secrets to happiness I

i'm going to start a new feature on this little blog called 'secrets to happiness' it's not going to be a weekly or bi-weekly & maybe not even monthly feature (because i can't commit to that) so it will just appear when it does & i promise they'll be good.

personally i've always wondered if i'd ever be 100% happy. that probably sounds more depressing than it is. it's not to say i'm not happy, because i am, but there always seems to be something [more] that i assume could make me happier, whatever that may be. 

remove all notions that you will be 100% happy when ______ happens

- you have kids

- you get married

- you get that promotion or 'career' job

- you buy a home

- you move somewhere new

- etc, etc, etc

my first secret to happiness is probably the biggest one i have learned in my life. it's one that i've had a hard time learning even though it might seem obvious to others, because i, like most people, really love having things to look forward to, but that's not what life is all about. if you remove the notion that some thing is going to make you happy, you'll be set free. it doesn't even have to be as major as some of things i listed, it could even be you trying to justify a purchase, ex: i'll be happier when i buy this pair of shoes' yes, you might be happy, momentarily. it will be fleeting because eventually those shoes will wear out, or get ruined, and quite frankly your happiness should not be based on material things.

back to the topic of being '100% happy'. truth be told, it's not realistic. the only constant is change. we are constantly wanting and needing to make changes because we always want more for our self  and that's a good thing. what would life be about if we eventually reached an ultimate happiness & then just had nothing to do, nothing to dream about & nothing to push us forward & keep us going. 

we need to stop basing our happiness on things that we think might make us happier if we had them. think about why you are happy right now. think about all of the amazing things that you currently have...right now, and i guarantee you you'll have a smile on your face within seconds.

get out there & be happy.

tell me whatcha want whatcha really, really want

'want'...'need'

i see these comments SO often in social media; twitter, facebook, pinterest, instagram, blogs. i've been the one leaving the comments too, don't get me wrong. i constantly have a mental list of things i want, things i convince myself that i need. i feel like wants that soon turn to needs that then turn into regretted purchases happen far too often for me. i definitely give in to following a thousand brands on social media platforms & seeing them post things that i want & need. i have definitely seen a fellow blogger wearing something in an outfit post & proceeded to buy it for myself. i've absolutely seen a company post a product & immediately think to myself "i totally need that"...but the fact of the matter is that i don't. i have SO many things that sometimes (when i'm feeling in a particularly minimalist mood) it leaves me feeling sick to my stomach. the amount of things i've convinced myself i need and have bought is quite frankly, ridiculous. 

well internet, i'm cutting myself off.

plain & simple. i don't need anything more than i already have...and if it turns out that i do, like...i don't know when all of my clothes fall apart, then i will deal with that as it comes but for now i am trying my absolute best not to accumulate anymore things...stuff...pieces of momentary happiness.

wish me luck. it ain't gonna be easy.

sidenote: sorry, not sorry about the title of this post. spice girls whaaat!!

living clean

a bit ago i mentioned that i was feeling very inspired to change over to all natural body care & eventually hoping to make the switch in other aspects of life as well (makeup, cleaning product, hair care) & a few of you expressed interest & mentioned that you would like to do so as well, so i thought that a follow up post might be good to do from my experience so far.

at the end of april i ordered a few different products from the etsy shop southern twisted soaps & i will definitely be ordering from them again! when i started to read up on how many chemicals and toxins were in body lotions it really freaked me out. to think that i lather it on multiple times a day and it's soaking into my skin & absorbing those chemicals...uh uh, i wasn't okay with that. that was one of the first things i wanted to change! here is what i ordered from them:

honeydew melon lotion

such a light scent, i love this & it's not overpowering to slather on after the shower. it's perfect & soaks in quickly!

monkey farts hand lotion

don't let the name fool you...it is SUCH an amazing scent, i love it! & think it's pretty damn cute they named it monkey farts. i can't wait for someone to ask me what that smell is, haha

honey orange body spray

i love this. though it doesn't last all day like a regular perfume would...it's also not jam packed full of chemicals so i'll carry it with me if i feel the need for an extra spritz throughout the day or after the gym.

raspberry lemonade solid perfume

light & pretty i love that this is small enough that i can carry it around with me & light enough of a scent for summertime when i don't want something heavy. it meshes well with the other scents i chose from the lotions & sprays too.

oatmeal & honey exfoliating cold pressed soap

for $6.50 you are getting a huge block of soap that smells amaaaazing. i truly fell in love with all of the scents the second i opened the package! it's hard to buy scented things online right, because you can't smell them...but the names are a very accurate depiction of how they should smell!

i bought all of this stuff for $45...so it's actually cheaper than buying body lotion at bath n body works or shoppers drug mart, or wherever you regularly buy your body care...and say goodbye to $100 perfume bottles, not worth it if you ask me!

i highly recommend checking out southern twisted soaps. the scents are great, the quality & quantity of the product for the price is amazing & you're getting a homemade product that someone has put thought & love into. what's better than that? oh ya, it's 100% natural...gotta love that!! plus sweet & simple packaging always gets me...everytime!

ps: i was not paid by or asked to write about these products at all. all thoughts are my own & i was just really impressed by the shop & wanted to share it with you guys incase you're looking to make the switch to clean living too ;)

easy summer hair

wash. towel dry. put into side braid. let dry. unleash.

& guess what that means? 

this girl is retiring her hair straightener & couldn't be happier about it.