Thursday, May 31, 2012

Hello June: Resolutions for a Month of Positivity!

Hello June! As always, I'm extremely excited about the beginning of a brand spankin' new month. I love new beginnings because they are little reminders that we can start over, clean our slate, and make personal changes if need be.  

I have a resolutions tab inside my filofax, and I tend to jot down little reminders and long term to-do lists on some colorful paper. Every month, I evaluate where I am and make a list of realistic goals for the next 4 weeks. These resolutions range from the extremely important to the incredibly simple. It's important to be realistic and set achievable goals for yourself. It's great to think big, but it's also smart to make the majority of your goals manageable. 
-------------------------



“I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” --Jimmy Dean

♥ Write more…Now that my eyes have healed, I want to dive back into my writing. It has been a rough couple of months, and my writing has genuinely suffered as a result. Writing & blogging have always been extremely theurapeutic for me. I love to channel my stress into positive pursuits and encourage others to do the same. I cannot wait to start writing more often.

♥ Take more photos…and learn more about photography. I recently checked out several books on photography from my local library (yes, I am still checking out books) and dove into another world filled with colorful portraits and vintage washes. I would like to make more of an effort to take photos on a daily basis, even if they are just on my iPhone. I love to photo journal and document my life through images. 

♥ Try to journal everyday…I just bought some bright pink Moleskines & metallic colored Gelly roller pens. I plan to carry my journal around in my bag and pull it out as often as possible. 
-------------------------

Little Resolutions

Make time for all of the little things, spend more time with pets, drink more water, have adventures every day, channel negative emotions & stress into positive endeavors, paint my nails more often, send out cards to my friends, read 3 books on my reading list, walk more & drive less, tell or show everyone in my life how special they are, forgive more, embrace positive influences and let go of negative ones, give someone the benefit of the doubt, eat more fruits & veggies, learn how to braid a fish tail, and...

Remember to breathe.
-------------------------

What are your goals/resolutions for June?

Lots of love & positivity,
Posted by Jacque at Thursday, May 31, 2012 3 Lovely and Quirky Comments
Labels:

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Thankfulness: My Gratitude List

Hello, Sunday! I am extremely excited about the long Memorial day weekend.  This week has been extremely long and treacherous, including long hours inside a stuffy office at work and a week of antibiotic eye drops for my eye infections. Summer beckons me to enjoy my days while stretched out in the sun by a pool or at the beach. Instead of office casual, I want to don my vintage-esque emerald green bathing suit and dive like swan into the nearest body of water. That may end up being a pink plastic kiddy pool, but a girl can certainly dream of glamorous beach side resorts and Mediterranean beaches.

One of my favorite things about the summer time are the snow-cone & shaved iced stands. I think they put a small dose of happy inside each rainbow-colored ice treat. I also love long walks in the evening, flip-flops, popsicles, outdoor festivals, cat eye sunglasses, pink lipstick, coconut scented body wash, and picnics. What is your favorite thing about the summertime? I may be a little premature on the summer talk, but the rising temperatures here in Texas have signaled the start of our hottest season. I'm ready for long evening outside on the porch with cool glasses of lemonade or walks to the park to swing in the breeze. I'm ready for summertime.

Now that my vision has started to return, I look forward to happily transitioning back into my old routine including my blog writing. In order to stay positive, especially through my stress, I enjoy chronicling my daily happiness via Instagram.  Here are some of the things that I am thankful for today. 

---------------------------
♥ Starbucks with Zeth during our San Antonio adventures! We found that a cool drink from Starbucks was the only things to chase away our grumpy moods. 

♥ An extremely cute owl lunch sack that I found at the San Antonio Zoo gift shop. I'm such a sucker for owls.
---------------------------
♥ Re-organizing my makeup case. I'm such a makeup addict. 
---------------------------
♥ Healthy eyes.

♥ Pretty blossoms on my nightstand.
---------------------------
♥ Midnight taco dates with Zeth.

♥ Fresh basil pizza.
---------------------------
♥ My stack of nightstand books. I love to read before bed.

♥ Apollo built a nest with the covers in my bed. 
---------------------------
♥ Frozen yogurt date with Zeth.

♥ My haircut after 4 months of mermaid length, I shortened up for the coming summer.
---------------------------
 ♥ Seeing Shamu at Sea World. Zeth bought me the most adorable & gigantic Shamu plushie as a souvenir.

