the stuff.

6. I'm really shy and a lot of people mistake that for being rude or stuck up.

7. I'm still a little unsure about what I want to do with my life.

8. I love to read.

9. If I could eat the same thing everyday I would.

10. I've always been a huge girly girl. I was born loving pink.

11. I'm a mommy's girl. I love my mom so much. She always gives the best advice and is so good about letting me make my own decisions.

12. I'm obsessed with jewelry.

13. I also feel naked without it.

14. I'm a pretty funny person so I've been told.

15. I love to laugh and I have a pretty funny borderline weird one.

16. I have to pick out my clothes and jewelry in advance.

17. Total contradiction here, but I'm a procrastinator when it comes to a lot of things.

18. I'm obsessed with lipsticks. It's the only kind of makeup that I wear.

19. I love anything black and white. Especially clothing and decor.

20. I give great advice, but I can't seem to figure my own life out.

21. I always plan to work out, but I never do.

22. I love being at home more than anything. Professional homebody right here.

23. I have sloppy handwriting.

24. I love Doritos and I have to force myself not to eat the entire bag.

25. I get startled very easily.

26. I'm a huge worrier.

27. I also tend to be a very nervous person.

28. It's not hard to make me cry. I cry at the drop of a dime.

29. Maybe that's because I'm extemely sensitive.

30. I'm a Taurus through and through. I'm very stubborn.

31. One of my biggest fears is not being able to do everything I want to do in life. 

32. I'm convinced I'm going to have 2 sons one day and I may or may not have their names already picked out.

33. I love dessert, but I'm not big on candy.

34. Except for gummy peach rings. Love those things.

35. I have a mild obsession with HGTV. Especially those property brothers. Swoon.

36. I absolutely cannot sleep unless the room is completely quiet and completely dark.

37. I love pictures and I love taking them.

38. I secretly want to chop all my hair off but I'm afraid to do it.

39. I'm addicted to tea! 

40. I have flat feet.

41. I don't like feet.

42. I look at a person's hands before I look at their face.

43. I have two moles above my lips (right under my nose).

44. I have a lot of moles and most of them are in weird places (moles run in my family).

45. I can sing and I really enjoy doing it.

46. It's hard for me to take a compliment.

47. It's hard for me to step out of my comfort zone.

48. My favorite flowers are calla lilies. I don't like roses for some reason.

49. I'm semi afraid of heights.

50. I can never find anything in my purse.

Whelp, those are some random facts about me. Now it's your turn. I would love for you all to tell me something random about you in the comments below. 

Thanks for reading and have an amazing day!

black camo

 I've been seeing camouflage print pretty much everywhere. I think it looks so good on other people, but on me, not so much. I love the look of it on a pair of pants, but I think I love it even more on a shirt. If you're like me and you're a little hesitant about the print, then wearing it a little more subtlety is the way to go. That's why this camo print top is perfect for me. It's obviously camo print, but the black and gray colors tone it down a little. I'm wearing the print but in a not so in your face way. Perfect for the camouflage phobic in me. 

What I'm wearing:

Unionbay shirt

Hot Topic pants

Vans shoes

Thanks so much for reading. Until next time...