Been there, done that.

Hi everyone! So much has happened the week of my birthday. Another year older (yeesh!) but so excited to be here! I've come to learn that it's a privilege to become old. So I'm so thankful for another year on this beautiful earth. I have been doing a 30 day meditation challenge and I've made it a point to meditate every day even if it's just for 3-5 minutes. That little bit of silence and thought is golden.


With doing this challenge, I've learned that there are so many places and opportunities to meditate and now that I'm aware of meditating, I find little times throughout my day to do so. Usually during my free time of thoughts I run through prayers in my head of people, family & friends, situations or things I see throughout the day. I still find this important and still do it a lot. But now I've also made time to breathe and soak up silence and empty thoughts. I have a couple of these free apps from iTunes I use at night as well. Well, one app is to help me relax or sleep, one is just a guided meditation for a nice break in your day.


While driving this past week to Atlanta for work I also realized mediation can just be sitting in silence in your car looking at what Mother Nature has to offer. Because man, it's good. It's beautiful out there. Take a good look at it on your daily travels and enjoy it.






Another thing that happened this week (and last week) was my two oldest cousins started high school!!!!! Aghhhh!!!! They're supposed to stay tiny, little, cute girls forever!!!! So with that happening I thought I should write a little something us gals learn when we are older and wish we would have known and followed at that young age.

I've always wanted to write a blog of little tips and thoughts for them. But never had time to dedicate an entire blog to just that so I hope this blog is something they will turn to when it comes to beauty, fashion, life, love & happiness.

Here we go young girls of America. Good luck!

1-listen to your mom. If you don't have a mom, listen to some older female in your life. If you don't have that, please find someone to be there for you. If you can't find that, then I'll be there for you. It's so important to have someone in your life who has been there & done that. They will give you little words of wisdom. Trust me, we've been through it too. I know it may seem like you're the only one going through it, but you're not and we are here to help. And please, Listen to our help. We are looking out for you and we love you.

Everything my mom told me was right. I'm not even kidding. All those boys I shouldn't waste my time with, who to move on from, who to not bend over backwards for, how to handle friends, boys, school, life. She was right. Probably didn't listen to all her advice (sorry!!) but I wish I would have because she was seriously right every. single. time.

Also on that note, I would like to thank my mom for putting up with spoiled, prissy, teenage Andrea. I know I wasn't a horrible teen, but I wasn't too easy and probably almost broke you and dad. So, thank you. I love you two so much and I don't know how I won the parent jackpot.







2-be nice. Be nice to others and to yourself. This is so important to me. People will remember how you treated them for a long, long time. So, if you're around people that are mean, or treat others badly, please just be cordial with those people but separate yourself from others who bring people down. I would much rather be known as the nice person than be associated with the cool people. It will take you much further in life and make you a happier, prouder person in who you are. Stay neutral and be nice. That's seriously the best advice I can give. But also be nice to yourself. I wasn't that kind to myself. Never was happy with myself and I should have been. It caused more trouble than good.





With that being said though-don't take crap! If someone is taking advantage of you or treating you poorly just slip away. Don't invest too much time into them because they will suck the life out of you. But don't be mean. Just smile and say, "hi" when you see them and move on. You don't want to be taken advantage of but you also don't want to stoop down to their level. I'm still learning this about people. It's a life lesson that I will continually be reminding myself of. My rule (which I just started putting into play, should have done this years ago!!) is treat others the way they treat you. ONLY after you have been kind to them and given them a few good shots. After that, you can't keep living your life to please other people. Some people will never be happy so, if you keep trying and getting nothing in return, move on.

3-remember, friends are quality, not quantity. The few good, loyal friends I have to this day are mainly ones I had from high school. I still roll up upon some pretty awesome friends but there still few and far between and I would much rather have it that way. Stick with those friends and be loyal to them. That is all you'll need in life.

4-be honest. So much drama happens when you're not honest with someone. If you mess up, you mess up. Say it out front and move on. Trust me, I mess up all the time and I just say what I did wrong, apologize and work my hardest to not do it again. It's that simple y'all. People will appreciate the honesty & the effort and you just go from there.







5-don't do anything you don't feel like doing. If you don't want to go to a party, don't. If you don't want to do something where you feel like you are compromising yourself, don't do it. LISTEN TO YOUR GUT. This is something you're going to have to really listen to for the rest of your life. And I'm telling you, when you're gut is telling you something, you better listen.

6-don't do drugs. Just don't. I never did and I am so happy for that. I don't regret not doing drugs. I don't regret not drinking. I honestly don't know one friend who regrets not drinking or doing drugs. Trust me, I know you've heard it before. But seriously, just don't. I feel in control of myself and my life and my body because I've never had anything in control of me. And i like it that way. I'm proud of that. And trust me, I never missed out on anything because I decided not to do drugs or drink in high school. This will not make you popular or cool. Just be who you are.




7-be who you are! If you're not sure who you are (and honestly, we are always changing so be aware of that and go with the changes and flow of you and your life) then now is the time to figure it out! Hike, paint, draw, study up on things that get you excited! If you don't know what gets you excited, find out! The sooner you find what you love and what makes you happy and the sooner you can find that within yourself, you will live a very happy life. Once you find what makes you happy, don't apologize for it or change who you are for anyone! If people don't like you for it, then don't have those people around. You need people around you who will lift you up, not bring you down. Don't keep people that make you feel bad for being yourself around you.