♥ Penguin duct-tape...enough said.
---------------------------
♥ "I Heart Paris" stationary. 
---------------------------
 ♥ Posing with Zeth after I graduated from college. You can't tell from the pictures, but Zeth is wearing his hood after being hooded with a Masters degree in English. Talk about sexy!

♥ Graduation smiles with one of my closest friends, Trina. 
---------------------------
♥ Red velvet cheesecake!

♥ Adorable erasers!
---------------------------
Little bursts of HUGE thankfulness

My boyfriend, Coconut scented body wash, manicures, Instax pictures, heart shaped post-its, antibiotic eye drops, otters, Chiffon Pink from Bath & Body Works, basic flipflops from Old Navy, big stacks of un-read magazines, iced black tea from Starbucks, sweet cards from my best friend, label makers, vintage perfume boxes, sun hats, big sunglasses, bubble baths, and sleeping in on the weekend.
---------------------------

What are you thankful for today?

Lots of positive vibes & lovely thoughts,
Posted by Jacque at Sunday, May 27, 2012 2 Lovely and Quirky Comments
Labels: , ,

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Whimsical Adventures in San Antonio!

I fed this adorable dolphin some little fish!
=============================

Hello, Lovely Friend! 
I have been away from this blog for what has seemed like an ion. Someone recently left a comment on this blog about the fact that I have not updated in a long time, and I felt like it was time to explain why my writing has been sparse. For the past two month, I have struggled with extremely red, painful, and swollen eyes along with blurry vision. I have had trouble driving, reading, walking, and pretty much anything that requires sight. Needless to say, it has been difficult to see my computer screen in order to update my blog. 

I was finally able to see my eye doctor this morning. I found out that my eyes were both extremely swollen and my vision was suffering from a prolonged eye infection. I know that sounds kind of kooky, but I suffer from an autoimmune disease. Because my immune system doesn't work properly, I become extremely ill whenever I come down with any type of infection. 

In the midst of all this eye drama, I also graduated from college and went on a short vacation with my amazing boyfriend. Zeth treated me to 5 days of whimsical adventures in one of our favorite big cities in Texas. 
=============================

Packed and ready to roll!
=============================
Seaworld
I absolutely love visiting aquariums & zoos because I have always had a connection with animals. There was a time when I dreamed about being a veterinarian, but I realized that I could not deal with animals in pain. When Zeth announced that we were going to Seaworld, I was ecstatic. Here are my favorite moments from Seaworld. There were also roller coasters and exciting spectacle shows. We were able to see the Shamu show and get soaked by some friendly orka whales.

I fell in love with this pair of little otters. They were squeaking and playing happily until they noticed me looking at them.
=============================

San Pedro Playhouse
We went to see a production of The Drowsy Chaperone at the the San Pedro Playhouse. It was such a lovely production and we have a lot of fun. I did have trouble seeing, but it was still a great experience.
=============================
San Antonio Zoo
It's not a big surprize that we made our way over to the San Antonio Zoo. Because of my interest in animals, Zeth was sweet enough to take me to see some of my favorite animals. 

I was over the moon to discover the Nile hippopotamus exhibit at the zoo. Hippos are one of my favorite animals EVER, and I have never seen a common hippopotamus. All of the zoos I have been to only hosted pygmy hippos, so it was an extreme delight to see a big hippo. We arrived in time to see the hippos being fed. I snapped this picture just the hippo started to sink back under the water to take a nap. I think I squealed in excitement just like all of the small children on the premises. It was such a magical day.
=============================
McNay Art Museum
We were able to see an Andy Warhol exhibit at the McNay Art Museum. It was actually the very last day of the exhibit, so we were excited to see his work displayed. We weren't allowed to take any pictures of the Warhol exhibit, but I was happy to discover a lily pad garden in the center courtyard of the building. 

I also snapped a picture of Monet's Water Lilies. It was my favorite permanent work from the museum.
=============================
I'm most thankful for all of the small things. I like to snap pictures of the little things that make me smile during the day and post them on instagram. It's a great way to stay positive and focus on all of the good in my life.
=============================

Lots of love & positivity,
Posted by Jacque at Wednesday, May 23, 2012 2 Lovely and Quirky Comments
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)