8-be smart with boys. I know they're the center of your world right now but they don't need to be. There is so much more that you can enjoy in high school and yes, have a boyfriend, whatever. But don't let it consume you. Don't let it take over your personal time, time with your family or time with your friends. Any time I picked a boy over my family or friends I still regret to this day. These boys will come and go and keep a hold of your heart. You've only got one and don't just give it away that easy. Be who you are and if they don't like it or they want to change you-say bye bye!! If you feel in your gut that something's not right or you feel like you need to breakup or say no, DO IT!! Don't waste your time with anyone (boy or girl) that you don't feel ok with. It's not worth wasting your time. Our time on this earth is important and don't waste it on just anybody.

With that-don't just kiss every boy you see. Please. Don't let boys think that you and your kisses are that easily given away. You want to be respected and looked at like a lady who has it together and has a good idea of who she is and who she's going to give her time to. Seriously, I never wished I had kissed more boys. It's better than having lots of regrets on the ones you kissed. So just take it easy ok?



9-be thankful. Geez being a teenager I had stuff just handed to me. Life was pretty darn easy and I was not thankful at all. Just be aware of life and what's been given to you and be thankful for it. Write down all the things you have in your life. We have so much, we need to be aware of that. Be thankful for your teachers, your friends, your life, that rockin body that you have that you think is fat, all the things your parents give you, waking up every day. Just be aware and be thankful. LOVE YOURSELF! Accept your "flaws" and things you regret and situations that make you sad or upset and move on. Don't let these things mold you. Learn from them and become a better person! As Joe Dirt says, "Keep on keepin' on!"







10-take advantage of the opportunities that come your way. Pick the college you want to go to. You, not your friends or your boyfriend. You! If opportunities are thrown at you, take them! You're young! Now is the time! I had lots of opportunities thrown at me that I didn't take. I was lazy, I didn't want to leave someone, blah blah...still wish I would have taken them! So, basically just be you and be proud of that and don't let anyone take your shine!!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Dig Deep & Do!

I just deleted that entire blog post...yeesh. This happens more than it should and every time it gets deleted I feel so good about the post too. I feel like it's the best darn post to date and then I delete it...but then I rewrite and it always turns out even better than the first post. So, here's hoping this happens on this one.

Blog is not going so well...3 days later and I feel like I've lost all that goodness that was in my mind. Ok, I'm trying to write again!

Ok, it's been a while since I have written. I feel like the past few posts I've written have had this as the intro. I apologize for having huge gaps in my posts and that has got to change! And change it will! I keep saying that too, but this time I'm serious!

So much has happened since I the last time i posted. So I will catch you up on some things. I have had so many realizations. I've been working on simplifying my life. I want a simple, good life. I want to look back and not base my self-worth on my career or material items. I want memories with family and friends not clothes and purses in my closet. I really started laying out exactly what was important to me and what I wanted. Once it was all laid out it was simple what I needed to do. (Simple, yet risky. But isn't it always that way?) I needed to follow what I really wanted. Take a risk and do it. With that, I had to let go of my little comfortable parachute job that was consistent money and go for what I really need to do. I was working way too much and wasn't enjoying any free time with my family, friends or for myself.


I did some traveling for my aesthetics job that i have and had a realization that I'm really darn good at that. I'm good at facials, educating people on their Skincare regimen, I love ingredients and helping people, meeting people, making them feel good. Doing that makes me happy and my love for it shines through when I'm talking to people. I realized that yes, I work in a world of materialistic things like high-end Skincare, makeup & beauty but it's not just that. This is what some people love, it's what Some people need to boost themselves up and it's what makes them feel beautiful. And if it makes you feel beautiful then I'm all for it. I just have to just embrace What i love and I can't force a life that is not mine and is not genuine to me. I'm a bad faker.




Now I don't believe that certain labels and products and brands make me beautiful. That's not me, but i do love certain products and I will still write about them and share them with you all. But, my goal on here isn't to just write about products. I want to write about things that make you feel beautiful, not just what you need to look beautiful. I've found different things that make me feel beautiful from a yoga workout to a lipstick to a walk in the park! So that's my new way of being a "beauty blogger."

This is a journey. Beauty is a journey and I'm your tour guide! Yes, your beauty tour guide! I say a journey because we will never reach the destination of completeness and perfection in beauty. That's the beauty of beauty & happiness! It's a continual growth and change! We are constantly growing and changing our paths and goals. A few years ago all I wanted was to be neck-deep in fashion and high-end beauty products, and I was! Then I realized I really don't care for all that. It doesn't define me. I didn't feel fulfilled. Some people do feel fulfilled in that type of lifestyle and that's great! If you have found what drives you and makes you happy, then go for it! But to me, I felt like I was playing a part. Then I go into a world of complete health and fitness and I love that too! But-I wanted to be so far into it that I feel like I let go of a lot of who I am. I was so caught up in it that I lost my excitement and passion for makeup and Skincare. It's not that I didn't care about Skincare and makeup, I didn't make enough time to spread the love around equally to fulfill all my loves. Now, here we are in present day and I feel pretty balanced. For now. Haha. I love working out and trying new things, working out makes me feel good and makes me feel beautiful but so does trying out a new lipstick or makeup look. So it's truly a balance and it's whatever really makes you happy.



You'll have to dig dip down and think about what you really love. What do you like to study up on and read about in your free time? What would you do if money wasn't a factor at all? Just think about your wildest dream and what you always wanted to do. If you had millions of dollars, what would you do? What do you do that makes you feel alive?







That's what I decided to do. I realized if I don't quit all this extra stuff that's safe and that takes up my free time and that gets in the way of what I really want to do, then I'm never going to do it. It's a risk but I'm willing to take it. Doing facials and helping people with their skin is what I love and it's what makes me happy. Helping people love themselves in their skin makes me feel alive and I'm ready to devote that time and energy to it! It's scary and I don't like posting about myself on my beauty page. I'm so much better at promoting others, but it's time to put that energy into my business. So, here I go!! Here's to you to dig down deep and do the same!



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad